Cold-adapted faunal populations shifted southwards during the coldest episodes of the Middle and Late Pleistocene, reaching the Iberian Peninsula. In this context, some of these species, such as Coelodonta antiquitatis and Mammuthus primigenius extended throughout the territory, leaving evidence in, at least, 35 and 29 sites, respectively; however, in most cases, the evidence is scarce. Here we present the fossil assemblage from Mainea cave (Uitzi, Navarre, northern Iberian Peninsula), one of the sites yielding cold-adapted faunal remains closer to the Pyrenees. The cave possibly acted as a natural trap due to its external geomorphology (a sinkhole) and the absence of aerial exposure, anthropogenic marks or evidence compatible with this site being a hyena den. This site has yielded the most evidence of Coelodonta antiquitatis remains (NISP = 190) and one of the most abundant in terms of number of individuals (five, each with different ages at death) for the Iberian Peninsula, five remains attributed to a single Mammuthus primigenius and a single Cervus elaphus remain. The direct dating of a woolly rhinoceros tooth (46 354–44 428 2σ cal. a BP) places Mainea within MIS 3, between the H4 and H5 Heinrich Events, during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, within a context of changes in human behaviour and human species replacement in Europe. We have performed the first collagen isotopic analysis for a woolly rhinoceros from the Iberian Peninsula. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of the Coelodonta antiquitatis remains are similar to other European sites, thus suggesting the presence of Mammoth steppe environments at relatively high altitudes, which would compensate for the southern latitude. This would be consistent with the presence of open environments in lower altitudes. This site expands our understanding of the ecology of cold-adapted faunas at their furthest southern range limit during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition.

中文翻译：

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伊比利亚中到旧石器时代中期过渡（MIS 3）的生态条件：来自伊比利亚半岛北部缅因州的冷适应动物群遗骸

在中更新世和晚更新世最寒冷的时期，适应寒冷的动物群向南迁移，到达伊比利亚半岛。在这种情况下，其中一些物种，例如Coelodonta antiquitatis和Mammuthus primigenius遍及全境，分别在至少 35 个和 29 个地点留下证据；然而，在大多数情况下，证据很少。在这里，我们展示了来自 Mainea 洞穴（伊比利亚半岛北部的 Uitzi，纳瓦拉）的化石组合，该洞穴是产生更靠近比利牛斯山脉的冷适应动物遗骸的地点之一。由于其外部地貌（天坑）和没有空中暴露、人为标记或与该地点是鬣狗巢穴相容的证据，该洞穴可能充当了一个天然陷阱。该遗址提供了最多的Coelodonta antiquitatis遗骸的证据(NISP = 190) 并且是伊比利亚半岛数量最多的遗址之一（5 个，每个死亡年龄不同），5 个遗骸属于单个猛犸象原始人只剩下一只鹿。羊毛犀牛牙齿 (46 354–44 428 2σ cal. a BP) 的直接测年将缅因州置于 MIS 3 内，在 H4 和 H5 海因里希事件之间，在旧石器时代中期到晚期过渡期间，人类行为变化的背景和欧洲的人类物种替代。我们对伊比利亚半岛的一头毛犀牛进行了第一次胶原同位素分析。Coelodonta antiquitatis的δ ¹³ C和δ ¹⁵ N值遗迹与其他欧洲遗址相似，因此表明在相对较高的高度存在猛犸象草原环境，这将补偿南纬。这与低海拔开放环境的存在是一致的。该站点扩展了我们对旧石器时代中期到上部过渡期间最南端范围内的适应寒冷动物群生态的理解。