Yolanda Carrión Marco

Identification of vegetal species in wooden objects using in situ microextraction-assisted voltammetry of microparticles

A method for identifying vegetal species in wooden objects using microextraction-assisted voltammetry of microparticles is described. The proposed methodology, aimed at facilitating tasks of patrimony conservation, is based on the recording of the voltammetric response of microparticulate films of compounds resulting from microextraction with organic solvents (ethanol, acetone, and chloroform) of micro- or sub-microsamples of wood in contact with aqueous buffers. Upon application of bivariate and multivariate chemometric techniques, the obtained voltammetric responses led us to identify different taxonomic groups from the characteristic voltammetric profiles. Application to a series of samples of wooden objects of cultural heritage of different European and American provenances dated to ca. 375–350 BC and to historical periods, namely 14th and 17–19th centuries, is described.

Neolithic Human Societies and Woodlands in the North-Western Mediterranean Region: Wood and Charcoal Analysis

An overview of woodland history in the north-western Mediterranean region, based on charcoal analysis (Anthracology) from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites, is proposed for the Mediterranean areas of France, Spain and Portugal. The taxonomic identification of charcoal fragments and the diachronic variations of taxa frequencies provide, for each settlement, an accurate image of the local vegetal cover. During the end of the last glaciation, beginning of the Holocene, vegetation dynamics reflects the evolution of climatic and geographic conditions. Any potential ecological impact by hunter-fisher-gatherer communities (Mesolithic) remains invisible; the same comment applies to the farming-herding communities from the beginning of the Neolithic. Charcoal data from the Preboreal onwards testify to the increasing diversity of the plant cover, with open formations dominated by conifers (Juniperus, Pinus type sylvestris), later replaced by temperate forests in association with Mediterranean species and light-demanding plants. Important regional variations, correlated with the bioclimatic conditions, pinpoint the dominance of deciduous Quercus in eastern Spain and southern France, Olea europaea in southern Spain and southern Portugal, Pinus halepensis in southern Catalonia, the Ebro valley and in the extreme south-east of France. From the Middle Neolithic onwards, farming/pastoral activities instigate important changes in woodland composition, with the development of mixed coppiced/pollarded woods, followed by open matorrals. Transformations identified in different sites were not synchronous and were still reversible; the rapidity of the process depended on the complex interaction between human activities and regional climatic characteristics.

Agriculture between the third and first millennium bc in the Balearic Islands: the archaeobotanical data

This paper presents new data regarding agricultural developments in the Balearic Islands between the end of the third millennium bc and the arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century bc. Data available so far reveals that agriculture, together with raising livestock, were the population’s source of livelihood. Agriculture in the third and second millennium consisted essentially of growing cereals and legumes. The available data point to an agricultural development similar to that of the continent, in the region stretching between the south of France and the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The similarities, in fact, possibly reflect contacts. Arboriculture was first introduced in the island of Ibiza in the first millennium in contexts linked to Phoenician colonisation. Olive oil and wine production developed remarkably on this island and were oriented toward export. Although the chronology of this process is still unclear, it seems that in Mallorca and Menorca it took place at a later period.

The use of wild plants in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of Northwestern Africa: preliminary results from the PALEOPLANT project

This contribution presents preliminary results from PALEOPLANT, a European Research Council (ERC) multidisciplinary research project that focuses on the analyses of plant remains from Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites in North Africa. The project aims are to: (1) characterize wild plant exploitation among human communities; (2) refine current knowledge on past landscapes; and (3) improve archaeological methodology and fieldwork when studying plants. We discuss preliminary results from charred plant macroremains (wood, seeds and fruits) and plant microfossils (phytoliths and calcitic ash pseudomorphs), as well as dung spherulites recorded in several northwestern African sites spanning the Late Pleistocene to the Early-Middle Holocene (c. 33 to 2 ka BC). Charcoal assemblages indicate the presence of mixed oak/juniper woodlands during the Late Pleistocene while conifers become the dominant element of the vegetation during the transition from Late Glacial to Early Holocene. In these contexts, some of the main species of thermo- and meso-Mediterranean Holocene landscapes (Olea europaea, Pistacia, etc.) were already present but their spread occurred during the Middle Holocene, concurrently with Neolithic occupations. The combination of wood charcoal, other plant macroremains (seeds and fruits) and plant microfossils, including both plant and dung indicators, provide new insights not only into the presence of a wide range of plant resources (wild pulses, Ziziphus lotus, Pinus halepensis, Quercus sp., Stipa tenacissima and Chamaerops humilis) but also on the variability of their potential uses (including fuel, food, fiber, bedding, fodder). Archaeobotanical results suggest continuity in the use of wild plants during the Neolithic. In addition, wood charcoal assemblages reflect significant changes that occurred in plant composition including the expansion of thermo-Mediterranean species.

Late Antique Environment and Economy in the North of the Iberian Peninsula: The Site of La Tabacalera (Asturias, Spain)

The exceptional preservation of organic remains in a well-reservoir at the site of La Tabacalera (Asturias, Spain) is the subject of an interdisciplinary study regarding past human-environmental interaction. The feature, dated to Late Antiquity, corresponds to a large well containing a wide range of organic material (animal bones, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs ( NPP s), mites, seeds, wood and wooden artefacts, etc.). This article examines both plant micro (pollen and NPP s) and macro-remains (seeds and wood) dated between the late 5th–8th c. AD . The palynological evidence suggests that the structure investigated was colonised by different species dominated by ivy, while the surrounding anthropised area was characterised by the presence of open areas, probably occupied by meadows and pastures. A mixed deciduous forest was also present not far from the site. The abundant plant macro-remains include the presence of water-loving woody species, which inform us about the vegetation growing around the well-reservoir. The seed record comprises cultivated plants, and a wide range of wild species typical of humid environments. Among the remains there are also some wooden artefacts. Plant remains have provided significant information, not only to reconstruct the landscape around the site, but also on the formation of the feature’s backfill. Moreover, the remains offer us information regarding objects of daily life and the maintenance of the feature.

Nuevas aportaciones al horizonte del bronce final de La Vital (Gandia, València)

Durante las tareas de seguimiento arqueologico de las obras de construccion del Acceso Sur a Gandia se localizaron diferentes estructuras negativas datadas en el Bronce final ubicadas en el perimetro de proteccion del yacimiento de La Vital. Las estructuras documentadas corresponden a un lugar de habitat fechado en estos momentos. En este trabajo presentamos los resultados de dicha actuacion, valorandolos en el marco del desarrollo historico de este periodo en el propio yacimiento y en la costa mediterranea peninsular.

Les ocupacions prehistòriques de Cueva de la Diabla (Ayora, València)

La realitzacio del parc eolic de la Solana (Ayora) propicia una serie de sondejos arqueologics a la Cueva de la Diabla que permeteren identificar un nivell arqueologic prehistoric del Calcolitic campaniforme-Bronze antic. L’estudi de la totalitat de les restes ens ha permes interpretar-les com a consequencia d’ocupacions estacionals de la cova, no documentant cap evidencia d’enterraments humans. La casera d’animals salvatges que viuen en un medi escassament antropitzat tambe ha quedat constatada.