Redrawing Early Neolithic Settlement Maps and Movement pathways in Les Coves Llongues

A recent publication of our research on Les Coves Llongues (Sorita, Els Ports, Castelló) marks a significant step forward in understanding the spread of Early Neolithic communities across eastern Iberia.Securely dated archaeological levels from the second half of the sixth millennium BC provide the first unequivocal evidence of early farming groups in a region where such occupations were previously poorly documented or entirely unknown.By filling a long-standing geographical and chronological gap between the Mediterranean coast and the Ebro basin, the site offers new insight into how Neolithic lifeways expanded into inland and mountainous areas. The Early Neolithic assemblages recovered at the site (impressed and incised-impressed pottery, projectile points, and other material culture) confirm that this area was not peripheral, but actively integrated into wider networks of interaction and mobility.The location of the site near the Bergantes River, a tributary of the Guadalope that ultimately connects to the Ebro, supports the hypothesis that river corridors played a key role in the inland dissemination of the first Neolithic communities. Les Coves Llongues thus points to a previously underappreciated communication route linking distinc ecological zones, the Ebro valley and the Castelló coastline.Beyond its regional importance, the site contributes to broader, global discussions on how early farming societies spread into diverse landscapes, adapted to new ecological contexts, and structured their mobility. The recurrent occupation of the shelter, from the Late Paleolithic through the Neolithic, as well as the presence of Levantine rock art, highlights the long-term significance of this place within human landscapes.Together, these finds position Les Coves Llongues as a key reference site for re-evaluating how early farming societies spread, adapted and interacted not only in Castelló and eastern Iberia, but within wider comparative frameworks of early agricultural dispersal.