title: New evidence of early Neanderthal disappearance in the Iberian Peninsula.
abstract: The timing of the end of the Middle Palaeolithic and the disappearance of Neanderthals continue to be strongly debated. Current chronometric evidence from different European sites pushes the end of the Middle Palaeolithic throughout the continent back to around 42 thousand years ago (ka). This has called into question some of the dates from the Iberian Peninsula, previously considered as one of the last refuge zones of the Neanderthals. Evidence of Neanderthal occupation in Iberia after 42 ka is now very scarce and open to debate on chronological and technological grounds. Here we report thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates from El Salt, a Middle Palaeolithic site in Alicante, Spain, the archaeological sequence of which shows a transition from recurrent to sporadic human occupation culminating in the abandonment of the site. The new dates place this sequence within MIS 3, between ca. 60 and 45 ka. An abrupt sedimentary change towards the top of the sequence suggests a strong aridification episode coinciding with the last Neanderthal occupation of the site. These results are in agreement with current chronometric data from other sites in the Iberian Peninsula and point towards possible breakdown and disappearance of the Neanderthal local population around the time of the Heinrich 5 event. Iberian sites with recent dates (<40 ka) attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic should be revised in the light of these data.
authors.affiliation: U.D.I. de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Bertila
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Galván
authors.affiliation: U.D.I. de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. Electronic address: chergomw@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cristo M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.affiliation: U.D.I. de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Biorgánica Antonio González, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez n.° 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mallol
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS-Université de Bordeaux, Centre de Recherche en PhysiqueAppliquée à l'Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.affiliation: U.D.I. de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Biorgánica Antonio González, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez n.° 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Ainara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sistiaga
authors.affiliation: Estación Volcanológica de Canarias, IPNA-CSIC, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez n.° 3, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D005580:Fossils; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000502:physiology*; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D013030:Spain; D013672:Technology; D053001:Tool Use Behavior
keywords: El Salt; Geoarchaeology; Middle Palaeolithic; OSL dating; Spain; TL dating