Análisis paleontológico del yacimiento del Pleistoceno superior de Cova Foradada(Xàbia, Alicante, España)

Resumen

This study presents aspects related to the stratigraphy, pollen sequence, taxonomy and taphonomy of the Late Pleistocene site of Cova Foradada in Xábia (Alicante, Spain). The fossil material comes from Sector I of the site that comprises eight stratigraphic levels. Some of these levels have been previously dated (Casabó, 2001): 33,900 ± 310 B.P. for Level VII; 29,940 ± 150 B.P. for Level VI; 27,170 ± 150 B.P. and 29,420 ± 190 B.P. for Level V; and 6,130 ± 140 B.P. for Level III. The total number of identifiable remains represents a very low percentage of the total remains, mainly due to the high degree of fragmentation. The macrovertebrate fossils found are: Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1978), Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827) and Felis silvestris (Schreber, 1777) among the Carnivora; Cervus elaphus (Linnaeus, 1978), Capra pyrenaica (Schinz, 1838), Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) and Sus scrofa (Linnaeus, 1978) among the Artiodactyla ; and Equus ferus (Boddaert , 1785) and Equus hydruntinus (Regalia, 1904) among the Perisodactyla. Mid- and small-sized ungulates are clearly predominant along the whole sequence, such as Cervus elaphus for the former, and Capra pyrenaica for the latter. The taphonomical analysis allows to discard carnivore activity as the accumulation agent. Signs of carnivore activity are scarce, and they are only present in Level V. Fracture pattern in the bones show human activity as the main agent, characterized by the maximum exploitation of meat resources. Anthropic marks have been found in lynx, wild cat and leopard remains. The patterns of the cuts on these remains are typical of the exploitation of both the flesh and the fleece of these animals. Regarding the paleoenvironmental aspects, the pollen data show predominance of an open environment, depleted from the taxonomical point of view. The detailed pollen analysis allows us to distinguish three levels: the base level shows a more abundant forest cover with Pinus and Juniperus as predominant taxa; the middle level shows signs of a more extreme climate period; and the uppermost level shows a phase of recovering of the flora, with a reduced forest and a varied herbaceous courtship (Apiaceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae).