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Tetrapod diversity in Permian terrestrial ecosystems of southwestern Europe is poorly recorded by bone specimens, but it is better represented by an important tetrapod ichnological record that is relevant to our understanding of vertebrate communities in equatorial Pangaea. Herein, two tetrapod ichnoassociations from three new ichnosites, within Cisuralian and Guadalupian volcanosedimentary terrestrial successions (the Lower Red Unit and the Upper Red Unit deposits) of the Castellar de n'Hug sub-basin (Catalan Pyrenees, NE Iberian Peninsula) are presented. Tetrapod ichnology in combination with stratigraphic and facies analyses permit a characterisation of these ecosystems. The sedimentary deposits show an evolution from fluvial meandering systems to playa-lake floodplains, denoting increased aridification and seasonality under a monsoonal regime. The ichnofossil record shows how tetrapod assemblages shifted from a prevalence of non-amniotes and eureptiles to a dominance of therapsids, eureptiles and parareptiles. The reported ichnotaxa are distributed in two ichnoassociations. The first preserves Batrachichnus, Dromopus, Hyloidichnus, Characichnos and an indeterminate tetrapod morphotype, whereas the second is defined by the presence of Dromopus, Hyloidichnus, Brontopus antecursor and Pachypes. The stratigraphically older ichnoassociation, preserved in volcaniclastic and fluvial deposits, presents features of the early Erpetopus biochron, whereas the stratigraphically younger one, preserved in playa-lake deposits, is constrained to the Brontopus sub-biochron. Biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data suggest a late Cisuralian to middle Guadalupian age for the whole succession. The ichnoassemblage highlights a palaeobiogeographical connection between the Pyrenean Basin and other peri-Tethyan basins, which allows us to expand our knowledge about the palaeoecology and palaeobiodiversity of the Cisuralian to Guadalupian terrestrial ecosystems.

The lithographic limestone of La Pedrera de Meià (LPM) in south-Central Pyrenees (NE Spain) is considered one of the best preserved lacustrine-coastal successions of the Early Cretaceous in Europe, hosting a taxonomically diverse record of Barremian biota. While this Konservat-Lagerstätte has been extensively surveyed for paleontological purposes, little is known about the paleoenvironmental and depositional conditions prevailing during the formation of this fossil lagerstätte deposit. LPM limestone is made up of a homogeneous, dark gray to pale brown, faintly laminated 50 m-thick succession of micrite-rich intervals. To shed light on the environmental conditions of deposition, 303 rock samples were studied using a multiproxy approach based on different techniques including petrography, SEM-EDX, XRD, ICP-MS, XRF, Rare Earth Element distributions and C and O stable isotope geochemistry. The combination of sedimentological and geochemical data reveals a vertical shift of facies from littoral to profundal environments and then returning to littoral conditions. Profundal facies are made up of filament-rich mudstones originated from in situ precipitation of micrite either through biotically mediated or physico-chemical processes in undisturbed low energy settings, under anoxic conditions, characterized by the presence of transported terrestrial and lacustrine organisms that are exquisitely well-preserved. Littoral areas are characterized by the presence of in situ charophytes, smooth ostracods, and miliolid foraminifera that accumulated in mud-rich facies indicating low/moderate-energy, shallow-water, and relatively oxygenated conditions. Stable isotopic data and elemental geochemistry suggest a hydrologically closed to semi-closed lacustrine system with a restricted water circulation encouraging dysoxic to anoxic conditions in profundal sediments. Paleoproductivity proxies suggest a good correlation between catchment-derived siliciclastic discharge to the lake and prima

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya, The Cisuralian-Guadalupian (early-middle Permian) was a period of climate transition between the Carboniferous icehouse conditions to the latest Permian-Early Triassic hothouse. The landmasses had coalesced in the supercontinent Pangaea and the climate was progressively becoming more arid, especially in a belt over the palaeoequator. The deposits of present-day Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean) were located in those low palaeolatitudes, in the western margin of the Tethys Sea, and correspond to alluvial systems with meandering rivers. The present study divides the stratigraphic succession into three main units, formally described herein as the Bec de s'Àguila Formation, Port des Canonge Formation and Pedra de s'Ase Formation. Based on an exhaustive review of the literature and new magneto- and biostratigraphic data, the sequence has been dated between the early and middle Permian (Artinskian-Wordian). Moreover, the detailed study of the fossils has provided a complete account of the denizens of those ecosystems. Tetrapod tracks occur abundantly in the Port des Canonge Formation, with morphotypes attributed to moradisaurine captorhinid eureptiles, araeoscelidian diapsids/non-varanodontine varanopids, possible pareiasauromorph parareptiles, "pelycosaur"-grade synapsids and indeterminate synapsids. Spores and pollen grains from the Pedra de s'Ase Formation indicate an overall dominance of conifers, accompanied by sphenophytes, ferns and seed ferns. Overall, apart from providing the first detailed interpretation of the ecosystems of the Permian of Mallorca, these new data have made it possible to improve the characterisation of the Permian-Triassic tectonosedimentary cycle in the Balearic Islands, which contribute to the understanding of the evolution of the western peri-Tethys ecosystems.

Palynological investigations in the Orce Archaeological Zone (OAZ) (Guadix-Baza Basin, Granada, Spain), Venta Micena 1 (VM1), Barranco Leon (BL) and Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3) are presented. This archaeological region is con-nected with the first Homo populations in Western Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene. The VM1 pollen record is characterized by Ephedra, and to a lesser extent, Pinus, Juniperus and evergreen Quercus, occassionally accompa-nied by Olea, Genisteae, Erica, deciduous Quercus, Alnus, Castanea, Fraxinus, Salix and Phillyrea. BL is dominated by Juniperus, Olea, Pinus, Poaceae, and evergreen Quercus. FN3 is characterized by an open Mediterranean woodland dominated by evergreen Quercus, Pinus, Juniperus and Olea, accompanied by deciduous Quercus, Castanea, Populus, Salix, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Pistacia, Phillyrea, Genisteae, Erica, Cistus, and Ephedra fragilis. Relic Tertiary taxa in OAZ include Carya, Pterocarya, Eucommia, Zelkova, and Juglans. The Early Pleistocene OAZ vegetation is a mosaic of different landscapes embracing mesophytes, thermophytes, xerophytes, xerothermophytes, and Mediterra-nean elements. These finds are compared with former pollen analyses in the region and beyond within the Ibe-rian Peninsula. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Situated in southern Spain's Guadix-Baza basin, Barranco Leon and Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) are two of the most important western European Oldowan archeological sites. After 30 years of quasi-uninterrupted excavations, these two occurrences have yielded exceptional lithic and faunal records in precisely dated stratigraphic situations, providing a wealth of information about the oldest presence of hominins outside of Africa (1.4 and 1.3 Ma, respectively). Recently, excavations and multidisciplinary research have allowed to discern new patterns of lithic raw material procurement and use patterns practiced by the Orce hominins that enable us to clearly distinguish different behavioral schemes between these two sites; in spite of their spatial proximity. This paper explores new data from the lithic collections in relation to hominin technical and economic behavior, highlighting subtle but significant differences in their exploitation of local limestone and flint clasts more than a million years ago. During this period of the late Early Pleistocene, these sites were situated on the shores of an ancient saline lake and fresh water sources were available. This favorable environmental situation, while attractive to the hominins, also supported life for an abundance of large mammals, including competitive large carnivores, underlining questions of expedience as an influence on techno-morphology in these early stone toolkits. This paper analyzes these themes, highlighting updated information from these and other key European late Early Pleistocene sites.

Little is known about the subsistence practices of the first European settlers, mainly due to the shortage of archaeological sites in Europe older than a million years. This article contributes to the knowledge of the subsistence of the first Europeans with new zooarchaeology and taphonomic data from the Palaeolithic site of Barranco Leon (Orce, Granada, Spain). We present the results of the analysis of the faunal assemblages retrieved in the context of new excavations undertaken between 2016 and 2020. We have followed a standard methodology for the identification and quantification of species, mortality profiles, skeletal representation and taphonomic analysis. With regard to the taphonomic evidence, we have documented the extent of rounding, abrasion and other alterations. Finally, we examined traces from the activities of carnivores and hominins that led to the accumulation and alteration of the bone assemblages. Results indicate that the archaeo-paleontological deposits from Barranco Leon present a dual-patterned mixed taphonomic origin. The first phase primarily involved waterborne processes (BL-D1), which led to the accumulation of lithic raw materials, a few archaeological stone tools, and some faunal remains with percussion and cutmarks. The second phase (BL-D2) contains several stone tools associated with faunal remains with more anthropogenic alterations, such as cutmarks and percussion marks. After analysing the Barranco Leon zooarchaeological assemblage, the present study concludes that hominins had access to the meat and within-bone nutrients of animals of diverse sizes. However, the specific carcass acquisition mechanisms that hominins followed are less certain because the presence of tooth marks suggests that carnivores also played a role in the accumulat

El jaciment de Basturs Poble (Isona i Conca Dellà, Pallars Jussà, Lleida) és una acumulació densa de restes òssies o bonebed constituïda bàsicament per restes de dinosaures hadrosàurids del clade Lambeosaurinae. Altres restes de vertebrats, presents de manera molt minoritària, corresponen a dens de teròpodes i peixos, així com de restes cranials i postcranials de cocodrils. Els invertebrats són molt escassos i es limiten a motlles interns del gasteròpode Lychnus. Basturs Poble es troba situat dintre de la Unitat Pirinenca Central, al conjunt d'estrats d'origen continental i de transició que formen la Formació Tremp o Garumnià. Dintre dels diferents esquemes litoestratigràfics proposats per aquesat formació, s'inclouria a la meitat inferior de la Unitat Vermella Inferior del Garumnià o Formació Conques. Estudis bio i cronoestratigràfics situen el jaciment al Maastrichtià inferior alt per a Basturs Poble, dintre del magnetocron C31r. Les restes òssies es conserven en dues unitats estratigràfiques diferents: el sostre d'un estrat de gresos edafitzats interpretat com un paleosòl i la base de l'estrat de gresos de granolumetria fina i de color gris que es disoposa a sobre. Aquest no presenta estructures sedimentàries i s'interpreta com el producte d'un flux dens de tipus mud flow. Aquestes dues unitats es troben dintre d'un conjunt de gresos que es van dipositar en un sistema fluvial perilacustre. L'estudi taxonòmic demostra que a Basturs Poble hi ha representada una única espècie d'hadrosàurid del clade Lambeosaurinae. L'anàlisi filogenètica situa l'hadrosàurid de Basturs Poble a una politomia amb els lambeosaurins més basals coneguts, incloent als lambeosaurins iberoarmoricans Adynomosaurus arcanus, Canardia garonnensis i Pararhabdodon isonensis. Les restes presenten una variabilitat morfològica elevada provocada per una deformació tafonòmica però sobretot per una marcada variabilitat intraespecífica. Aquest fet i les poques restes cranials recuperades dificulten l'est, El yacimiento de Basturs Poble (Isona i Conca Dellà, Pallars Jussà, Lleida) es una acumulación densa de restos óseos o bonebed constituída básicamente por restos de dinosaurios hadrosáuridos del clado Lambeosaurinae. Otros restos de vertebrados, presentes de manera muy minoritaria, corresponden a dientes de terópodos y peces, así como de restos craneales y postcraneales de cocodrilos. Los invertebrados son muy escasos y se limitan a unas pocos moldes internos del gasterópo Lychnus. Basturs Poble está situado en la Unidad Pirenaica Central, en el conjunto de estratos de origen continental y de transición que componen la Formación Tremp o Garumniense. Dentro de los diferentes esquemas estratigráficos propuestos para esta formación, estaría encuadrado en la mitad inferior de la Unidad Roja Inferior del Garumniense o Formación Conques. Estudios bio y cronoestratigráficos sitúan el yacimiento en el Maastrichtiense inferior alto, dentro del magnetocron C31r. Los restos óseos se conservan en dos unidades estratigráficas: el techo de un estrato de areniscas edafizadas interpretadas como un paleosuelo y la base del estrato de areniscas finas grises suprayacentes, que no presenta estructuras sedimentarias y que se interpreta como el producto de un flujo denso de tipo mud flow . Estas dos unidades se encuentran insertadas entre depósitos de areniscas, pertenecientes a un sistema fluvial perilacustre. El estudio taxonómico indica que en Basturs Poble está representada una única especie de hadrosáurido del clado Lambeosaurinae. El análisis filogenético sitúa a este hadrosáurido en un politomía con los lambeosaurinos más basales conocidos, incluyendo a los iberoarmoricanos Adynomosaurus arcanus, Canardia garonnensis y Pararhabdodon isonensis. Los restos presentan una alta variabilidad morfológica causada por una deformación tafonómica pero sobretodo por una importante variabilidad intraespecífica. Este hecho, unido a la escasez de restos craneales, dificulta la realización de est, The Basturs Poble site, located at the Serrat del Rostiar, near the Basturs village (Isona i Conca Dellà, Pallars Jussà, Lleida) is a dense bone accumulation or bonebed make up by lambeosaurine hadrosaurid remains. Is the most important Upper Cretaceous concentration of hadrosaurid bones in Europe The site also preserve some Theropoda and fish teeth. Crocodile cranial and post-cranial bones are present as well. The scarce invertebrates remains consist in gastropod shells (Lychnus). Basturs Poble is located in the Central Pyrenean Unit, specifically in the Upper Cretaceous Tremp Formation, also known as Garumnian facies. This geological succession is composed by continental and transitional deposits that have been subdivided in several units. Basturs Poble is located in the lower half of the Garumnian Lower Red Unit or Conques Formation. Biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic data place Basturs Poble in the latest Lower Mastrichtian (magnetochron C31r). The fossil remains are preserved in two stratigraphical units: the lower unit is the top of an edaphized sandstone with carbonate nodules. The upper unit is a mud-flow deposit consisting in a gray fine sandstone without sedimentary structures. The two stratigraphic units with bone remains belong to a fluvial-lacustrine succession. The taxonomic analysis place the unique hadrosaurid present in the site inside the Lambeosaurinae clade. The Basturs Poble lambeosaurine form a politomy with basal lambeosaurines, including the iberoarmorican taxa Adynomosaurus arcanus, Canardia garonnensis and Pararhabdodon isonensis. There is a remarkable bone morphologic variability due to taphonomic distortion but also by intraspecific(sexual, ontogenic) variability. This complicate the phylogenetic analysis. Most of the bone remains in Basturs Poble are tiny when compared with other hadrosaurid taxa, including taxa found near Basturs Poble site. The size and the histological features present at Basturs Poble assemblage suggest a juven, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Geologia

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya, Moradisaurine captorhinid eureptiles were a successful group of high-fibre herbivores that lived in the arid low latitudes of Pangaea during the Permian. Here we describe a palaeoassemblage from the Permian of Menorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean), consisting of ichnites of small captorhinomorph eureptiles, probably moradisaurines (Hyloidichnus), and parareptiles (cf. Erpetopus), and bones of two different taxa of moradisaurines. The smallest of the two is not diagnostic beyond Moradisaurinae incertae sedis. The largest one, on the other hand, shows characters that are not present in any other known species of moradisaurine (densely ornamented maxillar teeth), and it is therefore described as Balearosaurus bombardensis gen. et sp. nov. Other remains found in the same outcrop are identified as cf. Balearosaurus bombardensis gen. et sp. nov., as they could also belong to the newly described taxon. This species is sister to the moradisaurine from the lower Permian of the neighbouring island of Mallorca, and is also closely related to the North American genus Rothianiscus. This makes it possible to suggest the hypothesis that the Variscan mountains, which separated North America from southern Europe during the Permian, were not a very important palaeobiogeographical barrier to the dispersion of moradisaurines. In fact, mapping all moradisaurine occurrences known so far, it is shown that their distribution area encompassed both sides of the Variscan mountains, essentially being restricted to the arid belt of palaeoequatorial Pangaea, where they probably outcompeted other herbivorous clades until they died out in the late Permian.

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya, El present article ofereix una revisió exhaustiva de tots els antecedents bibliogràfics sobre el permià i el triàsic de Mallorca en fàcies continentals, sintetitzant les dades més importants pel que fa a la geologia, paleontologia i datacions. Així, es destrien tres unitats litostratigràfiques del permià inferior-mitjà i quatre del triàsic inferior(?)-mitjà, amb un abundant registre fòssil que representa uns rics ecosistemes a la vorera de grans rius, situats a una paleolatitud equatorial amb un clima tropical. Aquesta publicació pretén servir de base per a futurs estudis sobre aquest tema, ressaltant la potencial gran importància del registre mallorquí en l'àmbit mundial per entendre com era la Terra fa més de 240 milions d'anys., The present paper offers an exhaustive review of all the previous works on the continental Permian and Triassic of Mallorca, synthesising all the relevant data regarding their geology, palaeontology and age attributions. This makes it possible to recognise three lithostratigraphic units forthe lower-middle Permian and four for the Lower(?)-Middle Triassic, with an abundant fossil record representing rich ecosystems on the banks of large rivers, located in an equatorial palaeolatitude and under a tropical climate. This work aims to serve as a basis for future studies to be built on, highlighting the potentially great international importance of the Mallorcan record to understand how the Earth looked like more than 240 million years ago.

El moviment de defensa de la protecció del patrimoni geològic i la promoció del geoturisme en els territoris ha agafat molta rellevància a través de la Xarxa Global de Geoparcs (RGG; en anglès Global Geoparks Network - GGN), així com pel Programa Internacional dels Geoparcs Mundials de la UNESCO (GMU; en anglès UNESCO Global Geoparks, UGGp), impulsat per aquest mateix organisme a partir del 2015. 20 anys després, 169 territoris en 44 països (majoritàriament a Europa i la Xina) s'han certificat sota aquesta nova designació, apostant per una estratègia de desenvolupament i sostenibilitat sobre la base de la geologia que es troba a l'interior dels seus territoris. Pel cas de Llatinoamèrica el desenvolupament és encara incipient, en part a causa del desconeixement generalitzat dels valors que es volen promoure. Dins de la proposta de Geoparc Miner "Litoral de Biobío" (Chile) que aquí s'estudia, la conca carbonífera de Concepción-Arauco es va explotar des de mitjans del segle XIX fins a 1997. El tancament d'aquesta activitat va comportar un empobriment de la seva població fins avui, però la comunitat posseeix una cultura i patrimoni miner que ha marcat la seva identitat. Aquesta, juntament amb els valors geològics del territori, són objecte de tres línies de recerca: (1) Valorització del patrimoni sobre la base de criteris estàndard per a realitzar un inventari de llocs d'interès geològic i miner. L'inventari ha seleccionat 22 llocs, que suposen del 40% de la geodiversitat nacional. Aquests llocs d'interès geològic son seleccionats d'una llista de 69 inventariats. (2) Prospecció demoscòpica de gran abast (de les poques a escala global fins avui) per a quantificar la seva percepció social. Aquesta demoscòpia inclou el col·lectiu de població indígena, així com la resta de sectors poblacionals. Aquest estudi es base en 402 qüestionaris de 14 preguntes/valoracions. L'estudi indica que el 90% de la comunitat és desconeixedora dels conceptes geològics del territori, però el 95, El movimiento en defensa de la protección del patrimonio geológico y la promoción del geoturismo en los territorios ha cobrado mucha relevancia a través de la Red Global de Geoparque (RGG; en inglés Global Geoparks Network - GGN), así como por el Programa Internacional de los Geoparques Mundiales de la UNESCO (GMU; en inglés UNESCO Global Geoparks, UGGp), impulsado por este mismo organismo a partir del 2015. 20 años después, 169 territorios en 44 países (mayoritariamente en Europa y China) se han certificado bajo esta nueva designación, apostando por una estrategia de desarrollo y sostenibilidad en base a la geología que se alberga en el interior de sus territorios. Para el caso de Latinoamérica el desarrollo es aún incipiente, en parte debido al desconocimiento generalizado de los valores que se quieren promover. Dentro de la propuesta de Geoparque Minero Litoral de Biobío (Chile) que aquí se estudia, la cuenca carbonífera de Concepción-Arauco se explotó desde mediados del siglo XIX hasta 1997. El cierre de esta actividad conllevó un empobrecimiento de su población hasta la fecha, pero la comunidad posee una cultura y patrimonio minero que ha marcado su identidad. Esta, junto con los valores geológicos del territorio, son objeto de tres líneas de investigación: (1) Valorización del patrimonio en base a criterios estándares para realizar un inventario de geositios de interés geológico y minero. El inventario ha seleccionado 22 geositios, que suponen el 40% de la geodiversidad nacional. Estos geositios parten de una preselección de 69. (2) Prospección demoscópica de gran alcance (de las pocas a escala global hasta la fecha) para cuantificar su percepción social. Esta demoscopia incluye el colectivo de población indígena, así como lo demás sectores poblacionales. En base a 402 cuestionarios con 14 preguntas/valoraciones. El estudio indica que el 90% de la comunidad es desconocedora de los conceptos geológicos territorio, pero el 95% conoce dos o más sitios de interés, The movement in defence of the protection of geological heritage and the promotion of geotourism in the territories has gained much relevance through the Global Geoparks Network (GGN), as well as the UNESCO Global Geoparks International Programme (GMU; UNESCO Global Geoparks, UGGp), promoted by the same organisation since 2015. Currently, six years later, 169 territories in 44 countries (mostly in Europe and China) have been certified under this new designation, committing to a strategy of development and sustainability based on the geology found within their territories. In the case of Latin America, development is still incipient, partly due to the general lack of knowledge of the values that are to be promoted. Within the proposed Biobío Coastal Mining Geopark (Chile) studied here, the Concepción-Arauco coal basin was exploited from the middle of the 19th century until 1997. The closure of this activity led to the impoverishment of its population, which continues to date, but the community has a mining culture and heritage that has marked its identity. This, together with the geological values of the territory, are the subject of three lines of research: Valorisation of the heritage based on standard criteria to develop an inventory of geosites of geological and mining interest. The inventory has selected 22 geosites, representing 40% of the national geodiversity. These geosites are based on a pre-selection of 69 sites. Wide-ranging demoscopic survey (one of the few on a global scale to date) to quantify their social perception. This survey includes the indigenous population, as well as other sectors of the population. Based on 402 surveys with 14 questions/assessments, the study indicates that 90% of the community is unaware of the geological concepts of the territory, but 95% know two or more sites of tourist interest, of which 21% are geological heritage sites. This lack of knowledge means that geotourism is not a priority, although tourism of natural areas is

Camp dels Ninots is a mixed hard-soft maar-diatreme located in the Catalan Volcanic Zone (NE of Iberia), in which intra-maar lake sediments have preserved one of the most remarkable Pliocene fossil records in Europe. Geophysical surveys combined with the geological map and 11 boreholes, including two new continuous intra-crater drill cores, have enabled the construction of a 3D geological model of this maar-diatreme and its basement. The formation of this maar-diatreme started with a vent-opening phreatomagmatic explosion at the intersection between a regional fault and the Paleozoic groundwater level at a depth of 210 m. We infer and calculate the geometry, dip direction and dip angle of this regional fault. During the eruption, mixed Strombolian and phreatomagmatic episodes occurred, forming the tuff ring and filling the diatreme with minimum estimated volumes of 0.012 and 0.004 km3, respectively. The diatreme infill is composed of three main lithofacies that include tuff-breccias, welded scoriae, and mafic intrusions into the phreatomagmatic breccias. Thus, the stratigraphy of the diatreme succession suggests a progression of explosive events from deeper to shallower zones with short lateral migration of explosion vents, which control its final morphology, without evidence for significant deep enlargement of the diatreme during the later phases. This generated a wide funnel-shaped with low diatreme wall angles that differs from kimberlite pipes with great depths and sharp slope geometries. Hence, such 3D geological model helps to understand the complex architecture of maar-diatreme structures, highlighting the lack of geological modeling of this type of monogenetic system.

This work summarizes the research carried out at the Orce archaeopalaeontological sites over the last few decades with particular emphasis on the results obtained from the latest field seasons (2017-2020), which were carried out under the auspices of the General Research Project «First Human Occupations and Palaeoecological Context from the Pliopleistocene Deposits in the Guadix-Baza Basin. Archaeological Zone of the Orce Basin». The work carried out in recent years is a good example of the inter- and intradisciplinary approach in Prehistoric research and also shows that, although much work has been carried out at the Orce sites for almost 50 years, they continue to provide very interesting data for understanding the human European population in the oldest periods of the Pleistocene., En este trabajo se resumen los estudios llevados a cabo en los distintos yacimientos arqueopaleontológicos de Orce durante las últimas décadas, haciendo especial hincapié en los resultados obtenidos a raíz de las últimas campañas de excavación (2017-2020), enmarcadas en el Proyecto General de Investigación «Primeras ocupaciones humanas y contexto paleoecológico a partir de los depósitos Pliopleistocenos de la cuenca Guadix-Baza. Zona Arqueológica de la cuenca de Orce». Los trabajos realizados en estos últimos años son una buena muestra del enfoque inter e intradisciplinar de la Prehistoria, y evidencian además que, aunque se lleve trabajando en los yacimientos de Orce casi 50 años, estos siguen proporcionando datos muy interesantes acerca del contexto del poblamiento humano de Europa en las etapas más antiguas del Pleistoceno.

© 2020, The Author(s). In this paper, the early Pleistocene small vertebrate sequence of Quibas-Sima (Quibas karstic complex, Murcia, SE Spain) is presented. The available magnetostratigraphic information together with the small vertebrate association, allow to reliably constrain the age of the different units. The basal unit of the section has recorded a reversed polarity assigned to the pre-Jaramillo Matuyama (C1r.2r, i.e., between 1.2 and 1.07 Ma). The intermediate units have recorded a normal polarity correlated directly with the Jaramillo subchron (C1r.1n, between 1.07 and 0.99 Ma), while the upper units record the post-Jaramillo reverse polarity (C1r.1r, i.e., between 0.99 and 0.78). Jaramillo subchron is especially significant regarding the earliest hominin dispersal in Western Europe. However, vertebrate faunas unambiguously correlatable with Jaramillo subchron are extremely rare in Europe. Thereby, the study of the Quibas-Sima sequence allows to characterize the vertebrate association synchronous to this paleomagnetic episode in southern Iberian Peninsula, and contributes to increase knowledge of the biotic and climatic events that took place in southern Europe at the beginning of the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition, prior to the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary. A continuous small vertebrate succession has been reported, including representatives of the families Bufonidae, Pelodytidae, Testudinidae, Gekkonidae, Blanidae, Lacertidae, Colubridae, Viperidae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae, Muridae, Gliridae, Sciuridae, Leporidae and Ochotonidae The ecological affinities of the faunal association suggest a progressive reduction in forest cover in the onset of the Jaramillo subchron.

Departament responsable de la tesi: Departament de Geologia., La incorporación de los geoparques al Programa Internacional de Geociencias y Geoparques de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO), en 2015, coincide con la adopción por parte de esta institución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible establecidos por las Naciones Unidas. A partir de la revisión del modelo de gestión de la geodiversidad de los Geoparques Mundiales de la UNESCO, que incluye varios geoparques como casos de estudio, se han detectado limitaciones en la capacidad de los geoparques para contribuir a la consecución de todos los Objetivos, especialmente en los estadios iniciales del establecimiento de nuevos geoparques. Para mejorar esta capacidad se combinan dos propuestas, la primera afecta a las directrices y los estatutos del Programa Internacional y se basa en la adopción de los principios de la geoética por parte de los profesionales de las Ciencias de la Tierra vinculados a los geoparques, y en la caracterización de una legislación más favorable para la conservación de los valores de la geodiversidad. La segunda es una propuesta metodológica para la incorporación de nuevos geoparques a la Red Mundial. Consta de 6 componentes o modelos: (1) plan de trabajo previsto para dos años, que incluye las acciones necesarias y suficientes para superar el proceso de candidatura; (2) estructura de gestión y dinamización de grupos de trabajo, que facilitan la participación local en la gestión; (3) identificación y protección del patrimonio geológico incorporando una metodología de inventario y de diagnóstico de conservación, así como un protocolo de buenas prácticas en el trabajo de campo; (4) estudio comparativo de los valores de la geodiversidad, que establece una metodología para discriminar entre complementariedad y repetición de geoparques con una geodiversidad comparable; (5) estudio de viabilidad del nuevo geoparque, en caso de superposición de figuras de la UNESCO, para optimizar la colaboración y evit, The incorporation of the geoparks into the International Geosciences and Geoparks Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in 2015, coincides with the adoption by this institution of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. Based on the review of the geodiversity management model of the UNESCO Global Geoparks, which includes several geoparks as case studies, limitations have been detected in the capacity of the geoparks to contribute to the achievement of all the Objectives, especially in the initial stages of the establishment of new geoparks. To improve this capacity two proposals are combined, the first one affects the guidelines and statutes of the International Program and is based on the adoption of the principles of geoethics by the professionals of the Earth Sciences linked to the geoparks, and in the characterization of more favourable legislation for the conservation of the values ​​of geodiversity. The second one is a methodological proposal for the incorporation of new geoparks to the Global Network. It consists of 6 components or models: (1) work plan planned for two years, which includes the necessary and sufficient actions to overcome the candidacy process; (2) management structure and dynamics of working groups, which facilitate local participation in the management; (3) identification and protection of the geological heritage incorporating an inventory methodology and conservation diagnosis, as well as a protocol of good practices in field work; (4) comparative study of the values ​​of geodiversity, which establishes a methodology to discriminate between complementarity and repetition of geoparks with a comparable geodiversity; (5) feasibility study of the new geopark, in case of overlapping UNESCO figures, to optimize collaboration and avoid redundant management tasks; (6) strategy of preselection of national candidacies, which establishes criteria to endorse the candidate

Ronchi et al. (in press) comment on the stratigraphic, sedimentological, mineralogical and palaeontological analyses performed in the recently described Coll de Terrers Permian–Triassic terrestrial succession from the Catalan Pyrenees by Mujal et al. (2017a). The comment debates our interpretation of a succession of red-beds as Permian (Upper Red Unit, URU). Instead, the comment infers that the analysed succession is part of the regional upper Buntsandstein facies unit (Triassic), debating the proposed stratigraphic scheme by using the tectonic evolution as the main argument. Here, we clarify and present more details on the interpretation published in Mujal et al. (2017a). Based on this clarification and taking into account the comment, we arrive to the conclusion that the interpretation and inferences presented in Mujal et al. (2017a) are sound and justified. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Bibliografia., La caracterització de l'evolució dels sistemes sedimentaris en conques d'avantpaís contribueix a desxifrar la història tectònica i erosiva de les seves àrees font. Els dipòsits clàstics de l'Eocè fins al Miocè de la conca Sudpirinenca constitueixen un exemple natural magnífic per investigar els canvis en els paleoambients, en les àrees font i en la composició dels sediments durant l'evolució de la conca. Aquesta tesi presenta un estudi integrat sobre la procedència dels sistemes sedimentaris de la conca de Jaca, basat en l'anàlisi petrogràfic de gresos, el comptatge modal de conglomerats i l'anàlisi geocronològic d'U-Pb dels zircons detrítics. Aquesta metodologia s'aplica concretament en els dipòsits que representen els últims estadis de sedimentació turbidítica durant el Lutecià (Grup Hecho), i la seva evolució als sistemes deltaics que culminen amb la continentalització de la conca, durant l'Oligocè (Formació Campodarbe). Aquest canvi en els ambients sedimentaris va acompanyat d'una major reorganització en les xarxes de drenatge, la qual és objecte d'estudi en aquest treball. S'estableix un sistema principal de drenatge axial durant la sedimentació del Grup Hecho procedent d'àrees font situades a l'est i localitzades en els Pirineus centrals. En canvi, els últims dipòsits turbidítics, corresponents al canal del Rapitán (Bartonià) són interpretats com els primers indicis de creació d'una àrea font situada al nord, provocada per l'activitat de l'encavalcament de Lakora/Eaux-Chaudes. El posterior reemplaçament de la sedimentació turbidítica per ambients deltaics i continentals (Formacions Belsué-Atarés, Sabiñánigo i Campodarbe) es caracteritza per la interacció dels sistemes de drenatge axial, procedents dels Pirineus centrals, i els sistemes de drenatge transversal, procedents de noves àrees font situades al nord, creades per l'activitat de l'encavalcament de Gavarnie. Aquestes noves àrees font estan formades pels materials mesozoics i paleozoics de la Zona Nord Pir, Characterization of the sediment routing evolution in foreland basins gives insights on the tectonic and erosional history of the source areas. The Eocene to Miocene clastic systems of the South Pyrenean basin are a good natural laboratory to investigate paleoenvironment, source areas and sediment composition changes during the progressive evolution of a basin. This thesis provides a multidisciplinary approach integrating sandstone petrography, clast point counting and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology, applied in the Jaca basin sedimentary systems. This methodology is performed in the last turbiditic deposits from the Hecho Group, whose stratigraphic evolution from Lutetian deep-marine to deltaic and terrestrial environments during late Eocene-Oligocene times records a major tectonic and drainage reorganization in the active Pyrenean pro-wedge. A main axially drained system sourced from eastern areas, located in the central Pyrenees, is here characterized during the Hecho Group turbidite sedimentation. However, the last turbiditic deposits from the basin, known as the Rapitán turbidite channel (Bartonian), record the first sediment input sourced from new northern source areas, created by the activity of Lakora/Eaux-Chaudes thrust. The abandonment of the turbiditic sedimentation is replaced by deltaic to terrestrial environments (Belsué-Atarés, Sabiñánigo and Campodarbe Formations), which record the interplay of axially fed systems, sourced from the central Pyrenees, with transverse fed systems derived from new northern source areas uplifted by the activity of the Gavarnie thrust. These new source areas are composed by Paleozoic and Mesozoic materials of the North Pyrenean Zone, and by the former turbiditic foreland basin deposits that are recycled into the alluvial fan systems. During Oligocene times tectonics controlled the replacement of the axially fed systems by the transverse fed systems, from north to south, and from east to west, according to the main direc

The climatic changes during the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition are a key to understand the ecosystem dynamics that involved the Homo erectus-ergaster distribution. The Aalat pedostratigraphic succession represents a continental archive in the African Rift Valley (Eritrea), where remains of Homo around 1 Ma were identified. High-resolution magnetostratigraphy dated this succession between the base of the Jaramillo subchron and the lower Brunhes chron. Despite the present arid, desert climate, the Aalat section records a persistence of water-driven, fluvio-lacustrine environments, which suggests a major tectonic control on sedimentation, although climate changes are clearly overprinted. Macro- and micromorphological, physico-chemical, mineralogical and geochemical features, up to now poorly available for Pleistocene paleosols in East Africa, depict a poor to moderate degree of development, although calcic and petrocalcic/petrogypsic horizons at different stratigraphic heights indicate phases of geomorphic stability. The concurrent alternation of these horizons with iron-stained layers suggests cyclical changes from dry to wet conditions, which fit well with aeolian dust fluxes and marine isotope stages of glacials and interglacials at higher latitudes. Stable isotope data are consistent with these climatic cycles and suggest a succession of monsoonal and non-monsoonal conditions. The Homo erectus settlement lasted apparently for a short time span, because a long, high-discharge fluvial sedimentation (and/or an aridity phase at the base of the fluvial facies) could have made the area less suitable for human settling and could have hindered preservation of fossils and artifacts. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd