Buried structures in Barcelona plain's neolithic settlements: A general revision, morphological and morphometric analysis gaining a functional interpretation

Recent excavations at Barcelona's Raval quarter have revealed a set of Early Neolithic features which suggest the presence of a permanent settlement from the Vth millennium BC onwards. Negative structures in three of the most extensively excavated sites in the quarter have been analyzed through a morphological and morphometric approach in order to discern their possible use. The study has succeeded in detecting specific shapes for specific uses, thus providing a tool which will help the interpretation of these types of features. Moreover, the first diachronic and synchronic analysis seems to indicate the existence of spatial and chronological variations. Differences in the shape of the combustion structures might provide a first step towards understanding the settlement structure in the Barcelona Plain.