A neanderthal hunting camp in the central system of the Iberian Peninsula: A zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Spain)

The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when compared to other areas of the Mediterranean Basin and the northern Spanish region. Few in number too are the zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies that throw light on the relationships between Neanderthal groups, their environment, and the use they made of it. The present work examines, both zooarchaeologically and taphonomically, the faunal remains of levels F and D of the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) - the largest collection of such remains ever studied from the Iberian interior. The results allow this site to be interpreted as a Neanderthal hunting camp where occupations were short-term. Neanderthal people were the main agents that accumulated the site's faunal remains - largely those of large bovids and to a lesser extent medium-sized cervids. The activity of carnivores was also identified, but these animals mostly left behind the remains of small prey or fed upon carcasses abandoned at the camp by human hunters.AM is funded by a grant from the Junta de Castilla y León, financed in turn by European Social Funds via the Consejería de Educación (BDNS 376062). Currently, M.A.G.-P. has a technical support staff contract (PTA2018-015145-I) at the Fundación General de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares-Museo Arqueológico Regional (MAR), financed by the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad and the MAR. This research was conducted as part of competitive projects PGC 2018-094125-B-100 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), PGC 2018-093925-B-C32 (MICINN-FEDER), 2017SGR1040 IPHES-URV and 2017SGR859 IPHES (AGAUR), PGC 2018-093612-B-100 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación – Agencia Estatal de Investigación) and funded by the I + D activities program for research groups run by the Education Secretariat of the Madrid Regional Government (H2019/HUM-5840).Peer reviewe