From small bone fragments to Neanderthal activity areas: The case of Level O of the Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain)

Several recent works have suggested that Neanderthal spatial behaviour may have been more complex than previously thought. One of the archaeological sites that has contributed the most data on this issue is the Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain). This paper focuses on the study of Neanderthal activities related to animal resources that took place in Level O of Abric Romaní, dated to around 55 ka. For this study, all of the faunal remains recovered from the level (including fragments smaller than 2 cm) have been analysed, with special attention paid to their distribution over the surface. Our study has two main goals: firstly, to identify activity areas related to Neanderthal activities and, secondly, to evaluate the information that small bone fragments, which are generally ignored, can provide. Among other results, the methods applied during the course of the study have led to the identification of an accumulation of calcined bones, possibly related to the complementary use of bones as fuel and/or the presence of a systematic toss zone within a hearth. In addition, this work stresses the importance of examining the small faunal remains recovered in archaeological sites, particularly when identifying human activity areas or when assessing the intensity of human activities.