Elsevier

Quaternary International

Volume 431, Part A, 28 February 2017, Pages 6-15
Quaternary International

Fuel exploitation among Neanderthals based on the anthracological record from Abric Romaní (Capellades, NE Spain)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.046Get rights and content

Abstract

Fuel is a basic resource enabling energy production, and its exploitation was a major activity in Neanderthal daily life. In this work we present charcoal results obtained from the Abric Romaní site in order to evaluate fuel use among the human groups occupying this rock shelter from 40 to 70 ka BP. The Abric Romaní, a Middle Palaeolithic site, has yielded evidence of a well-preserved sequence of Neanderthal occupations. The results of this taxonomic and taphonomic study have allowed us to characterise the charcoal assemblage as mainly comprising Pinus sylvestris type. This assemblage gives us an understanding of Neanderthal fuel acquisition strategies, mobility and occupation patterns.

Introduction

Fire was a revolutionary technological advance for human evolution and its study has been approached from different perspectives encompassing the entire fire chaîne opératoire (production, use, and disposal) (e.g. Perlès, 1977, Olive and Taborin, 1987, Collina-Girard, 1998). Although fuel is indispensable as an energetic resource for fire maintenance, its study is still marginal when considering the elements of fire technology. However, the history of fuel as an energy producer is closely related to an element of technology that is particularly relevant in human evolution. The main problem is that fuelwood is a perishable material, not a technological improvement. Consequently, research on this subject has had no real impact on the study of past communities or human evolution. However, energy is closely related to our past, present and future, and today is still the cause of territorial conflicts in some places (Asif and Muneer, 2007). Hence, fuel should be considered an important issue when studying earlier communities. According to the FAO, wood is still the most valued fuel in some parts of the world, for heat production, food transformation, lighting, and so on (FAO, 2005). Today, the problem with energy resources, especially wood fuel, is that the intensity of exploitation and demand in many regions with limited resources provokes important ecological, economic and health issues, leading to a concomitant interest in its study (Calen, 2008). In contrast, in the past it seems that, at least in the studied regions, woody fuel was widely available or, when it was not there, were sufficient other resources, meaning that energy resources themselves remain unexplored.

During early Palaeolithic times humans undoubtedly used all available resources. However, the interpretation of these resources as cultural records often comes up against narrow-minded scientific conceptions. Most archaeological studies on fuel are isolated or related to hearths, where fuels reach an insignificant role (see among others Meignen et al., 2009, Sandgathe et al., 2011, Goldberg et al., 2012). Resource management and the group of activities relating to fuel and fuel gathering is only considered in anthracological works, and is not seen as a key issue for understanding the complexity of Neanderthal behaviour. On the other hand, present day studies do take a major interest in fuels, focusing on scarcity, deforestation and health (Asif and Muneer, 2007, Calen, 2008).

The study of fuel use among Palaeolithic human groups has been approached from various different perspectives including the study of archaeological remains such as charcoal (Uzquiano, 1992, Uzquiano, 2008, Théry-Parisot, 2001, Allué, 2002a), burnt bones (Théry-Parisot, 2002, Costamagno et al., 2009, Marquer et al., 2010, Yravedra and Uzquiano, 2013), and phytoliths (Albert et al., 2000, Madella et al., 2002, Cabanes et al., 2010). Taphonomy and ethnoarchaeology have also provided further evidence about the study of fuel (Théry-Parisot et al., 2010, Henry and Théry-Parisot, 2014). These studies consider that fuel gathering and use were an important part of daily activities, hence they focus on understanding fuel use among hunter–gatherer groups in order to show general behavioural patterns.

However, it was anthracology that led to the development of fuel studies from different research approaches, including research on taphonomy, quantitative and qualitative taxonomic data sets, palaeoeconomy, and predictive foraging models (e.g. Uzquiano, 1992, Piqué, 1999, Théry-Parisot, 2001, Allué, 2002a, Théry-Parisot et al., 2009). Earlier research on Palaeolithic charcoal remains focused on palaeoenvironmental interpretations, suggesting that gathering occurred randomly in the local surroundings (Vernet, 1967, Bazile-Robert, 1979). However, some new methodological and theoretical approaches were developed to understand human behavioural aspects relating to fuel (Ford, 1988, Smart and Hoffman, 1988, February, 1992, Uzquiano, 1992, Piqué, 1999, Théry-Parisot, 2001, Allué, 2002a, Asouti and Austin, 2005, Allué and García Antón, 2006). In addition, regional approaches have also provided new information, allowing behaviour to be compared regardless of the biogeographical setting, for example in South American (Solari, 1992, Piqué, 1999, Scheel-Ybert, 2001, Caruso-Fermé, 2012) and European contexts (Uzquiano, 1992, Uzquiano, 2008; Badal et al., 2012; Théry-Parisot, 2001, Théry-Parisot, 2002, Allué, 2002a, Allué et al., 2007, Allué et al., 2010, Allué et al., 2012a, Allué et al., 2012b, Allué et al., 2013, Théry-Parisot et al., 2009, Vidal-Matutano et al., 2015), as well as in Australia (Carah et al., 2014). Nevertheless, there are still very few studies in the context of early hunter–gatherer populations (Bazile-Robert, 1979; Ros, 1987; Uzquiano, 1992, Uzquiano, 2008, Uzquiano and Cabrera Valdés, 1999, Théry-Parisot, 2001, Théry-Parisot and Texier, 2006, Uzquiano et al., 2008, Marquer et al., 2010, Badal et al., 2012, Uzquiano et al., 2012, Allué et al., 2012a, Ruiz et al., 2013, Solé et al., 2013, Vidal-Matutano et al., 2015).

The approaches used to study fuel use among Middle Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers have mainly been based on subsistence economy theories and site catchment analyses (Uzquiano, 1992, Uzquiano, 1997, Uzquiano, 2008; Uzquiano et al., 2008, Uzquiano et al., 2012, Yravedra and Uzquiano, 2013). The results of these studies are interpreted according to logistical mobility, topography of the area studied, and comparisons with other biotic resources, such as faunal remains, as well as the corresponding hunting strategies and ecological distribution patterns (Uzquiano, 1992). In a synthetic overview of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites from Cantabria, Uzquiano (2008) suggests that changes in the exploitation of species might indicate choices made on the basis of different wood properties of the species and their specific uses. These arguments are based on the use of different areas, which provides information on mobility patterns, site functionality and spatial knowledge of the provisioning areas. Recently, based on biotope differentiation at a lower Palaeolithic site in southeastern Spain, Vidal-Matutano et al. (2015) suggested differences in fuel use through the establishment of procurement sources. The use of Binford's (1980) predictive model for hunter gatherers was synthetised by Asouti and Austin (2005) to understand fuel gathering among early hunter–gatherers. These authors propose that fuel use among hunter–gatherers is based on opportunistic gathering in the closest area. This general predictive model might be modified by different factors according to the economy of the group (foraging versus collector groups) and the exploitation range (Asouti and Austin, 2005). Among these groups the concept of “preferred fuel” or “good fuel” should be analysed cautiously (Théry-Parisot, 2001, Asouti and Austin, 2005, Allué and García Antón, 2006, Henry and Théry-Parisot, 2014). From a theoretical perspective, fuel has to be considered an abiotic resource that is sought out, selected and gathered according to various factors: environmental constraints, availability and abundance in the environment, type and size of the hunter–gatherer group, type of occupation, final use, selection patterns and choices (Allué, 2002a).

The Abric Romaní site has yielded a continuous sequence (40–60 ka BP) enabling Neanderthal occupation models to be categorised. The anthracological record from Abric Romaní is exceptional, aiding in the analysis of this long-term sequence of recurrent Neanderthal occupation. The approach is based on anthracological and taphonomical analyses of the charcoal record. This allows us to discuss fuel, firstly, in regard to selection patterns according to fuel gathering, type of fuel used, its end use, and disposal; and secondly, its exploitation according to Neanderthal cultural behaviour and practices in relation to the occupation of Abric Romaní and the mobility of the human groups.

Section snippets

Site description

The Abric Romaní site is located in the town of Capellades (Barcelona), 280 m above sea level at 41° 32′N, 1° 41 ′30″E (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). The site is a wide rock-shelter in the northern face of a long cliff carved out by a tectonic fault and the Anoia River. The stratigraphy comprises 20 m of well-stratified travertine sediments dated by U-Series as being between 40 and 70 ka years old and containing 25 archaeological layers (Fig. 3) (Vaquero et al., 2013). These layers were formed when

Material and methods

The materials used in this study have been partially published in Allué, 2002b, Burjachs et al., 2012, Vallverdú et al., 2010, Allué et al., 2012b, Vaquero et al., 2013). Here we include new, unpublished data from layers N, O, P and Q to complete the data set. The procedure for sampling Palaeolithic sites depends on the excavation techniques and fragility of the charcoals (Uzquiano, 1997, Badal et al., 2003). At all sites, charcoals up to 5 mm are often sampled by hand and subsequently

Results

The study of 14 layers from Abric Romaní shows a homogenous sequence in which Pinus sylvestris type is the most recurrent and abundant taxa (Table 1, Fig. 6). Level D is an exception and includes other taxa such as Acer, Hedera, Quercus sp. (deciduous), Vitis and Olea europaea. However, in this layer Pinus sylvestris type is still the most abundant. Also significant is the variability shown in level O which includes the genera Juniperus, Prunus and Sambucus. Finally, Populus/Salix appears in

Fuel types, uses and fire processing

Within the chaîne operatoire we must consider fuel in the various steps of the process: wood-collecting strategies, fuelwood preparation, fire ignition, fuel use and consumption, and disposal. Furthermore, fire may be destined to different purposes, such as lighting, cooking, technological processes, protection against predators or other external agents, and socialisation (Perlès, 1977, Courty et al., 2012, Sorensen et al., 2014). These various processes might have different fuel needs.

Fuel

Conclusion

The results from Abric Romaní show that fuel exploitation was an organised activity related to the daily requirements of the occupations at the site. Wood was the main fuel gathered, but other fuels such as grasses or grease from bones might be possibly have been punctually used in the fire-making process. Wood was collected from nearby sources and probably selected from among the available dead branches, trunks or twigs. The character of the forest stands, probably mainly comprising pine

Acknowledgments

Excavations at the Abric Romaní have been carried out with the support of the Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Servei d'Arqueologia i Paleontologia, Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació), the Ajuntament de Capellades. The Generalitat de Catalunya and the Servei General de la Recerca programme (2014SGR900), MINECO (CGL2012-38434-C03-03; HAR2013-48784-C3-1-P) provided financial support. A. Burguet-Coca's research is funded by Fundación Atapuerca. We are grateful

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