Specifically, the thirty square meters excavated this year from Level 4 (46,000 years old) yielded teeth and bone fragments from cave bear (Ursus speleaeus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), horse (Equus ferus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) were found, as well as numerous flint and quartzite tools, among which the highlights are racloirs and rough-edged flakes.

The main novelty for this campaign is the recovery of a hearth, which was raised en bloc for more detailed processing and study in the laboratory. Analysis of the ashes, charcoal and scorched sediments and materials will reveal which species of trees were in the landscape, the temperature the fire reached, its structure, and when the hearth was used.

The second major finding was of eight coprolites (fossilized feces) from cave bear, which will offer information about these animals’ diet and genetic makeup. Analyzing these will also allow us to see which fruit and plants were among the biotic resources of the zone 46,000 years ago, and which might therefore have been gathered by the Neanderthals who occupied Cueva de Prado Vargas.

Neanderthal occupation

This year’s excavation has evinced the existence of different sublevels within Level 4, showing that the cave was occupied by various Neanderthal generations, who used the cavity as their fireplace for hundreds or thousands of years.