Early agriculture and palaeoenvironmental history in the North of the Iberian Peninsula: a multi-proxy analysis of the Monte Areo mire (Asturias, Spain)

Merino, Lourdes López; Cortizas, Antonio Martínez; López‐Sáez, José Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.03.003

Cited by 89 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Cereal cultivation seems to have begun by this time (ca. 2700 calyr BP) as it is also recorded in other palynological sequences from the Northern Iberian Plateau (Franco-Mugica et al, 2001Garcia-Anton et al, 2011), quite later than in other northwestern Iberian areas where it started during the Neolithic (e.g., Ramil Rego and Aira Rodriguez, 1993;Zapata et al, 2004;Lopez-Merino et al, 2010). Our data reveal that in the Ayoo area human populations began breeding livestock and only diversified their economy several millennia later with agricultural activities.…”

Section: Human Impact On the Vegetation Of The Northwestern Corner Ofsupporting

confidence: 77%

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

Morales‐Molino

García-Antón

2014

Quat. res.

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We reconstructed vegetation responses to climate oscillations, fire and human activities since the last glacial maximum in inland NW Iberia, where previous paleoecological research is scarce. Extremely sparse and open vegetation composed of steppic grasslands and heathlands with scattered pioneer trees suggests very cold and dry conditions during the Oldest Dryas, unsuitable for tree survival in the surroundings of the study site. Slight woodland expansion during the Bolling/Allerod was interrupted by the Younger Dryas cooling. Pinewoods dominated for most of the early Holocene, when a marked increase in fire activity occurred. Deciduous trees expanded later reaching their maximum representation during the mid-Holocene. Enhanced fire activity and the presence of coprophilous fungi around 6400-6000 cal yr BP suggest an early human occupation around the site. However, extensive deforestation only started at 4500 calyr BP, when fire was used to clear the tree canopy. Final replacement of woodlands with heathlands, grasslands and cereal crops occurred from 2700 cal yr BP onwards due to land-use intensification. Our paleoecological record can help efforts aimed at restoring the natural vegetation by indicating which communities were dominant at the onset of heavy human impact, thus promoting the recovery of currently rare oak and alder stands.

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Section: Human Impact On the Vegetation Of The Northwestern Corner Ofsupporting

confidence: 77%

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

Morales‐Molino

García-Antón

2014

Quat. res.

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“…The combination of studies of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs reinforce the information obtained from palaeozoological records, which have recorded pastoralism and agriculture (at least in the lowlands) by ca. 7000 cal yr BP (Lopez-Merino et al, 2010). Those studies, combined with macrocharcoal identification, suggest the spread of fire, linked to pastoral activities and local changes in vegetation composition, since ca.…”

Section: Impact Of Late Holocene Anthropogenic Activity On Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Other available palaeo-environmental records date the importance of human activities as being responsible for large-scale changes in the environment from 6000 cal yr BP onward (Mufioz Sobrino et al, 2005;Martinez Cortizas et al, 2009;Lopez-Merino et al, 2010;Martin-Chivelet et al, 2011). From approximately this period, palaeo-environmental records show difficulty in distinguishing the role of climate and human activity, although evidence of climatic variations into the Neolithic and Chalcolithic have been interpreted from pollen sequences (Allen et al, 1996;Mufioz Sobrino et al, 2005) and geochemical signals (Fabregas Valcarce et al, 2003).…”

Section: Climate Fluctuations and Vegetation Response In The Cantabrimentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene distribution of woody taxa at the westernmost limit of the Circumboreal/Mediterranean boundary: Evidence from wood remains

Rubiales

Ezquerra

Sobrino

et al. 2012

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Macrofossils and megafossils of different genera, which were found in twelve localities in the mountains of northwest Iberia, provide spatially precise evidence of their distribution in the region during the Holocene. Macrofossils were recovered from mires, eroded peat bogs and lakes, identified by their wood anatomy and dated using radiocarbon methods. Conifers (Pinus), deciduous trees (Betula, Salix, Quercus) and shrubs (Erica, Fabaceae) were identified. The findings of Pinus gr. sylvestris/nigra have special biogeographical significance. The available palaeoecological data from the Cantabrian Range and nearby mountains (Ancares and Courel) indicate that pines have grown during the Holocene over the highlands of the western part of the Cantabrian Range area as a natural vegetation element. Nevertheless, Pinus sylvestris is the only pine species that is currently present in the Cantabrian Mountains, and its natural distribution area is now limited to a few enclaves. In this study, we provide a number of conclusive findings demonstrating that the past distribution of Pinus gr. sylvestris/nigra in this region suffered an important range contraction during the last two millennia. Historical data also support this idea, as they strongly suggest that this species survived well into the historical period.

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“…Pero lo más sugerente del período sería el incremento del porcentaje de Erica y pólenes de herbáceas relacionadas con la actividad humana. Posteriormente, entre 75-80 cm, se registran los primeros cultivos de cereales, acontecimiento simultáneo con algunos indicadores de erosión como la presencia de Glomus y Pseudoschizaea y el incremento de los helechos instalados en áreas aclaradas (López-Merino et al, 2010).…”

Section: La Vaguedad Mesolítica Y La Certeza Neolíticaunclassified

“…Mucho más clarificadora es la información que pudo ser obtenida en la aludida ciénaga fósil de la Cañada del Reguerón, sita tan solo a algunos centenares de metros de los túmulos MA V y MA XII, en la que la evolución de pantano a turbera sería contemporánea de la primera agricultura hacia 6735-6495 cal BP, por tanto, entre 4700-4500 cal BC, una actividad "reanudada" con más continuidad en el intervalo 4300-3700 cal BC (López-Merino et al, 2010).…”

Section: Megalitos Y Agricultura Inicial En Los Márgenes De La Bahíaunclassified

La implantación neolítica en la Bahía de Gijón desde las postrimerías del V milenio A. C.: enfoque arqueológico y paleoambiental y notas sobre la monumentalidad megalítica

Cortina

2013

Zephyrvs

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) LXXII, enero-junio; RESUMEN: Los primeros indicios antropogénicos en la bahía de Gijón pudieran delatar una precoz actividad pastoril c. 7300 cal BP, mientras que la agricultura de cereales se documenta en 4700-4500 cal BC en Monte Areo, donde poco después serían erigidos los túmulos más antiguos, en paralelo con la consolidación de la economía agropecuaria. Hacia 5000 cal BC el mar alcanzó un nivel cercano al actual, sumergiendo una franja litoral en la que hubo de transcurrir parte de la vida mesolítica. Los estudios arqueobotánicos descubren durante ese tiempo la alta potencialidad alimenticia del medio vegetal. El litoral aportaba además cuantiosos recursos piscícolas y malacológicos. Todo ello justifica la concentración humana y la permanencia de gentes cuyo vínculo con un ámbito rico y reducido las abocaría a su explotación intensiva, generando condiciones materiales que favorecerían el arraigo de la economía campesina. La erección de megalitos a partir de 4000 a. C. denuncia tanto la tensión territorial derivada del conflicto entre el modelo ancestral de caza/recolección y las formas paleocampesinas como la presumible ruptura de una dominante horizontalidad social. Al mismo tiempo, del número de monumentos y de ciertos rasgos de los mismos, se infiere un hábitat disperso, organizado en grupos compuestos por pocos individuos, circunstancia extrapolable a buena parte del territorio cantábrico.Palabras clave: Mesolítico. Territorio cantábrico. Morfología costera. Horizonte marino. Recursos vegetales. Agricultura. Túmulos.ABSTRACT: The earliest signs of anthropogenic involvement in the Bay of Gijón may reveal early pastoralism around 7300 cal BP, whereas the farming of cereals is documented in the same area (Mount Areo) around 4700-4500 cal BC. From 4300 cal BC was to see the raising of the most ancient barrows in parallel to the consolidation of the livestock breeding economy. Around 5000 cal BC, the sea level rose to close to that of the present day, submerging a wide coastal strip in which an essential part of Mesolithic life took place. Archaeobotanical studies have discovered the high food potential of the plant environment. The coastal area also provided substantial and varied resources of fish and molluscs. The suitability of the territory justifies the gathering of humans there and the permanence of people whose close links to such a rich yet

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Early agriculture and palaeoenvironmental history in the North of the Iberian Peninsula: a multi-proxy analysis of the Monte Areo mire (Asturias, Spain)

Cited by 89 publications

References 40 publications

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

Holocene distribution of woody taxa at the westernmost limit of the Circumboreal/Mediterranean boundary: Evidence from wood remains

La implantación neolítica en la Bahía de Gijón desde las postrimerías del V milenio A. C.: enfoque arqueológico y paleoambiental y notas sobre la monumentalidad megalítica

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