Vegetation changes and human action from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age (7000–4000 BP) in Alicante, Spain, based on charcoal analysis

Charcoal analysis reveals various palaeo-eco- logical phases from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Ag- riculture starts about 7000 B.P. in favourable ecological conditions. Most of the charcoal spectra from sites iin the coast represent thermomediterranean holm-oak forest; those from the inland mountains represent mesome- diterranean holm-oak forest. The Neolithic I Impressed Ware people were the first to clear the forest to plant their crops. This clearance of primary woodland resulted in the development of secondary vegetation of pine woods or scrub. The scrub reached its maximum during the Bell Beaker phase and Bronze Age in the Cova de les Cendres. In the Neolithic II open air sites, the percent- ages of Quercus ilex/coccifera remain high. This may be the result of a different exploitation of the land, or suit- able conditions for the growth and survival of the vegeta- tion.