New insights into Neanderthal subsistence strategies in northern Iberia: The faunal assemblage of level XXc of El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain)

Abstract

The study of Neanderthal subsistence in northern Iberia through zooarchaeological analysis of faunal assemblages is a pivotal issue for the comprehension of the population dynamics of this human species. In this regard, El Castillo Cave has been an essential site for research on Middle Palaeolithic settlements in the Cantabrian region. From this perspective, the Mousterian level XXc of El Castillo provides relevant information for the comprehension of Neanderthal behaviour, subsistence strategies and human-carnivore interactions. Through the study of the faunal assemblage of this level, we establish the hunting spectrum of Neanderthal groups, identifying different strategies depending on the species, with a specific selection of prime adult individuals for red deer and an unselective strategy for large bovids and horses, with transport strategies focused on limb bones. A more intense role in the site formation of carnivore activity than expected was found; they had secondary access to the carcasses with an important role as scavengers in deleting certain anatomical elements.