Early-Holocene vegetation and the human impact in central Provence (Var, France): charcoal analysis of the Baume de Fontbrégoua

Abstract

In order to reconstruct the history of the arboreal vegetation in central Provence (southeast France), charcoal analysis was undertaken on the charred remains excavated in the prehistoric settlement of Fontbrégoua. The results allow us to understand the evolution of vegetation during the first four millennia of the Holocene. After an open vegetation typical of the beginning of the Holocene, there follows a deciduous oak vegetation with Pinus halepensis prevalent at an early stage. The emergence and the development of vegetation in which Pinus halepensis and Quercus cf. pubescens dominate one after the other relate to human occupation and pastoral activities during the middle Neolithic.