Search

The regional climatic context in which Chalcolithic (MIR5) and Bronze Age (MIR4) levels from El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) are framed is affected by the 4.2 ka cal. BP event, a global event defined as a cooling and aridification phase. Previous works based on palaeoenvironmental inferences indicate conflicting results regarding the possible impact of the event on vegetation and small mammals from MIR5. Pollen record illustrates a possible aridification episode that could match with the 4.2 ka cal. BP event, while the signal of this event is not clearly recorded in the small mammal assemblage, which indicates more humid environmental conditions than pollen record. Taphonomic analyses confirmed that the small mammal assemblages from MIR4 and MIR5 are the result of predation, supporting the involvement of European eagle owls (Bubo bubo) in its formation. This avian raptor shows a marked preference for hunting animals living in the more open and wetter parts of their hunting range. Likewise, spontaneous specialisation on abundant prey species could also be observed under certain environmental conditions. This characteristic behaviour of eagle owls may have provided the contradictory results observed between the small mammal assemblage and palynological evidence. Nonetheless, taphonomic analyses also provided information about climatic conditions and fluctuations along time. The low incidence of manganese coatings and carbonate crusts deposits in small mammal bone remains from MIR5 support the presence of arid conditions during the formation of this level, which agreed with the aridification phase probably related to the 4.2 ka Bond Event inferred by palynological data from MIR5. These results provided a more robust conclusion about the paleoenvironmental contexts during the formation of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age levels at El Mirador cave.

The Lateglacial to Holocene transition is a key moment for understanding the extant configuration of bat populations in Western Europe, where several species are currently under threat. The Chiroptera fossil record for this period and region is poorly known. Here, we present the bat fossil record along the stratigraphical sequence of El Mirador (Burgos, North Spain), which ranges from the Late Pleistocene to the Late Holocene. Level MIR49 (11,396 to 8430 cal BP) has provided the richest bat assemblage from this chronology in the Iberian Peninsula. The 14 taxa identified conform a bat association with no extant equivalent, although all of them belong to the current Iberian fauna, evidencing a high biodiversity among the Iberian Early Holocene bat communities that had not been detected until now. The sibling species Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii appear together, showing the earliest clear evidence of the arrival of the eastern-coming M. blythii into Europe far West, probably related to the expansion of open environments during the Younger Dryas event. Conversely, the overlaying Middle Holocene section has provided low numbers of bats’ remains. At El Mirador site, this impoverishment is more probably related to human presence than to climate fluctuations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anurans, such as frogs and toads, are occasionally very abundant in archaeo-paleontological sites and representing >80% of the remains. These accumulations have been linked mainly to human consumption in the European context, by the preferential selection of body parts and by the presence of burning, and to a lesser extent, cut marks (as in Chalain 3, Baume d’Ogens, Kutna Hora-Denemark). However, there are also records of accumulations attributed to natural catastrophic events (Bois-Roche). This research presents a taphocenosis of microvertebrates of reduced dimensions (7.8 × 2.7 × 2.4 cm) containing 2526 bones, from El Mirador cave of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) contemporaneous to an adjacent Chalcolithic burial (ca. 4500 BP). The taxonomical study has identified at least 12 different taxa, which include one urodele, two anurans, seven squamates and two rodents. Tree frogs, Hyla gr. arborea (Hyla molleri), constitutes 84% of the assemblage. Quantitative and qualitative taphonomic analyses are focused on Hyla bones and show the presence of breakage and digestion marks associated with animal predation, albeit in low percentages and in light or moderate degrees. Due to its characteristics, El Mirador accumulation has been identified as a pellet accumulation produced by a medium-large owl (category 2). The nocturnal raptor hunted its preys during a wet period in spring, when the reproduction of the tree frogs occurs, showing a possible evidence of opportunistic predation on a seasonal resource. These findings help to understand the importance of anurans in the trophic chains of Prehistoric times, not only among human groups but also among non-human predators.

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

In 2007, remains of Mammuthus meridionalis and 334 lithic artefacts were recovered in level 2 of Barranc de la Boella. The presence of M. meridionalis allows us to assign an age older than 700 ka to this level, which represents one of the few sites of this age with palaeontological remains associated with lithic industry. It also enables us to shed light on questions pertaining to the chronology and the biogeography of the earliest European human settlements. In this paper, the small mammals from the Barranc de la Boella site are described for the first time, with special emphasis on the arvicolines. The presence of Victoriamys chalinei and Mimomys savini allows us to estimate the age of level 2. Level 2 of the Barranc de la Boella site ranges between the top of the Jaramillo subchron (0.99 Ma) and shortly after the Brunhes–Matuyama transition at 0.78 Ma, thus covering a time span of great importance for our knowledge of the earliest human occupations in Western Europe.

J.M.L.-G. is a beneficiary of a Beatriu de Pinos postdoctoral fellowship (2011 BP-A00272) from the Generalitat de Catalunya, a grant cofunded by the European Union through the Marie Curie Actions of the 7th Framework Program for R + D. J.I.M. was supported by a predoctoral grant (FI) from AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya) cofunded by the European Social Fund. This paper is part of projects CGL2012-38358 and SGR2009-324

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.01.019 URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018217300500 Filiació URV: SI Memòria El Mirador is a cave in the Sierra de Atapuerca (northern Iberian Peninsula) that contains 27 archaeological layers from the Lateglacial to the Late Holocene. A total of 4436 small-mammal remains have been analysed from these layers, and 19 taxa have been identified (three insectivores, seven chiropters and nine rodents). The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on a small-mammal analysis suggests that the entire sequence is dominated by a woodland landscape. Our climatic analysis characterises the climate in terms of an evolution from a cool and arid period in the Pleistocene layers (16,000 to 14,000 cal yr BP), probably related to Heinrich Event 1, to humid conditions and temperatures similar to nowadays in the Holocene layers in general. In MIR23 and MIR22 (7300 to 6800 cal yr BP) we detect an increase in temperature to levels above current values and an important decrease in rainfall. These climatic characteristics could be related to the end of the African Humid Period. Moreover, a short, slightly cooler event is registered in MIR11 (ca. 6300 to 5900 cal yr BP), coinciding with a change in the economic pattern in El Mirador. The results obtained on the basis of small-mammal studies are compared with multiproxy terrestrial data (pollen, charcoal, phytoliths, geochemistry, large mammals) and the Greenland ice-core record, as well as various other core records closer to the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula (MD95-2042, MD99-2331, MD95-2043 and SMP02-3). These comparisons show the agreement of the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic results with all the previous multiproxy and core-record data.

The human impact on the environment in the Holocene has usually been characterized on the basis of palaeobotanical records, but attempts to distinguish the anthropogenic impact from natural events in landscape evolution have been the subject of much debate in recent years. The aim of this paper is to analyse small-mammal diversity and the presence of synanthropic species, whose small size makes them more sensitive to any changes in their environment that may occur. This study has allowed us to characterize palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes, recording small changes whether resulting from a human influence or otherwise. Our object of study is El Mirador cave, which has a sequence with a well-documented human occupation extending from 7200 to 3000 cal. BP. The study has led us to differentiate two phases. In one phase, we can see small changes in diversity related to climatic oscillations from ca. 7200 to 6800 cal. BP, while in the second phase, lasting from ca. 6800 to 3000 cal. BP, the changes in diversity and in the assemblage of synanthropic species are associated with human economic strategies. Moreover, we distinguish which kinds of economic activity (crop and livestock farming) have influenced these changes, because some small-mammal species are influenced, positively or negatively, by environmental changes based on crop farming and animal husbandry. All this information is contrasted with other archaeological proxies, such as the large-mammal and palaeobotanical assemblages from El Mirador cave. Furthermore, this integrative analysis has made it possible to identify the existence of altered environments more generally throughout the Iberian Peninsula from ca. 6000 cal. BP. It additionally confirms the theory of low human occupation intensity in the northern Meseta and in high mountainous areas during the early Neolithic.

We investigate changes in small-mammal richness and diversity in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula) during the late Pleistocene–Holocene transition in order to evaluate whether they follow a climatic pattern or are predominantly determined by human impact, especially after the emergence of agriculture in the Neolithic period. We selected 6 late Pleistocene and Holocene sites that correspond to 18 different layers dated to between ca. 22 and 3 kyr B.P. Using indices of species richness and evenness diversity, we show that climate played an important role at some sites during the late Pleistocene and at the beginning of the Holocene, in that the richness and diversity of small mammals were closely related to the mean annual temperatures and landscape changes, and varied according to the different climatic fluctuations detected (Heinrich Event 1, Bolling-Allerod, and Preboreal-Boreal). However, at the beginning of the mid-Holocene, the small-mammal richness and diversity no longer seem to follow any kind of climatic pattern, and the observed changes in some studied sites are more closely related to human activities. By contrast with similar studies carried out in other parts of the world, the changes in diversity in the Iberian Peninsula do not seem to follow a constant pattern during the late Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene. Some of the changes detected appear to be related to climate (late Pleistocene), and others appear to be related to human influence (Holocene) on the landscape.

The occurrence of the genus Iberomys is testified in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula from the Early Pleistocene on. The genus comprises two extinct voles: I. huescarensis from the Early Pleistocene to the early Middle Pleistocene and I. brecciensis (=mediterraneus) from the Middle to the early Late Pleistocene. I. cabrerae, has been present in Spain from the early Late Pleistocene, enduring right through to today. The fossil record of Iberomys in Italy is poor in comparison with those in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. I. huescarensis has been identified in Italy at the Rifreddo and Spessa sites, while I. brecciensis has been recognized at Zoppega 2, Montagnola Senese II, Isernia, Valdemino, Polledrara di Cecanibbio and Paglicci. A revision of the specimens of the genus Iberomys in Italy and a comparison with the fossil records of southern France and the Iberian Peninsula show that the origin of the Early Pleistocene species (I. huescarensis) is clearly in the Iberian Peninsula, where the species having evolved from ancient populations of Allophaiomys nutiensis. The origin of the species I. brecciensis is still unknown. It seems to appear at the same time in Italy and in the Iberian Peninsula, and its extinction occurred during the late Middle Pleistocene-early Late Pleistocene in Italy, France and Iberia simultaneously.

This paper presents a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic approach to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of the small-mammal assemblages (insectivores, bats and rodents). The LGM is an important period in our climate history defined by the maximum extension of ice sheets between ca. 22 and 19 ka BP. In the Mediterranean region the LGM is characterized by humid conditions, which allow for the development of arboreal vegetation. The small-mammal remains described in this study were recovered from four different sites within the Iberian Peninsula: El Miron cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), Valdavara-1 (Becerrea, Lugo), El Portalon (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), and Sala de las Chimeneas (Maltravieso, Caceres). We found in these sites a non-analogue association represented by species associated with mid-European climatic conditions, such as the voles Chionomys nivalis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis and Microtus oeconomus, together with species associated with Mediterranean requirements, such as Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae and Microtus (Terricola) duodecimcostatus. These assemblages reveal that the climate was harsher than today in the sites under study, though not as rigorous as elsewhere in Europe, with mean annual temperatures lower than present and an environment dominated by wet open meadows. All our data have been compared with other environmental and climatic proxies, global isotope curves and pollen data, providing a scenario for the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred during the LGM in the Iberian Peninsula., Este artículo representa un enfoque paleoambiental y paleoclimático del final del Último Máximo Glacial (UMG), en la Península Ibérica a partir de las asociaciones de pequeños mamíferos (insectívoros, murciélagos y roedores). El UMG es un período importante en nuestra historia del clima definido por la máxima extensión de las capas de hielo entre ca. 22 y 19 ka BP. En la región del Mediterráneo, este UMG se caracteriza por condiciones de humedad, que permiten el desarrollo de la vegetación arbórea. Los restos de micromamíferos seleccionados para este estudio corresponden a cuatro yacimientos diferentes de la Península Ibérica: la cueva del Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), Valdavara-1 (Becerreá, Lugo), El Portalón (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), y la Sala de las Chimeneas (Maltravieso, Cáceres). En todos los yacimientos estudiados se ha encontrado una asociación representada por las especies relacionadas con las condiciones climáticas medio-europeas, como los topillos Chionomys nivalis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis o Microtus oeconomus, junto con las especies asociadas con los requerimientos mediterráneos, como Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae o Microtus (terricola) duodecimcostatus. Estas asociaciones nos permiten observar que el clima era más frío que hoy en día en los diferentes yacimientos estudiados, pero no tan riguroso como en otros lugares de Europa, con temperaturas medias anuales más bajas que en la actualidad y un entorno dominado por prados húmedos. Los resultados de este estudio han sido comparados con otros datos ambientales y climáticos, las curvas climáticas globales de isótopos y datos polínicos, proporcionando un escenario para las condiciones paleoclimáticas y paleoambientales que ocurrieron durante el UMG en la Península Ibérica.

This article undertakes a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the Middle Bronze Age on the basis of a study of the small mammals from level MIR 4 of El Mirador Cave. The chronology of the level under study is 3,720-3,140 cal. yr BP. The palaeoenvironmental analysis indicates that it represents the period of transition between the Subboreal and the Subatlantic, during which prevailed a very humid habitat, dominated by woodland and wet meadows. Otherwise, the palaeoclimatic analysis, carried out using the Mutual Climatic Range method (MCR), reveals that level MIR 4 falls within an interval in which the temperatures were very similar to present-day ones, while mean annual precipitation was notably higher than at present, i.e. 485 mm above the present level for Burgos. Cet article propose une reconstitution paléoenvironnementale et paléoclimatique de l’Âge du Bronze moyen à partir de l’étude des petits mammifères du niveau MIR 4 de la grotte El Mirador. La chronologie du niveau étudié est comprise entre 3 720-3 140 ans cal. BP. L’analyse paléoenvironnementale indique qu’il s’agit d’une période de transition entre le Subboréal et le Subatlantique, où prédomine un habitat très humide, dominé par la forêt et les prairies humides. Par ailleurs, l’analyse paléoclimatique, basée sur la méthode du Domaine Climatique Commun (MCR) révèle que le niveau MIR 4 appartient à un intervalle dans lequel les températures sont similaires aux températures actuelles, alors que les précipitations moyennes annuelles étaient notablement supérieures, i.e. 485 mm au dessus des moyennes actuelles pour Burgos.

Here we present the first palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic analysis based on a study of the microvertebates of the Sala de las Chimeneas (Maltravieso Cave, Caceres). The fauna is ascribed to the end of the Late Pleistocene, as indicated by the presence of Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae, Microtus agrestis and Arvicola terrestris and by absolute datings of ∼ 17 ka BP. The palaeoenvironmental analysis points to a setting within the early part of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with a habitat dominated by woods and humid meadows, a climate (mean annual temperatures) colder than at present (−4 °C), and mean annual precipitation markedly higher (+700 mm) than is currently the case in the area around Caceres. These data provide new information on the impact of the last cold spells of Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2) in the Southwest of Europe, in a region where no studies of the microvertebrates of this period had previously been undertaken.