Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the Latest Pleistocene of L'Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, Girona, northeastern Iberia) inferred from the small-mammal (insectivore and rodent) assemblages / Juan Manuel López-García, Narcís Soler i Masferrer, Julià Maroto, Joaquim Soler i Subils, Gabriel Alcalde, Maria Bennàsar, Francesc Burjachs i Casas



En: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. vol. 435 (2015) , p. 244-253

L'Arbreda Cave is one of the southernmost of the Reclau Caves (Serinya, Girona, northeastern Iberian Peninsula), located between the west margin of the Pla d'Usall and the Serinyadell river, at an altitude of about 211 m a.s.l. The Pla d'Usall forms part of the Banyoles-Besald Basin, which is bounded by Eocene and Neogene reliefs. It is filled with sediments of Plio-Pleistocene age. The cave is a shelter formed by travertine cascades with a degree of karstification, and contains sedimentary deposits ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, thus constituting an important archaeo-palaeontological record for an understanding of the prehistoric occupation of northeastern Iberia. It is one of the most complete and best-dated terrestrial sequences in Iberia from the Mousterian to the Early Holocene period. In this paper we present a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the sequence based on non-flying small mammals (insectivores and rodents) and pollen analyses. The environmental and climatic results, together with the absolute dating of the sequence and direct comparison with NorthGRIP delta O-18 and the sea-surface temperatures (SST) of the Alboran Sea, allow us to identify various climatic periods within our sequence: a cold period between interstadials 12 and 10 in Level I, probably interstadial 10 in Level H-2 the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Levels C and B, the Bolling-Allered interstadial (B/A) in Level A, and the Preboreal/Boreal (Pr/B) in the Terra Rossa.

Environment and climate during MIS 7 and their implications for the late Middle Pleistocene hominins: The contribution of Mollet cave, Serinyà, Girona, northeastern Iberian Peninsula / Juan Manuel López-García, Hugues Alexandre Blain, Ramo Julià, Julià Maroto



En: Quaternary International. vol. 337 (2014) , p. 4-10

Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) is an interglacial that has not been a major topic of scientific interest, yet is interesting because it contains five warm and cold phases (MIS 7e-a) within a brief period of time (ca. 246-186 ka). In this context, there are several sites that contain Middle Pleistocene human remains in Europe, including Mollet cave, the subject of this study. Analyses of the small vertebrates from this cave, together with the numerical dating (ca. 215 ka), established the environmental and climatic conditions in which the hominins who frequented the cave lived. The results obtained situate the Middle Pleistocene hominins of Mollet cave in the MIS 7c substage, indicating that the occupation by humans took place in a transitional phase from a warm to a cold stage with forest development.

Chronological and environmental context of the Middle Pleistocene human tooth from Mollet Cave (Serinyà, NE Iberian Peninsula) / Julià Maroto, Ramon Julià, Juan Manuel López-García, Hugues Alexandre Blain



En: Journal of Human Evolution. vol. 62 (núm. 6) , p. 655-663

Análisis de los cambios paleoambientales del pleistoceno superior final-Holoceno a partir del estudio de micromamíferos en la cova volomera (San Esteve de la Sarga, Lleida) / Sandra Bañulls-Cardona, Juan Manuel López García
Bañuls-Cardona, Sandra


En: 257396 Actas de las II Jornadas de Jóvenes en Investigación Arqueológica : (Madrid, 6, 7 y 8 de mayo de 2009 : JIA 09. Madrid : Libros Pórtico, DL 2011

Les Excavacions recents a la cova de Mollet (Serinyà, Pla de l'Estany) : hienes i humans fa 200.000 anys / Julià Maroto, Juan Manuel López-García, Hugues-Alexandre Blain, Ferran Millan, Meritxell Álvarez, i Ramon Julià



En: Tribuna d'arqueologia. Barcelona. 2015-2016 (2018) , p. 104-120 : il.
Bibliografia.

Les excavacions recents (2001-2005 i 2010-2011) a la cova de Mollet (Serinyà) han permès caracteritzar l'estrat 5, que és l'inferior de la seqüència. Aquest estrat té una edat de l'ordre dels 215.000 anys i va ser dipositat durant una etapa temperada del MIS 7, sota un paisatge dominat per prats humits i alguns boscos. El jaciment era, en aquella època, un cau de hienes. L'activitat antròpica documentada és molt escassa, malgrat procedir de l'estrat una molar humana d'un individu infantil.