Neanderthal and carnivore activities at Llonin Cave, Asturias, northern Iberian Peninsula: Faunal study of Mousterian levels (MIS 3)

Abstract This paper presents a study of the macromammalian fauna recovered from Mousterian levels of Llonin Cave. The sample is highly heterogeneous and comprises six species of ungulates, including Rupicapra pyrenaica, Capra pyrenaica, and Cervus elaphus, and seven species of carnivores, predominantly Ursus spelaeus, Crocuta spelaea, Canis/Cuon and Panthera pardus. The archaeozoological and taphonomic study of the remains shows preferential use of basal levels of the cave as a den for hyenas and leopards. Neanderthals were also present during this phase and they would have acted mainly on deer and some caprines, while the action of hyenas would mainly have been linked to scavenging of elem…

The early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)

Abstract This paper presents a synthesis of the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres. Points of special attention are the sedimentary and micromorphological characterisation of level XVI, the analysis of the vegetal and animal resources and their incidence on the economy of the Gravettian human groups, and the characterisation of the landscape during this period. Furthermore, the paper offers important information of the lithic and bone assemblages, economic behaviour and radiocarbon dates of sub-levels XVIA and XVIB, related to the Gravettian, and XVIC and XVID, corresponding to the Aurignacian. Finally, the Gravettian and Aurignacian regional contexts in the Mediterranean Basin…

Could the central‐eastern Iberian Mediterranean region be defined as a refugium? Fauna and flora in MIS 5–3 and their implications for Palaeolithic human behaviour

Environment and subsistence strategies at La Viña rock shelter and Llonin cave (Asturias, Spain) during MIS3

The sites of La Viña and Llonin have an important archaeological sequence corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage 3: Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian periods. La Viña is a complex rock shelter with continuous occupations, being some (basically the Mousterian and the Aurignacian in contact levels) altered by post-depositional processes as a consequence of the irregular bedrock morphology and the type of processes involved. The cave of Llonin mainly consists of occasional human/carnivores occupations during the Mousterian and the Gravettian. The current multidisciplinary research has allowed us to obtain and match several preliminary data: site formation processes, fauna and stable isotop…

Diachronic variation in the Middle Paleolithic settlement of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Spain)

Abstract This paper compares levels IV and VIII of Abrigo de la Quebrada. The study includes knapping technique, raw material, fauna, and the spatial distribution of lithic and bone remains. Although both levels correspond to cumulative palimpsests, patterns of resource management and use of space that suggest changes in the rhythm of occupation and the functionality of the settlements can be discerned. A change in mobility patterns probably underpins the differences between these two levels of Quebrada, but assessing this hypothesis is made difficult by the lack of comparable documentation for other sites in the region.

The end of the Upper Palaeolithic in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula

This paper presents a synthesis of the Magdalenian in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, with special attention to the lithic and bone/antler assemblages, rock art, economy and radiocarbon dates. The data obtained in Cendres cave, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula, permit articulation of the discussion about the Lower, Middle and Upper Magdalenian in this region. Furthermore, the paper discusses the end of the Magdalenian sequence with the Epimagdalenian industries.

Corema album archaeobotanical remains in western Mediterranean basin. Assessing fruit consumption during Upper Palaeolithic in Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)

[EN] Information about plant gathering by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in Europe is scarce because of the problems of preservation of plant remains in archaeological sites and due to the lack of application of archaebotanical analysis in many of them. Botanical macroremains wood charcoal, seeds, fruits, leaves, etc. - provide information not only about palaeoeconomy of hunter-gatherers, but also about climate, landscape and vegetation dynamics. In Gravettian and Solutrean levels of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain), Corema album pyrenes (Empetraceae or crowberries family) have been identified. On the contrary, wood charcoal of this species has not been documented among the remains of f…

Rabbit: More than the Magdalenian main dish in the Iberian Mediterranean region. New data from Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)

Abstract In the Mediterranean Iberian region, rabbit has an important role in the human diet, mainly during the Final Upper Palaeolithic. The archaeological and experimental works about rabbit processing and consumption from the last years provide a wide and relevant framework. The site of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain) has a relevant role in the knowledge of the Iberian Upper Palaeolithic human subsistence, and offer a wide chronological sequence. The Magdalenian levels of Cendres provide a well-preserve archaeological assemblage of rabbit remains (ca. 90% of the total fauna) to study the human behaviour. The results show subsistence activities focus not only on meat and marrow imme…

Neanderthal subsistence and short-term human occupation patterns during MIS 5. New data from Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain)

Abstract Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia) is a Middle Palaeolithic site with Neanderthal occupations, composed by nine archaeological levels that extend from MIS 3–5 in the upper levels (II-V), up to MIS 5 in the lower levels (VI-IX), with dates for level VI of 80.0 ± 4.7 ky and 83.2 ± 5.4 ka. Level IV show short and repeated human occupations, with a high density of materials related to hunting activities focus on several ungulates as ibex, equids and cervids. However, the lower levels (VII, VIII and IX) respond to different sedimentation rates and occupations. Archaeozoological and taphonomic studies show mixed occupations. Raptors or small carnivores seem to be responsible of the…