The history of human settlement in the valleys of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees has always been closely tied to climate changes over time. The changing nature of the climate in this region, with extremely cold periods followed by milder ones, has decisively influenced the permanence and abandonment of human settlements.
During Prehistory, these valleys experienced long periods of abandonment, mostly coinciding with the harshest climatic moments. This phenomenon, directly related to the severity of the environment, becomes more significant when analyzed in the context of the extinction of the Neanderthals around 36,000 years ago and the subsequent arrival of the first Homo sapiens in the region.
Until recently, researchers believed that the first Homo sapiens who ventured to inhabit the Pyrenean valleys did so after the end of the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years ago. However, recent archaeological discoveries in the Cova dels Tritons, located in Senterada, have significantly changed this perception.
During the latest excavation campaign, archaeologists unearthed evidence suggesting the presence of much older human groups that inhabited the area more than 25,000 years ago.
Maite Arilla, a researcher at IPHES-CERCA and co-director of the excavations, highlights the importance of these discoveries. We have found an archaeological level with lithic tools made from local stones, suggesting that the first Homo sapiens were already present in this region more than 25,000 years ago. This blade technology is very similar to that found in other sites closer to the Mediterranean coast, says Arilla.
However, it is still uncertain whether these tools belong to the Gravettian or Aurignacian period, something that will become clearer as more dating is done and new excavations are carried out.
Meanwhile, Ruth Blasco, also a researcher at IPHES-CERCA and co-director of the site, emphasizes the unexpected nature of this year’s discoveries. Until now, we knew that the Cova dels Tritons had been used as a refuge by carnivores, mainly leopards and brown bears, which hunted in the area and hibernated in the cave. We did not expect to find evidence of human presence at this archaeological level, explains Blasco.
The presence of tools made from local materials suggests that the human groups who visited the cave were familiar with the territory and the available resource sources. Arilla adds that these groups must have been settled nearby and that visits to the cave were part of their daily movements. We still don’t know exactly what they were doing here, but it is likely that their camps were nearby, concludes the researcher.
The study of prehistoric settlement in the Pyrenean valleys has been a debated topic and, in many cases, little researched due to the difficult conditions for the preservation of archaeological sites. The region has experienced significant climate changes, such as the thawing after the last glaciation, which caused the retreat of glaciers and an increase in the erosive power of rivers and ravines. This phenomenon eroded and destroyed many places that could have contained remains of ancient human settlements, such as river terraces, paleosols, and rock shelters. Only some caves, like the Cova dels Tritons, have managed to preserve traces of this distant past.
Ruth Blasco notes that, before this discovery, the oldest human occupation remains in the Pallars region belonged to the Neanderthals. These ancient inhabitants of the Pyrenees have been identified in several locations, such as the Cova de les Llenes in the Cuenca de Dalt, the Nerets in Talarn, and the Cova dels Muricecs in Llimiana. However, it is unclear whether the Neanderthals continuously occupied the region or if their presence was marked by periods of abandonment linked to climatic variations in the Quaternary period.
This pattern of discontinuous occupation becomes more evident with the extinction of the Neanderthals around 36,000 years ago. We know that, after the extinction of the Neanderthals, there was a population gap that lasted about 10,000 years until the arrival of the first Homo sapiens, says Maite Arilla.
However, the new findings in the Cova dels Tritons suggest that this period of abandonment may have been shorter than originally thought, underscoring the importance of continuing excavations in the cave and exploring other sites in the region.
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