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En esta tesis doctoral se analiza la contaminación de metales depositados en cinco humedales del Pirineo navarro con la finalidad de discernir procesos de contaminación derivados de actividades mineras y metalúrgicas durante la Prehistoria Tardía y Primera Historia. De igual modo se analizan los contenidos orgánicos del sedimento que nos van a permitir inferir información paleoclimática. Se estudian además minas antiguas en Lantz y Mezkiritz para buscar la trazabilidad isotópica con las fases contaminantes detectadas en los humedales Arxuri, Baltsagorrieta, Belate, Gesaleta y Jauregiaroztegi. Las dataciones radiocarbónicas nos ayudan a concretar temporalmente estos fenómenos que hemos investigado junto a las afecciones provocadas en el medio, desde el tardiglaciar hasta el momento actual.

380 p. + anexos, Esta Tesis Doctoral analiza el grado de validez interpretativa del estudio del registro de los microfósiles no esporopolínicos (NPP). Se evalúan las posibilidades y limitaciones que presenta este tipo de estudios y las consecuencias interpretativas que se derivan de ellas, mediante referentes de análogos modernos y el estudio de diversos depósitos de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica y de la vertiente sur de los Pirineos occidentales. Junto al clásico estudio palinológico, los NPP (esporas fúngicas, algas, restos de invertebrados) pueden contribuir con interesantes lecturas de eventos o fenómenos de orden ecológico, económico o comportamental (prácticas pastoriles, episodios de incendios o erosión, patologías). Sin embargo, la interpretación e información extraída de estos fósiles resulta, en ocasiones, contradictoria. Para evaluar su potencial, hemos desarrollado este proyecto desde una perspectiva holística, incluyendo el estudio bibliográfico, el trabajo experimental en análogos modernos y la interpretación de registros fósiles. Hemos podido comprobar una serie de contradicciones respecto al sistema óptimo de recogida, procesado y cuantificación de muestras, así como un conocimiento muy limitado acerca de la capacidad de producción y dispersión de los organismos y de la tafonomía implicada en el proceso de conservación/destrucción de los mismos. Proponemos una serie de pautas para mejorar la metodología empleada hasta la fecha.

Multiple factors have been proposed to explain the disappearance of Neandertals between ca. 50 and 40 kyr BP. Central to these discussions has been the identification of new techno-cultural complexes that overlap with the period of Neandertal demise in Europe. One such complex is the Chatelperronian, which extends from the Paris Basin to the Northern Iberian Peninsula between 43,760-39,220 BP. In this study we present the first open-air Chatelperronian site in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, Aranbaltza II. The technological features of its stone tool assemblage show no links with previous Middle Paleolithic technology in the region, and chronological modeling reveals a gap between the latest Middle Paleolithic and the Chatelperronian in this area. We interpret this as evidence of local Neandertal extinction and replacement by other Neandertal groups coming from southern France, illustrating how local extinction episodes could have played a role in the process of disappearance of Neandertals.

Los Azules Cave is located in Contranquil, municipality of Cangas de Onís (Asturias). It is placed in the southern slope of the Llueves Mount. It was discovered in 1971, and excavated by Juan A. Fernández Tresguerres between 1973 and 1992. It is one of the most important archaeological cave sites in Cantabrian Region. Furthermore, Los Azules is the most important site for the knowledge of the Azilian in the Iberian Peninsula. As a result of a new research project started in 2019 in this cave, we consider it is convenient to carry out a synthesis of the current state of the research and knowledge on the Cantabrian Azilian, La cueva de Los Azules se encuentra situada en Contranquil, concejo de Cangas de Onís (Asturias), en la ladera sur del monte de Llueves. Fue descubierta en 1971 y excavada entre 1973 y 1992 por Juan A. Fernández Tresguerres. Se trata de uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos en cueva más importantes de la región cantábrica, y del yacimiento más importante de toda la península ibérica para el estudio y conocimiento del Aziliense. A raíz de un nuevo programa de investigación en la cueva, iniciado en 2019, presentamos una síntesis del estado actual de la investigación y conocimiento sobre el Aziliense cantábrico, a partir de los resultados publicados por J. FernándezTresguerres.

380 p. + anexos, Esta Tesis Doctoral analiza el grado de validez interpretativa del estudio del registro de los microfósiles no esporopolínicos (NPP). Se evalúan las posibilidades y limitaciones que presenta este tipo de estudios y las consecuencias interpretativas que se derivan de ellas, mediante referentes de análogos modernos y el estudio de diversos depósitos de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica y de la vertiente sur de los Pirineos occidentales. Junto al clásico estudio palinológico, los NPP (esporas fúngicas, algas, restos de invertebrados) pueden contribuir con interesantes lecturas de eventos o fenómenos de orden ecológico, económico o comportamental (prácticas pastoriles, episodios de incendios o erosión, patologías). Sin embargo, la interpretación e información extraída de estos fósiles resulta, en ocasiones, contradictoria. Para evaluar su potencial, hemos desarrollado este proyecto desde una perspectiva holística, incluyendo el estudio bibliográfico, el trabajo experimental en análogos modernos y la interpretación de registros fósiles. Hemos podido comprobar una serie de contradicciones respecto al sistema óptimo de recogida, procesado y cuantificación de muestras, así como un conocimiento muy limitado acerca de la capacidad de producción y dispersión de los organismos y de la tafonomía implicada en el proceso de conservación/destrucción de los mismos. Proponemos una serie de pautas para mejorar la metodología empleada hasta la fecha.

El Cierro Cave possesses one of the few sequences in SW Europe in which archaeological levels cover the transition from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene. Information contributed by the palynological and anthracological studies indicates that this transition was marked by a steady expansion of broadleaf woodland and a reduction in herbaceous-shrub communities. Archaeofaunal studies reveal continuity in subsistence strategies throughout the sequence. This was based on specialisation in hunting red deer, fishing, and gathering molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderm species on rocky shores. The difference between the Azilian and Mesolithic occupations lies in the replacement of some marine invertebrate species and the decrease in limpet sizes. The abiotic evidence is characterised by a lithic assemblage with allochthonous flint types, which has been interpreted as continuity of the raw material procurement strategies inherited from the Magdalenian.

El presente trabajo se ha centrado sobre la Cuadrilla de Ayala (Álava), donde se han localizado ocho poblaciones relictas de vid silvestre en diversos hábitats. Se ha comprobado su carácter dioico durante el periodo de floración. Se han identificado las principales especies parásitas existentes sobre estas parras y las principales componentes de su vegetación acompañante. Por otro lado, se han estudiado quince vides cultivadas, con una edad superior a cincuenta años, situadas en la fachada principal de los caseríos. El análisis del ADN de ambos tipos de parras se ha realizado con 48 marcadores SNPs. Los resultados obtenidos han sido comparados con la base de datos disponible en el Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (Logroño), a fin de proceder a la caracterización genética de las muestras., This paper focuses on the Cuadrilla de Ayala (Álava province, Spain), where eight relic wild grapevine populations were located in different habitats. The dioecious nature of these lianas was determined at flowering time. The main parasitic species on these vines and also the most frequent taxa of their accompanying vegetation were identified. On the other hand, fifteen vines, aged in excess of fifty, and located in the main entrances of traditional farmhouses (caseríos), were also studied. The analysis of the DNA from both kinds of sampled vines was based on 48 SNPs markers. Results were compared with the available data base at the Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (Logroño, Spain) for the sample genetic characterization.

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza I I I revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137-50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities.

[EN]: The present article, focused on the Eurasian wild grapevine, the dioecious parental of the present cultivars, shows the ancient uses of this vine in the past and its importance as a plant genetic resource in the genetic improvement of existing varieties and to reduce the loss of agrodiversity in the vineyard. It also includes its main natural habitats, its main ampelographic features and the parasites that affect it. Finally, it remarks the main taxon, lacking a legal figure of preservation in Spain, at both the state and autonomic levels, [ES]: El presente artículo centrado en la vid silvestre euroasiática, el parental dioico de las actuales variedades de cultivo, recoge los antiguos aprovechamientos que tuvo esta liana en el pasado y su importancia como recurso fitogenético para la mejora de variedades existentes y frenar la pérdida de agrodiversidad en el viñedo. Asimismo, señala sus principales hábitats naturales, sus principales características ampelográficas y los parásitos que la afectan. Finalmente, señala los principales impactos de carácter antrópico que han reducido drásticamente sus poblaciones, convirtiéndolo en un taxón amenazado, carente de una figura legal de protección en España, tanto a nivel estatal como autonómico

[ES] En el trabajo presentamos el nivel gravetiense de Coímbre, uno de los contados ejemplos de esta cronología en el centro-occidente cantábrico. Se trata de uno de los yacimientos de mayor interés para el análisis del Gravetiense cerca de su margen occidental de expansión por el continente europeo. Mediante el análisis arqueozoológico y tafonómico de la fauna, de la industria lítica, los restos arqueobotánicos, la interpretación de la secuencia arqueológica y sedimentológica, y la obtención de dataciones AMS, se han podido analizar las ocupaciones gravetienses de Coímbre bajo una perspectiva territorial, donde las estrategias de susbsistencia desarrolladas son determinantes para interpretar el tipo de ocupación existente. En el marco de la región cantábrica, podemos interpretar la existencia de un patrón de movilidad y subsistencia determinado, desarrollado por estas poblaciones humanas, que se manifiesta como una ocupación efímera, de tipo logístico y puntual, ligada posiblemente con un eje de tránsito en sentido este-oeste. Esto supone uno de los elementos de mayor interés que aporta este estudio., [EN] Coímbre is one of the few Gravettian sites the middle-western part of Cantabria. It is one of the most interesting sites for the analysis of the Gravettian close to the boundary of its western expansion in Europe. Zooarchaeological and taphonomical study of the faunal and archaeobotanical remains and the lithic industry and the interpretation of its AMS-dated archaeological and sedimentological sequence make it possible to analyse the Gravettian settlement in Coímbre cave using a territorial perspective. The subsistence strategies developed in Coímbre have been determinant in the interpretation of its occupation patterns. Thus, we can assess the existence of the specific mobility and subsistence patterns developed by these human groups in the framework of Cantabria. This pattern shows an ephemeral logistic and punctual occupation of the cave, probably linked to an eastern-western corridor. This is one of the paper’s most interesting contributions.

The Artazu VII site (Arrasate, northern Iberian Peninsula) is a fossiliferous deposit that was discovered unsystematically at the Kobate Quarry in 2012. During the following year, all the vertebrate remains attributed to the upper Pleistocene (~ 93 ka) were recovered in an emergency excavation project. Here, we describe, for the first time, the small vertebrate assemblage (amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals) recovered from the site, as well as the environmental and climatic results estimated from the paleoecological affinities of the studied taxa. More than 50,000 microvertebrate elements were recovered, comprising 24 taxa of which seven belong to the Order Rodentia; five, to the Order Eulipotyphla; one, to the Order Chiroptera; seven, to the Order Anura; and four, to the Order Squamata. Considering the environmental attributions and the relative abundance of each taxon, the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions were reconstructed and the sequence was divided into three phases. Although woodland mass is present in the whole sequence, expansion and regression changes can be observed. Thus, the stratigraphic sequence begins with a landscape with open spaces. Higher up the stratigraphic column, woodland expands and reaches its maximum development in the second phase. Finally, the woodland environment declines and reaches similar values to those of the initial situation. These forestry biotopes were related to temperate and humid conditions comparable to those of the modern landscape. It was also concluded that a watercourse existed near the site.

[ES] En este trabajo se hace una introducción al único taxón euroasiático de vid silvestre, Vitis vinífera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi, al proceso de su domesticación y a las causas antrópicas que han mermado drásticamente las poblaciones de esta subespecie, desde la Península Ibérica hasta Afganistán. Asimismo, se hace referencia al problema de la pérdida de biodiversidad del viñedo y se subraya la importancia de estas parras autóctonas para mitigar esa erosión genética. En el mismo se señala que, pese a la ley de protección de este parental de las viníferas cultivadas en Francia, se ha producido una importante pérdida de ejemplares en esta zona. Según nuestras observaciones, comenzadas en 1992 y contrastadas con las de 2015, algunas zonas cubiertas con vegetación clímax atlántica han sido completamente destruidas en las inmediaciones de St. Jean de Luz, concretamente en la zona de Acotz-Chibau. Por otra parte, se incluye la información cartográfica de las poblaciones relictas de vid silvestre que aún se conservan, con el fin de facilitar las tareas de conservación in situ de las mismas., [EN] This paper introduces the only Euriasian taxon of the wild grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi, its domestication and the anthropic causes that have drastically reduced the populations of this subspecies from the Iberian Peninsula to Afghanistan. Besides, reference is made to the problem of the loss of biodiversity in the vineyard and to the importance of this native vine in order to reduce that genetic erosion. On the other hand, it is pointed out that, although this parental of the cultured grapevine is protected by law in France, a major loss of specimens has occurred in this region. According to our observations, which began in 1992 and were verified in 2015, several areas covered with Atlantic climax vegetation were completely destroyed near St. Jean de Luz, specifically, in the Acotz-Chibau area. Cartographic information concerning the remaining relict populations of wild grapevines is included in order to facilitate in situ conservation work. Furthermore, data on the accompanying vegetation and the health status of the grapevines are also presented.

[ES] En este trabajo se hace una introducción al único taxón euroasiático de vid silvestre, Vitis vinífera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi, al proceso de su domesticación y a las causas antrópicas que han mermado drásticamente las poblaciones de esta subespecie, desde la Península Ibérica hasta Afganistán. Asimismo, se hace referencia al problema de la pérdida de biodiversidad del viñedo y se subraya la importancia de estas parras autóctonas para mitigar esa erosión genética. En el mismo se señala que, pese a la ley de protección de este parental de las viníferas cultivadas en Francia, se ha producido una importante pérdida de ejemplares en esta zona. Según nuestras observaciones, comenzadas en 1992 y contrastadas con las de 2015, algunas zonas cubiertas con vegetación clímax atlántica han sido completamente destruidas en las inmediaciones de St. Jean de Luz, concretamente en la zona de Acotz-Chibau. Por otra parte, se incluye la información cartográfica de las poblaciones relictas de vid silvestre que aún se conservan, con el fin de facilitar las tareas de conservación in situ de las mismas., [EN] This paper introduces the only Euriasian taxon of the wild grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi, its domestication and the anthropic causes that have drastically reduced the populations of this subspecies from the Iberian Peninsula to Afghanistan. Besides, reference is made to the problem of the loss of biodiversity in the vineyard and to the importance of this native vine in order to reduce that genetic erosion. On the other hand, it is pointed out that, although this parental of the cultured grapevine is protected by law in France, a major loss of specimens has occurred in this region. According to our observations, which began in 1992 and were verified in 2015, several areas covered with Atlantic climax vegetation were completely destroyed near St. Jean de Luz, specifically, in the Acotz-Chibau area. Cartographic information concerning the remaining relict populations of wild grapevines is included in order to facilitate in situ conservation work. Furthermore, data on the accompanying vegetation and the health status of the grapevines are also presented.

Late Pleistocene palaeontological sites without human intervention are limited in the Cantabrian region, and even more so those with a good state of preservation and rich biodiversity. A new vertebrate fossiliferous locality discovered at Kobate Quarry (Arrasate, northern Iberian Peninsula) is presented in this article. This site, in which remains of 40 different vertebrate taxa were accumulated, acted as a natural trap. The preliminary vertebrate faunal list includes five amphibian taxa, four reptiles, seven species of birds and 24 mammalian taxa. While small mammals are represented by 13 small mammal taxa (seven in the Order Rodentia, five in the Order Eulipotyphla, and one in the Order Chiroptera), the large mammal fauna comprises eleven species, including ungulates and carnivores. The palaeoecology inferred from this faunal assemblage suggests the existence of large forested areas with some grassland and a watercourse nearby, within a notably warm and humid climate. These palaeoenvironmental conditions, combined with AMS and AAR results carried out in macrofaunal bone samples, suggest that the deposit from Artazu VII would be located in the first half of the Late Pleistocene, in the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5c. Résumé Les gisements paléontologiques de la fin du Pléistocène sont limités dans la région Cantabrique, et encore plus limités sont les sites ayant fourni des restes osseux en bon état de conservation et montrant une grande biodiversité. Nous présentons ici un nouveau site trouvé dans la carrière de Kobate (Arrasate, Nord de la péninsule Ibérique). Ce site a certainement agi comme un piège naturel et contient une accumulation de restes appartenant à 40 espèces différentes de vertébrés. La liste préliminaire de la faune de vertébrés comprend cinq taxons d’amphibiens, quatre de reptiles, sept espèces d’oiseaux et 24 taxons de mammifères. Alors que les mammifères sont représentés par 13 taxons de micromammifères (sept appartiennent à l’ordre Rodentia, cinq

Late Pleistocene palaeontological sites without human intervention are limited in theCantabrian region, and even more so those with a good state of preservation and rich bio-diversity. A new vertebrate fossiliferous locality discovered at Kobate Quarry (Arrasate,northern Iberian Peninsula) is presented in this article. This site, in which remains of 40different vertebrate taxa were accumulated, acted as a natural trap. The preliminary ver-tebrate faunal list includes five amphibian taxa, four reptiles, seven species of birds and 24mammalian taxa. While small mammals are represented by 13 small mammal taxa (sevenin the Order Rodentia, five in the Order Eulipotyphla, and one in the Order Chiroptera),the large mammal fauna comprises eleven species, including ungulates and carnivores. Thepalaeoecology inferred from this faunal assemblage suggests the existence of large forestedareas with some grassland and a watercourse nearby, within a notably warm and humidclimate. These palaeoenvironmental conditions, combined with AMS and AAR results car-ried out in macrofaunal bone samples, suggest that the deposit from Artazu VII would belocated in the first half of the Late Pleistocene, in the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5c.

The reconstruction of the Cantabrian Gravettian and its palaeoenvironmental sequence is based on cave stratigraphies, which generally indicate a very rigorous climate (intense cold, occasionally dry and other times attenuated by the humidity). However, as open-air deposits are increasingly studied (Ametzagaina, Irikaitz and Mugarduia South), other situations are being detected in the Gravettian, with much milder conditions. We can now criticise the simplistic view of the Gravettian as a period governed solely by intensely cold conditions and look through the window of opportunity offered by the open-air camps to observe completely different landscapes and environments. Consequently, in the cold Heinrich events caves would have been inhabited, while in more temperate times (such as the DansgaardeOeschger cycles) the habitat would have been preferentially in the open-air. The historiographic and methodological over-emphasis on cave sites has created a mirage that is reinforced by every new study in such locations. The difficulties of all kind involved in locating, excavating and dating open-air sites adequately has led us to believe they did not exist or their contribution was unnecessary to draw a global picture of the period. The most extreme case is the flint workshop of Mugarduia South (Navarre) at over 900 m above sea level, nearly 60 km from the modern coast and in a palaeobotanic environment dominated by deciduous species.