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

Sanchís, Alfred; Real, Cristina; Sauqué, Víctor; Núñez‐Lahuerta, Carmen; Égüez, Natàlia; Tormo, Carmen; Ripoll, Manuel Pérez; Marco, Yolanda Carrión; Duarte, Elsa; Rasilla, Marco de la

doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2018.06.001

Cited by 42 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…However, this focus on hunting mountain species has rarely been documented among Neanderthals and has traditionally been regarded as typical of AMH hunting behaviour (Freeman, 1973; Straus, 1987; Gamble, 1987). Although ibex is often present at Mousterian sites, it has traditionally been linked to the action of carnivores such as at Llonín cave (Sanchis et al ., 2019). Some other Mousterian sites have also shown chamois and ibex presence such as at Arlanpe (Ríos‐Garaizer et al ., 2015), Venta la Perra, Arrillor, etc.…”

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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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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“…In any case, it should be taken into account that the sets of these two deposits should be reviewed through a major general taphonomic approach . In relation to the presence of carnivores during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, the information we have for the Mediterranean area seems to indicate a lower incidence than in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula such as the Cantabrian or central zone (Sala et al 2012;Sanchis et al 2019). In the Mediterranean area there is no record of the cave bear (Villaluenga 2009), and references to hyena and lion presence in the caverns are very scarce.…”

Section: Faunal Datamentioning

confidence: 66%

“…In the Mediterranean area there is no record of the cave bear (Villaluenga 2009), and references to hyena and lion presence in the caverns are very scarce. In the Valencian region during the Middle Palaeolithic and the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic, the action of hyenas in the caves was less marked than in the Cantabrian and other peninsular areas, while the role of other carnivores could be greater than hitherto believed, with cases of leopard-created accumulations of fauna in caves during phases of human absence having recently been documented in several peninsular sites (Sauqué and Sanchis 2017;Sauqué et al 2018;Sanchis et al 2019).…”

Section: Faunal Datamentioning

confidence: 89%

Neanderthal Spatial Patterns and Occupation Dynamics: A Focus on the Central Region in Mediterranean Iberia

et al. 2020

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This paper focuses on the study of some Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from Mediterranean Iberia to examine Neanderthal occupation patterns and territory management strategies, paying special attention to raw material procurement and technological behaviours, zooarchaeological data and microspatial patterning. The site occupation types are variable, and some of the results may have more importance than is immediately apparent, but there does not seem to be a single cultural, functional, temporal or environmental explanation. Rather, the wide variability in the technical behaviours observed can be explained with reference to the particular requirements of the populations in each specific region. The results obtained allow us to interrogate the data and, drawing comparisons with the southwest European context, establish an initial approach to Neanderthal subsistence strategies and mobility in a region so far little known in this regard.

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“…However, the inclusion of hominin artifacts in homogeneous layers with little sediment mixing, such as the loess layer of GH 2a or the clay-rich layer of GH 2, probably demonstrates the superimposition of hominin occupation and bear denning horizons. Analogous interpretations, focusing on the formation of palimpsests by hominin-bear/carnivore activities, have been suggested for the occurrence of Paleolithic artifacts in carnivore dens outside of the Swabian Jura (Morley, 2017;Sanchis et al, 2019;Villa & Soressi, 2000). In this regard, understanding the interplay between the anthropogenic and natural processes that form low-density sites provides an essential basis for building further hypotheses regarding site use.…”

Section: Exploring Cave Use and Find Densities In The Swabian Juramentioning

confidence: 91%

Using Formation Processes to Explore Low-Density Sites and Settlement Patterns: A Case Study from the Swabian Jura

Varis

Miller²,

Toniato³

et al. 2022

J Paleo Arch

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Paleolithic archaeologists often rely on cave and rockshelter sites with rich occupation levels to explore hominin behavior and settlement patterns. However, a closer look into regional occupation data may reveal an uneven distribution of sites and the presence of occupational hiatuses or low-density occupation horizons that often remain understudied. In contrast to this trend, this paper focuses on low-density occupation data to explore regional settlement patterns, using the rich and well-studied Paleolithic record of the Swabian Jura, Germany, as a case study. In this regard, we employ a geoarchaeological approach based on micromorphology to investigate the formation processes of two low-density occupation sites, Schafstall II and Fetzershaldenhöhle, and compare their formation history with the geogenic sequence from Lindenhöhle. We demonstrate that the investigated sites have comparable formation processes, despite their differences in chronology and context. We argue that humans used Schafstall II and Fetzershaldenhöhle for short-term activities, while the sites mostly served as carnivore activity areas, emphasizing the importance of fauna in the accumulation of thick sedimentary sequences. In addition, our findings corroborate the regional climatic record and provide novel insights into the geomorphological history of the less studied Lauchert Valley, where Schafstall II is located. By comparing our results with data from intensively occupied caves in the Swabian Jura, we provide broader implications for the settlement patterns of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. We conclude with methodological suggestions for investigating sites in hunter-gatherer contexts combining a distributional and a site-specific approach.

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

Cited by 42 publications

References 88 publications

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

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

Neanderthal Spatial Patterns and Occupation Dynamics: A Focus on the Central Region in Mediterranean Iberia

Using Formation Processes to Explore Low-Density Sites and Settlement Patterns: A Case Study from the Swabian Jura

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