This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (centra... more This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (central Spain) via the analysis of the latter’s archaeological assemblage. Alongside evidence of Mousterian lithic industry, Level 3 of the cave infill was found to contain an assemblage of mammalian bone remains dominated by the crania of large ungulates, some associated with small hearths. The scarcity of post-cranial elements, teeth, mandibles and maxillae, along with evidence of anthropogenic modification of the crania (cut and percussion marks), indicates that the carcasses of the corresponding animals were initially processed outside the cave, and the crania were later brought inside. A second round of processing then took place, possibly related to the removal of the brain. The continued presence of crania throughout Level 3 indicates that this behaviour was recurrent during this level’s formation. This behaviour seems to have no subsistence-related purpose but to be more symbolic in it...
In this paper, the rodent fauna from the Early Pleistocene of Gruta1 (Quibas karstic complex, Mur... more In this paper, the rodent fauna from the Early Pleistocene of Gruta1 (Quibas karstic complex, Murcia, SE Spain) is described. The assemblage includes one arvicoline (Allophaiomys sp.), two murines (Apodemus ex gr. mystacinus-epimelas, Castillomys rivas) and one glirid (Eliomys quercinus). The rodent assemblage indicates an age very close to the age of Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco Leon 5 in the Guadix-Baza Basin, and Sima del Elefante in the Atapuerca karstic complex, between ca. 1.2-1.4.
Abstract The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when... more Abstract The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when compared to other areas of the Mediterranean Basin and the northern Spanish region. Few in number too are the zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies that throw light on the relationships between Neanderthal groups, their environment, and the use they made of it. The present work examines, both zooarchaeologically and taphonomically, the faunal remains of levels F and D of the Navalmaillo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) - the largest collection of such remains ever studied from the Iberian interior. The results allow this site to be interpreted as a Neanderthal hunting camp where occupations were short-term. Neanderthal people were the main agents that accumulated the site's faunal remains - largely those of large bovids and to a lesser extent medium-sized cervids. The activity of carnivores was also identified, but these animals mostly left behind the remains of small prey or fed upon carcasses abandoned at the camp by human hunters.
La Cueva del Estrecho (Villares del Saz, Cuenca) es un yacimiento arqueo-paleontológico holoceno ... more La Cueva del Estrecho (Villares del Saz, Cuenca) es un yacimiento arqueo-paleontológico holoceno prácticamente inédito hasta la fecha. Se han estudiado en torno a 970 restos fósiles craneales pertenecientes a 14 taxones de micromamíferos (roedores, lagomorfos, eulipotiflos y quirópteros), procedentes del paquete sedimentario situado en la entrada de la cueva. Una datación (14C-AMS) realizada sobre hueso arroja una antigüedad de 2289-2154 años cal. BP para la asociación de micromamíferos. El estudio tafonómico realizado ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de una elevada frecuencia de elementos digeridos en la muestra en la muestra (≥ 70%) que en algunos en algunos casos alcanzan el grado extremo. Además, se han identificado fragmentos de coprolitos adheridos a numerosos restos óseos y dentarios, así como dentición digerida de gazapos. Por todo ello puede afirmarse que el origen de la asociación fue la depredación por parte de mamíferos carnívoros, probablemente mustélidos.
ABSTRACT The Guadix-Baza Basin (Granada, southern Spain) represents one of the best continental r... more ABSTRACT The Guadix-Baza Basin (Granada, southern Spain) represents one of the best continental records from the late Miocene to the middle Pleistocene in western Europe, but stratigraphic gaps are present in the early Pliocene due to the scarcity of sites from this time. In this article, rodent fossils from the locality of Baza-1 are described, providing new information on a time interval that was previously poorly known. The assemblage includes representatives of the genera Ruscinomys, Apocricetus, Stephanomys, Apodemus, Castillomys, Paraethomys, Occitanomys, Eliomys, Debruijnimys, and Trilophomys, an association that indicates an early Ruscinian age (MN14). A paleoecological analysis indicates that the Guadix-Baza Basin landscape during the early Pliocene was dominated by open herbaceous habitat under warm and dry climatic conditions. Our results contribute to the continuity of the stratigraphic record from the Betic Mountain range.
The archaeological sites at Pinilla del Valle, to the north of the Autonomous Community of Madrid... more The archaeological sites at Pinilla del Valle, to the north of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, are an exceptional location for learning about the evolution of the behaviour of human groups from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. In Calvero de la Higuera, a headland of about 3.5 hectares, a number of sites of different origin and meaning covering a wide timespan are concentrated. Camino Cave was the first site to be discovered, in 1979 (Alférez et al., 1982). Subsequent excavations carried out by the UCM team that discovered it resulted in the documentation of a significant fauna assemblage in the Pleistocene filling and two hominid molars belonging to Homo neanderthalensis. Since 2002 a multi-disciplinary team led by the Regional Archaeological Museum of the Autonomous Community of Madrid has been managing the project. As a result of their work, another four sites –Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter, Buena Pinta Cave, Ocelado Rock Shelter and Des-Cubierta Cave–have been discovered on...
This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (centra... more This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (central Spain) via the analysis of the latter’s archaeological assemblage. Alongside evidence of Mousterian lithic industry, Level 3 of the cave infill was found to contain an assemblage of mammalian bone remains dominated by the crania of large ungulates, some associated with small hearths. The scarcity of post-cranial elements, teeth, mandibles and maxillae, along with evidence of anthropogenic modification of the crania (cut and percussion marks), indicates that the carcasses of the corresponding animals were initially processed outside the cave, and the crania were later brought inside. A second round of processing then took place, possibly related to the removal of the brain. The continued presence of crania throughout Level 3 indicates that this behaviour was recurrent during this level’s formation. This behaviour seems to have no subsistence-related purpose but to be more symbolic in it...
In this paper, the rodent fauna from the Early Pleistocene of Gruta1 (Quibas karstic complex, Mur... more In this paper, the rodent fauna from the Early Pleistocene of Gruta1 (Quibas karstic complex, Murcia, SE Spain) is described. The assemblage includes one arvicoline (Allophaiomys sp.), two murines (Apodemus ex gr. mystacinus-epimelas, Castillomys rivas) and one glirid (Eliomys quercinus). The rodent assemblage indicates an age very close to the age of Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco Leon 5 in the Guadix-Baza Basin, and Sima del Elefante in the Atapuerca karstic complex, between ca. 1.2-1.4.
Abstract The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when... more Abstract The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when compared to other areas of the Mediterranean Basin and the northern Spanish region. Few in number too are the zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies that throw light on the relationships between Neanderthal groups, their environment, and the use they made of it. The present work examines, both zooarchaeologically and taphonomically, the faunal remains of levels F and D of the Navalmaillo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) - the largest collection of such remains ever studied from the Iberian interior. The results allow this site to be interpreted as a Neanderthal hunting camp where occupations were short-term. Neanderthal people were the main agents that accumulated the site's faunal remains - largely those of large bovids and to a lesser extent medium-sized cervids. The activity of carnivores was also identified, but these animals mostly left behind the remains of small prey or fed upon carcasses abandoned at the camp by human hunters.
La Cueva del Estrecho (Villares del Saz, Cuenca) es un yacimiento arqueo-paleontológico holoceno ... more La Cueva del Estrecho (Villares del Saz, Cuenca) es un yacimiento arqueo-paleontológico holoceno prácticamente inédito hasta la fecha. Se han estudiado en torno a 970 restos fósiles craneales pertenecientes a 14 taxones de micromamíferos (roedores, lagomorfos, eulipotiflos y quirópteros), procedentes del paquete sedimentario situado en la entrada de la cueva. Una datación (14C-AMS) realizada sobre hueso arroja una antigüedad de 2289-2154 años cal. BP para la asociación de micromamíferos. El estudio tafonómico realizado ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de una elevada frecuencia de elementos digeridos en la muestra en la muestra (≥ 70%) que en algunos en algunos casos alcanzan el grado extremo. Además, se han identificado fragmentos de coprolitos adheridos a numerosos restos óseos y dentarios, así como dentición digerida de gazapos. Por todo ello puede afirmarse que el origen de la asociación fue la depredación por parte de mamíferos carnívoros, probablemente mustélidos.
ABSTRACT The Guadix-Baza Basin (Granada, southern Spain) represents one of the best continental r... more ABSTRACT The Guadix-Baza Basin (Granada, southern Spain) represents one of the best continental records from the late Miocene to the middle Pleistocene in western Europe, but stratigraphic gaps are present in the early Pliocene due to the scarcity of sites from this time. In this article, rodent fossils from the locality of Baza-1 are described, providing new information on a time interval that was previously poorly known. The assemblage includes representatives of the genera Ruscinomys, Apocricetus, Stephanomys, Apodemus, Castillomys, Paraethomys, Occitanomys, Eliomys, Debruijnimys, and Trilophomys, an association that indicates an early Ruscinian age (MN14). A paleoecological analysis indicates that the Guadix-Baza Basin landscape during the early Pliocene was dominated by open herbaceous habitat under warm and dry climatic conditions. Our results contribute to the continuity of the stratigraphic record from the Betic Mountain range.
The archaeological sites at Pinilla del Valle, to the north of the Autonomous Community of Madrid... more The archaeological sites at Pinilla del Valle, to the north of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, are an exceptional location for learning about the evolution of the behaviour of human groups from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. In Calvero de la Higuera, a headland of about 3.5 hectares, a number of sites of different origin and meaning covering a wide timespan are concentrated. Camino Cave was the first site to be discovered, in 1979 (Alférez et al., 1982). Subsequent excavations carried out by the UCM team that discovered it resulted in the documentation of a significant fauna assemblage in the Pleistocene filling and two hominid molars belonging to Homo neanderthalensis. Since 2002 a multi-disciplinary team led by the Regional Archaeological Museum of the Autonomous Community of Madrid has been managing the project. As a result of their work, another four sites –Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter, Buena Pinta Cave, Ocelado Rock Shelter and Des-Cubierta Cave–have been discovered on...
Con motivo de la construcción en 2006 del Estanque de Tormentas en Villaverde (Madrid) se localiz... more Con motivo de la construcción en 2006 del Estanque de Tormentas en Villaverde (Madrid) se localizaron dos nuevos yacimientos de vertebrados del Pleistoceno, denominados H-02 y H-03, en depósitos de la Terraza Compleja de Butarque (TCB). Las dataciones realizadas por Termoluminiscencia (TL) situaron al primero de los yacimientos H-02 en el Pleistoceno Superior, al final del MIS 5, mientras que para el yacimiento H-03 se obtuvo una edad más antigua, ya dentro del Pleistoceno Medio (Domínguez-Alonso et al., 2009). En este trabajo se evalúa la concordancia de estas dataciones con la estimación de la edad obtenida a partir de la interpretación biocronológica de las asociaciones de mamíferos fósiles recuperadas en cada uno de los yacimientos. Mientras que para el yacimiento H-03 existe congruencia entre la datación por TL y la estimación de su edad a partir de criterios biocronológicos, que combinadas sitúan al yacimiento en la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio, no ocurre lo mismo en el caso de H-02. En este yacimiento, la presencia de Microtus brecciensis señala una edad más antigua que la propuesta por las dataciones de TL, dentro del Pleistoceno Medio. La comparación de algunas características biométricas entre las poblaciones de esta última especie de H-02 y de Áridos 1 permite además precisar que la edad del primero es más reciente que el segundo. Teniendo en cuenta que las dataciones disponibles para Áridos 1 (Panera et al., 2011) sitúan este yacimiento a finales del MIS 11, el yacimiento H-02 tuvo que formarse en el último cuarto del Pleistoceno Medio. Por consiguiente, las dataciones obtenidas por TL para el yacimiento H-02 parecen corresponder con edades mínimas de los sedimentos y no con su edad real.
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Papers by Cesar Laplana
dos nuevos yacimientos de vertebrados del Pleistoceno, denominados H-02 y H-03, en depósitos de la Terraza
Compleja de Butarque (TCB). Las dataciones realizadas por Termoluminiscencia (TL) situaron al primero de los
yacimientos H-02 en el Pleistoceno Superior, al final del MIS 5, mientras que para el yacimiento H-03 se obtuvo
una edad más antigua, ya dentro del Pleistoceno Medio (Domínguez-Alonso et al., 2009). En este trabajo se
evalúa la concordancia de estas dataciones con la estimación de la edad obtenida a partir de la interpretación
biocronológica
de las asociaciones de mamíferos fósiles recuperadas en cada uno de los yacimientos. Mientras
que para el yacimiento H-03 existe congruencia entre la datación por TL y la estimación de su edad a partir de criterios
biocronológicos, que combinadas sitúan al yacimiento en la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio, no ocurre
lo mismo en el caso de H-02. En este yacimiento, la presencia de Microtus brecciensis señala una edad más antigua
que la propuesta por las dataciones de TL, dentro del Pleistoceno Medio. La comparación de algunas características
biométricas entre las poblaciones de esta última especie de H-02 y de Áridos 1 permite además precisar
que la edad del primero es más reciente que el segundo. Teniendo en cuenta que las dataciones disponibles
para
Áridos 1 (Panera et al., 2011) sitúan este yacimiento a finales del MIS 11, el yacimiento H-02 tuvo que formarse
en el último cuarto del Pleistoceno Medio. Por consiguiente, las dataciones obtenidas por TL para el yacimiento
H-02 parecen corresponder con edades mínimas de los sedimentos y no con su edad real.