Prehistoric herding facilities: site formation processes and archaeological dynamics in Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Southeastern Prepyrenees, Iberia)

Díaz, Ana Polo; Martínez-Moreno, Jorge; Benito‐Calvo, Alfonso; Mora, Rafael

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.09.013

Cited by 59 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In those calcitic microremains the darkening spread across almost the whole spherulite and covers half or more of the overall diameter with a small clear fringe at its perimeter (Figure 6g). Darkened spherulites have been reported archaeologically in penning burnt spaces within caves and rock-shelters as well as in built environments as the result of the burning of dung including fuel remains [3,58,[62][63][64][65][66]. The spherulite darkening has also been experimentally produced under increased heating laboratory-controlled combustions, occurring within a range between 500-700 • C, with a maximum production at 650 • C under reducing conditions [24,25].…”

Section: Dung Spherulite Composition Taphonomy and Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands

Portillo

Dudgeon

Anglada³

et al. 2021

Applied Sciences

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This study illustrates the contribution of plant and faecal microfossil records to interdisciplinary approaches on the identification, composition, taphonomy and seasonality of livestock dung materials. The focus is on the taphonomy of opal phytoliths and calcitic dung spherulites embedded within modern faecal pellets collected from pasture grounds and pens from a range of animals, including cattle, sheep and pigs from three different farms and seasons of the year in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Modern reference materials provide comparative plant and dung microfossil indicators on factors affecting the formation, composition, preservation and decay of animal faeces, as well as on the diverse environmental and anthropogenic aspects influencing these. The reported results show relevant changes in phytolith and spherulite composition according to animal species and age, livestock management, seasonality, and grazing and foddering regimes. Both microfossil records provide fundamental information on taphonomic issues that are understudied, such as the variation in the digestibility among different species, including under investigated animals such as pigs, as well on the seasonality of plant and faecal microfossils that are excreted with dung as an important material for reconstructing human-environment interactions which is commonly overlooked in archaeology.

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Section: Dung Spherulite Composition Taphonomy and Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands

Portillo

Dudgeon

Anglada³

et al. 2021

Applied Sciences

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“…Burning an accretion of faeces serves several purposes: deworming, reducing the volume of the accumulated manure and so on. This activity was very common during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Europe (Badal, 1999; Charles, 1998) and has been identified at numerous sites, such as Arene Candide in Italy (Maggi, 1997), Caune de Belesta in France (Brochier et al, 1998) and Cova de les Cendres (Badal, 1999), Los Husos (Fernández-Eraso, 2010; Polo-Díaz and Fernández-Eraso, 2008), Cova Gran (Polo-Díaz et al, 2014), El Mirón (Peña-Chocarro et al, 2005), Peña Larga, Peña Parda and San Cristóbal (Ruiz-Alonso et al, 2016) inter alia on the Iberian Peninsula.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human trace on the landscape during the Holocene at El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): The palynological evidence

2017

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The archaeological research focusing on El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has revealed a succession of occupation levels in a dung layers context that span from the early Neolithic to the middle Bronze Age. The robustness and coherence of the chronological dates of the sequence have contributed to framing the beginning of farming practices on the northern Plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. This study focuses on the palynological analysis of the sedimentary sequence, spanning from ca. 7970–7770 to ca. 3390–3070 cal. yr BP. The results have allowed us to identify a landscape of mixed forest with evergreen and deciduous oaks and pinewood. Despite the discontinuities in such sediments, some fluctuations between different categories of anthropogenic taxa can be observed throughout the sequence, illustrating greater or lesser pressure from livestock or agriculture. From the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, we documented a reduction in the tree cover because of increased human pressure typical of the Neolithisation process, while the relationship between environment and society changes.

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“…The archaeological record indicates that the human groups that occupied El Mirador cave from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age carried out different activities related to animal husbandry, agriculture and food processing (Angelucci et al, 2009; Euba, Allué, & Burjachs, 2016; Martín, García‐González, Nadal, & Vergès, 2016; Martín, Saladié, Nadal, & Vergès, 2014; Rodríguez, Allué, & Buxó, 2016; Vergès et al, 2002, 2008, 2016). In the Iberian Peninsula, there are numerous sites that provide information on agricultural and livestock practices carried out by these producer communities in the sheepfold caves (e.g., Galindo‐Pellicena, Carretero, & Arsuaga, 2014; Oms et al, 2013; Polo‐Díaz, Martínez‐Moreno, Benito‐Calvo, & Mora, 2014; Saña et al, 2015). Among these tasks, the most common are livestock rearing, food processing (crops, meat, etc.)…”

Section: Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degenerative joint disease in the Chalcolithic population of El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): The vertebral column

Yustos

Lozano

Morales

et al. 2020

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Degenerative joint disease (DJD) is one of the most common pathological conditions identified in the archaeological record and remains a health problem in modern populations. This study aimed to evaluate DJD of the vertebral column in a sample from a Chalcolithic collective burial at El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) dated to 4,880–4,390 years cal. BP. Most of the human remains recovered were commingled and are in a good state of preservation. Traditionally, far too little attention has been paid to skeletal remains from secondary contexts. Bearing in mind the limitations inherent to this type of study, in this work, we applied an adapted methodology to examine the degree of vertebral degeneration considering the skeletal changes associated with DJD (i.e., osteophyte formation, porosity, lipping and/or eburnation). All data were evaluated at the 0.05 level using the chi‐squared statistic, and comparisons were made between age groups and between the spine regions. Our results showed a higher prevalence of DJD in the lumbar region, although eburnation was the least observed marker in the sample. Additionally, significant differences were found between age groups, with a greater manifestation of DJD in vertebral elements associated with the adult group. These results are consistent with those of other studies and are based on the hypothesis that DJD is highly correlated with age. Overall, the degree of vertebral degeneration is low, but taken together, these results suggest that some individuals from El Mirador cave may have suffered from DJD. Furthermore, the methodology proposed has demonstrated that valuable information can be obtained from commingled skeletal assemblages.

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Prehistoric herding facilities: site formation processes and archaeological dynamics in Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Southeastern Prepyrenees, Iberia)

Cited by 59 publications

References 31 publications

Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands

Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands

Human trace on the landscape during the Holocene at El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): The palynological evidence

Degenerative joint disease in the Chalcolithic population of El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): The vertebral column

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