Archaeological sequence Abrik Pissarro ruins The southeastern Pre-Pyrenees About MIS4 (about 71,000 years ago), a little-known period in Neanderthal history.
Iberian Neanderthals sampled wild mushrooms, pine nuts, and forest moss. Image by Abel Grau, CSIC Communication.
A team of archaeologists led by the Australian National University has collected hundreds of thousands of artefacts at the Abric Pizarro site, including stone tools, animal bones and other evidence, providing crucial data about Neanderthal lifestyles.
The discovery reveals that Neanderthals were able to adapt to their environment, calls into question archaic humans' reputation as slow-footed cavemen, and sheds light on their survival and hunting abilities.
“Our results show that Neanderthals knew how to best exploit their area and territory, and were able to withstand harsh climatic conditions,” said archaeologist Sophia Samper-Caro of the Australian National University.
“The amazing finds at Abric Pizarro show how adaptable the Neanderthals were. The animal bones we found show that they made good use of the fauna around them, hunting red deer, horses and bison, but also eating freshwater turtles and rabbits. This suggests a level of planning that is rarely associated with Neanderthals.”
“These new findings call into question the widely held belief that Neanderthals only hunted large animals such as horses and rhinos.”
“The bones we found contain cut marks, providing direct evidence that Neanderthals were able to hunt small animals.”
“The bones at this site are so well preserved that you can see traces of how the Neanderthals handled and butchered these animals.”
“Analysis of stone tools also shows a great deal of diversity in the types of tools made, indicating that Neanderthals were capable of exploiting the resources available in their region.”
By uncovering this critical transition period, archaeologists are one step closer to solving a mystery that has vexed researchers for decades: what caused the Neanderthals to go extinct?
“The discovery of sites like Abric Pizarro from this particular, poorly documented period gives us information about how Neanderthals lived and shows that they were thriving at a time when modern humans were not yet in the area,” Dr Samper-Caro said.
“The unique site of Abric Pissarro offers us a glimpse into the behaviour of Neanderthals in the landscape they roamed for hundreds of thousands of years.”
“The Neanderthals disappeared about 40,000 years ago. All of a sudden, we modern humans showed up in this part of the Pyrenees and the Neanderthals disappeared. But before that, the Neanderthals had been living in Europe for almost 300,000 years.”
“They obviously knew what they were doing. They knew the area and they knew how to survive for a long period of time.”
“One of the most fascinating aspects of this site is that it provides unique information about a time when Neanderthals lived alone in harsh conditions and how they thrived before the arrival of modern humans.”
Thanks to modern excavation techniques, Abric Pizarro and other nearby sites provide detailed data for understanding Neanderthal behavior.
“We make a 3D plot of each and every bone found that is larger than one or two centimetres,” Dr Sampar Karo said.
“This slows down the work – excavations at some sites have been going on for over 20 years – but the result is that the sites are documented with unparalleled accuracy.”
“We're interested in how all these different pieces of data, from stone tools to bones to hearths, relate to each other.”
“This more thorough excavation will provide archaeologists with information about how Neanderthals lived and how long they were in the area.”
“It's not just the individual item that gives us clues, but knowing where it is found in relation to other items at the site helps us understand how and when Neanderthals visited these sites. Did they settle there or were they just passing through?”
of result Appears in Journal of Archaeological Sciences.
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Sophia C. Samper-Caro others2024. Living dangerously: Abrik Pissarro, a MIS 4 Neanderthal site in the lowermost foothills of the southeastern Pre-Pyrenees (Lleida, Iberian Peninsula). Journal of Archaeological Sciences 169: 106038; doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2024.106038
Source: www.sci.news
