Middle palaeolithic susbsistence strategies in the Spanish Northern Meseta. Corazón Cave (Mave, Palence)

This work shows a first description of the subsistence strategies carried out by the Neanderthal communities that inhabited the Horadada Gorge (Mave, Palence). Through the analysis of the faunal collections retrieved from the Mousterian archaeological horizon unearthed at Corazón Cave, dated at 96 Ka, a first characterization of the models used by the Neanderthals to obtain meat resources in this site is presented. Corazón Cave represents a strategic corridor connecting the Spanish Northern Plateau with the Cantabrian Range and the set of subsistence strategies described here can shed light on the importance of this locale in its regional framework. The methodological framework used to undertake this study includes zooarchaeological and taphonomic bone analyses, and mortality patterns. Our results suggest an anthropogenic accumulation of horses, deer, goats and other herbivores. Cut mark and fracture patterns on the bone assemblage support this. Cut marks have been identified in almost all anatomical sections, indicating a variety of activities related to skinning, disarticulation and fleshing. Apart from meat consumption, percussion marks and breakage patterns suggest access to marrow. Carnivores were present in the site as secondary scavenger agents, accessing to those remains left behind when Neanderthals abandoned the cave.