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Neanderthal communities in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula: taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the Mousterian site of Jarama VI (Guadalajara, Spain)

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Abstract

The Mousterian site of Jarama VI (Guadalajara, Spain) has three archaeological levels corresponding to the final Middle Palaeolithic. Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses have determined important changes in the functionality of the site in relation to the species consumed and the nutrients that were sought. The first occupations consisted of a long-term residential camp with consumption and meat and skin treatment actions at different seasons in a cold environment. Level 2 represents an occupation focused on the casual exploitation of plant resources with minimal hunting of animals in summer and autumn. Last, level 1 corresponds to a hunting site focused on the capture and processing of ungulates from the end of spring to summer. The study of bone material at this settlement suggests that Neanderthal communities in the centre of Iberia changed their subsistence strategies over time according to cultural rather than climatic patterns.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out under the project “Prehistoric Research on the Upper Jarama Valley (Valdesotos, Guadalajara, Spain)” authorized by the Autonomous Government of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain) and directed by J.F.J.P. We thank to J. Benyei and P. Smith for the language revision. A.J.R. has a research and teaching staff in training contract (PDIF) at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), C/Tomás y Valiente s/n, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

    Antonio J. Romero

  2. Laboratorio de Prehistoria, Universidad de Burgos (UBU), Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n, 09001, Burgos, Spain

    J. Carlos Díez

  3. Facultad de Humanidades y Educación, Universidad Isabel I (UI1), C/Fernán González 76, 09003, Burgos, Spain

    Diego Arceredillo

  4. Dpto. Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain

    José García-Solano

  5. Dpto. Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Paseo Senda del Rey, 7, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Jesús F. Jordá-Pardo

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Romero, A.J., Carlos Díez, J., Arceredillo, D. et al. Neanderthal communities in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula: taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the Mousterian site of Jarama VI (Guadalajara, Spain). Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 1713–1725 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0625-7

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