Neolithisation Process Research Articles

The Routes of Neolithisation: The Middle Struma Valley from a Regional Perspective

AbstractThe frontier position of the Balkan Peninsula, next to Anatolia and the Aegean, emphasises its key importance for the study of the Neolithisation processes taking place in Europe during the seventh–sixth millennia BC. A look at the distribution of most Early Neolithic sites along the submeridional alluvial plains of its central mountainous part often leaves the impression that the valleys of the Vardar, Struma, Mesta and Maritsa rivers functioned as natural corridors, allowing for the rapid advance of the farming way of life towards the interior regions of Europe. However, comparative analysis of the distribution patterns of specific diagnostic components of Early Neolithic cultures, such as white painted pottery, anthropomorphic figurines and miniature “cult tables”, from the Early Neolithic settlements in the Middle Struma Valley, southwestern Bulgaria, namely Kovachevo, Ilindentsi, Brezhani, Drenkovo and Balgarchevo I shows a rather unexpected direction and dynamic of cultural/social contact during this crucial period.

Decorated or Undecorated: Analysis of the Early-Middle Neolithic Transition in Western Iberia Through the Ceramic’s Stylist Techniques and Decorative Motifs

Abstract In this article, we study the role played by pottery production in the transition from Early Neolithic to Middle Neolithic in Western Iberia (∼4500–3300 cal BC) based on a critical analysis of the available empirical data. We establish a chronological and cultural sequence for this period, regarding which the historical problematic is still poorly defined due to a lasting absence of scientific discussion about the long Neolithisation process. During the evolved Early Neolithic (∼5200–4500 cal BC), archeological record shows regional specificities and cultural identities in human groups occupying a vast territory. Pottery collections evidence the strong social importance of decorative grammars, marked by a wide variety of techniques and decorative patterns. In quantitative terms, decorated vessels largely prevail over undecorated vessels. However, in the following chrono-cultural phase, the Initial Middle Neolithic (∼4500–3700 cal BC), it starts an increasing prevalence of undecorated vessels over decorated. Decorative systems prefer the incision technique to impression (dominant in the Early Neolithic). Recurrent use of an incised motif called incised line below the rim. In this period, this type of decoration prevails in the set of decorated pottery and is found in different geographic contexts. This adds consistency to the interpretation according to which the same artifact collections are found in all settlements of the initial Middle Neolithic. Finally, by the time of the first-known Megalithic burials – Full Moment of the Middle Neolithic (3700–3300 cal BC) – the decorative grammars almost disappear from pottery sets, which became more “common” and missed some of their symbolic and social meaning. Undecorated vessels prevail even more strongly than in the previous period.

Neolithization Processes of East Belgium: Supra-Regional Relationships Between Groups Highlighted by Technological Analysis of Lithic Industry

AbstractTechnological analysis of variations in blade production and the flow of siliceous raw materials revealed new understandings of different types of socio-economic functioning on a supra-regional scale. In this article, we are focusing on supra-regional relationships between technical groups and the social dynamics involved in early Neolithic mobility within the communities of East Belgium. A detailed technological analysis was done to highlight discrete characteristics that permit the identification of distinct technical groups within the village of Vaux-et-Borset. Four technical groups have been identified in the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain village, whereas two technical groups have been highlighted for the previous Linear Pottery culture (LPC) occupation. The search for the origin of the different technical groups was to understand the micro-processes of Neolithization in East Belgium. A central area with a high-density population during the pioneer LPC colonization, Hesbaye became a peripheral occupation area of the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture. This fringe territory seemed to attract neighbouring communities in different ways. Multidirectional dynamics seems to characterize this small territory leading to the coexistence of a high diversity of technical groups.

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran.

The Aceramic Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh (Kermanshah, Iran) is arguably one of the most significant sites for enhancing our understanding of goat domestication and the onset of sedentism. Despite its central importance, it has proven difficult to obtain contextually reliable data from it and integrate the site in regional syntheses because it was never published in full after excavations ceased in 1974. This paper presents the Ganj Dareh archive at Université de Montréal and shows how the documentation and artifacts it comprises still offer a great deal of useful information about the site. In particular, we 1) present the first stratigraphic profile for the site, which reveals a more complex depositional history than Smith's five-level sequence; 2) reveal the presence of two possible pre-agricultural levels (H-01 and P-01); 3) explore the spatial organization of different levels; 4) explain possible discrepancies in the radiocarbon dates from the site; 5) show some differences in lithic technological organization in levels H-01 and P-01 suggestive of higher degrees of residential mobility than subsequent phases of occupation at the site; and 6) reanalyze the burial data to broaden our understanding of Aceramic Neolithic mortuary practices in the Zagros. These data help refine our understanding of Ganj Dareh's depositional and occupational history and recenter it as a key site to improve our understanding the Neolithization process in the Middle East.

Intensive exploitation of marine crabs and sea urchins during the middle holocene in the eastern Arabian peninsula offers new perspectives on ancient maritime adaptations

Maritime adaptation is a key component of the Neolithization process in Eastern Arabia. It is expressed by the development of diversified fishing techniques, the exploitation of hard marine animal materials (e.g., seashells, shark teeth, stingray's barbs, etc.) for both tools and personal adornments production, advanced seafaring, and colonization of offshore islands. Although a diet based mainly on the consumption of marine fish and mollusks, the importance of other seafood has been greatly underestimated in previous zooarchaeological studies. Large quantities of marine crabs (NISP = 10,619) and sea urchins (NISP = 2454) have been retrieved from newly excavated Neolithic sites in the United Arab Emirates. These data highlight local developments of interest for specific seafood and their intensive exploitation over several centuries of human occupation. This study focuses on methods for identifying the main edible marine crab and sea urchin species retrieved from archaeological sites in Eastern Arabia. Results from the Neolithic sites of Delma Island and the Umm al-Quwain lagoon are discussed.

Timing and Pace of Neolithisation in the Dutch Wetlands (c. 5000–3500 cal. BC)

Abstract This article presents an overview of the current evidence on the process of Neolithisation in the Dutch wetlands. Over the years, several models have been proposed with different perspectives on the timing and pace of the process: a long transition, an early short transition, and a late short transition. The applicability of any of these models is, of course, dependent of the evidence. In this article, we briefly discuss recently obtained data from the Netherlands on vegetation disturbance (woodland clearing), soil disturbance (tillage), cereal cultivation, animal husbandry, and the use of ceramics. The data discussed involve palynological, sedimentary, micromorphological, archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, as well as lipid analyses. Hence, it is concluded that from the mid fifth millennium cal. BC onwards, various aspects of a more “Neolithic lifestyle” become apparent in the archaeological record, including cereal cultivation on a structural, but small-scale basis in wetland environments. However, despite the “gradual” tendency that can be observed, the evidence is as yet inconclusive with regard to any of the models, due to persisting limitations of the datasets, potential regional variability, and aspects of scale. A new project, the Emergence of Domestic Animals in the Netherlands (EDAN), aims at a better understanding of animal husbandry through aDNA and isotope analyses, within a framework of statistical chronological modelling. We expect this project to enhance the debate greatly.

New data and perspectives on the early stages of the Neolithic in the Middle Kura River Valley (South Caucasus). The 2017–2019 excavations at Kiçik Tepe, Western Azerbaijan

The factors and dynamics that initiated the Neolithisation process in the South Caucasus between the very end of the 7th and the beginning of the 6th millennium BCE are still unclear and hotly debated. It is within this framework that the excavations at Kiçik Tepe, in the middle Kura river valley of Western Azerbaijan, aim to offer new data and new perspectives on the complex interplay of environmental, social and cultural factors that contributed to this process. Excavations at Kiçik Tepe uncovered two main phases of occupation consisting of circular buildings dating to the first centuries of the 6th millennium. Architectural remains allowed us to highlight an evolutionary architectural trajectory hinting at social and productive changes in the role and structure of the households. The subsistence strategies that rely on species domesticated elsewhere show at once a series of specificities highlighting adaptation to the local environment and the exploitation of wild species possibly resulting from previous Mesolithic practices. Simultaneously, while the almost aceramic way of life at Kiçik Tepe outlines a local dialectic between Mesolithic and Neolithic cooking practices, lithic and macrolithic tools pinpoint broadly shared regional elements as well as very localised traits framed into both long and short distance contacts. As a whole the new evidence from Kiçik Tepe highlights that the Neolithisation in the South Caucasus was not a straightforward process that consisted of the abrupt and homogenous adoption of an exogenous ‘package’ but most probably of a gradual and complex process of change resulting from dynamics of resistance and innovation between old and new socio-economic and cultural models.

Review and Synthesis of the Early Neolithic Cultural Development in Fars, Southern Iran

After the eve of domestication of some wild species of cereal grains as well as sheep, goat, and pig in the Iranian central Zagros Mountains in the 2nd half of the 8th millennium BC, the process of Neolithization and sedentism began with earnest outside of this core region. This initial Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) phase appeared in Lowland Susiana, in the province of Khuzestan, southwestern Iran, and in highland province of Fars around 7200 BC. While the Pottery Neolithic (PN) phase in Susiana developed into a set of regionally uniform material culture, the contemporary PN landscape in Fars developed into a mosaic of regional cultures with both related and unrelated ceramic tradition. Yet, from the onset of PN, these early communities had inter-regional connection, as the presence of Persian Gulf shells, copper, and obsidian in many of these early settlements indicate. This mosaic of different ceramic traditions eventually developed into two distinct pottery traditions with specific geographic distribution in northern and southeastern Fars.

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic Water-well at Tell Seker al-Aheimar, Upper Mesopotamia: The Social Contexts of its Construction and Management

The water-well recovered from a Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) level in Tell Seker al-Aheimar, Northeast Syria, represents the oldest well thus far known in Upper Mesopotamia. It demonstrates that the construction of water-wells was a wide-spread practice among the PPNB communities across Cyprus, the Mediterranean coast, and now a far inland region of Upper Mesopotamia. This article provides detailed data on the water-well’s excavation and its stratigraphy, morphology, spatial positioning in the settlement, dating, and associated artefacts. An important implication of these data is that the construction and use of this well involved community activities that may have included rituals. Further, its location close to the Khabur River suggests that the well was not constructed to merely obtain fresh water; its major purpose could have been to guarantee the procurement of non-polluted water as this was an increasing concern among the developing Neolithic villages. On the whole, the water-well of Tell Seker al-Aheimar gives us important insights that develop our understanding of the Neolithisation processes of the region, notably the ‘domestication of water’.

Process and Dynamics of Mediterranean Neolithization (7000–5500 bc)

Why did the farming lifestyle appear and proliferate so rapidly through the Mediterranean basin between 7000 and 5500 bc? In this paper, I review the archaeological and bioarchaeological data pertinent to Mediterranean Neolithization, suggesting that a preponderance of evidence indicates that this process involved migration—long-distance, targeted colonization along the north Mediterranean littoral. I argue that this process was driven by rapid fissioning within early farming communities, fissioning in turn caused by competing centrifugal and centripetal economic forces within small-scale egalitarian groups.

Insight into the introduction of domestic cattle and the process of Neolithization to the Spanish region Galicia by genetic evidence

Domestic cattle were brought to Spain by early settlers and agricultural societies. Due to missing Neolithic sites in the Spanish region of Galicia, very little is known about this process in this region. We sampled 18 cattle subfossils from different ages and different mountain caves in Galicia, of which 11 were subject to sequencing of the mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis, to provide insight into the introduction of cattle to this region. We detected high similarity between samples from different time periods and were able to compare the time frame of the first domesticated cattle in Galicia to data from the connecting region of Cantabria to show a plausible connection between the Neolithization of these two regions. Our data shows a close relationship of the early domesticated cattle of Galicia and modern cow breeds and gives a general insight into cattle phylogeny. We conclude that settlers migrated to this region of Spain from Europe and introduced common European breeds to Galicia.

Bioarchaeology-related studies in the Arabian Gulf: potentialities and shortcomings

Archaeological studies provide a powerful tool to understand the prehistoric societies, especially when combined to cutting-edge morphological and molecular anthropological analyses, allowing reconstructing past population dynamics, admixture events, and socio-cultural changes. Despite the advances achieved in the last decades by archaeological studies worldwide, several regions of the World have been spared from this scientific improvement due to various reasons. The Arabian Gulf represents a unique ground to investigate, being the passageway for human migrations and one of the hypothesized areas in which Neanderthal introgression occurred. A number of archaeological sites are currently present in the Arabian Gulf and have witnessed the antiquity and the intensiveness of the human settlements in the region. Nevertheless, the archaeological and anthropological investigation in the Gulf is still in its infancy. Data collected through archaeological studies in the area have the potential to help answering adamant questions of human history from the beginning of the structuring of genetic diversity in human species to the Neolithisation process. This review aims at providing an overview of the archaeological studies in the Arabian Gulf with special focus to Qatar, highlighting potentialities and shortcomings.

Potential interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in the Western Mediterranean: The geochronological data revisited.

In the Western Mediterranean, the Neolithic mainly developed and expanded during the sixth millennium BCE. In these early phases, it generally spread through the displacement of human groups, sometimes over long distances, as shown, for example, by the Impressa sites documented on the northern shores. These groups then settled new territories which they gradually appropriated and exploited. The question of their potential interaction with groups of Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living in the area prior to their arrival is therefore crucial. Were their encounters based on conflict and resistance or, on the contrary, on exchange and reciprocity? Many hypotheses have been put forward on this matter and many papers written. Before we can consider these potential interactions however, we must first ascertain that these different human groups really did meet—an implicit assumption in all these studies, which is, in reality, much less certain than one might think. The population density of the Late Mesolithic groups varied greatly throughout the Mediterranean, and it is possible that some areas were relatively devoid of human presence. Before any Neolithization scenarios can be considered, we must therefore first determine exactly which human groups were present in a given territory at a given time. The precise mapping of sites and the chronological modeling of their occupation enriches our understanding of the Neolithization process by allowing high-resolution regional models to be developed, which alone can determine the timing of potential interactions between Mesolithic and Neolithic groups. Various international research programs have recently produced several hundred new radiocarbon dates, based on selected samples from controlled contexts. The geochronological modelling of these data at the scale of the Western Mediterranean shows contrasting situations, probably related to different social and environmental processes. These results suggest that we should consider a varied range of Neolithization mechanisms, rather than uniform or even binary models.

Stable isotope analysis of human bone from Ganj Dareh, Iran, ca. 10,100 calBP.

We report here on stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope values from bone collagen of human (n = 20) and faunal (n = 11) remains from the Early Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh, Iran, dating to ca. 10,100 cal. BP. Our focus explores how isotope values of human bone vary by age and sex, and evaluates dietary practices at this site. It also provides a baseline for future studies of subsistence in the early Holocene Central Zagros Mountains, from the site with the first evidence for human ovicaprid management in the Near East. Human remains include individuals of all age groups for dietary reconstruction, as well two Ottoman intrusive burials for temporal and cultural comparison. All analyzed individuals exhibited δ13C and δ15N values consistent with a diet based heavily on C3 terrestrial sources. There is no statistically significant difference between the isotopic compositions of the two sexes, though males appear to show larger variations compared to females. Interesting patterns in the isotopic compositions of the subadults suggested weaning children may be fed with supplements with distinctive δ13C values. Significant difference in sulfur isotope values between humans and fauna could be the earliest evidence of transhumance and could identify one older adult male as a possible transhumant shepherd. Both Ottoman individuals had distinctively different δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values compared to the Neolithic individuals. This is the first large scale analysis of human stable isotopes from the eastern end of the early Holocene Fertile Crescent. It provides a baseline for future intersite exploration of stable isotopes and insight into the lifeways, health, and processes of neolithisation associated with the origins of goat domestication at Ganj Dareh and the surrounding Central Zagros.

Dwellings of the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic in the Mari Volga Region

The paper studies the construction of residential buildings in the Stone Age of the Mari Volga Region. We have analyzed buildings on the settlements of the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods of the Mari Volga Region. The main principles of house building of the Mesolithic era of the Mari Volga Region are highlighted. In view of the fact that the complexes under consideration are located in the same landscape zone, a number of indicators may be similar. However, there will be differences on several points of comparison that may lead to discussions. For example, such an indicator as the prevalence of finds in the inter-dwelling space or their absence. In total, 38 structures of the Mesolithic and 35 structures of the Early Neolithic era were analyzed. To summarize, seven indicators of housing construction were selected. It is characteristic that in the Mari Volga Region most of the Neolithic sites are multilayered, however, none of the Mesolithic sites in the region has yet been found to contain early Neolithic ceramics. You can trace the difference in buildings more clearly. The presence of ground structures on the Neolithic settlements is obvious, while the local Mesolithic ones are ubiquitous semi-dugouts. Having a topographic distribution of settlements and short-term sites, a planigraphy of dwellings, as well as a presence of separate industrial and residential buildings in the Early Neolithic and Late Mesolithic, we face the problem of chronological division of the Neolithization process in the forest belt.

Mimari ve Çanak-Çömlek Geleneği Üzerinden Neolitik Dönem’de Pisidya/Göller Bölgesi’nin Batı Anadolu’daki Yeri Hakkında Yeni Gözlemler

In Pisidia/Lakes Region, the architectural and pottery development of the Neolithic period is known from the settlements of Hacilar, Bademagaci, Kurucay, and Hoyucek, at which excavations have been finalized in the region. The archaeological data collected from these settlements clarify in detail the architectural and pottery development of Pisidia/Lakes Region in the Neolithic Period and are significant in determining the place of the Southeastern Anatolia Region within the Neolithisation process. In this context, the data obtained from the aforementioned excavations provide important clues to understand the cultural structure of the region’s Neolithic Period and the network of relations established between the region and its contemporary settlements. One of the primary objectives of this study is to ascertain the direction and existence of communication between the said region and the neighboring and distant regions in the Neolithic Period. The data acquired from the excavations necessitate a re-evaluation especially of pottery wares and forms, for the purpose of using a common language for the region. In this context, the pottery finds of the settlements were renamed in this study. In light of the archaeological data, concerning the chronology problem at Hacilar, and especially the controversial issue of the intended purpose of Hoyucek during the Shrine and the Sanctuary Phases, a different perspective tried to be captured through new suggestions.

Organic residue analysis of Early Neolithic ‘bog pots’ from Denmark demonstrates the processing of wild and domestic foodstuffs

Ceramic containers, intentionally deposited into wetlands, offer detailed insights into Early Neolithic culinary practices. Additionally, they are key for ascertaining the Neolithisation process in Denmark since they appear to form a typo-chronological sequence. Here, we use a combination of organic residue analysis (ORA) of pottery alongside Bayesian chronological modelling of the radiocarbon dates obtained on these vessels to explore the initial stages of votive deposition in wetlands, a practice that stretches from the Mesolithic to the onset of Christianity in Northern Europe. We consider 34 Early-Middle Neolithic (c. 3900–2350 cal BC) ‘bog pots’ from Denmark, of which 20 have ORA data, and 26 have been dated directly. Carbonised surface residues and absorbed lipids from powdered sherds were analysed using a combination of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and GC-combustion-isotope ratio MS (GC-C-IRMS). The molecular and isotopic compositions of the analysed samples revealed the presence of aquatic, ruminant carcass and dairy fats as well as plant waxes with the majority containing mixtures thereof. Dairy fats were present from the onset of the Funnel Beaker culture, whilst aquatic foods, prevalent at the close of the preceding Mesolithic period, continued to be processed in pottery for the following thousand years.

Lipid residue analysis on Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000–3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands) and its implications for human-animal interactions in relation to the Neolithisation process

This paper focuses on the functional analysis of Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000–3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands). It examines pottery use across the transition to agriculture and aims to assess temporal changes in human-animal relations during the 5th millennium BC in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area through lipid residue analysis. We conducted lipid residue analysis of 49 samples from four Swifterbant sites: Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg, Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin, Brandwijk-het Kerkhof, and Hazendonk. A combined approach using both GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic was employed to identify their context. Their context was then compared to published faunal datasets to present the relative abundance of taxa detected in the lipid residues. Evidence of processing freshwater fish was found in all sites, presenting that it was a continuous and primary function of Swifterbant pottery in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area starting from its first appearance at c. 5000 cal BC till the end of 5th millennium BC regardless of vessel form, size, decoration or temper. The results of our analysis also present temporal changes in the exploitation of food resources from the early to the late 5th millennium BC. From the mid 5th millennium BC onwards, vessels were also used to process different ranges of foodstuffs such as terrestrial resources and dairy products. The identification of dairy residue is the first direct evidence so far from Swifterbant pottery. We tentatively explain these results as an indication of presence of different culinary practices that had developed through the 5th millennium in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area and that the use of Swifterbant pottery is a direct reflection of changing cultural preferences on food preparation and consumption.

DIGGING PITS AND MAKING PLACES AT UĞURLU DURING THE SIXTH MILLENNIUM BC

SummaryThe site of Uğurlu on the island of Gökçeada (Imbros) is the earliest known Neolithic settlement within the Aegean Islands (c.6800–4500 cal. BC). In total, 37 pits, associated with a rich variety of artefacts as well as human and animal bones were excavated in the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic levels of the site (c.5900–4500 BC). The pits belonging to the early sixth millennium BC levels of Uğurlu were small and located within the houses that seem to have gone through multiple episodes of house destruction and renovation rituals. During the late sixth millennium BC, this area became the focus of extensive pit‐digging activity, when large pits involving rich variety of artefacts were set within the courtyard of a special building (Building 4). Among the pits, a collective human burial pit (P188) incorporating the remains of 11 individuals and another pit (P52) involving a partial human skeleton were also found. From a comparative point of view, the construction techniques of these pits, their spatio‐temporal relations as well as their associated archaeological artefacts resemble the Anatolian and Near Eastern Neolithic practices of house destruction and renovation cycles, which are activities related to the ancestor cults of the region. We argue that all of these practices reflect public events during which social relations were negotiated through the agency of place. The differences observed during the sixth millennium BC at Uğurlu reflect the changing concepts of place and society in the immediate aftermath of the Neolithic Process, when interactions with the Balkans as well as the Aegean intensified in this region.

Investigating Neolithic caprine husbandry in the Central Pyrenees: Insights from a multi-proxy study at Els Trocs cave (Bisaurri, Spain).

Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312-2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, δ18O and δ13C stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the 'off-season' lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities arriving in Iberia facilitated the anthropisation process of the subalpine areas of the Central Pyrenees.