Ephemeral Archaeology South of the Central Pyrenees (Huesca, NE Iberia): The Exceptional Preservation of Woody Objects in Moro de Alins Cave-site

ABSTRACT

Desiccated objects made out of wood and plant fibres are exceptional archaeological finds in Europe, due to prevailing climatic conditions. The use of wood and plant fibres as raw materials in the past is not well-known due to the scarce availability of archaeological finds, especially in comparison with other non-perishable materials (lithic, pottery, metals). Dry environments suitable for the conservation of perishable materials are limited to some areas of the Iberian Peninsula, as for example the caves and shelters of the central Ebro basin. This region is emerging in recent years as a highly important area for the discovery of archaeological remains made out of short-lived materials. This work presents the results of taxonomic, typological and technical studies, including previously unpublished work, regarding the assemblage of wooden objects and basketry from the Moro de Alins (NE Iberia) cave-site. Direct radiocarbon dating has been vital for the contextualisation of the entire assemblage, which was illegally despoiled in the early 90s, and contains three well-differentiated phases of occupation: Neolithic, Bronze Age and Late Antiquity.

KEYWORDS:

• Bronze Age
• Late Antiquity
• Ebro valley
• basketry
• burial cave
• wood comb

Acknowledgements

The author expresses his appreciation to the team of the Museum of Huesca (Spain) for the facilities in the study of the materials from Moro del Alins and M. Bea, C. Mazo and M.C Sopena for the photographs and draws used for drawing the figures that accompany the text. The authors would like to thank E. Kerr for the english editing of the manuscript. Finally, the authors especially appreciate the accurate and constructive comments of the two anonymous reviewers and the editor who helped in the improving of the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the R+D research projets HAR2015-65620-P and HAR2017-85023-P funded by the Ministry of Science, Inovation and Univerity (Spain). Research groups GI-1534 GEPNAAT (Governement of Galicia, Spain) and H14_17R PPVE (Governement of Aragón, Spain) funded by European Social Funding and local governement have also contributed. M. Alcolea work is funded by the Post-Doc Grant Plan Xunta de Galicia modalidade A (ED481B 2018/016) in contribution to research projet Luz e calor na cova. Uso y aprovechamiento del combustible vegetal por parte de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras y primeras productoras del norte de Iberia.

Notes on contributors

Marta Alcolea

Marta Alcolea is archaeologist specialised in anthracology (charcoal and wood analysis). She held her PhD at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and she is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and at the National Museum of Natural History of Paris (France). Her research focuses on the use of plant resources, landscape transformations and human impact on landscapes during the Holocene. She has conducted charcoal analysis from archaeological and natural records from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Iron Age in the inner areas of Iberia investigating human-environment relations by the late hunter-gatherers and farmer societies. She has authored or co-authored a book and several peer reviewed papers and book chapters.

José M. Rodanés

José M. Rodanés is full professor in Prehistory at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). His research focuses on the Prehistory of the middle Ebro valley (NE Spain), specialized from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. He has directed or co-directed several archaeological projets, including Cabezo de la Cruz, Cueva del Gato or Els Secans. He has led several R+D projects of the Spanish Ministry (MINECO, MICIIN). He is the author or coauthor of several publications and books and director of 5 PhD in Prehistory.