Selection of cave shelter by Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) at the Calvero de la Higuera sites (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid Region, Spain)
- Enrique Baquedano 1
- César Laplana 1
- Juan Luis Arsuaga 2
- Rosa Huguet 3
- Belén Márquez 1
- Alfredo Pérez-González 4
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1
Museo Arqueológico Regional
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Museo Arqueológico Regional
Madrid, España
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2
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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3
Universitat Rovira i Virgili
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- 4 CENIEH, Centro Nacional de Investigación de la Evolución Humana
ISSN: 2341-2496
Year of publication: 2016
Issue Title: Homenaje a Rodrigo de Balbín Behrmann
Issue: 4
Pages: 5-19
Type: Article
More publications in: ARPI: Arqueología y Prehistoria del Interior Peninsular
Abstract
The locality of Calvero de la Higuera, near the village of Pinilla del Valle (Madrid Region) in Spain's Central System mountain range, is home to a number of karstic sites containing the fossils of vertebrates, mostly from the Late Pleistocene. Taphonomic studies have led to some of these sites being interpreted as the dens of spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), and others as places that were occupied by Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis). The present work describes the characteristics of each type, and provides a series of criteria to be met for occupation by one or the other species. The Neanderthals of the Calvero de la Higuera area selected open areas towards the edge of the karst system, while the hyaenas preferred to establish their dens in small galleries in the same or slightly more inner areas of this system. Along with the evidence provided by fossilized bones, this might be a factor to bear in mind when trying to determine which - or whether both - species once occupied sites of interest.