395 Caparrós et al. Article JTa143. All rights reserved. *E-mail: capmig@aol.com 2012 Journal of Taphonomy NOMBRE DEL TRABAJO (TERUEL) VOLUME 10 (ISSUE 3-4) Available online at www.journaltaphonomy.com This paper proposes a novel approach to study the interactions of Neanderthals and carnivores in the cave of Zafarraya by comparing the lithic archaeological and faunal records with a statistical path analysis, taking into consideration the ecology of the main carnivore predators and large herbivore prey foraging in the surroundings of the cave. The results of the analyses confirm and shed further light on previous taphonomic and zooarcheological research. The findings concur with the two-species Lotka- Volterra competition model for resources which stipulates that when niche overlap is complete the species with the larger fitness excludes the other. Our analysis shows that in the immediate vicinity of the cave, the fitness of Panthera was greater than Neanderthals’, i.e. when Panthera was present it Did Neanderthals and Carnivores Compete for Animal Nutritional Resources in the Surroundings of the Cave of Zafarraya? Miguel Caparrós* Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département de Préhistoire, UMR 7194 du CNRS 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France Cecilio Barroso Ruíz Director of the Cueva de Zafarraya research project Cantabria, 3. Rincón de La Victoria. 29730, Málaga, Spain Anne Marie Moigne Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Centre Européen de Recherches Préhistoriques de Tautavel, Avenue Léon-Grégory, 66720 Tautavel, France Antonio Monclova Bohorquez Grupo PAI-HUM 440, Área de Prehistoria. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Universidad de Cádiz, Avda. Dr. Gómez Ulla s/n. 11003, Cádiz, Spain Journal of Taphonomy 10 (3-4) (2012), 395-415. Manuscript received 15 March 2012, revised manuscript accepted 15 November 2012.