Wood uses at El Mirador Cave (Atapuerca, Burgos) based on anthracology and dendrology

Abstract

El Mirador cave contains a continuous sedimentary deposit of burnt sediments identified as fumier layers, corresponding to burnt sheep and goat dung. This sediment infilling has yielded a large number of charcoal remains. The general objective of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of western Mediterranean Holocene vegetation and land use history by combining classical wood charcoal analysis with dendrological charcoal studies. A specific aim of this work is to characterize the origin of the anthracological assemblage. Anthracological analyses show a continuous sequence dominated by oaks, in which deciduous oaks exhibit higher values during the early Neolithic, with an increase in evergreen oaks from the middle Neolithic onwards. The anthracological data suggests that human activities and climatic variations throughout the Holocene caused changes in the forests. The dendrology results on a small Quercus sp. deciduous sample suggests that the wood used corresponds to young branches bearing tree rings with a rapid growth rate, which might indicate that the trees were regularly shredded. Both approaches suggest that oak was probably used as leafy fodder, and its remains were burnt during repeated combustion processes.

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

“…The archaeological record, typical of a settlement with agricultural and livestock practices, is quite complete and includes one Bronze Age human burial (3580 ± 40 BP) with evidence of cannibalism, pottery, macro- and micromammal remains and lithic artefacts (Bañuls et al, 2013; Cáceres et al, 2007; Gómez-Sánchez et al, 2014; López-García et al, 2008; Lozano et al, 2015; Martín et al, 2009, 2014, 2016a, 2016b; Moral del Hoyo et al, 2003–2004; Oms et al, 2014; Saladié et al, 2015; Vergès et al, 2008). However, the archaeobotanical record is the most complete, although it has only been partially studied (Allué and Euba, 2008; Cabanes et al, 2009; Euba et al, 2016; Expósito and Burjachs, 2016; Rodríguez-Cruz and Buxó, 2008; Rodríguez-Cruz et al, 2016).…”

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

“…The cave was occupied from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Agropastoral groups from El Mirador engaged in agricultural and pastoral activities based on breeding livestock (mainly sheep and goats) and hunting practices (Martín et al, 2014, 2016), as well as intense landscape transformation from cultivating crops and using wood as fodder (Euba et al, 2016; Rodríguez et al, 2016). However, the use of El Mirador as a livestock pen was interrupted in the Chalcolithic period, when it was used exclusively as a burial cave.…”

“…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).…”

Human impact on small-mammal diversity during the middle- to late-Holocene in Iberia: The case of El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

“…Archaeological remains are abundant in this site, and many specific studies are available in the literature. These include analyses of ceramic and lithic artefacts (Vergès et al, 2002, 2008, 2016), archaeobotanical studies (Cabanes et al, 2009; Euba et al, 2016; Expósito and Burjachs, 2016; Rodríguez et al, 2016), studies of human remains (Cáceres et al, 2007; Ceperuelo et al, 2015; Lozano et al, 2015) and of large mammals (Martín et al, 2009, 2014, 2016a, 2016b), and also preliminary studies of small-mammal remains (Bañuls-Cardona et al, 2013; López-García, 2008).…”

“…The activities associated with an economy based on agriculture and livestock farming are known to contribute to modifying and homogenizing the landscape, influencing the ethology of small mammals and resulting in the changes in biodiversity (Barnosky et al, 2011; Benton et al, 2003; Torres-Romero and Olalla-Tárraga, 2014). In El Mirador cave (northern Meseta of Iberia), various archaeobotanical and archaeological proxies have been analysed to try to ascertain the difference between the anthropic and the natural origin of the landscape changes that took place during the Holocene (Cabanes et al, 2009; Euba et al, 2016; Expósito and Burjachs, 2016; Martín et al, 2014, 2016a, 2016b; Rodríguez et al, 2016).…”