THE PLEISTOCENE SITE OF COVA DEL RINOCERONT (BARCELONA, SPAIN)

Joan DAURA LUJN & Montserrat SANZ BORRS

Grup de Recerca del Quaternari, SERP Dpt. Prehistria, Histria Antiga i Arqueologia Facultat de Geografia i Histria, Universitat de Barcelona, C/Montalegre, 6, 08001 Barcelona
Abstract: Cova del Rinoceront (Barcelona, Spain) is a prehistoric deposit, with a long stratigraphy about 11 meters, and a very wide chronology from the Middle Pleistocene until the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. In this karstic deposit there are abundant remains of fossil vertebrates with a special interest for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental picture of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula in the Mediterranean coast. There are also some stone tools that verify the older human presence. This is one of the most important places to understand the environmental, human and animal evolution of the Quaternary in this area. Here we present the first results of the research. Keywords: Pleistocene, cova del Rinoceront, neandertal, fauna Resum: Nous prsente les premiers rsultats de ltude dun nouveau gisement dans la cote Mditerranen (Barcelone, Espagne) dge Plistocne moyen et suprieur connu comme la Cova del Rinoceront. Il sagit dun remplissage karstique de plus 11 m dpaisseur, divis en diverses units stratigraphiques. La grotte du Rinoceront a prsente un registre palontologique trs riche en restes du mammifres associes peux lments lithiques.

INTRODUCTION The study of the site cova del Rinoceront, it is the result of a research project (Els primers pobladors del Masss del Garraf-Ordal i eix del Llobregat) centered in the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in the Western Mediterranean coast, specifically, in the Garraf-Ordal complex. The main goal is to investigate the relationship between humans and carnivores, as principal competitors. For a depth study of this aspect, we are conducting an archaeological fieldwork program, working in different deposits, as cova del Coll Verdaguer and cova del Gegant (Daura et al. 2005) all in this area. The most relevant site is cova del Rinoceront, a pleistocene deposit, with a long stratigraphy with 11 meters of sediments conserved and eight main levels and a very wide chronology from the Middle until the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. In this karstic deposit there are abundant remains of fossil vertebrates with a special interest for the reconstruction of the environmental picture of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula in the Mediterranean coast. There are also some stone tools that verify the human presence in this deposit. The archaeological excavations have been carried out by the University of Barcelona since November 2002 and here we present the first results from the excavations in the level I. Nowadays, the complete study of the first level is in progress, because the excavation has not yet finished. GENERAL FEATURES The site of cova del Rinoceront is located in Castelldefels, 30 km to the south of the city of Barcelona (Spain) along the Iberian Mediterranean coast. This cavity is situated in an abandoned limestone quarry, known as ca nAymerich, in the forehills of the Garraf
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Massif, just above the alluvial plain of the Llobregat river, at a height of 25 m above sea level and at 600 m from the coast. Garraf massif is a system inside the Catalan Coastal mountain range. In the south it is delimited by the Mediterranean Sea and the alluvial plain of the delta of Llobregat river, in the east by the final course of this river, in the north by the contact with the miocene depression of Peneds, and in the west by the progressive collapse of the massif. Garraf is formed mainly by a Paleozoic base and in the superior levels we find the units of Jurasic and Cretacicus with a very developed karst; its morphology has awaken the interest in paleontological, espeleological, geological and archeological fields. Nowadays, the quarrys front allows to see the geological formation. In the oriental area there are the gray limestone units, characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous, but near the cave there are more complicate units results of a fault. The other side of this main fault is characteristic by the keuper margous, from the Upper Triasic, with yellowish and reddish coloration. In the west there are the limestone from the southern facies of the fault and along it, Cova del Rinoceront was formed. However, pleistocene fossils from the quarry and its surroundings were known. The first discovery was a proboscidian pelvis found in a unknown site in the city of Castelldefels (Almera, 1895, 1898). In the forties, the geologists Llopis Llad and Sol Sabars discovered another cavity with a Pleistocene fauna in ca nAymerichs quarry, known as Altissench. They informed the paleontologist J.F. de Villalta and M. Crusafont, who collected some fossils from this place too (Villalta, Crusafont, 1950; Villalta, 1975). At present, this site has disappeared totally through quarrying. Although it is known that some centro-european scientists bought specimens for their collections from the quarry workers. Nowadays only few fossils of this site are preserved in

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Fig. 22.1. Location of the Cova del Rinoceront (Barcelona, Spain) the Institut Paleontolgic Dr. M. Crusafont (Sabadell) and in the Museu de Geologia de Barcelona. These remains are attributed to the Middle and Late Pleistocene (Villalta, Crusafont, 1950), although some researchers suggest an older age (Estvez, 1976; Agust, 1988). Despite both the Pleistocene site and Cova del Rinoceront being in the same quarry, they are different deposits. COVA DEL RINOCERONT Cova del Rinoceront is one smooth slope, near a stream. The cavity is displayed as a section in the wall of ca nAymerichs quarry. The activities of this quarry destroyed the morphology of the relief. In this way, we do not know how was the original appearance of the cova del Rinoceront, and the quarry exploitation has destroyed the entrance and a great part of the deposit. The archaeological site discovery occurred four years ago. Quarrying caused the destruction of a large part of the cova del Rinoceront and its filings, and crated a vertical section of 11 meters. Erosion by rain led in 2002 to the collapse of part of the sediments, where we have found the archaeological remains for the first time. This debris of the archaeological sediments, about 60 m3 was recovered and sieved between December 2002 and May 2003. The quarry activities make it possible to observe the vertical stratigraphical sequence of the cova del Rinoceront. This section of the filling is 11 m high and varies between 1,5 and 3 m wide. From this section, eight stratigraphic levels are recognized and numbered from the top to the bottom. At the moment, archaeological remains are present in all the section. In relevance, in
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level III there are some rhinoceros bones and tortoises remains. The first intervention in the place was in the sediments fallen from the cova del Rinoceront. Of the recovered material, the most significant is the fragment of mandibular branch of an adult rhinoceros and numerous dental pieces from two individuals, there are some extremities bones, and an occipital part of the skull of an adult rhino from the base of level III. The rest of Mediterranean tortoises emphasize, weve documented 1025 pieces and also in number of individuals, a total of 11 (Daura et al. 2006). In addition, a great amount of artiodactyla has been recovered; there are red deer, roe deer, fallow deer and goat, with a good anatomical representation. We have recovered some fragments of posterior extremity of a great bovidae (Bos/Bison), with a difficult chronological attribution. The less numerous species are proboscidian, with and articular bone, and carnivores (lynx and hyena), represented by teeth and phalanges. By the taphonomical features, bones exhibit frequent fractures and marks produced by carnivores with rare anthropical marks. This first study suggests that the activity of carnivores is the most important accumulative genesis in the cave damage of the hominids activities. In addition, in the fallen sediments eight lithical artefacts have been recovered. Although they are a few in numbers, they represent a testimony of the presence of the hominids in the cave. Four of the objects are made of quartz, three of flint and one of limestone, materials that are available in the proximities of the deposit. The most significant is a nucleus done by small pebble exploitation

J. DAURA LUJN & M. SANZ BORRS: THE PLEISTOCENE SITE OF COVA DEL RINOCERONT (BARCELONA, SPAIN)

and it shows a well morphotechnical definition. The hierarchical exploitation and the other characteristics place it in the technique Levallois (Daura et al. 2004). The preliminary results of this intervention motived the restoration of the cave to guarantee the excavation of the deposit and the security to access. This work was done by the geotechnical and geological techniques in June 2003. Tab. 22.1. Faunal remains from cova del Rinoceront
Carnivora Crocuta crocuta sp. Lynx pardinus Ursus arctos Chiroptera Myotis sp. Lagomorpha Oryctolagus cuniculus Lagomorpha indet. Chelonia Rodentia Arvicolidae indet. Apodemus Insectivora Perissodactyla Stephanorhinus hemitoechus Talpa indet. Erinaceus europaeus Testudo hermanni Artiodactyla Bos/Bison Cervus elaphus Dama dama Capreolus capreolus Hemitragus sp. Capra sp. Proboscidea Proboscidea indet.

Fig. 22.2. Cova del Rinoceront site

STRATIGRAPHY: LEVEL I From 2003 untill the present, most of level 1 was excavated. At this place the filling is about 3 m wide maximum and 3 m deep, resulting in an irregular surface of about 7 m2. The stratigraphic thickness of this unit is around 1 m. The upper limit of level I was a flowstone (Ib1), that sealed all the deposit. This flowstone presented a different crystallinity and purity; moreover, in some areas of the cavity, the lower parts flowstone cements some bones and sedimentlogical material from the level I. The flowstones purity made it an excellent sample for U-series dating, in this way we have carried out some samples, analyzed by Ramon Juli (Institut de les Cincies de la Terra Jaume Almera, CSIC, Barcelona). At the moment, weve one result from the flowstone, one is 82.924 +4732 -4552 years B.P, thus indicating an age 83 kya for the deposit and for the level I. The lower limit of level I is an accumulation of subangular limestone blocks of great size and with a concave disposition in frontal view and slope at SE lightly. The greatest blocks are accumulated in the
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exterior surface of the actual cave. These limestone blocks of up to 60 cm with subangular morphology reduced quantity and size southward. The coarse fraction is about 60 %, clearly dominated by the autochthonous limestone and some speleothems coming from ceiling and walls. Moreover, this package of level I characterize by the gravel accumulation and a red clay matrix, color ranges from dark red (HUE10R3/6) to reddish yellow (HUE7.5YR7/6). In the interior part of the cave, gravels are less, and in this area red clay dominates clearly. The facies distribution shows also that the entrance of the cova del Rinoceront cavity was to the north, where the coarse clastic sediments are documented, whereas towards the SE-S the deposits change laterally to red clay. At the moment in the first level we have registered about 2.000 archaeological remains composed mainly by fauna. From this level we have carried out dating samples from the sediments with bone accumulations. These are done by Pedro Benitez and Asuncin Milln (Laboratorio de datacin y radioqumica, Universidad Autnoma Madrid) who analyzed two samples from the level I (cova del Rinoceront) for thermoluminiscense dating analysis by the carbonated sediments. One of these results is 86758 5097 years B.P. In conclusion, the level I is around 86 kya (OIS 5). MATERIALS: LEVEL I Nowadays, the materials recovered from the level I are mainly represented by faunal remains, in less number

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Fig. 22.3. Plan site of level I bone assemblage

There are some coprolites and finally, few stone tools. Moreover, during the excavation we have documented small bits of charcoal, distributed in all the surface of this level. The faunal remains recovered from the level I are homogeneous, as in the species represented as the taphonomical characteristics. Up to the present moment, the large mammals assemblage is composed of seven taxa, which belongs, mainly, to the orders Artiodactyla and Carnivora. Artyodactila are represented mainly by red deer, fallow deer, bovine and goat, while Carnivora are by brown bear and lynx. Although micromammals, chelonian, avian fauna, lagomorphs and herpetofauna are also recovered in this level, their study is not included here. Up to now the artiodactyls are represented about 1.500 remains and with a NMI of 20, in contrast carnivores are represented only by 79 remains and with a NMI of 4. The most abundant herbivores are red deer and fallow deer, while goat is less represented and finally,
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there is the bovine with an only specimen, at the moment. With regard to carnivores the most represented is lynx, with 78 skeleton remains, and the less represented at this level is the brown bear, by an isolated deciduous tooth. The concentration of bones assemblage in level I is very high and most of the skeletal elements are in contact with other elements. The groups of articulated elements are in a higher proportion, too. The articulations more frequently preserved are those formed by tibia-tarsalmetatarsal-phalanges, humerus-radius/ulna, radiuscarpal-metacarpal-phalanges and some articulated vertebras. In relevance, and as a representative example, weve recovered 39 humerus from Artiodactyla in this first level. All of them, except one, have the proximal epiphysis gnawed off by carnivores with a few marks on the shaft. Despite of the fractures, these humerus are not gnawed profusely. In front limbs, the proximal epiphysis of humerus and ulna and the distal epiphysis of

J. DAURA LUJN & M. SANZ BORRS: THE PLEISTOCENE SITE OF COVA DEL RINOCERONT (BARCELONA, SPAIN)

Fig. 22.3. Materials from level I. Humerus with the proximal epiphysis gnawed off by carnivores (1-5). Humerus-ulna-radius of red deer; the proximal epiphysis of humerus and ulna and the distal epiphysis of radius are clearly gnawed (6). Femur with gnawing damage (7)

radius are clearly gnawed off. The number of radius documented in the first level is 38, a quantity similar at the humerus. Although, the posterior extremity representation is lower, with 35 tibias and 20 femurs. In short, larger part of the radius and tibia havent epiphysis broken by carnivores, and the same for the metapodials. Moreover, in the unit I is rare the presence of long

bone cylinders. Finally, cranial elements are well documented in this first level, most identified are red deer and fallow deer, and in less number lynxs crania. Some of them have some parts consumed by carnivores, and others have an absence of consume. Lynx remains presents the same taphonomical features as the artiodactyla.

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Cova del Rinoceront presents a long sequence with 11 meters of sediments conserved and a very wide chronology from the Middle Pleistocene until the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. Moreover, this deposit shows a richness and excellent anatomical conservation of the animal species. Most represented are the Artyodactila (red deer, fallow deer, bovine, goat and roe deer) and less Carnivora (lynx, hyena and brown bear). Otherwise Perissodactyla is represented only by rhinoceros and Proboscidea by an only faunal remain. Since 2003 until now the archaeological works are developed in level I and here we have presented the preliminary studies and conclusions, because nowadays it has not yet excavated. The upper limit of level I was a flowstone, that sealed all the archaeological deposit. At the moment, we have obtained from this flowstone an age (82.924 +4732 -4552 years BP by U-series), and this indicates a minimum of 83 kya for the deposit. Actually, from level I we have carried out other dating samples, more approximated at the age of this first level (86758 5097 years BP by TL) around 86 kya (approx. OIS 5a). About the interpretation of the archaeological site, the first results in the archaeological debris in years 20022003 point to a low frequency by human groups and aim that the activity of carnivores was the most important accumulative genesis in the cave damage of the hominids activities (Daura et al. 2004). Even thought carnivore/ hominid interaction processes are still under analysis, maybe we can advance that carnivore is the main plausible agent responsible for part of fossils assemblage accumulation in this level I. At the moment the carnivore responsible of the bone accumulation is unknown. In level I only are two carnivore species represented brown bear and lynx. We cannot precise the role about theses carnivores in the accumulation, maybe bears use the cave for hibernation and as a den, and lynx role is unknown because they are consumed as the same pattern of other herbivores in this level. The absence of hyena in this level point to another carnivore agent responsible of the faunal accumulation, despite of its presence in other levels in the site. Nevertheless, taphonomical features and the analysis about coprolites maybe can point to a carnivore profile. The hominid role in this level is only documented about few stone tools corresponding to modified elements and rare cut marks in the bone surface; these materials suggest a low frequency of humans occupying the cave at the moment for the first level. The question about the relationship between carnivores versus hominids in the Upper and Middle Pleistocene has been deepened by some investigators. In Europe the researchers have distinguished some similar deposits characterized as paleontological deposits with index of low frequency by human groups (Brugal et al. 1991). These locations, take as a common feature the presence of many quantities of faunal remains, contributed by

carnivore animals and other natural processes associated with few stone tools, which testify a very punctual human presence. This type of association has been largely documented in Middle and Upper Pleistocene deposits from the Iberian Peninsula. In this type of sites, the stone tools are the result to abandon the site by the humans. Consequently in these deposits, the archaeologist generally documents the stone elements selected by the transport, as nucleus and retouched stone tools (Carbonell et al. 1999; Balden, 1993, Arribas et al. 1997). There are other sites in this area with the similar characteristics, as the cova del Coll Verdaguer, at 30 km from Castelldefels, and the site of cova del Gegant, near the city of Sitges, some 40 km to the south of Barcelona. In these caves the presence of stone tools is low, too and there is a high presence of herbivores with clear marks of carnivore damage. Cova del Gegant is a small karst system which contains Upper Pleistocene archaeological and paleontological material. In this cave more than 60 stone tools have also been recovered from the site pertaining to the Mousterian technocomplex and a neandertal mandible becoming thus the only known site in this area documenting diagnostic human skeletal remains in association with Middle Paleolithic stone tools and faunal remains (Daura et al. 2005). Acknowledgements This paper is included in project Excavaci a la Cova del Rinoceront (Departament dInnovaci, Universitats i Empresa, Generalitat de Catalunya, project 2006EXCAVA00012). The TL datations and part of the fieldworks expenses are assumed by Area de Coneixement i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya. The Departament de Mines assumed the restoration of the cave. We are especially grateful to Ajuntament de Castelldefels, Generalitat de Catalunya, Alarmas Spitz, Grup Soteras and GREHIC. We would also like to thank Servei de Parcs Naturals de la Diputaci de Barcelona, Inaccs, Behr-Service, AVVIC, CAA-Cal Ganxo, Scolarest and all the participants in the fieldworks. The research project Els Primers Pobladors del masss del Garraf-Ordal i eix del Llobregat (el Plistoc Superior i lHoloc a Catalunya, which includes the research, supported by the SGR2001-00007 Research Quality Group of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the HUM2004-600 project of the Ministerio de Educacin y Ciencia). Joan Daura was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the MICINN-FECYT and M. Sanz by a predoctoral grant (FI) from Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR). References AGUST, J. (1988) Els cordats [excepte els primats homnids]. In: Gallem, J. (coord.). Registre Fssil. Historia natural dels Pasos Catalans. Vol. 15.
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Barcelona, Fundaci Barcelona, pp. 389-427.

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