Marta Moreno-García

La historia de las zonas de montaña en nuestro Pirineo
no empezó con el termalismo, a principios del siglo XX,
ni se corresponde solo con las anotaciones de las primeras
ascensiones a sus cimas o los relatos de los
grandes rebaños recorriendo las cabañeras arriba y
abajo: es más bien la historia de las personas que las
poblaron. Pero estas zonas altas han sido muy poco exploradas
en busca de vestigios arqueológicos, más allá
de manifestaciones puntuales como castillos e iglesias
medievales, y particularmente Sobrarbe. En los últimos
diez años, no obstante, se han realizado en la comarca
nuevas excavaciones y prospecciones arqueológicas
cuyos resultados intenta compilar este libro, a partir
de los trabajos presentados en 2013 en las jornadas
Sobrarbe antes de Sobrarbe, en su contexto geográfico
de alta montaña.

Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyre-nees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312-2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, δ 18 O and δ 13 C stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the 'off-season' lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.

This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavation of the Valmayor XI rock shelter, in the context of the research proyect "The pathways of the Neolithic". Through the analysis of the radicarbon dates and a detailed stratigrafhic interpretation three occupations have been established with chronologies wuthin different periods of the VI milenium cal BC.

The islamic conquest of Iberia at the beginning of the 8th century was a far-reaching process that implied the profound transformation of the social and cultural structures of former Visigothic Hispania. From 711AD and during the following two or three centuries most part of the Iberian Peninsula –known from that point onwards as al-Andalus– was incorporated into a wider islamic cultural and religious koiné that encompassed North Africa, the Levant and far beyond. Two of the most remarkable historical processes of this period were the islamisation and arabisation of the indigenous population.
This paper deals with the presentation of a set of worked bovid scapulae dated between the 8th and the 10th centuries recovered from two different sites of Madinat Qurtuba, the capital of al- Andalus at that time. While some of them bear parallel lines engraved on the bone suggesting their use as writing supports, one shows an Arabic inscription. Our aim is to review similar findings from other areas of al-Andalus and to provide a sociocultural interpretation of these artefacts as material markers of the religion (islam) and language (Arabic) imposed by the incomer rulers. From this perspective, they may have been conceived as ideological expressions of the new society that was in the making during the early medieval period in Iberia.

No nos podíamos imaginar a finales de junio de 2009 que aquellos rebaños que veíamos aparecer por el paso de las Aras y se diseminaban como mancha de aceite por los claros de las montañas, primero hacia las crestas de los “dosmiles” para bajar paulatinamente a las planicies de mil quinientos metros, podrían ser los herederos directos de una tradición ancestral que nos disponíamos, sin ser conscientes todavía de ello, a descubrir.
Iniciábamos entonces la primera campaña de excavación en la Cova de
Els Trocs bajo los auspicios del Gobierno de Aragón y el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (HAR 2009-09027) que nos habían concedido financiación para un proyecto pluridisciplinar, que intentaba profundizar en el conocimiento de la introducción de la economía de rendimientos diferidos en las tierras del Interior peninsular y que llevaba por título “Los Caminos del Neolítico” (Rojo y otros, 2012).
No pretendemos en este trabajo realizar una descripción pormenorizada
de la arqueología de la cueva con sus estratos, sedimentos, estructuras y demás artefactos y ecofactos que, a lo largo ya de cinco campañas, se acumulan en nuestras bases de datos y que han sido objeto de una reciente publicación (Rojo y otros, 2013). Nuestra intención aquí es, simplemente, utilizar una serie de argumentos arqueológicos y arqueobiológicos que nos permitan plantear la hipótesis de que quienes ocuparon la Cova de Els Trocs desde el último cuarto del VI mileno cal ANE hasta finales del IV (ibídem, Tab. I) eran unos grupos humanos
poco numerosos que practicaban una economía primordialmente pastoril.

This paper aims at providing insights on the subsistence practices developed by the communities inhabiting the site of La Noguera (Tudelilla, La Rioja, Spain) from the Roman period to almost the 19th century AD. Through the analysis of plant and animal remains, the study reveals the evolution of agriculture throughout time, showing the progressive incorporation of new crops (millets, rye, oat) to the agricultural system of the site. The animal remains, although more limited in sample size, show not only a considerable diversity of species but they do also provide information on the economic orientation (meat, wool production, etc) of the various animal species. The combination of approaches helps to disentangle the strategies adopted by these groups for their own subsistence.