Raquel Piqué i Huerta

Landscape and forest exploitation at the ancient Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain)

This work is focused on the use of firewood by the first farming communities of the settlement of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain). The two occupation phases have been dated between 5324 and 4980 cal. bc...This work is focused on the use of firewood by the first farming communities of the settlement of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain). The two occupation phases have been dated between 5324 and 4980 cal. bc. Charcoal remains are used to represent the vegetation landscape. The comparison of the charcoal analysis data with other archaeobotanical studies carried out at the site enables an appreciation of how wood resources were used and the impact of this use on the environment. A total of 22 taxa have been identified; riparian communities and oak forests were predominant in the surroundings and provided firewood as well as wood for other uses. Deciduous Quercus sp. and Laurus nobilis make up the largest part of the identified remains. Lakeside vegetation and the deciduous forests suffered the first impact of the farming communities. In the more recent phase, Buxus sempervirens was also used intensely. The importance of box may have been the result of the greater expansion of these taxa, as a result of the degradation of vegetation in the surroundings.

MADERA CARBONIZADA EN CONTEXTOS FUNERARIOS DE LA JEFATURA DE RÍO GRANDE, PANAMÁ: ANTRACOLOGÍA EN EL SITIO DE EL CAÑO

espanolEl analisis antracologico realizado en el sito de El Cano (provincia de Cocle, Panama) nos permite hacer una primera aproximacion a las posibilidades que este tipo de analisis arqueobotanico proporciona para el estudio de las sociedades de jefatura, y especificamente de sus contextos funerarios. La identificacion de los recursos lenosos utilizados, y el establecimiento de hipotesis acerca de su posible funcion en relacion con el ritual mortuorio, es fundamental para poder profundizar en la comprension del ritual y de la gestion de los recursos realizada por las jefaturas en el istmo de Panama. EnglishThe charcoal analysis undertaken at the El Cano site (Cocle Province, Panama) provided an opportunity to explore the possibilities this kind ofarchaeobotanical analysis suppliesfor the study ofchiefdoms,particularly in theirfunerary context. The identification of the utilization ofwood resources, and the establishment ofa hypothesis about theirpossiblefunerary ritualfunction isfundamental in order to deepen our understanding of the ritual and the management of resources by chiefdoms in the Isthmus of Panama.