Interdisciplinary approach to the landscape and firewood exploitation during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia)

PIQUÉ, R; REVELLES, J; BURJACHS, F.; CARUSO FERMÉ, L; PÉREZ-OBIOL, R.

Congreso; 6th International Anthracology Meeting Local to Global Significance of Charcoal Science; 2015

University of Freiburg

The aim of this work is to assess the landscape and management of firewood resources during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia), a middle mountain region (400-1600 m asl.) located within a volcanic area in the Pre-Pyrenees. Anthracological and palynological data from archaeological sites and lacustrine and peat deposits from this area have been considered in order to carry out an interdisciplinary approach to the landscape and the use of resources. According to the palynological data in the Early Holocene, the landscape was characterised by the progressive expansion of forests, mainly dominated by conifers (pine and juniper) and deciduous trees (oak and hazel). The Holocene Climatic Optimum led the culmination of forests expansion, with the dominance of dense oak forests, the landscape that first farming societies found in their arrival to this area. During the Middle to Late Holocene transition (c. 4000 cal BP), the expansion of evergreen sclerophyllous trees and the regression of broadleaf deciduous trees are recorded, regarding to both climatic and anthropic causes. Deciduous Quercus and Buxus sempervirens were the most important taxa during all the periods and areas, as shown in charcoal data from 29 archaeological levels. However, some other taxa had certain importance in some periods and sites. The variability observed between sites is discussed regarding the availability of resources and the transformations of landscape evidenced in pollen records. This could explain the appearance of evergreen Quercus and other Mediterranean taxa in the anthracological record at the Middle-Late Holocene. But also the characteristics of the sites and the socio-historical processes were considered in order to understand the use of firewood. In that sense, social necessities would have been the determining factor in planning timber and firewood procurement strategies rather than adapting to the environmental availability.