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Hearth Functioning and Forest Resource Exploitation Based on the Archeobotanical Assemblage from Level J

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High Resolution Archaeology and Neanderthal Behavior

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to present the archeobotanical record related to the hearth structures from level J from Abric Romaní. For this study we include charcoal, phytoliths and wood imprints that from different methodological approaches provide data on hearth functioning and firewood management. The results yielded by these archeobotanical assemblages point out that wood was the basic fuel used by Neanderthals for maintaining hearths and pine wood was the most appreciated. Other fuels such as grasses are also recorded and might have specific uses during the combustion processes. Finally wood imprints, even if in level J are scarce, point out the use of wood for other purposes than firewood. This study points out the complexity of Neanderthal behavior in relation to the management of fire involving fuel management and hearth functioning.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are responsible for the interpretation included in this chapter. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the students, researchers and others that have contributed to the fieldwork at the Abric Romaní over the past years. We also thank the several anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), C/Escorxador s/n, 43003, Tarragona, Spain

    Ethel Allué, Alex Solé & Robert Sala

  2. Department of Structural Biology, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100, Rehovot, Israel

    Dan Cabanes

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  1. Ethel Allué
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Correspondence to Ethel Allué .

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  1. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain

    Eudald Carbonell i Roura

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Allué, E., Cabanes, D., Solé, A., Sala, R. (2012). Hearth Functioning and Forest Resource Exploitation Based on the Archeobotanical Assemblage from Level J. In: Carbonell i Roura, E. (eds) High Resolution Archaeology and Neanderthal Behavior. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3922-2_9

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