Another site that may have been occupied at a similar time is Covetes
rock-shelter, near Cova del Sardo and also in the low part of the hillside in the Sant
Nicolau Valley, at 1870 m a.s.l. A test excavation documented two phases of
prehistoric occupations with pottery. The older one was covered by a thick barren
layer, which was overlain by the more recent phase, dated to the early
third-millennium cal BC (Gassiot et al. 2014).
However, for this first part of the Neolithic, evidence of occupation in the higher
sub-alpine and alpine zones is practically absent. The only clear evidence is at the
Cova del Sardo, in the bottom of a large valley and away from the cirques at the
heads of the valleys and distant from the current timberline. In the Madriu valley in
Andorra, Orengo (2014) cites a possible human occupation beneath a late Roman
hut at the site of Pleta de Bacives I. However, the context is unclear, and the author
provides no further information apart from the date. In any case, it does not alter the
general view of the significant Neolithisation of the zone between 1500 and 1600 m
a.s.l. in the late sixth-millennium cal BC, contrasting with lesser activity at higher
altitudes in steeper valleys in the proximity of the modern alpine meadows.
4.3.2 Approaching the Heights in the Late Neolithic
In the fifth and fourth millennia, the presence of farming communities in
medium-altitude mountains in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees becomes more
intense and evident. Deposits are found in large caves, smaller sites and even in
open-air structures. In the high Pyrenees, in addition to Coro Trasito (Clemente
et al. 2014a, 2016) and Els Trocs (Rojo et al. 2013; Lancelotti et al. 2014), several
sites are known at Juverri in Andorra, where numerous silos and evidence of
farming activity have been documented (Fortó and Vidal 2016), all of them above
1200 m a.sl. At greater heights, the human use of Cova del Sardo continued in the
fourth millennium, with an occasional construction outside the rock-shelter and the
occupation of an adjacent rock-shelter at some point (Gassiot et al. 2014). In the
Cerdanya valley, the remains of an open-air settlement dated in the second half of
the fifth millennium have been documented at Sanavastre (1080 m a.s.l.). In Sierra
Ferrera, in the Pre-Pyrenees of Aragon, the cave of Espluga de la Puyascada
(1315 m a.s.l.) revealed occupations of a similar chronology (Baldellou 1987;
Mazzucco et al. 2013). In the same way, numerous caves in the limestone areas in
the outer mountain ranges of the southern Pre-Pyrenees were also used by human
groups at this time, more intensely than in the early Neolithic.
A definite change took place in the human occupation of high mountain zones.
This phenomenon has been documented very recently (Orengo et al. 2014; Rendu
2003) and has now begun to be addressed as a historical problem requiring an
explanation (Gassiot et al. 2012, 2014). It can be seen in several aspects. First, the
number of archaeological sites increases noticeably. In the area of Aigüestortes i
Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, nine sites are known with dates in the
centuries following 3400 cal BC (Gassiot et al. 2014, 2016), of which one site,
94
E. Gassiot Ballbè et al.
rock-shelter, near Cova del Sardo and also in the low part of the hillside in the Sant
Nicolau Valley, at 1870 m a.s.l. A test excavation documented two phases of
prehistoric occupations with pottery. The older one was covered by a thick barren
layer, which was overlain by the more recent phase, dated to the early
third-millennium cal BC (Gassiot et al. 2014).
However, for this first part of the Neolithic, evidence of occupation in the higher
sub-alpine and alpine zones is practically absent. The only clear evidence is at the
Cova del Sardo, in the bottom of a large valley and away from the cirques at the
heads of the valleys and distant from the current timberline. In the Madriu valley in
Andorra, Orengo (2014) cites a possible human occupation beneath a late Roman
hut at the site of Pleta de Bacives I. However, the context is unclear, and the author
provides no further information apart from the date. In any case, it does not alter the
general view of the significant Neolithisation of the zone between 1500 and 1600 m
a.s.l. in the late sixth-millennium cal BC, contrasting with lesser activity at higher
altitudes in steeper valleys in the proximity of the modern alpine meadows.
4.3.2 Approaching the Heights in the Late Neolithic
In the fifth and fourth millennia, the presence of farming communities in
medium-altitude mountains in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees becomes more
intense and evident. Deposits are found in large caves, smaller sites and even in
open-air structures. In the high Pyrenees, in addition to Coro Trasito (Clemente
et al. 2014a, 2016) and Els Trocs (Rojo et al. 2013; Lancelotti et al. 2014), several
sites are known at Juverri in Andorra, where numerous silos and evidence of
farming activity have been documented (Fortó and Vidal 2016), all of them above
1200 m a.sl. At greater heights, the human use of Cova del Sardo continued in the
fourth millennium, with an occasional construction outside the rock-shelter and the
occupation of an adjacent rock-shelter at some point (Gassiot et al. 2014). In the
Cerdanya valley, the remains of an open-air settlement dated in the second half of
the fifth millennium have been documented at Sanavastre (1080 m a.s.l.). In Sierra
Ferrera, in the Pre-Pyrenees of Aragon, the cave of Espluga de la Puyascada
(1315 m a.s.l.) revealed occupations of a similar chronology (Baldellou 1987;
Mazzucco et al. 2013). In the same way, numerous caves in the limestone areas in
the outer mountain ranges of the southern Pre-Pyrenees were also used by human
groups at this time, more intensely than in the early Neolithic.
A definite change took place in the human occupation of high mountain zones.
This phenomenon has been documented very recently (Orengo et al. 2014; Rendu
2003) and has now begun to be addressed as a historical problem requiring an
explanation (Gassiot et al. 2012, 2014). It can be seen in several aspects. First, the
number of archaeological sites increases noticeably. In the area of Aigüestortes i
Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, nine sites are known with dates in the
centuries following 3400 cal BC (Gassiot et al. 2014, 2016), of which one site,
94
E. Gassiot Ballbè et al.