Dead wood gathering among Neanderthal groups: Charcoal evidence from Abric del Pastor and El Salt (Eastern Iberia)

Abstract

a b s t r a c tWe present here a new approach combining the microscopic characterization of fungal decay features and the fragmentation degree of the charcoal remains from Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures: features H4 and H11 from Abric del Pastor, unit IV (>75 ka BP) and features H50 and H57 from El Salt, unit Xb (ca. 52 ka BP), Eastern Iberia. The observation of wood degradation patterns that occurred prior to charring followed by their quantitative analysis according to previous experimental studies revealed differences between the alteration degrees of the firewood used in the hearths, highlighting the existence of firewood acquisition criteria based on dead wood gathering and also suggesting smoke-related functions. Coupled with fragmentation analyses, this method highlighted possible post-depositional processes affecting the higher degraded charcoals. These results lead us to propose a quantitative analysis of the fungal decay patterns on Middle Palaeolithic charcoal reinforcing the previous hypotheses about dead wood gathering among Neanderthal groups as an accessible and available resource in the surroundings. These data have significant implications for the interpretation of firewood use and management by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers which was traditionally defined as an opportunistic activity according to the absence of selection criteria based on specific taxa.

Abrigo de la Quebrada Level IV (Valencia, Spain): Interpreting a Middle Palaeolithic Palimpsest from a Zooarchaeological and Lithic Perspective

“…To this aim, several approaches have been used-among others: geoarchaeological and archaeo-stratigraphical (Brochier 1999;Canals 1993;Goldberg and Macphail 2006;Mallol et al 2010;Vallverdú-Poch and Courty 2012); ethnographic comparison (Binford 1978;O'Connell, 1987;O'Connell et al 1992;Yellen 1977); statistical and mathematical modelling (Carr 1987;Kintigh and Ammerman 1982;Simek 1987;Stapert 1990;Whallon 1984); bone and stone tool refitting (Cziesla 1990;Cziesla et al 1990;Eixea et al 2011Eixea et al -2012Gabucio et al 2017;Machado et al 2013;Rosell et al 2012a;Villa 1982;Vaquero 1999); analyses of artefact density and of the frequency of retouched pieces relative to total lithic assemblage size (Barton and Riel-Salvatore 2014; Clark and Barton 2017); technological analysis of raw material units (RMUs) (Conard and Adler 1997;Adler et al 2003;Turq et al 2017;Roebroeks 1988); studies of combustion features (Courty et al 2012;Henry 2012;Mallol et al 2013;Vaquero and Pastó 2001); or analyses of the dispersion of archaeobotanical remains (seeds, fruits and charcoals) (Castro-Curel and Carbonell 1995;Chabal 1988;Solé et al 2013;Thiébault 1995;Vidal-Matutano 2016;Vidal-Matutano et al 2017). The complementary nature of these methods a...…”

The Anthropogenic Use of Firewood During the European Middle Pleistocene: Charcoal Evidence from Levels XIII and XI of Bolomor Cave, Eastern Iberia (230–160 ka)

“…Indeed, anthracological data from Terra Amata and Torralba (ca. 400 ka) and many Middle Palaeolithic sites belonging to MIS 5-3 show the dominance of this taxon, indicating the widespread presence of cryophilous pine woodlands during the MiddleUpper Pleistocene (Allué et al, in press;Allué, Solé, and Burguet-Coca 2016;Arsuaga et al 2012;Badal and Carrión 2001;Badal and Martínez 2017;Badal, Villaverde, and Zilhão 2012b;Daura et al 2015; PostigoMijarra, Gómez-Manzaneque, and Morla 2017; Uzquiano et al 2012Uzquiano et al , 2008Vidal-Matutano 2017;Vidal-Matutano et al 2015;Vidal-Matutano, Henry, and Théry-Parisot 2017;Zilhão et al 2016). While scarce anthracological data is available for MIS 7-6 chronologies in Iberia, the black pine and / or scots pine record from Bolomor Cave constitutes the earliest evidence of its presence in Eastern Iberia based on humans' collection of firewood (charcoal fragments).…”

“…In addition, bacteria degrade lignified elements (namely tracheids, fibres and vessels) by first attaching to the lumen face of the cell wall and then penetrating into the wall, thereby producing tunnelling type bacterial decay (Kim and Singh 2000;Singh 2012). The degradation of the wood's components by bacterial and fungal activity leads to strength, weight and density losses, which are often observed in the 'wavy' appearance of the wood and the hyper-fragmentation of the wood's charcoal record (Allué, Solé, and Burguet-Coca 2016;Badal, Villaverde, and Zilhão 2012b;Henry and Théry-Parisot 2014;Moskal-del Hoyo, Wachowiak, and Blanchette 2010;Vidal-Matutano et al 2015;Vidal-Matutano, Henry, and Théry-Parisot 2017).…”

“…Théry-Parisot, Chabal, and Chrzavzez 2010). In this regard, charcoal analysis focuses on the botanical identification of wood charcoal fragments in order to provide meaningful palaeoenvironmental data (Badal andHeinz 1989, 1991;Badal et al 2012a;Badal, Villaverde, and Zilhão 2012b;Carrión, Ntinou, and Badal 2010;Chabal 1992;Figueiral and Terral 2002;Ntinou and Kyparissi-Apostolika 2016) and palaeoeconomical evidence regarding humans' strategies for collecting firewood (Allué, Solé, and Burguet-Coca 2016;Carrión and Badal 2004;Chrzavzez 2006;Chrzazvez et al 2014;Henry and Théry-Parisot 2014;Théry-Parisot 2001, 2002Théry-Parisot and Texier 2006;Théry-Parisot et al 1995;Vidal-Matutano, Henry, and Théry-Parisot 2017). Indeed, significant archaeobotanical data have been derived from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (Israel), where charcoal analyses have allowed the botanical identification of six taxa, which evidence the earliest anthracological data from an anthropogenic context published thus far (Goren-Inbar et al 2004).…”

“…Additionally, charcoal analyses from the sites of Terra Amata (Nice, France) and Torralba (Soria, Iberia) have also provided early data concerning firewood use among human groups (de Lumley et al 2016;PostigoMijarra, Gómez-Manzaneque, and Morla 2017). Following anthracological data belonging to the MIS 5-4 chronologies have been conducted, wherein a few Middle Palaeolithic sites have provided new insights into past landscapes and human firewood management (Allué 2016;Arsuaga et al 2012;Daura et al 2015;Ntinou and Kyparissi-Apostolika 2016;Ronchitelli et al 2011;Théry-Parisot 2001;Vidal-Matutano 2015;Vidal-Matutano et al 2015;Zilhão et al 2016), with a wider generalisation of charcoal analyses performed at MIS 3 sites (Allué, Solé, and Burguet-Coca 2016;Badal, Villaverde, and Zilhão 2012b;Théry-Parisot and Meignen 2000;Théry-Parisot and Texier 2006;Théry-Parisot et al 1996;Uzquiano et al 2012;VidalMatutano 2017;Vidal-Matutano, Henry, and Théry-Parisot 2017;Yravedra and Uzquiano 2013).…”