Neanderthal exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar

Two coastal sites in Gibraltar, Vanguard and Gorham's Caves, located at Governor's Beach on the eastern side of the Rock, are especially relevant to the study of Neanderthals. Vanguard Cave provides evidence of marine food supply (mollusks, seal, dolphin, and fish). Further evidence of marine mammal remains was also found in the occupation levels at Gorham's Cave associated with Upper Paleolithic and Mousterian technologies [Finlayson C, et al. (2006) Nature 443:850-853]. The stratigraphic sequence of Gibraltar sites allows us to compare behaviors and subsistence strategies of Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic observed at Vanguard and Gorham's Cave sites. This evidence suggests that such use of marine resources was not a rare behavior and represents focused visits to the coast and estuaries.

Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of Aurora Stratum (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

In 1994 and 1995, a 7 m(2)area was excavated at Level 6 of the Gran Dolina site, Atapuerca. A 25 cm deep sub-level, named Aurora Stratum, contained a large number of human fossils, stone tools and faunal remains. The appearance of human remains as part of a butchered faunal assemblage in association with stone tools raises an interesting question relating to human behaviour. The main aim of this paper, therefore, is to evaluate the nature and function of the human occupation at this cave site with a view to understanding the purposes of cannibalism. The zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of the macrovertebrate remains focus on species composition, weight and anatomic groups, as well as breakage intensity, type of fragmentation, and surface damage (particularly tool-induced damage) in order to evaluate the faunal source, butchering techniques and economic strategies of the human groups involved. We also studied the distribution and fossil refitting at the site to establish depositional and postdepositional disturbance. Diagenetic breakage due to sediment compression plays an important role in the assemblage, but the most extensive modifications are those produced by human activity for nutritional purposes.

The TD6 (Aurora Stratum) hominid site. Final remarks and new questions

The study of the faunal and lithic assemblage (including almost a hundred human fossil remains) recovered from the Aurora stratum-TD6 level of the Lower Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has allowed us to answer some important questions concerning the debate about the earliest evidence for human occupation of Europe. However, it has also started new discussions about some geographical, ecological, and economic aspects of this earliest occupation. The nature (definitive or ephemeral) of the first occupation, as well as the model for the arrival of the Acheulean (Mode 2) in Europe are also issues for discussion.

Human cannibalism in the Early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

Human remains belonging to at least six individuals were found in an exploratory excavation made at the site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). These remains were recovered from the Aurora Stratum of Unit TD6. This stratum has a thickness of approximately 30 cm. The area of the exploratory excavation is about 7 m(2). According to palaeomagnetic analyses, Unit TD6 shows reversed polarity, which is considered to belong to the Matuyama chron. This unit is immediately below TD7, where the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary has been detected, indicating an age of around 780,000 years BP. There is no specific distribution, treatment, or arrangement of the human remains, which were found randomly mixed with abundant faunal remains and stone tools. Most of the faunal and human fossil bones from the Aurora Stratum have human induced damage. Stone tool cutmarks are frequent, and peeling (a type of fracture similar to bending a fresh twig between the hands) provides a specific breakage pattern together with percussion marks and chopmarks. Both nonhuman and human remains show similar intensive exploitation. Slight differences, however, have been observed between fauna and humans (e.g., peeling frequent in humans, rare in fauna), that appear related to different musculature, weight, and bone structure. The characteristics of this fossil assemblage suggest that it is solely the result of consumptive activities as there is no evidence of ritual or other intention. The possibility of distinguishing between dietary vs. survival cannibalism is discussed here.

Taphonomy and palaeoecology of Olduvai Bed-I (Pleistocence, Tanzania)

Detailed taxonomic and taphomonic studies of rodents and palaeoecological analysis have been undertaken to investigate faunal change in Olduvai Bed-I. The palaeoenvironments inferred from rodent faunas recorded in Olduvai Bed-I suggest a change between the middle (FLK + FLKNN) and the top of the series (FLKN). Changes have also been observed from taxonomic studies of large mammals and from palynological studies. These differences have been attributed in the past to climatic change, but taphonomic studies suggest a more complex scenario. The environment at Olduvai Bed-I is here interpreted through analysis of fossil faunas and fossilization processes. Identification of the causative agents that could have altered the faunal composition provides information on the environment and on the nature of the change observed between the middle and top of Bed-I. This information can then be used to test conflicting hypotheses about the origins and amount of faunal and pollen change. Results show evidence of predation in all units of Bed-I and can be attributed to different predators along the series. Different predator behaviours explain some of the variability observed by previous authors in the small mammal species composition between the middle and the top of Bed-I. After taking taphonomy into account, the remaining faunal differences point to environmental differences between middle and upper Bed-I and even greater within the upper Bed-I sequence. These differences go beyond the range that is present today in the tropical woodland-savanna biome. Our interpretation of the palaeoenvironments is that the middle Bed-I faunas indicate a very rich closed woodland environment, richer than any part of the present-day savanna biome in Africa, changing to less rich woodland in upper Bed-I with a trend towards more open and seasonal woodlands at the top of the series.