Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Marquer, Laurent; Lebreton, V.; Otto, Thierry; Valladas, Hélène; Haesaerts, Paul; Messager, Erwan; Nuzhnyi, Dmytro; Péan, Stéphane

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.09.008

Cited by 33 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Thus, the intense fragmentation of charcoal (extending at times to the disappearance of the macroscopic fraction), characteristic of some Pleistocene sites (Théry-Parisot, 2001;Théry-Parisot et al, 2010a;Beresford-Jones et al, 2010, Marquer et al, 2012 does not seem to result from single, short-term processes. However, classic processes, such as freeze-thaw action or trampling occurring repeatedly during the course of a phase of low (or no) sedimentation, could doubtlessly generate progressive charcoal weakening, leading to extreme fragmentation.…”

Section: Discussion: From Experimentation To the Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further investigations based on the study of very thin coarse fractions combined with geoarchaeological studies, are required, so that more reliable interpretations can be proposed. (Fernández-Jalvo et al, 2010;Marquer et al, 2010Marquer et al, , 2012Miller et al, 2010;Scott and Damblon, 2010).…”

Section: Discussion: From Experimentation To the Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although this observation does not follow a chronological pattern, it is particularly true for Palaeolithic sites (Braadbaart et al, 2009(Braadbaart et al, , 2012Beresford-Jones et al, 2010;Théry-Parisot et al, 2010a), where identifiable, macroscopic-sized charcoal is at times very rare and/or very altered. In such contexts, charcoal is primarily preserved among the mesoscopic and microscopic unidentifiable fraction (Marquer et al, 2010(Marquer et al, , 2012, raising the question of the impact of post-depositional processes on charcoal preservation. What are the effects of these processes on anthracological assemblages?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of post-depositional processes on charcoal fragmentation and archaeobotanical implications: experimental approach combining charcoal analysis and biomechanics

Chrzazvez

Théry‐Parisot

Fiorucci

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

105

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Generally speaking, charcoal analysis is based on identifying and counting charcoal fragments in order to calculate the relative variations in taxa frequency. All post-depositional processes are likely to induce fragmentation of the anthracological material, raising the question of the representativeness of taxa. Based on an innovative experimental approach combining both charcoal analysis and biomechanics, this paper explores how the mechanical properties of charcoal can influence the fragmentation and the quantification of species in anthracological assemblages. We carried out standardized laboratory compression tests on 302 samples issued from 10 taxa, charred at three different temperatures, in order to characterize the mechanical properties of common species in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. Our results highlight the differential responses of the tested species in terms of resistance to compression and fragmentation, two processes which do not appear to be correlated. Charcoal is very resistant to pressure (up to 22.5 MPa). Our results show that significant fragmentation differences exist between taxa. The total number of fragments after compression is largely dependent on the species, regardless of the charring temperature. However, this interspecific variability is more significant for small fragments [1e2 mm], than for larger fragments [2e4 mm] and >4 mm, with the exception of Quercus, which displays differential reactions to compression. Finally, a multifactorial analysis brings to light the impact of the physical and anatomical characteristics of the different species on charcoal fragmentation.

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Section: Discussion: From Experimentation To the Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion: From Experimentation To the Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of post-depositional processes on charcoal fragmentation and archaeobotanical implications: experimental approach combining charcoal analysis and biomechanics

Chrzazvez

Théry‐Parisot

Fiorucci

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, while bone was certainly used as a fuel at Castanet, the abundance of wood charcoal at smaller particle sizes indicates that wood played a much more important role than was previously assumed. In sum, wood charcoal appears to be invisible to the usual array of recovery techniques because of taphonomic or cultural processes that remain to be determined (Marquer et al , 2012.…”

Section: Use Of Bone As Fuelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technologies for the Control of Heat and Light in the Vézère Valley Aurignacian

White¹,

Mensan²,

Clark³

et al. 2017

Current Anthropology

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“…The effects of biological activity on wood charcoal, together with other mechanical processes such as anthropogenic activities (trampling, re-working, sweeping), weathering, freeze/thaw cycles or dry/humidity cycles, should also be taken into account because these phenomena can lead to the fragmentation or even the disappearance of the material, thereby affecting our perception of the wood that was used as fuel in the past (Théry-Parisot, Chabal, and Chrzavzez 2010) and causing us to misinterpret the absence or scarcity of charcoal at archaeological sites (Chrzazvez et al 2014;Marquer et al 2012). Anthracologists have tried to understand if species did fragment differentially and how the charcoal record could be affected by fragmentation.…”

Section: Bacterial and Fungal Degradation Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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)

Vidal-Matutano

Blasco

Sañudo

et al. 2017

Environmental Archaeology

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Human control of fire is a widely debated issue in the field of Palaeolithic archaeology, since it involved significant technological innovations for human subsistence. Although fire evidence has been the subject of intense debate regarding its natural or anthropogenic nature, most authors agree that combustion structures represent the most direct evidence of human control of fire. Wood charcoal fragments from these contexts represent the fuel remains that result from humans' collection of firewood, which means they can reveal significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic societies. In this work, we present anthracological data derived from combustion structure 2 (level XIII, ca. 230 ka, MIS 7) and combustion structure 4 (level XI, ca. 160 ka, MIS 6) from Bolomor Cave, which are chronologically among the earliest combustion structures found in Europe. The present work discusses how the presence of black pine and / or scots pine in both levels sheds light on the characterisation of the local landscape. Additional analyses focussing on the pre-and post-depositional processes affecting charcoal preservation point to biodegradation patterns. The aim of this work is to provide the first discussion concerning the anthracological data derived from Bolomor Cave in order to contribute to the general debate regarding the use of fire during the European Middle Pleistocene. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Cited by 33 publications

References 35 publications

Impact of post-depositional processes on charcoal fragmentation and archaeobotanical implications: experimental approach combining charcoal analysis and biomechanics

Impact of post-depositional processes on charcoal fragmentation and archaeobotanical implications: experimental approach combining charcoal analysis and biomechanics

Technologies for the Control of Heat and Light in the Vézère Valley Aurignacian

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)

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