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Middle/Late Bronze Age plant communities and their exploitation in the Cávado Basin (NW Portugal) as shown by charcoal analysis: the significance and co-occurrence of Quercus (deciduous) – Fabaceae

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Abstract

Plant communities and their possible exploitation during Late Prehistory are studied based on charcoal data from four archaeological sites. Settlement location in the area appears to have been chosen on the basis of easy access to rivers and good arable land. Quercus (deciduous) and Fabaceae appear to have been the main source of wood; this is in agreement with previous data from north-western Portugal. The abundance of Fabaceae, which thrive in open well-lit areas, is seen as a direct consequence of woodland clearance. The co-occurrence of Quercus (deciduous) and Fabaceae appears as a distinctive feature in north-western Portugal during Late Prehistory and Protohistory. Fabaceae have remained a familiar component of the vegetation cover ever since. Pinus pinaster is present as isolated individuals, in contrast to its present-day abundance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Tim Jones (Cardiff) for his helpful advice. We also thank M. Fernanda Sanchez-Goñi, Felix Bittmann and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments.

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  1. Centre de Bio-archéologie et d’Ecologie, Institut de Botanique, 163 rue A. Broussonet, 34090, Montpellier, France

    Isabel Figueiral

  2. History Dept., University Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710, Braga, Portugal

    Ana M.S. Bettencourt

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Figueiral, I., Bettencourt, A.M. Middle/Late Bronze Age plant communities and their exploitation in the Cávado Basin (NW Portugal) as shown by charcoal analysis: the significance and co-occurrence of Quercus (deciduous) – Fabaceae. Veget Hist Archaeobot 13, 219–232 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-004-0040-0

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