Palaeoclimatic analysis of Quaternary terrestrial small mammal assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

A temperate climate, with variations between Mediterranean and boreal influences, has dominated the Sierra de Atapuerca for nearly one million years. This finding emerges from a palaeoclimatic analysis of small mammal assemblages across six archaeological sites spanning the Early Pleistocene to Late Holocene. Researchers applied the Bioclimatic Model (BM) to reconstruct qualitative and quantitative climatic conditions, revealing warmer-than-current conditions at the base of Sima del Elefante's sequence and thermal increases linked to glacial pulses in the Upper Pleistocene. The study also identified shifts in altitudinal belt boundaries, reflecting regional-scale climate changes. This diachronic analysis provides an updated synthesis of long-term climatic reconstruction over more than a million years.

Domínguez-García, Á. C., López-García, J. M., Núñez-Lahuerta, C., Galán, J., & Cuenca-Bescós, G. (2024). Palaeoclimatic analysis of Quaternary terrestrial small mammal assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 655, 112532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112532