Search

This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (central Spain) via the analysis of the latter’s archaeological assemblage. Alongside evidence of Mousterian lithic industry, Level 3 of the cave infll was found to contain an assemblage of mammalian bone remains dominated by the crania of large ungulates, some associated with small hearths. The scarcity of post-cranial elements, teeth, mandibles and maxillae, along with evidence of anthropogenic modifcation of the crania (cut and percussion marks), indicates that the carcasses of the corresponding animals were initially processed outside the cave, and the crania were later brought inside. A second round of processing then took place, possibly related to the removal of the brain. The continued presence of crania throughout Level 3 indicates that this behaviour was recurrent during this level’s formation. This behaviour seems to have no subsistence-related purpose but to be more symbolic in its intent., Funding for this research was provided by the Dirección General de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica de la Comunidad de Madrid, grant no. H2019/HUM-5840 (co-financed by the European Social Fund), and by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, grant no. PCG2018- 094125-B-100 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE). The analyses were carried out at the laboratories of the CENIEH-ICTS with the support of the CENIEH staf, and at the Geochronology Laboratory, Jaume Almera Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC). S.G.-S. and L.V. are beneficiaries of predoctoral contracts within the programme H2019/HUM-5840 (co-financed by the European Social Fund). A.M. is funded by a grant from the Junta de Castilla y León, financed in turn by European Social Funds via the Consejería de Educación (BDNS 376062). A.C.D.-G. is a beneficiary of a postdoctoral grant funded by the Complutense University of Madrid (POP-UCM-CT17/17-CT18/17). A.A.-F. is supported by a PhD grant from the Reale Foundation via the Fundación Atapuerca. Currently, M.A.G.-P. is a beneficiary of a technical support staf contract (no. PTA2018-015145-I) from the Fundación General de la Universidad de Alcalá-Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, financed by the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad and the MAPCM. L.H.-V. is a beneficiary of a Research Assistant contract (no. PEJ-2020-AI/HUM-18786) co-financed by the European Social Fund, the Youth Employment Initiative, and the Consejería de Ciencia, Universidades e Innovación de la Comunidad de Madrid. M.V.-R. is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities with an FPU predoctoral grant (no. FPU18/05632).

Neanderthals have been claimed to have had a selective adaptation to rugged, wooded landscapes that would have partially compensate their high basal metabolic rate and locomotor energetic costs through reducing search time and increasing diet breadth. The archaeological site of the Navalmaíllo rockshelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid), located in a mountain environment in central Iberian Peninsula, has been interpreted as a repeated short-term occupation hunting camp by Neanderthal groups, mainly focused on primary access to large bovids and cervids. Navalmaíllo rockshelter has also furnished fish, toads, frogs, tortoises, lizards and snakes remains. This association of amphibians and reptiles suggests a much warmer climate (þ 2.8ºC) for layer F than at present, with similar temperatures during the summer but higher temperatures throughout the remaining months. Rainfall was slightly more abundant (þ180.6 mm) than today, with a more contrasted regime during the year, with rainier winters and drier summers. A two-month period of aridity is observed during summer, representing a similar duration to present-day climatic conditions. Reconstructed landscapes are mainly constituted by open areas with dry grassland and rocky or stony areas, evolving laterally to humid meadows, probably close to the aquatic and peri-aquatic areas, such as rivers or ponds with riverside vegetation. Woodland environments are lso well represented around the site, with medium scrublands to forest formations. Fish complete this reconstruction by documenting the presence of a pre-mountain well-developed river system characterized by relatively cold, permanent, oxygen-rich, and running waters. Such reconstruction is in disagreement with previous pollen interpretation for Layer F that suggested a very open and cold environment. Our new interpretation suggests that the Neanderthal occupation of the Navalmaíllo rockshelter occurred during a somewhat temperate and humid period, probably within the later part of the Marine Isotope Stage 5, effectively favouring the presence of a high biodiversity around the site., C.S.-B. was supported by a FPI Predoctoral Scholarship (PRE 2020-094482) associated to the project CEX 2019-000945-M-20-1 with the financial sponsorship of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. A.F. was beneficiary of a post-doctoral grant APOSTD/2021/110, granted by the Generalitat Valenciana and co-financed by the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE). AMM was supported by the Agencia de Gestio d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) and the Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (grant 2021FI_B200207). “L'FSE inverteix en el teu futur”. A.C.D.-G. was beneficiary of a postdoctoral grant (POP-UCM CT17/17-CT18/17) funded by the Complutense University of Madrid. This research was conducted as part of competitive projects PGC 2018-094125-B-100 (MCIU/AEI/FED-ER,UE), PGC 2018-093925-B-C32 (MICINN-FEDER), 2017SGR1040 IPHES-URV and 2017SGR859 IPHES (AGAUR), PGC 2018-093612-B- 100 and PID 2021-122533NB-I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion y Agencia Estatal de Investigacion), and funded by the I þ D activities program for research groups run by the Education Secretariat of the Madrid Regional Government (H2019/HUM-5840). The study was also partly funded by the MAR, Grupo Mahou and Canal de Isabel II-Gestion. The Institut Catal a de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolucio Social (IPHES-CERCA) has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (CEX 2019-000945-M)., With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence" accreditation CEX 2019-000945-M.

La Cueva del Estrecho (Villares del Saz, Cuenca) es un yacimiento arqueo-paleontológico holoceno prácticamente inédito hasta la fecha. Se han estudiado en torno a 970 restos fósiles craneales pertenecientes a 14 taxones de micromamíferos (roedores, lagomorfos, eulipotiflos y quirópteros), procedentes del paquete sedimentario situado en la entrada de la cueva. Una datación (14C-AMS) realizada sobre hueso arroja una antigüedad de 2289-2154 años cal. BP para la asociación de micromamíferos. El estudio tafonómico realizado ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de una elevada frecuencia de elementos digeridos en la muestra en la muestra (≥ 70%) que en algunos en algunos casos alcanzan el grado extremo. Además, se han identificado fragmentos de coprolitos adheridos a numerosos restos óseos y dentarios, así como dentición digerida de gazapos. Por todo ello puede afirmarse que el origen de la asociación fue la depredación por parte de mamíferos carnívoros, probablemente mustélidos.

The apparently regular and favourable climate that characterizes the Holocene as an interglacial period shows, however, important climatic instability well documented in the Northern Hemisphere. These fluctuations from colder to warmer or wetter to drier affected both biodiversity and human societies in the last 12,000 years, although the impact in Southern America is still poorly known. We are here investigating the biodiversity of small mammal faunas, more sensitive to climatic changes than large mammals, combining taphonomic and palaeoecological data in the Argentine Pampas to better understand the global nature and effect of these Holocene climatic fluctuations. This paper is pioneering applying in this region palaeoecological methodologies practised in European sites, such as the chorotype classification and biomes overlap analyses. The Pampean Region is an ecotone with a confluence of three climatic regions where any change in climatic conditions should be easily detected. Our results, based on the palaeoecological requirements of small mammals, do not indicate severe changes, and most of the sites show climatic stability except for one of them, in which a possible trend towards present conditions (temperate/humid) can be inferred., This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Project CGL2016-79334P); the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas de Cooperación Internacional (Project i-COOPB-20287); the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (Project 05-G) and the Secretaría General de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional del Sur (PGI 24/H154); SGM and ACDG have a predoctoral grant funded by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and Banco Santander (CT42/18-CT43/18 and CT17/17-CT18/17, respectively). LD acknowledges to the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades for the project PGC2018-094955-A-I00.

En los últimos años revistas científicas han publicado diversos estudios (cerámica, metal, material lítico, etc.) sobre Castillejo del Bonete. Este trabajo presenta datos inéditos sobre la industria ósea, micro y macromamíferos encontrados en este yacimiento. La industria elaborada sobre materia dura de origen animal está constituida principalmente por piezas elaboradas con hueso, asta o dientes, que fueron utilizados como medios de producción o complementos para vestir y adornar a los difuntos, o tallar ídolos. El estudio de los micromamíferos aporta información sobre el final del uso de estos túmulos, así como sobre aspectos ambientales. Los perfiles de mortalidad de los grandes mamíferos sugieren una explotación mixta, tanto de productos primarios (carne) y secundarios (leche, lana y posibles animales de carga o tracción) en el caso de los ovicaprinos, bovinos y cerdos. Las piezas arqueológicas depositadas aquí fueron puestas al servicio de un ritual creado en torno a los ancestros y a un culto solar desde el Calcolítico hasta la Edad del Bronce. Se aportan dos nuevas dataciones radiocarbónicas del yacimiento. La primera está obtenida de una vértebra de ovicaprino, que marca el momento de monumentalización de la cueva utilizada como cámara funeraria, mediante la construcción del Gran Túmulo 1. La segunda permite datar el momento de uso del Túmulo 2. In recent years, scientific journals have published several studies (ceramics, metal, lithic material, etc.) on Castillejo del Bonete. This work presents unpublished data on the bone industry, small and large mammals found in this site. Bone artifacts are mainly made up of from bone, antler or teeth, which were used as tools for production or accessories to dress and adorn the deceased, or to make idols. The study of small mammals provides information on the end of the use of these burial mounds, as well as on environmental aspects. The mortality profiles of big domestic mammals (ovicaprines, bovines and pigs) suggest a mixed exploitation, such primary (meat) as secondary (milk, wool and probably traction use) products The archaeological pieces depos‑ ited here were put at the service of a ritual created around the ancestors and a solar cult from the Chalcolithic until the Bronze Age. Two new radiocarbon dates of the site are provided, one of them obtained from an ovi‑ caprine vertebra, which marks the moment of monumentalization of the cave used as a burial chamber, through the construction of the Great Mound 1. The second one allows to date the time of use of the Tumulus 2.

This paper reports a new and well dated record of the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus), which is the smallest extant terrestrial mammal, and provides a comprehensive review of the fossil record of this species. Three remains were found in the small vertebrate assemblage of the Estrecho Cave (Cuenca, Spain), which dates from 2310–2290 and 2272–2149 years cal BP. The morphometric analysis performed provided unequivocal traits of this species. We analyse this new record of the Etruscan shrew together with a review of its fossil records along the Mediterranean Basin. Because of the scarcity of reliable records of this species, its origin and palaeobiogeographical history remain still unclear. According to available data, the Etruscan shrew populations that colonised Europe were most probably originated in Asia, where it was present at least since the Middle Pleistocene. Its dispersal process across the Mediterranean Basin shows a pattern in which it progressively extended its distribution towards the west from mid-4th millennium BP onwards. This process most certainly involved the accidental translocation of the species by humans across the Mediterranean through navigation routes, resulting in its introduction into most of the large Mediterranean islands, besides the mainland of Europe and North Africa.

(68)Ga-DOTA-peptides are a promising PET radiotracers used in the detection of different tumours types due to their ability for binding specifically receptors overexpressed in these. Furthermore, (68)Ga can be produced by a (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator on site which is a very good alternative to cyclotron-based PET isotopes. Here, we describe a manual labelling approach for the synthesis of (68)Ga-labelled DOTA-peptides based on concentration and purification of the commercial (68)Ga/(68)Ga generator eluate using an anion exchange-cartridge. (68)Ga-DOTA-TATE was used to image a pheochromocytoma xenograft mouse model by a microPET/CT scanner. The method described provides satisfactory results, allowing the subsequent (68)Ga use to label DOTA-peptides. The simplicity of the method along with its implementation reduced cost, makes it useful in preclinical PET studies.

In the Mediterranean realm, the development of navigation techniques by humans during the Mesolithic and the Neolithic favoured the dispersal of some small mammal species from Africa and the Levant into the European continent. Many details of this process still remain unclear such as the exact date of first arrivals of each species or how their dispersal into southwestern Europe occurred. In such a context, the new site of Castillejo del Bonete (southeastern Spain), provides exceptional information thanks to its rich microvertebrate assemblage. Over 8000 remains of small mammals have been identified in this site, belonging to eleven species. Radiocarbon dating performed directly on a specimen has given a date of 3819–3615 cal. BP. Thus, the small mammal assemblage of Castillejo del Bonete provides new evidence to reconstruct the biogeographical history of some small mammals of recent introduction in western Europe. The presence and relative abundance (12.45% of MNI) of the Western Mediterranean mouse (Mus spretus) is particularly interesting, since there are very few sites of this age in Iberia where its record can be considered reliable. A critical review of Mus species occurrences presented in this paper suggests that the Western Mediterranean mouse did not colonize southwest Europe before the Late Neolithic. Additionally, the absence of both the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) in this rich and diverse assemblage is in concordance with previous hypothesis which support the idea that the Iberian Peninsula was colonized by these two species on a more recent date.

Purpose The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency and certain epidemiological characteristics of a consecutive series of conjoined twins born in Spain. Material and Methods We used data from the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations for the period April 1976 to 2006. Because the Spanish law permitting voluntary termination of pregnancies (TOP) when the fetus presented malformations was effective by the end of 1985, we analyzed the data in 4 periods, 2 before 1986 and 2 after. During the first period (1976-1979) only live births were recorded, whereas both still and live births were included in the other three (1980-1985, 1986-1995, and 1996-2006). In the present study, the cases were classified as symmetrical (16 pairs) and asymmetrical (1 pair) conjoined twins. Each pair of conjoined twins was considered as only one case for calculations, regardless of the type of union. Results Among a total of 2,281,604 consecutive births between 1980 and 2006, there were a total of 15 cases of symmetrical conjoined twins giving a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 (1/152,107), whereas there was only 1 stillborn asymmetrical conjoined twin pair (0.04/100,000). Among the 13,418 consecutive stillborns surveyed, 6 cases of conjoined twins were identified (either symmetrical or asymmetrical) giving a frequency of 44.72 per 100,000, and 11 pairs were identified among the 2,425,583 total live births surveyed during the first period 1976 to 1979, a frequency of 0.45 per 100,000. Thus, the frequency among stillborn infants is 99.34 times higher than that observed among live births. However, the frequency for the total births (3 last periods) showed a decreasing trend from 1.47 per 100,000 birth in the first period (1980-1985) when TOP was illegal, to a value of 0.09 per 100,000 in the last period, more than 16-fold lower, probably because of the TOP of affected fetuses. Therefore, we consider that the frequencies observed in the period 1980 to 1985 are the basal values in our population. The most frequent type observed was thoracopagus, with an overall prevalence at birth of 0.44 per 100,000 (1/228,160) from 1980 to 2006, representing 58.82% of the total population of symmetric conjoined twin pairs. Diprosopus pairs were the next most common group (11.76%). Most of the cases were females (4 males/11 females), and although this appeared to be mainly because of the thoracopagus pairs (males-females, 2:8), in such a small number of cases, it is not possible to determine the ratios for the other groups. Gestational age was significantly shorter than in control twins for each type studied. Conclusions We conclude that it is incorrect to consider that all types of conjoined twins have the same epidemiological characteristics, such as the frequency at birth. The differences observed may be related with the distinct embryo-fetal mortality of each type of conjoined twins in different populations, and the sex ratio, among others.

It is generally accepted that 2.5% of the patients with unexplained mental retardation and dysmorphic features have a chromosome alteration affecting the subtelomeric regions. The frequency of such alterations whether in the general population or in newborns with congenital defects, however, remains unknown. Here, we present an analysis of the subtelomeric regions in a consecutive series of 71 newborn babies with congenital defects, who displayed a normal high resolution G-band karyotype (550-850 bands). After excluding the alterations that could be considered to be polymorphisms, a total of seven subtelomeric anomalies were observed with a frequency of 9.86% (3.96-20.31). We conclude that fluorescence in-situ hybridization screening for subtelomeric alterations is relevant for infants with congenital defects detectable at birth, particularly in those newborn babies with congenital defects and a normal high resolution G-band karyotype.

We present a case of mosaic 5p tetrasomy. The mosaicism 46,XX/47,XX,+i(5p) was found at different ratios in blood lymphocytes, skin fibroblasts, and chondrocytes. The origin of the extra isochromosome was confirmed by FISH. The clinical picture corresponds to that described in trisomy 5p patients, although it was more severe than the two previously reported cases of mosaic 5p tetrasomy. No correlation between clinical severity and proportion of tetrasomic cells in blood or fibroblasts was found in these cases.

We have studied 9 cases with the combination of some form of holoprosencephaly and any degree of caudal dysgenesis. The cases were identified through the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC). Of the 9 cases, 6 infants had an aneuploidy syndrome, one had Meckel syndrome, and 2 cases were of unknown etiology. We determined that the prevalence figure for the association of both conditions in the same child was 0.08 per 10,000 livebirths, and 18.8 times higher for stillbirths (i.e., 1.50/10,000). This prevalence is significantly higher than what would be expected by Chance. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.