title: Neanderthals from El Salt (Alcoy, Spain) in the context of the latest Middle Palaeolithic populations from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula.
abstract: We present a bioanthropological study of dental remains recovered from El Salt Middle Palaeolithic site (Alcoy, Alicante, Spain). The dental remains were found in a sedimentary layer representing a calm depositional environment within a freshwater spring system. The corresponding archaeological context comprises a Middle Palaeolithic faunal and lithic assemblage that represents the last documented evidence of human occupation at the site, dating to between 47.2 ± 4.4 and 45.2 ± 3.4 ka (thousands of years ago). This evidence is overlain by an archaeologically sterile deposit dated to 44.7 ± 3.2 ka. Results show that the teeth belong to a single juvenile or young adult individual with morphological and metric features falling within the Neanderthal range of variability, although the considered traits are not taxonomically highly discriminant. The reported fossils are representative of the latest Middle Palaeolithic groups in the region and may be considered in the ongoing debate on the disappearance of Neanderthals and the end of the Middle Palaeolithic.
authors: Unidad Docente de Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: mdgarral@bio.ucm.es.
authors: María Dolores
authors: MD
authors: Garralda
authors: Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueología, Antropología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 Tenerife, Spain.
authors: Bertila
authors: B
authors: Galván
authors: Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueología, Antropología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 Tenerife, Spain.
authors: Cristo M
authors: CM
authors: Hernández
authors: Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueología, Antropología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 Tenerife, Spain.
authors: Carolina
authors: C
authors: Mallol
authors: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, 28071 Madrid, Spain.
authors: José A
authors: JA
authors: Gómez
authors: Université Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33405 Talence cedex, France.
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Maureille
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000002:abnormalities; D005580:Fossils; D006801:Humans; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010161:Paleodontology; D013030:Spain; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D014071:Tooth Abnormalities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anatomically modern humans; Pleistocene; Taurodontism; Teeth; Western Europe