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

Abstract

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.

Ecosystem productivity affected the spatiotemporal disappearance of Neanderthals in Iberia

“…Despite this, the results obtained show that both species were similarly affected by important fluctuations in herbivore and plant biomass. A recent zooarchaeological assessment has shown that Neanderthals and AMHs exploited the same biotic resources during the MUPT in the Cantabrian Region 29 , consistent with the results of our analyses.…”

“…Therefore, if not only NPP but also the herbivore guild structure is considered, the carrying capacity of medium and medium–large herbivores will be higher in Mediterranean regions during the cold stadial phases of MIS 3. Previous studies have shown that medium and medium–large herbivores made up the bulk of Neanderthal and AMH diets 29 , so fluctuations in their prey abundance could have impacted their survival costs. Hence, the results would not support the contention that the last Neanderthal populations retreated to impoverished environments.…”

Reassessing palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Cantabrian region (Southwestern Europe)

“…Nevertheless, climatic, and environmental changes affected ungulate prey availability and subsequently the hunting strategies adopted by Neanderthals and AMH. Cold-adapted faunas such as Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis and Rangifer tarandus, although not abundant, are not rare in this region and usually related to occasional movements to the south of the continent during stadial moments ( Alvarez-Lao et al, 2015;Alvarez-Lao and M endez, 2016;Marín-Arroyo and Sanz-Royo, 2022). Mammoths are present during the latest phases of the Mousterian and occasionally during the Aurignacian.…”

“…A total of 111 archaeological levels were compiled in this study, although not all proxies were consistently available for each of these levels. The selection of levels for inclusion was based on recent regional chronological reviews of these transitional sites and only levels with consistent stratigraphy and, when available, ultrafiltered radiocarbon dates were used (Higham et al, 2014;Marín-Arroyo et al, 2018;Marín-Arroyo and Sanz-Royo, 2022;Maroto et al, 2012;Wood et al, 2014). To ensure the quality of the data assessed, sites that were dated using old radiocarbon dating methodologies (e.g not processed using ultrafiltion), those with stratigraphic inconsistences and those with highly fragmentary data (usually corresponding to ancient excavations or old environmental studies) were not compiled by this study.…”

Subsistence of early anatomically modern humans in Europe as evidenced in the Protoaurignacian occupations of Fumane Cave, Italy

“…Current evidence of human remains found in Grotte Mandrin in France may attest to a much earlier presence of H. sapiens in SW Europe between 56.8 and 51.7 ka cal BP 4 , followed by Bacho Kiro in Bulgaria 5,6 , Grotta del Cavallo, Riparo Bombrini and Grotta di Fumane in Italy 7,8 between ~ 45 to 41 ka cal BP. This combined cultural and biological process ultimately resulted in the gradual replacement of the late Neanderthal populations of the entire continent [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . During the earliest Upper Palaeolithic, the AMH populations, coming from the Levant, progressively settled in the various areas of the continent following both the Mediterranean and Centro-European routes 13 .…”