Gruta Nova da Columbeira (Bombarral, Portugal): Un modelo de ocupación en cueva durante el Paleolítico Medio. Resultados del estudio del registro de macromamíferos

Abstract

Gruta Nova of Columbeira is one the most important late middle Palaeolithic sites of Portuguese Estremadura and one of the few Portuguese sites in which Neandertal remains have been found. In this paper, we present the zooarchaeological analysis of layers 6 to 9 of the 1962 excvations. Our work provides information about site functionality, human occupation dynamics and the activities these involved. The cave was used both by hominids and carnivores. Furthermore, both human and non-human (biological, hydrological) taphonomical agents seem to have been involved during the formation of the bone assemblages. These facts, together with the dates published by Zilhão et al. (2011), lead us to dismiss the hypothesis that Gruta Nova contains one of the last vestiges of Neanderthals in the Iberian Peninsula.