Palynological investigations in the Orce Archaeological Zone, Early Pleistocene of Southern Spain Ochando, Juan Jiménez Moreno, Gonzalo Solano García, José Luzón, Carmen Serrano Ramos, Alexia Toro Moyano, Isidro Jiménez Arenas, Juan Manuel Palaeobotany Human evolution Pleistocene Cenozoic Orce Spain Palynological investigations in the Orce Archaeological Zone (OAZ) (Guadix-Baza Basin, Granada, Spain), Venta Micena 1 (VM1), Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3) are presented. This archaeological region is connectedwith the first Homo populations inWestern Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene. The VM1 pollen record is characterized by Ephedra, and to a lesser extent, Pinus, Juniperus and evergreen Quercus, occassionally accompanied by Olea, Genisteae, Erica, deciduous Quercus, Alnus, Castanea, Fraxinus, Salix and Phillyrea. BL is dominated by Juniperus, Olea, Pinus, Poaceae, and evergreen Quercus. FN3 is characterized by an openMediterraneanwoodland dominated by evergreen Quercus, Pinus, Juniperus and Olea, accompanied by deciduous Quercus, Castanea, Populus, Salix, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Pistacia, Phillyrea, Genisteae, Erica, Cistus, and Ephedra fragilis. Relic Tertiary taxa inOAZ include Carya, Pterocarya, Eucommia, Zelkova, andJuglans. The Early Pleistocene OAZ vegetation is amosaic of different landscapes embracing mesophytes, thermophytes, xerophytes, xerothermophytes, and Mediterranean elements. These finds are compared with former pollen analyses in the region and beyond within the Iberian Peninsula. 2022-09-06T07:45:04Z 2022-09-06T07:45:04Z 2022-07-11 journal article Juan Ochando... [et al.]. Palynological investigations in the Orce Archaeological Zone, Early Pleistocene of Southern Spain, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Volume 304, 2022, 104725, ISSN 0034-6667, [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2022.104725] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/76534 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2022.104725 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional Elsevier