Cueva del Arco: Paleoecological insights into Paleolithic landscapes

This article presents new data from Cueva del Arco and offers a comprehensive perspective on the palaeoenvironments inhabited by Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the interior of Murcia, southeastern Spain, during the Mousterian and Gravettian periods. We focus on the ecological structure and floristic composition of prehistoric landscapes, drawing on pollen records from coprolites and cave sediments, as well as charcoal and plant macroremains, particularly seeds. Vertebrate assemblages are discussed through taphonomic and paleoecological lenses. Our results show that the landscapes surrounding Cueva del Arco during MIS 3 underwent only limited changes despite climatic fluctuations, likely buffered by nearby glacial strongholds, such as immediate riverine hydrorefugia and biodiversity reservoirs in the Segura-Cazorla-Alcaraz Mountains. We highlight the coexistence of plant species with currently disparate bioclimatic affinities, suggesting a compression of vegetation belts. Locally, under the edaphic influence of lithosols overlying karstic bedrock, the landscape remained open, with scattered trees or small groves on deeper soils. Notably, Cupressaceae were a dominant feature of the local vegetation and constituted a critical resource for firewood, supporting human adaptation to the environment. In this resilient and ecologically diverse setting, Paleolithic populations had access to a wide variety of plant and animal resources essential for their survival.