Environmental contexts during the Iberian Neanderthal Extinction: Insight from the ecology of ungulate preys - EnvINExt

Project Information

EnvINExt

Grant agreement ID: 101064818

DOI

10.3030/101064818

Project closed

EC signature date 9 June 2022

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2024

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 181 152,96

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EnvINExt (Environmental contexts during the Iberian Neanderthal Extinction: Insight from the ecology of ungulate preys - EnvINExt)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS3- 57,000 to 27,000 cal. BP [before present]) is characterised by abrupt and rapid climatic oscillations between glacial and interglacial phases. The Middle-Upper Paleolithic (MP-UP) transition, occurring during the MIS3, is one of the key periods for human evolution, as it corresponds to the time when the last Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal) were replaced by Homo sapiens (our species) after both species co-occurred in Europe for less than 7,000 years. It is now accepted that it was a multifactor event happening at different spatial and temporal scales across Europe. For example, in north Iberia, there is a temporal difference in Neanderthal decline, with the late evidence in the North-West Iberia at 48-45,000 cal. BP and around 42,000 year cal. BP in North-East Iberia. There is currently no consensus regarding the impact of global climatic oscillations on this disappearance.
Could climate-induced local environmental differences, by modifying the ecology of these human species' herbivore preys, have led to changes in their subsistence strategies in response? Could this explain the asynchronous timing of Neanderthal disappearance across Europe?
Therefore, EnvINExt's main goal was to investigate the impact of climatic factors on Neanderthal and Sapiens ecosystems and subsistence strategies and on their disappearance at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition. To do this, the spatial and temporal variations in the ecology of ungulates (which account for over 50% of these humans' daily food intake) were explored using a combination of cutting-edge methods.
Due to a long history of Paleolithic Archeology in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, this area is rich in well-documented and dated sites covering the period of interest. For these reasons, EnvINExt focused on northern Iberia, a unique framework to explore these questions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

It took me over three months to visit museum and university collections and sample the material needed for EnvINExt. I needed several more months to analyse these samples. To do this, I regularly travelled to France, to the Palevoprim laboratory in Poitiers (UMR7262), to use their white light confocal microscope. A total of 1,487 specimens from 8 archaeological sites were sampled for the project, mainly teeth from horses, bison, auroch, deer, reindeer, roe deer, chamois and Iberian ibex. Human populations have hunted all these animals.
To study the osteo-dental remains of animals hunted and consumed by H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis human groups at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition, I used a new multi-proxy approach combining dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA), molar mesowear analysis (MMA) and enamel carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis (ECOSIA). This is the most direct approach for inferring local environmental conditions on human-group territories. Such fine interpretations enabled me to consider the fossil material studied from a neo-ecologist's point of view. As a member of the EvoAdapta laboratory, within a dynamic and supportive team, I also benefited from the expertise of my colleagues, which complemented my own, to make the most of the abundant archaeological material available in the northern Iberian Peninsula.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

I could characterise the environmental conditions over a chronology ranging from the first years of the hunted animals' lives to the last days of their existence. With this approach, it has been possible to understand better the ecosystems in which the human populations lived and the impact of global climate change on the local environmental conditions they had to cope with. EnvINExt results have shown how the human-environment-prey relationship evolved through archaeological sequences spanning several thousand years. They provided a better understanding of how the two human species responded to these changes by adapting (or not) their subsistence strategies. EnvINExt results are of significant importance, as they contribute to the debate on the impact of global climatic oscillations on the disappearance of Neanderthal and the success of our species. Interpretation of the EnvINExt results has benefited from methodological developments carried out during the project to calibrate the DMTA results with current tree cover data and to improve the repeatability of the DMTA and MMA.

I was given the opportunity to communicate about the EnvINExt project and results at a number of public events (conferences, theme days, talks in schools, etc.). This has allowed me to transmit more general knowledge about human evolution. Quaternary archives witness climatic variations that can be used to better address the problems raised by the ongoing anthropogenic climate crisis. Archaeologists and Paleontologists are key actors in these discussions, since they provide a long-term perspective over the relationships between human populations, fauna and environments, that is complementary to the detailed but short-term approach of biologists. Therefore, during my public events, I could also raise the general public's awareness on questions linked to this topical societal challenge: climate change and the erosion of current biodiversity.

key steps in implementing EnvINExt