Análisis paleontológico del yacimiento del Pleistoceno superior de Cova Foradada (Xàbia, Alicante, España)

Abstract

En este trabajo se presenta el estudio de la estratigrafía, secuencia polínica, taxonomía y tafonomía del yacimiento del Pleistoceno superior de Cova Foradada, Xábia (Alicante). Las especies de macromamíferos representadas en el yacimiento son, dentro de los carnívoros, Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1978), Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827) y Felis silvestris (Schreber, 1777); del grupo de los artiodáctilos, Cervus elaphus (Linnaeus, 1978), Capra pyrenaica (Schinz, 1838), Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) y Sus scrofa (Linnaeus, 1978). Se han identificado dos especies de perisodáctilos Equus ferus (Boddaert , 1785) y Equus hydruntinus (Regalia, 1904). En todos los niveles del yacimiento se observa un claro predominio de los ungulados de talla media (Cervus elaphus) y talla pequeña (Capra pyrenaica). Los patrones de fracturación indican actividad humana y evidencian el aprovechamiento máximo de los recursos cárnicos. Se han encontrado marcas antrópicas en restos de lince, gato montés y leopardo. El análisis polínico pone de manifiesto el dominio de un paisaje muy abierto y empobrecido desde el punto de vista taxonómico.

This study presents aspects related to the stratigraphy, pollen sequence, taxonomy and taphonomy of the Late Pleistocene site of Cova Foradada in Xábia (Alicante, Spain). The fossil material comes from Sector I of the site that comprises eight stratigraphic levels. Some of these levels have been previously dated (Casabó, 2001): 33,900 ± 310 B.P. for Level VII; 29,940 ± 150 B.P. for Level VI; 27,170 ± 150 B.P. and 29,420 ± 190 B.P. for Level V; and 6,130 ± 140 B.P. for Level III. The total number of identifiable remains represents a very low percentage of the total remains, mainly due to the high degree of fragmentation. The macrovertebrate fossils found are: Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1978), Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827) and Felis silvestris (Schreber, 1777) among the Carnivora; Cervus elaphus (Linnaeus, 1978), Capra pyrenaica (Schinz, 1838), Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) and Sus scrofa (Linnaeus, 1978) among the Artiodactyla ; and Equus ferus (Boddaert , 1785) and Equus hydruntinus (Regalia, 1904) among the Perisodactyla. Mid- and small-sized ungulates are clearly predominant along the whole sequence, such as Cervus elaphus for the former, and Capra pyrenaica for the latter. The taphonomical analysis allows to discard carnivore activity as the accumulation agent. Signs of carnivore activity are scarce, and they are only present in Level V. Fracture pattern in the bones show human activity as the main agent, characterized by the maximum exploitation of meat resources. Anthropic marks have been found in lynx, wild cat and leopard remains. The patterns of the cuts on these remains are typical of the exploitation of both the flesh and the fleece of these animals. Regarding the paleoenvironmental aspects, the pollen data show predominance of an open environment, depleted from the taxonomical point of view. The detailed pollen analysis allows us to distinguish three levels: the base level shows a more abundant forest cover with Pinus and Juniperus as predominant taxa; the middle level shows signs of a more extreme climate period; and the uppermost level shows a phase of recovering of the flora, with a reduced forest and a varied herbaceous courtship (Apiaceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae).