RT Journal Article
T1 Palaeobiological and taphonomic analysis of a site hosting a cold-adapted fauna in Iberia: The Baio cave (Zestoa, Gipuzkoa, northern Iberian Peninsula)
A1 Rodríguez Almagro, Manuel
A1 Arriolabengoa, Martín
A1 Villalba de Alvarado, Mónica
A1 Arceredillo, Diego
A1 Galán, Julia
A1 Fernández García, Mónica
A1 Made, Jan van der
A1 Esteban, José Julián
A1 Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis
A1 Rios Garaizar, Joseba
A1 Sala, Nohemi
A1 Gómez Olivencia, Asier
AB The study of cold-adapted faunas in Iberia is of great interest to palaeontologists because this peninsula represents the southernmost limit of the distribution in Western Europe of species such as mammoth, reindeer and woolly rhinoceros. Additionally, the direct dating of these palaeontological assemblages can provide important information regarding the palaeoecology of Palaeolithic humans. In this study, we examine the fossil assemblage recovered from the floor of the Baio cave (Zestoa, northern Iberia), which includes the remains of cold-adapted species. This site has yielded an assemblage that includes herbivores, carnivores and a small number of rodents. Our radiocarbon dating of the remains of a reindeer and a red deer yielded chronologies consistent with the Châtelperronian and Late Aurignacian occupations in the area, indicating a diachronic accumulation. Taphonomic observations suggest carnivores as being the main accumulation agents, with a minimal human contribution, along with the probable accumulation of some remains due to natural causes and/or the cave acting as a natural trap. This new evidence contributes to the existing records from other sites, such as Ekain and Mainea, suggesting severe climatic pulses during the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic, which coincides with a complex pattern of Neandertal extinction and their replacement by modern humans.
PB Elsevier
SN 1777-5728
YR 2025
FD 2025-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/119769
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/119769
LA eng
NO Rodríguez-Almagro, M., Arriolabengoa, M., Villalba De Alvarado, M., Arceredillo, D., Galán, J., Fernández-García, M., Van Der Made, J., Esteban, J. J., Arsuaga, J. L., Rios-Garaizar, J., Sala, N., & Gómez-Olivencia, A. (2025). Palaeobiological and taphonomic analysis of a site hosting a cold-adapted fauna in Iberia: The Baio cave (Zestoa, gipuzkoa, northern iberian peninsula). Geobios, 88-89, 205-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.05.008
NO Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa
NO Gobierno Vasco
NO European Research Council
NO MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO Ministerio de Universidades
NO European Union
NO UPV/EHU
NO Generalitat Valenciana
NO European Social Fund
DS Docta Complutense
RD 25 dic 2025