Publication: The excavation of buried articulated neanderthal skeletons at Sima de las Palomas, Murcia, SE Spain.
Authors
Walker, Michael J. ; López Martínez, Mariano V. ; Ortega Rodrigáñez, Jon ; Haber Uriarte, María ; López Jiménez, Antonio ; Avilés Fernández, Azuzena ; Polo Camacho, Juan Luis ; Campillo Boj, Matías ; García Torres, Jesús ; San Nicolás del Toro, Miguel ; Rodríguez Estrella, Tomás ; Carrión García, José Sebastián
item.page.secondaryauthor
item.page.director
Publisher
Elsevier
publication.page.editor
publication.page.department
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.03.034
item.page.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
© 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. This document is the Published Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Quaternary International. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.03.034
Abstract
At Sima de las Palomas del Cabezo Gordo (Murcia, Spain) remains of several Neanderthals have been excavated recently. From about 50,000 years ago articulated parts of 3 adult skeletons (including skulls with mandibles, vertebral column, rib cages, shoulder blades, hip bones, upper and lower limbs, hands and feet, often in anatomical connexion) were excavated from the lower part of a cemented accumulation of scree and large stones (éboulis) sloping downwards and inwards into the cavity, along with burnt bones of large mammals and Mousterian implements. The excavation of the skeletons is the subject of this paper (palaeoanthropological skeletal descriptions are soon to be published elsewhere). Behind the cemented scree there accumulated a layer of finer sediment containing burnt animal bones, followed by more fine sediment that filled the cavity up to the overhanging rock roof and contained isolated teeth and unburnt bone fragments of Neanderthals, including 3 mandibles, as well as Mousterian implements and faunal remains, all dating from before 40,000 years ago. Altogether, at least 9 Neanderthals are represented by finds from the site (including 3 unstratified mandibles), ranging from babies to adults. Dating methods include radiocarbon, uranium-series, and optical luminescence. Pollen analysis implies conditions less severe than those of the Heinrich 4 cold oscillation at 40,000 years ago.
publication.page.subject
Citation
Quaternary International, 2012, Vol. 259, pp.7-21
item.page.embargo
Collections
Ir a Estadísticas
Sin licencia Creative Commons.