Researchers studying prehistoric caves discovered new Neanderthal remains at the Cova de l'Arbreda de Serinyà, part of the Reclau Caves complex in Spain's Girona province. According to La Razón, the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (Iphes) reported the findings include three human teeth corresponding to a child, an adolescent, and an adult Neanderthal individual.
The analysis of the remains allowed the identification of a right lower deciduous molar (milk tooth), a right lower permanent molar, and a right upper third premolar. Preliminary results indicated that these teeth could be attributed to Homo neanderthalensis, and experts said the morphological characteristics allowed linking all the samples to the species. Estimates suggest that the teeth date back to different periods, with two of them being at least 120,000 years old and the third dating between 71,000 and 44,000 years ago.
“The discovery is significant because it allows us to obtain more information about the presence of Neanderthals in Abreda at different times,” said Dr. Marina Lozano, a researcher at IPHES-BÚSQUEDA and an associate professor at the Rovira i Virgili University, according to HeritageDaily. Lozano added, “The most modern remains are particularly interesting as they lead the study of the subsistence strategies of the last Neanderthals of the Iberian Peninsula, at a time when coexistence with anatomically modern humans can be glimpsed.” The research, published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, revealed that the Neanderthals who inhabited the Cova de l'Arbreda may have alternated between short seasonal occupations and more prolonged settlements, suggesting an adaptation to climatic and environmental changes.
Micro-computed tomography (μCT) was used to produce detailed three-dimensional models of the teeth, allowing for the reconstruction and analysis of their internal anatomy, including enamel thickness and pulp cavity volume. The analysis revealed features such as enamel thickness, pulp cavity size, and the intersection of enamel and dentin. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to assess possible post-depositional alterations on the surface of the teeth, ensuring that the preservation of the tissues allowed for robust analysis.
Standard morphological measurements were used to compare the teeth recovered in Serinyà with those from other sites. The obtained images were segmented using specialized software for precise differentiation of the different dental tissues. The research involved collaboration among several institutions, including the Catalan Institute of Research in Cultural Heritage (ICRPC-CERCA), the Historical Research Institute of the University of Girona (UdG), the International University of Catalonia (UIC), and the University of Bordeaux in France.
Arbreda cave is considered a key archaeological site in the development of prehistoric archaeology in Catalonia and was fundamental for studying the transition between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe. Excavated for the first time in 1972, La Arbreda cave contains an archaeological sequence that spans from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Arbreda Cave has five distinct cultural layers dating to the Neolithic, Solutrean, Upper Perigordian, evolved Aurignacian, and Mousterian periods, with evidence of prolonged occupations by Neanderthal groups.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Arbreda Cave was first inhabited by Neanderthals between 140,000 and 39,000 years ago. Modern humans inhabited Abreda Cave between 39,000 and 16,000 years ago. Among the most notable evidence from nearly 150 years of archaeological work at Arbreda cave is a 22,300-year-old skull discovered in 1973, representing the oldest Homo sapiens remains in Catalonia.
“The archaeological complex is a fundamental place to understand the Neanderthal presence in Catalonia and their subsequent replacement by modern humans. These new findings confirm the importance of the occupations in this area, which were much more prolonged than we initially thought,” said Joaquim Soler, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Cultural Heritage Research and one of the co-directors of the excavation, according to La Vanguardia.
In 1997, the Parc de les Coves Prehistòriques de Serinyà made the sites accessible to the public. In 2008, the sites of the Reclau area were declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest. In the upper levels of the cave, evidence of shorter and more seasonal occupations was found, suggesting changes in the subsistence strategies of these groups as they approached extinction.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.