A PALAOENVIRONMENTAL STUDY OF SEMIARID SOUTHEASTERN SPAIN - THE PALYNOLOGICAL AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL SEQUENCE AT PERNERAS CAVE (LORCA, MURCIA)

Results are presented of palynological and sedimentological research at the Palaeolithic site of Perneras Cave (coastal Murcia, southeastern Spain). Sedimentological features point to a warm, somewhat humid phase corresponding with the lowermost part of the Mousterian sequence, which was followed by a climatic deterioration which lasted throughout the later Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic. The palynological study described here barely allows palaeoclimatological inferences to be drawn, but it does highlight interesting paleobotanical data, namely, the presence of Ibero-Maghrebian and Mediterranean elements, which suggest that the site was an important refuge for thermophilous taxa. The reliability of the interpretation of the pollen assemblages is assessed in terms of the incorporation, preservation and distribution of pollen grains into the profile.