Upper Pleistocene equids from Terrasses de la Riera dels Canyars (NE Iberian Peninsula): The presence of Equus ferus and Equus hydruntinus based on dental criteria and their implications for palaeontological identification and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

Sanz-Royo, Alicia; Sanz, Montserrat; Daura, Joan

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.06.026

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Thus, the cave mouth would have opened onto a large plain that could sustain and feed large herbivores, such as horses, proboscideans and large bovids. The presence of Equus hydruntinus in GL1 supports this idea of the landscape and also indicates an arid and open terrain [103][104][105]. Red deer, which are also abundant in the assemblage, are intermediate feeders, but can feed on grasses or in light forests.…”

Section: Gl1 Neanderthal Presence and Palaeoenvironmental Recordsupporting

confidence: 55%

Neanderthal Fossils, Mobile Toolkit and a Hyena Den: The Archaeological Assemblage of Lateral Gallery 1 in Cova Del Gegant (NE Iberian Peninsula)

et al. 2022

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Lateral Gallery 1 (GL1) in Cova del Gegant is a Middle Palaeolithic assemblage yielding diagnostic Neanderthal remains, together with Mousterian tools and faunal remains. It is a good archive for evaluating the environmental conditions of the coastal areas during MIS 4 and MIS 3 in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, and also the Neanderthals’ behaviour and mobility. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of all of the data available from GL1, such as lithics, human remains, fauna and chronostratigraphic details. The biotic ecofacts studied point to the development of a coastal plain in front of the cave and indicate that local conditions likely favoured a large variety of ecosystems characterised by open environments and woodland-edge taxa, and favoured repeated visits by humans during the Middle Palaeolithic. The evidence suggests that the gallery was mainly used by carnivores, such as hyenas, and also by Neanderthals as a brief stopping place, in view of the presence of transported and abandoned ergonomic lithic artifacts and/or the placement of bodies (or parts of bodies). The regional context suggests high human mobility and emphasises the variability of Neanderthal behaviour.

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Section: Gl1 Neanderthal Presence and Palaeoenvironmental Recordsupporting

confidence: 55%

Neanderthal Fossils, Mobile Toolkit and a Hyena Den: The Archaeological Assemblage of Lateral Gallery 1 in Cova Del Gegant (NE Iberian Peninsula)

et al. 2022

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“…In the Aurignacian and Mousterian levels (B and J) of Covalejos, its presence/absence coincides precisely with more arid/humid moments (Jones et al ., 2019). Nevertheless, in the Vasco‐Cantabrian region this small equid has never been identified before and the closest evidence of its presence is found only in Burgos (in Valdegoba, Galería de las Estatuas and Cueva Millán) (see Sanz‐Royo et al ., 2020). Dama dama is also only found in Covalejos.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Neanderthals and AMH ate: reassessment of the subsistence across the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Vasco‐Cantabrian region of SW Europe

Marín-Arroyo

Sanz-Royo

2021

J Quaternary Science

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Recent research in northern Spain has revealed the disappearance of Neanderthal populations in the Vasco‐Cantabrian region a few millennia earlier than in eastern and southern Iberia and discovered a short period of overlap with modern humans, at least, in terms of radiocarbon dates. However, the causes of Neanderthal decline understood as a regional and temporal process remain open. Despite the abundance of technological studies, modern‐quality chronological dating, and the availability of archaeofaunal and palaeoenvironmental data, there is a lack of consensus about how climatic and environmental conditions could have affected ungulate prey and, therefore, Neanderthal subsistence strategies. In this paper, an analytical summary of the archaeofaunal and taphonomic data available for the Vasco‐Cantabrian region, combined with the most recent chronological evidence, present general knowledge about animal biogeography and ecology during the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition, and provides an interpretation of the behaviour of both human species in the region. This work reviews the palaeomammal community of animals represented in the record as exploited by human groups in several caves and rock shelters and pointing to continuing lacunae in knowledge. Further research is needed to verify and potentially explain the apparent hominin population gap and the ultimate fate of the Neanderthals.

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“…The layer I of the site has yielded a rich faunal assemblage, consisting of over 5,000 remains. Among the herbivores, the most common species found are Equus ferus, Bos primigenius, Equus hydruntinus, and Cervus elaphus Sanz-Royo et al, 2020). Capra sp.…”

Section: A2 Mediterranean Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological evolution in northern Iberia (SW Europe) during the Late Pleistocene through isotopic analysis on ungulate teeth

Fernández-Garcia,

Pederzani,

Britton

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract. During the Late Pleistocene, stadial and interstadial fluctuations affected vegetation, fauna, and human groups that were forced to cope with these pronounced climatic and environmental changes in time and space. These changes were especially abrupt during the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3. However, little is still known about the local and regional climatic conditions experienced by hominins in Europe. Here we reconstruct the climatic trends in northern Iberia considering the stable isotopic composition of ungulate skeletal tissues found in archaeological deposits dated between 80 to 15,000 cal BP. The carbon and oxygen isotopic composition preserved in the carbonate fraction of tooth enamel provides a reliable and high-resolution proxy of the food and water consumed by these animals, which is indirectly related to the local vegetation, environment, and climate, allowing us to estimate paleotemperatures and rainfall data. This study presents 44 bovine, equid, and cervid teeth from five archaeological sites in the Vasco-Cantabrian region (El Castillo, El Otero, Axlor, Labeko Koba, Aitzbitarte III) and one in the Mediterranean area (Canyars), where human evidence is attested from the Mousterian to the Magdalenian. The carbon isotope values reflect animals feeding on C3 plants with a mix-feeder diet mainly developed in open environments. However, carbon isotope value ranges point to differentiated ecological niches for equids and bovines, especially during the Aurignacian in the Vasco-Cantabrian region. Temperature estimations based on oxygen isotopic compositions and rainfall obtained from carbon isotopic compositions indicate colder and more arid conditions than nowadays from the Late Mousterian to the Aurignacian. The contemporary Mediterranean site shows slightly lower temperatures related to an arid period when animals mainly graze in open landscapes. In the Vasco-Cantabrian region, during the MIS2, the Gravettian data reflect a landscape opening, whereas the Magdalenian point to warmer conditions but still arid.

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Upper Pleistocene equids from Terrasses de la Riera dels Canyars (NE Iberian Peninsula): The presence of Equus ferus and Equus hydruntinus based on dental criteria and their implications for palaeontological identification and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

Neanderthal Fossils, Mobile Toolkit and a Hyena Den: The Archaeological Assemblage of Lateral Gallery 1 in Cova Del Gegant (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Neanderthal Fossils, Mobile Toolkit and a Hyena Den: The Archaeological Assemblage of Lateral Gallery 1 in Cova Del Gegant (NE Iberian Peninsula)

What Neanderthals and AMH ate: reassessment of the subsistence across the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Vasco‐Cantabrian region of SW Europe

Ecological evolution in northern Iberia (SW Europe) during the Late Pleistocene through isotopic analysis on ungulate teeth

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