A MOBILITY STUDY OF FAUNAS AND HUMANS USING SR ISOTOPES: THE SITE OF CHAN DO LINDEIRO IN O COUREL (LUGO, GALICIA, NW IBERIAN PENINSULA)

1. A MOBILITY STUDY OF
FAUNAS AND HUMANS
USING SR ISOTOPES: THE
SITE OF CHAN DO LINDEIRO
IN O COUREL (LUGO,
GALICIA, NW IBERIAN
PENINSULA)
Amalia Vidal-Gorosquieta
University Institute of Geology
University of A Coruña
Spain

2. PRESENTATION
Chan do Lindeiro is a chasm located in the Serra do Courel (UNESCO Geopark "Montañas
do Courel"), NW of the Iberian Peninsula.
It is a mountain range with narrow limestone outcrops from the Lower Palaeozoic and
numerous karst cavities in which fauna from the Pleistocene (mainly cave bears) and
Holocene (brown bears, domestic animals from the protohistoric period) have been
recovered.
Situation map of
Chan do Lindeiro
and other caves
in the area

3. • Doline collapse
• Limestone blocks and clays
• Intermingled bones of
human and large bovids
Chan do Lindeiro
Cave
Topography (section) by CETRA
potholers Club

4. descending the -15 m chasm

5. DEPOSIT: Bones scattered under the
collapse of the doline, which would
have occurred in a single, one-off
episode.

6. Bos primigenius partial skull

7. Bos primigenius from Chan do Lindeiro ( reconstructed, partial skulls)
14C cal BP ages: 9250 ± 215; 9250 ± 218; 9220 ± 190

8. HUMAN
A partial skeleton.
The 14C dating indicates that it was
contemporary with the Aurochs.
14C age: 9200 ± 200 cal BP
MESOLITHIC
Refitted skull

9. SEX: female
AGE: 20-40 years old
SIZE: 1m 50 cm aprox
PATHOLOGIES:
• Porotic hyperostosis
• Cribra orbitalia
• Frontal thickening
• Old cranioencephalic trauma
• Caries and enamel hypoplasia (tooth)
• Harris lines (tibia)
• Spondyloarthritis (vertebrae)
• Traumatic arthrosis (foot)
ENTHESOPATHIES:
• High physical activity
DIET (stable isotopes):
• Low in animal protein
.
Mesolithic human “ELBA”
SEX: all males
AGE: all young
SIZE: small size compared to other
European aurochs.
Their mDNA study indicates different
lineages from each other.
Three Aurochs
The type of deposit, in a single
episode, indicates a close physical
proximity between all of them at
the time of the collapse.
This coincidence in space and
time raises a question about the
type of relationship that might
exist between them.

10. Strontium isotope study
To gain knowledge about these animals and this human, we proposed a strontium
isotope analysis in their apatite in order to find out if any of them were of local origin.
Strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) depends on age and composition of the geological
substrate.
two-mica granite
(Hercynian)
Late Granodiorite
(Hercynian)
Early Granodiorite
(Hercynian)
Middle Ordovician-
Late Carboniferous.
,
Middle Cambrian-
Early Ordovician.
Lower Cambrian.
Precambrian
Cenozoic

11. Slates and
sandstones
Cándana
slates
Cándana
Limestone
Vegadeo
Limestone
Slates and
sandstones
Cándana
Limestone
Cándana
slates
Slates and
quartzites
1 km
Geological map. Magna Series, IGME, 1:50 000

12. We compared the 87Sr/86Sr
of the woman and the three
aurochs with those of other faunas
in nearby caves.
We include a snail from the same
deposit.
The data are from cattle from the
Chalcolithic to the Middle Ages.
They are cows that lived in an
extensive regime and that
eventually fell into some of the
chasms that exist throughout the
Sierra.
We include data on cave bears and
deer from the Pleistocene
recovered in the very nearby
Liñares cave.
We also have isotopic data for calcite and dolomite in the limestones that form the bedrock,
although these values may not necessarily be the bioavailable ones.

13. To establish the range of local
values, we chose the one shown by
the cows, as we assume that they
lived and fed along the Sierra.
In contrast, cave bears and even
deer may have used the cave only
as a shelter, since at least in cave a
homing behaviour was described
that would make them return to
hibernate every year in the cave
where they were born.
Based on the cow data, at least one
of the aurochs and the female fall
outside the range of the local
values for 87Sr/86Sr (average value ±
2 sd)
However, the problem is that we have not been able to obtain dental apatite for this study,
since the teeth of the aurochs were not found, and only one of the female, which we do not
want to damage. In the absence of dental apatite, we used bone apatite, which is more
prone to diagenetic alteration.

14. A representation of the isotopic values of all the samples studied in relation to their
chronology shows an approximate correlation between both parameters.
The 87Sr/86Sr
values found could
be related to the
alteration of the
apatite, which
could have
incorporated Sr
from the bedrock,
i.e. the limestones
in which the caves
are developed.

15. A representation of the isotopic values of all the samples studied in relation to their
chronology shows an approximate correlation between both parameters.
The 87Sr/86Sr
values found could
be related to the
alteration of the
apatite, which
could have
incorporated Sr
from the bedrock,
i.e. the limestones
in which the caves
are developed.

16. CONCLUSIONS
• Strontium isotope analysis of the aurochs and the woman from
Chan do Lindeiro indicates firstly that at least one of the aurochs
and the woman do not appear to be of local origin.
• The values obtained, however, show a correlation with the
chronology of these and other animals from the Sierra. This could
indicate that the bone apatite has undergone diagenesis and
incorporated Sr from the bedrock.
• To solve this question, it will be necessary to establish a local
baseline from plants and water, and to analyse dental apatite from
the cattle and cave bears to see if there are differences with respect
to the isotopic signature recorded in their bone apatite.
Thanks!