Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia

This paper investigates the relationship between settlement patterns, environmental variables, and agricultural strategies during the Early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) in Southern Iberia. While previous research has focused on cultural and chronological characterizations, the influence of edaph...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández-Morales, Juan Antonio, García Rivero, Daniel
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:idus________::502bfb18027c385275c84b0334df7364
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186380
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105802
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Neolithic
Southern Iberia
Settlement patterns
Agriculture
GIS
Soils
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spelling Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern IberiaFernández-Morales, Juan AntonioGarcía Rivero, DanielNeolithicSouthern IberiaSettlement patternsAgricultureGISSoilsThis paper investigates the relationship between settlement patterns, environmental variables, and agricultural strategies during the Early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) in Southern Iberia. While previous research has focused on cultural and chronological characterizations, the influence of edaphic and topographic factors on settlement choice remains largely unexplored. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and multivariate statistical analysis, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and PERMANOVA, this study evaluates 33 archaeological sites −categorized into cave occupations and open-air settlements- by analyzing soil types, terrain slope, relative elevation, and orientation. The main results confirm significant environmental differences between the two types of sites. Cave occupations are fundamentally linked to karstic landscapes, with a preference for lower slope positions and East/South orientations to maximize thermal comfort. Conversely, open-air settlements actively selected fertile soils, such as Cambisols and Fluvisols, on gentle slopes suitable for cultivation. Carpological data point to a farming economy dominated by naked wheat and barley, with a diachronic trend towards crop specialization and reduced diversity starting in the 5th millennium BC. Major conclusions suggest that the traditional dichotomy between caves and open-air sites does not represent two distinct economies. Instead, it is better understood in terms of different spatial and logistical configurations within a broadly similar productive repertoire, adapted to heterogeneous landscapes. The evidence suggests that natural shelters and open-air camps could have functioned as complementary components of the same productive network.ElsevierPrehistoria y ArqueologíaHUM949: Tellus. Prehistoria y Arqueología en el sur de IberiaAgencia Estatal de Investigación. EspañaEuropean Commission (EC). Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/186380https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105802reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)InglésJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 73, 105802. PID2022-137946NB-I00https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X26002373info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:idus________::502bfb18027c385275c84b0334df73642026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
title Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
spellingShingle Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
Fernández-Morales, Juan Antonio
Neolithic
Southern Iberia
Settlement patterns
Agriculture
GIS
Soils
title_short Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
title_full Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
title_fullStr Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
title_full_unstemmed Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
title_sort Settlement patterns, soils and agriculture in the early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) of Southern Iberia
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Fernández-Morales, Juan Antonio
García Rivero, Daniel
author Fernández-Morales, Juan Antonio
author_facet Fernández-Morales, Juan Antonio
García Rivero, Daniel
author_role author
author2 García Rivero, Daniel
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Prehistoria y Arqueología
HUM949: Tellus. Prehistoria y Arqueología en el sur de Iberia
Agencia Estatal de Investigación. España
European Commission (EC). Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Neolithic
Southern Iberia
Settlement patterns
Agriculture
GIS
Soils
topic Neolithic
Southern Iberia
Settlement patterns
Agriculture
GIS
Soils
description This paper investigates the relationship between settlement patterns, environmental variables, and agricultural strategies during the Early Neolithic (ca. 5600–4500 cal BC) in Southern Iberia. While previous research has focused on cultural and chronological characterizations, the influence of edaphic and topographic factors on settlement choice remains largely unexplored. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and multivariate statistical analysis, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and PERMANOVA, this study evaluates 33 archaeological sites −categorized into cave occupations and open-air settlements- by analyzing soil types, terrain slope, relative elevation, and orientation. The main results confirm significant environmental differences between the two types of sites. Cave occupations are fundamentally linked to karstic landscapes, with a preference for lower slope positions and East/South orientations to maximize thermal comfort. Conversely, open-air settlements actively selected fertile soils, such as Cambisols and Fluvisols, on gentle slopes suitable for cultivation. Carpological data point to a farming economy dominated by naked wheat and barley, with a diachronic trend towards crop specialization and reduced diversity starting in the 5th millennium BC. Major conclusions suggest that the traditional dichotomy between caves and open-air sites does not represent two distinct economies. Instead, it is better understood in terms of different spatial and logistical configurations within a broadly similar productive repertoire, adapted to heterogeneous landscapes. The evidence suggests that natural shelters and open-air camps could have functioned as complementary components of the same productive network.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186380
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105802
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186380
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105802
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 73, 105802.
PID2022-137946NB-I00
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X26002373
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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