This study investigates the stratigraphical sequence of Cocina Cave (Spain) employing and testing for the first time the capability of rare earth elements as markers of human activities in caves. Located in Dos Aguas (Valencian Community, Spain), Cocina Cave is characterized by the presence of several Holocene archaeological deposits from the final Mesolithic to the present day and is a pivotal site for understanding the socio-ecological dynamics of the last hunter-gatherer inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and the transition to pastoral and agricultural economies in the Western Mediterranean. However, the identification of strata from particular time-periods in the cave is often difficult due to the homogeneity of layers, the poor archaeological record in some strata and the presence of severe disturbance phenomena. The methodological approach of this study consisted of cross-referencing rare earth elements and other chemical markers with the archaeological stratigraphical interpretation, in an attempt to not only support the identification of the anthropic contribution to the formation of Cocina Cave strata, but also to characterize and confirm different natural and occupational episodes, particularly those associated with hunter-gatherer, early agriculturalist, and shepherd activities. Sediments were collected from different excavation areas and analysed for major elements, trace elements, rare earth elements (REE), soil organic matter (SOM) amounts and pH. Multivariate statistics were employed to group samples according to their elemental profile, and these were then compared to the archaeological temporal interpretation. The obtained results showed that REE amount and fractionation geochemical processes were regulated by carbonates, phosphates and pH. The use of REE as markers was particularly useful as their concentrations and their calculated ratios and anomaly distributions were demonstrated to be highly consistent with the archaeological stratigraphical interpretation.

中文翻译：

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使用稀土元素地球化学分析 Cocina Cave（西班牙）的地层序列

本研究首次利用和测试稀土元素作为洞穴中人类活动标志的能力，研究了Cocina Cave（西班牙）的地层序列。Cocina Cave 位于 Dos Aguas（西班牙巴伦西亚社区），其特点是存在从最后的中石器时代到现在的几个全新世考古沉积物，是了解最后一个狩猎采集居民的社会生态动态的关键地点伊比利亚半岛和西地中海向畜牧业和农业经济的过渡。然而，由于地层的均一性、部分地层的考古记录较差以及存在严重的扰动现象，洞穴内特定时期的地层识别往往很困难。本研究的方法论方法包括将稀土元素和其他化学标记物与考古地层解释进行交叉参考，不仅试图支持人类对 Cocina Cave 地层形成的贡献的鉴定，而且还试图表征和确认不同的自然和职业事件，特别是与狩猎采集者、早期农学家和牧羊人活动相关的事件。从不同的挖掘区域收集沉积物，并分析主要元素、微量元素、稀土元素 (REE)、土壤有机质 (SOM) 含量和 pH 值。多变量统计被用来根据其元素概况对样品进行分组，然后将这些与考古时间解释进行比较。所得结果表明稀土元素含量和分馏地球化学过程受碳酸盐、磷酸盐和pH值的调节。使用 REE 作为标记特别有用，因为它们的浓度及其计算的比率和异常分布被证明与考古地层解释高度一致。