An incredible discovery has been made by a researcher and GRS Radioisotopes technician. Rivera helped to determine that the footprints are in after applying an optical-stimulated luminescence technique at the Center for Research, Technology and Innovation laboratories at the University of Sevilla.
The Doana area would have been inhabited by pre- Neanderthals around 295, 800 years ago. The team used a method called optical-stimulated luminescence to get this result.
The research was published in Scientific Reports on October 19, 2022.
It's a scientific milestone.
One of the most important discoveries of that year was the discovery of hominin footprints more than 106,000 years old next to El Asperillo. The publication of this new paper has confirmed what experts had suspected, that the footprints were 200,000 years old. It is a unique record in Europe due to the fact that it is 295,800 years old, making it the oldest record in Europe.
After collecting samples from the various levels, and another two later to compare the first results, the age of the fossil remains was established and points to the Middle Pleistocene, a crucial moment between different climatic stages.
According to the data collected from the four samples of levels in the cliffs of El Asperillo where the site was found, the age is 295,800 years with a margin of error of 17,800 years. The only hominin footprints that are known are from Matalascaas. It is not certain if the footprints come from Neanderthals.
Is it possible that the footprints came from Neanderthals?
The footprints were thought to be from Neanderthals, but that is no longer the case. The hypothesis is that the footprints came from people in the Neanderthal line. There is a possibility that the prints were from pre- Neanderthal hominins. Due to the scarcity of deposits with footprints in Europe, the Matalascaas footprints are more valuable than ever.
According to the Scientific Reports paper, footprints this period have only been found at Terra Amata and Roccamonfina, and were dated to between 385,000 and 345,000 years ago. They are the only ones who have been around longer. The findings at the Biache- Vaast and Theopetra sites are attributed to Homo neanderthalensis. The footprints found at Matalascaas are similar to those found at European sites such as Theopetra and Terra Amata.
The Matalascaas discovery requires deep analysis before any conclusions could be reached, and the experts highlight it.
There was a change in the situation on the coast of the Gulf of Cdiz, with human settlements in a more humid and warm climate than in the rest of Europe.
The sea level was about 60 meters below its current level. The coast would be more than 20 kilometers from where it is today, which means that there would have been a great coastal plain with large flood prone areas.
The site's new dating affects the animals found, since the hominin traces there included footprints of large mammals. It was the fauna that inhabited Doana 300,000 years ago.
The new dating of the Matalascaas footprints provides new evidence of the Middle Pleistocene.
Journal information: Scientific Reports
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