2026-06-09T16:26:04Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/111842026-01-09T01:05:42Zcom_10259.4_2539com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259.4_2540

Terradillos Bernal, Marcos Demuro, Martina . García Martínez, Daniel Arceredillo, Diego Arnold, Lee J. . Jordá Pardo, Jesús F. Torres, Trinidad Ortiz, José Eugenio Díez Fernández-Lomana, Juan Carlos 2026-01-08T09:36:41Z 2026-01-08T09:36:41Z 2025-12 2027-12-02 0277-3791 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11184 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109649 Valdegoba Cave (Burgos, Spain) is a site of longstanding importance for studying Neanderthal behaviour and anatomy within the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. Previous research at Valdegoba has explored various aspects of Neanderthal life histories, including records of mitochondrial DNA and oral microbiomes, use of the mouth for manual tasks, and resource acquisition – particularly specialised hunting of chamois. This latest article presents significant new insights into Neanderthal use of Valdegoba Cave based on the discovery of additional human remains, analysis of unpublished lithic artifacts, and examination of new geochronology results obtained using luminescence (single-grain OSL and pIR-IRSL) dating of sediments and amino acid racemisation (AAR) dating of mammal teeth. Our combined chronological dataset indicates that Neanderthal occupation of Valdegoba's Levels 4 and 5 (Unit D) occurred within, or close to, the transition between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 and 5, most likely between ∼140 and ∼120 ka. The newly discovered fifth distal phalanx from Level 5 presents clear Neanderthal morphology characterized by the expansion of the distal region (apical tuft), which is a typical Neanderthal trait. The updated lithic analysis of Valdegoba demonstrates the technological variability of Neanderthals in the Iberian Peninsula during the MIS 6/5 transition and their ability to adapt to diverse environments and resources. Our latest findings suggests that the Neanderthal group from Valdegoba Cave employed varied strategies for territorial and subsistence management towards the end of the Middle Pleistocene and beginning of the Late Pleistocene. The luminescence dating research undertaken by Martina Demuro was supported by Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship FT200100816 and ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE160100743. This research was supported by the Junta de Castilla y Le´ on (Consejería de Educaci´ on y Consejería de Educaci´ on) through several funding projects, and by the University of Burgos through its support to the “Prehistoric Archaeology” research group. application/pdf eng Elsevier Quaternary Science Reviews. 2025, V. 369, p. 109649 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109649 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess Valdegoba Cave Neanderthals Luminescence dating Amino acid racemisation dating Middle palaeolithic Iberia Antropología física Arqueología-Burgos Prehistoria Physical anthropology Archaeology-Burgos Prehistoric peoples Neanderthal morphology, behaviour and adaptation at Valdegoba Cave (Northern Spain) during late MIS 6 – early MIS 5 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion Quaternary Science Reviews 369 109649