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Abstract: The Iberian Peninsula plays a central role in the current debates on the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition and the Neanderthal extinction. This is largely due to the chronological data which some authors have suggested show a clear divide between Northern Iberia, where the Upper Palaeolithic appeared as early as 36.5 ka 14C BP, and Southern Iberia, where the Middle Palaeolithic survived until ca. 32–30 ka 14C BP or later. The best example of this view is the Ebro Frontier hypothesis. However, there are chronological data in both Northern and Southern Iberia that do not fit this pattern, and some of the evidence supporting the Ebro Frontier hypothesis has been questioned in recent years. This paper focuses on the chronology of the final Middle Palaeolithic of Northern Iberia, where several assemblages have been found to post-date the first Upper Palaeolithic in the region, and be of a similar age to the final Neanderthal occupations of the south. In order to improve the chronological framework of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic boundary in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, a radiocarbon dating program is focused on sites from both the Cantabrian and Mediterranean regions. The first results of this program are presented in this paper. New radiocarbon dates have been measured by two laboratories using a range of pre-treatment methodologies. These do not support a late Middle Palaeolithic in Northern Iberia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Intensification in the procurement of small game, including different taxa of birds, has been proposed as one of the indicators of dietary shifts occurring in western Mediterranean regions during the Upper Palaeolithic as a consequence of both increased human hunting pressures and environmental change. In this paper, avian remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic levels of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, northeast Iberia) are analysed. Our results evidence a high diversity of bird taxa in most levels, with the presence of a minimum of 50 species, including birds that inhabit a variety of biotopes such as cliffs, rivers and wetlands, and open grassland, along with coniferous and mixed forests. Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from all levels indicates a mixed origin for the material, humans being one of the agents responsible for the accumulations. The results show that birds were caught for consumption. However, wing feathers and phalanges were also extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. A significant number of tooth/beak-marked bones and digested remains also evidence the participation of different species of raptors and, to a lesser degree, of small terrestrial carnivores in creating these assemblages. Finally, some birds died naturally and were then incorporated into the archaeological record. This study contributes to the discussion of the importance of the exploitation of birds by hunter-gatherers during the Upper Palaeolithic in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to understand the feeding habits of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus by investigating the dental microwear patterns of 106 molars from six Late Pleistocene caves in Catalonia (Spain): Ermitons Cave, Arbreda Cave, Mollet Cave, Llenes Cave, Toll Cave, and Teixoneres Cave. Dental microwear patterns of U. spelaeus were compared with a reference collection of extant ursid species. The results show an omnivorous and carnivorous diet in all sites analyzed with both intra- and inter-site pattern variability. Unlike previous studies, here dental microwear identified more carnivorous habits for the herbivorous cave bear during the days/weeks before death. More varied and higher energy items would help to cope with the hibernation period. The variability between the samples could be due to the characteristic climatic shifts of the Late Pleistocene and to the corresponding differences in the availability of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of sites dated to the Late Middle Paleolithic and the Early Upper Paleolithic have been recorded in the Cantabrian region (northern Iberia), making this area a key location to investigate the lifeways of the last Neanderthals and the first anatomically modern humans. The stratigraphic sequence from El Cuco rock-shelter was originally attributed to the Early Upper Paleolithic based on radiocarbon dates measured on bone apatite. However, new radiocarbon dates on shell carbonates from the lower levels produced inconsistent dates with those previously published. In order to clarify this anomaly, a reassessment of the chronology of levels VI to XIV was undertaken. The review was based on new radiocarbon dates performed on bones and shells, and a re-evaluation of the lithic assemblages. Bone samples did not produce radiocarbon dates due to a lack of collagen preservation but radiocarbon dating of shell carbonates provided dates ranging from 42.3 to 46.4 ka BP. These dates are significantly older than that previously obtained for level XIII using biogenic apatite from bones (∼30 ka uncal BP), suggesting that the bone apatite used for radiocarbon dating was rejuvenated due to contamination with secondary carbonate. Lithic assemblages, defined in the first place as Evolved Aurignacian, have now been confidently attributed to the Mousterian techno-complex. These results suggest a Middle Paleolithic chronology for this part of the sequence. The new chronology proposed for El Cuco rock-shelter has significant implications for the interpretation of Neanderthal subsistence strategies and settlement patterns, especially for coastal settlement and use of marine resources, not only in northern Iberia, but also in Atlantic Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) is an interglacial that has not been a major topic of scientific interest, yet is interesting because it contains five warm and cold phases (MIS 7e-a) within a brief period of time (ca. 246–186 ka). In this context, there are several sites that contain Middle Pleistocene human remains in Europe, including Mollet cave, the subject of this study. Analyses of the small vertebrates from this cave, together with the numerical dating (ca. 215 ka), established the environmental and climatic conditions in which the hominins who frequented the cave lived. The results obtained situate the Middle Pleistocene hominins of Mollet cave in the MIS 7c substage, indicating that the occupation by humans took place in a transitional phase from a warm to a cold stage with forest development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]