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Garcia, N.; Arsuaga, J.L.
Carnivores from the Early Pleistocene hominid-bearing Trinchera Dolina 6 (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)
1999  Journal of Human Evolution (37): 415-430

The carnivores from Trinchera Dolina level 6 (TD6) in Sierra de Atapuerca include _Ursus _sp., _Crocuta crocuta, Mustela palerminea, Lynx _sp., _Canis mosbachensis _and _Vulpes praeglacialis_. Approximately 80 human remains belonging to _Homo antecessor _were found in the Aurora Stratum (AS): located in the upper part of the TD6 level (TD6, T36-43). The carnivores from AS are taxonomically similar to the rest of the TD6 level, differing only in the occurrence of _Lynx _sp. The spotted hyaena (_Crocuta crocuta_) inhabited the Atapuerca Sierra during the Early Pleistocene and up to the Middle Pleistocene, after which it is absent. According to palaeomagnetic, U/Th and ESR results, the fossils from TD6 are dated to the Early Pleistocene, which is the earliest certain occurrence in Europe of _Crocuta crocuta_. It is associated with _Mimomys savini_, the arrival of which in Europe can be correlated with the beginning of the Early Biharian. _Crocuta crocuta _may have arrived during the late Early Pleistocene (''Bavelian complex''), and subsequently invaded the rest of the continent during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Atapuerca TD6-AS represents the most ancient deposits in Europe where _Homo _and spotted hyaenas coexisted and, they probably competed ecologically. The carnivores from TD6 are biochronologically consistent with the end of the Early Pleistocene or early Cromerian (corresponding with the Biharian biochron). The timespan could correspond with oxygen isotope stages 19, 20 or 21.

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