RT Journal Article
T1 New paleoecological insights for the Late Pleistocene Neanderthal mountain occurrence at Buena Pinta Cave (Iberian Central System, Pinilla-del-Valle, Madrid, Spain)
A1 Blain, Hugues Alexandre
A1 Laplana Conesa, César
A1 Sánchez Bandera, Christian
A1 Mielgo Villalpando, Clara
A1 Blanco Lapaz, Ángel
A1 Marquina Blasco, Rafael
A1 Fagoaga, Ana
A1 Martín Perea, David Manuel
A1 Sevilla García, María Paloma
A1 Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis
AB 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.
PB Elsevier
SN 0277-3791
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/120850
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/120850
LA eng
NO Blain, H.-A., Laplana, C., Sánchez-Bandera, C., Mielgo, C., Blanco-Lapaz, Á., Marquina-Blasco, R., Fagoaga, A., Bisbal-Chinesta, J. F., Martín-Perea, D. M., Falguères, C., Higham, T., Ruiz Zapata, M. B., Gil García, M. J., Sevilla, P., Huguet, R., Márquez, B., Pérez-González, A., Arsuaga, J. L., & Baquedano, E. (2025). New paleoecological insights for the late pleistocene neanderthal mountain occurrence at buena pinta cave(Iberian central system, pinilla-del-valle, madrid, spain). Quaternary Science Reviews, 362, 109355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109355
NO Comunidad de  Madrid
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
NO European Social Fund
NO Ministerio de Universidades
NO Generalitat Valenciana
NO Generalitat de Catalunya
DS Docta Complutense
RD 19 dic 2025