Modelling Neanderthal landscapes during MIS4: Survival beyond the glacial period

ongoing

The NEANSCAPES project aims to advance our understanding of Neanderthal subsistence strategies during MIS4 (71-57 ka), a glacial period that imposed harsh conditions that impacted on environment on a worldwide scale. The transition from the temperate phase of MIS5 (128-71 ka) to the cold phase of MIS4 required flexibility and innovation in livelihood strategies and resource management by these populations. Much is known about MIS5 and MIS3 (57-27 ka), but there is a notable gap in human subsistence during MIS4. This project will assess the impact of MIS4 on the resilience of Neanderthals in Iberia for understanding their ability to cope with severe climatic cycles. It will test whether this species behaviour was maintained invariably, making them vulnerable to abrupt climatic changes, or conversely, they were able to change their behaviour when the environmental changed drastically. To this end, the project will examine the ungulates hunted from archaeological sites in north-eastern Iberia, where repeated and intense Neanderthal occupations span the entire MIS4 glacial period, from the Pyrenees to the coast. Stable isotopes (oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, strontium) preserved in the animal tissues recovered on sites provide detailed information on the animals' past ecology. By combining multi-isotope analysis with isoscapes modelling (oxygen, sulphur, strontium) on the region, we will provide a high-resolution climate and spatial reconstruction directly linked to human presence, to characterized past human habitat. Using isoscape modelling, NEANSCAPES will maximise the resolution provided by stable isotopes to characterise the micro-environments frequented by humans and to understand landscape use resulting from human population choices. This cross-cutting methodology has never been applied to Palaeolithic research in Iberia and will provide a good opportunity to test its suitability on a regional scale and to generate new analytical tools.