IPHES-CERCA leads international special issue exploring the major challenges in the evolution of Europe’s earliest populations

How did the major climatic changes of the Pleistocene shape the evolution of Europe’s earliest human populations? How did these groups adapt to new environments? What role did the emergence of Acheulean technology and changes in animal communities play? These are some of the key questions addressed in the new special issue of the scientific journal Historical Biology, entitled Multidisciplinary Approaches to Human Behaviour and Palaeoecological Dynamics of the Late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene in Europe, in which IPHES-CERCA has played a leading role both in scientific editing and research.

Dr Antonio Pineda, a postdoctoral researcher at IPHES-CERCA, served as one of the Guest Editors alongside Beniamino Mecozzi (Sapienza University of Rome), Diego Lombao (University of Santiago de Compostela) and Carolina Cucart (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle). The volume brings together eight studies integrating archaeological, palaeontological, zooarchaeological, taphonomic and palaeoecological evidence to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the transformations that shaped Europe during the transition from the Late Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene.

IPHES-CERCA’s contribution is particularly significant. Researchers from the institute are authors of six of the eight papers included in the special issue, with four of them being primarily developed at IPHES-CERCA. The institute’s contribution also extends to the cover, which features a three-dimensional reconstruction of the tusks of the Barranc de la Boella mammoth, a photograph of a lithic tool from the same site, and a graphic design produced entirely by members of the institute.

A multidisciplinary volume on the first Europeans

The special issue originated from the scientific session “Multidisciplinary Approaches to Human Behavior and Environmental Dynamics of Late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene Europe”, held during the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in Rome in 2024.

The volume is built around a central premise: understanding human evolution during this period requires the integration of multiple scientific disciplines. Together, the eight papers explore how climatic change, ecosystem reorganisation, faunal turnover and the evolution of stone tool technologies influenced the behaviour of the earliest human groups that settled Western Europe.

Papers led by IPHES-CERCA researchers

1) The technology of the first Europeans

Authors: Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez and Marina Lozano.

This paper provides an overview of the technological evolution of Europe’s earliest populations between approximately 1.4 million and 600,000 years ago. The authors review the emergence and coexistence of Oldowan and Acheulean industries, including the role of Barranc de la Boella, and argue that the technological diversity observed reflects adaptation to local environments, resource availability and population dynamics rather than a simple linear evolutionary process.

2) Accumulation and hunting agents of leporids: the TE9d assemblage from Sima del Elefante

Authors: María Boada and Rosa Huguet.

Using zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses, this study identifies the Iberian lynx as the main agent responsible for the accumulation of rabbit remains in level TE9d of Sima del Elefante (Atapuerca). The findings provide a more detailed reconstruction of site formation processes and help distinguish human activity from that of other predators.

3) Taxonomic diversity and environmental inferences through rodent assemblages from Galería

Authors: Azahara Rodríguez-Sánchez, Ana Fagoaga, Juan Manuel López-García, Paula García-Medrano and Isabel Cáceres.

This paper examines the small mammal assemblages recovered from the Galería site (Atapuerca) to reconstruct Middle Pleistocene environmental conditions. The results indicate a landscape dominated by open environments under a Mediterranean climate and provide new insights into the ecosystems inhabited by Europe’s earliest human populations.

Additional contributions involving IPHES-CERCA researchers

4) Multidisciplinary approach to Mammuthus meridionalis from the Late Early Pleistocene archaeological site of Barranc de la Boella

Authors: Darío Fidalgo, Antonio Rosas, Antonio Pineda, Iván Ramírez-Pedraza, Sergio Ros-Montoya, David Rodríguez de la Fuente, Lucía López-Polín, Laura Gómez-Morgado, Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro, Elena Moreno-Ribas, Antonio García-Tabernero, Rosa Huguet, Andreu Ollé, Josep Vallverdú and Palmira Saladié.

This study examines the remains of Mammuthus meridionalis recovered from the Barranc de la Boella archaeological site (Tarragona, Spain), dated between 1.07 and 0.87 million years ago. Cut marks identified on the bones, together with their association with stone tools, provide clear evidence that these animals were butchered by some of Europe’s earliest Acheulean populations. The research also includes isotopic analyses that help reconstruct the Mediterranean landscapes inhabited by these large mammals.

5) The lithic legacy of Loreto: A technological perspective on early hominin toolmaking during the Lower Palaeolithic

Authors: Marco Carpentieri, Giovanna Fioretti, Antonio Pineda, Beniamino Mecozzi, Alessio Iannucci, Giacomo Eramo, Marta Arzarello, Suzanne Simone and Marie-Hélène Moncel.

This paper reassesses the lithic assemblage from the Italian site of Loreto and shows that the technological variability observed resulted from a combination of factors, including raw material availability, hominin mobility strategies and the functional role of different occupation sites.

6) Dealing with age. Prey mortality profiles at the Early Pleistocene sites of Orce

Authors: D. Herranz-Rodrigo, J. Yravedra, A. Serrano-Ramos, S. Viranta, J. Saarinen, José A. Solano García, C. Sánchez-Bandera and J. M. Jiménez-Arenas.

This study investigates mortality profiles of several large mammal species from the Early Pleistocene sites of Orce (southern Spain). The results distinguish accumulations produced mainly by large carnivores from episodes in which early humans also played a role, providing new insights into the ecological dynamics of Early Pleistocene ecosystems.

Barranc de la Boella also features on the cover

IPHES-CERCA’s contribution is also reflected in the cover artwork of the special issue. It features a three-dimensional reconstruction of the tusks of the Barranc de la Boella mammoth created by Laura Gómez-Morgado, alongside a photograph of a lithic tool taken by Andreu Ollé. The graphic design of the cover was produced by Maria D. Guillén, making it an entirely in-house contribution by IPHES-CERCA.

A multidisciplinary perspective on major Pleistocene transformations

Taken together, the papers in this special issue provide an integrated view of the processes that shaped human evolution during the transition from the Late Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene. By combining evidence from lithic technology, taphonomy, large and small mammals, palaeoecology and environmental reconstruction, the volume offers new perspectives on how Europe’s earliest human populations adapted to the profound climatic and ecological changes that transformed the continent.

Through this outstanding contribution, IPHES-CERCA further strengthens its position within one of the leading international research fields devoted to the earliest human occupation of Europe. The institute also reinforces its role in advancing multidisciplinary research spanning prehistoric technology, taphonomy, palaeoecology and the complex interactions between humans, animals and environments during the Pleistocene.

Bibliographic reference

Historical Biology, Volume 38, Issue 7 (2026)