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Archaeobotany is used to discover details on local land uses in prehistoric settlements developed during the middle and beginning of late Holocene. Six archaeological sites from four countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey) have pollen and charcoal records showing clear signs of the agrarian systems that had developed in the Mediterranean basin during different cultural phases, from pre-Neolithic to Recent Bronze Age. A selected list of pollen taxa and sums, including cultivated trees, other woody species, crops and annual or perennial synanthropic plants are analysed for land use reconstructions. In general, cultivation has a lower image in palynology than forestry, and past land uses became visible when oakwoods were affected by human activities. On-site palynology allows us to recognise the first influence of humans even before it can be recognised in off-site sequences, and off-site sequences can allow us to determine the area of influence of a site. Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites show similar land use dynamics implying oak exploitation, causing local deforestation, and cultivation of cereal fields in the area or around the site. Although a substantial difference makes the Neolithic influence quite distant from the Bronze Age impact, mixed systems of land exploitation emerged everywhere. Multiple land use activities exist (multifunctional landscapes) at the same time within the area of influence of a site. Since the Neolithic, people have adopted a diffuse pattern of land use involving a combination of diverse activities, using trees–crops–domesticated animals. The most recurrent combination included wood exploitation, field cultivation and animal breeding. The lesson from the past is that the multifunctional land use, combining sylvo-pastoral and crop farming mixed systems, has been widely adopted for millennia, being more sustainable than the monoculture and a promising way to develop our economy. © The Author(s) 2019.

Filiació URV: SI Several taphonomic factors influence the composition of the palynological record especially in archaeological deposits, where human activities alter the representation of taxa. Spatial analysis by a taphonomic approach to the distribution of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) provides useful information about intra-site spaces and environments in the Early Neolithic lakeside settlement of La Draga (Banyoles, NE Iberia). The spatial correlation of algae, lakeshore and aquatic plants and herbs with an economic value, together with eggs of intestinal parasites and spores of coprophilous fungi, evidence a humid and organic environment beneath a hut, where consumption waste is concentrated. In contrast, high values of arboreal pollen (AP) and spores of fungal indicators of soil erosion show a sub-aerial environment strongly altered by taphonomic processes in outside areas. Finally, the association of the highest values in Cerealia-t and the spatial distribution of grinding stones within Sector D identifies an area of cereal processing, proving the suitability of spatial analysis in archaeopalynology as a powerful tool for reconstructing activity areas within archaeological settlements.

10.1371/journal.pone.0103634 The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ~1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place.

10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.12.002 Vallparadís is one of the best calibrated and most accurately dated archaeological sites from the European Early Pleistocene. Chronological analyses combined with palaeomagnetism, ESR-U/series and OSL, and the biochronology of macro- and micromammals are fully consistent and situate the site just above the upper limit of the Jaramillo subchron. In this article we compare the mandibular first molar (m1) of individual adult specimens of Mimomys savini recovered from level 10 (EVT7) at Vallparadís with specimens from the stratigraphic sequence at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca), Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco León D (Orce). This comparison allows us to chronostratigraphically relate level 10 at Vallparadís with level TD5 at Gran Dolina and to fix the former's chronology to around 0.98¿0.95 Ma (MIS 27) and, therefore, prior to level TD6 in which fossil remains of Homo antecessor were recovered. The chronology of Vallparadís and the set of contemporary palaeoclimatic proxies regarding the Iberian Peninsula strengthen the hypothesis that hominins continuously populated Europe, at least in Iberia, throughout the late Early Pleistocene between the Jaramillo subchron and the Matuyama¿Brunhes boundary by overcoming the climatic fluctuations and changes to the landscape that occurred during this period.

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The vegetation of the National Park of Aigüestortes i Estany de St Maurici is the result of an interaction between climate, plant community dynamics and the human occupation of the territory. The OCUPA project aimed to reconstruct this interaction across the last millennia combining methods from palaeoecology and archaeology. The study focused primarily on the Sant Nicolau valley and built on the multidisciplinary analysis of the sedimentary archive of two lakes (Llebreta and Redó) and a number of archaeological sites located in shelters and outdoors. There is archaeological evidence of human presence since 9000 yr cal BP, and a continuous record since 7500 yr cal BP. At early stages, humans transformed the surroundings of the shelters occupied and lithic tools indicate contacts with locations far away (i.e., the Ebro plains). Since more than 3000 years ago, there has been human impact on the vegetation without interruption until present. Initially, the impacts were mostly related to livestock: use of fire to open grazing lands, soil erosion and, during the medieval period, forestry and eutrophication of lakes. The agriculture impact in the lower part of the valley (e.g., Llebreta) occurred about 2100 yr ago, although some cereal grains and tools for harvesting have been found for the Neolithic. In the medieval period, the impact was higher than during the last centuries. In general, the changes in the human land use approximately follow the major changes in climate, but the specific causal link is likely related to the social and cultural dynamics of a broader territory since the Neolithic., Para el sondeo y estudio mineralógico se ha contado con la colaboración de financiación adicional a través del proyecto «Multidisciplinary research consortium on gradual and abrupt climate changes, and their impacts on the environment (GRACCIE), CSD2007-00067, Programa Consolider 2007»

Resumen Las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en el yacimiento de la Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font en la década de 1980 pusieron al descubierto un importante relleno kárstico del Pleistoceno Superior. Entre el registro recuperado destacan, además de diversas especies de herbívoros y carnívoros, así como de un reducido conjunto litotécnico, tres fósiles humanos adscritos en términos generales al grupo de los neandertales. Entre 2004 y 2012, en el marco de un convenio entre la Universitat Jaume I de Castelló (UJI), el Servei d¿Investigacions Arqueològiques i Prehistòriques (SIAP) de la Diputació de Castelló y el Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), se ha desarrollado una segunda época de intervenciones en el yacimiento. En este artículo ofrecemos un estado de la cuestión de la información disponible hasta la fecha sobre el yacimiento, especialmente en lo que se refiere a los aspectos tafonómicos y a la formación del depósito. Palabras clave: Paleolítico Medio, Neandertales, Tafonomía, Península Ibérica mediterránea Abstract During the 1980¿s, archaeological excavations at the site of Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font discovered an important Upper Pleistocene karstic infilling. Three human fossils, ascribed generally to Neanderthals, stand out. Besides, several herbivore and carnivore species and a small lithic assemblage were recovered. From 2004 to 2012 a second campaign of excavations was carried out in the framework of a research agreement between the Jaume I University of Castelló (UJI), the Archaeological and Prehistorical Research Service (SIAP) of the Diputació de Castelló, and the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES). In this paper we present the currently available information on the site, paying spec

10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.04.008 According to pollen analysis and the 18O-isotope curve, the first part of the Late Pleistocene (ca 128-30 ka) is mainly characterized by a dynamic that alternates cold phases (Heinrich Events) and temperate phases (interstadials). These rapid fluctuations provide the context for the Neanderthal occupations in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper we present the chronological, environmental and climatic data obtained by analyzing the pollen, the charcoal, the small vertebrates (amphibians, squamates and small mammals) and the large-mammal dental wear at the Neanderthal site of Teixoneres cave, Northeastern Iberia. Levels II and III from this cavity have provided Mousterian industries and other evidence of Neanderthal occupations, such as cut-marks in large-mammal bones. A multiproxy study such as this constitutes a new approach to the chronological, environmental and climatic context in which Neanderthal populations lived in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula). The results allow us to establish a relative chronology for these two levels of between ca 30-90 ka and show that they are associated with different environmental and climatic conditions: temperate and humid for Level III and cold and dry for Level II. This demonstrates that the Neanderthals were well adapted to the territory that they occupied, irrespective of the climatic conditions.

Se presenta un avance del análi_sis palino l ógico de una prospecc ión de 17 .5 metros, realizada al Noreste de la Península I bérica, al pie de los Pirineos , y centrado en los nivel es turbases o de tríti cos . La turbera superior pertenece al Subboreal y al Subatl ánt i co . En todo el diagrama dominan los árbol es sucediéndose cronológi camente l os bosques de Ab ies /Fagus, Pinus y finalmente Quercus . In thi s paper we present sorne prel iminary data f r om a pal yno logical analysis of a e ore 17.5 m deep taken in t he Pyrenes N. E. Spain . We ha ve examined the peat (which in is upper level appeared to belong to the Subboreal and Subatlantic period) and the al so detritic l ay e r s .. The dominant taxa encountered , ,ere al ! trees which appeared , in c hronol ogical orde r 1 as, follows : Abies/ Fagus 1 Pinus and Quercus.

Vallone Inferno rock-shelter is an archaeological site located in the Madonie mountain range in Sicily. Archaeological excavation and research have provided a long prehistoric and historic sequence from the Neolithic to the medieval period, this being the most complete work in this area at present. In this paper we present the preliminary data provided by a multidisciplinary study based on pottery, lithic, human, faunal and plant remains. Stratigraphic studies have identified four complexes, of which complex 3 has provided almost all the archaeological remains. 14C AMS dates, obtained from four samples, place the human activities between 2601 cal BC and 644 cal AD. These dates are coherent with the cultural attribution of the ceramic and lithic remains. Macrofaunal and plant remains show a persistent use of the shelter for pastoral activities. Environmental data, obtained from microvertebrate and archaeobotanical remains, show the aridification and opening of the landscape from the base to the top of the sequence as a consequence of the human impact. © 2012 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.