Phytolith Analysis and Micromorphology of Neandertal Combustion Features at Roc de Marsal, SW France

Summary

Phytolith analysis can be used to investigate the relationship between hominins, plants, and environmental change. It has proven useful in understanding specific hominin behaviors (e.g., use of fire and fuel composition), and diachronic changes in plant species for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The integration of phytolith analysis with soil micromorphology allows for an identification of the ways phytoliths were deposited in archaeological sites, and addresses both site formation processes and diagenesis. This combination of analytical techniques can also be used to better relate phytolith assemblages to other archaeological datasets and to hominin behavior. This poster presents an integrated phytolith and geoarchaeological study of plant remains and sediments from Roc de Marsal, a Middle Paleolithic cave in southwest France. Phytoliths have been recovered from the site, recording changes in both plant species and environmental schemes. We specifically address how the analysis of phytoliths and micromorphological thin sections from fire features can be used to provide a more detailed understanding of Neandertal pyrotechnology and spatial differentiation. We also present samples from throughout the profile to compare diachronic change in both the environment and anthropogenic activities.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage