Chronological constraint of Neanderthal cultural and environmental changes in southwestern Europe: MIS 5-MIS 3 dating of the Axlor site (Biscay, Spain)

• Published in: Journal of Quaternary Science
• Main Authors: Demuro, Martina, Arnold, Lee J., González Urquijo, Jesús Emilio, Lazuén Fernández, Talía, Frochoso Sánchez, Manuel
• Other Authors: Universidad de Cantabria
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons 2023
• Subjects: Axlor; Late Pleistocene; Middle Palaeolithic; Neanderthal; Quina; Single‐grain OSL; Single‐grain TT‐OSL; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10902/29768; https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3527

The cave site of Axlor (Biscay, Spain) preserves one of the most informative Middle Palaeolithic (MP) records for the North Atlantic Iberian region, though its age remains poorly known. Here we use single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and single-grain thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) dating of sediments to improve the age constraint of Axlor's MP succession (levels N-B). Our new ages are consistent with the previously published terminus ante quem 14C ages for the site (>42.9 cal ka BP), and suggest the sequence accumulated during a period of ~50 kyr. Axlor's levels N-F were deposited ~100-80 ka, probably during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5d-a, while levels D and B were deposited ~70 and ~50 ka, respectively, during MIS 4 and mid-MIS 3. Our results indicate that major faunal and technological turnovers occurred towards the end of MIS 5, potentially coinciding with broader environmental and climatic changes. Axlor's Quina record, dated here to the onset of MIS 4, is one of the oldest in Europe. Comparisons with neighbouring sites point to complex regional chronologies and development for this particular behaviour, though detailed correlations with other MP sequences remain difficult due to their por chronological attributes. The present study highlights the important role that single-grain optical dating can play in elucidating the broader evolution of the MP across southwestern Europe. Research at the Axlor site is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project PID2019‐107260GB‐I00) and Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia. M.D. was supported by Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship FT200100816 and ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE160100743. T.L. is a postdoctoral researcher in the María Zambrano Programme for the attraction of international talent. (NextGenerationEU).