New evidence of bones used as fuel in the Gravettian level at Coímbre cave, northern Iberian Peninsula

Yravedra, José; Álvarez-Alonso, David; Estaca-Gómez, Verónica; López-Cisneros, Pablo; Arrizabalaga, Álvaro; Elorza, Mikelo; Iriarte, María José Goñi; Pardo, Jesús F. Jordá; Sesé, Carmen; Uzquiano, Paloma

doi:10.1007/s12520-016-0317-0

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Esto no es excepcional ya que Altuna (1972) y Sesé (2005 señalan la escasez en general del registro de Lagomorfos (género Lepus y Oryctolagus cuniculus) en la Región Cantábrica con respecto al resto de la península ibérica durante el Pleistoceno Superior, especialmente de esta última especie. Aunque excepcionalmente hay yacimientos de cronologías más recientes que las de El Castillo, como es el yacimiento de Coímbre (Asturias), del final del Pleistoceno Superior, en el que esta última especie es muy abundante debido muy posiblemente a la acción cinegética humana (Yravedra et al, 2016;2017 a y b;Sesé, 2017).…”

Section: Comentariosunclassified

Los micromamíferos (Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia y Lagomorpha) del yacimiento del Pleistoceno Superior de la cueva de El Castillo (Cantabria, España)

Sesé

2018

Estud. geol.

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El material de micromamíferos del yacimiento del Pleistoceno Superior de la cueva de El Castillo, objeto de estudio detallado en este trabajo, proviene de los niveles auriñacienses 18b y 18c (datados en 40.000-45.000 BP), nivel 19, y niveles musterienses 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e (datados en 41.000-49.000 BP), 21a y 21b. La asociación de micromamíferos es la siguiente: Erinaceus europaeus, Crocidura russula, Sorex coronatus, Sorex minutus, Neomys fodiens, Talpa europaea, Galemys pyrenaicus, cf. Miniopterus schreibersii, Chiroptera indet., Pliomys lenki, Microtus arvalis – Microtus agrestis, Microtus lusitanicus, Microtus oeconomus, Chionomys nivalis, Arvicola terrestris, Apodemus sylvaticus – Apodemus flavicollis y Lepus sp. La mayoría de estas especies están presentes en la fauna actual de Cantabria, excepto Pliomys lenki que se extinguió en el último tercio del Pleistoceno Superior, y Microtus oeconomus, que persistió en la península ibérica durante el Holoceno bien avanzado hasta su desaparición en tiempos históricos, y que actualmente está en regiones euroasiáticas más septentrionales. Hay una gran continuidad de la gran mayoría de los taxones en todos los niveles. La fauna en su conjunto parece indicar un medio predominantemente abierto, por lo general de praderas húmedas (y en mucha menor medida praderas secas) con una buena cobertura vegetal a nivel del suelo, en el que habría también algunas zonas arboladas o boscosas, y algún curso de agua. Los indicadores termófilos son escasos y poco abundantes, lo que podría indicar que el clima podría ser algo menos templado que en otros periodos del Pleistoceno Superior y quizás también que actualmente en la zona.

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Section: Comentariosunclassified

Los micromamíferos (Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia y Lagomorpha) del yacimiento del Pleistoceno Superior de la cueva de El Castillo (Cantabria, España)

Sesé

2018

Estud. geol.

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“…In addition, the calcined bones seem to be an indicator of controlled combustion, where the temperatures reached were high enough to cause the calcination of the remains 46 . Direct exposure can also produce this kind of alteration, either by direct contact or from the use of bones as fuel 14,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63] . At Amalda I, the larger concentration of burnt bones is located in the squares 12C (n = 56) and 11D (n = 50), according to the data obtained after the analysis of the non-identifiable faunal remains (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights for understanding spatial patterning and formation processes of the Neanderthal occupation in the Amalda I cave (Gipuzkoa, Spain)

Romero

Benito‐Calvo

Marín-Arroyo

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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the Level Vii of Amalda i cave (Gipuzkoa, Spain) represents one of the latest Middle palaeolithic occupations in the cantabrian Region. it is characterized by the presence of Middle palaeolithic lithic industry and animal remains, with clear evidences of anthropic and carnivore manipulation. At this site, the neanderthal presence has been questioned in relation to the role of carnivores in the accumulation of large, medium-sized and small mammals. it has also been proposed that the neanderthal occupation could have consisted of short-term occupations, where different activities took place in a structured space within the cave. However, all hypotheses lacked any integrative analysis of the site formation processes. With the aim of understanding these processes, a combination of spatial techniques, based on GiS and inferential statistics (density analysis, hotspots tools and palaeotopographic reconstruction), along with the taphonomic study of identifiable and non-identifiable macromammals remains, were employed. this study has revealed distinct use of the cave space by neanderthals and carnivores. the major concentrations of lithics and medium-size mammal remains were clearly accumulated by humans at the cave entrance, while the small-size mammals were gathered by carnivores in an inner zone. the activities of the neanderthals seem to be distinctly structured, suggesting a parallel exploitation of resources.

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“…In the Gravettian level the exploitation of carcasses was completed with the use of bone as fuel (Yravedra et al . ). This level shows a higher frequency of burned bone (93%) and a selection of several sections rich in fat, such as axial elements and epiphyses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Large bovid bones were probably used as fuel, as suggested by Yravedra et al . (). This evidence may have been a response to the open environment and economization of wood resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Selection and Exploitation of Macro‐Vertebrate Resources During the Upper Palaeolithic in Northern Spain. New Evidence from Coímbre Cave (Peñamellera Alta, Asturias)

Yravedra¹,

Álvarez-Alonso

Estaca³

et al. 2017

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary The exploitation of ungulates in the Cantabrian region during the Upper Palaeolithic is characterized by the appearance of progressively specialized hunting strategies, especially during the Magdalenian. This specialization focused on either Iberian ibex or red deer, depending on environmental or topographic features. Red deer, for instance, was hunted mostly on the plains while ibex and/or chamois was hunted in rocky and mountainous areas. Here we present new zooarchaeological and taphonomic evidence from Coímbre cave (northern Spain), a site located in the rugged region between the Picos de Europa and Sierra del Cuera (Asturias) which has evidence for specialized ibex hunting. We discuss the possible reasons for such a selective hunting pattern. While the predominance of mountain species such as Iberian ibex or chamois in the Magdalenian levels suggests prey selection based on topographic or environmental criteria, the predominance of large bovids in the Gravettian level could imply that other alternatives were available. We also provide evidence of a pattern of rabbit exploitation which is unusual by comparison with other Upper Palaeolithic sites of northern Spain, and which taphonomic evidence suggests was due to human activity.

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New evidence of bones used as fuel in the Gravettian level at Coímbre cave, northern Iberian Peninsula

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

Los micromamíferos (Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia y Lagomorpha) del yacimiento del Pleistoceno Superior de la cueva de El Castillo (Cantabria, España)

Los micromamíferos (Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia y Lagomorpha) del yacimiento del Pleistoceno Superior de la cueva de El Castillo (Cantabria, España)

New insights for understanding spatial patterning and formation processes of the Neanderthal occupation in the Amalda I cave (Gipuzkoa, Spain)

Selection and Exploitation of Macro‐Vertebrate Resources During the Upper Palaeolithic in Northern Spain. New Evidence from Coímbre Cave (Peñamellera Alta, Asturias)

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