Palaeoecological insights for the disappearance of Neanderthals: Stratigraphic Unit V from El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Spain) through a small mammals study
El Salt is emerging as a reference site for the study of the disappearance of Neanderthal populations in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula during MIS 3. The small vertebrate assemblage analysed in this work is framed within this general objective and comes from Stratigraphic Unit V, the most recent unit with human presence. Nearly 1300 small mammal remains have been studied in order to reconstruct the palaeoecological conditions of this debated period. A total of 7 rodents (Microtus arvalis, Microtus duodecimcostatus, Microtus cabrerae, Sciurus vulgaris, Arvicola sapidus, Eliomys quercinus and Apodemus sylvaticus), 3 insectivores (Talpa occidentalis, Crocidura sp., Sorex sp.) and 1 lagomorph (Oryctolagus cf. cuniculus) have been identified. Palaeocological analyse points to harsher conditions in the upper part (Unit V) of the stratigraphic sequence, possibly related with an aridification scenario previously described for the disappearance of the Neanderthals groups inhabiting this region of the Iberian Peninsula.