Remontajes óseos del Nivel 4 de Prado Vargasun enfoque multidisciplinar entre la zooarqueología y la arqueología espacial

Resumen

Understanding the relationship between Neanderthal groups and their environment and they it are essential to comprehending their ways of life. In this article, we use zooarchaeology, taphonomy, bones refits, dental microwear and spatial archaeology to study the fauna assemblages found in Level 4 of Prado Vargas Cave (Cornejo, Burgos, Spain). The results point to a site in which the main accumulating agent was Neanderthal groups, who transported small and medium sized animal carcasses —with deer as the dominant taxon— according to their general utility to systematically and intensely exploit the major muscle bundles, bone marrow, skin, and tendons. According to dental microwear analysis, reiterated and prolonged occupations occurred in diverse moments, suggesting that the site was used most often as a long-term campsite. The deposit generated is a palimpsest that becomes thicker towards the entrance of the cave, in which two sub-units have been distinguished. At this site we find multifunctional domestic areas where all the processing of carcasses is carried out, without distinguishing between taxa or body size. These areas are organised around a preserved hearth and other clusters of burnt material that have been proposed as ghost hearths, whose position is approximate. In addition, rest areas are organised around these in the two sub-units. An area for cleaning or preventive maintenance and a communal area from which resources are distributed have also been identified. The burnt remains not only help us to identify these clusters, but also tell us about a controlled use of fire by the Neanderthals, who could have used fire as fuel. Likewise, the burnt remains reveal a repeated and prolonged use of the cave by hominids. We detected a minimal amount of carnivore activity, who accessed the cave during periods of human absence and modified some of the remains left by the Neanderthals. However, these non-human carnivores did not modify or displace the remains to any great extent, mainly because of hominin pressure and the low interest of the refuse left behind. There are a various post-depositional processes that affect the assemblage. A large number of remains are affected by polishing and rounding, associated with trampling and the presence of water in the cave. The trampling would have been caused by intense occupation by hominids, although it could also have been caused by other animals, although it did not cause very substantial vertical movements. The remains also had to resist the action of water. Although the currents do not seem to generate a bias in skeletal representation, accumulations or preferential orientations, they would move the remains short or very short distances. Other post-depositional processes such as manganese oxide tell us about the humid conditions in the cave. These humidity conditions and the presence of light would favour the appearance of plants that affect the surface of the bones but would not cause significant movements. Together, this information indicates that Prado Vargas is a key site to understand the dynamics of the Neanderthals in the linking area between the Castillan Plateau and the Cantabrian Range.