The remains of a 100,000-year-old elephant discovered in Garraf
The archaeological excavations conducted at the Rhinoʼs cave in Castelldefels, led by researchers from the Quaternary Research Group-SERP (Prehistoric Studies and Research Seminar) of the University of Barcelona, have discovered part of the skeleton of a young elephant, approximately younger than 7. These remains, which are about 100,000 years old, are the first almost complete skeleton of proboscidea (an order of large mammals that comprises the elephants and the mammoths) found in the massif of Garraf. It is an exceptional discovery as complete remains of elephants in caves are scarce in Catalonia.
The archaeological excavations conducted at the Rhinoʼs cave in Castelldefels, led by researchers from the Quaternary Research Group-SERP (Prehistoric Studies and Research Seminar) of the University of Barcelona, have discovered part of the skeleton of a young elephant, approximately younger than 7. These remains, which are about 100,000 years old, are the first almost complete skeleton of proboscidea (an order of large mammals that comprises the elephants and the mammoths) found in the massif of Garraf. It is an exceptional discovery as complete remains of elephants in caves are scarce in Catalonia.
So far, in this area —in streams and in the Llobregat river— isolated parts of the skeleton had been found, such as the tusks, especially of woolly mammoth, which is chronologically more modern. The discovery of this elephant, older than the woolly mammoth, shows that elephants inhabited the Catalan central coast prior to the arrival of the mammoth, typical of cold periods. The discovery of this elephant, together with other species, such as numerous remains of Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo hermanni) —also found at the Rhinoʼs cave—, shows that 100,000 years ago weather conditions were warm at the Catalan central coast.