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Quaternary International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint
IPHES, Institut Catal de Paleoecologia Humana i Evoluci Social, C/Escorxador s/n, 43003 Tarragona, Spain
Area de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
Ajuntament de Capellades, C/ Ramon God 9, ES08786 Capellades, Spain
d
Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo (Dpto. Fsica), Escuela Politcnica Superior Edicio A1, Avda Cantabria s/n, ES09006 Burgos, Spain
e
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Beijing, China
b
c
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Available online 23 December 2010
The human use of re generates a cultural sedimentary record that can be used to characterize
prehistoric activity areas. The aim of this paper is to develop a eld guide for recognizing and describing
combustion structures. The use of re as suggested by the results of ethnoarchaeological and prehistoric
archaeological studies has served as the foundation for the analytical design of the eld observations of
the combustion structures at the Abric Roman rockshelter.
Flat and concave combustion structure types have been uncovered in archaeological level O. The
systematic recording of the sedimentary and dimensional attributes of the combustion structures can be
used as empirical evidence with which to characterize the use of re. Differences in the use of re
represent a signicant nding in the cultural repertoires of Neanderthals. Recognizing and recording the
specic organizational patterns of these activity areas, such as re-use in sleeping and resting activity
areas, indicate the denitive emergence of home bases in the spatial record of the living oors of the
archaic human groups.
2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Characterizing and locating combustion structures and other
cultural features is a fundamental requisite for site structure
research in archaeology (Kent, 1991; Binford, 1996). Combustion
structures of Middle Paleolithic age are scarce in extensive excavations, but they can be a valuable source of information in the attempt
to recognize the organizational properties of the archaeological
record (Binford, 1982, 1996). The abundant sedimentary records of
the combustion structures in level O of the Abric Roman suggest
different uses of re in the Mousterian living oors. The spatial
pattern of the combustion structures shows relevant parallels with
that reported in archaeological and ethnoarchaeological studies of
* Corresponding author. IPHES - Institut Catal de Paleoecologia Humana i Evoluci Social, Plaa Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona, Spain.
E-mail address: josep@prehistoria.urv.cat (J. Vallverd).
1040-6182/$ e see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.12.012
modern foragers (Lumley and Boone, 1976; Yellen, 1977; Fisher and
Strickland, 1991; Binford, 1996).
Despite the scarce evidence among the cultural repertories of
archaic human groups, several features of these combustion structures suggest that they were household spaces. The existence of
dwellings in the Middle Paleolithic is a controversial issue. Critical
perspectives have been based on the absence of activity areas, such
as sleeping and resting areas in the archaeological record. Empirical
evidence of dwellings in archaic archaeological sites is supported by
ndings related to construction materials, such as the alignment of
stones, mammoth tusks (as in the case of Moldova) or plant remains
(Jelnek,1976; Stapert, 1990; Nadel et al., 2004). Solid dwellings have
only been accepted in the Upper Paleolithic record (Kolen, 1999;
Klein, 2003). The remains of huts from the Early Upper Paleolithic,
specically the structures from level IX and X at Grotte du Renne
dArcy, have been the subject of much criticism due to their
resemblance to the biomechanical centrifugal living structures of
the Late Middle Paleolithic (Kolen, 1999).
314
Fig. 1. Abric Roman archaeological site, located on the northeastern Iberian Peninsula near the village of Capellades (Barcelona) (a). The Abric Roman has NNE solar orientation and
is located in the northern zone of the cliff called Cinglera del Capell. The cliff containing the archaeological site is marked with a discontinuous circle (b).
Fig. 2. Combustion structure eld procedures, step by step, in order to determine carbonaceous and combustion activity areas and stratigraphy. 1, hatched area with discontinuous
line, carbonaceous activity area. 2, hatched area and continuous line, combustion activity area. 3, empty and continuous line: area of burnt sediments (burnt ground of the
combustion activity area without carbonaceous components). 4, travertine block. 5, z value (depth). 6, burnt sediment. 7, black homogeneous carbonaceous sediment. 8, dark
heterogeneous carbonaceous sediment. 9, sedimentary ground of the combustion structure. A, greatest thickness. B, greatest linear diameter. C, number of bedforms.
316
Fig. 3. Structural map of level O. 1, combustion areas. 2, carbonaceous areas (Roman numerals). 3. burnt blocks and megablocks. 4, blocks of the occupied oors. 5, structural blocks
and megablocks. 6, large wood pseudomorph of travertine.
Sq
Type form
A (m2)
S%
WD (m)
I
Ia
II
III
III b
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
VIII a
IX
X
XI
XII
XII a
XII b
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
O41
N41
N42
O45
O45
N44
M43
M45
L43
O43
O43
O51
N47
R42
T47
U46
U46
S50
S53
S51
N58
K43
L42
M40
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Concave
Flat
Flat
Concave
Concave
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
Flat
0.8
0.08
1.16
0.59
0.35
0.6
0.08
0.24
0.57
2.38
0.6
7.24
2.92
1.1
2.4
0.15
0.29
0.5
1.6
0.6
11.1
0.8
0.09
1.3
9
17
11
9
1
15
30
14
17
14
17
0
0
11
4
13
8
2
7
20
18
25
13
23
2.8
3
4
5
5
5.1
5.5
5.9
5.6
3,1
3.7
6.6
7.15
1.4
1.9
0.4
2.7
2.2
1.58
2.3
2.1
7
5.6
4
317
4. Results
The map of the combustion structures in level O shown in Fig. 3
contains the eld documentation recorded in 2005. The carbonaceous areas are drawn in light gray and the combustion areas are
indicated in dark gray. Nineteen combustion structures have been
delimited, four of which are stratied (Fig. 4).
The forms of the combustion structures in level O can be
described by typological features regularly detailed in Paleolithic
archaeological studies (Perls, 1976; Beechinng and Gasco, 1989),
such as at (n 17) and concave or cuvettes (n 2) (Table 1). Both
morphologies may or may not feature stones. Flat structures occur
in all dimensions of carbonaceous areas, whereas concave shapes
are limited to middle-sized carbonaceous areas (Table 1).
Fig. 5. Different sizes of combustion structures. A, an elementary hearth. B, large combustion structure IX. C, combustion structure III that shows a thin, black homogeneous
carbonaceous facies stratied with thick, dark heterogeneous carbonaceous facies showing a sedimentary gure made by a small scale cross-stratication of granules and sand. D,
photograph of combustion structure XIII with a burnt slab above it.
318
Fig. 6. Density (artifacts/25 cm2) of lithic (a) and faunal (b) remains (gray scale), and the carbonaceous (gray) and combustion (black) activity areas and structural blocks and
megablocks (hatched). Cartography produced during eldwork from 2004 to 2005.
I
Ia
II
III
III a
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
VIII a
IX
X
XI
XII
XII a
XII b
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
BC
DC
3
2
1
3
2
2
1
3
1
7
e
2
3
2
4
1
e
5
1
2
4
2
e
2
20
10
15
15
25
15
20
15
10
25
e
40
30
25
30
30
e
20
25
25
20
25
e
20
5
1
3
3
3
3
1
3
4
12
e
16
9
9
15
1
e
5
1
1
23
8
e
3
3
1
3
1
1
4
2
3
5
6
e
10
7
5
3
3
e
6
3
1
7
6
e
10
7
1
3
1
3
3
1
3
7
6
e
19
15
10
10
1
e
5
2
1
25
9
e
3
2/1
2/1
4/0
3/0
3/0
1/0
1/0
3/-1
4/-1
4/0
e
4/-1
4/2
2/0
e
e
e
3/0
4/0
3/-1
4/1
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
3
e
e
e
3
e
8
8
2
1
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
50
e
e
e
50
e
40
60
20
10
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
4
e
e
e
3
e
1
1
2
1
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
from it, while the remainders are located 5e6 m away. Another
dimension related-attributed is the 1 m spacing of the small
combustion structures XIII, XIV and XV.
Bones and lithic artifacts are accumulated close to the rockshelter wall and the combustion structures. The combustion
structures located at 6 m from the rockshelter wall are empty or
contain a low density of lithic and bone remains (Fig. 6).
319
320
Fig. 7. A, morphology and stratigraphy of at combustion structures IX and X. B, AeA0 photograph of the stratigraphy of combustion structure IX. C, oblique view of combustion
structure X and stratigraphy of the IeI0 outcrop. Drawings of combustion structures IX and X and stratigraphic outcrops (bottom). Same vertical and horizontal scale. Erosional
truncation of the combustion activity area is suggested by the abundance of burned-like facies and black homogeneous carbonaceous facies association, e.g. FeF0 stratigraphic
prole. Legend: 1, black homogeneous carbonaceous facies; 2, reddened calcarenite, burned-like, facies; 3, dark heterogeneous carbonaceous facies.
321
Fig. 8. Maps and stratigraphy of at combustion structures XI and XII. Same vertical and horizontal scale. Legend: 1, black homogeneous carbonaceous facies; 2, burned facies;
3, dark heterogeneous carbonaceous facies.
322
Fig. 9. Photographs of at combustion structures. A, transversal view of combustion structure XII, note the elementary hearth in the right corner. B, view of carbonaceous area and
the 1-m spacing between two combustion areas within combustion structure XII. C and D, oblique view of combustion area in combustion structure XI when carbonaceous area has
been partially removed. E, stratigraphy of combustion structure XI showing the 1-m spacing between combustion areas.
323
Fig. 10. Map and stratigraphy of concave combustion structure VIII in the upper left corner. Same vertical and horizontal scale. This map shows the position of AeA0 and BeB0
proles and CeC0 and DeD0 surfaces. Legend: 1, black homogeneous carbonaceous facies; 2, burned facies; 3, grayish-white heterogeneous calcarenite facies with charcoals and
burned travertine slabs. Upper right corner: A, photograph of double concave combustion structure VII (stratigraphy); B, photograph of combustion structure IV (stratigraphy)
where, in the left central part of the photograph, a travertine block shows multiple layers of thermal modications; there is also an erosional truncation between cultural and
natural sedimentary facies.
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