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Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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Quaternary International
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Combustion structures of archaeological level O and mousterian activity areas


with use of re at the Abric Roman rockshelter (NE Iberian Peninsula)
Josep Vallverd a, b, *, Susana Alonso a, Amlia Bargall a, Ral Bartrol c, Gerard Campeny b,
ngel Carrancho d, Isabel Expsito b, Marta Fontanals a, Joana Gabucio a, Bruno Gmez b,
Josep Maria Prats a, Pablo Saudo a, lex Sol a, Jaume Vilalta a, Eudald Carbonell a, b, e
a

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).

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J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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).

Field observation and documentation of the sedimentary record


of combustion structures are useful tools in recognizing prehistoric
activity areas. The sedimentary record of the use of re has been
widely studied by means of numerous analytical techniques
including sedimentary petrography, soil micromorphology, organic
geochemistry, determinations of minerals of plant origin, magnetic
and luminescent properties and signatures in burned minerals and
rocks (Bischoff et al., 1984; Courty, 1984; Olive and Taborin, 1989;
Piperno and March, 1996; Albert et al., 2000; Goodfrey-Smith and
Ilani, 2004). Researchers have mainly focused on the precise
recognition of natural and cultural formation processes to discuss
their reliability as empirical evidence of use of re by human
groups. The prehistoric use of re by human archaic groups has
rarely been explored in the framework of site structure research
(site size, number of occupants, activity area types, etc.) (Bordes,
1975; Rigaud et al., 1995; Meignen et al., 2001; Peretto et al.,
2004). Therefore, this paper suggests that the sedimentary
samples of combustion structures can be a source of inconsistencies
between analytical results and site structure evidence in order to
explore episodic and processual paradigms in archaeology (Gould
and Watson, 1982; Henry, 2003).
This paper proposes using the sedimentary record observed in
combustion structures at Abric Roman as a way to characterize
prehistoric activity areas. The aims are: (1) to provide a eld guide
for describing combustion structures and (2) to promote the bridge
between eld and laboratory data. Finally, recognition of prehistoric
activity areas of use of re can enhance the recognition of areas of
sleeping and resting activities (Vallverd et al., 2010). Identifying
sleeping and resting areas in the archaeological record can be an
effective test to suggest residential units or home bases within
a specic organizational pattern of the living oors (Binford, 1988).
2. Abric Roman de Capellades (Anoia, Barcelona)
The Abric Roman site is located in the town of Capellades
(Barcelona) at 280 m above sea level (Fig. 1). The site is a wide
rockshelter in the northern face of a long cliff carved out by
a tectonic fault and the Anoia River. This river cuts through the
Prelittoral chain and connects two structural areas of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula: the Ebro and Valls-Peneds basins.
The Abric Roman was discovered by Amador Roman in 1909 and
has since been recognized as a classic Catalan Mousterian and
Aurignacian site. The sedimentary succession consists of at least 15 m
of well-stratied carbonate sediments of uvial and gravitational

transport with 25 archaeological levels spanning between 70 and


40 ka (Bischoff et al., 1988). The archaeological layers were formed
when rock fall sedimentary processes were dominant. The uvial
deposits contain a limited ensemble of archaeological remains,
suggesting that the rockshelter was at times uninhabitable due to
dripping water owing over the surfaces. Sediments of natural origin
form thick sedimentary successions (dm to m), whereas the
archaeological deposits are comparatively thinner (cm to dm).
Archaeological layer O is comprised of poorly stratied sand and
ne gravel with a weathered surface. These ne-grained deposits
are above a basal succession composed of gravel, blocks and
megablocks that originated from the fall of travertine rocks from
the cliff above the rockshelter. U-series dates for level O place it at
around 55 ka (Bischoff et al., 1988), a period in human evolution in
which re control is generalized in the archaeological record of the
archaic human groups, suggesting the denitive emergence of
economic zoning based on central locations in prehistoric settlement systems (Gamble, 1990; Rolland, 1999, 2004).
3. Materials and methods
The combustion structures are located within a thin (<5 cm)
archaeological layer protected by the travertine roof of the rockshelter. The combustion structures are described by means of
facies analyses and various dimensional attributes grouped into
stratigraphic and mapping observations. The combustion structure
observations and studies of sedimentary microfacies suggest that
there are two sedimentary processes related to the use of the re
by human groups (Vallverd, 2002): (1) the thermal transformation of sediments and (2) the incorporation of organomineral material. The thermal transformations of sediments at the
Abric Roman are related to burnt carbonate sediments (Canti and
Linford, 2000). The organo-mineral components consist of carbonaceous facies (sediments rich in charcoal), which also contain
carbonate rocks with homogeneous or heterogeneous burning
mixed with other fuel-derived residues (ash, phosphate, humus,
etc.). Homogenous carbonaceous facies have dominant charcoal
contents (>40%) and uniform thermal modication of rock fragments. Heterogeneous carbonaceous facies are made up of a variable charcoal content with unburned and burned sedimentary
components.
To document a combustion structure, the eldwork begins by
delimiting the carbonaceous area, which is made up of carbonaceous
and other natural-anthropic facies associations. The observation of

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.

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J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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.

carbonaceous and burned carbonate facies associations identies


a segment of ground as a combustion area. Two contour maps are
made in order to measure the surface areas of: (1) the carbonaceous
activity area; (2) the combustion activity area or the re-use area.
Each carbonaceous area is identied with a Roman numeral. Where
evidence of stratication in the combustion structure is found, each
structure is labeled with a lower case letter in alphabetical order.
Before a combustion structure is excavated is thoroughly
documented in the eld by means of drawing, sampling and photographing the carbonaceous area. In well preserved structures,

elementary hearths (Bordes, 1992) can often be distinguished


during the determination of combustion activity areas because
have a form similar to an experimental hearth. These elementary
hearths help to suggest the direction of the stratigraphic outcrop
within the combustion structure. In order to study the stratigraphy
of a combustion structure, the structure must rst be partially
excavated. First the carbonaceous material is removed and sampled
to expose the burned or natural ground (Fig. 2). Then the ground is
excavated and sampled to determine its thermal modication.
Samples are labeled as carbonaceous, burnt, or natural facies.

Fig. 4. Photograph of level O.

J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324


Table 1
Dimensional attributes of combustion structures: Sq, square of the site grid system;
A, carbonaceous area (m2); S, slope (%); WD, lowest distance of the central point in
the combustion structure to rockshelter wall (m). Bottom graph: cases with the
shortest distance between the rockshelter wall and combustion structures.
Combustion structures

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

Stratigraphic observations include the measure of thickness and


the shape (bedform) of the carbonaceous, homogeneous and
heterogeneous (if present), and burnt facies (Fig. 2). The stratigraphy of a simple combustion activity area contains a facies association consisting of carbonaceous, black and homogeneous, and
burned sediments. This facies association often has the lenticular
geometry regularly observed in the meridian stratigraphic outcrops
of elementary hearths. The longest dimension (cm), number and
maximum thickness are noted in order to characterize the shape of
the carbonaceous and burned layers (bedforms). Other measurements related to combustion structure stratigraphy are slope and
the color comparison of burned and natural ground. The stratigraphy is drawn and photographed and, along with the description
of the lithofacies, the eld documentation of the combustion
structures is complete.

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.

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J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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.

The lithostratigraphy of at combustion structures contains


a thin, black homogeneous carbonaceous facies, a thicker and dark
heterogeneous carbonaceous facies and a red calcarenite facies. The
lithology of the cuvettes consisted of: (1) a thin, black homogeneous
carbonaceous facies; (2) a thick, dark heterogeneous carbonaceous
facies; and (3) a thick, grayish-white calcarenite facies, with scarce
charcoals, and burned gravel and blocks. Concave combustion
structures have a complex morphology due to their construction
technique: (1) a dug tail in keeping with those described by Bordes
(Sonneville-Bordes, 1989); (2) burned gravel and blocks in the oor
like slab pavement; (3) multilayered thermal modication on the
interior of certain slabs.

4.1. Dimensional attributes


The most common dimension of the carbonaceous areas is
approximately 1 m2 (Table 1). The largest areas range from 3 to
11 m2 and their diameters vary between 0.5 and 1.5 m, giving them
elongated or rectangular shapes. Rectangular combustion structures (IX, XI, XII, and XVI) are at and have elementary hearths, with
or without burnt blocks, and a slope of 0e20% (Fig. 5 and Table 1).
One dimension related attribute of the combustion structures is
their bimodal distribution of around 2.5 and 5.5 m from the wall of
the rockshelter (Fig. 3 and Table 1). Combustion structures XI, XII,
XIII, XIV, XV and XVI are near the wall of the rockshelter, 2e3 m

J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324


Table 2
Stratigraphic features of the combustion structures. BC, black homogenous carbonaceous facies. B, burned facies. DC, dark heterogeneous carbonaceous facies. A,
highest thickness. B, highest linear diameter. C, number of bedforms. D, Munsell
color value/chroma variation between burned/natural sediment.
Combustion structure

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

Small and medium-sized combustion structures do not have


heterogeneous carbonaceous facies. Paired numbers of lenticular
layers of burnt and homogeneous carbonaceous facies seem analogous to experimental hearths (Table 2).
One stratigraphic feature visible within large and very large
carbonaceous areas is the distance between combustion activity
areas (Gamble, 1990; Fisher and Strickland, 1991). Inside these large
carbonaceous areas IX, X-XI-XII and XVI there are combustion areas
spaced at a distance of 1 m apart (Figs. 7, 8 and 9).
5. Discussion
The occupied oors of level O at the Abric Roman rockshelter
feature combustion structures that are well delimited by the
presence of empty adjacent areas and many of them are not
stratied. The low number of stratied combustion structures
points to a large surface area available for the use of re in the
occupied oors. Only the travertine megablock outcrops on the
northern part of the excavated area separate the zone near the wall
from the dripline zone. This separation seems to have some effect
on the distribution of artifacts, but not on the use of re (Fig. 3), as
there are activity areas where only the use of re has been
observed, in the combustion structures farthest from the rockshelter wall.
Sedimentary facies with homogeneous carbonaceous components are related to low temperature intensity combustion activity
areas (Courty, 1984; Wattez, 1988). Heterogeneous carbonaceous
facies suggest occupational or natural disturbances and comprise
the carbonaceous area of the combustion structures. Grayish-white
calcarenite sedimentary facies deserve a more detailed analysis in
order to determine their degree of thermal alteration and their
constructive purpose in concave combustion structures (Bazile and
Guillerault, 1987; Berna and Goldberg, 2007). Redder calcarenite
facies characterize the color change caused by the thermal impact
(reddening due to rubefaction) in combustion activity areas over
sediments rich in organic components (Canti and Linford, 2000).

4.2. Stratigraphic features

5.1. Flat combustion structures

Lenticular homogeneous carbonaceous facies have a modal lineal


dimension of 20 cm. A partial correlation (50%) determines the
carbonaceous area through the number of lenticular layers made up
of homogeneous carbonaceous facies as measured during stratigraphic observation. The eld observations that can explain these
partial correlations are subject to different degrees of archaeological
visibility. Low archaeological visibility is present in six combustion
structures, in which the presence of heterogeneous carbonaceous
facies suggests postdepositional modications (Table 2). The linear
dimensions of carbonaceous areas are larger than the number of
lenticular layers of homogeneous carbonaceous facies. An example
of natural alteration is observed in combustion structure III, in which
heterogeneous carbonaceous facies have small scale cross-stratication (Fig. 5C). Nevertheless, an anomaly is observed in the larger
combustion structures, for instance in combustion structure IX
(Fig. 7), where there is a thick reddish facies with dark gray coloring,
which seems to be burnt gravelous calcarenite. Several larger
combustion structures show scant variation between the natural
ground color of the living oor and the color of the reddened burnt
sediments (Munsell chroma variation < 2/in Table 2) suggesting: (1)
low-intensity temperatures according to the modal length of
the lenticular layers of black homogeneous carbonaceous facies,
indicating possible small dimensions of elementary hearths; (2)
probable sedimentary homotaxia between burnt sediments and
reddened humic sediments in the facies composition of the combustion activity area.

The size may depend on the lateral stratication of the


combustion activity areas, an amalgam of elementary hearths
described in the formation process of external hearths (Binford,
1988). Studies of other combustion structures, such as those
found in Kebara cave, suggest a general vertical stratication
pattern (Bar-Yosef et al., 1992) or the reuse of combustion structures in locations with space constraints in small occupied sites like
Toj Faraj (Henry et al., 1996; Meignen et al., 2001). Hearth reuse has
also been observed in recent Canoeros dwellings (Legoupil, 1989).
According to the amorphous hearths of the Pech de lAz II site, the
analogy with at combustion structures is supported by evidence
of their simple constructive techniques (Sonneville-Bordes, 1989).
The stratigraphy of at combustion structures shows a mode of
20 cm for homogeneous carbonaceous lenticular layers. This
measurement, which roughly indicates the dimensions of elementary hearths, is also the measurement established for the lowest
diameter range in the Kebara hearths (Bar-Yosef et al., 1992). The
small size of these elementary hearths suggests limited consumption of wood fuel. The spacing of 1e1.5 m between combustion
activity areas (re-use distances) in larger combustion structures
was also found in the small and medium-sized combustion structures XII, XIII, XIV and XV (Figs. 8 and 9). This distance in re-use
reveals an activity area similar to the sleeping or resting activity
areas documented in ethnoarchaeological and prehistoric archaeological studies (Binford, 1988; Gamble, 1990; Fisher and Strickland,
1991).

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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.

J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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.

The reuse of combustion structures from an axis made up of


small combustion activity areas spaced about 1 m apart may
explain the rectangular shape and large surface of the carbonaceous area of combustion structure IX (Table 1). This oversized
at combustion structure also lacks artifacts, another characteristic of sleeping and resting activity areas (Nadel et al., 2004).
Large, at combustion structures such as IX-X-XI-XII-XVI in archaeological layer O may be explained either by: (1) pedological
weathering or erosion caused by occupational disturbances or
natural agents; or (2) the use of plants as a construction material
for bedding.
Reoccupation may explain the large size of combustion
structure XVI. The combustion activity areas in this structure are
mostly small and spaced 1 m apart, with one medium-sized
combustion activity area. These morphological and stratigraphic
features may indicate different uses of re and the spacing of
small combustion areas suggests another sleeping area in an
occupational palimpsest with an external hearth.

5.2. Concave combustion structures or cuvettes


Natural or articial concavities and burned slabs indicate the use
constructive techniques and sedimentary materials for special
purposes related to the use of re (Fig. 10). The morphology and
stratigraphy of these combustion structures suggest relevant
cultural modications of the original topography: erosional truncation, dug tail, pavement of burned slabs, etc. The homogeneous
carbonaceous lenticular layers have dimensions similar to those of
at combustion structures. Repeated episodes of the use of re
were deduced by blocks and slabs with interior multilayer thermal
changes (Fig. 10B). Burned stones and ne sedimentary particles are
also reported in combustion structures from Kebara (Bar-Yosef
et al., 1992). Combustion structures in cuvettes with stones have
been documented as a means of producing heat and steam inside
dwellings (Leroi-Gourhan and Brzillon, 1983; Bordes, 1992). Dug
tails as a technical combustion feature have been described as
event hearths at the Pech de lAz Nord site (Perls, 1976;

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J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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.

Sonneville-Bordes, 1989; Bordes, 1992). This tail in the morphology


of the combustion structures appears to help break the topographic
limitations of the concavity and enhance aeration.
6. Conclusions
The combustion structures of level O suggest various different
uses of re. Recent reviews of spatial patterns and activity areas of
archaic human groups suggest dissimilarities between their
behaviors and those of modern humans. Some construction techniques also appear to be exclusive to modern humans (Karkanas
et al., 2004). Signicantly, evidence of combustion structures
dating from the Lower Paleolithic supports differing uses of the re
based on constructive techniques and sedimentary materials
(Lumley and Boone, 1976; Perls, 1976; Sonneville-Bordes, 1989).
However, Paleolithic archaeology has yielded little new evidence on
combustion structures constructive techniques and sedimentary
materials use, pointing to the need for further research in this eld
(Mania,1998; Henry, 2003; Peretto et al., 2004; Rolland, 2004; Berna

and Goldberg, 2007). In this respect, this paper constitutes a eld


guide for documenting different uses of re in prehistoric activity
areas. This processual paradigm implies the logical identication of
the natural and cultural transformations of combustion structures.
The approach avoids the application of episodic paleoethnography
through archaeometry, bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology, or other
disciplines until the site structure is elucidated. The paucity of
research into activity areas in archaeology indicates the vitality of
the stratigraphic paradigm in Paleolithic archaeology (Julien, 2002).
In level O of the Abric Roman the use of re occurs in different
intra- and inter-occupational episodes. This is deduced by the evolution of the morphology of the larger at combustion structures
documented here. The size of the at carbonaceous areas is linked
with episodes of natural and occupational disturbances. The concave
combustion structures require further analytical data in order to
identify specic purpose activity areas. Combustion structures in areas
devoid of artifacts represent a challenge for Paleolithic archaeology
and are of specic potential interest. Several at combustion structures have certain similarities to sleeping and resting activity areas,

J. Vallverd et al. / Quaternary International 247 (2012) 313e324

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.

considering the spacing between re-use or combustion activity areas


distance of 1 m. The expectation is to document more activity areas in
upcoming eldwork at the Abric Roman site. The empirical evidence
needed to identify resting activity areas is proxy data in measuring
group size. These dimensional attributes of certain activity areas of the
use of the re, such as sleep and rest activity areas in the spatial
patterning of the living oors, may be empirical evidence for the
recognition of home bases and residential units among the different
occupational strategies recorded at the Abric Roman site.
Acknowledgements
Excavations at the Abric Roman have been carried out with the
support of the Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Servei dArqueologia i Paleontologia, Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicaci), the Ajuntament de Capellades. The
Generalitat de Catalunya and the Servei General de la Recerca
program "De la recerca aplicada a la socialitzaci del coneixement:
Els canvis tecno-culturals i paisatgstics durant el Plistoc Superior
i lHoloc" (2009 SGR 813) provide nancial support as well as the
Catedra Atapuerca predoctoral program grant.
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