Palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of human occupations at El Cierro cave (Northern Spain) during the transition from the late Upper Pleistocene to the early Holocene

•Pleistocene-Holocene transition has been recorded in El Cierro cave (northern Spain).•Systematic research on biotic and abiotic resources is presented.•Palaeoclimate record shows the expansion of deciduous woodland from the Azilian.•Hunting specialized in red deer as occurred in the previous Magdalenian period.•Marine exploitation strategies changed in the early Holocene.•Local lithic raw materials were used, but some foreign flint varieties are also recorded.