The human remains from Axlor (Dima, Biscay, northern Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

Objectives: We provide the description and comparative analysis of all the human fossil remains found at Axlor during the excavations carried out by J.M. Barandiarán from to 1974: a cranial vault fragment and eight teeth, five of which likely belonged to the same individual, although two are currently lost. Our goal is to describe in detail all these human remains and discuss both their taxonomic attribution and their stratigraphic context. Materials and methods: We describe external and internal anatomy, and use classic and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from Axlor are compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic and recent modern humans. Results: Three teeth (a left dm 2 , a left di 1 , and a right I 1) and the parietal fragment show morphological features consistent with a Neanderthal classification, and were found in an undisturbed Mousterian context. The remaining three teeth (plus the two lost ones), initially classified as Neandertals, show morphological features and a general size that are more compatible with their classification as modern humans. Discussion: The combined anatomical and stratigraphic study suggest that the remains of two different adult Neandertals have been recovered during the old excavations performed by Barandiarán: a left parietal fragment (level VIII) and a right I 1 (level V). Additionally, two different Neandertal children lost deciduous teeth during the formations of levels V (left di 1) and IV (right dm²). In addition, a modern human individual is represented by five remains (two currently lost) from a complex stratigraphic setting. Some of the morphological features of these remains suggest that they may represent one of the scarce examples of Upper Paleolithic modern human remains in the northern Iberian Peninsula, which should be confirmed by further testing.

Axlor's level IV human remains are convincingly Neanderthals: A reply to Gómez‐Olivencia et al.

“…The combination of hypocone>metacone + absent cusp 5 on the M 1 is more often observed in Neanderthals. The (now lost) C 0 possesses a well-developed mesial ridge and lingual tubercle, which Gómez-Olivencia et al (2020) correctly indicate are Neanderthal traits. There is only one upper canine in our Upper Paleolithic sample (n = 10) that possesses a mesial ridge.…”

“…We also disagree with their assessment of two additional traits. First, the lingual essential crest of the P 4 that Gómez-Olivencia et al scored as absent is clearly present at both the OES and the EDJ (see figure 5 in Gómez-Olivencia et al, 2020).…”

“…The Axlor M 1 falls in an ambiguous position in shape space, that is, in the area of overlap between Neanderthals and H. sapiens (figure 6, Gómez-Olivencia et al, 2020). The crown shape is neither extremely Neanderthal-like nor is it extremely H. sapiens-like.…”

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Gómez-Olivencia et al, (2020) recently published a description and interpretation of human remains (teeth and a parietal fragment) found in 1967-1974 at the site of Axlor in northern Iberia. Some of these teeth were previously described and referred to Neanderthals

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“…Indeed, as several diagnostic features are located on the tooth crown (shape, enamel thickness), it can be difficult to distinguish bear incisors (especially the first and second lower incisors) from human incisors and canines when occlusal surfaces are worn. Examples of confusion have been found from iconic prehistoric sites (e.g., Arcy‐sur‐Cure; Leroi‐Gourhan, 1958 ) and from recent discoveries of teeth identified as human (e.g., at Axlor; Gómez‐Olivencia et al, 2019 ). At Sirogne, this issue is of major importance as the faunal spectrum is heavily dominated by bears, mostly represented by isolated dental remains, and more than 30 of the Neandertal remains discovered to date are isolated deciduous or permanent incisors or canines.…”