Combined dental wear and cementum analyses in ungulates reveal the seasonality of Neanderthal occupations in Covalejos Cave (Northern Iberia)
Fiche du document
4 octobre 2019
- handle: 10670/1.0j69hq
- hal: hal-02335698
- doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-50719-7
- PUBMEDCENTRAL: PMC6778078
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41598-019-50719-7
Sujets proches
Tooth cementum Dental cementum Cement (Teeth)Citer ce document
Carlos Sánchez-Hernández et al., « Combined dental wear and cementum analyses in ungulates reveal the seasonality of Neanderthal occupations in Covalejos Cave (Northern Iberia) », HAL-SHS : archéologie, ID : 10.1038/s41598-019-50719-7
Métriques
Partage / Export
Résumé
We propose for the first time the use of the combination of two high-resolution techniques, dental wear (meso- and microwear) and dental cementum analyses, to gain a better understanding of Neanderthal subsistence strategies and occupational patterns. Dental wear analysis provides information not only on ungulate palaeodiet and palaeoenvironments but also on hunting time and seasons. Dental cementum analysis allows the accurate determination of the age and season at death of a prey. Our study has focused on the Cantabrian region and has applied both methods to investigate the Mousterian faunal assemblages in Covalejos Cave. Identification of the ungulate palaeodiet reveals information on the environmental conditions of the studied region. Moreover, it may facilitate observation on the evolution of both palaeodiet and palaeoenvironment throughout the site sequence. Results show a general stability in the palaeoenvironmental conditions and in the ungulate palaeodiet throughout the Mousterian sequence; this finding may be attributed to the role of the area as a climate refuge, and slight differences in levels 8, 7 and 4 suggest long- or short-term but repeated Neanderthal occupations at different seasons in the annual cycle.