Vegetation and climate changes during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in the southwestern Mediterranean: What happened to the last Neanderthals during Heinrich stadial 4?

作者：Liz Charton, Nathalie Combourieu‐Nebout, Adèle Bertini, V. Lebreton, Odile Peyron, Mary Robles, Dael Sassoon, Marie-Hélène Moncel · 发表于：Quaternary Science Reviews · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109345 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

During the last glacial period, and particularly Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, dated 60–27 ka), various abrupt and arid climate episodes impacted the northern hemisphere. These are known as Heinrich Stadials and are linked with major iceberg discharged in the North Atlantic. Heinrich Stadial 4 (HS4), one of the strongest of these events occurring around 39 ka BP, has raised numerous debates regarding its potential impact on the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (MUPT) and Neanderthal extinction, especially in the Iberian Peninsula where late persistence of Neanderthals has been claimed beyond 40 ka BP. Although palynological studies from the Iberian margins have previously highlighted vegetation changes during this period, these have generally been of low resolution and thus, the environmental conditions during HS4 and the possible impact of this event on the last Neandertal populations are still poorly understood. This study uses the marine core from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 976, located in the Alboran Sea, to provide new ultra-high-resolution analyses for the interval between 41 and 34 ka BP, including the Greenland Stadial 9 (GS9)/HS4 and the Greenland Interstadial 8 (GI8). The aim is to reconstruct vegetation and climate changes in southern Mediterranean with a resolution never achieved before and to discuss human occupation in the frame of these changes. Vegetation, climate changes and human occupation are discussed on the basis of 1) pollen analysis, 2) ...