The prehistory in the Valencian Community refers to the period from the Paleolithic (around 350,000 BCE), including the appearance of the first populations, until the appearance of colonizing peoples (Greeks, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians; around 500 BCE), in the territory of the Valencian Community.
Around 350,000 BCE, evidence of the first settlers of the current region known as the Valencian community was left in Cueva de Bolomor. About 50,000 BCE, the Neanderthals occupied the region, leading a completely nomadic existence. The Cova Negra represents this period well. Around 30,000 BCE, the Neanderthals became extinct, replaced by the anatomically modern man; and Levant was the last region populated by the dying species. This change brought an improvement in the economy and technology, and art appeared. In the Valencia region, the most common Paleolithic art was portable art (unlike other regions of the Iberian Peninsula like in Cueva de Altamira, where cave art predominates), the Cueva de Parpalló providing the best examples.
The Valencian region was one of the first to witness the agricultural revolution at the dawn of the Neolithic (5,500 BCE approximately). Ceramics appeared, like the Cardium pottery in the Mediterranean, and large settlements, like the Cova de l'Or and the Mas d'ls, were populated. Rock art from this period is abundant, especially in places like Valltorta and Pla de Petracos, the latter being a World Heritage Site.
With the dawn of the Copper Age, the number of settlements in the region increased, evidenced by the number of burial caves. Iberian cultures began to differentiate at the beginning of the Bronze Age (around 2000 BCE), and the independent culture inhabiting the region, the Bronze Valencian, was stagnant. Although limited, there were metals, like the Treasure of Villena, the second largest collection of gold in Europe. The settlements feature defensive walls, and were situated in areas difficult to access. Some major settlements are in the towns of Redondo Cabezo and Muntanya Asolada.
In the late Bronze Age, settlements were gradually depopulated, although many were revived during the Iron Age, a period when Iberian and pre-Roman culture developed in the territory.
Paleolithic
Lower Paleolithic
The first traces of human settlement in the modern-day Valencian Community dates from the Lower Paleolithic; the oldest yet are found in the Cueva de Bolomor. Tools and animal bones date to around 350,000 BCE. Though no human bones from this period have been found, tools and animal remains are closely associated with the activity of Homo heidelbergensis.
The first evidence of controlled fire in the Valencian Community was also found in Bolomor, and dates to around 250,000 BCE. However, it is possible that humans inhabited this region much earlier as human remains found in other regions of the Iberian Peninsula date as far back as 800,000 BP (Before Present), and the earliest evidence of fire in central Europe dates to approximately one 500,000 BP.
Middle Paleolithic
Neanderthal remains from the Middle Paleolithic found in the region of the Valencian Community date to between 60,000 and 30,000 BCE. The evidence found in archeological sites suggests these early humans were Nomadic, that they lived in caves, and acquired sustenance by hunting wild boar, red deer, mountain goats, fallow deer, and horses, competing with other predators like the leopard, the brown bear, and the wolf. They also practiced simple funeral rituals.
Aside from cave paintings, Mousterian tools were also found. These stone tools varied little during the Middle and Lower Paleolithic; scientists believe they didn't change for 200,000 years. Nevertheless, the Neanderthals also used organic materials like wood to make lances; wooden lances have been found, infrequently, at archeological sites. However, such tools could have played an important role in the survival of these groups.
Around this time, the number of archeological sites grew, most notably the site at Cova Negra, the most important from this period. Other important sites include El Salt, the Cova de Beneito, and the Cueva del Cochino, all of which are concentrated in the south of modern-day Valencia. In September 2009, archeologists found Neanderthal remains at Solana de las Pillas, including racloirs, [denticulados], and drills, as well as charcoal fragments, dating to 50,000 BCE. This site is one of the few Valencian sites from this period not located within a cavern or cave.