A recent discovery in the Sierra de Atapuerca in Burgos, Spain, has uncovered a fossilized reindeer tooth that dates back between 243,000 and 300,000 years. The extraordinary discovery sheds light on the glacial-age fauna that previously roamed the Iberian Peninsula. Researchers found the fossil at the Galería locality, within the GIIIa unit. They recovered a human cranial fragment and many lithic artifacts, indicating the presence of reindeer and early human populations living in close proximity to each other.
Scientists uncovered an ancient profuse tooth from a young reindeer, specifically an Upper Deciduous Third Molar. This discovery represents one of the southernmost known finds of reindeer remains on Eurasian territory. This finding offers the most compelling proof yet of the southern movement of glacial faunas during Pleistocene climatic oscillations. It indicates these beasts ranged a lot farther south than we’d ever assumed before.
Significance of the Find
The Atapuerca reindeer fossil thus represents an unprecedented contribution to the knowledge of glacial fauna from the Iberian Peninsula. It represents the oldest known occurrence of reindeer and pike in this area, proving the presence of a rich fauna during glaciations with a varied ecosystem. This environment, termed the “Mammoth Steppe,” featured a plethora of woolly rhinoceroses and enormous proboscideans.
Researchers have noted that during periods of glaciation, the “Mammoth Steppe” expanded its range, allowing reindeer to migrate as far south as Madrid and even Granada. This unexpected finding raises important questions about the ecological interactions characterizing old Iberia. It’s a story about how animals, including ourselves, evolved and adapted through those intense climatic swings.
“The presence of this reindeer at such a latitude indicates that extreme cold may have impacted Iberian fauna earlier and more severely than previously thought,” – Jan van der Made
Implications for Pleistocene Studies
The ecological significance of this find reaches far beyond the individual reindeer. It provides key information about the climate of the Pleistocene epoch. These drastic conditions took a harsh toll on animal and human inhabitants of the region alike. Jan van der Made, one of the researchers involved in the study, emphasized that this fossil not only helps refine the dating of the site’s stratigraphic levels but illustrates the intensity of glacial periods affecting the peninsula’s inhabitants.
Ignacio Aguilar Lazagabaster remarked on the broader significance of studying these biogeographic patterns:
“This work highlights the importance of studying the biogeographic patterns of glacial fauna, allowing us to better understand the adaptive capacity of human populations during the Middle Pleistocene, roughly between 125,000 and 800,000 years ago.”
This research gives us an incredible insight into just how adaptable to their environments humans were and how large scale climate changes forced them to pivot their survival strategies.
The Future of Research at Atapuerca
The findings from the Galería site are part of ongoing research efforts aimed at understanding human evolution and adaptation to changing climates. Our research on this remarkable reindeer fossil was published in the journal Quaternary, where we’ve laid out a compelling case of why it’s so significant. The DOI for the study is 10.3390/quat8030043.
Researchers continue to excavate and study additional Atapuerca fossils. In doing so, they hope to discover new perspectives on what life was like in prehistoric Iberia. Each new finding adds to a burgeoning body of evidence. This new evidence will contribute to understanding the complex climatic, ecological, and anthropogenic interactions between climate, wildlife, and early human populations.