Changes in occupational patterns during the Middle Paleolithic: the case of Teixoneres Cave Unit III (MIS 3, Moià, Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The aim of this work is to contribute to the debate about Neanderthal behavioral diversity from the Middle Paleolithic site of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3, Barcelona, Spain). During the formation of Unit-III, the landscape was dominated by a deciduous forest with wet meadows and a progressive climatic tendency toward cooling and aridity. The alternation between large carnivores and human groups marks the upper part of the unit. In this sub-unit, human occupations correspond to small groups that sporadically used the cave during their transit through the territory; such occupations include isolated hearths at the entrance of the cave, a significant balance between exogenous and autochtonous raw materials, the use of previously configured supports and the occasional processing of ungulates and small prey. However, this dynamic changes at the bottom of the unit. In this case, the presence of carnivore activities decreases, and a higher human occupational stability occurs, shown by higher indices of autochthonous raw material, more complexity in the knapping activities and a high diversity of processed prey. These modifications in the occupational patterns could be the consequence of adaptation to the new climatic conditions, an alteration of the human traditions in the territory or a combination of both.