<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Redon, Ona</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Díez, J. Carlos</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Laplana, César</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Beavers and marmots in a Neanderthal cave palimpsest: small-prey consumption at Valdegoba Cave (Burgos, Spain)</style></title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2026</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2026/10/15</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-11319217/v1</style></url></web-urls></urls><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;&lt;meta charset=&quot;UTF-8&quot; /&gt;Large rodents occupy a poorly explored gap in Neanderthal subsistence research, between the well-documented exploitation of small ungulates and small-bodied prey such as lagomorphs and tortoises. Here we present a zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of an unusually rich large-rodent assemblage from Valdegoba Cave (northern Iberia), a Middle Palaeolithic site associated with Neanderthal occupations during the late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 &amp;ndash; early MIS 5 transition. Far from representing a single accumulation event, the&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Castor fiber&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;(Eurasian beaver) and&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Marmota marmota&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;(alpine marmot) assemblage at Valdegoba reveals a complex palimpsest shaped by carnivore activity, natural mortality, post-depositional processes and occasional Neanderthal exploitation, directly attested by cut marks on both taxa. Most notably, the cut-marked marmot provides rare evidence for Neanderthal exploitation of this taxon and extends the record of marmot processing beyond the better-documented Late Pleistocene examples. These findings broaden the known spectrum of animal resources occasionally exploited by Neanderthals and highlight the importance of disentangling multiple accumulation agents when assessing medium-sized prey.&lt;/p&gt;
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