Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.

ARCHAEOFAUNA is an annual journal that publishes original papers dealing with all aspects related to the study of animal remains from archaeological sites

El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain) possesses one of the most complete Upper Palaeolithic stratigraphic sequences in northern Spain. Magdalenian occupations, particularly the lower Magdalenian, are well represented in its full sequence. This article presents the zooarchaeological analysis of the levels Cierro G1, Cierro G and Cierro F, dated by ¹⁴C to between 20,000 and 17,000 cal BP. The remains correspond to vertebrates (mainly large mammals and to a lesser extent fish and birds) and invertebrates (almost exclusively marine molluscs). The taphonomic analysis of the bones and shells has determined the role that the different animal resources played in the diet of the Magdalenian hunter-gatherers at El Cierro. The results obtained in each level of the sequence are compared and included in their regional context. This study also considers the way in which the Magdalenian groups at El Cierro processed the meat and fat of the different animal species and establishes the operational chain in the strategies of procurement, preparation and consumption of the prey.

The aim of this paper is to understand the ways of life for the inhabitants of Termez (Uzbekistan) and its surrounding environment through the analysis of the zooarchaeological, charcoal, and ceramic material found inside a domestic combustion structure (tannur) dated to the early Islamic period (8th and 9th centuries AD). The tannur was located in a manufacturing area outside the city walls of old Termez, discovered during the 2018–2019 archaeological campaigns of the Uzbek-Spanish team IPAEB. The analysis of the charcoal hints at an abundance of local floral taxa that was used as firewood. The faunal remains indicate the presence of birds, mammals and fish at the site. The zooarchaeological study reveals the exploitation of the fluvial resources through the presence of fish of the Cyprinidae family in the vicinity of the Amu Darya. The scarcity of cut marks on and thermoalteration of the mammalian remains inside the tannur lead us to believe that the presence of the bones inside the container is related to their disposal rather than the use of the oven for cooking. Finally, the ceramic items collected in the tannur belong to the same wares and types identified in the assemblages collected from a workshop area at the site and are typical of the early Islamic period.