Evidence for Neanderthal and modern human behaviour and ecology at the UNESCO-World Heritage archaeological cave sites of Gibraltar
Keywords: Gibraltar, Neanderthal, Late Pleistocene, Ecology, Palaeoenvironments, Lithics
Research Outline
Directed by the Gibraltar National Museum, this project explores evidence for Neanderthal and modern human behaviour and ecology at the UNESCO-World Heritage archaeological cave sites of Gibraltar, including Gorham’s Cave and Vanguard Cave. The sites contains a wealth of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence including lithics, engravings, cave art, animal bones, fireplaces, shellfish and plant remains, which together inform us about Neanderthal and recent human lifeways, and about past climate change during the Late Pleistocene.
LJMU has a strong association with the Gorham’s Cave Project. Richard Jennings is an excavation site director on the project and joined the team as a Masters student in 1995 before focusing his D.Phil. research on Gibraltar in 2008. Since his appointment at LJMU in 2017, over 20 LJMU students from the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences have participated on the project, gaining skills in archaeological excavation, wet sieving, and laboratory finds processing. Two LJMU post graduate researchers are currently undertaking doctoral research that focuses on the caves, while a former LJMU student is doing her PhD at the University of Gibraltar. In 2019, Clive and Geraldine Finlayson of the Gibraltar National Museum became Visiting and Honorary Professors respectively at LJMU.
Links
Gorham’s Cave Gibraltar – A UNESCO World Heritage Site (5 minute video)
Researchers
Other Projects from Richard Jennings
Dungarvan Valley Caves Project
This project involves the first excavation of Pleistocene deposits at an Irish Cave for more than 70 years. Our focus is on the search for substantive evidence that people were in Ireland during the last ice age.
Research Centre for Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology 