Lourdes Montes

Pollen in hyena coprolites from Gabasa Cave (northern Spain)

Pollen from hyena coprolites are useful to describe palaeovegetation and to infer palaeoclimatic conditions. In previous studies, sedimentological and palynological analyses of the Mousterian Gabasa Cave (Pyrenean foothill region, northeast Spain) have not been able to provide detailed palaeoenvironmental information. In this study, coprolites of the extinct cavern hyena (Crocuta crocuta) from Gabasa Cave were used for pollen analysis with the goal of establishing the regional environmental history between >50 700 and >39 900 yr BP 14C (AMS). Eight of the twelve coprolites analyzed contained well-preserved and rich pollen assemblages. They indicated the development of a mosaic glacial landscape that included Pinus and Juniperus woodlands and steppes of Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Artemisia, and Asteraceae. Pollen for mesophilous and thermophilous trees and shrubs are also present, suggesting the location of nearby refugia of temperate and Mediterranean vegetation.