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The Sima de los Huesos (SH) site has provided a significant collection of hominin remains, including numerous cranial fragments, which have contributed to our understanding of the MP human population. The taxonomic classification of the SH hominins remains a topic of debate, with some studies suggesting a close relationship to Neandertals based on nuclear DNA analysis. The cranial morphology of the SH specimens exhibits a mix of Neandertal-like features and primitive traits observed in earlier Homo populations, providing insights into the evolutionary pattern of the Neanderthal lineage. This study focuses on the neurocranial traits of the SH population and describes three previously undescribed cranial individuals. The SH cranial collection now comprises 20 nearly complete crania, representing approximately two-thirds of the estimated population size. The analysis of the SH population reveals variations in robustness, frontal torus development, sagittal keeling, and occipital torus morphology, which may be related to sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic factors. The suprainiac region exhibits notable ontogenetic changes, while suture obliteration patterns do not strictly correlate with dental age. Metric measurements, particularly cranial breadths, highlight significant intrapopulation variation within the SH sample. Compared with other Middle Pleistocene (MP) hominins, the SH cranial vault displays archaic characteristics but differs from Homo erectus and Neandertals. The SH individuals have relatively short and tall cranial vaults, distinguishing them from other MP fossils. These findings contribute to our understanding of the MP human populations and their evolutionary trajectories., (© 2024 American Association for Anatomy.)

The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.

Circum-nasal and nasal cavity morphology add to the picture of the Sima de los Huesos specimens as, at one level, representing a distinct morph and, at another, displaying individual variation. They developed a robust, midline-grooved, three-dimensional spinal ridge lying anteriorly in the nasal cavity floor that was distended posteriorly over the nasal cavity floor, and, typically, an expansive, three-dimensional patch of rugose bone on the nasal cavity wall where a conchal crest would otherwise lie. They vary, for example, in degree of topographic relief of the nasal cavity wall, expression of the spinal ridge, and development of nasal crests and fossae. Lacking an anterior nasal spine, Sima specimens differ from extant and most fossil Homo sapiens, some specimens attributed to H. heidelbergensis, and the Gran Dolina partial face, whose anterior nasal spine is a superoanterior distention of the nasoalveolar clivus, and also from Neanderthals, whose anterior nasal spine projects anteriorly away from the nasoalveolar clivus. Comparison of Neanderthals, the Sima hominin, and specimens regarded as H. heidelbergensis calls for re-evaluating the integrity of "heidelbergensis" and rethinking the phylogenetic relationships of them all. To precisely describe the numerous features and combinations thereof of the nasal region in Sima specimens, and compare them with Neandertals and "H. heidelbergensis", we developed terminology that is applicable not only to hominins, but to mammals in general., (© 2021 American Association for Anatomy.)

Pathological conditions have been previously documented in the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins from northern Spain, and several of these have clear behavioral implications. Within this fossil assemblage, Cranium 4 shows bilateral external auditory exostoses which have been preliminarily interpreted as causing a significant hearing loss in this individual. If confirmed, this would be the oldest recorded case of deafness in human history and could have important implications for the antiquity of this condition, as well as social interactions. To further investigate this case, the current study presents 3D reconstructions of the entire outer and middle ear, based on computed tomography scans of both temporal bones in Cranium 4. We established the degree of stenosis in both external auditory canals, showing that in both cases the degree of stenosis is less than 52% of the original cross-sectional area of each canal. Based on clinical studies in living humans, the buildup of wax due to the degree of stenosis in Cranium 4 is unlikely to have caused frequent external ear infections. In addition, we estimated the pattern of sound power transmission up to 5 kHz in both ears relying on a comprehensive model developed in the bioengineering literature and which has been applied previously to the Sima de los Huesos hominins. The model was modified to account for the peculiar shape of the pathological external ear canals in Cranium 4. The results show that this pathology had little to no influence on the sound power transmission in this individual. Thus, we conclude that the exostoses present in both ears of Cranium 4 did not significantly affect their hearing., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Additionally, González-Urquijo et al. ([20]) estimate that between 30% and 37% (between 9 and 11) of the outline semilandmarks are missing in Axlor's M SP 1 sp (see their Figure 1, where they provide a new outline for Axlor's M SP 1 sp ). In their reply, González-Urquijo et al. ([20]) do not present any new information that contradicts the description made by de Barandiarán or by González-Urquijo's own team in previous reports and publications (Barandiarán, [2]; González Urquijo et al., [19]; Rios Garaizar et al., [25]). The human remains found in 1967 in Axlor: Still not convincingly Neandertals: A reply to González-Urquijo et al González-Urquijo et al. ([20]) base their argument on the poor preservation of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) faunal remains found in squares F8 and F9, but they neglect to mention that a human tooth was found in this level in 2008 (González Urquijo, [16]). [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: We provide the description and comparative analysis of all the human fossil remains found at Axlor during the excavations carried out by J. M. de Barandiarán from 1967 to 1974: a cranial vault fragment and seven teeth, five of which likely belonged to the same individual, although two are currently lost. Our goal is to describe in detail all these human remains and discuss both their taxonomic attribution and their stratigraphic context. Materials and methods: We describe external and internal anatomy, and use classic and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from Axlor are compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic, and recent modern humans. Results: Two teeth (a left dm2, a left di1) and the parietal fragment show morphological features consistent with a Neandertal classification, and were found in an undisturbed Mousterian context. The remaining three teeth (plus the two lost ones), initially classified as Neandertals, show morphological features and a general size that are more compatible with their classification as modern humans. Discussion: A left parietal fragment (Level VIII) from a single probably adult Neandertal individual was recovered during the old excavations performed by Barandiarán. Additionally, two different Neandertal children lost deciduous teeth during the formations of levels V (left di1) and IV (right dm2). In addition, a modern human individual is represented by five remains (two currently lost) from a complex stratigraphic setting. Some of the morphological features of these remains suggest that they may represent one of the scarce examples of Upper Paleolithic modern human remains in the northern Iberian Peninsula, which should be confirmed by direct dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has orographic conditions that make this territory especially vulnerable to Quaternary climate oscillations and which actually could have made it decisive for Paleolithic human populations at critical points. For this reason, the information provided by paleontological sites is important for reconstructing climatic and environmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene and understanding how they influenced the species that inhabited them, including humans. Nevertheless, the archaeo-paleontological record is scarce in central Iberia for the Late Pleistocene. A central Iberian site that is key to addressing this issue is Cueva de los Torrejones, which was discovered and excavated during the nineties. Clues indicating the presence of Neandertal populations near the cave site were announced during prior field excavations, including Neandertal remains, Middle Paleolithic artifacts, and evidence of anthropic exploitation of faunal resources at the site. Here we report the new results from the recent excavations and research, including detailed studies on stratigraphy, micromorphology, macro and microvertebrate paleontology, physical and molecular anthropology, taphonomy and zooarchaeology, and analysis of lithic and pottery remains. Our research has led to the detection of three Prehistoric chronologies recorded at the site. The oldest episode corresponds to between MIS 5 and MIS 4 in which the cave was used by carnivores. The second episode is represented by a faunal association dated to 30.0 ka cal BP and is indicative of cooler and more arid environmental conditions and, therefore, compatible with the worsening climate detected previously for MIS 3 in this area. The last episode corresponds to the Chalcolithic, directly dated to ∼5000 cal BP in which humans used the cavity for funerary purposes. The DNA analysis of the human remain was assigned to mtDNA haplogroup K, which was originated in the Near East and reached western Europe through the Neolithic expansion. Human occupation during the Paleolithic has been ruled out, including Paleolithic human remains and any kind of anthropic intervention on the Hermann's tortoise and leopard as was previously proposed at the site. • Cueva de los Torrejones is located in Central Iberia. • Three Prehistoric chronologies have been detected: MIS4/5, MIS3 and Chalcolithic. • Paleoecological information on the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition is provided. • We document a climatic deterioration during the mid-MIS 3 in Central Iberia. • Paleolithic human remains and cut marks on tortoise and leopard have been ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]