Plant use and vegetation trends in Algeria from Late Glacial to Middle Holocene: Charcoal and seeds from Gueldaman GLD 1 cave (Babors d'Akbou)

Vegetation dynamics during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and the beginning of farming are major topics for palaeoenvironmental sciences, especially interesting in ecologically sensitive areas, such as in North Africa. However, there are still important geographic and chronological gaps of environmental information in this region. Archaeobotanical record from Gueldaman GLD 1 deals with these issues, as it presents the longest archaeobotanical sequence available nowadays for Algeria, which includes these moments of major changes in landscapes. This topic has been approached from an interdisciplinary point of view, focused on the analysis of various types of plant remains that result in the reconstruction of both environment and use of plant resources. Results reveal the existence of a postglacial phase of plant colonization with Cupressaceae formations, which are gradually integrating some elements of sclerophyllous vegetation, such as several species of Pistacia, well documented both in charcoal and seed records. Neolithic levels show a shift in vegetation composition, as Olea europaea dominates the spectra, accompanied by strawberry tree and evergreen Quercus, among others. The presence of Olea in earlier chronologies has resulted from intrusions from the Neolithic levels: a set of radiocarbon dates has made it possible to evidence this process and detect the extent of the intrusions, which are inherent to cave records.