Articles by Francisco Valle

The data from an anthracological study of vegetal carbon from six archaeological sites in the Guadix-Bàza district (Betic province, Guadiciano-Bastetano), dating from 2500 to 1400 BC, have been submitted to Correspondence Analyses in order to define relationships between taxa, to associate taxa with the sites, and to identify patterns of species appearance. The vegetation identified by anthraco-analysis for the Copper Age is the kermesoak grove (Quercus coccifera association), probably includable in the present-day Rhamno lycioidis-Quercetum cocciferae association, with Aleppo-pine groves (Pinus halepensis community) occupying the most marginal zones. This pine grove gradually replaced the oak grove during the Bronze Age, for a variety of causes, principally anthropic, such as the cultivation of new lands, farming and the cutting of trees. Human knowledge of plants is reflected in the uses of certain species for specific functions: construction materials for huts, firewood for the hearth and for metal working, and raw materials for making utensils. The use of materials depended on species availability and the socio-economic organization of the human communities inhabiting the southeastern Iberian Peninsula during the Copper and Bronze Ages.