Nobody's land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia.
Sci Adv
; 10(26): eado3807, 2024 Jun 28.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38924409
ABSTRACT
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.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Neanderthals
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Adv
/
Sci. Adv
/
Science advances
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: