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Copyright of Archeologia Postmedievale is the property of Edizioni all'Insegna del Giglio and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent decades, archaeological and written records have been used in combination to improve our understanding of Late Antique and Early Medieval Hispanic architectural culture (5th–10th c.). Within this renewed research context, the rebuilding of Late Antique churches and the reuse of earlier materials in both Early Medieval Christian and Islamic religious buildings; the transformation of Late Antique churches into early Islamic mosques in al-Andalus; and the rebuilding of other churches by the Christians themselves, both in al-Andalus and in the northern Iberian plateau, from the late 8th century onwards, have often been used to thread narratives concerning tradition, continuity, and re-sacralisation of earlier religious architectural spaces and, through this, religious change in the middle ages. However, the application of modern archaeological methodology reveals that these processes need to be qualified, for the stratigraphic gaps between building phases make them sometimes hard to interpret. By analysing some examples of Hispanic religious sites, this paper reflects on the many concepts related to sacralisation, explains the way archaeology is able to trace the sacralisation processes, and intends thus to highlight the complexity of these phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of historical archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula has opened new and stimulating avenues of research into its most recent times. One of these has been the archaeology of the Carlist Wars, a series of nineteenth-century conflicts related to the overarching process of the emergence of liberal governments in Europe and, contemporarily, of counter-revolutionary movements. This paper will describe recent excavations at Carlist sites in the southern part of the Basque Country in order to tackle two interrelated questions: the limits and possibilities of a Carlist archaeology and the close connection of the specific materialities of these events and the politics of memory surrounding them. It is argued that the Carlist War materiality has not been considered in the process of the construction of the Basque heritage because these conflicts are not introduced into the legitimating narratives of the failed-state formation project of the Basque identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narratives embedded in studies of modern Spanish colonialism have conspired against a deep understanding of colonialism as a global and current issue and have influenced or limited the directions for research. By focusing on particular narratives that separate and disconnect the realities of the colonies from those of the Iberian Peninsula, this article discusses the conceptual divide between the study of colonial and early modern realms, and the tenuous connections between the archaeology of Spanish colonialism developed in America and in the Iberian Peninsula. This paper attempts to counter those insular narratives by offering a view on how even remote settlements in Ibero-America show connections that tell stories of sixteenth-century Spain and pose questions that often cannot be answered due to the lack of shared perspectives between the study of modern Spanish colonialism in America and the Iberian Peninsula. To illustrate this view, a case study focused on Ciudad del Nombre de Jesús settled during the failed Spanish plan for the fortification of the Strait of Magellan at the end of the sixteenth century is provided. The interpretation of the results of archaeological and historical lines of research allows the establishment of material connections among individuals, stories and places of the Iberian Peninsula and America. The implication of this case contributes to considering the role that archaeology can play in questioning the enduring effects of modern Spanish colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of guerrilla warfare in Spain (1936-1952) has, until very recently, received very limited academic attention, especially from an archaeological perspective. This paper presents some results from an ongoing archaeological project regarding the guerrilla movement in northwestern Iberia. We specifically discuss how the archaeological record may inform understanding of a more general process, that of the emergence of industrial and modern societies in peripheral territories. We argue that by addressing the material remains of guerrilla warfare we can delve into the dialectic between guerrilla groups and the local peasant communities and trace their mutual impacts. The paper concludes that guerrilla warfare was an active agent in the introduction of different aspects of industrial and modern economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing on scholarship in postcolonial archaeology that emphasizes the place of indigenous technology in colonial and imperial contexts, this article explores the role of local communities in esparto grass weaving and basketry in the southeast Iberian Peninsula in antiquity. Esparto crafting became essential to Phoenician and Carthaginian colonial economies of the 1st millennium BCE and, later, to the production equipment for mining and other industries under Roman imperial rule. This paper uses ethnographic studies alongside archaeological evidence of esparto objects, particularly esparto mining equipment, to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of ancient esparto crafting. It argues that local communities developed landscape learning and tactile technical knowledge surrounding esparto crafting over many generations. In supplying equipment essential to Roman mining, these communities used their technical knowledge to maintain agency and construct their identities under imperial rule. Ultimately, understanding esparto crafting helps elucidate the relationship between resources, technology, and imperial or colonial encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal mobility is a common strategy to overcome scarcity of food and the related over-grazing of pastures. It is also essential to reduce the inbreeding rate of animal populations, which is known to have a negative impact on fertility and productivity. The present paper shows the geographic range of sheep provisioning in different phases of occupation at the Iron Age site of Turó de la Font de la Canya (7th to 3rd centuries BC). Strontium isotope ratios from 34 archaeological sheep and goat enamel, two archaeological bones and 14 modern tree leaves are presented. The isotopic results suggest that sheep and goats consumed at the site were reared locally (within a few kilometres radius) during the whole period of occupation. The paper discusses the isotopic results in light of the socio-political structure of this period, as complex, strongly territorial societies developed during the Iron Age in the north-east Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new archaeology of peasantry has emerged in Europe in the last few decades in the context of development‐led rescue excavations. As a result, new lines of inquiry, usually unconnected with other traditions of Peasant Studies, have been proposed. The main aim of this paper is to propose forms of interaction between current sociological and anthropological perspectives (Peasant Studies) and an archaeologically informed social history approach (Peasant Archaeology) in order to enrich the analysis of peasant societies, both in the past and the present. Moreover, challenging traditional approaches in historical and archaeological studies that see peasantry as a passive, subaltern, homogeneous class, avenues for a relational agency of peasantry considering archaeological records from medieval Iberia are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of non-hierarchical forms of social organization occupies a prominent place in the European Iron Age research. This paper explores the application of Pierre Clastres political anthropology to the study of the Iron Age. The approach of this study to the Iron Age focuses on the northwest of the Iberian peninsula. It was an area that experienced social changes from 1000 BC to the first century BC-first century AD, from the Bronze Age to the Roman conquest. Using the archaeological record of the northwest Iberian peninsula as a case study, the paper tries to show the potential benefits of applying Clastres' ideas to the interpretation of European societies from the Iron Age: overcoming, thanks to the application of the concept of non-coercive power, the false and increasingly frequent image of non-hierarchical societies and introducing new ways of explaining social complexity that are not based on economic criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between humans and birds in the recent prehistory of the Southern Iberian Peninsula. With its high number of bird, mammal, and anthropomorphic paintings, a small rock shelter –Tajo de las Figuras– provides an excellent case study to address this topic. The cave is situated in an ecosystem that, as we will argue, favoured human-bird interactions and enabled prehistoric groups to engage with a diverse and rich bird community at particular times of the year. Even though the recorded depictions can generally be integrated into the wider 'Schematic' style regime characterising the recent prehistory of the region, they exhibit some outstanding features including a highly distinct naturalism. This naturalism enables us to identify the represented birds, not only at the family but also at the species level. Our contribution describes these pictorial data and contextualises them with the ecology, archaeology, and archaeozoology of the area. We intend to show that the singularity of the image-corpus registered at Tajo de las Figuras mirrors the unique conditions of human-bird interactions at the time. We suggest that the significance of the images derives from the special location of the cave in the wider landscape encouraging early practices of bird watching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe covers the last millennia of Neanderthal life together with the appearance and expansion of Modern Human populations. Culturally, it is defined by the Late Middle Paleolithic succession, and by Early Upper Paleolithic complexes like the Châtelperronian (southwestern Europe), the Protoaurignacian, and the Early Aurignacian. Up to now, the southern boundary for the transition has been established as being situated between France and Iberia, in the Cantabrian façade and Pyrenees. According to this, the central and southern territories of Iberia are claimed to have been the refuge of the last Neanderthals for some additional millennia after they were replaced by anatomically Modern Humans on the rest of the continent. In this paper, we present the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition sequence from Cova Foradada (Tarragona), a cave on the Catalan Mediterranean coastline. Archaeological research has documented a stratigraphic sequence containing a succession of very short-term occupations pertaining to the Châtelperronian, Early Aurignacian, and Gravettian. Cova Foradada therefore represents the southernmost Châtelperronian–Early Aurignacian sequence ever documented in Europe, significantly enlarging the territorial distribution of both cultures and providing an important geographical and chronological reference for understanding Neanderthal disappearance and the complete expansion of anatomically Modern Humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW of the archaeology of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Islamic Spain and Portugal), from its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day. Innovative approaches and challenging theoretical stances made the archaeology of al-Andalus the spearhead of medieval archaeology in Iberia between the 1980s and 1990s. A problematic, and often conflicting, relationship between archaeology and history has characterised medieval archaeology in Spain since its inception, however, and a new awareness of these problems is emerging. This paper reviews past and current attitudes to such challenges and reflects on the future needs of the discipline. It also reflects on the politics of archaeology and on the role of medieval archaeology in revealing social change, which has until now been underrated. L'archéologie d'al-Andalus: passé, présent et avenirpar José C Carvajal Cet article fait un tour d'horizon de l'archéologie d'al-Andalus (nom arabe donné à l'Espagne et au Portugal islamiques), depuis ses prémices à la fin des années 1970 jusqu'à nos jours. Des approches innovantes et des positions théoriques controversées ont fait de l'archéologie d'al-Andalus le fer de lance de l'archéologie médiévale entre 1980 et 1990. Or, un rapport problématique et souvent conflictuel entre archéologie et histoire a caractérisé l'archéologie médiévale en Espagne depuis ses débuts, et une nouvelle sensibilisation à ces problèmes est en train d'émerger. Ce papier examine quelles attitudes passées et présentes ont permis de faire face à ces défis et réfléchit aux besoins futurs de la discipline. Il réfléchit également aux liens entre la politique et l'archéologie et au rôle jusqu'à présent sous-estimé de l'archéologie médiévale, qui permet de révéler l'évolution sociale. Die Archäologie von Al-Andalus: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und ZukunftvonJosé C Carvajal Dieser Artikel bietet einen Überblick über die Archäologie von al-Andalus (arabischer Name für das islamische Spanien und Portugal) von ihren Anfängen in den späten 1970er Jahren bis heute. Innovative Ansätze und anspruchsvolle theoretische Positionen machten die Archäologie von al-Andalus zwischen den 1980er und 1990er Jahren zum Vorreiter der Archäologie des Mittelalters. Eine problematische und oft konfliktreiche Beziehung zwischen Archäologie und Geschichte ist jedoch seit ihren Anfängen ebenfalls charakteristisch für die Archäologie des Mittelalters in Spanien, und es entsteht gerade ein neues Bewusstsein für diese Probleme. Dieser Artikel überprüft vergangene und gegenwärtige Einstellungen zu solchen Herausforderungen und überdenkt die zukünftigen Bedürfnisse dieser Disziplin. Er überdenkt auch die Politik der Archäologie und die Rolle der Archäologie des Mittelalters bei der Aufdeckung sozialen Wandels, die bisher unterschätzt wurde. L'archeologia di Al-Andalus: passato, presente e futurodi José C Carvajal Questo studio presenta una panoramica dell'archeologia di al-Andalus (nome arabo della penisola iberica musulmana), a partire dai suoi inizi verso la fine degli anni '70 del secolo scorso fino a oggi. Nel decennio tra il 1980 e il 1990 l'archeologia di al-Andalus si era conquistata un posto di avanguardia nell'archeologia medievale per i suoi approcci innovativi e per gli orientamenti teorici. Fin dagli inizi l'archeologia medievale in Spagna è stata caratterizzata dal rapporto problematico e spesso conflittuale tra archeologia e storia, tuttavia sta emergendo una nuova consapevolezza di questi problemi. Questa pubblicazione passa in rassegna gli atteggiamenti passati e presenti di fronte a tali sfide e riflette sulle esigenze di questa disciplina in futuro. Riflette inoltre sulle politiche dell'archeologia e sul ruolo che l'archeologia medievale riveste nel portare a conoscenza i cambiamenti sociali, ruolo che finora è stato sottovalutato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueologia is the property of Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Argaric halberd is a specialized weapon for hand-to-hand combat, with its full development in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula between 2000 and 1800 cal BCE. This paper deals with the Argaric combat system and the factors that drove this type of confrontation, given the social order, the active and passive archaeological traces present in these weapons and their effects on the human body. This pragmatic order of directing interpersonal violence had three patriarchal socio-political implications: the domestication of the body through the discipline of instruction and combat, a ritual of identification represented in funerary practices and a symbol of power, but only available to a small number of men. The Argaric halberdiers occupy an intermediate position in the transition between an armed man and a soldier, probably intersecting with the figures of the hero and the warrior. In Supporting Information Annexe 1, we develop a morphological description, based on the system of hafting the Argaric halberds and, in Annexe 2, we present the funerary contexts with interesting data for the combat system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of World Prehistory is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the potential of a combined historical and archaeological approach to the study of glass production in the Iberian Peninsula in the Late Middle Ages. The historical study of technical recipes compiled during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period and the compositional analysis of archaeological material offer different, but equally valuable, insights into glass production. The methodologies, potential and limitations of these techniques are summarised, and their combined use explored, with reference to a fifteenth-century letter written by one Cristóforo de Soto Mayor, its experimental reconstruction, and the comparison of these results with real archaeological datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of Hispania in the Atlantic route in Roman times. We analyse the different Atlantic Iberian territories along this route, based on recent archaeological advances and discoveries related to trade as well as the shipping infrastructure. The aim is to explain the origin and evolution of a new maritime area that was completely integrated with the political and commercial structure of the Empire, with trade routes that followed the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula all the way to the Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Medieval Archaeology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study of grave goods, including animal deposits, offers a deeper understanding of social issues. This paper presents the results of the analysis of human and animal bone samples from the Iberian necropolis of El Poblado, Murcia. The examination focusses on 18 deposits of ovicaprids radii and ulnae, mostly of the left side, that were derived from 14 cremation tombs of the 74 studied. By considering the human and animal remains together, it is possible to highlight differences in the rituals of certain graves and variations in animal symbolism related to human sex and age. This provides a new understanding of the social and cultural differentiation that existed in the Iberian communities of this period. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the bishops of Hispania in the construction of churches in the late antique period has been highlighted by a traditional historiography which considered the religious unification under the Catholic creed by the Third Council of Toledo in the year 589 C.E. as the starting point of an active period of construction characterized by close collaboration between the church and the Visigothic monarchy. The principal objective of this paper is to call into question this hypothesis by presenting in an orderly fashion the documentary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence regarding the sixth and seventh centuries. Conclusions force to reconsider not only the role of the bishops, actually often recorded as responsible for consecration rather than for construction, but also of the private patronage and that of the church-monarchy alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined shell growth pattern and oxygen isotope analysis has become a powerful approach in palaeoclimate and archaeological studies for reconstructing palaeoclimate conditions and littoral exploitation patterns, respectively. Recent investigations have shown that the gastropod Phorcus lineatus (da Costa, 1778) forms its shell in conditions of near equilibrium with the oxygen isotope signature of the seawater environment, demonstrating the utility of this species for reconstruction of sea surface temperature and determination of the season of harvest in archaeological studies. In contrast, the shell growth patterns of this species have received virtually no attention despite providing information on the rate and timing of shell growth that is crucial for correctly interpreting environmental proxies derived from shell geochemistry. In this paper, we compare microgrowth patterns and isotopic profiles of four modern individuals of the gastropod P. lineatus from northern Iberia to determine the timing and periodicity of subannual growth markers within the shells. Results of this sclerochronological study showed the presence of two types of growth lines/increments: i) large-scale accretionary units formed with variable periodicity, and ii) small-scale accretionary units formed by micro growth lines and increments determined by semidiurnal tidal cycles. Results suggest that shells grew uninterruptedly during early ontogeny. However, older specimens exhibited growth cessation/slowdown during summer and winter/spring. Therefore, shell growth rate is not only controlled by environmental conditions, but also by ontogenetic age and/or endogenous rhythms. A high correlation was found between seawater temperature derived from shell oxygen isotopes and instrumental seawater temperature (r2 = 0.88–0.98; p-values < 0.0001). This study shows that establishing accurate growth patterns of the topshell P. lineatus is essential for correctly reconstructing past seawater temperature conditions in palaeoclimate studies and for determining with higher precision the season(s) when the subfossil shells were collected by humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Berber and Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 C.E. led to a profound transformation of the agricultural landscape. The layout of the irrigated areas, both rural and urban, is recognisable because it is the result of social and technological choices. But irrigated agriculture was not the only option in Al-Andalus. Rainfed agriculture is supposed to have been the main form of agriculture in large areas of the centre and west of the peninsula, although the field systems have been scarcely identified. In regions where irrigation was the preferred option, rainfed crops were complementary. In regions where dry farming was the only possible agriculture, there were settlement networks linked to livestock breeding and to droveways and pasture areas. The original selections made by the Berber and Arab farmers can still be recognized despite the expansion that has mainly taken place since modern times. However, the more recent and destructive capitalist agriculture is erasing the last vestiges of the Andalusi agricultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new deep learning system is proposed for the rapid and accurate identification of anthropogenic elements of the Roman mining infrastructure in NW Iberia, providing a new approach for automatic recognition of different mining elements without the need for human intervention or implicit subjectivity. The recognition of archaeological and other abandoned mining elements provides an optimal test case for decision-making and management in a broad variety of research fields. A new image dataset was created by obtaining UAV images from different anthropic features. A convolutional neural network architecture was implemented, achieving recognition results of close to 95% accuracy. This methodological approach is suitable for the identification and accurate location of ancient mines and hydrologic infrastructure, providing new tools for accurate mapping of mining landforms. Additionally, this novel application of deep learning can be implemented to reduce potential risks caused by abandoned mines, which can cause significant annual human and economic losses worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus) populations reached the Iberian Peninsula during the end of the Middle Pleistocene and there are numerous examples of this species from Late Pleistocene Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic sites. In this paper, new evidence of reindeer in the east Cantabrian region is presented that further supports the timing of this species' first appearance, and previous assessments are updated. To date, the presence of this species has been identified at 55 sites in the Iberian Peninsula, nearly as many as those of mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius) and woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis) combined. Most of the sites with presence of reindeer (50) are located in the Cantabrian region with a clear increase in the density of sites and remains towards the Pyrenees. The remaining five sites with evidence of reindeer are located on the other side of the Pyrenees in the NW corner of Catalonia. In contrast, archaeological evidence of reindeer in the form of art (both parietal and portable) is more scarce and scattered. Evidence for the representation of these animals has been found outside the northern fringe of the Iberian Peninsula, which could reflect either long-distance cultural communication or the movement of human groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zephyrus is the property of Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The first use of domestic plants and animals in the Western Mediterranean has been a matter of debate, since there are no native ancestors for these elements. The current paradigmatic position favors an introduction by human migrants who reached southern France and the Iberian Peninsula through seafaring. The settlers would have introduced the whole economic and cultural Neolithic background. This paper reviews some of the available archaeological, paleobiological and chronological evidence for the Early Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean, and specifically the Iberian Peninsula, and its use by those who support migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As archaeologists, we seek to understand how the people of the past we study lived and interacted. In approaching this complex enterprise it has been fundamental to discern to what extent social equality and inequality were present among them. In the case of the Bronze Age communities I will present here, mainstream research has interpreted a selected range of perceived discontinuities in material culture as evidence of the presence of unequal social groups of equals and, additionally, has usually considered equality and inequality as exclusive categories. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that this is not always the case, using examples from the Argaric Bronze Age of Iberia. Here, and despite the evident existence of a general social inequality, a closer look at women's material culture allows us to interpret continuities in the funerary record as signs of a social transversal equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desiccated objects made out of wood and plant fibres are exceptional archaeological finds in Europe, due to prevailing climatic conditions. The use of wood and plant fibres as raw materials in the past is not well-known due to the scarce availability of archaeological finds, especially in comparison with other non-perishable materials (lithic, pottery, metals). Dry environments suitable for the conservation of perishable materials are limited to some areas of the Iberian Peninsula, as for example the caves and shelters of the central Ebro basin. This region is emerging in recent years as a highly important area for the discovery of archaeological remains made out of short-lived materials. This work presents the results of taxonomic, typological and technical studies, including previously unpublished work, regarding the assemblage of wooden objects and basketry from the Moro de Alins (NE Iberia) cave-site. Direct radiocarbon dating has been vital for the contextualisation of the entire assemblage, which was illegally despoiled in the early 90s, and contains three well-differentiated phases of occupation: Neolithic, Bronze Age and Late Antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palimpsests are ubiquitous in the open-air archaeological record. Yet, integrated intra-site research strategies of palimpsest dissection to infer occupational histories, spatial behavioural patterns and site formation processes remain scarce in the postglacial archaeology. In this work, we apply an integrated protocol of palimpsest analysis to the Mesolithic Unit IV of El Arenal de la Virgen site, radiocarbon dated in two different occupation phases (9.3–9.1 k and 8.6–8.3 k cal BP). While the archaeostratigraphic analysis identified the absence of sterile layers between both phases, the lithic refits confirmed the good preservation of the spatial properties of the assemblage. Using different point pattern analysis and geostatistical techniques, we further investigate the overall distribution pattern, the spatial correlation between lithic remains and occupation features according to different artefact categories, and the variability of spatial autocorrelation in the frequency of burnt microdebris. Our results suggest a behavioural pattern of different, and spatially recurrent, short-term camp occupation episodes. Built on explicit quantitative and reproducible standards, our research approach can be applied to other open-air sites to conduct comparative studies on open-air occupation patterns. This study underscores the importance of considering the palimpsest as an analytical unit and the need for assessing assemblage integrity and site formation processes through multidisciplinary approaches, to better characterise site occupation dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an algorithm for large-scale automatic detection of burial mounds, one of the most common types of archaeological sites globally, using LiDAR and multispectral satellite data. Although previous attempts were able to detect a good proportion of the known mounds in a given area, they still presented high numbers of false positives and low precision values. Our proposed approach combines random forest for soil classification using multitemporal multispectral Sentinel-2 data and a deep learning model using YOLOv3 on LiDAR data previously pre-processed using a multi–scale relief model. The resulting algorithm significantly improves previous attempts with a detection rate of 89.5%, an average precision of 66.75%, a recall value of 0.64 and a precision of 0.97, which allowed, with a small set of training data, the detection of 10,527 burial mounds over an area of near 30,000 km2, the largest in which such an approach has ever been applied. The open code and platforms employed to develop the algorithm allow this method to be applied anywhere LiDAR data or high-resolution digital terrain models are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeletal remains of two equid species, Equus caballus (horse) and Equus asinus (donkey), have been found in archaeological contexts throughout Iberia since the Palaeolithic and Chalcolithic periods, respectively. These two species play different economic and cultural roles, and therefore it is important to be able to distinguish between the two species to better understand their relative importance in the past human societies. The most reliable morphological features for distinguishing between the two domesticated equids are based on cranial measurements and tooth enamel folds, leading to only a small percentage of archaeological remains that can be identified to species. Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be used to reliably distinguish the two equids, but it can be cost prohibitive to apply to large assemblages, and aDNA preservation of non-cranial elements is often low. Collagen peptide mass fingerprinting by matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, also known as zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), is a minimally destructive and cost-effective alternative to aDNA analysis for taxonomic determination. However, current ZooMS markers lack resolution below the genus level Equus. In this paper, we report a novel ZooMS peptide marker that reliably distinguishes between horses and donkeys using the enzyme chymotrypsin. We apply this peptide marker to taxonomically identify bones from the Iberian Peninsula ranging from the Iron Age to the Late Modern Period. The peptide biomarker has the potential to facilitate the collection of morphological data for zooarchaeological studies of equids in Iberia and throughout Eurasia and Africa. • Novel ZooMS biomarker discriminates between horses and donkeys. • Novel biomarker provided species level identification for archaeological samples identified only to Equus. • The enzyme, chymotrypsin, reliably provides unique peptide markers for ZooMS analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was the use of gamma spectrometry to characterize the archaeological site of Molina de Aragón, located in the province of Guadalajara in Spain. To do so, a set of samples with different historical influences have been selected. The samples were analyzed by gamma spectrometry with HPGe detectors, and by X-ray fluorescence, to know their chemical composition. The statistical study of the activity concentration of radionuclides from the natural radioactive series, 40K and 137Cs, was carried out using box-and-whisker plots, cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). Likewise, the in-situ effective dose rates and the ones determined from the activity concentrations obtained by gamma spectrometry were evaluated to verify sampling reproducibility. The results obtained made it possible to classify the areas of Jewish and Christian influence based on the relationships between 232Th and 238U series and the possible influence of the archaeological works carried out in the study area. The least altered areas could also be identified from the activity concentrations of 137Cs and 210Pbex. Activity concentrations and effective dose rates were equivalent to the natural radioactive background of the Iberian Peninsula. PCA showed a correlation between Fe2O3, Al2O3 y ZrO2 and the natural radioactive series of thorium and uranium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the taphonomic aspects of faunal remains recovered in early medieval rural sites in central and northern Iberian Peninsula, in order to understand site formation processes and the ways of refuse management and disposal, key aspects for archaeological interpretation. To do so, a methodology that allows intra-site and inter-site comparison of recovery bias and fragmentation has been designed and applied to five rural settlements dated between the 6th and the 10th centuries AD. Discussion of the primary and non-primary deposits at these sites is presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate variability and cultural change. Studies are based on a comprehensive record of technocomplexes that date from the late Middle Palaeolithic, early Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian and Solutrean. The record comprises altogether 152 archaeological cave sites and rock shelters. Analysis reveals strong regional differences between Northern and Southern Iberia, both in isochronic and in diachronic perspective. This is expressed by the strongly different patterns of human presence in these regions. In particular, within both regions major cultural changes coincide with the environmental impact of North Atlantic Heinrich Events (HE). From previous studies, it is known that the human population on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) must have suffered strongly under the extremely variable climate conditions during the Late Pleistocene. Based on extensive site-mapping, the hypothesis is that during HE a major disintegration of habitats must have occurred, with various but strongly isolated patchy refugia remaining. Further, during HE, Southern Iberia could not uphold its previous function in providing a reliable refuge for humans. Not only does climatic deterioration during the different HE repeatedly lead to a near-complete breakdown of settlement patterns, but following each HE there is a major reorganization in settlement patterns on the IP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The human use of fire generates a cultural sedimentary record that can be used to characterize prehistoric activity areas. The aim of this paper is to develop a field guide for recognizing and describing combustion structures. The use of fire as suggested by the results of ethnoarchaeological and prehistoric archaeological studies has served as the foundation for the analytical design of the field observations of the combustion structures at the Abric Romaní rockshelter. Flat and concave combustion structure types have been uncovered in archaeological level O. The systematic recording of the sedimentary and dimensional attributes of the combustion structures can be used as empirical evidence with which to characterize the use of fire. Differences in the use of fire represent a significant finding in the cultural repertoires of Neanderthals. Recognizing and recording the specific organizational patterns of these activity areas, such as fire-use in sleeping and resting activity areas, indicate the definitive emergence of home bases in the spatial record of the living floors of the archaic human groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The analysis of trade and their implications for understanding social interaction is a major research question of prehistoric research in Europe. Variscite is a rare mineral that offers an excellent opportunity to study trade and exchange patterns in prehistoric Europe through proveniencing of source material. In this paper we discuss the exploitation and exchange of variscite at Pico Centeno mining district during the Copper Age. XRF, XRD, and FTIR analyses of the mineral recovered at Pico Centeno mining district during archaeological survey provides a baseline mineral signature for the source and sub-sources, which were then compared to other Iberian sources and to 44 green beads from 8 megalithic tombs from two different regions, in order to test ‘provenance postulate’ and distribution models. Mineral sampled during survey at Pico Centeno mining district turned out to be pure variscite phases, while extremely varied for the studied green beads: variscite, muscovite, talc or chlorite. On testing ‘provenance postulate’ we have focused on compositional comparison of Pico Centeno’s variscite with reference from various geological sources of Western Europe. We found that the concentrations of trace elements do not allow us to establish the origin of the beads, as traditionally claimed, due to the strong natural variability on minor and trace elements of the sources. Instead we found after FTIR analysis, that different proportions of phosphate species, which results in P/Al ratios higher than 1, arose during the genesis of the variscite deposits and resulted from the associated pH and nature of the host-rocks, modifying the concentrations of PO4 3−, H2PO4 − and HPO4 2−. Thus, the P/Al atomic ratio should be an indication of provenance as it is established during mineral genesis. This issue has not been addressed in any of the other studied sources where this ratio seems to be ≈1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An abundant open-air Early Middle Palaeolithic record has been preserved in the Duero basin plateaus (Castilla y León region, north-central Spain). A long-term landscape archaeology project has been underway in this area and since 1996. A number of studies have been carried out in order to evaluate the role played by post-depositional factors in the refuse patterns observed. The main post-depositional disturbance forces are cultural ones and relate to the development of intensive, mechanized agriculture. The landscape project on the Duero basin plateaus constitutes the first case in the Iberian Peninsula in which the effects of plowing have been monitored from a wide variety of approaches in a single area and on a long-term basis. At the same time, this region offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the effect of plowing in Palaeolithic spatial patterns. This paper summarizes the main research lines on plowzone archaeology carried out between 1996 and 2007 within the landscape archaeology project undertaken in the Palaeolithic sites of the Duero plateaus and stresses the main assets of the archaeological record affected primarily by plowing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gruta do Caldeirão features a c. 6 m-thick archaeological stratification capped by Holocene layers ABC-D and Ea, which overlie layer Eb, a deposit of Magdalenian age that underwent significant disturbance, intrusion, and component mixing caused by funerary use of the cave during the Early Neolithic. Here, we provide an updated overview of the stratigraphy and archaeological content of the underlying Pleistocene succession, whose chronology we refine using radiocarbon and single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating. We find a high degree of stratigraphic integrity. Dating anomalies exist in association with the succession's two major discontinuities: between layer Eb and Upper Solutrean layer Fa, and between Early Upper Palaeolithic layer K and Middle Palaeolithic layer L. Mostly, the anomalies consist of older-than-expected radiocarbon ages and can be explained by bioturbation and palimpsest-forming sedimentation hiatuses. Combined with palaeoenvironmental inferences derived from magnetic susceptibility analyses, the dating shows that sedimentation rates varied in tandem with the oscillations in global climate revealed by the Greenland oxygen isotope record. A steep increase in sedimentation rate is observed through the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in a c. 1.5 m-thick accumulation containing conspicuous remains of occupation by people of the Solutrean technocomplex, whose traditional subdivision is corroborated: the index fossils appear in the expected stratigraphic order; the diagnostics of the Protosolutrean and the Lower Solutrean predate 24,000 years ago; and the constraints on the Upper Solutrean place it after Greenland Interstadial 2.2. (23,220–23,340 years ago). Human usage of the site during the Early Upper and the Middle Palaeolithic is episodic and low-intensity: stone tools are few, and the faunal remains relate to carnivore activity. The Middle Palaeolithic is found to persist beyond 39,000 years ago, at least three millennia longer than in the Franco-Cantabrian region. This conclusion is upheld by Bayesian modelling and stands even if the radiocarbon ages for the Middle Palaeolithic levels are removed from consideration (on account of observed inversions and the method's potential for underestimation when used close to its limit of applicability). A number of localities in Spain and Portugal reveal a similar persistence pattern. The key evidence comes from high-resolution fluviatile contexts spared by the site formation issues that our study of Caldeirão brings to light—palimpsest formation, post-depositional disturbance, and erosion. These processes. are ubiquitous in the cave and rock-shelter sites of Iberia, reflecting the impact on karst archives of the variation in climate and environments that occurred through the Upper Pleistocene, and especially at two key points in time: between 37,000 and 42,000 years ago, and after the Last Glacial Maximum. Such empirical difficulties go a long way towards explaining the controversies surrounding the associated cultural transitions: from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic, and from the Solutrean to the Magdalenian. Alongside potential dating error caused by incomplete decontamination, proper consideration of sample association issues is required if we are ever to fully understand what happened with the human settlement of Iberia during these critical intervals, and especially so with regards to the fate of Iberia's last Neandertal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses faunal and epigraphic evidence from the valley of Cabrera de Mar in present-day Catalonia (Spain) as proxies for understanding complex processes and dynamics of cultural change between the late Iron Age and early Roman times. The faunal remains indicate significant dietary change, although the epigraphic evidence implies that language--in contrast--changed at a slower pace, as shown by the use of indigenous onomastics and the continued use of the Iberian script, coin legends included. To ensure an interdisciplinary analysis, the study also discusses change as perceptible in architectural remains, ceramics and funerary practices. Our study shows that cultural change can take place at different levels and according to different rhythms, not only on regional and settlement planes but also at neighbourhood and household scales. Finally, our results highlight the value of archaeology as a tool for studying and understanding colonial encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the bioarchaeological and mortuary evidence at complex Copper Age sites, Los Millares, Valencina de la Concepcón and Maroquíes to show the organizational strategies that led to the amplification or moderation of institutionalized inequality. Topics discussed include the bioarchaeological approaches to human social change, Copper Age mortuary practices and community expansions including long-distance exchange.

This paper presents a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain), a rock shelter which has yielded evidence for Middle Palaeolithic human occupation. The sedimentary sequence has been analysed for lipid biomarker n -alkane abundances (ACL, CPI), compound specific leaf wax δ2H and δ13C, and bulk organic geochemistry (TOC, %N, %S), providing a record of past climate and local vegetation dynamics. Site formation processes have been reconstructed through the application of soil micromorphology. Analyses of anthracological, microvertebrate and macrofaunal assemblages from selected subunits are also presented here. Our data indicates that a variable climate marked by predominantly cold conditions persisted through most of the sequence and that Neanderthal occupations in stratigraphic unit IVd, assigned to MIS 4 or late MIS 5, occurred in a landscape setting characterised by a mosaic of biotopes. The presence of key resources inside the ravine where the site is located suggests that the occupation of the rock shelter may have been strategically motivated by a subsistence and mobility strategy which focused on zones of localised ecological resilience, such as intra-mountainous valleys or ravines, during periods of global or regional environmental downturn. • New palaeoenvironmental data for Neanderthal site of Abric del Pastor is presented. • Degradation of n -alkanes linked to anthropogenic fire. • Occupations in S.U. IVd occurred in generally cold and dry conditions. • The Barranc del Cinc acted as a vegetation refugium. • Occupation of rock shelter may have been strategically motivated by its location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a methodology for the archaeological documentation of limestone plaquettes decorated with faint paintings and fine engravings. The plaquette number 16330 is presented, belonging to the portable art collection in Cova del Parpalló (Gandía, Spain), one of the most important Paleolithic sites in the UNESCO's Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Macro photogrammetry is used to generate a 3D model and basic treatments on raster images. The resulting 3D model has a spatial resolution of tens of microns and was used to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) and orthorectified macro photographs for documenting the engravings and paintings. All stages of the workflow are detailed in-depth, specifying the data collection parameters and the configuration used in the subsequent processing with HyperCube and DStretch software. The resulting documentation is accurate, reproducible, and objective and allows the reinterpretation of the available graphic documentation started in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the isotopic ratios, radiocarbon datings, and anthropological analyses of five (N = 5) Early Copper Age individuals from two archaeological sites (Arruzafa and Iglesia Antigua de Alcolea) of the Middle Guadalquivir Valley near the city of Córdoba (Spain). Four had been buried in the same grave, possibly in a single event or in a very short time lapse. The collagen residue analyses of the individuals offer δ13C values ranging between −20.08 and −18.4 and δ15N values between 8.57 and 11.15. The findings indicate that the infant and the elderly had, respectively, the richest and poorest animal protein diets, the first likely as a result of nursing. The combined study of these five individuals offers an interesting approach to a small segment of population of the farming communities occupying this territory at the beginning of the Copper Age (3200–3000 cal BC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of beads from the artificial cave of La Molina (Lora de Estepa, Sevilla) and Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona) were made from a biogenic raw material and intentionally covered by a layer of resin. This is the first time this type of treatment has been documented on elements of adornment in the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The composition and nature of the coatings are analysed and the symbolic role of such alterations and imitations of prehistoric adornments is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The intention of this article is to interpret the biblical elements in the Prophetic Chronicle concerning their role in the process of identification of the cultural and religious Other in the Iberian Peninsula. To understand the Christian strategies of identification, the article contrasts the biblical elements in the text with their appearance in the Bible and compares the corresponding narrations. Since the contemporary foreign rulers over major parts of the former Visigothic kingdom were named almost entirely with biblically connoted ethnonyms, understanding these denominations is necessary to investigate both the perception and depiction of the Arab rulers of Hispania. Consequently, this article can point out the importance of the biblical elements in Christian-Iberian historical writing for research on the transcultural Iberian Peninsula and simultaneously offers new insight about the Prophetic Chronicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occupation of hillforts may be considered as one of the most radical and noticeable changes undergone by Western Europe’s post-Roman landscapes. These sites have traditionally been interpreted from a top-down perspective, usually linked to such monocausal explanations as the Barbarian invasions. However, the archaeological data shows that hillfort occupation was a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that does not strictly conform to such interpretations. Multi proxy spatial analyses based on regional and comparative approaches constitute a powerful tool for a more complex social analysis which can further our understanding of this phenomenon. Evidence gathered in northern Spain over the last decades makes this region a perfect case study to test these analyses. Hence, we will propose three different models to approach hillfort occupation related to different mechanisms deployed by communities inside them to exercise power and control over peoples and resources. We will argue that, as well as constituting military nodes, hillfort occupations can be understood as an adaptive process of post-Roman elites to reproduce domination and inequalities over local communities and resources at a time of rapid and profound structural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological study of feasting practices has proved to be one of the most fruitful lines of research in the social interpretation of the Mediterranean protohistoric record. The focus has been particularly effective for assessing the development of socio-political complexity and the evolution of socialization strategies that characterize many small-scale societies. In seeking to provide a similar assessment, this study analyses a set of ceramic tableware recovered from the early Iron Age site (seventh to sixth centuries BC) of Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Catalonia) and its associated domestic spaces and architectonic structures. Drawing on the postulates of commensality studies, we examine the functional and symbolic characteristics of these artefacts and the social practices linked to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examination of the rivet holes used to fasten the hilts on Atlantic metal-bladed weapons reveals that while by the Late Bronze Age these were usually punched, throughout the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age they were probably produced using drills with flint-tipped drill-bits. Through experimental archaeology it was established that, although a variety of readily available materials might have been successfully used to create holes in copper alloys, flint proved to be the most effective. Examples of what appears to be the use of this material, rotated by a bow-drill, are seen across Atlantic Europe from Britain and Ireland to northern Iberia. Perhaps the most significant conclusion to be drawn, however, is that there was no technical reason for the persistent location of rivet holes in the weaker, peripheral areas of Middle Bronze Age dirk and rapier butts. The absence of drills in the archaeological record is explained by the perishable nature of the organic materials from which these were constructed. Nevertheless, the use of bow-drills in particular might be inferred from the distinctive nature of the holes they produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]