A research team from the University of Valencia (UV) University of Alicante (UA), Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution de Montpellier (France) and Arkeologi Museoa de Bilbao, discovered in the town of Alicante. aspe a Neanderthal habitat outdoor 120,000 years in Los Aljezares Natural Area. Historically, archaeological records of the European Paleolithic, and especially the Iberian Peninsula, come from information provided from sites found in caves. Most of the archaeological excavations in the last 150 years have been carried out at such sites, so there is little information available to explain what has happened outside of them, both in terms of human behavior and settlement patterns.
During middle paleolithicDuring the Neanderthals’ period, these populations also settled in open-air camps. According to UV professor Aleix Eixea, “This is the case of the Los Aljezares site that created it. One of the few examples of this species in the Iberian Peninsula and Valencia are the only ones documented in their original locations, rich in lithic, faunal and archaeobotanical materials, and well dated over time”.
Eixea further adds, “The results from this study show that this site serves as a transition point for Neanderthal populations between the coastal and interior of the Iberian Peninsula, within a vast regional network that different groups will use to stock biotic resources and abiotic, mainly the configuration of stone tools (scrapers, spearheads, etc.) and the processing and consumption of the animals they hunt (deer and horses)”.
The geological study of the deposits, in which the Los Aljezares deposit is located, made it possible to identify it. a very different landscape and climate than today. This work, along with the dating of the site, was led by Jaime Cuevas, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and Environment at the University of Alicante. a period with a slightly warmer and humid climate than the current oneWhere the surroundings of the Vinalopó basin in this sector are characterized by flat areas with a system of lagoons rather than the complex network of mountain passes that we can observe today. This configuration could have supported Neanderthals’ occupation of accessible land with stable water and nearby biotic resources.”
From the analysis of the traces of use left on these stone supports, use of tools made of wood but they are not protected. Thus, this study highlights the importance of open-air settlements in the Middle Paleolithic period and how they were overlooked in research. In this sense, Los Aljezares provides the keys to better understand the ecology, adaptation and dynamics of the lifestyles of Neanderthals living on the Iberian Peninsula.
With the help and cooperation of the Five Eyes Association in the coming months. Heritage Observatory and Aspe City Council will continue fieldwork to expand existing knowledge.