Human activities and Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages from the central region of the Iberian Peninsula.

The majority of Middle Pleistocene open sites with lithic assemblages known from rhe central area of the Iberian Peninsula are located in fluvial deposits. Sites with both faunal and lithic remains in low energy or undisturbed sedimentary contexts are rare, comprising the Torralba and Ambrona localities (Soria), subject to re-excavation since 1933, and two other sites, Aridos 1 and 2, located in the Jarama valley near Madrid. Another site, Cuesta de la Bajada, near Teruel (Santonja et al. 1982) with an IRSL minimal date of 137,90±10,07 ka, belongs to the latter part of the period considered in this paper and is still being studied. Mention should also be made of two other remarkable sites at Solana del Zamborino and Cúllar-Baza 1 (Botella et al. 1975; Ruiz Bustos and Michaux 1976) in Andalusia, south of our study-region.Peer reviewe