@article{10902/18457,
year = {2020},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10902/18457},
abstract = {Abstract: The Upper Palaeolithic in Europe was a time of extensive climatic changes that impacted on the survival and distribution of human populations. During the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM), southern European peninsulas were refugia for flora, fauna, and human groups. One of these refugia, the Cantabrian región (northern Atlantic Spain), was intensively occupied throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Characterising how climatic events were expressed in local environments is crucial to understand human and animal survival. La Riera Cave (Asturias) has a rich geo-cultural sequence dating between 20.5kyr BP to 6.5kyr BP and represents an ideal location in which to explore this. Stable isotope analysis of red deer and ibex is used alongside other environmental and climatic proxies to reconstruct Late Upper Palaeolithic conditions. Results show that during the LGM, ibex adapted their niche to survive, and became a major prey species for humans. The diverse environmental opportunities offered in the high-relief and coastal environs of La Riera may help to explain the high human population levels in the Cantabrian Region throughout the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Despite fluctuating conditions, herbivores and humans had the flexibility and resilience to adapt, demonstrating the importance of southern European refugia for the survival of different species.},
organization = {This research was funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship grant awarded to JRJ (H2020-
MSCA-IF-2014-656122). ABMA was supported by a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (FP7-PEOPLE-
2012-CIG-322112), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2012-33956 and Ramon y
Cajal (RYC-2011-07690) and Santander Talent Attraction for Research (STAR-1). The new radiocarbon dates
obtained by LGS for Levels 23 and 24 were kindly financed by the Stone Age Research Fund (University of New Mexico), J. and R. Auel principal donors.},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
publisher = {Scientific Reports 10, Article number: 1217},
title = {Adaptability, resilience and environmental buffering in European Refugia during the Late Pleistocene: Insights from La Riera Cave (Asturias, Cantabria, Spain},
author = {Jones, Jennifer Rose and Marín Arroyo, Ana Belén and Straus, Lawrence and Richards, Michael P.},
}