The end of the Pleistocene to the Holocene is a moment of particular interest, as several environmental changes coincided with some significant culture shifts: the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic and the Palaeolithic to Neolithic transitions. Here we present the analysis of the environmental conditions during this period in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula, based on the bird remains from Cova Foradada (Calafell, Tarragona), a site known for its archaeological record, including the symbolic use of imperial eagle phalanges. The stratigraphic sequence of the site is divided into five units, spanning from the Late Pleistocene (Units V to III) to the Northgrippian (Units II and I). A total of 1310 avian remains from these five units have been analysed, revealing the presence of at least 25 bird taxa. This suggests a landscape dominated by open areas with forest or scattered trees. The presence of four species, currently absent around the site, could be related to habitat expansions during colder periods, or to sporadic visits to the area. The layers in Unit IV show a trend towards a reduction in woodlands and an increase of open areas, which may be related to the Heinrich 4 event (ca. 40Ka). The layers in Unit III show the lowest proportion of woodlands and the highest proportions or rocky areas in the sequence. In the Holocene units the presence of water bodies is indicated by the presence of aquatic taxa. Diurnal birds of prey appear to be the main contributors to the bird accumulation, and probably also contributed to the accumulation of leporids. The impact of humans on birds at the site has been documented in several remains, confirming the mixed origin of the avian accumulation and contributing to increasing cases of interaction between humans and large diurnal raptors during Iberian prehistory.

Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA) has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the ‘María de Maeztu’ program for Units of Excellence (Grant no. CEX2019–000945-M). C·N-L was supported by a Juan de la Cierva - Formación contract (FJC2020–044561-I-; MCIN, co-financed by the NextGeneration EU/PRTR, and by the and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project PID2021-122533NB-I00 (MICINN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa”). S. Bsingle bondC. is beneficiary of a postdoctoral grant CIAPOSTD/2021/110, granted by the Generalitat Valenciana and co-financed by the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE). The research of A.R.-H. is supported by the grant RYC2022–037802-I funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and by The FSE invests in your future. Excavations at Cova Foradada have been founded by the Calafell City Council, the Department of Culture (Generalitat de Catalunya) through the projects CLT009–18-00024 and CLT-ARQ001SOL-172-2022, and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project PID2020-113960GB-I00 (MICINN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa”).

With funding from the Spanish government through the "Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu" accreditation (CEX2019-000945-M).

Peer reviewed