Cueva de Nerja (Tardiglacial)
Basic information
Sample name: Cueva de Nerja (Tardiglacial)

Sample aka: Nerja Cave

Reference: M. Cortés-Sânchez, A. Morales-Muñiz, M. D. Simón-Vallejo, M. M. Bergadá-Zapata, A. Delgado-Huertas, P. López-García, J. A. López-Sâez, M. C. Lozano-Francisco, J. A. Riquelme-Cantal, E. Roselló-Izquierdo, A. Sânchez-Marco, and J. L. Vera-Pelâez. 2008. Palaeoenvironmental and cultural dynamics of the coast of Mâlaga (Andalusia, Spain) during the Upper Pleistocene and early Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews 27(23-24):2176-2193 [ER 3772]
Geography
Country: Spain

State: Mâlaga


Coordinate: 36° 45' 42" N, 3° 50' 45" W
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3772

Unit number: 2

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.01227

Min Ma: 0.01193

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "The Cueva de Nerja (Caves of Nerja) are a series of caverns close to the town of Nerja in the Province of Mâlaga, Spain. The site is located on the south side of the Almijara Mountain, in the area commonly known as Ladera del Aguila, and rises some 158 m a.s.l".
"The Tardiglacial stage at Cueva de Nerja is dated to between 12,270 ± 220 and 11,930 ± 160 BP".

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: bone tools,stone tools

Habitat comments: "The fifth stage at Cueva de Nerja corresponds to the last phases of the Tardiglacial. The archaeological levels include Magdalenian industries with harpoons".
"The hunting culture continued to develop during this stage, with more prey species being taken, including goats, rabbits, fish and marine mammals. As such, a wide variety of animal bones, shells and fish bones from this time have been found in the cave, including the remains of a number of offshore species, along with stone and bone tools".

Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,rodents,ungulates,marine mammals,other small mammals,birds,fishes,clams,snails

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 21458 specimens

Sampling comments: "Sediments obtained from excavation were sieved with pressured water and floated using sieves of 10, 5, and 1 mm diameter". The counts for each of the stages presented in the reference paper were combined from multiple studies.

Metadata
Sample number: 4051

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2023-02-14 15:43:36

Modified: 2023-05-30 03:34:16

Abundance distribution
107 species
30 singletons
total count 21458
geometric series index: 180.2
Fisher's α: 14.682
geometric series k: 0.9173
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7754
Shannon's H: 2.2717
Good's u: 0.9986
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Equus sp.1
Bos primigenius1
Cervus elaphus252104 kg
Capra pyrenaica2467
Sus scrofa6954 kg herbivore
Monachus monachus57
Delphinus delphis41
also 1 Cetacea indet.
Lynx pardinus3111 kg
Felis silvestris264.5 kg carnivore
Meles meles111 kg invertivore-herbivore
Oryctolagus cuniculus94272.5 kg browser-grazer
Lepus sp.7
Eliomys quercinus3
also 8 Rodentia indet.
Myotis myotis625.7 g
Miniopterus schreibersii2712.4 g insectivore
Gavia stellata11.5 kg
Morus bassanus352.9 kg
"Sula bassana"
Phalacrocorax carbo314.6 g piscivore
Gulosus aristotelis4
"Phalacrocorax aristotelis"
Ardenna grisea14
"Puffinus griseus"
Puffinus yelkouan2
Calonectris diomedea10535 g
Alectoris rufa8516 g
Melanitta nigra11.1 kg
Melanitta fusca243.8 g
Tadorna tadorna21.3 kg
Tadorna ferruginea21.4 kg
Anas platyrhynchos1135.3 g granivore
Spatula clypeata1
"Anas clypeata"
Anas crecca27.3 g
Aythya nyroca1574 g
Aythya sp.1
"ferina/fuligula"
Branta bernicla336.0 g
Anser sp.1
Milvus milvus2947 g
Buteo buteo124.0 g carnivore
Circaetus gallicus21.7 kg carnivore
Falco tinnunculus1167 g carnivore
Grus grus15.5 kg omnivore
Fulica atra330.0 g omnivore
Larus canus37.4 g
Larus marinus21.8 kg
Larus fuscus227.7 g
Thalasseus sandvicensis113.9 g
"Sterna sandvicensis"
Uria aalge931.5 g
Alca torda2726 g
Pinguinus impennis8
Columba sp.24
"livia/oenas"
Bubo bubo12.4 kg
Hirundo rustica12.1 g insectivore
Alauda arvensis16.1 g granivore
Monticola solitarius67.1 g insectivore
Turdus sp.2
Lanius excubitor2
Coccothraustes coccothraustes158.0 g
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax2
Corvus corax2 omnivore
Mytilus galloprovincialis1219
Modiolus adriaticus1
Ostrea edulis4
Pecten maximus48
Anomia ephippium1
Acanthocardia tuberculata7
"Rudicardium tuberculatum"
Cerastoderma edule270
Cerastoderma glaucum1
Mactra stultorum1
Venus verrucosa1
Callista chione1
Ruditapes decussatus1130
"Tapes decussatus"
Patella caerulea240
Patella ferruginea1
Patella depressa153
"Patella intermedia"
Cymbula safiana25
"Patella nigra"
Patella rustica98
Patella ulyssiponensis83
Patella sp.151
Phorcus richardi86
"Gibbula richardi"
Gibbula sp.2
Phorcus turbinatus18
"Monodonta turbinata"
Jujubinus exasperatus1
Melanopsis laevigata3
Melanopsis sp.90
Turritella turbona2
"Turritella monterosatoi"
Charonia lampas1
Nucella lapillus60
Stramonita haemastoma10
Tritia corniculum1
"Nassarius corniculus"
Siphonaria pectinata2
Rumina decollata72
Sphincterochila cariosula hispanica50
"Sphincterochila hispanica"
Iberus alonensis713
Iberus marmoratus17
Caracollina lenticula1
Otala lactea17
also 54 Helicidae indet.
Acipenseridae indet.31
Clupeidae indet.3
Belonidae indet.358
Gadidae indet.389
Serranidae indet.45
Carangidae indet.466
Sparidae indet.2019
Labridae indet.191
Sphyraenidae indet.1
Mugilidae indet.388
Scombridae indet.377
Triglidae indet.9
Scorpaenidae indet.1