WOOD RESOURCES IN NORTH-WEST PORTUGAL - THEIR AVAILABILITY AND USE FROM THE LATE BRONZE-AGE TO THE ROMAN PERIOD

The analysis of archaeological charcoal is used to reconstruct the woo d resources in north-west Portugal from the late Bronze Age to the Rom an period. In this paper, the results obtained from 12 sites are consi dered, and their implications for interpreting historical human behavi our towards the natural environment and vegetation are discussed. The results indicate a similar kind of exploitation of the vegetation by d ifferent populations which used a similar range of wood resources. Fif ty-one taxa are identified and three main natural biotopes are disting uished, including mixed oak forest, wasteland vegetation and riparian forest. The large number of taxa identified seems to testify to the ex istence of a good sampling of the woody vegetation growing in the prox imity of the settlements. Both dry and fresh wood were used, and the v alue and possible uses are suggested for some of the most frequent tax a identified.