@article {333574, title = {Late Neandertal occupations in a Galician mountain valley during MIS 3: Cova Eir{\'o}s (Triacastela, Lugo, NW Iberia)}, journal = {Quaternary International}, volume = {770}, year = {2026}, month = {2026/07}, pages = {110292}, abstract = {

In this paper we analyze the last Neanderthal occupations in Cova Eir{\'o}s (level 3, 41.7-39 ka cal. BP). This site is located in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, at a prominent and strategic place in the small valley of Cancelo (Tricastela, Lugo, Spain), just at the intersection of the Cantabrian and western Atlantic basins. The occupations of level 3 of Cova Eir{\'o}s show the survival of small, isolated Mousterian communities in mountainous and marginal areas at a time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) are found elsewhere in Iberia. The paleoclimatic reconstruction, based on the macrofaunal and small vertebrates assemblages from level 3, reflects a balanced ecosystem with high specific biodiversity. Both the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and the faunal assemblage are indicative of a typical glacial-period refuge area, characterized by a predominantly wooded habitat interspersed with open spaces. The richness and chrono-stratigraphic definition of the archeological record from Cova Eir{\'o}s provide a good glimpse into the technology and subsistence strategies of the last Neanderthal groups that occupied the Iberian northwest. The technological and zooarcheological analyses of level 3 point to recurrent short-term Neanderthal occupations at the site alternating with the use of the site as a cave bear hibernation den and the sporadic presence of other predators. The non-residential nature of those occupations, the low density of artifacts and the spatial fragmentation of the\ cha{\^\i}nes operatoires\ are indicative of the high logistic mobility of these communities, which are consistent with other Neanderthal occupations of the late Middle Paleolithic throughout the Cantabrian region.

}, isbn = {1040-6182}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2026.110292}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618226001783}, author = {Rodr{\'\i}guez-{\'A}lvarez, Xos{\'e} Pedro and de Lombera-Hermida, Arturo and Bal-Garc{\'\i}a, Hugo and Rey-Rodr{\'\i}guez, Iv{\'a}n and D{\'\i}az-Rodr{\'\i}guez, Mikel and Fern{\'a}ndez-Rodr{\'\i}guez, Carlos and Mosquera-Castro, Tania and Ib{\'a}{\~n}ez-Encinas, {\'A}lvaro and P{\'e}rez-Alberti, Augusto and F{\'a}bregas-Valcarce, Ram{\'o}n} }