Ethnoarchaeology of Paleolithic Fire: Methodological Considerations

Carolina Mallol (1) , Auréade Henry (2)

1 ULL - Universidad de La Laguna [Tenerife - SP]
2 CEPAM - Culture et Environnements, Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Age

Most of the ethnoarchaeological literature on hearths is scattered within general works that target many different aspects of foraging or hunter-gatherer societies. Although these works are a good source of ideas and clues for the interpretation of macroscopically observable features of Paleolithic hearths, there is hardly any high-resolution ethnoarchaeological reference material with which to compare microstratigraphic evidence of archaeological fire. Our ethnoarchaeological research at this scale has focused on exploring differential preservation of open-air hearths and the potential to identify fire-related activities and different variables of fire technology (fuel, temperature, and function) using micromorphological and anthracological analysis. Although these studies have been useful sources of analogy, further case studies as well as ethnoarchaeological examples of superposed and imbricated hearths and reference material from enclosed settings such as caves and rock shelters are strongly called for. In this paper we summarize and discuss aspects of our previous work to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the ethnoarchaeological approach for the study of Paleolithic fire and propose possible avenues for future research on the topic.

Mots clés: Ethnoarchaeology; Paleolithic; fire; hunter-gatherer

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Carolina Mallol, Auréade Henry. Ethnoarchaeology of Paleolithic Fire: Methodological Considerations. Current Anthropology, 2017, 58 (S16), pp.S217-S229. ⟨10.1086/691422⟩. ⟨hal-02057481⟩