The study, involving the CIM Mapas Lab group, used a novel identification method based on collagen analysis
Research on subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherer groups from the Eastern Mountains of Galicia during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic has gained new insights from the emblematic Cova Eirós site (Cancelo, Triacastela, Lugo). A study led by the University of Santiago de Compostela, with participation from researchers at the Marine Research Centre (CIM) of the University of Vigo, has for the first time enabled large-scale identification of animal remains hunted and exploited by Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans using ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry).
ZooMS is a method based on assigning taxonomic categories through the identification of peptide sequences in collagen preserved in animal bones, compared against reference libraries. This approach allows the identification of highly fragmented bone remains that cannot be classified through traditional comparative anatomy, the basis of zooarchaeological and paleontological studies.
The study, published open access in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, presents the results of applying this method to 114 faunal remains that could not be identified through traditional techniques, alongside the morphological study of over 8,000 remains from the site. The findings reveal a greater diversity in the meat diet of hunter-gatherer groups than previously known and show that intensive processing of herbivores introduced a bias in their identification, resulting in more indeterminate bone fragments compared to other animals such as cave bears.
A large research team
The study is led by Hugo Bal García from the GEPN-AAT group at the University of Santiago de Compostela and CISPAC, with contributions from University of Vigo researchers Iván Rey (Mapas Lab, CIM) and Mikel Díaz Rodríguez (Faculty of History, also CISPAC).
Other contributors include Samantha Brown (CENIEH), Carlos Fernández Rodríguez (University of León), Álvaro Ibáñez Encinas (USC-IPHES), Arturo de Lombera Hermida (University of Oviedo-CISPAC), Tania Mosquera Castro (USC-CISPAC), Xosé Pedro Rodríguez Álvarez (URV-IPHES) and Ramón Fábregas Valcarce (USC-CISPAC).
“From the University of Vigo, we contributed to the analysis and interpretation of faunal assemblages from Cova Eirós”, explains Iván Rey, noting that their work helped integrate ZooMS results with existing zooarchaeological records, improving taxonomic identification and understanding of human subsistence strategies. The team also contributed to the paleoecological interpretation of the findings within the context of the Iberian northwest Paleolithic.
Funding
This research is part of the project Population and technological dynamics during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene in the Eastern Mountains of the Iberian Northwest 2, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and ERDF. Archaeological excavations at Cova Eirós are funded by the Xunta de Galicia.
Source: DUVI
