DOCSLIB.ORG

Sierra De Atapuerca Archaeological Sites

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sierra De Atapuerca Archaeological Sites PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS IN IBERIA AND THE GIBRALTAR STRAIT: 534 THE CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD Carbonell, E.a,b,c; Huguet, R.b,a,c,*; Cáceres, I.a,b; Lorenzo, C.a,b,d; Mosquera, M.a,b; Ollé, A.b,a; Rodríguez, X.P.a,b; Saladié, P.b,a ; Vergès, J.M.b,a; García-Medrano, P.b; Rosell, J.a,b; Vallverdú, J.b,a,c; Carretero, J.M.e,d; Navazo, M.f,g; Ortega, A.I. g,h; Martinón-Torres, M.g; Morales, J.I.b,a; Allué; E.b,a; Aramburu, A.i; Canals, A.a,b,n, Carrancho,A.f; Castilla, M.e; Expósito, I.b,a; Fontanals, M.b,a; Francés, M.e; Galindo-Pellicena, M.d,j; García-Antón, D.a,b; García, N.d,j; Gracia, A.d,k; García, R.e; Gómez- Merino, G.b,a; Iriarte, E.e; Lombera- Hermida, A.b,a; López-Polín, L.b,a; Lozano, M.b,a; Made van der, J.l; Martínez, I.d,k ; Mateos, A.g; Pérez- Romero, A.e; Poza, E. d,j; Quam, R.m,d; Rodriguez-Hidalgo, A.b,a,n; Rodríguez, J. g Rodríguez, L.e; Santos, E.e,d; 6LHUUDGH$WDSXHUFD Terradillos, M.k; Bermúdez de Castro, J.M.g; Arsuaga, J.L.d,j DUFKDHRORJLFDOVLWHV Introduction ducts which are interconnected by spaces and sinkholes, now hanging +90 m, +70 m and +60 Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) is a mid- m above the present bed of the Arlanzón River altitude karst range characterised by the subter- (Ortega et al., 2013, 2014). Only 4.7 km of the ranean morphology concentrated on its south- western flank (San Vincente Hill, 1085 m asl). accessible ducts in this system are known at pre- This multilevel karst system, an inactive legacy of sent. Around 50 completely infilled cavities have old base levels formed during the Plio-Pleistocene, been identified (Ortega, 2009), some of which is linked to palaeo-upwelling of the Pico River. became exposed when a cutting for a mine rail- It consists of three main levels of sub-horizontal way line between Monterrubio de la Demand and a Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain. b Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n e Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain. c. Unidad asociada al CSIC. Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Calle José Gutierrez Abas- cal, 2. 28006 Madrid, Spain. d Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, c/Monforte de Lemos, 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain. e Laboratorio de Evolución Humana (LEH), Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i, Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain. f Área de Prehistoria. Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i, Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain. g Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 09002 Burgos, Spain h Grupo Espeleológico Edelweiss, Excma, Diputación Provincial de Burgos, Paseo del Espolón s/n, 09071 Burgos, Spain i Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/EHU, c/ Sarriena, s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain j Departamento de Paleontología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain. k Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain. l Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN). Calle José Gutierrez Abascal, 2. 28006 Madrid, Spain. m. Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA. n. Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura, Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino. Avda. Cervantes s/n, 10003 Cáceres, Spain * Corresponding autor: Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n e Cam- pus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain. E-mail address: [email protected] CENTRAL PLATEAU 535 Figure 1. Location of Sierra de Atapuerca sites. Karst map based on original topography by Edelweiss Speleological Group, adapted from Ortega (2009). Green: top level of karst, purple: middle level, pink: bottom level. Villafría was dug in the late 19th century (Ortega sites for more than thirty years. The excavations et al., 2012). Other cavities remained hidden, al- and subsequent analysis of several sites, both caves though in the course of hundreds of thousands of and open air campsites, have found evidence of oc- years, they have been visited by successive settlers cupations by hominins groups in different periods, in the Sierra de Atapuerca area. Apart from the from 1.3 million BP to less than 3,000 years ago. sites within the karst system, open air campsites Digs at Sierra de Atapuerca have focused on four with evidence of activity by human groups have different sectors: Trinchera del Ferrocarril, Cueva been recorded on the slopes and moors around Mayor, Cueva del Mirador and the open air karst this low mountain range. Sierra de Atapuerca and zone. Listed in chronological order of human oc- its occupations are one of Europe’s most impor- cupation, the cave sites are Sima del Elefante, Gran tant sources of ancient human fossils. They were Dolina, Galería, Sima de los Huesos, Portalón and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in Mirador. The outdoor sites include Hotel Califor- 2000. In this chapter, we will review the research nia, Hundidero, Fuente Mudarra and Valle de las that has been underway at the Sierra de Atapuerca Orquídeas (Fig. 1). PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS IN IBERIA AND THE GIBRALTAR STRAIT: 536 THE CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD Trinchera del Ferrocarril pit to determine the characteristics of the infill, its archaeological potential and a rough chronology As its name suggests, the Trinchera del Fer- for the sedimentary deposits. Systematic excava- rocarril (Railway Trench) is an artificial trench tion of the site began in 1996, and has continued dug during the construction of a mine railway. uninterrupted down to the present day across a 32 In plan, the trench is a 500 metre long arc run- m2 excavation area. ning N-S through the southern part of the Sier- The stratigraphic succession at Sima del Ele- ra. The primarily limestone walls of the cutting, fante is 15 m wide, with a 25 metre thick and with no more than 20 metres high, contain sectioned high degree of heterogeneity due to lateral and cavities which had been filled with sediment of vertical lithological changes. The sedimentary de- different origin. Three of these cavities –from posit is divided into 21 units, grouped in turn into three sedimentary phases. Phase I is the lowest in the sequence, from TE7 to TE14. Phase II contains units TE15 to TE19, inclusive. Finally, the most recent Phase III comprises Units TE20 and TE21 (Rosas et al., 2001, 2006) (Fig. 2). Palaeomagnetic analysis has detected polar- ity changes at the basis of unit TE17. Sediments below this unit from TE16 to TE7 have reversed polarity and have been assigned to the Matuyama subchron (> 780 ky) (Parés et al., 2006). This is consistent with the results from the analysis of the U/Th uranium series of a stalagmite sample in the TE16-TE17 contact area, which shows a chronol- ogy of more than 400,000 years. Analysis of cos- mogenic cores shows that the age of sublevel TE9c in Sima del Elefante is 1.22 ± 0.16 Myr (Carbonell et al., 2008). These dates are consistent with bio- chronological data (Rofes and Cuenca-Bescós, 2006; Cuenca-Bescós and García 2007; García et al., 2008). On the basis of biochronological material, more recent units containing archaeo-palaeontological Figure 2. Stratigraphic section of Sima del Elefante. As- records of the site (TE18-TE19) have been attrib- terisk marks position of Matuyama-Brunhes inversion. uted to the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, Height in metres from Trinchera del Ferrocarril floor. Syn- around 250-350 ky (OIS 9-8) (Rosas et al., 2006, thetic stratigraphy shows location of U-Th and cosmogenic nuclide datings (Rosas et al., 2006; Carbonell et al., 2008). Lopez-García et al., 2011). However, uranium se- ries (U/Th) analysis of a stalagmitic crust from the roof of level TE18 has yielded two datings, 307 ± 19 ky and 255 ± 12 ky (Bischoff pers. comm.). south to north Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina These results suggest that level TE18 was formed and Galería– have been defined as archaeologi- during OIS 9 and 7, and that the chronology of cal sites. TE19 is more recent than 255,000 ky. Lower levels have yielded a rich faunal asso- Sima del Elefante ciation including small animals such as birds, lago- morphs and beavers, as well as medium and large The Sima del Elefante site is the southernmost sized animals (Sánchez Marco, 2004; Cuenca- cave in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril. The first Bescós and García, 2007; García et al., 2008; Van archaeo-palaeontological work here was in 1986 der Made, 2013) (Tab.1). The climatic and envi- under Prof. Emiliano Aguirre, consisting of a test ronmental reconstruction on the basis of faunal CENTRAL PLATEAU 537 analysis indicates that the landscape around Sima del Elefante through the lower sequence (Lower Pleistocene) included open habitats dominated by moist, wooded areas, large areas with permanent water (Rosas et al., 2006, Blain et al., 2010 ;). In the upper units, equids remains are predominant, although remains of other herbivores and carni- vores have also been found (Rosas et al., 2001; Van der Made, et al., 2003, 2013. Cuenca-García and Bescós, 2007) (Tab.1).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Estrategias De Subsistencia De Los Primeros Grupos Humanos Que Poblaron Europa
    ESTRATEGIAS DE SUBSISTENCIA DE LOS PRIMEROS GRUPOS HUMANOS QUE POBLARON EUROPA ESTRATEGIAS DE SUBSISTENCIA DE LOS PRIMEROS GRUPOS HUMANOS QUE POBLARON EUROPA: EVIDENCIAS CONSERVADAS EN BARRANCO LEÓN Y FUENTE NUEVA-3 (ORCE) M. PATROCINIO ESPIGARES* RESUMEN Varios yacimientos del Pleistoceno inferior de España, Francia e Italia preservan las evidencias de presencia humana más antiguas de Europa. En este contexto, son particularmente interesantes dos localidades ubicadas en las inmediaciones de la villa de Orce (Cuenca de Baza, Granada), Barranco León (BL) y Fuente Nueva-3 (FN-3), datadas en torno a 1,4 Ma. En estos yacimientos se han identificado evidencias de procesado de cadáveres de grandes mamíferos, realizado con herra- mientas líticas de factura Olduvayense. A estos hallazgos hay que sumarle la presencia de un diente de leche atribuido a Homo sp. en Barranco León. En este trabajo se describen en detalle las marcas de origen antrópico localizadas en estos yacimientos, se analizan los patrones de procesado de los cadáveres, y se discute sobre las estrategias de subsistencia de las primeras comunidades humanas que habitaron Europa. Palabras clave: Marcas de corte, Estrategias de subsistencia, Pleistoceno Inferior, Homo sp. ABSTRACT Several Early Pleistocene sites from Spain, France and Italy preserve ancient evidence of human presence. In this context are particularly interesting two localities placed near the town of Orce (Baza Basin, Granada), Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva-3 (FN-3), dated to ~1.4 Ma. At these sites, evidence of processing of large mammal carcasses produced with Oldowan tools have been recovered. These findings are accompanied by the presence of a deciduous tooth, attributed to Homo sp., in Barranco León.
    [Show full text]
  • Rodentia, Mammalia) in Europe'
    Resumen EI yacimiento de Trinchera Oolina es uno de los mas importantes de la Sierra de Atapuerca par su contenido en restos humanos, Homo antecessor en el nivel de Trinchera Dolina 6. Ade­ mas de esto la enorme riqueza en restos arqueol6gicos y paleontol6gicos hace de Trinchera Dolina un yacimiento unico, de referencia obligada para el Pleistoceno y Paleolitico de Euro­ pa. Bioestratigraficamente, el yacimiento de Trinchera Oolina (TO) puede dividirse en tres grandes unidades: la que comprende los niveles TD3 a T06; la de los niveles T07 a TOS infe­ rior y I. de TO 8 superior. T011. Palabras clave: Mamiferos, Pleistoceno. Abstract Gran Dolina is one of the Pleistocene sites located at the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain). The Gran Dolina deposits belong to different chronological periods of the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The uppermost levels of Gran Dolina (TDII, TDIO and TD8b) contain Middle Pleistocene (post-Cromerian) macro- and micromammal assemblages. The excavation works have overpassed level TDII and have not concluded yet at TDIO: TDII is poor in macromammal remains (carnivores and herbivores) but rich in rodents. The macromammals fossil material from TDtt is very scarce and this enables (for the macromammals) definite conclusions about the chronology and type of community of these levels. The lowermost levels of Gran Dolina (TD3/4, TD5, TD6 and TD8a) contain a different mammal assemblage with typical late Early Pleistocene-Cromerian species. This radical substitution of taxa is placed at TD8 layer probably due to a stratigraphic gap in this level. The level TD6 of the Gran Dolina site contains the earliest fossil human remains of Europe, Homo antecessor, and it has also a rich and diverse micromammal assemblage.
    [Show full text]
  • Large Mammal Biochronology Framework in Europe at Jaramillo: the Epivillafranchian As a Formal Biochron
    Quaternary International 389 (2015) 84e89 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Large mammal biochronology framework in Europe at Jaramillo: The Epivillafranchian as a formal biochron Luca Bellucci a, Raffaele Sardella a, Lorenzo Rook b, * a Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza e Universita di Roma”, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy b Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita di Firenze, via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy article info abstract Article history: European large mammal assemblages in the 1.2e0.9 Ma timespan included Villafranchian taxa together Available online 3 December 2014 with newcomers, mostly from Asia, persisting in the Middle Pleistocene. A number of biochronological schemes have been suggested to define these “transitional” faunas. The term Epivillafranchian, originally Keywords: proposed by Bourdier in 1961 and reconsidered as a biochron by Kahlke in the 1990s, is at present widely Biochronology introduced in the literature. This contribution, after selecting the most representative European large Jaramillo mammal assemblages within this chronological interval, provides a new definition proposal for the Epivillafranchian Epivillafranchian as a biochron included within the Praemegaceros verticornis FO/Bison menneri FO, and Late Villafranchian Crocuta crocuta Galerian FO. Europe © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Historical background communities of this time span primarily include survivors from the latest Villafranchian, as well as more evolved taxa characteristic of The Villafranchian Mammal Age corresponds, in the Interna- the beginning Middle Pleistocene (Kahlke, 2007; Rook and tional Stratigraphic Scale, to a timespan from Late Pliocene to most Martinez Navarro, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Canis Mosbachensis (Canidae, Mammalia) from the Middle Pleistocene of Contrada Monticelli (Putignano, Apulia, Southern Italy)
    TO L O N O G E I L C A A P I ' T A A T L E I I A Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 56 (1), 2017, 71-78. Modena C N O A S S. P. I. Canis mosbachensis (Canidae, Mammalia) from the Middle Pleistocene of Contrada Monticelli (Putignano, Apulia, southern Italy) Beniamino MECOZZI, Dawid Adam IURINO, Davide F. BERTÉ & Raffaele SARDELLA B. Mecozzi, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; PaleoFactory, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected] D.A. Iurino, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; PaleoFactory, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected] D.F. Berté, Associazione Culturale 3P (Progetto Preistoria Piemonte), Via Lunga 38, I-10099 San Mauro Torinese (Torino, Italy; [email protected] R. Sardella, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; PaleoFactory, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected] KEY WORDS - Carnivorans, Taxonomy, Biochronology, Paleobiogeography. ABSTRACT - Herein we describe for the first time a canid partial cranium from the Contrada Monticelli site. Morphological and biometrical studies allow the fossil remains to be referred to the Middle Pleistocene wolf Canis mosbachensis. Associated taxa include Paleoloxodon antiquus, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, cervids, equids and bovids, whose biochronological occurrence allows the site to be referred to the Galerian Mammal Age.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Cannibalism As a Paleoeconomic System in The
    539 Cannibalism is by definition the act of consuming tissues of Reports individuals of the same species, and it occurs among a wide variety of living organisms. From an ethological point of view, there are different mechanisms that determine this behavior. Cultural Cannibalism as a Paleoeconomic However, why humans process and consume other humans System in the European Lower Pleistocene is a complex question, and moving away from purely ethologic causes, the answer may encompass nutritional, economic, cos- The Case of Level TD6 of Gran Dolina (Sierra mogonic, social, and political purposes. Because these con- de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) ditions can sometimes intermingle, cannibalism must be viewed not as something unitary or simple (Sanday 1986) but Eudald Carbonell, Isabel Ca´ceres, Marina Lozano, rather as a complex activity that has some temporal conti- Palmira Saladie´, Jordi Rosell, Carlos Lorenzo, nuity. Josep Vallverdu´, Rosa Huguet, Antoni Canals, and Human cannibalism has traditionally given rise to extreme Jose´ Marı´a Bermu´dez de Castro feelings ranging from fascination to revulsion—attitudes often Institut Catala` de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolucio´ Social caused by ignorance or cultural bias. Denying the anthro- (IPHES), Unidad Asociada al Consejo Superior de pophagy is a response to the moral issue. Several scientific Investigaciones Cientı´ficas (CSIC). Universitat Rovira I researchers have even taken positions of denial with regard Virgili (URV), Campus Catalunya, Avinguda de Catalunya, to its existence (Arens 1979; Bahn 1992; Salas 1921). Can- 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain (Carbonell, Ca´ceres, Lozano, nibalism revealed through oral and written sources has led to Saladie´, Rosell, Lorenzo, Vallverdu´ , Huguet, Canals) paradoxical situations that are explained only by traditions (icaceresprehistoria.urv.cat)/Visiting professor, Institute of and customs (Conklin 2001; Sanday 1986).
    [Show full text]
  • (Cuenca De Guadix-Baza, Granada, España): Historia Y Presente
    REVISTA DEL CEHGR · núm. 32 · 2020· págs. 23-45 ISSN: 2253-9263 Los yacimientos arqueopaleontológicos de la zona de Orce (cuenca de Guadix-Baza, Granada, España): historia y presente Carmen Luzón, Stefania Titton, Christian Sánchez Bandera, Juha Saarinen, Deborah Barsky, Hugues-A. Blain, Darío Estraviz, Suvi Viranta, Beatriz Azanza, Roberta Sanzi, José A. García Solano, Alexia Serrano Ramos, Daniel DeMiguel, José Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros, José Francisco Reinoso Gordo, Eva Montilla Jiménez, Juan José Rodríguez Alba, Auxiliadora Ruiz Domínguez, José Miguel Cámara Donoso, Oriol Oms, Jordi Agustí, Mikael Fortelius, Juan Manuel Jiménez Arenas Autor de correspondencia: Juan Manuel Jiménez-Arenas Universidad de Granada [email protected] RESUMEN En este trabajo se resumen los estudios llevados a cabo en los distintos yacimientos arqueopa- leontológicos de Orce durante las últimas décadas, haciendo especial hincapié en los resul- tados obtenidos a raíz de las últimas campañas de excavación (2017-2020), enmarcadas en el Proyecto General de Investigación «Primeras ocupaciones humanas y contexto paleoecológico a partir de los depósitos Pliopleistocenos de la cuenca Guadix-Baza. Zona Arqueológica de la cuenca de Orce». Los trabajos realizados en estos últimos años son una buena muestra del enfoque inter e intradisciplinar de la Prehistoria, y evidencian además que, aunque se lleve trabajando en los yacimientos de Orce casi 50 años, estos siguen proporcionando datos muy interesantes acerca del contexto del poblamiento humano de Europa en las etapas
    [Show full text]
  • Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia
    World Heritage papers41 HEADWORLD HERITAGES 4 Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia VOLUME I In support of UNESCO’s 70th Anniversary Celebrations United Nations [ Cultural Organization Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia Nuria Sanz, Editor General Coordinator of HEADS Programme on Human Evolution HEADS 4 VOLUME I Published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and the UNESCO Office in Mexico, Presidente Masaryk 526, Polanco, Miguel Hidalgo, 11550 Ciudad de Mexico, D.F., Mexico. © UNESCO 2015 ISBN 978-92-3-100107-9 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Cover Photos: Top: Hohle Fels excavation. © Harry Vetter bottom (from left to right): Petroglyphs from Sikachi-Alyan rock art site.
    [Show full text]
  • Long-Term Climate Record Inferred from Early-Middle Pleistocene Amphibian and Squamate Reptile Assemblages at the Gran Dolina Cave, Atapuerca, Spain
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by EPrints Complutense Long-term climate record inferred from early-middle Pleistocene amphibian and squamate reptile assemblages at the Gran Dolina Cave, Atapuerca, Spain d,e, Hugues-Alexandre Blain a,*, Salvador Bailon b, Gloria Cuenca-Bescos c, Juan Luis Arsuaga Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro f, Eudald Carbonell a a Institut de Paleoecoiogia Humana i Evolucio Social, Area de Prehistoria, Universitat Ravira i Virgi/l, Plar;a Imperial Tarraco I, £-43005 Tarragona, Spain b Laboratoire departemental de Prehistoire du Lazaret, 33bis Boulevard Franck Pilatte, F-06300 Nice, France c Area de Paleontolog[a, Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, £-50009 Zaragoza, Spain dCentro de Investigacion (UCM-ISCIII) sobre la Evoluci6n, y Comportamiento Humanos, c/Sinesio Delgado, 4 (Pabellon 14), E-28029 Madrid, Spain e Dpto. Paleontologfa, Facultad de Ciencias Geol6gicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, £-28040 Madrid, Spain f Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana, Avenida de la paz 28, E-09OO4 Burgos, Spain ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: The Gran Dolina cave site is famous for having delivered some of the oldest hominin remains of Western Received 9 November 2007 Europe (Homo antecessor, ca. 960 ka). Moreover, the evidence of lithic industries throughout the long Accepted 13 August 2008 vertical section suggests occupation on the part of hominins from the latest early Pleistocene (levels ID3/4, IDS, and TD6) to the late middle Pleistocene (level IDlO). The Gran Dolina Sondeo Sur (TDS) has Keywords: furnished a great number of small-vertebrate remains; among them some 40,000 bones are attributed to Temperature amphibians and squamates.
    [Show full text]
  • Community Structure Through Time: `Ubeidiya, a Lower Pleistocene Site As a Case Study
    Community Structure through Time: `Ubeidiya, a Lower Pleistocene Site as a Case Study Thesis submitted for the degree of “Doctor of Philosophy” by Miriam Belmaker Submitted to the Senate of the Hebrew University March 2006 This work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Eitan Tchernov Prof. Ofer Bar Yosef Prof. Uzi Motro this thesis is dedicated to Eitan Tchernov, my mentor, without whom this thesis would have never happened Contents Acknowledgments xii Abstract xiv I Framework 1 1 Introduction 2 2 The Site of `Ubeidiya 9 2.1 Geology and stratigraphy of the `Ubeidiya Formation . 9 2.2 Dating of the `Ubeidiya Formation . 10 2.3 Excavation history . 15 2.4 Previous paleoecological research . 17 2.5 The presence of early hominins at `Ubeidiya . 19 II Methodology 22 3 Paleontological Methodology 23 3.1 Stratigraphy . 23 3.1.1 Assignment of specimens to stratigraphic units . 23 3.1.2 Choice of strata for analysis . 25 3.2 Taxonomy . 26 3.2.1 Identification of specimens . 26 3.2.2 Choice of taxa for analysis . 28 3.3 Quantification . 30 3.3.1 Quantification of individuals per species . 30 3.3.2 Quantification of body elements . 31 i 4 Identification of Pattern of Persistence or Change in the Large Mammalian Commu- nity throughout the `Ubeidiya Sequence 34 4.1 The statistical model . 34 4.2 Independent variables of the null hypotheses: The taphonomy of the `Ubeidiya large mammal assemblages . 37 4.2.1 Weathering . 37 4.2.2 Fluvial transport . 39 4.2.3 Agents of accumulation . 41 4.2.4 Post depositional carnivore ravaging .
    [Show full text]
  • Canis Etruscus
    Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 52 (1), 2013, 11-18. Modena Canis etruscus (Canidae, Mammalia) and its role in the faunal assemblage from Pantalla (Perugia, central Italy): comparison with the Late Villafranchian large carnivore guild of Italy Marco CHERIN, Davide Federico BERTÈ, Raffaele SARDELLA & Lorenzo ROOK M. Cherin, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Perugia, Piazza Università, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; [email protected] D.F. Bertè, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected]; corresponding author R. Sardella, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, I-00185 Roma; IsIPU, Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via U. Aldrovandi 16/18, I-00197 Roma, Italy; [email protected] L. Rook, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy; [email protected] KEY WORDS - Canis etruscus, Canidae, Carnivore guild, Late Villafranchian, Early Pleistocene, Pantalla, Italy. ABSTRACT - A very rich faunal assemblage referred to the early Late Villafranchian (Olivola/Tasso Faunal Unit) has been found at the Early Pleistocene site of Pantalla (Perugia, central Italy). The assemblage contains a number of carnivores, including several specimens of the Etruscan wolf Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877. Canis etruscus appeared in Europe about 2 Ma. This species is regarded as an important taxon for biochronology: its first occurrence (the so-called “wolf event”) has been used to define one of the Villafranchian faunal turnovers. The Late Villafranchian assemblage from Pantalla provides valuable information about the Early Pleistocene carnivore guild in Italy.
    [Show full text]
  • Modeling Trophic Resource Availability for the First Human Settlers of Europe: the Case of Atapuerca
    Journal of Human Evolution 64 (2013) 645e657 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Modeling trophic resource availability for the first human settlers of Europe: The case of Atapuerca TD6 Guillermo Rodríguez-Gómez a, Jesús Rodríguez a,*, Jesús Ángel Martín-González b,1, Idoia Goikoetxea a, Ana Mateos a a Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca s/n, 09002 Burgos, Spain b Departamento de Matemáticas y Computación, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain article info abstract Article history: Food resource availability strongly influences the survival opportunities of all organisms. The effect of Received 15 June 2012 animal food resource availability on the survival and dispersal of hominin populations is hotly debated. Accepted 24 February 2013 In this article, we present a mathematical model that provides estimations of the maximum and mini- Available online 28 March 2013 mum available resources for secondary consumers in a palaeocommunity. This model provides insights into the intensity of competition and the available niche space for hominins in Europe during the early Keywords: Galerian (1.2e0.8 Ma). Published data from the Atapuerca TD6 assemblage were used in combination Palaeolithic with the model to investigate trophic dynamics and resource availability for a Homo antecessor popu- Hunteregatherers Mathematical models lation 800,000 years ago. The effect on our results of the possible presence at Atapuerca of some large Homo antecessor carnivores not recorded in the fossil assemblage is also evaluated. Results indicate the existence of a rich ecosystem at Atapuerca at the end of the Early Pleistocene.
    [Show full text]
  • Canids of the World Wolves, Wild Dogs, Foxes
    INTRODUCTION © Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. RECOGNITION The Canid family is a lineage of terrestrial carnivorans, adapted for swift running, which includes Wolves, Coyotes, Jackals, Foxes, Dogs, Dingoes, Dholes and other Dog-like mammals, with a total of 13 genera and at least 37 extant species. They are mostly social animals, living together in family units or small groups and behaving cooperatively. Most are seasonal breeders producing a single litter each year. They exhibit many reproductive and behavioral traits uncommon in other mammals, such as monogamy with paternal care, long-term incorporation of young adults into the social group, alloparenting, inhibition of reproduction in subordinate individuals, monoestrus, and a copulatory tie. They inhabit temperate and tropical forests, savanna, tundra and deserts throughout the world, with the exception of some oceanic islands and Antarctica. Most Canids feed on mammalian prey, but vegetable matter, carrion, and invertebrates are also an important source of food in many species. Size and body shape (fig. 1): Canids vary widely in size, from the Gray Wolf, which may be up to 160 cm long, and can weigh up to 80 kg, to the diminutive Fennec Fox, which may be as little as 24 cm in length, and weighs less than 1 kg. Most Fox species weigh 1.5 to 9.0 kg, while most other species are 5 to 27 kg. Body lengths (without tail) range between 35 and 160 cm, and tail lengths are approximately 12 to 56 cm.
    [Show full text]