Exploitation des vallées andorranes depuis le Néolithique/ J.-M. Palet Martinez, H. Orengo Romeu

L'exploitation des ressources des vallées andorranes du Madriu-Perafita-Claror et de la chaîne du Cadi (Pyrénées orientales) depuis le Néolithique à partir des données archéologiques et paléoécologiques : mobilité des pratiques et dynamique des paysages culturels. PALET MARTINEZ Josep Maria et Hèctor ORENGO ROMEU. In "La construction des territoires montagnards : exploitation des ressources et mobilité des pratiques", 2e International Workshop on archaeology of european mountain landscape, organisé par les laboratoires GEODE, FRAMESPA, GEOLAB et Chrono-Environnement. Université Toulouse 2-Le Mirail, 8-11 octobre 2009. [seconde journée]

This paper presents evidence drawn from an ongoing integrated archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research program which aims to understand the long"term shaping of a high mountain cultural landscape. The Madriu-Perafita-Claror valleys (Eastern Pyrenees, Andorra), included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, show a pronounced spatial variability in geomorphology, vegetation and human practices. This is closely related to the valleys’ verticality (from 1050 to 2905 m.a.s.l.) and the predominant N-S slope exposure. The Cadi chaine, placed in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees is characterized by a forest stage and a alpine area intensely exploited.
Palaeoenvironmental and archaeological studies have been carried out in high spatial and temporal resolution. The distribution of the more than 500 archaeological structures recorded from the Early Neolithic to Modern times also suggests a highly dynamic organization of the valleys’ land-use in the past. On the basis of archaeological and palaeoecological data, different chronological patterns and spatial land-use distribution could be formulated at a micro"regional scale during the Prehistory. The pollen record suggests a potential earliest human occupation up to the subalpine belt at the Mesolithic-Early Neolithic transition (ca 6400"6000 BC). However, it is during the Early and Middle Neolithic (ca 4500-3050 BC) that both archaeological and palaeoecological data attest pastoral activities in the highest alpine areas. From the Late Neolithic (ca 2300 BC), an altitudinal landscape structuration is registered, a process which becomes more pronounced during the Early Bronze Age (ca 2100"1700 BC). It has been also reported that land use differs from closer valleys, corroborating the idea of heterogeneity in the management of high mountain areas during prehistory.
Grazing, metallurgy and forest exploitation have been the main activities modelling those areas. The exploitation of high mountain spaces intensifies at Roman times with the development of metallurgic activities and the exploitation of pine resign.