Adaptability, resilience and environmental buffering in European Refugia during the Late Pleistocene: Insights from La Riera Cave (Asturias, Cantabria, Spain)

Abstract

The Upper Palaeolithic in Europe was a time of extensive climatic changes that impacted on the survival
and distribution of human populations. During the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM), southern European
peninsulas were refugia for flora, fauna, and human groups. One of these refugia, the Cantabrian region
(northern Atlantic Spain), was intensively occupied throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Characterising
how climatic events were expressed in local environments is crucial to understand human and animal
survival. La Riera Cave (Asturias) has a rich geo-cultural sequence dating between 20.5kyr BP to 6.5kyr
BP and represents an ideal location in which to explore this. Stable isotope analysis of red deer and
ibex is used alongside other environmental and climatic proxies to reconstruct Late Upper Palaeolithic
conditions. Results show that during the LGM, ibex adapted their niche to survive, and became a major
prey species for humans. The diverse environmental opportunities offered in the high-relief and coastal
environs of La Riera may help to explain the high human population levels in the Cantabrian Region
throughout the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Despite fluctuating conditions, herbivores and humans had the
flexibility and resilience to adapt, demonstrating the importance of southern European refugia for the
survival of different species.