Silvicolous Neanderthals in the far West: the mid-Pleistocene palaeoecological sequence of Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

A palynological study of archaeological layers from the Neanderthal site of Bolomor Cave, eastern Spain, is presented. Vegetation landscapes for the interval MIS 8 to MIS 5 are described. The sequence, regardless its chronology, is dominated by trees, mainly Quercus and Pinus, accompanied by a diversity of deciduous, Mediterranean, and thermophilous woody species. It is worth stressing the continuous occurrences of Olea, Fraxinus, Pistacia, Myrtus, Phillyrea and Cistaceae, and the abundance of evergreen Quercus, thus suggesting the existence of a Mid-Pleistocene glacial refugium for mesothermophytic vegetation. To our knowledge, no similar record of forest landscape has been described so far in glacial context for Neanderthals, which bears archaeological and anthropological implications. The record of past vegetation in Bolomor parallels the palaeontological findings, especially concerning the mammal fauna, suggestive of forest landscapes.