Ecogeographic connectivity shaped the earliest hominin presence and access route in the Iberian Peninsula

Ecogeographic connectivity shaped the earliest hominin presence and access route in the Iberian Peninsula | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Ecogeographic connectivity shaped the earliest hominin presence and access route in the Iberian Peninsula Juan Manuel Jimenez-Arenas, Juan José González Quiñones, Juan Francisco Reinoso Gordo, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739504/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Iberian Peninsula hosts key archaeological sites, in particular Orce and Atapuerca, that help us understand the earliest hominin settlement of the westernmost part of Eurasia and its ecological context. However, Early Pleistocene ecogeographical connectivity in the Iberian Peninsula has not been previously investigated. In this study, the likelihood that hominins transited a specific area during the Early Pleistocene is investigated via a novel algorithm based on a least-squares fitted plane. Our results show for the first time that, during the early and first half of the middle Pleistocene, the Iberian Peninsula was a region with high ecogeographic connectivity and evenly distributed core areas, and that it was likely to have been a highly habitable region, with no specific ecogeographic pattern of habitability (coastal vs. inland; North vs. South; etc.). It was also found that hominins occupied regions with temperate or Mediterranean climates, but not extreme subtypes, showing a high capacity to adapt to different habitats, although these always included warm and humid conditions. Furthermore, connectivity analyses and comparisons of faunal assemblages suggest that the most likely entry route to the Iberian Peninsula was from the north, whereas entering by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar was unlikely. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Palaeoecology Biological sciences/Ecology/Palaeoecology Connec2vity Suitability GIS Rihla Algorithm Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.pdf Supplementary Material Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7739504","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":528770069,"identity":"66ce2898-2725-4cb3-b7d8-fab90e24fea7","order_by":0,"name":"Juan Manuel 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