New paleoecological insights for the Late Pleistocene Neanderthal mountain occurrence at Buena Pinta Cave (Iberian Central System, Pinilla-del-Valle, Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The Late Pleistocene sequence from the archaeological site of the Buena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) has furnished the following ectothermic vertebrates: Salmo trutta, Alytes gr. A. obstetricans-almogavarii, Pelobates cultripes, Bufo spinosus, Epidalea calamita, Pelophylax perezi, Rana iberica, Testudines indet., Timon lepidus, Lacertidae indet. (large- and medium-sized), Anguis fragilis, Natrix maura, Coronella cf. C. austriaca, Colubridae/Psammophiidae indet., and Vipera cf. V. latastei. All these taxa are currently present in central Iberian Peninsula, with representation in the Lozoya Valley or its closest surrounding areas. The amphibians and reptiles suggest a quite similar to a much warmer climate (from +1.0 to +3.5 °C) than the present one, with a higher difference about modern values during the coldest month than during the warmest month. Annual rainfall was more abundant (from +9 to +397 mm) than today. Reconstructed landscapes suggest the predominance of humid environments throughout the sequence, primarily composed by open humid habitats (mainly comprised between 35.2 and 45.5 %) and woodland environments including medium scrublands to forest formations (27.3–40.0 %). Aquatic and peri-aquatic areas (9.5–20.5 %), such as rivers or ponds with riverside vegetation are also quite well represented, in accordance with one of the few fossil records of a water frog (P. perezi) in the Pinilla del Valle localities, and the very hypothetical occurrence of a terrapin in the Layer 2. In addition, the presence of brown trout (Salmo trutta) also supports the presence of a mature river characterized by cold/temperate and running waters. All these data suggest that the whole Late Pleistocene sequence of the Buena Pinta Cave may have occurred during a temperate to warm and humid period, more probably during the beginning of the Marine Isotope Stage 3 rather than during the end of the Marine Isotope Stage 4, as formerly suggested.