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Hearth-pits are some of the most common archaeological features documented in open-air Mesolithic sites, especially in coversand areas of Western and Central Europe. Yet, very few geoarchaeological investigations have addressed their formation, function and relationship with occupation surfaces. This work introduces new interdisciplinary investigations on the sediments of the Mesolithic open-air site of El Arenal de la Virgen (SE Iberia).A selection of five hearth-pits from two different occupation phases (Phase 1: 9.3-9.1k and Phase 2: 8.6-8.3k cal BP) has been analysed using stratigraphy, texture, soil chemistry, micromorphology, petrography and OSL-TL analyses. Combustion traits of the carbonate rock assemblages preserved in the sediments of the hearth-pits have also been investigated and compared to reference and experimental data from local geogenic materials.Our results allowed us to discuss the anthropogenic origin and taphonomy of the hearth-pits studied and approach their function. The structures from Phase 1 are interpreted as a possible oven and a dumping feature linked to single/occasional use events. In contrast, for hearth-pits from Phase 2 we propose they were related to combustion and dwelling areas subject to recurrent occupation episodes and disturbance. Finally, our sedimentary and soil data revealed that the palaeoenvironmental context of the Mesolithic occupation of the site was characterized by increased moisture and temperatures with respect to the Pleistocene and Early Holocene periods, pre and post-dating the human settlement.This work highlights the potential of integrating geoarchaeological and contextual evidence to clarify the factors involved in the formation of hearth-pits and infer intra-site occupation patterns.

Palimpsests are ubiquitous in the open-air archaeological record. Yet, integrated intra-site research strategies of palimpsest dissection to infer occupational histories, spatial behavioral patterns and site formation processes remain very exeptional in the Postglacial archaeology. In this work, we introduce a novel and integrated analytical framework of palimpsest dissection applied to the lithic assemblages of the Unit IV of El Arenal de la Virgen site, radiocarbon dated in two different occupation phases (9.3-9.1 k and 8.6-8.3 k cal BP). While our archaeostratigraphic analysis identified the absence of sterile layers between both phases, the lithic refits confirmed the good preservation of the spatial properties of the assemblage. Using different point-pattern analysis and geostatistical techniques, we further investigate the overall distribution pattern, the spatial correlation between lithic remains and occupation features according to different artifact categories, and the variability of spatial autocorrelation metrics. Our results show significant differences between both occupation phases: a lithic cache and few short-distance connections during the Phase 1; and a much more extensive occupation during the Phase 2, with hearth-related assemblages, a dwelling area and latent combustion loci (not identified during the excavation process) affected by trampling. Finally, we discuss the site struture and spatio-temporal dimesions of the lithic assemblages to conclude a behavioural pattern of different, and spatially recurrent, short-term camp occupation episodes. Built on explicit quantitative and reproducible standards, our research approach can be applied to other open-air sites to conduct comparative studies on open-air occupation patterns.