Microarchaeology applied to foumier deposits: the use of phytoliths, spherulites and ash pseudomorphs as a tool for reconstruct livestock practices.

Summary

Fumier deposits are important sources of information to better understand past

livestock practices. The Neolithic site of Los Husos II (Álava, Spain), in the upper

Ebro Basin, is the oldest Basque Country site where livestock practices were detected

dating to 6990-6760 cal B.P. Hence, the site offers a unique opportunity to study the

adaptation of early livestock practices and their expansion to the western Pyreness, as

the Ebro Basin is the main route by which the new economic system penetrated. We

present the results of the study of the fumier deposits from Levels IV to IX through

phytoliths, spherulites and ash pseudomorphs analyses.

The results indicate a constant pattern in livestock practices throughout the study

period. The principal component of the cattle diet was that of wild grasses from the

vicinity area. The presence of inflorescences suggests a summer grass-rich diet. In

addition to grasses, dicotyledonous plants were also documented, both through

phytoliths and ash pseudomorphs. Faecal spherulites from herbivores were also noted

and together with phytoliths and ash pseudomorphs give important information

regarding formation processes of the studied deposits.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Anthropic activity markers: archaeology and ethnoarchaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage