Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro

Doctorate in History from Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in 2002. Since 2003, I have been a researcher at URV, where I currently teach Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula in the History degree programme and Taphonomy and Zooarchaeology in the Master of Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution.

Since 2010, I have been a researcher affiliated with the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA), where I have been Research Director since January 2024. Since 2021, I have been coordinating the Consolidated Research Group "Paleoecology of Pliocene and Pleistocene and Human Dispersals (PalHum)" with reference 2021 SGR 01238.

My research deals on the taphonomic analysis of macromammals from Early and Middle Pleistocene sites. I study the impact of anthropogenic activities and other taphonomic agents, mainly carnivores, and those related to the fossilisation process. From a zooarchaeological point of view, my scientific interest lies in establishing the subsistence strategies of early humans in Europe and Africa. In my research, the experimentation is a basic tool applied to faunal exploitation processes and other biological agents in natural environments. My research is currently focused on the occupational dynamics of Galería site (Sierra de Atapuerca), delving into the interactions between hominids and carnivores. In addition, to understand the palaeoecological environment and the fossilisation process at the site, I am implementing new methodologies for the study of bone diagenesis.

I am currently participating in two competitive Spanish knowledge generation projects (PID2024-156477NB-C31; PID2022-137070NB-I00). One of these focused on the sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca, whilst the other concentrated on the evolution of the Acheulean and Homo erectus in East and North Africa.

I have actively participated in fieldwork and research projects at more than 20 archaeopalaeontological sites, both nationally and internationally. Among these, I would highlight my participation, since 1991, in the sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), where since 2011 I have coordinated the excavation and research work carried out at the Galería site (Middle Pleistocene). I led the international excavation project at the Azokh Cave site (Lesser Caucasus) between 2009 and 2011. Since 2013, I have been participating in fieldwork and research carried out at the Pleistocene sites of Gona (Ethiopia) and the Ain Hanech Formation and Tighennif (Algeria), focusing my research on the study of the subsistence strategies of early hominids in Africa.

I have supervised 5 doctoral theses and 13 master's theses. I have participated in 14 doctoral thesis committees and 10 master's thesis juries. Currently, I am supervising 3 new doctoral theses: on taphonomy of the Camp dels Ninots site (Girona); on bone diagenesis at the Galería site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos); and, on the taphonomic study of the submerged GNLQ1 site in Chile. 

I play an important role as a reviewer, both of competitive projects and articles for scientific journals. I am member of the AEI Evaluators Bank (EVALUA) and remote project reviewer for the European Research Council (ERC). Furthermore, I have conducted project reviews for the Leakey Foundation. Finally, I have reviewed scientific manuscripts for 15 different indexed journals.

I have participated in more than 40 national and/or international congresses and conferences, presenting 47 oral papers and 25 posters. In addition, I have organised four international conferences at IPHES-CERCA and URV, highlighting the 5th International Conference on Experimental Archaeology (2017) and the Third Symposium on African Archaeology (2017).

I am the author or co-author of 163 scientific publications. Of these, according to Scopus, 96 are articles in indexed journals (Nature, Science, Science Advances, PNAS, Journal of Human Evolution, Quaternary Science Review, Journal of Archaeological Science, etc.). In addition, I have written book chapters, conference proceedings and other scientific articles in non-indexed journals. I have given lectures, seminars and participated in round tables related to archaeological content. I have also collaborated on television and radio programmes as part of my work to disseminate knowledge. My h-index is 35 with a total of 4897 citations.

RESEARCH INDICADORS QUALITY
Nº Doctoral Thesis supervised (últims 10 anys): 3 
Total Publications: 92 (WoS Core); 95 (Scopus)
Total Citations: 4303 (WoS Core); 4813 (Scopus)
Average cites/document: 46.77 (WoS Core); 50.66 (Scopus)
Total Publicaciots Q1: 53 (WoS Core); 79 (Scopus) 
Total Publicaciots Q1 (últims 10 anys): 35 
Total Publicaciots Q1 (últims 10 anys): 18 (WoS Core); 35 (Scopus)
Total Publicaciots. D1: 32 (WoS Core); 52 (Scopus) 
H index (WoS Core): 34; (Scopus): 35 

MÉÈITS RELLEVANTS

PUBLICATIONS (last 5 years selection)
- López-Parés, J., Cáceres, I. (2025). Human consumption of carnivorans during Prehistory. The case of the Iberian Peninsula. Quat. Sci. Rev., 352, 109205. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.QUASCIREV.2025.109205. 
- del Valle H, Rodríguez-Navarro AB, Moclán A, García-Medrano P, Cáceres I. (2025). Bone diagenesis and stratigraphic implications from Pleistocene karst systems. Sci. Rep. 14;15(1):5496. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-88968-4 
- Huguet, R., Rodríguez-Álvarez, X-P., Martinón-Torres, M. Vallverdú,J., (....), Cáceres,I. Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., et al.. (2025). The Earliest Human Face of Western Europe" Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08681-0. 
- Armaroli, E., Cheheb, R. C., Cipriani, A., Bernardini, S., van der Made, J., Cáceres, I., Sahnouni, M., Lugli, F. (2025). Stable Sr isotopes of fossil dental enamel reflect diet and digestive system differences among sympatric herbivores. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimat., Palaeoecology, 678, 113226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113226.
- Mateo-Lomba, P., Ollé, A., Fernández-Marchena, J. L., Saladié, P., Marín, J., Chacón, M. G., Vallverdú, J., Cáceres, I. (2024). First identification of a Neanderthal bone spear point through an interdisciplinary analysis at Abric Romaní (NE Iberian Peninsula). Sci. Rep., 14(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67817-w. 
- Cáceres, I., Chelli Cheheb, R., van der Made, J., Harichane, Z., Boulaghraief, K., Sahnouni, M. (2023). Assessing the subsistence strategies of the earliest North African inhabitants: evidence from the Early Pleistocene site of Ain Boucherit (Algeria). Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 15, 87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01783-8. 
- Mateo-Lomba, P., Ollé, A., Cáceres, I. (2023). Experimental bone toolmaking: A proposal of technological analytical principles to knapped bones. Journal of Lithic Studies, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.7386. 
- Núñez-Lahuerta, C., Galán, J., Cuenca-Bescós, G., García-Medrano, P., Cáceres, I., (2022). A bird assemblage across the MIS 9/8 boundary: The Middle Pleistocene of Galería (Atapuerca). Quaternary Science Reviews 293, 107708. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107708
- Del Valle, H., Cáceres, I., Tornero, C. & Vergès, J.M. (2022) ATR-FTIR to distinguish Holocene fumier facies. A perspective from bone diagenesis at El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain), J. Archaeol. Sci. 141, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105582

- Burguet-Coca, A., Del Valle, H., Expósito, I., Herrejón-Lagunilla, Á., Buitkute, E., Cabanes, D., Cáceres, I., Carrancho, Á., Villalaín, J.J., (2022). The Fumier Sequences of El Mirador: An Approach to Fire as a Sociocultural Practice and Taphonomic Agent, In: Allué, E., Martín, P., Vergès, J.M. (Eds.), Prehistoric Herders and Farmers. A Transdisciplinary Overview to the Archeological Record from El Mirador Cave. Springer, pp. 89-110. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12278-1_5 

- Vettese, D., Blasco, R., Cáceres, I., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Moncel, M-H., Thun Hohenstein, U., Daujeard, C. (2020).  Towards an understanding of hominin marrow extraction strategies: a proposal for a percussion mark terminology Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 12:48.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00972-8. 

- Semaw, S., Rogers, M.J., Simpson, S.W., Levin, N.E., Quade, J., Dunbar, N., Mcintosh, W.C., Cáceres, I., Stinchcomb, G.E., Holloway, R.L., Brown, F.H., Butler, R.F., Stout, D., Everett, M., (2020). Co-occurrence of Acheulian and Oldowan artifacts with Homo erectus cranial fossils from Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. Science Advances, 6. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw4694.  

CONGRESSES (last 5 years selection)

- Del Valle H, Rodríguez-Navarro AB, Moclán A, García-Medrano P, Cáceres I. Bone Diagenesis and Stratigraphy: Developing a Fossil-Bone Recontextualization Model in Pleistocene Karst Systems. 10th Bone Diagenesis Meeting (BD2025). Athens, Greece. 24/09/2025 - 26/09/2025.
- Del Valle, H., Rodríguez-Navarro, A.B., Macías, E., Álvarez-Lloret, P., Cáceres, I. Unravelling bone diagenesis: Effect of fluorine substitution under hydrothermal controlled conditions.  11th Granada-Münster Discussion Meeting. Granada, Spain. 27/11/2024-29/11/2024.
- Del Valle, H., Díaz-Cortés, A., García-Medrano, P., Cáceres, I. Bone diagenesis in the Karstic Taphosystem from Middle Pleistocene Galería site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Taphos-9th International Meeting on Taphonomy and Fossilization. Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 05/06/2022 - 12/06/2022. 
- Cáceres, I., Mateo-Lomba, P., Del Valle, H. Field Trip Guide to Sierra de Atapuerca sites (Burgos, Spain) Taphos - 9th International Meeting on Taphonomy and Fossilization. Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. 05/06/2022 - 12/06/2022.
- Mateo-Lomba, P., Cáceres, I., Ollé, A., Marín, J., Chacón, M. G., Vallverdú, J., Saladié, P. Bone fragments or Neanderthal bone tools? Interdisciplinary research on faunal assemblage from Abric Romaní (Capellades, Spain). 28th EAA Annual Meeting. Budapest, Hungary. 31/08/2022- 03/09/2022.
- Del Valle, H., Díaz-Cortés, A, López-Polín, L, Cáceres, I. Assessing the effects of two nanoparticle based consolidants through diagenetic parameters. 9th International Bone diagenesis Meeting. University of Évora (Portugal). 21/09/21-24/09/21.

PROJECTES (last 5 years selection)
 
- 2023PFR-URV-01238. Paleoecología del Plioceno y el Pleistoceno y dispersines humanas. PI: I. Cáceres. Programa Foment de la Recerca (URV). 01/01/20232 - 31/12/2027.
- 2021SGR 01238. Paleoecology of Pliocene and Pleistocene and Human Dispersals (PalHum). PI: I. Cáceres. Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR). 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024. 
- PID2024-156477NB-C31. "Eco-Social behaviour of the Sierra de Atapuerca Hominins during Quaternary, VII (CEHAC7)". PI: Dr M. Mosquera, Dr A. Ollé. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. 01/09/2025 -31/08/2028. Rch: Comprehensive study of subsistence, taphonomy, and forensic analysis through multidisciplinary approaches; High Resolution Microscopy; Experimental archaeology and archaeoethnography
- PID2022-137070NB-I00. Evolucion del Achelense y del Homo Erectus, 1,75-0,2 Ma, Investigaciones de Campo en Gona (Etiopia), Ain Boucherit-Ain Hanech y Tighennif (Argelia). PI: M. Sahnouni and S. Semaw. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. 01/09/2023 - 31/08/2026. Rch: Taphonomical analysis of faunal assemblages.

DOCTORAL THESIS and MASTER THESIS SUPERVISED (last 10 years selection)

-    Doctoral Thesis. Huesos tallados del Pleistoceno medio y superior en Europa. Estudio interdisciplinar de la cadenaoperativa en Galería y Gran Dolina-TD10.1 (Atapuerca), Castel di Guido (Lazio) y Abric Romaní (Barcelona). Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora), Ollé Cañellas, Andreu (Codirector); Doctoranda: Mateo Lomba, Paula. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. 2024. 

-    Doctoral Thesis. Les vertébrés fossiles des sites paléolithiques inférieurs : Pirro Nord 13 (Mode I, Italie) et Tighennif (Acheuléen, Algérie). Etude taphonomique et archéozoologique. Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora) Doctoranda: Chelli-Cheheb, Razika. Università degli studi di Ferrara. 2018. 

-    Doctoral Thesis. Tafonomía de mamíferos en la Puna de Atacama. El sitio Tulan-54 Norte de Chile. Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora) Doctorand: Santander Pizarro, Boris. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. 2017.

-    Master Thesis Estimación de temperaturas en restos óseos a través de espectroscopía ATR-FTIR". Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Belén Izard Arechabala. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2022.

-    Master Thesis: Evaluación de la preservación de ADN en restos óseos forenses y arqueológicos a través de ATR-FTIR. Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Héctor del Valle Blanco. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2021.

-    Master Thesis: Preliminary histotaphonomic results from Tapirus arvernensis from Camp dels Ninots, Caldes de Malavella (NE Spain). Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Federica Grandi. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2019.

-    Master Thesis: Aproximación a la Diagénesis del hueso en contextos de fumier: La Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos).Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora), Carlos Tornero Dacasa (Co-director). Estudiant: Hector del Valle Blanco. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2018.

-    Master Thesis: The exploitation of animal resources at Cornaleto, a middle Bronze Age site in the Vallo di Diano. Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora), Alessandro Guidi (Co-Director). Estudiant: Michelle Truffi. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2018.

-    Master Thesis: Aproximación a la Tafonomía de los Macro-vertebrados de Camp dels Ninots (Caldes de Malavella, Girona). Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Franciscso García Muñoz. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2018.

-    Master Thesis: Análisis de carcasas intervenidas por zorros en el proyecto experimental de Riofrío (Segovia, España). Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Said Puentes Guerrero. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2017.

-    Master Thesis: Estudio de la gestión de los recursos animales, prácticas alimenticias y pastorales en el yacimiento protohistórico de El Turó de la Font de la Canya (Barcelona, España). Isabel Cáceres Cuello de Oro (Directora). Estudiant: Sergio Jiménez Manchón. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2016.