The operator e−tA and the heat trace Tr e−tA, for t > 0, are investigated in the case when A is an elliptic differential operator on a manifold with conical singularities. Under a certain spectral condition (parameter–ellipticity) we obtain a full asymptotic expansion in t of the heat trace as t → 0+. As in the smooth compact case, the problem is reduced to the investigation of the resolvent (A...