José Yravedra

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• Doctor en Prehistoria
• catedratico at Complutense University of Madrid

The study of early dog domestication has been the focus of considerable scholarly interest in recent years, prompting extensive research aimed at pinpointing the precise temporal and geographic origins of this process. However, a consensus among studies remains elusive, with various research efforts proposing differing timelines and locations for d...

La Cueva de Ambrosio (Vélez-Blanco, Almería, España) es conocida por ser uno de los yacimientos solutrenses más importantes del Sureste de la Península Ibérica. Sin embargo, también ha proporcionado evidencias de otros periodos, como son el Epipaleolítico y el Neolítico. Dado que la información existente sobre estos periodos es escasa, este trabajo...

This paper presents the results of the research conducted at the site of Fardowsa, a medieval town located in a strategic trade route in Central Somaliland. The excavations and surveys conducted at the site have confirmed the role of Fardowsa as a trading center between the 14th and 16th centuries, and have revealed the existence of privileged hous...

Since the discovery of Venta Micena in 1976 until now, the Orce archaeopalaeontological sites (Guadix Baza basin) in the northern part of Granada have contributed significantly to the body of knowledge on Early Pleistocene ecosystem dynamics. The exceptional fossil accumulation at Venta Micena stands out, housing important examples of early Pleisto...

Cut marks are striae accidentally produced by the contact made between the edge of a cutting tool and bone surfaces by anthropogenic activity, presenting evidence of hominin carcass processing and behaviour, butchery activities or diet. Post-depositional processes can cause the alteration (chemical or mechanical) of bones surfaces, changing their c...

The present study has successfully obtained genetic information that allow the identification from direct descendants of Christopher Columbus, dating from 1526 to 1734. This represents the first achievement of this unique objective. The results obtained from the analysed samples, characterized by their significant antiquity, yield exceptional insig...

In their recent critique, Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. (2024) discuss a re-assessment of site formation processes in the Misiam faunal assemblage (Yravedra and LinaresMatas, ´ 2024), highlighting certain presumed errors by these authors and raising ad hominem objections that cannot remain without a reply on our part, due to direct allusions. Besides, D...

Understanding the behaviour and interactions of extinct carnivoran species present a significant challenge in archaeological and palaeontological research, often limited by numerous constraints in the fossil record. Here we analyse a hippopotamus femur consumed by an extinct species of giant hyena, recovered from the open-air site Fuente Nueva 3 (∼...

The comparative assessment of dietary choices as part of landscape use strategies deployed by Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human populations in Eurasia constitutes a fundamental avenue of Palaeolithic research. The increasing number of taphonomic assessments enables a better understanding of what remains were brought to sites by human hunter...

Meat consumption by early hominins is a hotly debated issue. A key question concerns their access to large mammal carcasses, including megafauna. Currently, the evidence of anthropic cut marks on proboscidean bones older than -or close to- 1.0 Ma are restricted to the archaeological sites of Dmanisi (Georgia), Olduvai (Tanzania), Gona (Ethiopia), O...

Simple Summary In this paper, we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of a new Bronze Age site in the inland of the Iberian Peninsula. This study represents a significant contribution within the studied area, as it analyses the Pista de Motos faunal collection, one of the few representative samples from this period. This paper signifi...

Resumen: La relación entre los neandertales y el oso cavernario-Ursus spelaeus durante el Pleistoceno Superior ha sido objeto de controversia debido a que la historiografía tradicional sugería ideas relativas a un posible culto hacia esta especie, junto con otras teorías que respaldan la caza masiva de estos animales. Sin embargo, las pruebas que v...

Las Zanjillas (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid) es un yacimiento Calcolítico precampaniforme ubicado en el valle medio del Tajo, caracterizado por más de 500 estructuras que incluyen silos y cubetas. Este estudio se centra en el análisis zooarqueológico y tafonómico de muestras óseas encontradas en este sitio. A diferencia de otras acumulaciones faunís...

The use of high-resolution silicone moulds for documenting bone surface modifications, such as cut marks, is common. However, it has not been evaluated whether moulding can affect the originals. In this work, the modification level derived from several moulding-demoulding processes on an experimental sample of cut marks has been characterised using...

Misiam is a modern leopard-generated wildebeest bone accumulation located on the slope of a steep ravine within Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). We present a taphonomic assessment of how leopard feeding behaviour shaped the bone assemblage, accumulated during the wet season, as well as contextualising the extent of secondary hyaenid scavenging. The spatia...

Many Palaeolithic archaeological sites have been excavated in the Cantabrian region of northern Spain, between the Cantabrian mountain range and the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The analyses of the materials thus recovered in sites such as El Castillo, Morín, Pendo, Covalejos, Esquilleu, El Mirón, Hornos de la Peña, El Cuco, El Ruso, Lezetxiki, Axlo...

Many Palaeolithic archaeological sites have been excavated in the Cantabrian region of northern Spain, between the Can-tabrian mountain range and the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The analyses of the materials thus recovered in sites such as El among others, have contributed greatly to the understanding of Neanderthal animal-based subsistence in the...

The Sope˜na rock-shelter is a Palaeolithic site located in the northern slopes of the Cantabrian mountain range of northern Spain, facing the Bay of Biscay, in the Principality of Asturias. The shelter overlooks the Güe˜na River, which is a tributary to the Sella River. Excavations there yielded a long stratigraphic and archaeological sequence of e...

Cut marks play a crucial role in archaeological taphonomic studies, providing valuable insights into hominin subsistence strategies and practices. However, it has been observed that various processes, ranging from taphonomic factors to trephic interactions, can introduce modifications and alter the morphology of these marks. To document the morphol...

Bone retouchers are a technological appliance used to perfect lithic tools efficiently. They are most frequently found in Middle Palaeolithic contexts. In this paper, we present a group of bone retouchers from the Mousterian Level XV of the Sopeña rock shelter (Asturias, Spain). The bone part preferred was the middle part of the shaft of long bones...

The settlement of cold and arid environments by Pleistocene hunter-gatherers has been a heated topic in Paleolithic Archaeology and the Quaternary Sciences for years. In the Iberian Peninsula, a key area for studying human adaptations to such environments is composed by the large interior and upland regions of the northern and southern plateaus (Me...

While the discovery of metal objects is not common in Chalcolithic or Bronze Age sites, the study of bone surface microscopic grooves from animal butchering can yield evidence of the use of metal artefacts in these contexts. Additionally, the presence of slice marks made with metal objects in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites has highlighted the us...

Se presenta el estudio zooarqueológico de las muestras procedentes de las unidades calcolíticas de Aldovea, que es una de las tres áreas del yacimiento prehistórico de Aldovea, localizado en Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid). Este yacimiento es un asentamiento del Calcolítico del Valle medio del Tajo formado por una concentración de estructuras negativas...

The important role of geophysics in archaeology in recent years is well known. The information obtained in a non-intrusive and non-destructive way has facilitated the documentation of archaeological sites, their excavation and subsequent interpretation, as well as the maintenance and care of the Heritage. The C.A.I. of Archaeometry of the UCM is in...

The combined application of photogrammetric and geometric morphometric tools to the study of archaeological remains is not usually addressed in the academic programme of undergraduate degrees, which results in the consequent lack of technological knowledge of future graduates. This research proposes the inclusion of a recently developed approach ba...

Recently the incorporation of artificial intelligence has allowed the development of valuable methodological advances in taphonomy. Some studies have achieved great precision in identifying the carnivore that produced tooth marks. Additionally, other works focused on human activity have managed to specify what type of tool or raw material was used...

Featured Application Tooth score morphology characterization through the use of landmarks and semilandmarks may be used to discern which species or carnivore groups modified bone assemblages. Abstract Taphonomic studies aim to identify the modifying agents that intervene in bone assemblages found at archaeopaleontological sites. Carnivores may mod...

We describe fossils of a new species of fallow deer, Dama celiae. It is the end member of the lineage Dama farnetensis–D. vallonnetensis–D. roberti–D. celiae, which reduced the number of points of the antler from four to two, while the parallel lineage leading to the living fallow deer evolved more complex and palmate antlers. The fossils are from...

The fluvial deposits of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers present one of the largest concentrations of lithic and faunal remains of Pleistocene sites in Europe. In the Manzanares River close to the confluence of the Jarama River, the stepped terrace system disappears and gives way to the Complex Terrace of Butarque (CTB), where the sites of Santa El...

Barranco Le on (Orce, Guadix Baza, Spain) is one of the sites with the oldest evidence of human activity in southwestern Europe. This site has yielded human remains in association with both fauna and lithic artefacts, linked through the presence of anthropogenic cut and percussion marks. Nevertheless, while this site is a clear example of early hom...

Simple Summary Here we present a novel open-access 3D software called Ikhnos to register and analyze bone surface modifications in bone assemblages using a sample of wild and captive wolf populations as an example to demonstrate the possibilities offered by this newly developed toolkit. The study of bone surface modifications has been proven crucia...

El continuo avance de la tecnología ha permitido alcanzar nuevos conocimientos científicos, impensables años atrás. Este acontecimiento se puede trasladar al ámbito de la tafonomía, en la aplicación de nuevas técnicas tafonómicas. Concretamente, el estudio de marcas de dientes se ha visto gratamente favorecido, al implementar la utilización de mode...

The Vettones were one of the most important Celtic peoples of the Late Iron Age in Western Iberia (between the Duero and Tagus Rivers). It is a period recognised from the spread of the cremation ritual in the cemeteries, the development of iron metallurgy, and the emergence of large fortified settlements—the characteristic oppida —that would finall...

The Guadix-Baza Basin (GBB, Granada, Spain) extends over a surface area of some 4.500 km2 and constitutes one of the richest Pleistocene vertebrate fossil records in Western Europe. Within this basin, Orce area stands out for having yielded evidence on of the oldest hominin presence in western Eurasia. Exceptionally rich collections of stone tools...

Determining the cause and nature of the postmortem processes that living organisms experience is one of the main common issues faced by forensic experts, zooarchaeologists, palaeontologists, and other specialists. Carnivores are among the most destructive agents that can interact with a corpse, since their feeding behaviour can lead to very extensi...

Little is known about the subsistence practices of the first European settlers, mainly due to the shortage of archaeological sites in Europe older than a million years. This article contributes to the knowledge of the subsistence of the first Europeans with new zooarchaeology and taphonomic data from the Palaeolithic site of Barranco León (Orce, Gr...

Animal emblématique des Pyrénées, le bouquetin peuple ses deux versants depuis les temps les plus anciens. En s’adaptant à cet environnement, une forme typiquement pyrénéenne Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica apparaît, il y a plusieurs millénaires. Consommé pendant la Préhistoire, le bouquetin est devenu, au cours du Paléolithique récent, une figure incont...

Palaeolithic representations can be approached from different perspectives. Studying the creative processes, we can glimpse the decisions that the Palaeolithic artists made and the actions they carried out to materialize an idea. Additionally, the combined study of both graphic and functional actions performed on an object provides a comprehensive...

Taphonomic studies explain the processes of formation and accumulation of bone assemblages, with special emphasis on anthropic activity. During the last decades, the number of these studies has increased notably in the sites of the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is known that Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups had a prominent role in bone...

Los Azules Cave is located in Contranquil, municipality of Cangas de Onís (Asturias). It is placed in the southern slope of the Llueves Mount. It was discovered in 1971, and excavated by Juan A. Fernández Tresguerres between 1973 and 1992. It is one of the most important archaeological cave sites in Cantabrian Region. Furthermore, Los Azules is the...

The Early Pleistocene (2.58-0.78 Ma) was a period of major evolutionary changes in the hominin lineage. The progressive consolidation of bipedal locomotion, alongside increases in cranial capacity and behavioural flexibility, allowed early Homo to exploit an increasing diversity of resources and environmental settings within the changing landscapes...

Ambrona and Torralba are key sites for the study of the European peopling during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene. The initial research of these sites, in the early 20th century, was pioneering and had great international repercussion, since these were among the first sites in which the contemporaneity of humans with extinct faunas was pro...

The discovery of lithic and faunal remains in a small karstic rock shelter located in the outskirts of Segovia city in April 2012 marked the beginning of archaeological investigations that have revealed the presence of various karstic sites in the Eresma River valley. The chronology of these sites places the presence of Neanderthals in this area of...

In the present study, we report brown hyena tooth marks on australopiths from Sterkfontein's Plio-Pleistocene-age Member 4 (South Africa). Classic taphonomic analyses and the implementation of new techniques, including Geometric Morphometrics and Machine Learning, are combined to identify the modifying agent and provide the first direct evidence of...

Over the last few decades, several types of evidence such as presence of hominin remains, lithic assemblages, and bones with anthropogenic surface modifications have demonstrated that early human communities inhabited the European subcontinent prior to the Jaramillo Subchron (1.07–0.98 Ma). While most studies have focused primarily on early Europea...

The domestication of wolves is a topic of great interest. To date, the most accepted hypotheses associate this phenomenon to the end of the Upper Palaeolithic, while many propose an earlier date closer towards the Aurignacian. The latter proposal hinges on extensive research using palaeontological, morphometric, biomolecular-isotopic, genetic data...

The valleys of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers preserve one of the largest concentrations of Pleistocene sites in Europe, and feature plenty of discoveries of lithic industry and faunal remains that have taken place since 1862. The sites Oxígeno and Santa Elena are located in what is known as the Complex Terrace of Butarque (CTB) downstream from M...

The Guadix-Baza Basin (GBB) in Andalucía, Spain, comprises palaeontological and archaeological sites dating from the Early Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene, including some of the earliest sites with evidence for the presence of early humans (Homo sp.) in Europe. Thus, the history of climate and environments in this basin contributes significantly...

Featured Application The identification of the animal responsible for eating another animal is a complicated topic that has been studied in detail over the years. With the advent of new 3D technologies, as well as the appearance of more advanced statistical approaches, many methods are currently available for the identification of carnivore activit...

Simple Summary Recent years have seen major advances in the analysis of carnivore modifications to bone during feeding, based on the integration of 3D modeling and data science techniques, and with special attention being paid to tooth marks. From this perspective, carnivore tooth scores and pits have slowly converted into a protagonist in the iden...

Archaeological sites often contain accumulations of remains derived from different independent events produced by different agents. Thus, in Palaeolithic sites, it is normal to find alternating occupations between humans and carnivores. The faunal assemblages at these sites usually include hundreds or thousands of bone fragments, which are very dif...

As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal distribution within the different regions of the peninsul...

Venta Micena is an area containing several palaeontological sites marking the beginning of the Calabrian stage (Early Pleistocene). The richness of the fossil accumulation including species of Asian, African and European origin, makes Venta Micena a key site for the the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental study of southern Europe during the Ea...

Barranco León (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) provides the oldest case of knapping and percussive activities on an ancient raw material reservoir deposit. This site has already proven to be one of the oldest and most significant Oldowan open-air sites in Europe (1.4 Ma), with an exceptionally rich flint and limestone lithic assemblage, in association with...

Competition for resources is a key question in the study of our early human evolution. From the first hominin groups, carnivores have played a fundamental role in the ecosystem. From this perspective, understanding the trophic pressure between hominins and carnivores can provide valuable insights into the context in which humans survived, interacte...

This research focuses on the study of the ruins of a large building known as “El Torreón” (the Tower), belonging to the Ulaca oppidum (Solosancho, Province of Ávila, Spain). Different remote sensing and geophysical approaches have been used to fulfil this objective, providing a better understanding of the building’s functionality in this town, whic...

El Esquilleu cave has one of the most complete Middle Paleolithic stratigraphies of northern Iberia with a complete chronological framework almost continuous from the beginning of MIS3. The complete analysis of the materials including the last section of the sequence corresponding to the last chronological interval of the occupation in the region s...

During the last twenty years, researches that address raw material characterisation based on a solid geoarchaeological study have been widening the understanding of Upper Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region. Nevertheless, there is an almost complete lack of information of these kinds of investigation in the western part of this area mot...

The archaeological site of La Magdalena, located in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), has a large necropolis area related to different chronological phases. This study was based on the bone remains found in three Roman tombs that date back to the second and third century AD and a votive offering. The three tombs were located in different places far from...

The macrovertebrate zooarchaeological analyses carried out at the Phoenician site of Teatro Cómico (Cádiz) show a predominance of mixed herds of sheep and goat. The patterns derived from the study of the mortality profiles seem to suggest the importance of wool and milk production. In addition to sheep and goat, we have also documented the presence...

The central Meseta is a high plateau located in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. Abundant evidence of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupations of the region contrasts with scarce evidence of a human presence during the early Upper Palaeolithic. On this basis, it has been suggested that climatic downturns triggered the temporary abandonment, or...

The Olduvai Gorge is considered one of the most relevant archaeological complexes with regards to the study of our human evolution. This is especially evident when studying the emergence of hunting practices over the past 1.7 Ma. Butchery activities have been documented throughout Bed II, including the exploitation of megafauna in a larger number o...

Carnivore feeding behaviour is a valuable line of research of increasing value in taphonomic analyses. An interesting component of these studies lies in the differentiation of carnivore activity based on tooth marks left on bone. Among the methodological approaches available, a major protagonist in recent years has been the incorporation of hybrid...

Modern day investigation in fields of archaeology and palaeontology can be greatly characterised by an exponential growth of integrated new technologies, nevertheless, while these advances are of great significance to multiple lines of research, their evaluation and update over time is equally as important. Here we present an application of inter a...

En este trabajo se resumen los estudios llevados a cabo en los distintos yacimientos arqueopa-leontológicos de Orce durante las últimas décadas, haciendo especial hincapié en los resultados obtenidos a raíz de las últimas campañas de excavación (2017-2020), enmarcadas en el Proyecto General de Investigación «Primeras ocupaciones humanas y contexto...

Nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la tafonomía: aportaciones desde las nUnevas técnicas de reconstrucción tridimensional de alteraciones óseas New TechNologies applied To TaphoNomy: coNTribuTioNs of New TechNiques iN Three-dimeNsioNal recoNsTrucTioN of boNe alTeraTioNs Since the publication of M. Pérez Ripoll's book titled Los Mamíferos del Yacimi...

Among the innumerable remains that appear in the archaeological sites, the fauna fossil remains are of the most numerous. Different specialities study these fossil remains of fauna from different perspectives. Among them, the quantification of the remains is some of the most important information, since they allow us to estimate what species there...

Sedimentary abrasion and postdepositional damage to fossil remains are of great interest if considering the possible distortion they could produce in the archaeological and paleontological record. Since their discovery, natural agents such as trampling phenomena have been a topic of great taphonomic interest. Nevertheless, the majority of investiga...

Featured Application Cut mark identification and analysis is a fundamental component for archaeological investigation. Cut mark analysis, however, has been the root of great debates, with some authors claiming to have the oldest cut marks in or outside of Africa. If these marks were to truly be anthropic in nature, then the repercussions of these f...

Small sized felids, such as wild and domestic cats, are one of the most common predators in the nature and in sites occupied by humans in archaeological and historical contexts. Wildcats have ingestion/ digestion traits highly destructive for their prey, i.e.: teeth to chew causing extreme breakage, and digestion along the entire digestive tract wi...

Historically wolves and humans have had a conflictive relationship which has driven the wolf to extinction in some areas across Northern America and Europe. The last decades have seen a rise of multiple government programs to protect wolf populations. Nevertheless, these programs have been controversial in rural areas, product of the predation of l...