## 5 Results  
### Cova del Sardo and Forcall de Sant Esperit (AS 2)  
A total of 136 seed/fruit remains were recovered at Cova del Sardo, from all four Neolithic occupation phases (Phases 8 to 4). The low number of finds and the similarity in the results obtained does not allow the observation of any trends or changes in plant use between the different phases. Fifteen taxa were identified. The edible plants include cereals: barley (_Hordeum vulgar\(\acute{\text{e}}\)_ L. var. _nudum_) and naked wheat (_Triticum aestivum_ s.l./_durum_, as well as some fleshy fruits, nuts and berries: _Rubus fruiticos_ L. agg., _Rubus ideaus_ L., _Corylus avellana_ L., _Prunus padus_ L., and _Pinus sylvestris_ L. Among non-edible plants, several other taxa were encountered, including potential weeds or ruderals (_Galium aparine_ L. subsp. _aparine_ and _Galium aparine_ L. subsp. _spurium_), plants from woodland edges and clearings (_Sambucus_ cf. _racemosa_ L.) and woodland taxa like _Corus sanguinea_ L. and _Abias alba_ Mill., as well as taxa that were not identified at the species level and could have had several uses: cf. Asteraceae, _Potentilla_ sp., _Vicia_ sp. and _Vicia/Lathyrus_. Some of the fruits probably reached the site together with wood gathered for fuel, such as _Prunus padus_, which is edible but not normally eaten without previous processing, or _Abias_ needles and cone fragments of _Pinus sylvestris_. Other taxa may have a more accidental presence at the site, such as _Galium aparine_ fruits, which could have arrived attached to animal fur and been charred by accident [21]. A large number of charcoal samples were taken for a taxonomic study from all the studied levels, both in Cova del Sardo and in its outer areas. The study of 963 charcoal fragments from the 16 stratigraphic units in Cova del Sardo (Figure 5) documented the dynamics of forest management by the agropastoral societies that occupied the valley in the Neolithic [33]. The results showed the predominance of Scots/mountain pine (_Pinus_ type _sylvestris/uncinata_) in the whole sequence, in which they made up 79.83% of the remains, accompanied by other conifers like _Juniperus_ and _Abias_, which were quantitatively important in some levels (Figure 5). Deciduous species were less common, but included _Quercus_ sp. deciduous and _Betula_ sp., as well as riparian taxa like _Frazimus_ sp., _Corylus avellana_ and willows (_Salix/Populus_). The relative abundance of _Juniperus_ in Phases 7 and 5 is especially interesting because this taxon grows in open spaces, which may indicate a use of the shrubs that colonized forest clearings. Figure 5: Results of phytolith (thin colored barks, **left**), charcoal (black bars) and pollen analyses (thick colored barks, **right**) of the Cova del Sardo site (**bottom**) and Forcall de Sant Esperit profile (AS2) (**top**). Phytolith categories: cf. Herbaceous (monocot and dicot herbaceous plants). Pollen categories: other herbs (Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Chenopodiaceae, _Artemisia_, _Plantago_, _Galium_-t). Pollen analyses show that the forest was most affected in the proximities of the site (Figure 5), especially during Phase 8, when a more intense occupation of the outer terrace has been documented (6800-6400 cal BP) [31]. However, when these results are compared with those from a test pit 530 m to the southeast of Cova del Sardo in Forcall de Sant Esperit (AS2), an earlier low-intensity stage of human impact is detected, at a time of a mixed forest of conifers (_Pinus_ and _Abies_) and broadleaf taxa (_Quercus_, _Corylus_, _Tilia_ and _Fagus_). In climate terms, this period (7250-6350 cal BP) seems to correspond to a period with a greater relative frequency of thermo-mesophile species and is interpreted as a more temperate phase. The presence of _Abies_ pollen is very significant in this period, in relative percentages of 16-25%, as this species was thought to have reached the valley in a more recent chronology. The marginal frequency of _Fagus_ is also quite significant.