Mammalian turnover as an indicator of climatic and anthropogenic landscape modification: A new Meghalayan record (Late Holocene) in northern Iberia

Abstract

The Punta Lucero III cave is a natural trap where abundant vertebrate remains were accumulated during the Meghalayan (Late Holocene). To better understand the paleoenvironmental conditions in which this record was accumulated, the micromammal assemblage, comprising a minimum number of 1396 individuals belonging to 19 taxa, was studied using the Mutual Ecogeographic Range and the Habitat Weighting Method. Throughout ∼2600 years, the micromammal community's quick turnover reflected a shift from patchy forests and humid meadows to open, shrubbier grasslands. The Late Holocene Thermal Maximum's humid and mild climatic conditions underwent a cooling and aridification phase, coeval with the Iron Age Cold Epoch. These concluded in a slight temperature rising, coeval with the Roman Warm Period. Macromammals experienced a shift from wild populations to domestic herds. Therefore, this work discusses a broader context for this mammalian turnover from a human cultural perspective.