Burning wood or burning bone? A reconsideration of flotation evidence from Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) sites in the Moravian Corridor

Abstract

This paper compares archaeobotanical and other data from new excavations at two Upper Palaeolithic sites — Dolní Vĕstonice II and Předmostí I — in the Moravian Corridor, Czech Republic. Both contain the traces of broadly contemporary ‘Gravettian’ occupations during the warmer episodes of the Pleistocene which preceded the last glacial maximum. Yet their archaeobotanical remains show striking differences — those from Dolní Vĕstonice II being dominated by large quantities of conifer wood charcoal, while those from Předmostí I are much more scanty and dominated by vitrified plant remains, in association with large quantities of burnt bone. We argue that these differences between these two datasets arise from different uses of fuel at either site: bone at Předmostí I and wood at Dolní Vĕstonice II. Subsequently, we explore the possible reasons for this difference and argue that once likely taphonomic distinctions are accounted for, these data on fuel use offer fresh insights into the functions and durations of these Upper Palaeolithic occupations of the Moravian corridor and some possible implications for how archaeobotanical data from such sites should be interpreted.