Isabel Cáceres

Barranc de la Boella is made up of several open-air late Early Pleistocene archeological sites (Pit 1, La Mina and El Forn) the formation of which is related to a deltaic sedimentary environment. Its age makes it a key site for studying the behavior of the early hominin groups of the Iberian Peninsula and western Europe and the ecological context in which they developed.
At La Mina locality, three archaeostratigraphic levels have been identified, with level 2 being the richest in terms of the archeological remains recovered. It exhibits high taxonomic diversity, with the most common taxa belonging to open and partially open habitats, although aquatic and riparian taxa have also been identified. Carnivore remains are present, although scarce. Coprolites from a hyaenid have also been found.
Both hominin and carnivore activity has been documented at the site. Evidence of carnivore activity suggests at least one bone-cracking carnivore had access to the assemblage. The anatomical ratios employed suggest that La Mina was formed at a time of high competition (intra and/or inter-specific), with a high number of predators in this ecological context. Anthropic activity in a highly competitive context might suggest that these hominin groups had a high degree of control over the environment and over local resources, as has been shown at other Early Pleistocene sites.

A recurring theme of late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian human bone assemblages is the remarkable rarity of primary burials and the common occurrence of highly-fragmentary human remains mixed with occupation waste at many sites. One of the most extensive Magdalenian human bone assemblages comes from Gough's Cave, a sizeable limestone cave set in Cheddar Gorge (Somerset), UK. After its discovery in the 1880s, the site was developed as a show cave and largely emptied of sediment, at times with minimal archaeological supervision. Some of the last surviving remnants of sediment within the cave were excavated between 1986 and 1992. The excavations uncovered intensively-processed human bones intermingled with abundant butchered large mammal remains and a diverse range of flint, bone, antler, and ivory artefacts. New ultrafiltrated radiocarbon determinations demonstrate that the Upper Palaeolithic human remains were deposited over a very short period of time, possibly during a series of seasonal occupations, about 14,700 years BP (before present). The human remains have been the subject of several taphonomic studies, culminating in a detailed reanalysis of the cranial remains that showed they had been carefully modified to make skull-cups. Our present analysis of the postcrania has identified a far greater degree of human modification than recorded in earlier studies. We identify extensive evidence for defleshing, disarticulation, chewing, crushing of spongy bone, and the cracking of bones to extract marrow. The presence of human tooth marks on many of the postcranial bones provides incontrovertible evidence for cannibalism. In a wider context, the treatment of the human corpses and the manufacture and use of skull-cups at Gough Cave have parallels with other Magdalenian sites in central and western Europe. This suggests that cannibalism during the Magdalenian was part of a customary mortuary practice that combined intensive processing and consumption of the bodies with ritual use of skull-cups.

This work presents a study of the oldest Acheulean lithic assemblages from the Galería site, specifically the GIIa subunit, which has been dated to c. 503  95 ka, and compares them with the subsequent subunit in the sequence, GIIb, dated to around 237e269 ka. The main goals of this study are to offer a detailed technological characterization of the earliest Acheulean presence in Atapuerca and to assess the elements determining the technological variability in a given site by studying the sequence, evaluating the concept of variability and defining the aspects which determine it. The Galería site does not display the features of a living space. It is a cave which was accessed by both humans and carnivores in order to obtain the animal biomass of the herbivores that had fallen down into the cave through a natural shaft. The archaeological record is therefore incomplete and fragmented, since it is the product of highly changeable occupational dynamics. In the lower Galería levels, we identified the development from an almost exclusive use of cobbles as blanks for knapping activities in the earliest periods to an increasing use of flakes. In terms of raw materials, the initially predominant use of Neogene chert and quartzite evolved towards a more balanced use of six raw materials. Furthermore, there was an increase in the size
of the large tools. After comparing these two Acheulean assemblages, it is important to put them into context by taking into account a) the significance of cobbles and flakes as blanks; b) the significance of cleavers; and c) the use of raw materials such as quartzite, sandstone or chert. These aspects have traditionally been used to facilitate comparisons of the technologies used within the Iberian Peninsula, and comparisons between the Acheulean technology of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa and the European (i.e. trans-Pyrenean) Acheulean technology.

The Ciota Ciara cave is located in the karst of Monte Fenera (Borgosesia - VC) and is the only Middle Palaeolithic site in Piedmont where the presence of Homo neanderthalensis has been attested. In 2009, systematic excavations at the Ciota Ciara cave were reintroduced once again by the University of Ferrara in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Piemonte e del Museo di Antichità Egizie. The archaeological interventions have been carried out systematically and with a multidisciplinary approach. After a restoration of the previous excavations, the new researches shown 4 stratigraphic units: 13, 103,14 and 15. The small mammal association from Ciota Ciara cave (S.U. 13, 103 and 14) gives some information about the environment that surrounded the site and made it possible to establish the chronology of the site in a temperate-humid period of MIS 5 (80-70 ka). The whole of the faunal remains studied until now demonstrated a strong predominance of Ursus spelaeus in all the units while an increase of skeletal component of herbivorous is attested in the stratigraphic sequence going from S.U. 13 to S.U. 14. The environment was characterized by deciduous woodland and, probably at the base of the mountain, by glades. The intersection between different habitats, the presence of lithic raw materials and water sources were the main factors that certainly favored the human occupation during the Upper Pleistocene.
The lithic assemblage is composed by flakes, retouched tools, cores and debris. The exploitation of the raw materials was achieved through the direct percussion technique with varied methods: S.S.D.A., discoid and Levallois. Many lithologies are represented in different proportion: quartz is the prevalent used raw material, followed by spongolite, sandstone, mylonite and opal. The archaeological record is constituted by many typologies of quartz: macrocrystalline pegmatitic quartz, microcrystalline pegmatitic quartz and hyaline quartz. The reduction sequences on quartz are complete although no refitting was found as a result of the characteristics of this raw material. The reduction sequence is not complete for most part of the other raw materials. The débitage products are small or middle size (1-4 cm) and have different morphologies.
A preliminary taphonomic study has been performed on a portion of the palaeontological remains from the SU 14 (1144 bones).To test the efficiency of the tools made by local quartz during the slaughtering activity , was performed an experimental butchery on a carcass of wild boar. During the experimentation, tools made by local quartz and instruments made by allochthonous flint have been employed. The analysis of this experimental collection allowed us to distinguish with certainty the cut-marks made by quartz tools from those made by flint tools. The same kind of quartz cut-marks have been found on the archaeological faunal remains from the Ciota Ciara cave.
The presence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus, made by lithic instruments, has been attested. The position of the cut marks on the bones can be related to fur removal and butchery.  The osteological remains where were encountered evidence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus are portions of the appendicular and axial skeleton and specifically on: atlas, thoracic vertebra, ribs, humerus, radius, tibia and scapholunar.
The data coming  from the Ciota Ciara and from other European sites like Scladina Cave (Belgium) help us to clarify the interactions between Homo neanderthalensi and Ursus spelaeus . According to these evidences the traditional and widespread hypothesis of seasonal alternation in the use of the cave, with no interaction between man and bear, must be revised.

Researchers discovered fossil fecal samples at Gran Dolina and la Mina, in Spain
These samples come from hyena 'latrines' dating back to the Early Pleistocene
Further analysis revealed they contain bits of bone, plant matter, and fungi
The researchers say one site was likely a flood plain, while the other was a cave