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The El Mirón Cave site in Spain has one of the most complete archaeological and palaeontological records of the Late Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula, encompassing most of the last c. 50,000 years. Among other studies, the fossiliferous record has allowed the development of various interpretations of faunal and climatic changes during this period of time in the northern Atlantic region of the Iberian Peninsula. The addition of more radiocarbon dates from El Mirón Cave make it possible to revise some of the interpretations of the micromammal sequence carried out earlier for this major site. The record of small mammals is one of the most used tools to study the climate of the past, and among them the several Arvicolinae species are of great importance for the study of Quaternary climatic variations, due to their adaptations to a great diversity of habitats. New methodologies such as ancient DNA and geometric morphometric analyses now permit us to conduct a review of the Arvicolinae species previously described at this site and better to differentiate between species with similar morphologies, like Microtus arvalis and M. agrestis. We also identified the presence of a species not recorded before in El Mirón, Terricola pyrenaicus. With the study of the Arvicolinae species associations, we reaffirm the climate variations originally described in this deposit, indicating in detail how the successive changes in temperature and environment took place throughout the course of the late Last Glacial and early Postglacial periods (Marine Isotope Stages 3–1). • Review of the Arvicolinae association in the El Mirón Cave. • Using geometric morphometry to differentiate morphologically similar species. • Using ancient DNA analysis to identify a new specie in this site. • Climatic variations during the Late Pleistocene in the northern Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The dispersal of hominins may have been favored by the opening of the landscape during the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition (EMP) in Western Europe. The structure of the small-vertebrate assemblages of the archaeo-paleontological karstic site of Gran Dolina in Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) shows important environmental and climatic changes in the faunal succession, across the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary at 780 ka. These changes are interpreted to indicate impoverishment of the forests, along with an increase in dry meadows, and open lands in general that entailed a tendency towards the loss of diversity in small-vertebrate communities above the EMP. We evaluate variation in diversity of the faunal succession of Gran Dolina using Shannon’s Second Theorem as an index of ecosystem structure. The long cultural-stratigraphic sequence of Gran Dolina during the EMP is somewhat similar in its completeness and continuity to that in the locality of Gesher Benot Ya''aqov in the Upper Jordan Valley. We also evaluate related data including faunal and floral (pollen) succession. Both localities present cold, dry and humid, warm fluctuations at the transition between the Early and the Middle Pleistocene. Comparisons between these sites present opportunities to understand large-scale climatic changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In addition to the Neanderthals, other mammal species vanished locally or totally in southern Europe during relatively a short period, between about 40 and 10kyr. The late Upper Pleistocene was in general a time of extinction and extirpation in southern Europe, ranging from musk-oxen and reindeer to Nordic voles (extirpations) to Pliomys and Neanderthals (extinctions). The southern regions of Europe have been glacial refugia for several mammalian species (including humans), and when climatic conditions ameliorated, some spread back to the North and East European Plains (reindeer, saiga, the marsh voles and narrow-skull voles, among others), whence they originally had come. Others remained at their refugia in southern France and on the Iberian, Italian and Balkan Peninsulas, and, after periods of survival, eventually became extinct (Homo neanderthalensis, Pliomys lenki). The demise of the Neanderthals is, of course, well known, but that of the extinct vole, P. lenki, is not well known at all. Their long survival in southwestern European regions must be related to the existence of suitable climatic, vegetational and geographic conditions. Did these regions become traps when new competitors arrived? [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The discovery of small, very well-defined and perfectly preserved tooth marks on the humerus of a mole, Talpa cf. europaea (TE9, Sima del Elefante, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), is extraordinary. To date, no micromammal fossil is known with puncture prints produced by a bite with a clear or delimited morphology that would permit its detailed study. The exceptional character of the finding may raise questions and suspicions about alteration and taphonomic agents. However, we have evidence that both the marks in the mole humerus are due to the action of biting and that this bite corresponds to the dentition of Beremendia fissidens. After all, not only large predators bite, as this article intends to demonstrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of small, very well-defined and perfectly preserved toothmarks on a humerus of a moleTalpacf.europaeafrom level TE9 of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos) with a chronology of the Early Pleistocene is extraordinary. In a previous paper, this bite was compared with current small carnivores such asMustela nivalismolars and with fossil remains ofMustela palermineaand the soricid (Eulipotyphla and Mammalia)Beremendia fissidenswith the purpose of identifying the predator. It was hypothesised thatBeremendia fissidenscould be the bite maker. However, it was not possible to rule out other predators due to the shortage ofBeremendia fissidensremains. Recently, new fossil remains of this insectivore have been found in Sima del Elefante levels, allowing the upper dentition to be measured. These new data suggest that effectivelyBeremendia fissidensmay have had the capacity to bite prey larger than itself, even though it did not possess morphological characteristics specialised for the consumption of small mammals. The addition of small vertebrates (like talpids) to complement a diet based on insects could have been a way of responding to the needs of the high metabolic rate characteristic ofBeremendia fissidens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper analyses the evidence provided by three sites (Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, and Galería) located in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril of the Sierra de Atapuerca. These three sites are cave infillings that contain sediments deposited from approximately 1.2 Ma to 200 kyr. Pollen, herpetofauna, and small and large mammal remains are used as proxies to obtain a general picture of the environmental changes that occurred at the Sierra de Atapuerca throughout the one million-year period represented at these sites. Similarly, cultural changes are tracked analyzing the evidence of human behavior obtained from the study of several bone and lithic assemblages from these three sites. At least three periods with different cultural features, involving technology, subsistence and behavior, are determined from the available evidence. The first two periods correspond to the Mode 1 technology and Homo antecessor: the first is dated around 1.2 to 1.0 Ma and reflects opportunistic behavior both in technology and subsistence. The second period is around 800 kyr BP. Mode 1 technology is still maintained, but subsistence strategies include systematic hunting and the use of base camps. The third period is dated between 500ka and 200ka and corresponds to the Mode 2 technology and the acquisition of directional hunting and other organizational strategies by Homo heidelbergensis. A transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 seems to appear at the end of this time-range, and may reflect the early phases of a fourth cultural change. With regard to the environment, our main conclusion is that there was an absence of extremely harsh conditions at Atapuerca throughout this time period. The presence of Mediterranean taxa was constant and the dominant landscape was a savannah-like open environment, probably with small forest patches. An alternation of Mediterranean and mesic species as the dominant component of the tree storey was induced by the climatic cycles, and steppes spread across the landscape during the drier periods. In any case, it is not possible to establish clear cut-off points separating entirely different environmental episodes. Our results show no evidence of any relationship between environmental change and cultural change at the Sierra de Atapuerca. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal distribution within the different regions of the peninsula. While traditional models assumed that the whole Iberian hinterland was avoided by modern humans due to ecological factors until the retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum, recent research has demonstrated that hunter-gatherers entered the Iberian interior at least during Solutrean times. We provide a multi-proxy geoarchaeological, chronometric and paleoecological study on human–environment interactions based on the key site of Peña Capón (Guadalajara, Spain). Results show (1) that this site hosts the oldest modern human presence recorded to date in central Iberia, associated to pre-Solutrean cultural traditions around 26,000 years ago, and (2) that this presence occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions. These findings demonstrate that this area of the Iberian hinterland was recurrently occupied regardless of climate and environmental variability, thus challenging the widely accepted hypothesis that ecological risk hampered the human settlement of the Iberian interior highlands since the first arrival of modern humans to Southwest Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Level TE9c of the Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is one of the oldest sites with evidence of human occupation in western Europe. We began excavating level TE9c in 2003, and the work there continues today. The studies of the archaeology, palaeontology and geology from this locality have provided an indispensable dataset with which to capture a picture in the scenario of the origin of humans in Europe. Based on these data, we raise and discuss several topics, such as the possible origin of the lineage of the first hominins that inhabited western Europe; their capacity to have active hunting or scavenging abilities; whether their subsistence strategies were successful; and what the environment and habitats where these hominin groups settled was like. The aim of this paper is to present the results and discussions obtained from the research team and to establish the primary features of early human occupations in southwestern Europe. Tentatively, we may conclude, based on the events recorded at TE9c, that the first humans were in the Iberian peninsula at around 1.2 Ma they used the caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca as shelters probably during their hunting activities; the cavities were surrounded by Mediterranean forest, rivers and water ponds, and varied habitats as suggested by the rich and diverse assemblage of fossils of vertebrates (fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds, large and small mammals); where humans possibly caught what they found in the surroundings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research into 17 cranial specimens of Middle Pleistocene Neandertal hominins from the Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca, Spain, as of 2014. Topics include the dating of the fossils to around 430,000 years ago, examination of cranial, facial, and dental features, and speculation into Neandertal evolution.

Abstract: Large herbivore carrying capacity, that is, the maximum biomass of large herbivorous mammals that an ecosystem is able to sustain for the long term, is a key factor in ecosystems trophic dynamics. The carrying capacity of Pleistocene ecosystems conditioned the survival opportunities and colonization capabilities of hominin populations in Europe. In this study, we use the amphibian and squamate record of two Early and Middle Pleistocene sites from Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain) to obtain estimates of past temperature and rainfall values. A function derived from the analysis of a wide set of recent mammalian communities is used to infer the large herbivore carrying capacity of the Atapuerca ecosystems during the Pleistocene from those climatic variables. This function provides reliable estimates of large herbivore carrying capacity in open environments but not in forest communities. The results presented in this study indicate that carrying capacity was higher at Atapuerca during most of the sequence than in the present. Our data also suggest that in most Mediterranean ecosystems, large herbivore biomass is currently below the carrying capacity of the environment due to the relatively low diversity of the large herbivore guild in most recent communities. Although the carrying capacity was high at Atapuerca in the periods the area was occupied by humans, it was also high in other periods for which no evidence of human presence has been recorded. Thus, the relationship between human occupation of the territory and carrying capacity does not appear to be simple. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]