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The aim of this article is to present the current state of multidisciplinary archaeobotanical approaches that are being undertaken at Cova Gran de Santa Linya. Information from studies of seeds, charcoal, pollen, and NPP recovered from the Holocene levels of the site contribute to research questions regarding the anthropogenic transformation of the landscape. The signal of human activity in the environment can be detected through the bioarchaeological signatures of deforestation, forest management or agriculture practices. In this sense, the Cova Gran de Santa Linya is a cave deposit located in the northeast of Iberia used as an occupation site, recording mainly domestic activities during the Neolithic period. The settlement was also used as a pen during the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, preserving burnt and unburned dung layers that formed pen deposits, known as fumiers. The resolution provided by the multidisciplinary nature of this work shows how forests and fields created a mosaic landscape that provided crops, pastures, wood, and fuel and clearly reflects anthropogenic changes over time. The different methodological and analytical scales of this multidisciplinary approach, including taphonomic pollen alteration, provide a better understanding of the dynamics of the cave occupation and, from a broader perspective, the regional diversity related to the availability of plant resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research for referential data on current livestock contexts is essential for correctly interpreting archaeological records documented in prehistoric livestock spaces. Experimental programmes such as the one begun in 2014 in the Mas del Pepet pen (Rojals, Tarragona) has permitted an understanding, among other matters, of fold characteristics according to the type of livestock, the seasonality of occupations and herd management. This study also contributes to the identification of taphonomic processes that have taken place and to determine the representativeness of the botanical content in the deposit, in relation to the environment and pasture areas. Finally, the dung burning experiments conducted have provided data that will help to reveal the way manure was treated in prehistoric fold caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]