Upper Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironmental records in Cueva Mayor karst (Atapuerca, Spain) from different proxies: speleothem crystal fabrics, palynology, and archaeology

Martínez-Pillado, Virginia; Aranburu, Arantza; Arsuaga, Juan Luís; Ruíz-Zapata, Blanca; Gil-García, María José; Stoll, Heather; Yusta, Iñaki; Iriarte, Eneko; Carretero, José Miguel; Cheng, Hai

doi:10.5038/1827-806x.43.1.1

Cited by 33 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These two terrestrial sequences are in relative agreement with evidence from regional climate evidence recorded in speleothems as well as lake and marine core records (Jalut and Turu, 2009;Moreno et al, 2012). (Genty et al, 2006;Moreno et al, 2010;Martínez Pillado et al, 2014). Mean annual temperature based on small mammals closely mirror the mean annual temperature model built from speleothems.…”

Section: -Palaeoclimatic Inferences From Past Small Mammal Communitiessupporting

confidence: 83%

New bioclimatic models for the quaternary palaearctic based on insectivore and rodent communities

Royer

Yelo

Laffont

et al. 2020

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mammal remains, preserved in archaeological and palaeontological deposits, are commonly used to reconstruct past terrestrial climates and environments. Here we propose new species-specific models for Bioclimatic Analysis, a palaeoclimatic method based on a climatic restriction index for each mammal species, discriminant analysis, and multiple linear regressions. Our new models are based on small mammal associations, particularly insectivores and rodents, from Quaternary paleoarctic contexts. A dataset including new localities and an updated taxonomy was constructed in order to develop two approaches, the first using only Rodentia, the second based on associations including both Rodentia and Eulipotyphla. Both approaches proved to be reliable for inferring both climate zone and quantifying temperature, precipitation, and seasonality. Rarefaction analysis revealed these new models to be reliable even when a substantial percentage of species from the original palaeocommunity was absent from the fossil site. Application of these new models to small mammal associations from two sequences (Balma de l'Abeurador, France and El Mirón, Spain) spanning from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene are consistent with the primary climatic changes recorded by regional Pyrenean proxies and showed an increase in mean annual temperature of between 3 and 5°C.

show abstract

Section: -Palaeoclimatic Inferences From Past Small Mammal Communitiessupporting

confidence: 83%

New bioclimatic models for the quaternary palaearctic based on insectivore and rodent communities

Royer

Yelo

Laffont

et al. 2020

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Also shown are the single-grain TT-OSL ages obtained using the central age model (CAM) (white triangles). The continuous capping speleothem extends across both excavation pits, and its age (white circle) is based on previously published data (Martínez-Pillado et al, 2014). The grey hashed lines indicate tentative (spatially averaged) positions of the LU boundaries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main archaeological and palaeoecological findings at Galería de las Estatuas have been summarised in Arsuaga et al (2017) and include: (i) a lithic assemblage composed of 499 objects showing clear Mousterian affinities (e.g., centripetal flake cores, side-scrapers, denticulates), with some products displaying characteristic Levallois débitage; (ii) a detailed pollen record revealing, from the base upwards, a change from an open environment and dry/cool climate to a phase of shrub expansion, followed by an incremental increase in wooded species, and a more humid and warmer climate at the top of the sequence; and (iii) an extensive micro-and macro-mammal faunal record, with the latter being dominated by ungulates and displaying abundant evidence of human modification (cut marks and anthropogenic breakage). The only chronological constraint available for this new site is a series of eight radiocarbon ( 14 C) ages obtained on faunal remains from levels LU1 and LU3, which range from 43.5 to > 46.3 14 C ka BP (uncalibrated), and a U-series age of ∼14 ka obtained for the base of a stalagmitic crust capping the entire sedimentary sequence (Martínez-Pillado et al, 2014;Arsuaga et al, 2017). All of the 14 C ages are close to the analytical limits of the technique; five out of the eight samples yield infinite uncalibrated age ranges, and all eight samples yield non-finite 95.4% calibrated age ranges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Single-grain OSL dating of the Middle Palaeolithic site of Galería de las Estatuas, Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

Demuro

Arnold

Aranburu

et al. 2019

Quaternary Geochronology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronologies for the archaeological site of Galería de las Estatuasthe first systematically excavated Middle Palaeolithic site within the karst system of the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological complex, northern Spain. The single-grain OSL ages are compared with paired single-grain thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) dating results for a selection of samples in order to better assess quartz signal bleaching characteristics of endokarstic deposits preserved at Atapuerca. In total, seven luminescence dating samples were collected from four lithostratigraphic units exposed in two excavation pits (GE-I and GE-II). The single-grain OSL equivalent dose (D e) distributions are characterised by generally low overdispersion (20-30%), suggesting appropriate bleaching at deposition. The resultant single-grain OSL ages reveal that the sediment sequence and archaeological remains excavated in pit GE-I accumulated 80-112 ka, while the upper layers of excavation area GE-II were deposited 70-79 ka. The replicate single-grain TT-OSL ages are in agreement with the OSL chronologies at 2σ for three of the four samples investigated; although in all cases the TT-OSL ages were systematically older than their single-grain counterparts. Apparent TT-OSL residual doses (i.e., TT-OSL D e values in excess of their corresponding OSL D e values) of 9-65 Gy were observed for all samples. These excess TT-OSL D e values are generally low in comparison to the natural dose ranges of TT-OSL dating applications undertaken elsewhere in the Atapuerca karst system. The single-grain TT-OSL and OSL dating comparisons build on daylight bleaching experiments and modern analogue studies performed on other Atapuerca exogeneous infill deposits and suggest reasonable potential for TT-OSL signal resetting down to relatively low levels for at least some sediments preserved in the Atapuerca karstic cavities. The quartz single-grain OSL chronologies obtained in this study place the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Galería de las Estatuas within marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 and the beginning of MIS 4, and provide firm evidence for human occupation of the Sierra de Atapuerca during a previously unreported time period.

show abstract

“…This region is therefore ideally placed to record variations in competing air masses and is of critical significance for understanding the role of the North Atlantic in controlling Europe's climate (Baldini et al, 2015). Current palaeoclimate records from this International Journal of Speleology 45 (1) 1-9 Tampa, FL (USA) January 2016 region are principally derived from lake (GonzalezSamperiz et al, 2008;Morellón et al, 2009;Roberts et al, 2012) or ocean sediments (Martínez-García et al, 2014, 2015Mojtahid et al, 2013), cave speleothems (Dominguez-Villar et al, 2009;Moreno et al, 2010;Stoll et al, 2013;Martinez-Pillado et al, 2014;Baldini et al, 2015) and from archaeological evidence (LopezMerino et al, 2010). However, few of these records replicate at high resolution over long periods of time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cave monitoring and the potential for palaeoclimate reconstruction from Cueva de Asiul, Cantabria (N. Spain)

Smith¹,

Wynn²,

Barker³

et al. 2016

IJS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Palaeoclimate records from northern Iberia are becoming increasingly sought after as this region is one of the most southerly terrestrial locations in Europe to have its climate dictated principally by the North Atlantic. Terrestrial records therefore have the potential to offer insights into changing oceanic and atmospheric circulation in the wider North Atlantic region. Cave speleothems offer one of the most promising archives from northern Iberia due to their wide geographic distribution and potential for accurately dated climate reconstruction. Cueva de Asiul, situated in Cantabria (N. Iberia; 43°19'0.63''N, 3°35'28.32''W; 285 m.a.s.l) within the Matienzo karst depression is one such site that offers the potential for palaeoclimate reconstructions. Here we present three years of climate and cave monitoring from Cueva de Asiul, giving detailed insight into local meteorology, hydrology and cave ventilation dynamics. In doing so, this paper presents a background to high resolution, Holocene duration speleothem records which have been extracted from this cave. Annual average cave temperatures are +13.7ºC, with a maximum range of 1ºC, reflecting the seasonality of external air temperature (average external temperature +13.8°C). Cave ventilation is controlled by changes in external air temperature and variations in external air pressure during low pressure events. Local rainfall measurements show an average of 1400 mm/year with the majority of rainfall occurring during the winter, with periods of water excess between October and April. Speleothem drip rates are characterised by summer lows and a rapid transition to higher rates at the onset of the winter season. Stable isotope analysis (δ 18 O, δ 2 H) indicate that aquifer water is derived predominantly from the previous year's rainfall and the rainfall feeding the karst system is controlled by a strong amount effect. Speleothems from this site are potentially suited to preserving extended records of rainfall amount in northern Spain and therefore have the potential to inform more clearly about Holocene scale changes in the rainfall source region, the North Atlantic.

show abstract

Upper Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironmental records in Cueva Mayor karst (Atapuerca, Spain) from different proxies: speleothem crystal fabrics, palynology, and archaeology

Cited by 33 publications

References 10 publications

New bioclimatic models for the quaternary palaearctic based on insectivore and rodent communities

New bioclimatic models for the quaternary palaearctic based on insectivore and rodent communities

Single-grain OSL dating of the Middle Palaeolithic site of Galería de las Estatuas, Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

Cave monitoring and the potential for palaeoclimate reconstruction from Cueva de Asiul, Cantabria (N. Spain)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About