Chronology of the early Pleistocene Orce and Huéscar sites (Baza Basin, SE Spain)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21291115 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bienvenido Martinez-Navarro (0000-0002-8374-5109, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, corresponding author), Sergio Ros-Montoya (0000-0001-6895-807X, Universidad de Málaga), María-Patrocinio Espigares (Universidad de Málaga), Joan Madurell-Malapeira (University of Florence), Guillermo Rodríguez-Gómez (0000-0003-0722-4560, Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Alejandro Granados (Universidad de Málaga), Isidoro Campaña (0000-0002-1262-7594, Universidad Complutense de Madrid), José Manuel García-Aguilar (0000-0002-2638-5362, Universidad de Málaga), Antonio Guerra-Merchán (0000-0002-6753-8011, Universidad de Málaga), Paul Palmqvist (0000-0002-6630-6956, Universidad de Málaga) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 130 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 103485 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | L Anthropologie (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-5521 • E-ISSN: 1873-5827 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.anthro.2026.103485 |
| OpenAlex | W7167842290 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 83 |
The Baza Basin (SE Spain) preserves one of the most complete continental records of the European early Pleistocene and is central to debates on the timing of the first human dispersals into Western Europe. This study provides an updated chronological and biochronological framework for the key sites of Orce (Fuente Nueva-1, Venta Micena, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3) and the nearby locality of Huéscar-1. We integrate large and small mammal biostratigraphy with paleomagnetism and published numerical dating (ESR, U-series, and cosmogenic nuclides) to refine the temporal succession of faunal assemblages spanning the middlle Villafranchian to the Epivillafranchian. Fuente Nueva-1 is placed near the middle–late Villafranchian transition (ca. 2.1–2.0 Ma). Venta Micena records a derived post-Dmanisi fauna best dated to ca. 1.6–1.5 Ma. Overlying layers at Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3, which have yielded lithic artefacts, cut-marked bones, and a human deciduous tooth, are slightly younger (ca. 1.5–1.3 Ma), documenting the earliest well-dated human presence in Western Europe. Faunal changes between Venta Micena and these sites indicate increasing environmental openness and aridity and the replacement of mesodont caprines by more hypsodont forms, together with equid diversification. Huéscar-1 represents a later Epivillafranchian community (ca. 1.07–0.8 Ma), characterized by more generalized taxa linked to the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition. The combined evidence supports a diachronous sequence of faunal turnovers and confirms that hominins reached southwestern Europe before the return of suids at the onset of the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, constraining the ecological context of the earliest European populations
Biochronology · Chronology · Context (archaeology) · Diachronous · Early Pleistocene · Fauna · Paleomagnetism · Pleistocene · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology
On the limits of using combined U-series/ESR method to date fossil teeth from two Early Pleistocene archaeological sites of the Orce area (Guadix-Baza basin, Spain)
Evaluating the impact of Homo -carnivore competition in European human settlements during the early to middle Pleistocene
Early human occupation of Western Europe
The Vallparadís section (Terrassa, Iberian Peninsula) and the latest Villafranchian faunas of Europe
Early to Middle Pleistocene rodent biostratigraphy of the Guadix-Baza Basin (SE Spain)
The Epivillafranchian and the arrival of pigs into Europe
Extended-range luminescence chronologies suggest potentially complex bone accumulation histories at the Early-to-Middle Pleistocene palaeontological site of Huéscar-1 (Guadix-Baza basin, Spain)
Early Pleistocene environments and vertebrate dispersals in Western Europe
Presence of the African Machairodont (Broom, 1937) (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) in the Lower Pleistocene Site of Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, Spain), with some Considerations on the Origin, Evolution and Dispersal of the Genus
Presence of the African Saber-toothed Felid (Broom, 1937) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Machairodontinae) in Apollonia-1 (Mygdonia Basin, Macedonia, Greece)
An Updated Review of The Quaternary Hippopotamus Fossil Records from the Iberian Peninsula
The Lower Palaeolithic site Alto de las Picarazas (Andilla-Chelva, Valencia)
First occurrence of Soergelia (Ovibovini, Bovidae, Mammalia) in the Early Pleistocene of Italy
The Late Pliocene–Middle Pleistocene Large Mammal Faunal Units of Greece
The Occurrence of Suids in the Post-Olduvai to Pre-Jaramillo Pleistocene of Europe and Implications for Late Villafranchian Biochronology and Faunal Dynamics
Carrying Capacity, Available Meat and the Fossil Record of the Orce Sites (Baza Basin, Spain)
The first human dispersal to Europe
The Final Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Faunal Dispersals from East to Europe and Correlation of the Villafranchian Biochronology between Eastern and Western Europe
Revisiting the ESR chronology of the Early Pleistocene hominin occupation at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain)
The Bovid assemblage (Bovidae, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene site of ’Ubeidiya, Israel
Geology and chronology of the continental Pleistocene archeological and paleontological sites of the Orce area (Baza basin, Spain)
Large mammal biochronology framework in Europe at Jaramillo
New magnetostratigraphic and numerical age of the Fuente Nueva-3 site (Guadix-Baza basin, Spain)
Early Pleistocene faunal assemblages and human records in southern Europe
The oldest human fossil in Europe, from Orce (Spain)
Fuente Nueva-3 (Orce, Granada, Spain) and the first human occupation of Europe
The earliest occupation of Europe
The large carnivores from 'Ubeidiya (early Pleistocene, Israel)
A critical re-evaluation of the evidence for the presence of hominids in Lower Pleistocene times at Venta Micena, Southern Spain
The Orce skull
The skull of Orce
Sharing food with hyenas
Apport des grands mammifères de la grotte du Vallonnet (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, France) à la connaissance du cadre biochronologique de la seconde moitié du Pléistocène inférieur d'Europe
| Highly cited | No |
|---|