La gestión del material leñoso por parte de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras patagónicas estuvo condicionada y determinada por la movilidad, la duración y la función de las distintas ocupaciones. El estudio arqueobotánico de restos vegetales leñosos permite comprender el papel que jugaron estos recursos dentro de una sociedad brindando una mejor aproximación a la dinámica socioeconómica de un grupo. Para comprender los modos de obtención y usos de los recursos leñosos en grupos cazadores-recolectores es necesaria la aplicación de diferentes técnicas de análisis. El propósito del presente trabajo es dar a conocer, dentro del dossier Estudios arqueobotánicos en Argentina. Situación actual y nuevas perspectivas, las distintas metodologías utilizadas en 18 estudios arqueobotánicos. Los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento permiten plantear diferencias y algunas similitudes en cuanto a la gestión de los recursos leñosos por parte de los antiguos pobladores de la Patagonia. La integración de las distintas metodologías y técnicas de estudio del material leñoso, utilizado como combustible y/o materia prima, representa un avance dentro de la arqueobotánica patagónica.

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.

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The lakeshore site of La Marmotta is one of the most important Early Neolithic sites of Mediterranean Europe. The site is famous for the exceptional preservation of organic materials, including numerous wooden artefacts related to navigation, agriculture, textile production, and basketry. This article presents interdisciplinary research on three of the most complete and well-preserved sickles recovered from the site, yet unpublished. All the components of the tools are analysed: the stone inserts, the wooden haft and the adhesive substances used to fix the stones inside the haft. Our innovative methodology combines use-wear and microtexture analysis of stone tools through confocal microscopy, taxonomical and technological analysis of wood, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the adhesive substances, and pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and phytolith analysis of the remains incorporated within the adhesive. This multiproxy approach provides a significant insight into the life of these tools, from their production to their use and abandonment, providing evidence of the species of harvested plants and the conditions of the field during the harvesting.

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