The human remains from Axlor (Dima, Biscay, northern Iberian Peninsula)

Objectives We provide the description and comparative analysis of all the human fossil remains found at Axlor during the excavations carried out by J. M. de Barandiaran from 1967 to 1974: a cranial vault fragment and eight teeth, five of which likely belonged to the same individual, although two are currently lost. Our goal is to describe in detail all these human remains and discuss both their taxonomic attribution and their stratigraphic context. Materials and methods We describe external and internal anatomy, and use classic and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from Axlor are compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic, and recent modern humans. Results Three teeth (a left dm(2), a left di(1), and a right I-1) and the parietal fragment show morphological features consistent with a Neandertal classification, and were found in an undisturbed Mousterian context. The remaining three teeth (plus the two lost ones), initially classified as Neandertals, show morphological features and a general size that are more compatible with their classification as modern humans. Discussion The combined anatomical and stratigraphic study suggest that the remains of two different adult Neandertals have been recovered during the old excavations performed by Barandiaran: a left parietal fragment (Level VIII) and a right I-1 (Level V). Additionally, two different Neandertal children lost deciduous teeth during the formations of levels V (left di(1)) and IV (right dm(2)). In addition, a modern human individual is represented by five remains (two currently lost) from a complex stratigraphic setting. Some of the morphological features of these remains suggest that they may represent one of the scarce examples of Upper Paleolithic modern human remains in the northern Iberian Peninsula, which should be confirmed by direct dating.