Integrated multidisciplinary ecological analysis from the Uluzzian settlement at the Uluzzo C Rock Shelter, south-eastern Italy.

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, between 50 000 and 40 000 years ago, is a period of important ecological and cultural changes. In this framework, the Rock Shelter of Uluzzo C (Apulia, southern Italy) represents an important site due to Late Mousterian and Uluzzian evidence preserved in its stratigraphic sequence. Here, we present the results of a multidisciplinary analysis performed on the materials collected between 2016 and 2018 from the Uluzzian stratigraphic units (SUs) 3, 15 and 17.

Rodents as indicators of the climatic conditions during the Middle Pleistocene in the southwestern Mediterranean region: implications for the environment in which hominins lived.

Rodents are a very useful tool in reconstructing the environment of the past, especially owing to their rapid response to climate change, their small home range, and their restricted habitat requirements. They are a highly diverse group of mammals, which have high reproduction rates and as a result can evolve rapidly. The abundance of their microfossil remains in archaeological and paleontological sites permits robust statistical analyses to reconstruct the past climate and environment.

Understanding the emergence of modern humans and the disappearance of Neanderthals: Insights from Kaldar Cave (Khorramabad Valley, Western Iran).

Kaldar Cave is a key archaeological site that provides evidence of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iran. Excavations at the site in 2014-2015 led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry in the basal layers. Attempts have been made to establish a chronology for the site.

Chronological and environmental context of the first hominin dispersal into Western Europe: The case of Barranco León (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain).

The early Pleistocene site of Barranco León (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain), dated to 1.4 Ma (millions of years ago), records the oldest hominin occurrence in Western Europe, as evidenced by the discovery of one tooth and thousands of Mode 1 stone tools. In this paper a detailed analysis of the microvertebrate content of the D1 and D2 units from this site is presented.

Pleistocene history of Iberomys, an endangered endemic rodent from southwestern Europe.

The extant Cabrera's vole, Microtus cabrerae, differs in morphology and evolutionary history from the other species of Microtus. This arvicoline has unique derived features in the cranium, mandible and dentition. Probably its most conspicuous features are its large size, the high skull in lateral view, the long and distally broad nasals, and the triangle shape of the anteroconid complex, with a marked labio-lingual asymmetry of the occlusal surface of the first lower molars.

Climatic conditions for the last Neanderthals: Herpetofaunal record of Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar.

Gorham’s Cave is located in the British territory of Gibraltar in the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula. Recent excavations, which began in 1997, have exposed an 18 m archaeological sequence that covered the last evidence of Neanderthal occupation and the first evidence of modern human occupation in the cave. By applying the Mutual Climatic Range method on the amphibian and reptile assemblages, we propose here new quantitative data on the terrestrial climatic conditions throughout the latest Pleistocene sequence of Gorham’s Cave.

Chronological and environmental context of the Middle Pleistocene human tooth from Mollet Cave (Serinyà, NE Iberian Peninsula).

Mollet Cave is a small cave situated in Serinyà (north-east Iberian Peninsula). It was excavated in 1947-48, 1958 and 1972 by Josep M. Corominas.

Palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate of the Mousterian-Aurignacian transition in northern Iberia: the small-vertebrate assemblage from Cueva del Conde (Santo Adriano, Asturias).

The transition from the Middle Palaeolithic (Mousterian) to the Upper Palaeolithic (Aurignacian) has been one of the prominent themes in the archaeology of the European Palaeolithic for more than 20 years. One of the most controversial questions concerning this period is the extinction of the Neanderthals and their replacement by modern humans. In this context, Cueva del Conde, located in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, is an archaeo-palaeontological site that records the Mousterian to Aurignacian transition.

First fossil evidence of an "interglacial refugium" in the Pyrenean region.

A refugium is generally understood as an area where temperate species survive cold periods, such as the Iberian, Italian, or Balkan Peninsulas in Europe. Strictly speaking, this definition refers to what is known as a glacial refugium. However, there are various types of lesser-known refugia such as the interglacial refugium, which denotes a mountainous region at low latitudes, such as the Pyrenees, where species adapted to the cold survive during interstadial periods.