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The presence of scattered prehistoric human bones in caves and sinkholes is common in many regions of Iberia. These are usually interpreted as erratic elements coming from burial contexts, usually collective associations. These burial contexts are very frequent in karst areas of the Iberian Peninsula since the Early Neolithic, mostly in the Late Neolithic, and Copper Age, while findings from earlier chronologies are much more unusual. In this work, we present partial remains of a human skull from the Mesolithic period, recovered from a cave in the Strait of Gibraltar area. Although there is no conclusive evidence pointing to a dismantled burial context, this constitutes an isolated find, where its final location appears to be consistent with gravitational fall followed by water transportation., We are grateful to members of the caving groups GES Casares (Casares Underground Exploration Group) and SE Mainake (Speleo-Excursionist Society), and the town Council of Casares for their help throughout the work of survey and archaeological research inside Sima Hedionda II/IV. The frontal bone SHII/IV/7001-7 (known as Cecilín) was first located by Carlos Pintos Zanca, Juan Antonio Rodriguez Alarcón, Rafael Beltran, and Pascal Boutery de la SE Mainake. CT scan was carried out in the Clinical Veterinary Hospital of the University of Cordoba. We would like to thank especially Dr Manuel Novales Durán (Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, UCO) for his help in the scanning process. We would also appreciate the help of Alvaro Perea (Ergonidámica Clínica, Córdoba) in composing Figures 5 and 6 using the OsiriX DICOM Wiever software. Dating Beta-424650 was funded by an internal research grant from La Trobe University. The “Archaeological Survey Project in Sima Hedionda II/IV, Casares (Málaga)” was partly self-financed by the team members themselves, and also partly (Technical equipment, transportation, other datings, maintenance, and accommodation) with the support of the Casares Town Council. Thanks to the efforts of the last institution, this cave is now gated and protected. This work has been carried out in the framework of the Project “Archaeobiology of the Neolithic of the Southern Iberian Peninsula” (NeArqBioSI) A-HUM-460-UGR18 by Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad. FEDER Programme – Junta de Andalucía-Universidad de Granada. Call 2019. SPG is Juan de la Cierva Incorporación (IJC2019-038830-I) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and efforts in improving our manuscript.

During the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation, the Iberian Peninsula served as a faunal and human population refugium. Human foodways have always played a pivotal role in understanding social and cultural practices in prehistory. Nonetheless, the limited number of archaeological sites and human remains in this region hinders the complete understanding of these critical communities’ diet. To increase our knowledge about human consumption patterns, we selected three Magdalenian levels from the site of El Pirulejo (Southern Iberia Peninsula, Spain). These levels are characterized by a high abundance of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) remains (76–97% MNI), initially suggesting that rabbits were the primary source of protein for site inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on two human teeth in tandem with stable isotope analysis of the rabbit teeth. Contrary to the expectations derived from the zooarchaeological analysis, rabbits were not a significant source of dietary protein. Carbon and nitrogen bulk isotopic values are the most enriched found in sampled human remains for this area and context. Our data supports aquatic food resource inclusion and increased resource diversity among Iberian hunter-gatherers during the Magdalenian. This study is consistent with previous studies that suggested a socio-economic network among human groups between inland and coastal regions in the terminal Pleistocene Southern Iberia.

The work in the inner area of Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar, has added to the Palaeolithic art located in the cave. Although work continues on the surveying and the study of the evidence found up to now, we present here a preview consisting of a representation of a red deer, and also a hand stencil, alongside numerous marks which have been found scattered throughout the inner cave. In this paper we present new data on the Upper Palaeolithic rock art in Gorham’s Cave (Gibraltar) including direct dating of a hand stencil. Situating this dating in the archaeological context of the stencil, we conclude that it is associated with the Solutrean technocomplexe. This is particularly significant in the light of recent reviews which put European hand stencils in the context of the Early or Initial Upper Palaeolithic. In this context, the Gorham data opens the discussion on the systematic chronological correlation of all hands in negatives of European Palaeolithic rock art.

This paper constitutes the first comprehensive review of animal fossils retrieved in Iberian archaeological sites. Out of 633 items from 82 sites, 143 were analyzed and a further 13 assessed and their status clarified by us on 20 sites. Among others, this study is the first one in Iberia to assess the role played by fossil scaphopods and to carry out a systematic description of shark teeth. The relevance of those 156 fossils we assessed through a comparison with all the finds located in the Iberian literature. Failure to report fossils properly did not allow us to warrant such status for 352 items. We believe that the poor record of fossils in Iberian archaeological sites is the result of a combination of methodological and theoretical constraints. For that reason, we contend that the items herein reported probably represent a fraction, however substantial, of the evidence at hand. In light of the contrasted relevance of fossils for addressing cultural issues, some recommendations and a plea for a more systematic and rigorous search of archaeological specimens are made., This paper is a contribution to project HUM-949-PAI by the Junta de Andalucía and ICAREHB. The Junta de Andalucía granted permission to excavate Hedionda-IV. The research at La Pileta and El Pirulejo were supported by MEC (Ministerio de Economía y Competividad) grants US-1264079 (I+D+i FEDER Andalucía), HAR2013-44269-P and HAR2016-77789-P. Research also benefited from MEC grants HAR2014-55722-P and HAR2017-88325-P, and from grant 19438/PI/14 (SÉNECA Program). AGA was supported by a MINECO Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2015-18966). Alfredo Prada (ANMRC) granted permission to study the specimens from Las Aguas, Tesoro, El Juyo, Rascaño and Altamira, and Lola Hernando (Museo Arqueológico Nacional) facilitate the study of fossils from El Oficio. We thank Ana Gómez Díaz, Ana Pajuelo and Alfred Sanchís for photographing the specimens from Campo Real, Grave-5/Señorío de Guzmán and Parpalló.

The Middle (MP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) evidences of shellfish collection on the southern Iberian site of Bajondillo cave are presented and compared with Westernmost Mediterranean archaeological sites. The main feature is stasis for Mytilus galloprovincialis represents the dominant taxon during a ∼120kyr temporal sequence. The second feature is the decrease of the shellfishing signal when site distance to the coast increases. The data reveal that shellfish collection was practiced during Marine Isotopic Stage 4, a poorly documented stage in terms of aquatic adaptations. Striking is also that mollusc assemblages evidence an uninterrupted decreasing trend in terms of remains from the earliest to the latest levels, in particular when H. sapiens replaced H. neanderthalensis. Although taxa of secondary importance are too scarce to make reliable inferences, another difference between the MP and EUP collections is the substantial increase of infaunal bivalves in the latter cultural period. Warm and cold water mollusc records match temperature rises and drops although the scarcity of data do not allow one to proceed beyond qualitative statements. Likewise, the prevalence of fresh and brackish water mollusc hint at a permanent presence of freshwater around the site at all times. When compared with assemblages from the Alboran sea region (Westernmost Mediterranean Sea), the Bajondillo cave collections are remarkable for their abundance of mussels. Comparison between Bajondillo cave and Pinnacle Point reveal that infaunal bivalve abundances in the South African site are far higher than those recorded in the MP levels, though not those from the EUP. Whether this feature hints at subtle differences existing between the collection of shellfish by H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis, reflects a behavioral convergence between the two hominine lineages or represents an inherited cognitive trait from a common ancestor is an issue in need of further analysis., The research of the Bajondillo faunal assemblages was allowed by the Consejería de Cultura of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) (UPPH/49/06) to one of the authors (MCS). This research has been sponsored by Grants HAR2013-44269-P, HAR2014-55722-P, HAR2016-77789-P and HAR2017-88325-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and 19438/PI/14. The paper constitutes a contribution of Research Group HUM-949 (University of Sevilla, Spain) and the ICArEHB (Universidade do Algarve, Portugal).

This paper presents an archaeological, paleontological, taphonomical, chronological and geochemical study of a fossil oyster valve retrieved at the cave of La Pileta. The specimen was taken from Neogene fossiliferous deposits located more than 10 km away from the site. The shell was worked so as to become a portable lamp. 14C/AMS dating of the carbonate crust overlying the shell indicates a Gravettian chronology. Different lines of evidence indicate that during its use life, the valve was used to harbor or process pigments. The data presented throw light on the spread of symbolism in the southwestern corner of Europe during the Early Upper Palaeolithic, and add elements to the debate on the existence of a pre-Solutrean stage in the rock art of La Pileta and, by extension, of the southern Iberian Peninsula., En este trabajo presentamos el estudio arqueológico, paleontológico, tafonómico, cronológico y geoquímico de una valva de ostra hallada en la cueva de La Pileta. El ejemplar procede de depósitos fosilíferos neógenos distantes más de 10 km del yacimiento. Una vez adaptada, la concha fue empleada como lámpara portátil. La cronología 14C/AMS de la costra carbonatada que sellaba la cubeta nos remite al periodo Gravetiense. Según diversos indicios en la lámpara, durante su vida útil se procesaron o almacenaron pigmentos. Los datos aportados informan sobre la dispersión del simbolismo del Paleolítico Superior Inicial hasta el extremo sudoccidental europeo, así mismo, suma nuevos elementos al debate sobre la existencia de una fase presolutrense en el arte parietal de La Pileta y, por ende, de todo el sur de la Península Ibérica.

Fossil gathering by humans has been rarely documented in the Iberian Peninsula. In the present paper, a multidisciplinary approach has been taken to analyze a straight-tusked elephant (Elephas antiquus) molar retrieved in a Magdalenian deposit at the rock shelter of El Pirulejo in southern Spain. The taphonomical analyses revealed a multifarious use of a tooth that had not only been worked into an anvil-sort-of-tool but also used as a core and partly tainted with a composite pigment. The dating and geochemical analyses further evidenced that the molar derived from an animal that had lived in a rather arid landscape with a temperature range between 12.3 and 14.3 A degrees C coincident with a cold episode within marine isotope stage (MIS) 6.6 and probably fed on herbaceous plants. These analyses evidence the potential fossils from archaeological sites bear for addressing a wide range of issues that include both the cultural and paleoenvironmental realms. Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competividad [HAR2013-44269-P, HAR 2014-55722-P, HAR2012-34620] Programa Seneca [19438/PI/14] University of Seville Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th Framework Program for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (European Commission) [PIEF-GA-2013-623027]

This paper presents the first evidence for Palaeolithic portable art in Southern Portugal. This include two plaques, dated between 20,500 and 19,500 BP from Solutrean levels from the site of Vale Boi, Western Algarve (Portugal). One of the pieces is a small engraved schist plaque (14,6 × 8,1 mm) with abstract lines on one side. The other artefact is an 8 × 5 cm schist plaque. One side is an oxide natural deposit, used to produce dye; the other side has three aurochs and a probable cervid. Stilistic information and the engraving sequence indicate probably production by a single artist. The stylistic characteristics are in full agreement withi those from late Gravettian and early Solutrean art known from Valencia, Andalucia (Spain) and the Côa valley (Portugal), thus confirming the absolute AMS dates from the Vale Boi Levels., En este trabajo presentamos la primera evidencia de arte mueble paleolítico en el sur de Portugal: dos plaquetas de pizarra procedentes de niveles solutrenses del yacimiento de Vale Boi, zona occidental del Algarve (Portugal). La primera de las piezas es una pequeña placa (14,6 × 8,1 mm) que presenta sobre una de sus caras un ideomorfo grabado. La segunda (8 × 5 cm) cuenta con una superficie ocupada por óxido de hierro natural de color amarillento, tiene claros indicios de extracción de mineral para producir colorantes. En la superficie opuesta han sido grabados tres uros y una posible cierva. El estilo y secuencia de los grabados apuntan a un solo artista. Las características estilísticas de los zoomorfos concuerdan bien con los rasgos comunes del arte del ciclo Gravetiense final y Solutrense antiguo del País Valenciano, Andalucía y Valle de Côa (Portugal). Esta afinidad sintoniza asimismo con las fechas AMS de los niveles solutrenses de Vale Boi, datados entre ca. 20.500 y 19.500 BP.

Presentamos los resultados sobre la función de un conjunto de instrumentos de sílex documentados, durante las campañas de excavación de 1965 a 1967, en los niveles neolíticos de la cueva de nerja (sala de la mina). La información obtenida nos ayuda a comp This paper focus on the results on the function of flint implements recovered during the 1965-1967 field seasons from the neolithic levels from cueva de nerja (room of the mina). The new data help to understand, on one hand, the importance of the daily ac

The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, has no Pleistocene record in Europe. Consequently, it has been suggested that this animal was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs, who employed it for eliminating rodents and reptiles, as in the case of the genet, Genetta genetta. Here we describe a subfossil mongoose skull from the Cave of Nerja, southern Spain, which has been AMS dated 885 ± 40 years BP. This specimen constitutes the oldest record of mongooses in Europe, providing evidence that these animals were introduced during historical times in the South of the Iberian Peninsula.

Cortés-Sánchez, Miguel et al., The impact of late Upper Pleistocene climate change in the western Mediterranean region has been mainly documented through marine records. Archaeological and geomorphological continental records now available for the coast of Málaga complement these records for the second part of the last major glacial episode and the early stages of the Holocene. This paper provides an overview of the archaeological, chronological and palaeoenvironmental data from the end of the Middle Palaeolithic period to the Epipalaeolithic. Sequences from the two major sites, Nerja and Bajondillo, indicate a mosaic-type response of ecosystems to the rapidly shifting conditions of the Last Glacial episode. Terrestrial mammals, for example, show no major variations from present-day communities. Plant remains in contrast, demonstrates the existence of localised refuge areas for species that would not otherwise have survived in the more widely prevailing climatic conditions of the time, whereas remains of fish and, secondarily, birds demonstrate the existence of communities without any present-day analogues combining Mediterranean and Boreal (i.e., northern Atlantic) taxa. From an archaeological standpoint, the major cultural shift is the onset of marine fishing, beginning in the Solutrean. This coincided with the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) episode. The faunal record also testifies to the rising importance of marine resources more generally. Although the data have not been used systematically to test the validity of the Broad Spectrum Revolution (BSR) hypothesis, the hints for it in the area seem compelling from the start of the Solutrean onwards. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., The authors would like to thank the following funding agencies: Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucia (Project: “Estudio y contextualización cronoestratigráfica de las antiguas excavaciones del Patronato de la Cueva de Nerja”, “Muestreo de Cueva Bajondillo”, “Prospección Arqueológica superficial de Torremolinos”; Miguel Cortés); Patronato de la Cueva de Nerja (Project: “Correlación de la secuencia estratigráfica de las cuevas de Nerja y Bajondillo”; Miguel Cortés); and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant CGL2004-00891; Arturo Morales-Muñiz).