Climate and flora

From the creation of time, our planet's climate has changed, and the Tautavel Valley was host to a series of different landscapes. Since humans began visiting it, the cave has witnessed a valley covered in pine trees under a very cold and wet climate, dry steppes during cold and dry times, and forests or scrub brush during warmer periods. 

Some 550,000 years back, the climate was extremely cold and dry. Strong winds, sometimes gusting up to 120 km per hour, carry large quantities of sand and shale fragments into the Arago Cave. The landscape was dominated by a steppe, and the quantity of trees and shrubs was very low, except along the banks of the Verdouble, where a forest grew.

Herds of reindeer and horses crossed the valley, fleeing the unfriendly climate of territories to the north. They forded the stream at the foot of the cave, stopping to quench their thirst and graze on varieties of lichen and chicory that are not presently found in the steppe plains of Northern Europe.

About 500,000 years ago, a humid, temperate climate allowed the forest to flourish in the valley. The Verdouble, fed by many small rivulets trickling down from the neighboring cliffs, was much more majestic than it is at current. The landscape was related to what the Pyrenees foreland now looks like: humid, with stands of chestnut, beech and oak trees. The development of the forest privileged the presence of animals such as the fallow deer and the elk. When humans discarded the cave, it was not uncommon for lynxes or wild cats to take up residence there.

About 450,000 years before, the climate was dry and cold. Mediterranean plants appeared by creating lovely stream bank vegetation, and the hillsides were covered in scrub brush. Bison, horses and rhinoceroses crossed the prairie that covered the Tautavel valley, while the windy and unfriendly plateaus were the domains of muskoxen and reindeer. Steep cornices and rocky spurs were the advantaged territory of bighorn sheep and tahrs.

Fauna

Large herbivores

The large herbivores produced the basis of the diet of the large predators and humans. Remains discovered during excavations prove to the fact that these animals were eaten, generally by human beings.

The elk

The elk (Cervus elaphus) occupied the Western Europe for 800,000 years. This species is the most hunted by humans. Its antlers become more complex and its size changes in function of the climate.

The fallow deer

Fallow deer (Dama clactoniana) are mostly found in humid forest environments, between 800,000 and 300,000 years back, they were very large, and their antlers were not really flattened. After this period, they became smaller in size, with compressed antlers.

The reindeer

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) were particularly abundant during the final ice age. During the more rigorous periods of the Paleolithic, the reindeer was mainly prized for its meat, hide, antlers and bones. In Europe, reindeer become visible in the oldest layers of the Arago cave, some 600,000 years ago.

The musk ox

The musk ox (Praeovibos priscus) is an animal that is well adapted to very low temperatures and wind. It was present during the particularly cold and dry ice age some 450,000 years ago. During the Quaternary Period, it was relatively rare for musk oxen to reach the shores of the Mediterranean

The horse

Horses (Equus caballus mosbachensis) were the game of choice among prehistoric hunters because, during the entire Quaternary Period, they lived in troops and migrated according to the climate. The oldest horses (Equus mosbachensis) arrived in Europe 800,000 years ago, and they were very robust animals. They adapted to climate variations and evolved until their disappearance at the end of the last ice age. Their fossils are key elements used for dating sites.

The bison

The steppe bison (Bison priscus) was an enormous bovid which must have been quite dangerous when captured. Its horns are very impressive, much larger than those of today's bison.

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) from the Arago Cave had two horns on its snout. It was large, stood relatively high on the hoof and fed on leaves and grasses. It appeared in Europe around 600,000 years ago and disappeared 100,000 years ago when it was replaced by the wooly rhinoceros.

The Bonal tahr

The Bonal tahr (Hemitragus bonali) is a type of short-haired goat. Current members of the Hemitragus genus are only found in the mountains of Asia. They disappeared from Europe some 200,000 years ago.

The argali

The argali (Ovis ammon antiqua) was a very large animal, much more imposing than the current European mouflon. It lived on rocky hillsides, often in the mountains. In the Arago cave it is the best represented species in the oldest levels (600,000 years ago), as well as in layer F (440,000 years ago), where the number of individuals clearly indicates that humans had specialized in argali hunting. The species, very close to the large Altai mouflon, disappeared from Western Europe shortly afterwards. It seems that it was not able to withstand the warmer climate that appears some 400,000 years ago.

The chamois

The chamois (Rupicapra sp.) appeared in Europe during the coldest period of the ice age that began 450,000 years ago. It colonized low-altitude cliffs around the Mediterranean.