Tag Archives: anthracologie

2014 # 6

2014-04–HENRY-THERY

FUEL USE AND MANAGEMENT DURING THE MESOLITHIC:

Recent Approaches in Archaeobotany

Auréade HENRY, Isabelle THÉRY-PARISOT

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Abstract

In order to propose working models for the Mesolithic period, this paper presents recent developments in archaeobotany orientated towards the question of fuel management systems and how ethnographic studies and experimentation can enhance our understanding of past phenomena.
The importance of fire and its systematic use during the Mesolithic can be assessed through direct evidence, i.e. the recovery of burned materials with wood, stone, bone and plant remains being the most commonly encountered. The diversity of activities related to fire is also suggested by indirect testimonies, such as the presence of materials (or their processing traces on artefacts) for the production of which a thermic treatment is needed, such as birch tar, animal hides, etc.
 In accordance with these observations, fuel management practices of Mesolithic societies were undoubtedly complex and culturally significant. However, they remain difficult to approach archaeologically: What kind of fuel was collected and for which purposes? What is the relationship between environment, fuel selection, hearth and site functions?

To cite this article

Henry A., Théry-Parisot I., 2014 – Fuel Use and Management during the Mesolithic: Recent Approaches in Archaeobotany, in Henry A., Marquebielle B., Chesnaux L., Michel S. (eds.), Techniques and Territories: New Insights into Mesolithic Cultures, Proceedings of the Round table, November 22-23 2012, Maison de la recherche, Toulouse (France), P@lethnology, 6, 65-83.
2010 # 2

2010-04–BOSQUET-ET-ALII

Chronological signification
of LBK waste assemblages:

the Contribution of Anthracological, Typological and Stratigraphic Data
from Three LBK Sites in the Hesbaye (Liège Province, Belgium)

Dominique BOSQUET, Aurélie SALAVERT, Mark GOLITKO

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Abstract

Considerations on the chronological signification of Linearbandkeramik (LBK) waste assemblages are presented in this study based on data from anthracology, ceramic seriation and vertical distribution of pottery in pits. Interesting evidence concerning the occupation chronology is provided and a more complex vision of LBK refuse disposal is proposed than that generally accepted. In particular, it is argued that pits, as they appear today to archaeologists, represent no more than a few years of use. It is likely that refuse was first dumped in surface middens, and gradually displaced afterwards to the pits we excavate today.

To cite this article

Bosquet D., Salavert A., Golitko M., 2010 – Chronological Signification of LBK Waste Assemblages: the Contribution of Athracological, Typological and Stratigraphic Data from Three LBK Sites in the Hesbaye (Liège Province, Belgium), in Théry-Parisot I., Chabal L., Costamagno S., The taphonomy of Burned Organic Residues and Combustion Features in Archaeological Contexts, Proceedings of the round table, May 27-29 2008, CEPAM, P@lethnology, 2, 39-57.
2010 # 2

2010-05–FIORENTINO-ORONZO

An archaeobotanical and experimental approach
to identifying successive fire events in hearth structures
in the sanctuary of Apollo in Hierapolis (Turkey)

Girolamo FIORENTINO, Cosimo d’ORONZO

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Abstract

We use anthracological and experimental approach for decoding fire refuses and thermal alterations of soil in an area of the Sanctuary of Apollo in Hierapolis (Turkey). Results obtained from experimental hearth structures show that the escharon is the result of a series of ground-level hearths, pit hearths and secondary ash deposits. Important ritual implications derive from the contextual identification of these fire events, that shed new light on the Apollo cult in the region.

To cite this article

Fiorentino G., d’Oronzo C., 2010 – An Archaeobotanical and Experimental Approach to Identifying Successive Fire Events in Hearth Structures in the Sanctuary of Apollo in Hierapolis (Turkey), in Théry-Parisot I., Chabal L., Costamagno S., The taphonomy of Burned Organic Residues and Combustion Features in Archaeological Contexts, Proceedings of the round table, May 27-29 2008, CEPAM, P@lethnology, 2, 59-68.
2010 # 2

2010-10–DUFRAISSE-ET-ALII

The alteration of Neolithic wood charcoal
from the salt spring of Poiana Slatinei
in Lunca (Neamt, Romania):

a Natural Evolution or Consequence of Exploitation Techniques?

Alexa DUFRAISSE, Dominique SORDOILLET, Olivier WELLER

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Abstract

Located in immediate proximity to a salt spring still in use, the site of Poiana Slatinei in Lunca (Neamt, Romania) has yielded the earliest evidence of salt production in Europe (6050-5500 BC). It contains several dozen combustion features that form a large stratified mound of ashes, charcoal and rubified sediment layers.

In 2004, a vast sondage allowed detailed stratigraphic analysis and recording of the Early Neolithic levels and the collection of soil, charcoal and ash samples with the goal of more precisely identifying the techniques, management and interactions with the natural environment associated with salt production at this site.

While the micromorphological study led to the proposition of interpretations concerning the functioning of the fireplaces and the modes of salt exploitation, an anthracological analysis revealed a high degree of alteration of the wood charcoal fragments, or even the absence of ligneous structures. In this paper, we discuss this atypical preservation of charred particles through an analytical summary of the sedimentary, post-sedimentary and technical processes (choice of fuel material, evaporation method) observed at Lunca, and which could have played a role in their alteration.

To cite this article

Dufraisse A., Sordoillet D., Weller O., 2010 – The Alteration of Neolithic Wood Charcoal from the Salt Spring of Poiana Slatinei in Lunca (Neamt, Romania): a Natural Evolution or Consequence of Exploitation Techniques?, in Théry-Parisot I., Chabal L., Costamagno S., The taphonomy of Burned Organic Residues and Combustion Features in Archaeological Contexts, Proceedings of the round table, May 27-29 2008, CEPAM, P@lethnology, 2, 117-127.