Andrea Picin

Kaldar Cave is a key archaeological site that provides evidence of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iran. Excavations at the site in 2014–2015 led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry in the basal layers. Attempts have been made to establish a chronology for the site. These include four thermoluminescence (TL) dates for Layer 4, ranging from 23,100 ± 3300 to 29,400 ± 2300 BP, and three AMS radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples belonging to the lower part of the same layer, yielding ages of 38,650–36,750 cal BP, 44,200–42,350 cal BP, and 54,400–46,050 cal BP (all at the 95.4% confidence level). Kaldar Cave is the first well-stratified Late Palaeolithic locality to be excavated in the Zagros which is one of the earliest sites with cultural materials attributed to early AMHs in western Asia. It also offers an opportunity to study the technological differences between the Mousterian and the first Upper Palaeolithic lithic technologies as well as the human behaviour in the region. In this study, we present a detailed description of the newly excavated stratigraphy, quantified results from the lithic assemblages, preliminary faunal remains analyses, geochronologic data, taphonomic aspects, and an interpretation of the regional paleoenvironment.

The debate over hominidecarnivore interactions during the Pleistocene has been mainly approached from a human perspective, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of the evolution of human cultural capabilities in the different periods. Regarding the European Middle Palaeolithic, it is most commonly concluded that Neanderthals were clearly superior to carnivores in the context of competitive relationships, with respect to both prey and the occupied space. Therefore, the presence of some human groups in the environments usually inhabited by carnivores could be perceived, from an ecological point of view, as a disturbance in the balance of the ecosystems. In order to assess the ecological impact of these human groups, the present study analyses the Unit III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3;Moià, Barcelona, Spain) through a comparison of palaeoecological and archaeological data. The site is located in the highlands between the twomain rivers connecting the central region of Catalonia with the Mediterranean coast: the Llobregat and the Ter. Palynological and paleontological data indicate a cold landscape dominated by woodlands and some wet meadows. The high vertebrate diversity recorded in this stratigraphic unit suggests an environment marked by a balanced predatoreprey dynamic, which may have been interrupted by the occasional presence of small human groups. According to the archaeological data, these human groups tended to predate the same prey as did carnivores, which may have generated a certain perturbation in the system. However, the small size of the groups and the brevity of their visits to Teixoneres Cave seem to have minimised the perturbation, allowing the environment to recover its original balance.

Journal Name: Quaternary International

Publication Date: 2015

Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neander-thals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 156:43–71, 2015. V C 2014 American Association of Physical Anthropologists In this manuscript, we review traditional as well as more recent approaches for reconstructing the diet in past human populations, and we show how new archaeological discoveries and innovative methods are changing our views of Neanderthal ecology and behavior. We further underline the importance of reconstructing Nean-derthal environments derived from palaeoecological data to better understand and interpret the dietary evidence obtained by these methods. Finally, since the intake of specific foods can be invisible to certain techniques and detect by others, we suggest using a more holistic approach by integrating the findings of more than one method. Such comprehensive analyses would enable the reconstruction of the whole dietary spectrum, which is particularly important for species like Neanderthal, who lived under severe and unstable climatic conditions. Neanderthals are undoubtedly the most studied and best-known group in the human fossil record. Despite that, for more than 100 years since their discovery, research on Neanderthal ecology, subsistence strategies, and diet have received remarkably little attention (Ready, 2010). It is only with the emergence of new archeological disciplines and development of innovative analytical approaches in the 1960s, that scholars began to look at Neanderthal behavior and adaptations to their environment. Methods such as faunal analysis, lithic technology, and taphonomic studies progressively led to a general portrait that defined Neanderthals as a homogenous group, with similar nutritional needs typified by a reliance on the consumption of terrestrial animals. This idea was reinforced by the study of stable isotopes and Neanderthal anatomy. The general robusticity of Nean-derthal skeletons, with relatively short limbs and heavy trunks, has been interpreted as adaptation to cold stress environments that follow the ecogeographic principles of Bergmann's and Allen's rules (e.

The debate over hominidecarnivore interactions during the Pleistocene has been mainly approached from
a human perspective, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of the evolution of human cultural
capabilities in the different periods. Regarding the European Middle Palaeolithic, it is most commonly
concluded that Neanderthals were clearly superior to carnivores in the context of competitive relationships,
with respect to both prey and the occupied space. Therefore, the presence of some human groups in
the environments usually inhabited by carnivores could be perceived, from an ecological point of view, as a
disturbance in the balance of the ecosystems. In order to assess the ecological impact of these human
groups, the present study analyses the Unit III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3;Moi
a, Barcelona, Spain) through a
comparison of palaeoecological and archaeological data. The site is located in the highlands between the
twomain rivers connecting the central region of Catalonia with the Mediterranean coast: the Llobregat and
the Ter. Palynological and paleontological data indicate a cold landscape dominated by woodlands and
some wet meadows. The high vertebrate diversity recorded in this stratigraphic unit suggests an environment
marked by a balanced predatoreprey dynamic, which may have been interrupted by the occasional
presence of small human groups. According to the archaeological data, these human groups tended
to predate the same prey as did carnivores, which may have generated a certain perturbation in the system.
However, the small size of the groups and the brevity of their visits to Teixoneres Cave seem to have
minimised the perturbation, allowing the environment to recover its original balance.

During the Middle Paleolithic period, carnivores and hominids periodically occupied the same areas
at different times and each predator generated significant palimpsests, rendering difficult their archaeological interpretation.
Teixoneres Cave, a carnivore den site, located in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, demonstrates that it is
possible to overcome these problems by using a careful strategy in selecting samples for radiocarbon dating, in order to
produce an accurate chronology of the site in question and certainly attest the human occupation.

During the Middle Paleolithic period, carnivores and hominids periodically occupied the same areas at different times and each predator generated significant palimpsests, rendering difficult their archaeological interpretation. Teixoneres Cave, a carnivore den site, located in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, demonstrates that it is possible to overcome these problems by using a careful strategy in selecting samples for radiocarbon dating, in order to produce an accurate chronology of the site in question and certainly attest the human occupation.

The debate over hominidecarnivore interactions during the Pleistocene has been mainly approached from a human perspective, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of the evolution of human cultural capabilities in the different periods. Regarding the European Middle Palaeolithic, it is most commonly concluded that Neanderthals were clearly superior to carnivores in the context of competitive relationships, with respect to both prey and the occupied space. Therefore, the presence of some human groups in the environments usually inhabited by carnivores could be perceived, from an ecological point of view, as a disturbance in the balance of the ecosystems. In order to assess the ecological impact of these human groups, the present study analyses the Unit III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3;Moià, Barcelona, Spain) through a comparison of palaeoecological and archaeological data. The site is located in the highlands between the twomain rivers connecting the central region of Catalonia with the Mediterranean coast: the Llobregat and the Ter. Palynological and paleontological data indicate a cold landscape dominated by woodlands and some wet meadows. The high vertebrate diversity recorded in this stratigraphic unit suggests an environment marked by a balanced predatoreprey dynamic, which may have been interrupted by the occasional presence of small human groups. According to the archaeological data, these human groups tended to predate the same prey as did carnivores, which may have generated a certain perturbation in the system. However, the small size of the groups and the brevity of their visits to Teixoneres Cave seem to have minimised the perturbation, allowing the environment to recover its original balance.

This paper introduces the excavations in several Paleolithic sites in the Khorramabad Valley, Western Iran. Apart from the two well-known sites of Ghamari Cave and Gar Arjene rock shelter, first excavated by Frank Hole and Kent Flannery in the 1960s, the Gilvaran and Kaldar caves were excavated for the first time. Here we present the stratigraphy of these sites, general data from the lithic assemblages, and the identifications of a small part of the faunal remains. Preliminary results are showing that all of the sites were occupied from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic onward, and therefore provide great potential for the study of the transition between these cultural periods. Our preliminary techno-typological observations show that the lower levels of the Gilvaran and Ghamari sequences may represent an early phase of the Middle Paleolithic.

Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neanderthals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well.

Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neanderthals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well.

This paper introduces the excavations in several Paleolithic sites in the Khorramabad Valley, Western Iran. Apart from the two well-known sites of Ghamari Cave and Gar Arjene rock shelter, first excavated by Frank Hole and Kent Flannery in the 1960s, the Gilvaran and Kaldar caves were excavated for the first time. Here we present the stratigraphy of these sites, general data from the lithic assemblages, and the identifications of a small part of the faunal remains. Preliminary results are showing that all of the sites were occupied from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic onward, and therefore provide great potential for the study of the transition between these cultural periods. Our preliminary techno-typological observations show that the lower levels of the Gilvaran and Ghamari sequences may represent an early phase of the Middle Paleolithic.