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One of the markers of the Late Pleistocene is highly fluctuating climatic conditions, with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka cal before present (BP)) known to be one of the coldest periods. This work explores how the environment of north-eastern Iberia changed in relation to global climatic changes experienced during the Late Pleistocene, specifically around the LGM. Small mammal assemblages from Cudó cave (Tarragona, Spain) were used considering their well-known reliability for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Based on the taxonomic identification and the taphonomic analysis, several methodologies covering both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to obtain the palaeoenvironmental information corresponding to level 107 and level 105 of Cudó cave (31.2–24.4 and 15.5–10.2 ka cal BP, respectively). The taphonomic results obtained point out owls (category 3) as the main accumulator of the small mammals. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction shows that both levels experienced colder (−7.2oC/–4.4 °C) and wetter (+848 mm/ + 586 mm) climatic conditions than nowadays. However, in level 107 the environment was dominated by mid-European species and rocky landscape, while in level 105 it was dominated by Mediterranean species and woodland habitat. These conditions are consistent with the trend in north-eastern Iberia following several climatic events before and after the LGM coinciding with the period of Cudó cave assemblages.

Altres ajuts: J.G. is the recipent of a postdoctoral contract [ESPDOC20/83] from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and her work was also supported by the Eusko Jaurlaritza [IT1485-22]. B.M.-S. was funded by the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade, Xunta de Galicia, Spain (ED481D-2022-013). Here we present the results of a study of the small mammal assemblage recovered from a now disappeared karstic fissure located in a quarry called 'Pedrera del Corral d'en Bruach'. The site was located at 330 m a.s.l. in the Garraf Massif, ca. 20 km south of Barcelona. An archaeological rescue excavation was conducted in 2006 by the Grup de Recerca del Quaternari, focusing on sieving the sediments that had accumulated at the foot of the quarry face. Fortunately, some faunal remains and sediment were recovered, which were later processed and sorted. Two hundred and seventy small mammal remains were identified at genus or species level, bringing to light 15 taxa. The assemblage is typical of the Mammal Neogene 17 (MN17) biozone, placing this site in the Gelasian stage of the Early Pleistocene. It is noteworthy that the first record of the glirid Glirulus pusillus in Iberia is documented. Based on the small mammals identified, the surrounding environment of the Garraf Massif is judged to have been characterised by open forest landscape and more humid environmental conditions than nowadays. Finally, the site provides a remarkable contribution to what is known of the Iberian small mammals of this time period.

Aim Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigated which climatic and/or environmental factors affect the population dynamics of the common vole. This temperate rodent is widespread across Europe and was one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene. Location Europe. Taxon Common vole (Microtus arvalis). Methods We generated a dataset comprised of 4.2 kb long fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 148 ancient and 51 modern specimens sampled from multiple localities across Europe and covering the last 60 thousand years (ka). We used Bayesian inference to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and to estimate the age of the specimens that were not directly dated. Results We estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor of all last glacial and extant common vole lineages to be 90 ka ago and the divergence of the main mtDNA lineages present in extant populations to between 55 and 40 ka ago, which is earlier than most previous estimates. We detected several lineage turnovers in Europe during the period of high climate variability at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57-29 ka ago) in addition to those found previously around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. In contrast, data from the Western Carpathians suggest continuity throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) even at high latitudes. Main Conclusions The main factor affecting the common vole populations during the last glacial period was the decrease in open habitat during the interstadials, whereas climate deterioration during the LGM had little impact on population dynamics. This suggests that the rapid environmental change rather than other factors was the major force shaping the histories of the Late Pleistocene faunas. IT1602-22 CGL2011-30274 CGL2015-71255-P PCCF16/2016 126/2018 PCE2282/2020 RYC-2016-19386 31003A_176209 2017/25/B/NZ8/02005 2015/19/D/NZ8/03878 ESP1209403HFST-P info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

During the Late Pleistocene, the Balkans came to be an important region with many isolated areas, enabling fauna, alongside Neanderthals, to thrive in the area. This work is focused on paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes that occurred in the northern Balkan Peninsula with a special focus on fossil record from Smolućka cave aging from MIS 5 to MIS 3. Based on available data, an attempt has been made to establish a synthetic chronological context for the faunal assemblages recovered from Smolućka cave. Tentative attribution of layer 5 to MIS 5 relies on the interstadial pattern of our reconstructions, with favorable climate conditions for a large diversity of species and with mean annual temperature (MAT) reaching up to 3 °C higher than present values and abundant rainfall in the area. Cold conditions for MIS 4 are not present in Smolućka, although layer 4 (late MIS 5 or early MIS 4) shows somewhat dryer and cooler climate when compared with other layers. Layers 3z and 3 (MIS 3) are characterized by temperate and humid conditions together with a complex system of mosaic habitats with high environmental heterogeny but generally favorable conditions for a large diversity of life. Although still not fully chronologically constrained, Smolućka cave presents an interesting opportunity for future research, in the time period when only Neanderthals occupied the Balkans and thrived in local conditions. The transition between the Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans has not yet been established but can be expected in future research.

1AbstractAimThe common vole is a temperate rodent widespread across Europe. It was also one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene. Phylogeographic studies of its extant populations suggested the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka ago) as one of the main drivers of the species’ population dynamics. However, analyses based solely on extant genetic diversity may not recover the full complexity of past population history. The main aim of this study was to investigate the evolutionary history and identify the main drivers of the common vole population dynamics during the Late Pleistocene.LocationEuropeTaxonCommon vole (Microtus arvalis)MethodsWe generated a dataset comprising 4.2 kb-long fragment of mitochondrial DNA from 148 ancient and 51 modern specimens sampled from multiple localities across Europe and covering the last 60 thousand years (ka). We used Bayesian inference to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and to estimate the age of specimens that were not directly dated.ResultsWe estimate the time to the most recent common ancestor of all Last Glacial and extant common vole lineages to 90 ka ago and the divergence of the main mtDNA lineages present in extant populations to between 55 and 40 ka ago, earlier than previous estimates. We find multiple lineage turnovers in Europe in the period of high climate variability at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57–29 ka ago) in addition to those found previously around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Conversely, data from the Western Carpathians suggest continuity throughout the LGM even at high latitudes.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that the main factor affecting the common vole populations during the last glacial period was the reduction of open habitats during the interstadial periods while the climate deterioration during the LGM had little impact on species’ population dynamics.

In this paper we present the chronological, environmental and climatic data obtained by analysing the remains of rodents collected from the water-screened sediments of Levels 2 and 3 of the Sector Entrada of Toll Cave (Moià, Barcelona), one of the caves belonging to the karstic system called the Coves del Toll. From these levels a total of 216 rodent remains have been recovered, corresponding to 10 rodent species. The biochronological results indicate a Late Pleistocene/Holocene chronology (13 ka BP), and Level 2 is probably Holocene (

14 (169) M20 М21 During the Late Pleistocene, the Balkans came to be an important region with many isolated areas, enabling fauna, alongside Neanderthals, to thrive in the area. This work is focused on paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes that occurred in the northern Balkan Peninsula with a special focus on fossil record from Smolućka cave aging from MIS 5 to MIS 3. Based on available data, an attempt has been made to establish a synthetic chronological context for the faunal assemblages recovered from Smolućka cave. Tentative attribution of layer 5 to MIS 5 relies on the interstadial pattern of our reconstructions, with favorable climate conditions for a large diversity of species and with mean annual temperature (MAT) reaching up to 3 °C higher than present values and abundant rainfall in the area. Cold conditions for MIS 4 are not present in Smolućka, although layer 4 (late MIS 5 or early MIS 4) shows somewhat dryer and cooler climate when compared with other layers. Layers 3z and 3 (MIS 3) are characterized by temperate and humid conditions together with a complex system of mosaic habitats with high environmental heterogeny but generally favorable conditions for a large diversity of life. Although still not fully chronologically constrained, Smolućka cave presents an interesting opportunity for future research, in the time period when only Neanderthals occupied the Balkans and thrived in local conditions. The transition between the Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans has not yet been established but can be expected in future research.

Lateral Gallery 1 (GL1) in Cova del Gegant is a Middle Palaeolithic assemblage yielding diagnostic Neanderthal remains, together with Mousterian tools and faunal remains. It is a good archive for evaluating the environmental conditions of the coastal areas during MIS 4 and MIS 3 in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, and also the Neanderthals’ behaviour and mobility. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of all of the data available from GL1, such as lithics, human remains, fauna and chronostratigraphic details. The biotic ecofacts studied point to the development of a coastal plain in front of the cave and indicate that local conditions likely favoured a large variety of ecosystems characterised by open environments and woodland-edge taxa, and favoured repeated visits by humans during the Middle Palaeolithic. The evidence suggests that the gallery was mainly used by carnivores, such as hyenas, and also by Neanderthals as a brief stopping place, in view of the presence of transported and abandoned ergonomic lithic artifacts and/or the placement of bodies (or parts of bodies). The regional context suggests high human mobility and emphasises the variability of Neanderthal behaviour.

Located at the crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia, the Southern Caucasus is a prime location to study occupations by H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis and anatomically modern humans. Azokh Cave is an important site for the understanding of human evolution in its archaeological, palaeontological, environmental and ecological context. The main objective of this work is to use rodents to infer the climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the formation of the site. The small-mammal remains come from the archaeological excavation campaigns carried out in Azokh 1 in 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2018; they are from Unit V, Units III–IV and Unit II. The small-mammal assemblage is composed of at least 13 taxa: seven arvicoline, two cricetine, two gerbilline, one dipodid and one murine species. Units III–IV do not yield enough material to draw palaeoclimatic inferences. The palaeoclimatic conditions for Units V and II, ascertained by means of the bioclimatic model, suggest temperatures and precipitation similar to nowadays; the climate seems to be relatively warm-temperate in both units. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction by means of habitat weighting points to an environment mainly composed of desert and steppe habitats, as well as portions of grassland and forest. This interpretation differs from that inferred from the large-mammal and archaeobotanical data, which indicate a woodland environment. These differences could be explained by the origin of the accumulation. There was no evidence of a major palaeoenvironmental or palaeoclimatic change between the Middle and Late Pleistocene layers, indicating favourable conditions throughout the study period., Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. I. Rey-Rodriguez is the beneficiary of a Margarita Salas postdoctoral scholarship (2021URV‐MS‐03) at Universitat Rovira i Virgili funded by the European Union – Next- Generation EU. J.M. López-García was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2016–19386) with financial sponsorship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

Since 2016, the Microvertebrate Working Group (MVWG), which is part of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ), has held meetings every 2 years with the aim of exchanging data from the study of herpetofauna and small mammals in archaeological contexts. This special issue is the culmination of the III Microvertebrate Working Group (MVWG) meeting that was held virtually between September 1st and 2nd 2020 at the Institut de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain. The meeting gathered 50 small vertebrate zooarchaeologists virtually from Algeria, Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Philippines, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunisia. The present special issue is the result of a total of 18 oral communications and 11 posters. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

14 pages; International audience; Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6; ca. 185–135 ka) is the penultimate glacial stage and constitutes the end of the Middle Pleistocene. This glacial period is typified by generally cold and dry conditions in the western Mediterranean region. Despite the relatively large number of pollen and speleothem studies of MIS 6 in this region, the number of MIS 6 archaeological sites is low. Lazaret cave, situated at 26 m a.s.l. in the city of Nice in southern France, contains an archaeological sequence (layers CII inf. to CIII) dated to MIS 6. We present a multi-method approach using the small-vertebrate assemblages (mainly rodents and herpetofauna) from the entire sequence to characterize the climate and the environment of the site. The Mutual Ecogeographic Range, the Bioclimatic Model andthe Quantified Ecology methods, as well as the Taxonomic Habitat Index, Climatograms and the Simpson Diversity Index were used to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions. The results suggest a generally cold climate with a relatively humid environment and a landscape dominated by deciduous temperate forests. The findings are consistent with the general trends reported from other proxies (large mammals, birds and marine gastropods) studied at Lazaret cave, other MIS 6 sites in the Mediterranean region with small vertebrate studies and the general trends shown by marine cores, terrestrial pollen sequences and speleothems from western Europe. Given the scarcity of data for MIS 6 archaeological sites, Lazaret cave constitutes an important site for our knowledge of the climate and the environment of this period.

Archeological sites usually provide important information about the past distribution of small vertebrate fauna, and by extension about past terrestrial environments and climate in which human activities took place. In this context, Belgium has an interesting location in northwestern Europe between the fully studied zooarcheological records of Germany and England. We present here the revision of the late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2) collection of the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” (Hastière-Lavaux, Namur), studied by Jean-Claude Rage in the 1970s and the revision of the whole “indeterminate” small vertebrate materials from the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” stored in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Quaternary collections in search of more herpetofaunal remains. It is now by far the largest late Pleistocene collection at RBINS with more than 20,500 recognized bones of amphibians and reptiles and covering the last 60,000 years. The faunal list comprises two urodeles (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris and Salamandra salamandra), four anurans (Bufo gr. B. bufo-spinosus, Epidalea calamita, Rana temporaria and Rana cf. R. arvalis), three lizards (Lacerta cf. L. agilis, Zootoca vivipara and Anguis gr. A. fragilis), and three snakes (Natrix gr. N. natrix, Coronella austriaca, and Vipera berus). This study represents the first fossil record in Belgium for L. gr. L. vulgaris, R. arvalis, Z. vivipara, N. gr. N. natrix and C. austriaca. As a whole, this assemblage suggests a patchy humid landscape under colder and dryer climatic conditions in comparison with present ones. This study also underlines the necessity of a primary separation in larger taxonomical categories by the specialist itself., Les sites archéologiques fournissent généralement des informations importantes sur la distribution passée des faunes de petits vertébrés, et par extension sur les environnements terrestres et les climats passés dans lesquels les activités humaines se sont déroulées. Dans ce contexte, la Belgique jouit d’un emplacement intéressant dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Europe, entre les importants registres zooarchéologiques allemands et anglais. Nous présentons ici la révision de la collection du Pléistocène supérieur (stades isotopiques marins 3 et 2) de la caverne Marie-Jeanne (Hastière-Lavaux, Namur) étudiée par Jean-Claude Rage dans les années 1970 et la révision de l’ensemble des petits vertébrés « indéterminés » de la caverne Marie-Jeanne préservés dans les collections quaternaires de l’Institut royal des sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB) , en cherchant de plus amples restes d’herpétofaune. Il s’agit maintenant, et de loin, de la plus grande collection pour le Pléistocène supérieur à l’IRSNB, avec plus de 20 500 ossements reconnus d’amphibiens et de reptiles, couvrant les 60 000 dernières années. La liste faunique comprend deux urodèles (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris et Salamandra salamandra), quatre anoures (Bufo gr. B. bufo-spinosus, Epidalea calamita, Rana temporaria et Rana cf. R. arvalis), trois lézards (Lacerta cf. L. agilis, Zootoca vivipara et Anguis gr. A. fragilis) et trois serpents (Natrix gr. N. natrix, Coronella austriaca et Vipera berus). Cette étude représente la première mention fossile de L. gr. L. vulgaris, R. arvalis, Z. vivipara, N. gr. N. natrix et C. austriaca en Belgique. Dans son ensemble, cet assemblage suggère un paysage humide en mosaïque sous des conditions climatiques plus froides et plus sèches par rapport au présent. Cette étude souligne également la nécessité d’une séparation primaire en grandes catégories taxonomiques par le spécialiste lui-même.

The environmental and climatic evolution of the late Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene of the northeastern Italy is determined for Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) to MIS 3 on the basis of a study of the small-mammal (insectivore, bat and rodent) assemblages. This paper provides a synthesis of three previously published and one unpublished sets of environmental and climatic data from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic sites of Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino, Grotta minore di San Bernardino, De Nadale cave and Fumane cave, all of which are located in northeastern Italy. Using the habitat weighting method and the bioclimatic model to reconstruct the environment, temperature and rainfall, the results show great variability in the landscape and climate of the area. However, the various layers from the studied sites in which the human presence is more intense coincide with landscapes dominated by woodland formations in mild climatic conditions. A comparison of our results with those from other sites with studies of small mammals in Greece, Italy, southern France and the Iberian Peninsula reveals the same pattern, showing that the hominins that inhabited the western Mediterranean region in the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene were closely related to forested areas.

Cova Bonica has yielded one of the few assemblages of Cardial Neolithic records of directly dated human remains (c. 5470 and 5220 years cal. BC – unmodelled) in the Iberian Peninsula and has provided the first complete genome of an Iberian farmer. A minimum of seven individuals and six age clusters have been ascribed on the basis of the disarticulated human bones. A large number of archaeological artifacts have likewise been identified in the same layer, preserved in a small number of remnants in different areas of the cave. This study presents the results of a multi-proxy archaeological analysis of the spatial distribution, human remains, small and large mammals, palaeobotanical remains, lithics, ceramics and radiocarbon dating, with the aim of reconstructing the cave's history and the context of the layer containing the human remains. The results suggest the cave was used for at least two distinct purposes: one related to its use for funerary practices, as documented by a small group of artifacts (ornamental objects, ceramics, tools), charcoal and small mammals; the other related to its use as a sheep pen as indicated by reworked fumier, the results of a zooarchaeological study and an ovicaprine palaeodemographic profile. The paper concludes that the funerary and ritualistic practices of the Cardial Neolithic in SW Europe are difficult to reconstruct because human remains are often scattered in archaeological layers where other human activities may also have been conducted. For this reason, artifacts associated with human remains do not constitute a solid foundation on which to reconstruct funerary practices. Indeed, only a multi-proxy analysis of the archaeological material is capable of evaluating different geological and/or archaeological processes and their associated activities., The results presented here represent the research outcomes of the following projects: El Plistocè superior a la costa central catalana: paleoambients i ocupacions neandertals (2014/100639- Servei d'Arqueologia i Paleontologia) and Els canvis climàtics durant el plistocè superior a la costa central catalana i l'impacte en les poblacions neandertals i humans anatòmicament moderns, supported by projects 2017SGR-00011, HAR2017-86509, HAR2016-75201-P and CGL2015-65387-C3-2-P (MINECO/FEDER). J. Daura was supported by a Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC-2015-17667) and M. Sanz by a Juan de la Cierva contract (IJCI-2017-33908). Fieldwork was also sponsored by the Ajuntament de Vallirana. We thank the Museu de Gavà (Spain) for permission to date the human remains number 19a/b (Gavà-1 Mandible 1982) and 20a/b (Gavà-2 Mandible 1978).

Rodents are a very useful tool in reconstructing the environment of the past, especially owing to their rapid response to climate change, their small home range, and their restricted habitat requirements. They are a highly diverse group of mammals, which have high reproduction rates and as a result can evolve rapidly. The abundance of their microfossil remains in archaeological and paleontological sites permits robust statistical analyses to reconstruct the past climate and environment. Recently, a number of studies have affirmed the need to deepen the climatic characterization of the European Quaternary, the Middle Pleistocene being an important stage for ascertaining how our hominin ancestors lived. The aim of this study is to characterize the climatic conditions in which hominins lived in southwestern Mediterranean Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. To reconstruct these climatic conditions, we apply the bioclimatic model to rodent assemblages from Middle Pleistocene sites with human remains (Caune de l'Arago, Sima de los Huesos, Aroeira cave, Visogliano, Trinchera Galeria, and Mollet cave). Based on the percentage distribution of the species in different climate types and applying multiple linear regressions, we estimated the mean annual temperature, the mean temperature of the coldest month, and the mean temperature of the warmest month. We compared these estimates with data collected over the last 30 years from nearby meteorological stations to obtain the differences with current climate and observe the fluctuations. The climatic conditions obtained from the results of this study show that, while in Iberia mild climatic condition prevailed, in southern France and northeastern Italy harsher weather conditions were indicated.

International audience; Ellobius remains are common and often abundant in southeastern Europe, western and central Asia archaeological sites. A correct identification of species is crucial for our understanding of the evolution of species and communities through time, including biostratigraphic sequences to be established. This study applies geometric morphometric methods (GMM) to Ellobius first lower molars, with the objectives: 1) to discriminate modern species and explore morphological and size differences in reference samples; and 2) to identify fossil specimens recovered in archaeological sites, based on the aforementioned analysis. The reference dataset used in this paper includes specimens belonging to the three species that today occur in the southeastern Europe, western and central Asia: Ellobius fuscocapillus, E. lutescens and E. talpinus. The archaeological material comes from Late Pleistocene Iranian site of Kaldar Cave (Khorramabad valley, Lorestan Province, western Iran). Our study shows that the shape of the anterior cap and the arrangement of the following triangles allow discriminating the three studied extant Ellobius species. The shapes of E. fuscocapillus and E. lutescens m1 appear rather similar, whereas Ellobius talpinus is well separated from these two species. The total length and the anterior cap of m1 in E. fuscocapillus is greater than in Ellobius lutescens. The GMM analyses performed on the modern reference dataset allowed us to identify fossil specimens from Kaldar Cave as E. lutescens and some as E. fuscocapillus, and excluding E. talpinus.

The Middle East, specially the Zagros region, lies in a strategic position as a crossroads between Africa, Europe and eastern Asia. The landscape of this region that prevailed around the Neanderthal and anatomically modern human occupations is not well known. Only a few sites have been studied in detail in this area, often providing only a faunal list. These reveal that Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans lived in a landscape mainly composed of dry steppes. Here we extend the data obtained from Kaldar Cave through a systematic study of the rodent assemblage. The site provided evidence of a Pleistocene occupation attested by lithic tools associated with the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, but it was also occupied during the Holocene, as evidenced by Neolithic artefacts. First excavations have revealed small vertebrates in Layer 4 (sub-layer 5 and 5II), belonging to the Upper Palaeolithic, and Layer 5 (sub-layers 7 and 7II), belonging to the Middle Palaeolithic. The rodent assemblage of Kaldar Cave is mainly composed of six arvicoline, two cricetine, one glirid, one dipodid, one gerbilline and two murine species. This assemblage shows that during the Late Pleistocene the environment around the site was mainly composed of open dry steppes, as indicated by the most abundant taxa, Microtus, Ellobius and Meriones. However, murine species indicate the presence of a vegetation cover. The palaeoclimatic conditions are characterized by lower temperatures and also less precipitation than at present. The results obtained with the rodent assemblages show that there is no major palaeoenvironmental or palaeoclimatic change that would explain the cultural shift between Layer 5 (Middle Palaeolithic) and Layer 4 (Upper Palaeolithic).

Los Batanes C4 is a cave-site in the Spanish Pyrenees, the minimum sediment calendar age was determined to be 15,234 ± 223 cal BP by radiocarbon dating. The cave opens on the northern bank of an eastern tributary of the River Gallego, at an altitude of 1025 m. The small vertebrates recorded are mainly bats, in order of abundance Rhinolophus euryale, R. ferrumequinum, Myotis sp. and Miniopterus schreibersii. The association suggests that at the time of the accumulation the climate was reasonably similar to the current climate; we situate it within a period of local retreat of the ice-cover in the Gallego Valley during the Lateglacial. This is the highest record of these species of Rhinolophus in the Iberian Quaternary, showing that the R. euryale altitudinal range was similar to its extant range during the favourable periods of the Lateglacial. This could indicate that this taxon was relatively quick in spreading into higher regions whenever climate conditions allowed it.

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Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino, located at an altitude of 135 m a.s.l. in the Berici Hills in northeastern Italy, is an archaeological site with a discontinuous sedimentary sequence dating from Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) to MIS 3. In this paper we present for the first time a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the sequence based on small-mammal (insectivore, bat and rodent) assemblages. Coupled with biochronological data and absolute dating together with previous studies on large mammals, birds and other studies on small mammals and pollen from comparable time-spans in Italy, the results enable us clearly to identify distinct climatic periods: the end of MIS 7 (7c to 7a) in units VIII-VII, MIS 5d in unit V, and probably MIS 5b in unit IV and an indeterminate MIS 3 interstadial in units III-II. Finally, the study shows that the early Middle Palaeolithic human occupation in Italy occurs during mild and temperate sub-stages of MIS 7 and that human groups with the same techno-cultural background (Mousterian) were well adapted to the changing environmental and climatic conditions of the Middle to Late Pleistocene in this part of southern Europe.

Recurrent long- and short-term Neanderthal occupations occurred in the Abric Romaní rock shelter (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain) for more than 20,000 years. This provides an opportunity to enhance our understanding of the evolution of behavioral strategies of these human groups. The site has a long and high-resolution sequence with 17 levels completely excavated, 13 of which are presented in this work, from D to Q; ca. 40–60 ka. These levels have generated extensive research concerning Neanderthal hunting strategies, lithic production, and fire technology. Here is presented the evolution of palaeoenvironment under which these populations lived applying different methods of palaeoecological reconstruction based on small-mammal remains along the entire sequence. The study is completed with taphonomic analyses that locate the primary origin of their accumulation under the action of owls and describe a past humid fossiliferous microenvironment where intense human occupation occurred. Oxygen isotope analyses were performed on rodent incisors from the richest levels (D, E, N and O), in order to reconstruct the past air temperatures. The medium to low intra-level ranges of oxygen isotopic values indicate a period of preferential accumulation moment of small mammals, which is likely related to spring-summer predator activity. Throughout the sequence, the landscape evolution is marked by an extended forestall cover and abundant water resources, both integrated in a patchy landscape. Climatic conditions were globally cooler and slightly wetter than present, but rather stable across the sequence. The greater relative presence of mid-European small-mammal species and the estimated lower palaeotemperatures correspond to relatively cooler episodes, such as stadial events, in levels E and O. However, certain discrepancies in palaeotemperature estimations are detected between oxygen isotopic analyses and other methods based on species occurrence. Northeastern Iberia environmental conditions related to Mediterranean climate provide a favorable MIS 3 scenario compared to European higher latitudes. Indeed, the milder glacial fluctuations detected within the Abric Romaní site are coeval to other Iberian Middle Palaeolithic sites with long-term occupations and allow these human groups to incorporate this region for millennia in their migration routes., This research wassupported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MINECO) of the Spanish Government, project HAR2016-76760-C3-1-P, and the Catalonian Government, project SGR 2017-836. The Departament de Cultura (Servei d’Arqueologia i Patrimoni) of the Generalitat de Catalunya (CLT009/18/00054), the Diputación de Barcelona, the Ajuntament de Capellades, and Arts Grafiques Romanya-Valls S.A. provided support for theexcavations. IPHES research is framed in CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Fernandez-García was beneficiary duringthis manuscript elaboration of a PhD scholarship funded under the Erasmus Mundus Programmee International Doctorate in Quaternary and Prehistory by the European Commission (2015-1611/001-001-EMJD). J.M. Lopez-García was supported by a Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC-2016-19386) with financial sponsorship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

The harsh climatic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period have been considered the cause of local extinctions and major faunal reorganizations that took place at the end of the Pleistocene. Recent studies have shown, however, that in addition many of these ecological events were associated with abrupt climate changes during the so-called Late Glacial and the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Here we used ancient DNA to investigate the impact of those changes on common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in Europe. The common vole is a temperate rodent species widespread in Europe. The genetic diversity of modern populations and the fossil record suggests that the species may have survived cold episodes, like LGM, not only in the traditional Mediterranean glacial refugia but also at higher latitudes in cryptic northern refugia located in Central France, the northern Alps as well as the Carpathians. However, the details of the post-glacial recolonization and the impact of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene climate changes on the evolutionary history of the common vole remains unclear. To address this issue, we analysed mtDNA cytochrome b sequences from more than one hundred common vole specimens from 36 paleontological and archaeological sites scattered across Europe. Our data suggest that populations from the European mid- and high latitudes suffered a local population extinction and contraction as a result of Late Glacial and Early Holocene climate and environmental changes. The recolonization of earlier abandoned areas took place in the Mid- to Late Holocene. In contrast, at low latitudes, in Northern Spain there was a continuity of common vole populations. This indicates different responses of common vole populations to climate and environmental changes across Europe and corroborates the hypothesis that abrupt changes, like those associated with Younger Dryas and the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, had a significant impact on populations at the mid- and high latitudes of Europe.

15 pages; International audience; Small mammals, especially rodents, constitute valuable proxies for continental Quaternary environments at a regional and local scale. Recent studies have demonstrated the relation between the stable oxygen isotope composition of the biogenic phosphate from rodent teeth (δ18Op), and the oxygen isotope composition of meteoric waters (δ18Omw), which is related to air temperatures at mid and high latitudes. This work explores the δ18Op of rodent tooth enamel (from Murinae and Arvicolinae subfamilies) to investigate the palaeoenvironmental conditions in northeastern Iberia during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; ca. 60-30 ka). Fourteen new δ18Op analyses from modern samples in conjunction with forty-six δ18Op analyses previously published are used to decipher the isotope record of present-day rodent teeth in this region. Two main factors should be considered in Iberian palaeoenvironmental reconstructions: the singular nature of Iberian δ18Omw records and the potential seasonality bias of small-mammal accumulation. Methodological proposals are made with a view to ensuring the correct interpretation of the δ18Op of small mammals in reconstructing past air temperatures. This methodology is applied to the MIS 3 sequence of the Cova dels Xaragalls site (Vimbodí-Poblet, Tarragona, Spain), where fifty-one δ18O analyses were performed on wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) lower incisors. A spring-early summer accumulation of small mammals is suggested for the layers at Cova dels Xaragalls. In agreement with previous environmental studies of the site, variations in the δ18Op values suggest slight fluctuations in the climatic conditions throughout the sequence, which are consistent with the stadial-interstadial alternations that characterized MIS 3. Complementary palaeoenvironmental methods determine cooler conditions than nowadays, but within a globally stable climatic period.

We have analyzed the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate of the beginning of the Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of the small-mammal assemblages from three sites within the geography of the Iberian Peninsula: Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), Colomera (Sant Esteve de la Sarga, Lleida) and Valdavara-1 (Becerrea, Lugo). These associations reveal that the palaeoenvironment was more humid than today in the sites under study, and the landscape was dominated by woodland and woodland margins in all the studied layers. Further, the climatic conditions were stable, but with winters colder than at present, above all in the Mediterranean area. Finally, our data have been compared with other environmental and climatic proxies, showing that human activities exerted little impact on the palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred from 7000 to 3000 BP in the Iberian Peninsula.

Cova Eiros is emerging as a reference site in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula for the study of the development of the last Neanderthal populations and the first populations of Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in MIS 3. Cova Eiros is an archaeological site (with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels) located in Cancelo, Triacastela (Lugo, northwestern Iberian Peninsula), which has been systematically excavated from 2008 onwards. The small-vertebrate assemblage analysed came from the archaeo-palaeontological field seasons that took place from 2009 to 2014. At least 18 small-vertebrate taxa have been identified: 1 frog ( Rana temporaria ), 1 snake ( Vipera sp.), 4 insectivores ( Sorex minutus , Sorex sp., Talpa cf. occidentalis and Erinaceus europaeus ), 4 chiropters ( Myotis myotis/blythii , cf. Miniopterus sp., Myotis sp. and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ) and 8 rodents ( Apodemus sylvaticus , Arvicola amphibius , Arvicola sapidus , Chionomys nivalis , Microtus (Terricola) lusitanicus , Microtus agrestis , Microtus arvalis and Microtus oeconomus ). Using the Habitat Weighting method to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment, we reconstruct a landscape for MIS 3 characterized by open woodland formations. The Mutual Ecogeographic Range (MER) method and the Bioclimatic Model (BM) used for the palaeoclimatic reconstruction show lower temperatures and higher precipitation than at present in the region. Our results from Cova Eiros are compared with the data obtained from several other sites in the Iberian Peninsula; it can be said that Neanderthals and AMH were well adapted to the territory that they occupied, as well as to the surrounding environment and the climatic conditions prevalent in the unstable context of MIS 3 in the Iberian Peninsula.

The fossil bat assemblage from the Lower Red Unit of Sima del Elefante (TELRU) in Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) has been exhaustively analysed for the first time. Bat fossil assemblages are of particular relevance to palaeoenvironmental approaches to sites. Here we integrate our new data on the chiropteran fauna with the data provided previously by other authors on the basis of the small-vertebrate assemblages and the palynology of the site. Our results are consistent with the earlier results in that they indicate a generally warmer climate than at present in the area and stable environmental conditions throughout the major part of the TELRU sequence. However, fossil bat assemblages sometimes lead to problems when they are used in landscape reconstruction. These problems are discussed here and should be taken into account in future works.

The Embulla Mountain, located between the municipalities of Ria and Corneilla-de-Conflent (Eastern Pyrenees), possesses a large karstic complex with more than 20 caves situated at different altitudinal levels. Lachambre Cave, with more than 26 km of galleries, is the largest of these. The research carried out by the authors since 2011 has led to the discovery of several Middle to Late Pleistocene sites. Grotte de la Carriere is one of these newly discovered sites. The first paleontological survey, undertaken in May 2015, led to the unearthing of more than 2000 large- and small-vertebrate remains in eight different stratigraphical layers. The small-mammal assemblage from the richest layer of the sequence (layer 4) includes at least two insectivores (Talpa europaea and Sorex sp.) and eight rodents (Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis jansoni, Iberomys brecciensis, Clethrionomys glareolus, Pliomys coronensis, Apodemus gr. sylvaticus-flavicollis, Allocricetus bursae and Sciurus sp.). This association is very similar to other Middle Pleistocene sites in southern France, such as Caune de l'Arago and Grotte du Lazaret, as well as being similar to other Iberian Middle Pleistocene sites, such as Gran Dolina (TD10), Galeria and Sima del Elefante (TE18-19) in the Sierra de Atapuerca. These data suggest an approximate age for Grotte de la Carriere - layer 4 of between 220 and 450 ka. The chronology proposed on the basis of the micromammal assemblage also coincides with the large mammals recovered and identified from this layer, mainly composed of the species Ursus deningeri, Panthera fossilis and Canis mosbachensis.

Bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) are a valuable and independent source of palaeoenvironmental information in Quaternary sites because bat assemblages are not necessarily produced by the same processes as those of other small mammals. Here, we report a small collection of bats (MNI 15) from a cave infill of the Aguilon P7 (AGP-7) site (Zaragoza, Spain) dated Late Pleistocene (MIS 3). This is one of the rare localities south of the Ebro River (right bank) with Neanderthal tracks; therefore, the palaeoenvironmental data provided here may help us to understand Neanderthal history. Nine bat taxa were identified, viz. Rhinolophus ferumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis gr. myotis/blythii, M. cf. bechsteinii, M. emarginatus, M. daubentonii, Plecotus gr. auritus/austriacus, Hipsugo savii vel. Pipistrellus kuhlii/nathusii, and Miniopterus schreibersii. The presence of a high number of yearlings of the former four species suggests the presence of breeding colonies. The surprisingly high diversity of the sample indicates a variegated vegetation cover and relatively high humidity for the MIS 3 stage in the region.

Cabrera’s vole, Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae, is a currently endemic species restricted to Spain and Portugal. Its present day distribution is fragmentary, but in the past it was broadly distributed across the Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of the northern part of the Peninsula. Various hypotheses have been expounded to explain the retraction of the species since the beginning of the Holocene: 1) the climate changes produced in the Bronze Age; 2) the human impact on the restricted habitat of the species; and 3) its direct competition with other species with similar environmental requirements, such as the southern water vole (Arvicola sapidus), an Iberian endemism. In this paper, we discuss these hypotheses regarding the distribution of the species fossil record in the Late Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene, as well as its current distribution. The most plausible hypothesis for its retraction is human impact, which has destroyed the habitat of the species with the development of agriculture and road infrastructures and the increasing human population

In this study, we analysed the relative size variations of the first lower molar of the common vole Microtus arvalis and the field vole Microtus agrestis from three Late Pleistocene sites with long sequences: Fumane Cave (north-eastern Italy), Portalon and Arbreda Cave (northern and north-eastern Iberian Peninsula). The relative size variations of the two species have been quantified applying the Lagr/Larv index. We tried to relate the changes in the index values to the climatic fluctuations that characterize Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and 2. The obtained results are compared with previous studies of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions to investigate the efficacy of the Lagr/Larv index as proxy for climatic oscillations through MIS 3-2. The data have also been compared with other available data from Late Pleistocene sites of Spain, Italy, and Hungary, to analyse the responses of the two species to the climatic oscillations in different geographic and climatic areas. Our study showed that the Lagr/Larv index is a potential tool to identify climatic oscillations and changes between humid/dry conditions in Southwestern Europe.

International audience; Situated at the crossroad between Africa, Asia and Europe, the Middle East is an important region for the knowledge of human and mammal migrations. Among mammals, fossil small mammals are good proxies for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, and can also play the role of markers of prehistoric movements. In the aim to better characterize the origins and the palaeoecological signal delivered by the small vertebrate assemblages in Middle East archaeological sites, we performed a taxonomic and taphonomic study of the small mammal remains found in pellets from Barn owl (Tyto alba) from a poorly known region of South of Turkey at the Syrian border, east of Euphrates River. This will constitute the first available taphonomic referential for this region. The studied sample constituted by more than 40 disintegrated pellets provided 2503 rodent skeletal elements. The most common preys are Meriones tristami, followed by Mus musculus. The taphonomic study showed that our assemblage fits well with a predator category of light modification. Regarding the preservation, our mean bone relative abundance reached 82% and the bone fragmentation showed that more than 77% of our sample is intact. The digested elements represented 22% and the low to moderate grades were dominant (83.5%). Implications for environmental and climatic reconstructions based on small mammal communities were also explored using Bioclimatic Model and Habitat Weighting methods.

Recent studies of the Late Pleistocene small-mammal sequences of the Italian Peninsula have provided a more detailed context that sheds light on numerous aspects of the faunal communities in this area. A georeferenced database with 51 Italian Peninsula sites has been built in order to investigate changes in the species range distribution and the evolution of the small-mammal community during the Late Pleistocene, with a special focus on the late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) to Late Glacial assemblages. From the early Late Pleistocene, the Italian Peninsula was divided into two biotic macroregions: the northern Italian Peninsula and the southern Italian Peninsula. The former was characterized by the presence of eastern European species, the latter by the presence of the endemic Savi’s vole (Microtus (Terricola) savii) and the Roman mole (Talpa romana). Three sub-regions have been recognized on the basis of the presence of Dinaromys bogdanovi (northeastern Italian Peninsula) and the presence or absence of Glis glis (southern Tyrrhenian side and southern Adriatic side, respectively). Major oscillations corresponding to Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles and Heinrich Events (HE or H) have been identified in both macroregions. In particular, the Bolling-Allerod Interstadial can be considered a moment of major faunal renewal for the small-mammal communities of the Italian Peninsula. Finally, the small-mammal communities of the Italian Peninsula follow the same general path as that recognized throughout Mediterranean Europe during the Late Pleistocene: this is characterized by variations in the spread of eastern European taxa in relation to mountain barriers and by the absence of these taxa in the southern areas of the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas, compensated by the presence of endemic species.

The Abric Romaní site (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain) constitutes a key site for understanding the latest Neanderthal occupations in Western Europe. Here we present a comprehensive systematic and taphonomic analysis of a small-mammal assemblage from Level O of the Abric Romaní site, with the aim of reconstructing the paleoecological context in which the Neanderthals lived. The assemblage, which probably dates from a stadial episode between Interstadial 15 and Interstadial 14, contains fifteen small mammal species, including species uncommon for the northeast of Iberia, such as Sciurus vulgaris, Nyctalus lasiopterus and Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Taphonomic studies suggest a predatory origin for the assemblage, probably related to Strix aluco, and paleoecological inferences suggest lower temperatures (−3/−4 °C) and higher rainfall (+70/+170 mm) than at present and a landscape dominated by an open forest with watercourses. The new data improve our knowledge of trends associated with Marine Isotope Stage 3 that affected Neanderthal populations in the Iberian Peninsula, showing that the Neanderthals were well adapted to cooler and wetter conditions across Iberia., This research was supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government, project n° HAR2016-76760-C3-1-P, and the Catalonian Government, project n° SGR 2017-836. The Departament de Cultura (Servei d'Arqueologia i Patrimoni) of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014/100576), the Diputació de Barcelona, the Ajuntament de Capellades, and Arts Gràfiques Romanyà-Valls S.A. provided support for the excavations. J.M. López-García was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2016- 19386) with financial sponsorship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. A. Bargalló was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action grant agreement (PREKARN n° 702584).

La Cansaladeta is a site located in a narrow passage dug out by the Francoli River in the Pre-littoral Catalan range (NE Iberia). The archaeological deposit lies on top of a +45–50 m fluvial terrace, and contains a rich Middle Pleistocene stratigraphic succession in which 10 archaeological layers have been identified. Here, we present the description of the sedimentary succession of the site, the available chronological framework (including TL, TT-OSL, and ESR/U series ages, as well as biostratigraphical information), the characteristics of the lithotechnical and faunal assemblages, as well as the first interpretation of the human occupations at the site. Three main occupation phases have been differentiated. The oldest archaeological layers are embedded in a palaeosol formed on a clayey layer that contains limestone fragments detached from the shelter's wall and roof. During the second phase, low energy fluvial sediments coming from lateral river floods were deposited and sealed the archaeological layers. After a transitional phase, the upper layers appear to be derived from slope sediments. Numerical dating yielded internally consistent dates of 380–400 ka for the sequence. However, the study of the fossil assemblages potentially suggest a tentative early Middle Pleistocene age for the lowermost horizons. The rich technological record is made up of several local raw materials, especially chert but also schist, quartzite, quartz and other minor rocks. Knapping sequences seem to be autochthonous, as all the elements and size-categories of the reduction sequence are present, and refits are common. Techno-typological features observed along the sequence are not very diagnostic, however the lower layers include some Acheulean forms among the large shaped tools, restricted variability among the small retouched tools (mostly denticulates) and a virtually absence of prepared cores. The faunal assemblage is scarce and appears strongly altered. Only the lower layers have provided fruitful information. Although neither combustion areas nor structures related to fire-use have been documented to date, heat damage has been repeatedly recorded on both lithic and faunal remains. This may point to systematic fire use within the archaeological sequence. The data provided by the ongoing excavations at La Cansaladeta provide new insight into the early human settlement history of northeast Iberia to be reconstructed. Combining these data with those coming from the close site of Barranc de la Boella, enable us to better reconstruct the timing, nature and context of early human occupation in the region.

No ideal method can be used alone to provide an accurate and irrefutable chronology for dating European Early Pleistocene localities. The solution lies in the combination of different, but complementary, approaches for complementing their chronological framework. In that regard, the results of the present study show that biochronology may be a useful additional tool to further refine the chronology of these localities, by providing not only relative chronological information between the sites, but also giving some important indications about a younger or older Jaramillo age. Our study presents the revised faunal list of each Early Pleistocene levels from the localities of Gran Dolina (TD) and Sima del Elefante (TE), in Atapuerca. Both localities have very likely the richest associations of small mammal species in the Quaternary of Europe. Perhaps the most striking observation is the lack of similarities between the assemblages from each site, which can only be explained by a chronological gap between them. Although the Jaramillo subchron has not been directly identified at Atapuerca, the existing chronostratigraphical framework combined with similarities of the faunal assemblages between Gran Dolina and Vallparadis indicate with some confidence that Sima del Elefante levels are older than the Jaramillo subchron. Consequently, the Early Pleistocene levels of both Atapuerca sites TE and TD are the only sequence from Spain that allows the study of a continuous stratigraphic succession of the interval around the Jaramillo subchron in terrestrial sequences. The biostratigraphy of the Early Pleistocene from Europe, based mainly in the few isolated localities of the Olduvai–Jaramillo time interval, is reinforced by the faunal succession of the Atapuerca sites.

The chronology of layer EVT7 of the Vallparadis Estacio section has been a hotly debated topic during recent years, with some authors supporting an age close to the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary (0.83 Ma), others favouring an age older than the Jaramillo magnetostratigraphic subchron (ca. 1.2 Ma) and others proposing a chronology between 0.98 and 0.95 Ma for layer EVT7. Here, we review the biochronological data from EVT7, and review the biochronology based on the study of Mimomys savini using all the available remains of this species, which is the most abundant rodent species from this layer. Based on the morphologic and biometric comparison with remains of the same species from other similarly-aged Iberian localities (Gran Dolina TD4-6 from Atapuerca, and Barranco Leon D and Fuente Nueva 3 from the Guadix-Baza Basin), we propose an estimated age for EVT7 in the chronologic range from 0.99 to 0.94 Ma. We further perform a paleoenvironmental study based on the whole small-mammal assemblage from EVT7, which allows us to infer an open and humid environment in the vicinity of a lacustrine area or fluvial course. Recently published work also studied the rodent assemblage from EVT7. However, in this study only a part of the small mammals recovered from EVT7 was studied, and therefore its results can be partially biased.

In this paper, a biozonation of the Pleistocene continental record of the Guadix-Baza Basin is proposed. This biozonation is based on the small mammal succession, which ranges from the earliest Pleistocene (ca. 2.6 Ma) to the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 0.3 Ma). A total of 9 biozones have been recognized, all based on the range or concurrent-range of arvicolid species. Therefore, seven biozones have been defined for the Early Pleistocene: Kislangia gusii Zone, Mimomys cf. reidi Zone, Mimomys (Tcharinomy)s oswaldoreigi Zone, Allophaiomys ruffoi Zone, Allophaiomys aff. lavocati Zone, Iberomys huescarensis Zone and Terricola arvalidens Zone. In the Middle Pleistocene of the basin two biozones have been recognized: Iberomys brecciensis–Arvicola mosbachensis Zone and Iberomys brecciensis-Arvicola aff. sapidus Zone. According to different dating methods, the duration of each Early Pleistocene biozone ranges between 0.4 and 0.1 My, with increasing resolution from the Earliest Pleistocene to the late Early Pleistocene. The small mammal succession reveals a high degree of endemism and a persistent Eastern Mediterranean influence, as opposed to Central and Eastern Europe. However, correlation with other Iberian and European sites has been possible on the basis of each biozone associated fauna.

The early Pleistocene site of Barranco León (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain), dated to 1.4 Ma (millions of years ago), records the oldest hominin occurrence in Western Europe, as evidenced by the discovery of one tooth and thousands of Mode 1 stone tools. In this paper a detailed analysis of the microvertebrate content of the D1 and D2 units from this site is presented. The early Pleistocene in the Guadix-Baza Basin is characterized by a sharp climatic deterioration, which possibly impeded the settlement of this region by the early hominin population from the southern Caucasus. Shortly afterwards, when the climatic conditions were again favorable, a hominin presence is suddenly evidenced at the units D1 and D2 of Barranco León. According to the microvertebrate analysis of these units, the mean annual temperature at the time of deposition was significantly higher than 13 °C, with prevalent humid conditions. However, although most of the species were inhabitants of water edges, an open landscape was present in the vicinity of the lake. The data reported here clearly support the idea that the early hominin occupation of Europe was strongly constrained by climatic and environmental conditions, rather than by physiography or cultural factors.

L'Arbreda Cave is one of the southernmost of the Reclau Caves (Serinya, Girona, northeastern Iberian Peninsula), located between the west margin of the Pla d'Usall and the Serinyadell river, at an altitude of about 211 m a.s.l. The Pla d'Usall forms part of the Banyoles-Besald Basin, which is bounded by Eocene and Neogene reliefs. It is filled with sediments of Plio-Pleistocene age. The cave is a shelter formed by travertine cascades with a degree of karstification, and contains sedimentary deposits ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, thus constituting an important archaeo-palaeontological record for an understanding of the prehistoric occupation of northeastern Iberia. It is one of the most complete and best-dated terrestrial sequences in Iberia from the Mousterian to the Early Holocene period. In this paper we present a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the sequence based on non-flying small mammals (insectivores and rodents) and pollen analyses. The environmental and climatic results, together with the absolute dating of the sequence and direct comparison with NorthGRIP delta O-18 and the sea-surface temperatures (SST) of the Alboran Sea, allow us to identify various climatic periods within our sequence: a cold period between interstadials 12 and 10 in Level I, probably interstadial 10 in Level H-2 the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Levels C and B, the Bolling-Allered interstadial (B/A) in Level A, and the Preboreal/Boreal (Pr/B) in the Terra Rossa Level We want to thank the editor Dr. Paul Hesse and the three reviewers (Prof. Gloria Cuenca-Bescos and two anonymous) for their comments that improve the final version of the manuscript. This paper is part of the projects HAR2013-48784-C3-2-P, CGL2012-38358 and 2014-SGR900. Excavations ara funded by "Conselleria de Cultura Generalitat de Catalunya". J.M. Lopez-Garcia is a beneficiary of a Beatriu de Pinos postdoctoral fellowship (2011BP-A200001) from the Generalitat de Catalunya, a grant co-funded by the European Union through the Marie Curie Actions of the 7th Framework Program for R + D

Daura, J. et al, © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The Cova del Rinoceront, a site in NE Iberia, contains a thick sedimentary fill preserving a faunal archive from the penultimate glacial and the the last interglacial periods. Layers I to III have been dated to between 74 and 147ka, coinciding with MIS 5a to 5e, a period poorly represented in the Mediterranean terrestrial record. The results from Cova del Rinoceront are of broader interest for the reconstruction of ecological dynamics during warm stages and the understanding of the evolution and geographical variation of several taxa. The palaeoecological evidence suggests a landscape dominated by mixed wooded vegetation with mild climatic conditions, slightly more humid than today. Several vertebrate taxa, including Haploidoceros mediterraneus, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and Glis glis, are documented for the first time in the early Upper Pleistocene of Europe, showing that these species persisted across the region for longer than previously thought. In addition, the recovery of a small lithic assemblage indicates human presence in the surroundings of the site. The 11m-thick stratigraphic section also provides an ideal setting in which to compare several geochronological methods. U-Th dating of the flowstones that cap the deposit, of speleothems formed along the cave walls, and of speleothems buried by the deposit at different elevations provides minimum and maximum ages of 74 and 175ka, respectively, for the accumulation. The ages obtained by luminescence, electron spin resonance (ESR), amino acid racemisation (AAR), palaeomagnetism and U-series dating of bone are in good agreement with each other and are stratigraphically consistent. This well-dated faunal succession presents a unique opportunity to assess changes in the Pleistocene fauna of the Mediterranean coast over an interval of more than 100ka., This paper is an output of the archaeological research project El Plistocé Superior a la costa central catalana: paleoambients i ocupació dels neandertals (2014/100639) sponsored by Servei d'Arqueologia i Paleontologia e Generalitat de Catalunya (G.C.) and Castelldefels City Council. Sampling and laboratory analyses were funded by Catalan (2014SGR-00108) and Spanish (HAR2011-26193, HAR2011-26193, CGL2010-18616, CGL2012-38358, CGL2012-38434-C03-03 and CGL2013-48441-P) MICINN Projects. J. Daura has been supported by a postdoctoral grant (Juan de la Cierva Subprogram JCI-2011-09543), J.M. López-García by a postdoctoral fellowship (2011BP-A00272) from the G.C. a grant co-funded by the European Union through the Marie Curie Actions of the 7th Framework Program for R.D. We are also grateful to R. Alvarez (UB) for lithics'photos. J. Mangope, Williams College, prepared and measured the ESR sample. D. Lawrence, Wadsworth Laboratories of the New York State Public Health Service provided access to the source for the ESR irradiations. Funding for the ESR spectrometer came from NSF grant ILI 9151111; other funding was provided by Williams College. L.Arnold and M. Demuro were supported by MINECO grant G2010- 16821, Australian Research Council Future Fellowship F130100195, and Marie Curie International Reintegration grant PIRG08-GA-2010-276810. Thanks to the Paleomagnetism Laboratory of Barcelona (CCiTUB-CSIC) where the paleomagnetic analyses were carried out.

The Myotis myotis/M. blythii species complex, spread across the Western Palearctic, is a problematic group for which the taxonomy of the species is not yet satisfactorily resolved. The Iberian Peninsula played a key role in its evolutionary history as a Pleistocene refuge and as the starting point for the eastward expansion of M. myotis in the early Holocene, while M. blythii reached the Iberian Peninsula only during the middle Holocene. The study of Iberian populations and particularly of the Iberian fossil record is of high interest in this regard. However, there are few data available on the biometry of the skulls and teeth of Iberian populations (which differ somewhat in size from those of other regions of Europe and Asia) or tools for the identification of fragmentary cranial remains. Much of the Quaternary Iberian record of large Myotis remains unassigned. Here, we contribute to the task of determining fragmentary cranial remains by providing new cranial and dental biometric data from extant Iberian populations, predictive models for isolated upper molar identification, and a set of indices that allow quantitative evaluation of the differences in anatomical traits (in skull and molars) between the two species.

Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4; ca. 71–57 ka) is not well documented in European continental contexts and is characterized mainly by minimum summer insolation, producing a maximum extension of the polar ice caps during the Late Pleistocene together with a lowering of the sea level in the Northern Hemisphere. The De Nadale Cave site, located at an altitude of 130 m a.s.l. in the Berici Hills in northeastern Italy, contains a single archaeological layer (Unit 7) dated to MIS 4. In this paper, we present a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on small-mammal (insectivore, bat and rodent) assemblages from this layer. Habitat weighting and bioclimatic model methods were used in order to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions. The results identify a cold climatic period with a landscape dominated by open woodland formations and open-dry habitats, dating to near the beginning of MIS 4. The findings are consistent with studies of large mammals and previously reported pollen studies in terrestrial sequences of this age in Italy and in cores from the offshore Mediterranean basin. Given the scarcity of terrestrial data for MIS 4, the De Nadale Cave constitutes an important site for our knowledge of the environment and climate of this period.

In this study, we analysed morphometrically fossil populations of Microtus arvalis and M. agrestis from eight late Middle to Late Pleistocene archaeological and palaeontological sites in the Carpathian Basin, northern Hungary. The intra- and interspecific variations in both species can be related to climatic oscillations linked to the onset of the Eemian interglacial and the first phases of Marine Isotope Stage 5. The size of M. agrestis can be correlated with the presence/absence of relatively humid climatic and environmental conditions and of surface water resources (such as marshes and flooded areas). A possible immigration event of M. arvalis populations into the Carpathian Basin, also related to the Eemian interglacial, is also identified.