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The aim of this research is to investigate the efficiency of combustion structures, the fuels used, the structure maintenance and the range of related domestic activities. An experimental programme was carried out in which replicas of archaeological Iron Age combustion structures were put to work. Based on the available archaeobotanical records, various fuel types (wood, grasses, palm leaves and animal dung) were used. Variables such as increased heating and times were measured in order to determine whether variations occurred depending on the fuels used, the type of structure, the location, or the weather conditions. The possibility of their use for cooking was also tested. A combination of methodologies was applied for integrated analyses: anthracology, phytoliths, calcitic microfossils, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, micromorphology and chemical analysis of hearth surfaces. Observations and data recorded during the experimental tasks, together with the results of the interdisciplinary analyses, contribute to a better understanding of the Iron Age archaeological combustion structures. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. The TRANSCOMB project (PID2019-104661GB-I00) is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and supported by the MIRMED-GIAC (ICAC-URV-UAB) Research Group (2017 SGR 970). MPQ holds a Margarita Salas (MARSALAS21-19) postdoctoral contract (Next Generation-EU, Ministerio de Universidades, Universidad de Alicante). MM holds a Beatriu de Pinós (2021BP00103) postdoctoral contract (Universities and Research secretariat of the Ministry of Research and Universities-Generalitat de Catalunya). AG is a JAE Intro fellow at the IMF-CSIC (JAE ICU-21-IMF-02). AP’s work is also part of the activities of the ERAAUB (2021 SGR 00696), the IAUB, the INSA-UB (CEX2021-001234-M financied by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Programme of the Spanish AEI) and the Project PID2020-113409GB-I00.

Non-woody plant remains are known from burial contexts in North¿western Europe, but get overlooked when preservation is suboptimal. While phytolith analysis has demonstrated its value regarding the detection of vegetative grave goods, systematic application of this method to graves in European archaeology is, however, scarce. This paper concerns the examination of the elite Viking-Age equestrian burial at Fregerslev II, where phytolith analysis, combined with pollen analysis, revealed the presence of two types of plant material in the grave. The phytolith analysis of Fregerslev II included the investigation of chaff located close to a horse bridle, the chaff being both detected in the field and during investigation of a block sample by means of stereomicroscopy, and systematic examination of other parts of the grave to interpret this find. Elongate dendritic chaff phytoliths were subjected to systematic morphological and morphometric analysis and subsequent statistical analysis. The application of both methods simultaneously to large numbers of phytoliths is unique. Comparison of the various samples showed that the chaff represents a concentration of oat, which is most likely common oat, with minor admixture of barley, interpreted as horse fodder, while bedding consisting of hay or straw was presented elsewhere on the bottom of the grave. The finds are placed in a wider context and methodological implications of the two identification methods applied to the chaff concentration are discussed., We are grateful for financial support from the A.P. Møllerske Støttefond (Grant No. 11372), the Augustinus Foundation (Grant No. 16-2213), the Agency for Culture and Palaces, and Skanderborg Municipality, who supported the excavation and analyses.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic hepatic disease; nevertheless, no definitive diagnostic method exists yet, apart from invasive liver biopsy, and nor is there a specific approved treatment. Runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) plays a major role in angiogenesis and inflammation; however, its link with NAFLD is unclear as controversial results have been reported. Thus, the objective of this work was to determine the proteins involved in the molecular mechanisms between RUNX1 and NAFLD, by means of systems biology. First, a mathematical model that simulates NAFLD pathophysiology was generated by analyzing Anaxomics databases and reviewing available scientific literature. Artificial neural networks established NAFLD pathophysiological processes functionally related to RUNX1: hepatic insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, and hepatic injury-liver fibrosis. Our study indicated that RUNX1 might have a high relationship with hepatic injury-liver fibrosis, and a medium relationship with lipotoxicity and insulin resistance motives. Additionally, we found five RUNX1-regulated proteins with a direct involvement in NAFLD motives, which were NFκB1, NFκB2, TNF, ADIPOQ, and IL-6. In conclusion, we suggested a relationship between RUNX1 and NAFLD since RUNX1 seems to regulate NAFLD molecular pathways, posing it as a potential therapeutic target of NAFLD, although more studies in this field are needed.

The lakeshore site of La Marmotta is one of the most important Early Neolithic sites of Mediterranean Europe. The site is famous for the exceptional preservation of organic materials, including numerous wooden artefacts related to navigation, agriculture, textile production, and basketry. This article presents interdisciplinary research on three of the most complete and well-preserved sickles recovered from the site, yet unpublished. All the components of the tools are analysed: the stone inserts, the wooden haft and the adhesive substances used to fix the stones inside the haft. Our innovative methodology combines use-wear and microtexture analysis of stone tools through confocal microscopy, taxonomical and technological analysis of wood, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the adhesive substances, and pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and phytolith analysis of the remains incorporated within the adhesive. This multiproxy approach provides a significant insight into the life of these tools, from their production to their use and abandonment, providing evidence of the species of harvested plants and the conditions of the field during the harvesting.

This study examines the contribution of ethnoarchaeological and experimental research to interdisciplinary approaches on the identification and taphonomy of livestock dung. Ethnographic and experimental records provide comparative reference models on a range of taphonomic issues that are still understudied, such as variation in the type and preservation of plant and faecal microfossils that are excreted with dung and the effects of heating. The focus in the present study is on the taphonomy of ingested phytoliths and calcitic spherulites that originate in the digestive tracts of cattle, sheep and goat found in fresh modern dung pellets. The reported records are from the modern farming village of Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan. The experimental results show significant changes in microfossil composition and phytolith and spherulite stability and integrity, with increased melting of phytoliths and variations in morphotype composition (e.g. grass short cells appear less stable) from heating at temperatures around 800°C, whereas the spherulite darkening occurs within a range between 500–700°C, with a maximum production at 650°C. This integrated approach illustrates the contribution of the much-needed ethnographic and experimental records of animal dung to understanding of taphonomic issues, which are fundamental for the interpretation of this valuable microfossil material in archaeology., This research was conducted within the framework of the MICROARCHEODUNG and the Central Zagros Archaeological Project (CZAP). The first author’s work has been funded by the European Union’s MICROARCHEODUNG project. The project has received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529. GA’s work has been supported by an University of Reading Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme fellowship supervised by MP and WM. KD’s research was supported by an AHRC South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership PhD studentship and placement.

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic "way of life"in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe was organised in Barcelona on 6-8 November 2019. The conference was a great success with more than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research., he work was financed by a grant generously provided by the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) (grant reference: SGR-2017-995) of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) is a key chrono-cultural concept in our understanding of the cultural and population dynamics at the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to Upper Paleolithic period. This paper presents technological and chronological analyses of lithic assemblages from a rockshelter site at Tor Fawaz in the Jebel Qalkha area, southern Jordan, to provide accurate dating and detailed recognition of the IUP variability in the Levant. We present integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and dung spherulite analyses to evaluate formation and postdepositional processes of archaeological remains through high-resolution micro-contextual studies. As a result, the Tor Fawaz assemblages show general similarity to those of Boker Tachtit Level 4, Tor Sadaf A¿B, and Wadi Aghar C¿D1 that represent the late phase of the IUP in the southern Levant. Based on the detailed recognition of site-formation processes, we suggest ca. 45¿36 ka as the age of IUP occupations at Tor Fawaz. More specifically, the IUP occupations at Tor Fawaz and Wadi Aghar, a nearby IUP site in the same area, may represent slightly different phases that show a lithic technological trend paralleling the IUP sequence at Tor Sadaf in southern Jordan, and possibly post-date Boker Tachtit Level 4. We also discuss the issue of partial chronological overlap between the late IUP and the Ahmarian and also argue for the geographically different trends in cultural changes from the late IUP to the Ahmarian., This research was supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (grant numbers 16H06409, 16H06410, 20H00026). MP’s work has been funded by the European Union’s MICROARCHEODUNG project (under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015–702529) at the University of Reading, UK.

The subsistence practices of Holocene communities living in the Nile Valley of Central Sudan are comparatively little known. Recent excavations at Khor Shambat, Sudan, have yielded well-defined Mesolithic and Neolithic stratigraphy. Here, for the first time, archaeozoological, palaeobotanical, phytolith and dental calculus studies are combined with lipid residue analysis of around 100 pottery fragments and comparative analysis of faunal remains and organic residues. This holistic approach provides valuable information on changes in adaptation strategies, from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic herders exploiting domesticates. A unique picture is revealed of the natural environment and human subsistence, demonstrating the potential wider value of combining multiple methods., Multidisciplinary research at the KSH1 site was funded by a grant from the National Science Centre, Poland (grant 2015/17/D/HS3/01492). The authors thank the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-115) for funding ‘Peopling the Green Sahara? A multi-proxy approach to reconstructing the ecological and demographic history of the Saharan Holocene’, and NERC 771 (reference: CC010) and NEIF (www.isotopesuk.org) for funding and maintenance of the instruments used for this work.

Nutrient sensing plays important roles in promoting satiety and maintaining good homeostatic control. Taste receptors (TAS) are located through the gastrointestinal tract, and recent studies have shown they have a relationship with metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to analyze the jejunal expression of TAS1R2, TAS1R3, TAS2R14 and TAS2R38 in women with morbid obesity, first classified according to metabolic syndrome presence (MetS, n = 24) or absence (non-MetS, n = 45) and then classified according to hepatic histology as normal liver (n = 28) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (n = 41). Regarding MetS, we found decreased expression of TAS2R14 in MetS patients. However, when we subclassified patients according to liver histology, we did not find differences between groups. We found negative correlations between glucose levels, triglycerides and MetS with TAS1R3 expression. Moreover, TAS2R14 jejunal expression correlated negatively with the presence of MetS and ghrelin levels and positively with the jejunal Toll-like receptor (TLR)4, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ, and interleukin (IL)-10 levels. Furthermore, TAS2R38 expression correlated negatively with TLR9 jejunal expression and IL-6 levels and positively with TLR4 levels. Our findings suggest that metabolic dysfunctions such as MetS trigger downregulation of the intestinal TASs. Therefore, taste receptors modulation could be a possible therapeutic target for metabolic disorders.

Esta intervención y los análisis desarrollados han contado con la financiación del Instituto Universitario de Arqueología Ibérica (Universidad de Jaén) y del Ministerio de Fomento, a través de la empresa Peninsular de Contratas, S.A. y UTE Villacarrillo (Dirección de Obra: José Lorente Gutiérrez). También se ha contado con el soporte económico de la Ayuda Complementaria del Subprograma Ramón y Cajal, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (RYC 2017-22122)., Damos a conocer el hallazgo de un santuario ibero, situado en la Loma de Úbeda (Jaén), en un punto clave de conexión entre los valles del Guadalquivir y del Guadalimar, definido como un espacio al aire libre, al que se asocia un depósito votivo del siglo III a. n. e. El interés de este estudio de caso radica en la aplicación de un protocolo fuertemente interdisciplinar, que parte de excavaciones arqueológicas, microprospecciones magnéticas sistemáticas y análisis combinados (micromorfología de suelos, análisis de polen y fitolitos, dataciones, estudios geo-radar 3D y análisis metalográficos). Este protocolo ha permitido documentar la dinámica ritual que involucra a una pequeña área de paleo-humedal, así como su caracterización general. Este espacio, definido como un punto clave en el itinerario ritual que parte de la ciudad de Baecula (Santo Tomé, Jaén) y se dirige al santuario de la Cueva de la Lobera en Castellar (Jaén), nos sitúa ante la complejidad de los paisajes religiosos en un territorio como el de Cástulo (Linares, Jaén) para los siglos IV-III a. n. e., en los que cobra importancia la incorporación de hitos naturales con significados culturales muy específicos., We present a new Iberian sanctuary situated on the hill known as La Loma de Úbeda (Jaén), located at a key connecting point between the Guadalquivir and Guadalimar valleys. It is an open-air site with a 3rd century BCE votive deposit. A large part of the interest in this case study lies in the application of a strongly interdisciplinary protocol which combines archaeological excavations, systematic magnetic micro-surveying and combined analyses (soil micromorphology, pollen and phytolith analyses, OSL datings, 3D groundpenetrating radar studies and metallographic analysis). This protocol has made it possible to document the ritual dynamics involving this small area of paleo-wetland. The site is placed at a key point on the ritual itinerary between the town of Baecula (Santo Tomé, Jaén) and the sanctuary of La Cueva de la Lobera in Castellar (Jaén). The present study reveals the complexity of the religious landscapes in a territory similar to that of Cástulo (Linares, Jaén) in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, in which the natural landmarks with strong specific cultural significances played an important role., Instituto Universitario de Arqueología Ibérica (Universidad de Jaén), Ministerio de Fomento, a través de la empresa Peninsular de Contratas, S.A. y UTE Villacarrillo, Ayuda Complementaria del Subprograma Ramón y Cajal, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (RYC 2017-22122)

Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5), an antagonist of the noncanonical WNT pathway, has a controversial role in liver disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of SFRP5 and the noncanonical WNT pathway in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Plasma SFRP5 levels were determined by ELISA in women with normal weight (NW, n = 20) and morbid obesity (MO, n = 69). Women with MO were subclassified according to hepatic histology into normal liver (NL, n = 28), NAFLD (n = 41) (simple steatosis (SS, n = 24), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, n = 17)). We used RT-qPCR to evaluate the hepatic mRNA expression of SFRP5, WNT5A, and JNK in women with MO. SFRP5 levels were lower in NW than in MO patients who underwent a very low-calorie diet before surgery. Hepatic SFRP5 mRNA expression was higher in SS than in NL or NASH, additionally, patients with hepatic inflammation or ballooning presented lower SFRP5 abundance. WNT5A and JNK expression was enhanced in NAFLD compared with NL. In conclusion, circulating SFRP5 levels depend on the diet, and hepatic SFRP5 seems to have a protective role in the first steps of NAFLD, however, SFRP5 could be deregulated in an advanced stage while WNT5A and JNK are activated, promoting liver damage.

Morphometric analysis offers an alternative or augmentation to traditional archaeobotanical methods to address differences within and between plant species and their remains, refining and enhancing taxonomic resolution. Morphometrics, the measurement of size and shape, and the multivariate statistical analysis of generated quantitative variables, have long played a major role in biological research, including plant taxonomy and systematics, although its application in archaeobotany is relatively recent. Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in the use of morphometrics for analysing a varied range of archaeological plant materials (mainly seeds, pollen, phytoliths, and starch grains). In particular, morphometrics have contributed to the study of the domestication and spread of many cereals world-wide, as well as that of other taxa including legumes, underground storage organs (USO), and fruits (such as olives, grapes, and dates). This paper reviews current methodologies, recent applications, and advances in the use of morphometrics in archaeobotanical research, discusses its role in exploring major research questions, and suggests possible future directions for its use., MP work was carried out within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 MICROARCHEODUNG project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529. MW is funded by an anonymous donation to the University of Sheffield matched by the Alumni Office – DARE. CM research is funded by European Research Council advanced grants (ComPAg no. 323842). SPD and MRA were funded by the ‘Programa Estatal de Promoción del Talento y su Empleabilidad en I + D+i Juan de la Cierva’.

Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5) is an anti-inflammatory adipocytokine secreted by adipocytes that seems to be linked with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to evaluate the role of the SFRP5-wingless-MMTV integration site family member 5a (WNT5A) pathway, closely related to adipogenesis, in subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral adipose tissues (VAT) and its relationship with obesity-related NAFLD. Our cohort was composed of 60 women with morbid obesity (MO), who underwent hypocaloric diet, subclassified according to their hepatic histopathology and 15 women with normal weight. We observed increased SFRP5 mRNA expression in VAT and lower WNT5A expression in SAT in MO compared to normal weight. We found elevated SFRP5 expression in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in SAT and in mild simple steatosis (SS) and NASH in VAT. We observed higher WNT5A expression in SS compared to normal liver in SAT, and a peak of WNT5A expression in mild SS. To conclude, we reported increased SFRP5 mRNA expression in SAT and VAT of NAFLD-related to obesity subjects, suggesting an implication of the SFRP5-WNT5A pathway in NAFLD pathogenesis, probably due to the adipose tissue-liver axis. Since the mechanisms by which this potential interaction takes place remain elusive, more research in this field is needed.

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are beginning to be understood. RUNX1 is involved in angiogenesis, which is crucial in inflammation, but its role in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze RUNX1 mRNA hepatic and jejunal abundance in women with morbid obesity (MO) and NAFLD. RUNX1, lipid metabolism-related genes, and TLRs in women with MO and normal liver (NL, n = 28), NAFLD (n = 41) (simple steatosis (SS, n = 24), or NASH (n = 17)) were analyzed by RT-qPCR. The RUNX1 hepatic expression was higher in SS than in NL or NASH, as likewise confirmed by immunohistochemistry. An increased expression of hepatic FAS was found in NAFLD. Hepatic RUNX1 correlated positively with FAS. There were no significant differences in the jejunum RUNX1 expressions in the different groups. Jejunal FXR expression was lower in NASH than in NL, while the TLR9 expression increased as NAFLD progressed. Jejunal RUNX1 correlated positively with jejunal PPARγ, TLR4, and TLR5. In summary, the hepatic expression of RUNX1 seems to be involved in the first steps of the NAFLD process, however, in NASH, it seems to be downregulated. Our findings provide important insights into the role of RUNX1 in the context of NAFLD/NASH, suggesting a protective role.

[spa] En los últimos años los estudios de microfósiles vegetales, y los fitolitos en particular, se han consolidado como herramienta indispensable para reconstruir las condiciones paleoambientales y la paleovegetación, así como para trazar la utilización y explotación de los recursos vegetales en el pasado. En este trabajo se abordan diversas cuestiones metodológicas considerando procesos de formación, composición, producción y preservación de estos microrrestos. Asimismo se incide en la importancia de entender tanto los procesos de formación como los procesos postdeposicionales que pueden haber afectado la preservación de los restos y que son cruciales en la interpretación del registro arqueológico. A través de una selección de casos de estudio articulados en tres ejes temáticos principales (reconstrucción de la paleovegetación, uso del fuego y primeras prácticas agrícolas y ganaderas), se demuestra su enorme potencial y variabilidad de aplicaciones. [cat] En els darrers anys els estudis de microfòssils vegetals i els fitòlits en particular s'han consolidat com una eina indispensable per a la reconstrucció de les condicions paleoambientals i la paleovegetació, com també per traçar la utilització i l'explotació dels recursos vegetals en el passat. En aquest treball s'aborden diferents qüestions metodològiques considerant el procés de formació, composició, producció i preservació d'aquestes microrestes. Així mateix s'incideix en la importància d'entendre tant els processos de formació com els processos postdeposicionals que poden haver afectat la preservació de les restes i que són crucials en la interpretació del registre arqueològic. A través d'una selecció de casos d'estudi articulats en tres eixos principals (reconstrucció de paleovegetació, ús del foc i primeres pràctiques agrícoles i ramaderes), es demostra el gran potencial i variabilitat de les aplicacions. [eng] In recent years studies of plant microfossils, and phytoliths in particular have emerged as an indispensable tool for reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions and palaeovegetation and to trace the use and exploitation of plant resources in the past. This paper addresses several methodological issues considering formation processes, composition, production and preservation of this micro remains. It also stresses the importance of understanding both formation and post-depositional processes that may have affected the preservation of the remains which are crucial in interpreting the archaeological record. Through a selection of case studies related to three main themes (palaeovegetation reconstruction, use of fire and early farming practices), phytolith analysis demonstrates its huge potential and variability of applications.

This study illustrates the contribution of plant and faecal microfossil records to interdisciplinary approaches on the identification, composition, taphonomy and seasonality of livestock dung materials. The focus is on the taphonomy of opal phytoliths and calcitic dung spherulites embedded within modern faecal pellets collected from pasture grounds and pens from a range of animals, including cattle, sheep and pigs from three different farms and seasons of the year in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Modern reference materials provide comparative plant and dung microfossil indicators on factors affecting the formation, composition, preservation and decay of animal faeces, as well as on the diverse environmental and anthropogenic aspects influencing these. The reported results show relevant changes in phytolith and spherulite composition according to animal species and age, livestock management, seasonality, and grazing and foddering regimes. Both microfossil records provide fundamental information on taphonomic issues that are understudied, such as the variation in the digestibility among different species, including under investigated animals such as pigs, as well on the seasonality of plant and faecal microfossils that are excreted with dung as an important material for reconstructing human-environment interactions which is commonly overlooked in archaeology, This study was made possible by support from the Consell Insular de Menorca and the Museu de Menorca. M.P. was a Marie Sklodowska-Curie at the University of Reading. The MICROARCHEODUNG project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529. K.D.’s research was supported by an AHRC South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership PhD studentship and placement at the University of Reading. She was a visiting research fellow at the Laboratory of Archaeobotany, Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona supervised by M.P. We are very grateful to Raquel Piqué and Karen Hardy (Department of Prehistory), as well as to Joan Manuel Soriano (Department of Geography) for access and further support at the laboratories of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Special thanks are due to the families of Algendaret Nou, Talatí de Dalt and Es Capell de Ferro that welcomed us into their farms and homes and provided access to the samples and key information for this research.

Livestock dung is a suitable material for delineating the complexity of interactions between people, plants and animals as it contains critical information on environmental and ecological issues as well as socio-economic dynamics and cultural lifeways. However, animal faecal remains and other coprogenic materials are commonly overlooked in most archaeological research programs due, in part, to methodological challenges in its recovery and identification. This paper evaluates the contribution of integrated geoarchaeological approaches, together with comparative reference ethnoarchaeological records, to interdisciplinary microscopic analyses on the identification of animal dung and its archaeological significance within farming built environments. It brings together records from a selection of recent geo-ethnoarchaeological case studies across the Near East, one of the heartlands of plant and animal domestication, and from northern Africa, an understudied key area with critical implications for neighbouring regions such as the Sahara. This article examines the state-of-the-art of dung material identifications within agricultural and pastoral settlements and their potential for tracing ecological diversity, animal management strategies, penning, grazing and foddering, seasonality, and dung use. This review highlights the value of modern reference frameworks of livestock dung as a primary source of information for disentangling human–plant–animal dynamics through time and space, The MICROARCHEODUNG project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement No. H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529. A.G.-S.’s work was supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) doctoral grant, a University of Reading Research Studentship and Travel Award, a British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara (BIAA) study grant, a NERC LSMSF grant BRIS/86/1015, a John Templeton Foundation Award No 52003 (P.I. I. Hodder, Stanford University), and a Wainwright Early Career Fellowship at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. She has been awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship under M.P.’s supervision at the Institución Milà y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades (IMF), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (PATIOS, grant agreement No. H2020-MSCA-IF-2020-101031925).

Paleo-wetlands have fragmented in archaeological times associated with human stressors. We present an interdisciplinary analysis of a past temporary paleo-wetland located at an important junction between the valleys of the Rivers Guadalquivir and Guadalimar in the province of Jaén (Eastern Andalusia, Spain). We applied a high-resolution protocol to identify the paleo-wetland used for ritual purposes during the Iron Age. Based on archaeological excavations and analyses (soil micromorphology, pollen and phytoliths analyses, optically stimulated luminescence [OSL] datings, and other techniques), we found a palaeosoil formed in a wetland environment active during the Late Holocene, dating back to the 9th century AD., We are thankful for the support received from the “Ramón y Cajal” Sub-programme (RYC-2017-22122) funded by Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and by the European Union (European Social Fund. FSE) to CRG; and from the Juan de la Cierva-Formación Subprogramme (FJC2019-041335-I) funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033) and by the European Union (NextGenerationEU/PRTR) to MG-R;andthefollowing Research Projects: P20-00301/UJA; RTI2018-101714-BI00; P18-RT-4963; B-RNM-404-UGR18.

The collection of papers in this special issue arose from the 2018 and 2019 workshops in Integrated Microscopy Approaches in Archaeobotany (henceforth IMAA), hosted by the University of Reading, UK. The IMAA has an interdisciplinary ethos and not only brings together students and specialists to facilitate cross-sector exchanges of a broad variety of skills, but also the discussions that take place there are driven by a practical microscopy element. The IMAA crosses boundaries between archaeobotany, palaeoecology and wider geoscientific and archaeological specialisms, as well as between professional sectors, which is reflected in the contributions to this special issue. The papers continue to develop our interpretations and understanding of taphonomic processes in archaeobotanical assemblages, with several highlighting the important role ethnoarchaeological and experimental approaches have to play in untangling these complex processes., The 2018 and 2019 IMAA workshops were funded by the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, UK, and thanks go to all staff, students and participants.

Livestock dung is a valuable material for reconstructing human and animal inter-relations and activity within open areas and built environments. This paper examines the identification and multi-disciplinary analysis of dung remains from three neighbouring sites in the Konya Plain of Central Anatolia, Turkey: Boncuklu (ninth–eighth millennium cal BC), the Çatalhöyük East Mound (eighth–sixth millennium cal BC), and the Late Neolithic occupation at the Pınarbaşı rockshelter (seventh millennium cal BC). It presents and evaluates data on animal management strategies and husbandry practices through the simultaneous examination of plant and faecal microfossils and biomarkers with thin-section micromorphology and integrated phytolith, dung spherulite, and biomolecular analyses, together with comparative reference geo-ethnoarchaeological assemblages. Herbivore dung and other coprogenic materials have been identified predominantly in open areas, pens and midden deposits through micromorphology and the chemical signatures of their depositional contexts and composition. Accumulations of herbivore faecal material and burnt remains containing calcitic spherulites and phytoliths have provided new information on animal diet, fodder and dung fuel. Evidence from phytoliths from in situ penning deposits at early Neolithic Çatalhöyük have provided new insights into foddering/grazing practices by identifying highly variable herbivorous regimes including both dicotyledonous and grass-based diets. This review illustrates the variability of dung depositswithin early agricultural settlements and their potential for tracing continuity and change in ecological diversity, herd management strategies and foddering, health, energy and dung use, as well as the complexity of interactions between people and animals in this key region during the early Holocene., We are grateful to all the archaeological team members and to the project directors Prof. Ian Hodder and Prof. Douglas Baird for their support and helpful discussions, as well as to the government representatives and the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums and the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism for permission to export samples and support. Special thanks are due to Dr. Seona Anderson and Dr. Füsun Ertuğ for the samples for micromorphological analysis fromtheir ethnographic research.MP’s work has been funded by the European Union’s MICROARCHEODUNG project. The project has received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529. AGS is a Wainwright Early Career Fellow at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford. Her research has been supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) doctoral grant, a University of Reading Research Studentship and Travel Award, a British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara (BIAA) study grant, and a John Templeton Foundation Award (No 52003, P.I.: I. Hodder) that also supported research conducted by W. Matthews on Çatalhöyük. The GC/MS analyses referred to briefly here and more fully elsewhere and in forthcoming publications, were supported by NERC LSMSF grant BRIS/86/1015, and we are very grateful to Dr. Ian D. Bull for all his support.

Archaeobotany is the study of archaeological plant remains, which include macroremains, such as seeds and wood charcoal, and a range of associated microfossils, such as phytoliths, pollen, spores and starch grains. These papers showcase a range of microscopy approaches that can be applied to examine and interpret botanical and organic assemblages in the archaeological record, and to address a range of topical research themes and current debates in archaeology, such as environmental management, human responses to environmental change and sustainable life-ways spanning a broad geographical and chronological time periods. Soil micromorphology is a technique that enables the formation and post-depositional processes of archaeological deposits to be understood by reconstructing sediment histories. It allows archaeobotanical remains to be examined within their depositional context to provide a micro-contextual interpretation of the evidence, and to understand different types of archaeobotanical remains in a range of preservation conditions. As with many other proxies, formation processes and taphonomy are key issues in the study of any type of plant remains, and this is reflected in several contributions of this volume., Funding, administrative and technical support has been provided by the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science for the successful development of the IMAA workshops, and we thank the Association for Environmental Archaeology, Beta Analytic and Quaternary Scientific (QUEST) for their sponsorship. The 2017 workshop also received funding from the University of Reading's Endowment Fund. Rowena Banerjea's research was carried out within the framework of The Ecology of Crusading project, which received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007–2013) under grant agreement No. 263735. Catherine Barnett's research was funded by the Calleva Foundation as part of the wider Silchester Environs project. The work of Marta Portillo was carried out within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 MICROARCHEODUNG project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529.

Located in the arid basalt desert of northeastern Jordan, the settlement of Jawa is by far the largest and best-preserved archaeological site in the region. The Early Bronze Age (EBA) settlement phase of Jawa (3500–3000 BCE) is characterized by a highly sophisticated water storage system made of a series of pools, dams, and canals. In addition, recent archaeological and geoarchaeological surveys have uncovered agricultural terrace systems in the nearby vicinity. In this study, four of these runoff terrace systems were investigated by detailed mapping. Additionally, thirteen sediment profiles from inside and outside the terrace systems were recorded and sampled. The examined samples were analyzed for bulk chemistry, texture, phytoliths, diatoms, and dung spherulites to supply information on the environmental and depositional conditions. The terrace systems were dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Ancient terrace agriculture was practiced on slopes, small plateaus, and valleys close to Jawa through the use of surface canals, which collected and diverted floodwater from nearby wadis or runoff from adjacent slopes. The terraced fields were usually arranged in cascades and comprised a system of risers, canals, and spillways. The terrace fills investigated yield OSL ages of around 3300 BCE, indicating that the terraces were constructed in the Early Bronze Age. The terrace fill sequences are composed of mixed unstratified fine sediments of local origin, reflecting low-energy fluvial deposition regimes. The phytolith record is dominated by Pooid grasses that include the most common Near Eastern cereals, such as wheat and barley. Increased phytolith concentrations in terrace fill sediments, as compared to samples from non-terrace deposits nearby, suggest increased plant growth and water availability within the terraces. Whether the terrace systems were used for growing food crops only or whether they were additionally used for grazing cannot be ascertained. Overall, quantitative phytolith analyses in arid environments are well suited to investigate temporal and spatial distributions of plant microfossil concentrations and their relation to human activity or paleoenvironmental conditions.

With the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), hunter-gatherers of the so-called Iberomaurusian techno-complex appeared in what is now the Mediterranean Maghreb. During a period of about seven thousand years, these groups left sandy occupation layers in a limited number of archaeological sites, while at the beginning of Greenland Interstadial (GI) 1, the sudden shift towards the deposition of shell-rich sediments and the increase in number of sites document clear changes in subsistence strategies as well as occupation density. It is highly likely that these shifts in human behaviour are related to paleoenvironmental changes in the area, which, so far, are poorly documented in geological and archaeological archives. Ifri El Baroud (Gunpowder Cave, northeast Morocco) contains a well-stratified archaeological sequence covering both phases of Iberomaurusian occupation separated by a sharp sedimentary change. In this paper, new chronological data and detailed investigations on site formation using sedimentology and micromorphology are presented. In addition, results of the analyses of fauna, pollen, macrobotanical remains, and phytoliths are included. This data contributes to a full-scale paleoenvironmental interpretation of the site’s archaeological deposits, highlighting the fluctuations of landscape conditions at the transition from the cold-arid Greenland Stadial (GS) 2.1 to the warmer and moister Greenland Interstadial 1., Permission to carry out new field research at Ifri El Baroud and to export sediment and micromorphological samples was granted by the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Partimoine of Rabat, Morocco. The excavation was financially supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Projektnummer 57444011 – SFB 806. AMS Radiocarbon dates have been financed by the SFB 806 and the “Paleoplant” (ERC-CG-2013-SH6) Consolidator Grant. At the time of this research, AP was PhD candidate at the SFB 806 - University of Cologne. MP research has been funded by PALEOPLANT and EU Horizons 2020 MICROARCHAEODUNG (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529). YCM and JM are beneficiaries of a Ramón y Cajal research fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad. Part of the charcoal analysis was performed with the financial support of a research technician contract to PVM (CPI-16-432) funded by the additional budget from the Ramón y Cajal research programme. The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and Taylor Otto for the editing of the English language.

Over the last few decades a variety of geoarchaeological methods and ethnoarchaeological and experimental approaches have demonstrated the fundamental importance of animal dung deposits for reconstructing past human life-ways. Through simultaneous examination in micromorphological thin-section and integrated phytolith and faecal spherulite analyses, this study provides direct evidence for animal management and organisation of space at Neolithic Çatalhöyük by examining livestock penning deposits across the settlement. The identification of new extensive areas of penning distributed within the boundaries of the early occupation of the site suggests greater proximity to and management of herds immediately prior to a phase of settlement expansion, access to wider networks and resources, and increased exploitation of the wider landscape. Phytolith assemblages from in situ dung accumulations also provide new insights into foddering/grazing practices showing highly variable herbivorous regimes, including both dicotyledonous and grass-based diets with an important proportion of grasses used as fodder and/or grazing during the early occupation of Çatalhöyük. This study provides direct evidence of the proximity of humans and herds, continuity and change in animal management strategies and farming practices, and concepts of space at the site., The study was carried out within the framework of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, the John Templeton Foundation Grant Consciousness and Creativity and the Dawn of Settled Life: The Test-case of Çatalhöyük (award No 52003), and EU Horizon 2020 MICROARCHEODUNG project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529.

Interdisciplinary methodological approaches are fundamental for studying tool use and crop processing patterns in the archaeological record. Many archaeological studies of plant microfossil evidence, primarily those of phytoliths, starch grains and pollen, are concerned with processing methods which can be replicated through experimentally produced plant residues. However, most of these studies rely on crop identification through the presence or absence of such microfossils while giving little or hardly any weight to taphonomy and formation processes, which are critical for interpreting archaeological contexts. An investigation of experimentally produced phytolith and pollen assemblages provides the opportunity to evaluate the impact of cereal processing on both microfossils. Controlled experiments were conducted at the Museum of Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, for assessing microfossil taphonomy using Iron Age Talayotic tools and Hordeum vulgare (hulled barley) grown nowadays on the island. For dehusking, a sandstone mortar and a wooden pestle were used outdoors, whereas grinding took place indoors using a limestone quern and handstone. The results indicate that the size of multicellular or anatomically connected phytoliths decreases as a result of mechanical degradation suffered through processing activities, whereas the proportion of cereal pollen grains increases through these processes. Additionally, experimental samples from dehusking and sieving provided abundant evidence of floral bracts, and also of other plant parts and even different plant species, such as phytoliths from leaves and stems and non cereal pollen taxa, which were also to be found on the surfaces of the ground stone tools. These findings highlight the importance of integrating different lines of microfossil evidence and taking into account formation and taphonomic aspects, as well as the value of experimentally produced data for a better understanding of tool use and crop processing.

Morphometric analysis (measurements of size and shape) has become a significant research tool in phytolith studies. The International Phytolith Society (IPS) appointed the International Committee for Phytolith Morphometrics (ICPM) to establish methodological standards for the discipline. This paper presents current recommendations of the ICPM. It discusses the role of morphometric analysis in phytolith studies and recommends a paradigm for its application, criteria for data collection and publication, definitions for basic measurements and software for computer-assisted image analysis.

Carrión Marco Y., Morales J., Portillo M., Pérez-Jordà G., Peña-Chocarro L., Zapata L. (2018) The Use of Wild Plants in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of Northwestern Africa: Preliminary Results from the PALEOPLANT Project. En: Mercuri A., D'Andrea A., Fornaciari R., Höhn A. (eds.) Plants and People in the African Past. Springer, Cham, This contribution presents preliminary results from PALEOPLANT, a European Research Council (ERC) multidisciplinary research project that focuses on the analyses of plant remains from Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites in North Africa. The project aims are to: (1) characterize wild plant exploitation among human communities; (2) refine current knowledge on past landscapes; and (3) improve archaeological methodology and fieldwork when studying plants. We discuss preliminary results from charred plant macroremains (wood, seeds and fruits) and plant microfossils (phytoliths and calcitic ash pseudomorphs), as well as dung spherulites recorded in several northwestern African sites spanning the Late Pleistocene to the Early-Middle Holocene (c. 33 to 2 ka BC). Charcoal assemblages indicate the presence of mixed oak/juniper woodlands during the Late Pleistocene while conifers become the dominant element of the vegetation during the transition from Late Glacial to Early Holocene. In these contexts, some of the main species of thermo- and meso-Mediterranean Holocene landscapes (Olea europaea, Pistacia, etc.) were already present but their spread occurred during the Middle Holocene, concurrently with Neolithic occupations. The combination of wood charcoal, other plant macroremains (seeds and fruits) and plant microfossils, including both plant and dung indicators, provide new insights not only into the presence of a wide range of plant resources (wild pulses, Ziziphus lotus, Pinus halepensis, Quercus sp., Stipa tenacissima and Chamaerops humilis) but also on the variability of their potential uses (including fuel, food, fiber, bedding, fodder). Archaeobotanical results suggest continuity in the use of wild plants during the Neolithic. In addition, wood charcoal assemblages reflect significant changes that occurred in plant composition including the expansion of thermo-Mediterranean species., Research has been carried out within the framework of the PALEOPLANT project (ERC 2013 CoG 614960). Y. Carrión and J. Morales are beneficiaries of a Ramón y Cajal research fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Spain. M. Portillo research is currently funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie action MICROARCHAEODUNG (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529). G. Pérez Jordà work has been carried out within the postdoctoral contract FPDI-2013-16034 and IJCI-2015-25082 funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. We would like to express our special gratitude to J. Bouzouggar and Y. Bokbot (Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Morocco), S. Merzoug and F. Kherbouche (Centre National de Recherches Prehistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques, Algeria), L. Belhouchet and N. Aouadi, (Institut National du Patrimoine, Tunisia), N. Barton (University of Oxford, UK), L. Humphrey (The Natural History Museum, UK), J. Lindstädter (Deutsches Archälogisches Institut, Germany), S. Mulazzani (University of Aix-Marseille, France), A. Polo-Díaz (UPV/EHU, Spain), J.C. Vera Rodríguez (University of Huelva, Spain) and R.M. Martínez Sánchez (University of Granada, Spain) for long-term, amicable cooperative work and for providing access to the site data.

This paper presents direct evidence for cereal storage by Neolithic farmers in west Asia. Storage features analyzed this study are circular clay bins that frequently occur at Neolithic settlements (8th millennium cal. BP) in the southern Caucasus. We examined contexts and uses of clay bin features at the Neolithic settlement of Goytepe (Azerbaijan). We analyzed biogenic microfossil evidence (primarily from phytoliths and dung spherulites) and the sediments of the clay bins through micromorphology, in combination with their associated charred macrobotanical remains. While phytoliths and charred botanical remains indicate direct remnants of stored plants, mainly chaffs, micromorphology and the analyses of faecal spherulites allow us to examine depositional and diagenetic processes of the archaeological sediments inside and outside these features. As a result, one of the clay bins was found to retain deposits at its base exhibiting high concentrations of grass phytoliths with relatively high proportions of inflorescences and low percentages of anatomically connected phytoliths in comparison with its upper fill deposits and areas outside of the bin. These finds, combined with the association of the two complete grinding stones inside the bottom of the bin, suggest that the remains of cereal processing activities, specifically dehusking, may have been placed in the bin. This interpretation is corroborated by the recovery of charred rachises and chaffs of wheat and barley as well as micromorphological observations that the bottommost fill of the bin consists almost entirely of grass phytoliths with few very small charcoal fragments and fine amorphous organic matter.

In southwest Asia, the accelerated impact of human activities on the landscape has often been linked to the development of fully agricultural societies during the middle and late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period (around 10.2–7.9 ka cal. BP). This work contributes to the debate on the environmental impact of the so-called Neolitisation process by identifying the climatic and anthropogenic factors that contributed to change local and regional vegetation at the time when domesticated plants appeared and developed in southern Syria (around 10.7–9.9 ka cal. BP). In this work a multidisciplinary analysis of plant microremains (pollen and phytoliths) and macroremains (wood charcoal) is carried out along with stable carbon isotope discrimination of wood charcoals in an early PPNB site (Tell Qarassa North, west of the Jabal al-Arab area). Prior to 10.5 ka cal. BP, the results indicate a dynamic equilibrium in the local and regional vegetation, which comprised woodland-steppe, Mediterranean evergreen oak-woodlands, wetland vegetation and coniferous forests. Around 10.5–9.9 ka cal. BP, the elements that regulated the vegetation system changed, resulting in reduced proportions of arboreal cover and the spread of cold-tolerant and wetlands species. Our data show that reinforcing interaction between the elements of the anthropogenic (e.g. herding, fire-related activities) and climatic systems (e.g. temperature, rainfall) contributed to the transformation of early Holocene vegetation during the emergence of fully agricultural societies in southern Syria., This work is dedicated to Lydia Zapata, for her support, encouragement and commitment to Tell Qarassa North project. The wood charcoal analyses were conducted by Amaia Arranz-Otaegui during her PhD research at the University of the Basque Country and with the financial support of the Basque Government (Pre-doctoral grant number: BFI.09.249) and the UPV/EHU: Research GroupIT622-13/UFI 11-09. Marta Portillo is part of the Prehistory Consolidated Research Team at the UPV/EHU IT-622-13. Her research is currently funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie action MICROARCHAEODUNG (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529). Andrea Balbo has worked on this paper on a Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (ARiD). The Qarassa project was carried out thanks to the authorisation of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria. The project was funded by the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture), the Ministry of Science and Innovation (R + D Projects: BHA2003-09685-CO2-01, HUM2007-66128-C02-01, HUM2007-66128-C02-02 and HAR2013-47480-P), and the Government of Catalonia (EXCAVA2006 Programme), Gerda Henkel, Palarq and Shelby White-Leon Levy Foundations.

Tell Seker al-Aheimar, located in the Upper Khabur, northeastern Syria, is an early Neolithic settlement that chrono-culturally spans from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) to the Proto-Hassuna period (Pottery Neolithic). The site is one of the largest and best documented Neolithic sites in this relatively poorly investigated region in Upper Mesopotamia. Among the occupation sequence of the site with well-defined architectural phases, the Late PPNB settlement (late 8th to early 7th millennium cal. BC) is characterized by an extensive mud-brick architecture, which comprises large multi-roomed rectangular buildings and gypsum-plastered floors. Our research questions center on the identification of domestic activities and their spatial distributions in the site through integrated studies of phytoliths and dung spherulites using an ethnoarchaeological approach. The ethnoarchaeological research included the study of agricultural and dung remains obtained from modern domestic structures from the top of the tell and the modern village of Seker al-Aheimar. The examined activity areas and materials comprised indoor storage and processing spaces, open areas, fireplaces, building materials and livestock enclosures. We use the ethnoarchaeological results to interpret the distributions of both phytolith and spherulite concentrations in archaeological contexts in terms of domestic activities that took place both within and outside buildings. Building spaces and their adjacent areas showed material accumulation resulting from household debris, including food remains, construction materials, matting, hearth cleaning and fuel residues. Indoor activities included the use of certain areas for storage, cereal-processing and cooking. The identification of livestock dung remains in fireplaces suggests the use of dung as a fuel source. We compare these new results with our previous studies of different phases and areas of the site to discuss diachronic and spatial trends in Neolithic household behaviors at Tell Seker al-Aheimar.

Livestock dung is a valuable material in many rural communities worldwide. In our research area, the site of Althiburos and its surroundings, now el Medeïna, in northwestern Tunisia, dung is the main source of fuel for domestic purposes, primarily the processing and cooking of foods. Ovicaprine dung is daily used in traditional mud tannur type ovens, namely tabouna. The archaeological record shows that mud constructed cooking installations were common during the first millennium BC. Previous studies of phytoliths and dung spherulites at Numidian Althiburos suggested the use of vegetal and fecal matter for fuel purposes. We present here the results of the continuation study based on the comparison between archaeological results (a selection of cooking installations, six hearths and two mud ovens) and those obtained from the ethnographic study of dung fuel materials from the site area. The present study builds up on ethnographic observations and informal interviews (dung collection, management, storage, waste disposal and cooking and baking activities), temperature measurements within the burning fuel, as well as modern material sampling (fresh dung, burned pellets, dung ashes and fuel trash paths) which was followed by integrated studies of phytoliths and calcitic microfossil analyses (dung spherulites and wood ash pseudomorphs) for comparative purposes. The results obtained provided direct evidence regarding the type of fuel sources: dung, wood and a mixing of dung and vegetal matter (wood and agricultural by-products). Dung was used as source of fuel material across time (from the Early Numidian occupation phase, 10 the 9th century BC, to the last centuries BC) and space (in different excavation areas and type of installations). Such integrated studies demonstrate the value of combining different microarchaeological techniques and the use of ethnoarchaeological material from site areas.

The understanding of taphonomic and soil formation processes is critical for evaluating the integrity of the archaeological record. The Numidian settlement of Althiburos, northern Tunisia, presents a rich archaeobiological record which includes bones in well state of preservation, dung accumulation and plant remains. This paper focuses on the Early Numidian occupation of the site (from the 10th–9th century to the early 7th century BC). The results obtained from integrated studies of mammal remains in association to grass phytoliths and faecal spherulites rich sediments, and the factors leading to their formation and preservation, suggest locations where livestock dung were concentrated. Most of the studied layers are characterized by accumulations of dung related to a grass-rich diet and domestic waste. Faunal remains showed anthropic marks, such as burning, cut and chop marks. In contrast, animal bones are scarce or completely absent in contexts defined as hearths, indicating that they were not even discarded and thrown into the fire. Phytolith and spherulite associations in the latter contexts suggest the use of vegetal and faecal material for fuel purposes.

Recent excavations at Althiburos, northern Tunisia, have shown the existence of permanent pre-roman occupations in the central area of the urban settlement. Significantly, the site has been found to contain one of the most complete Numidian sequences, spanning from the Early Numidian (at least from the 10th–9th century BC) to its final stage. Research at the site addresses questions related to the identification of settlement patterns at this time. The combined study of phytoliths and spherulites recovered from well defined archeological contexts at the site have provided new data for identifying husbandry activities carried out by the ancient Numidian populations. The results show that there is abundant evidence for both cooking and processing cereals, primarily from common or bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). Also significantly, was the abundance of faecal spherulites in certain areas of the site, indicative of dung accumulation. The correlation between large amounts of spherulites and rich phytolith sediments in specific contexts, suggested that grasses were brought to the site or consumed offsite and deposited onsite as livestock dung or dung-products. The identification of dung accumulations in the site raises questions about the diversity of economic practices developed by Protohistoric communities in northern Africa. Future research questions regarding such dung rich layers will also be examined.

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Ayn Abū Nukhayla (Wadi Rum, Jordan) contains structural installations (loci) composed of inter-connected oval, rock-walled, pithouses. Questions that arose from their study centered on how to identify possible herding and agricultural activities and to assess any differences in how the loci were used. The combined study of phytoliths and spherulites identified from different loci are presented here. The results of quantitative, morphologic and morphometric analyses of phytoliths and spherulites identified in the different loci are discussed. Cereal processing is evident in some loci by the concentration of the inflorescent parts of festucoid grass phytoliths associated with the presence of handstones and querns. These loci appear to have encompassed specific areas in which domestic activities, including the grinding of cereals and the preparation of other plant resources, were undertaken. In contrast, other loci (such as Locus 20) seem to have been used as pens for herd animals (sheep/goats) as indicated by very high densities of spherulites. The results of this study provide new insights on plant uses, herding practices, and the economic diversity of Early Neolithic communities in the Levant.

The presence of many phytolith-rich layers in late Bronze and Iron Age deposits at Tel Dor, Israel, are indicative of specific locations where plants were concentrated. Detailed studies of six of these phytolith-rich layers and associated sediments from Tel Dor show that the phytoliths were derived mainly from wild and domestic grasses. The most common domestic grass was the cereal Triticum aestivum (bread wheat). Three of these layers have a microlaminated microstructure, associated dung spherulites and phosphate nodules; characteristics that all point to the phytolith-rich layers having formed from dung in animal enclosures. In two of the layers, the microlaminated structure is absent while dung spherulites and phosphate nodules are present, suggesting that these too originate from dung that was not deposited in an enclosure. The sixth layer is microlaminated but does not contain spherulites. We thus cannot suggest a parsimonious explanation of its observed properties. Concentrations of burnt phytoliths are present in three locations, implying that dung was either burnt in situ or the ashes from burnt dung were redeposited. The transformation of dung accumulations into phytolith-rich layers involves a loss of organic material and hence a significant reduction in sediment volume, which is clearly apparent in the stratigraphy of some of the locations examined. The volume reduction can be observed in the macrostratigraphy and has important implications with regard to macrostratigraphic interpretation. The presence of abundant phytolith-rich layers on the tell has significant implications for the concept of ‘urbanism’ during these periods. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Morphometric analysis, the study of measurements of size and shape, has the potential to be an effective tool for phytolith analysis. This study reports the first attempt to apply the methodology to oats. In particular, this study was designed to determine if morphometric analysis could adequately discriminate between phytoliths produced in the inflorescence bracts of two species of oats, Avena sativa L. and Avena strigosa Schreb. Results indicate that while the taxa produce the same types of phytoliths, those phytoliths have significantly different measurements of size and shape. This suggests the technique has the potential to become a powerful research tool for investigators working in the wide variety of disciplines that utilize phytolith analysis.

Los estudios arqueobotanicos no han tenido en el area gallega un gran desarrollo en yacimientos medievalesexceptuando algunos analisis antracologicos. Tampoco ha sido habitual la aplicacion de metodos deidentificacion de polen y fitolitos para estructuras tipo silos, no solo para esta epoca sino en la investigacionarqueologica del NW peninsular en general. El hallazgo de varias fosas en el contexto de la intervencionarqueologica de los Grandes Almacenes El Pilar (Santiago de Compostela, Galicia) constituye un interesantepunto de partida para la aplicacion de este tipo analisis contextualizado en un momento importantedel desarrollo de la ciudad de Santiago, el proceso de crecimiento del burgo en la transicion de la Alta ala Baja Edad Media. Este estudio aporta datos que ayudan a interpretar el uso concreto de las estructurasexcavadas – como estructuras de almacenaje de trigo –, que dificilmente se podria haber establecido tansolo a partir de la tipologia de dichas estructuras. The archaeological excavation of Grandes Almacenes El Pilar (Santiago de Compostela, Spain): an archaeobotanicalstudy of medieval storage pits.The use of archaeobotanical studies in medieval archaeological sites from Galicia, is not usual, exceptfor occasional charcoal analyses. Pollen and phytolith identification in relation to storage pits is also rare,not only for this period but also for archaeological research in NW Iberia in general. The identification ofseveral pits in the archaeological site of Grandes Almacenes El Pilar (Santiago de Compostela, Galicia)offered the opportunity to apply these types of analyses and in this way shed more light on the use ofthese structures at the end of the Early Medieval period in Santiago, a time when the city was developingand expanding. This study provides new information on the use of these features as storage pits forwheat, and shows the potential of pollen and phytolith analyses in complementing typological studiesand aiding in interpretation.

The degree to which desertification during the Holocene resulted from climatic deterioration or alternatively from overgrazing has puzzled Quaternary scientists in many arid regions of the world. In the research reported upon here, a multi-disciplinary investigation of a 5-m deep, ~11,000-year-old sediment column excavated in a dry lake bed in southern Jordan revealed an early interval in which proxies of plant cover and sheep/goat stocking rates co-varied directly with climatic cycles. Beginning ~5.6 kcal BP, however, this pattern changed with fecal spherulite and phytolith densities failing to co-vary and with spherulites often greatly exceeding phytolith densities, which we suggest is indicative of overgrazing. Moreover, the lack of agreement between the high phytolith densities and other indicators of a desert landscape (i.e. geomorphic and palynologic) suggests that phytolith densities were inflated by fodder subsidies and as such are not entirely reflective of plant cover for this later interval. Given the co-incidental emergence of overgrazing with archaeological evidence for a marked rise in regional population, emergence of widespread trade, and expansion of the Timnian pastoral complex during Chalcolithic–early Bronze times, we argue that desertification was a consequence of socio-economic factors (e.g. higher stocking rates) associated with a shift from a subsistence to a market economy. In addition, we contend that the signature lithic artifact variety (tabular scraper) that appeared in great abundance during this period was directly tied to the emergent market economy and its secondary products (wool) in having been used to shear sheep. Moreover, in that these changes took place largely concurrent with local and regionally recognized evidence of a moist interval, we conclude that the mid- to late-Holocene desertification of the southern Levant was induced more by anthropogenic than climatic factors.