Methods of acquisition and use of firewood among hunter-gatherer groups in Patagonia (Argentina) during the Holocene

The present article examines the ways of obtaining firewood and of using it by Patagonian hunter-gatherer groups and the relationship with their high mobility. With these goals, we have selected a range of archaeological sites in varied types of vegetation: forest, forest-steppe ecotone and steppe (according to pollen reconstructions and current records) in several different latitudes of Argentinean Patagonia: Paredón Lanfré (Río Negro province); Cerro Pintado (Chubut province); Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 and Orejas de Burro 1 (Santa Cruz province). The taxa, including Nothofagus pumilio, Austrocedrus chilensis, Ribes magellanicum, Embothrium coccineum and Fabiana imbricata, found among the scattered charcoal remains in the sediments of the four Patagonian sites, show how firewood was gathered in types of vegetation similar to the ones that nowadays surround the archaeological sites. The archaeobotanical results allow us to detect differences and similarities of the supply of wood and its relationship with human mobility, site functionality and the types of occupation.Fil: Caruso, Laura Lihue. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

An experimental approach on combustion properties of Patagonian Andean wood (Argentina).

An experimental approach on combustion properties of Patagonian Andean wood (Argentina)

An experimental approach on combustion properties of Patagonian Andean wood (Argentina).

An experimental approach on combustion properties of Patagonian Andean wood (Argentina)

Landscape and firewood exploitation during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia)

The aim of this work is to assess the landscape and management of firewood resources during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia), a middle mountain region (400-1600 m asl.) located within a volcanic area in the Pre-pyrenees. Anthracological and palynological data from archaeological sites and lacustrine and peat deposits from this area have been considered in order to carry out an approach to the landscape and the use of resources. Archaeobotanical data discussed here come from two main valleys, Vall d’en Bas and Vall del Llierca, where several archaeological sites were excavated covering the whole Holocene, from Mesolithic to Middle Ages. In addition to the diachronic objective, a comparison between the two valleys and among synchronic settlements in different historical periods has been done in order to evidence differences between areas both in environmental availability of raw material and in social management of natural resources. Palynological data allowed us to evaluate vegetation history in the area through the Holocene, which has been subject to climate fluctuations and to anthropic disturbance. In the Early Holocene, the landscape was characterised by the progressive expansion of forests started after the end of the Late Glacial, mainly dominated by conifers (pine and juniper) and deciduous trees (oak and hazel). The Holocene Climatic Optimum lead the culmination of forests expansion, with the dominance of dense oak forests, the landscape that first farming societies found in their arrival to this area. During Middle Holocene, the expansion of evergreen sclerophyllous trees and the regression of broadleaf deciduous trees are recorded, regarding to both climatic and anthropic causes. In the Late Holocene, the process of vegetal succession from broadleaf deciduous forests (oak) to Mediterranean evergreen forests (pine and evergreen oak) is consolidated. Charcoal data from 29 archaeological levels show the main resources used as firewood. Quercus sp. deciduous and Buxus sempervirens were the most important taxa during all the periods and areas. However some other taxa had certain importance in some periods and sites. The variability observed between sites is discussed regarding the availability of resources and landscape transformations recorded in the palynological data. This could explain the appearance of Quercus sp. evergreen and other Mediterranean taxa in the anthracological record at the MiddleLate Holocene. But also the archaeological features of the sites and the socio-historical processes are considered in order to understand the use of firewood. The characteristics of the occupations, functionality and duration, could determine how was organized the management of resources.Fil: Piqué, Raquel. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Burjachs, Francesc. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Caruso, Laura Lihue. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Revelles, Jordi. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España6th International Anthracology Meeting Local to Global Significance of Charcoal ScienceFreiburgAlemaniaUniversity of Freibur

Holocene landscape changes and wood use in Patagonia: Plant macroremains from Cerro Casa de Piedra 7

This paper studies the different practices employed in the acquisition of woody material used by hunter–gatherer societies from the northwestern region of the Santa Cruz Province, Argentine Patagonia, during the early and middle Holocene. In addressing this theme, we study carbonized and non-carbonized wood recovered from six stratigraphic levels from the Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 site. This research revealed that during the lowest level of occupation, a distinct range of woody species were utilized; these were subsequently absent in the rest of the stratigraphical levels studied. In fact, all the other levels analyzed presented the homogeneous presence of a single plant species: Nothofagus pumilio. This species has the largest representation among both the charcoal and uncharred wood fragments of the six levels studied. The study of the assemblage samples allowed us to identify differences between the various archaeological levels, which could be the product of behavioral and/or environmental differences.Fil: Caruso Fermé, Laura. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Civalero, Maria Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Xerophytic Forest Record of the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition and Use of Wood Resources by Early Human Groups in the Eastern Tandilia Range, Argentina

This contribution analyzes the charcoal records found in archaeological sites dating to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (9032 ± 30 - 10,672 ± 56 radiocarbon years ago) located in the eastern Tandilia Range, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The archaeological charcoal identified for the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were Celtis ehrenbergiana, Salix humboldtiana, Schinus sp., Colletia sp., Baccharis sp., and Senecio sp. Charcoals with high caloric values and long combustible duration were an excellent source of heat and were probably used by hunter-gatherers for heating, cooking, and lighting. The presence of xerophytic forests at least from ca. 10,000 radiocarbon years ago in the eastern Tandilia Range were inferred by the record of C. ehrenbergiana found in four archaeological sites during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. During this period, vegetation developed under a cold arid to semi-arid climate.Fil: Brea, Mariana. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; ArgentinaFil: Mazzanti, Diana Leonis. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ramos Martínez, Gustavo Antonio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentin