We focus the analysis of the exchanges between ungulates and environment on cervids since, they are among the most regularly and abundantly recorded ungulates in Paleolithic bone assemblages. Numerous Pleistocene or Holocene subspecies have been described, reinforcing their status as essential proxies for environmental and chronological reconstructions. Despite this, at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, their diversity seems to have decreased. In this first study, we analysed teeth and some postcranial elements of red and roe deer from north-eastern Iberia and south-eastern France to clarify their morphological characteristics and ecological adaptations. We describe a transitional form in north-eastern Iberia between the western European stock and the current form C. e. hispanicus. Such sub-speciation processes are connected to biogeographical factors, as there were limited exchanges between north-eastern Iberia and the northern Pyrenees, whereas the north-western part of the peninsula seems more connected to the northern Pyrenees. The anatomical plasticity (morpho-functional adaptation and body size) of red deer is connected to dietary flexibility (dental meso- and microwear). Conversely, roe deer shows greater morphological and ecological homogeneity. Body size variations seem directly correlated with their ability to browse throughout the year. The marked differences between the eco-bio-geographical responses of the two taxa can be explained by their habitat selection. Thus, through this study published in scientific report (
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24684-7(opens in new window)) we were able to describe two different evolutive mecanisms between red and roe deer that have direct implication for environmental reconstruction. Roe deer is highly selective in its habitats and its presence only can be indicative of general parameters. Red deer on another hand is very flexible but in-deep studies such as dental wear analysis can be run to get a better paleoenvironmental knowledge.The study of Teixoneres allow also the descovery of a very exceptional animal for this region, at this period: the giant deer. In an article published in Diversity (
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/299(opens in new window)) we announce the discovery of the first remains of giant found in Catalonia (north-eastern Iberia) from the Late Pleistocene: a fragment of maxillary. Dated between 35,000 and 37,000 cal BP, it is also among the youngest occurrence of this taxon in the Iberian Peninsula, while its last known occurrence is dated to the Neolithic period. Through a comparison with the giant deer of the northern Pyrenees, we analyzed the herbivore guilds in which this taxon was associated to understand the context in which it was able to enter the Iberian Peninsula. By comparing its diet with those of specimens from Northern Europe, we detail the ecological adaptations of this taxon in this new environment. We suggest that giant deer accompanied the migrations of cold-adapted species by taking advantage of the opening of corridors on both sides of the Pyrenees during the coldest periods of the Late Pleistocene. The diet of the Iberian individuals, which is oriented towards abrasive plants, suggests an adaptation to a different ecological niche than that found in Northern European individuals. The northern Iberian Peninsula may have been an extreme in the geographical expansion of the giant deer. Thus, these studies show large herbivore species can be use as more reliable environmental indicator using palaeontology, palaeoecology and ecomorphology studies.
The second objective was the improvement of local environment studies through the integration of several proxies. Dental meso- and microwear are proxies that allow the diet to be reconstituted. Applied to herbivores, these proxies provide information on vegetation structure and composition. Several studies on fossil populations have proposed environmental reconstructions based on these methods. These studies often focus on a few selected taxa and rarely consider the total variability of ungulate diets at sites in contexts where the seasonality of occupations is often not estimated. These data can greatly improve the quality and resolution of the interpretation. In this manuscript submitted to JAS: Report, we propose a new approach to dental wear to reconstruct environments. We recommend including all available ungulates to consider as many habitats as possible. The combination of dental meso- and microwear allows us to address two scales of time and space – the regional scale over several years and the local scale over one season, respectively. Applied to Teixoneres Cave and Pié Lombard, the results confirm previous microfauna analysis and make it possible to characterize the intensity of seasonal turnover. This study marks a step in dental wear analysis by giving a more precise frame of both dental meso-/ and microwear and presenting a robust paythway for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The publication process is still ongoing with the manuscript being currently under review.
The last step was to confront the environment Human from France and Spain really experienced to their subsitence strategies. In Spain, Neanderthal have favored open hunting grounds and have either applied opportunistic or selective prelevment in herbivore population. In France, they have hunting in more forested habitats and have appliyed an opportunisitic strategy toward big herbivore species and selective toward rabbits. Thus, on the verge of its extinction Neanderthal was able in both geographical aeras to adapt its subsistence behavior to its environmental context. This diversity do not support the hypothesis of a specialized species that may have deseapear because of its habitat reduction. This work is still at the draft stage and should be submitted in October.
