Nobody’s land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia

Sala, Nohemi ; Alcaraz-Castaño, Manuel ; Arriolabengoa, Martín ; Martínez-Pillado, Virginia ; Pantoja-Pérez, Ana ; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Antonio ; Téllez, Edgar ; Cubas, Miriam ; Castillo, Samuel ; Arnold, Lee J. ; Demuro, Martina ; Duval, Mathieu ; Arteaga-Brieba, Andion ; Llamazares, Javier ; Ochando, Juan ; Cuenca-Bescós, Gloria (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Marín-Arroyo, Ana B. ; Seijo, María Martín ; Luque, Luis ; Alonso-Llamazares, Carmen ; Arlegi, Mikel ; Rodríguez-Almagro, Manuel ; Calvo-Simal, Cecilia ; Izquierdo, Beatriz ; Cuartero, Felipe ; Torres-Iglesias, Leire ; Agudo-Pérez, Lucía ; Arribas, Alfonso ; Carrión, José S. ; Magri, Donatella ; Zhao, J.-X. ; Pablos, Adrián

Resumen: The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region “nobody’s land” during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado3807

Año: 2024

Publicado en: Science advances 10, 26 (2024), 1-18
ISSN: 2375-2548

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/RYC2022-037802-1
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/805478/EU/Population dynamics and cultural adaptations of the last Neandertals and first Modern humans in inland Iberia: a multi-proxy investigation/MULTIPALEOIBERIA
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/949330/EU/The roots and evolution of the culture-of-death. A taphonomic research of the European Paleolithic record/DEATHREVOL
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2021-122355NB-C31
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2018-025221-I
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2019-026697-I
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2020-029656-I

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Paleontología (Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra)