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Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal... more
Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500–3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000–2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200–1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.
New data from the Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula center: unprecedented occupations in three sites in the Madrid region. Three Neolithic sites located on the terraces of the confluence of Jarama-Henares rivers in the south-east of... more
New data from the Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula center: unprecedented occupations in three sites in the Madrid region. Three Neolithic sites located on the terraces of the confluence of Jarama-Henares rivers in the south-east of Madrid are presented in this paper: Prado de los Galápagos, La Serna and Soto de Henares. They have been documented during preventive excavations in large pit settlements with different occupations in Recent Prehistory. The Neolithic occupations of La Serna and Soto de Henares have been dated by TL giving the result of the middle of the 7th. millennium for La Serna and 6th. BP for Soto de Henares. Special interest reveal the association of one of the Neolithic pits to a ditch in Soto de Henares that comes to reinforce the evidence of the early construction of this type of collective structures in Central Iberia, as it has been confirmed already for sites in others peninsular regions.
El trabajo analiza las novedades que se han producido en el estudio de los rituales funerarios campaniformes al introducir, de manera sistemática, análisis arqueométricos que nos permiten identificar la presencia de cinabrio en numerosas... more
El trabajo analiza las novedades que se han producido en el estudio de los rituales funerarios campaniformes al introducir, de manera sistemática, análisis arqueométricos que nos permiten identificar la presencia de cinabrio en numerosas tumbas. La gran variedad de
pigmentos rojos empleados por las comunidades prehistóricas requiere de exhaustivos estudios analíticos para la caracterización e identificación de su procedencia. Presentamos los resultados de una veintena de muestras obtenidas de doce contextos funerarios campaniformes procedentes de cinco yacimientos madrileños a partir del análisis de restos de pigmentos adheridos sobre ajuares de marfil, cerámica o metal y en sedimentos o restos esqueléticos con
técnicas de SEM-EDX, DRX, LIBS e ICP-MS.
Esta nueva realidad pone de manifiesto, no sólo aspectos sobre la problemática de su detección
y análisis, sino también sobre la personalidad de los destinatarios y su incidencia en los rituales funerarios. Se hace patente la correlación entre la presencia de cinabrio y una mayor riqueza de ajuares acumulados en tumbas relevantes por sus contenidos y dimensiones, frente a otros enterramientos campaniformes sin cinabrio y con menor significación de sus tumbas y ajuares. Con ello se revela la capacidad de ciertos personajes para controlar o acceder a unas redes de intercambio que les permite la adquisición del cinabrio que se suma a otras materias documentadas previamente. En efecto, a pesar del escaso interés que ha habido hasta la fecha en estudiarlo y analizarlo, nuestras investigaciones apuntan a que el cinabrio acompaña en
varios contextos funerarios a otras materias primas de alto coste por su rareza y lejanía como son el oro y el marfil. No obstante queda por conocer si se trata de un fenómeno regional o adquiere una dimensión geográficamente mucho más amplia.
"The focus of this study is the analysis of a trepanation performed on the skull of an adult male from the famous Bell Beaker necropolis of Ciempozuelos (Madrid) excavated at the end of the 19th century. The unusual characteristics of the... more
"The focus of this study is the analysis of a trepanation performed on the skull of an adult male from the famous Bell Beaker necropolis of Ciempozuelos (Madrid) excavated at the end of the 19th century. The unusual characteristics of the pottery and other associated grave goods gave rise to the use of the name ‘Ciempozuelos’ to define the regional Bell Beaker style; this refers to similar finds from other sites on the Meseta of central Spain. Although trepanations from Chalcolithic contexts in the Iberian peninsula are not infrequent, they are unusual in Bell Beaker inhumations. Furthermore, this skull is exceptional not only for the type of trepanation performed, but also for the subsequent cranial deformation apparently resulting from the operation, as well as evidence of a second subsequent trepanation which indicates a very short post-surgical survival period for the individual.

Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key words: trepanation; Bell Beaker; Ciempozuelos; Iberian peninsula"
Review and study of the archaeological record retrieved from the 19th century excavations carried out by the Real Academia de la Historia in Ciempozuelos and study of a lithic collection from Valdocarros donated to this institution.
Key words: Chalcolithic, Bell Beaker, Graves, Pottery, Camino de las Yeseras (San Fernando de Henares, prov. Madrid).
The paper analyzes the Bell Beaker graves with female burials from three sites located near one another in the region of Madrid. The study addresses the female presence within contexts that have traditionally been considered mainly... more
The paper analyzes the Bell Beaker graves with female
burials from three sites located near one another
in the region of Madrid. The study addresses the female
presence within contexts that have traditionally been considered mainly male. The variability of their grave goods
and burial rituals and their identification in primary and
secondary, single or collective inhumations, is also analyzed.
Their associations with male adult individuals and/
or children are reviewed, and the social role of women
buried with daggers in significant graves is discussed.
Although the sample is quantitatively insufficient, its
variability at least allows us to refute previons claims
about the numerical superiority of male graves that have
been made without any empirical support. We conclude
with a discussion of why there are fewer women in Bell
Beaker tombs than in contemporaneous tombs without
Bell Beakers.
Resumen El trabajo propone una serie de ejemplos de recientes hallazgos para mostrar cómo los campaniformes escenifican su sociedad a través de la muerte. Estos contextos confirman las hipótesis formuladas en relación a la enorme... more
Resumen El trabajo propone una serie de ejemplos de recientes hallazgos para mostrar cómo los campaniformes escenifican su sociedad a través de la muerte. Estos contextos confirman las hipótesis formuladas en relación a la enorme variabilidad de sus manifestaciones funerarias a través de diferentes tipos de tumbas, número de individuos inhumados, los ajuares y sobre todo recurrentes manipulaciones de estos registros, no sólo como consecuencia de las tradiciones de regiones muy distantes en las que se implantan, sino que tal diversidad se manifiesta también a escala regional, incluso local.
Abstract: The work proposes a series of examples of recent findings to show how the Bell Beaker burials reveal social relations across the funerary behavior. These contexts confirm the hypotheses formulated in relation to the enormous variability of their tombs, number of inhumed individuals, grave goods and recurrent manipulation of the grave contents. They are not only the consequence of the traditions of very distant regions in those where are implanted, but also such diversity, is demonstrated in a regional and local scale.
Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1-7 September, Burgos, Spain): Volume 6/Session B 36 edited by Elisa Guerra Doce and Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, Archaeopress 2016, avaible to buy in print and download in PDF format for... more
Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1-7 September, Burgos, Spain): Volume 6/Session B 36 edited by Elisa Guerra Doce and Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, Archaeopress 2016, avaible to buy in print and download in PDF format for free via Archaeopress Open Access. For more information regarding publishing in Open Access with Archaeopress, please visit their website. Direct link to Open Access version: http://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={44910EE6-2E5C-495E-BF06-5F5C40E2452D} Direct link to Print version: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={F10C7661-7CA6-4747-80B5-3EA1FEDE07B3} Link to publishing information: http://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/defaultAll.asp?displayPage=Publish
Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1-7 September, Burgos, Spain): Volume 6/Session B 36 edited by Elisa Guerra Doce and Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, Archaeopress 2016, avaible to buy in print and download in PDF format for... more
Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1-7 September, Burgos, Spain): Volume 6/Session B 36 edited by Elisa Guerra Doce and Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, Archaeopress 2016, avaible to buy in print and download in PDF format for free via Archaeopress Open Access. For more information regarding publishing in Open Access with Archaeopress, please visit their website.
Direct link to Open Access version: http://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={44910EE6-2E5C-495E-BF06-5F5C40E2452D}

Direct link to Print version: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={F10C7661-7CA6-4747-80B5-3EA1FEDE07B3}

Link to publishing information: http://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/defaultAll.asp?displayPage=Publish
Research Interests:
The Bell Beaker complex is one of the most pan-European horizons in Later Prehistory. It is characterized by a distinctive assemblage of items that show a strong uniformity. However, the processes leading to the emergence and expansion of... more
The Bell Beaker complex is one of the most pan-European horizons in Later Prehistory. It is characterized by a distinctive assemblage of items that show a strong uniformity. However, the processes leading to the emergence and expansion of the Bell Beaker complex are still to be explained. In addition to the Beaker items themselves, social elites all over Europe managed to acquire prestige goods, i.e., products that were valuable because of their exotic origin or high degree of craftsmanship (Fig. 1–2). In this paper we focus on the procurement of prestige goods by Beaker groups from Central Iberia. Recent analyses have revealed that they obtained ivory either from Africa or from local fossil resources (Fig. 4). Long-distance exchanges are also evidenced by certain copper weapons and gold objects whose prototypes are not local, suggesting connections to the British Isles and Central Europe (Fig. 3). All this highlights the interaction between European elites in the 3rd millennium BC.
Research Interests:
Iñigo Olalde, Selina Brace, Morten E. Allentoft, Ian Armit, Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas Booth, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Alissa Mittnik, Eveline Altena, Mark Lipson, Iosif Lazaridis, Thomas K. Harper, Nick... more
Iñigo Olalde, Selina Brace, Morten E. Allentoft, Ian Armit, Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas Booth, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Alissa Mittnik, Eveline Altena, Mark Lipson, Iosif Lazaridis, Thomas K. Harper, Nick Patterson, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Yoan Diekmann, Zuzana Faltyskova, Daniel Fernandes, Matthew Ferry, Eadaoin Harney, Peter de Knijff, Megan Michel, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kristin Stewardson, Alistair Barclay, Kurt Werner Alt, Corina Liesau, Patricia Ríos, Concepción Blasco, Jorge Vega Miguel, Roberto Menduiña García, Azucena Avilés Fernández, Eszter Bánffy, Maria Bernabò-Brea, David Billoin, Clive Bonsall, Laura Bonsall, Tim Allen, Lindsey Büster, Sophie Carver, Laura Castells Navarro, Oliver E. Craig, Gordon T. Cook, Barry Cunliffe, Anthony Denaire, Kirsten Egging Dinwiddy, Natasha Dodwell, Michal Ernée, Christopher Evans, Milan Kuchařík, Joan Francès Farré, Chris Fowler, Michiel Gazenbeek, Rafael Garrido Pena, María Haber-Uriarte, Elżbieta Haduch, Gill Hey, Nick Jowett, Timothy Knowles, Ken Massy, Saskia Pfrengle, Philippe Lefranc, Olivier Lemercier, Arnaud Lefebvre, César Heras Martínez, Virginia Galera Olmo, Ana Bastida Ramírez, Joaquín Lomba Maurandi, Tona Majó, Jacqueline I. McKinley, Kathleen McSweeney, Balázs Gusztáv Mende, Alessandra Mod, Gabriella Kulcsár, Viktória Kiss, András Czene, Róbert Patay, Anna Endrődi, Kitti Köhler, Tamás Hajdu, Tamás Szeniczey, János Dani, Zsolt Bernert, Maya Hoole, Olivia Cheronet, Denise Keating, Petr Velemínský, Miroslav Dobeš, Francesca Candilio, Fraser Brown, Raúl Flores Fernández, Ana-Mercedes Herrero-Corral, Sebastiano Tusa, Emiliano Carnieri, Luigi Lentini, Antonella Valenti, Alessandro Zanini, Clive Waddington, Germán Delibes, Elisa Guerra-Doce, Benjamin Neil, Marcus Brittain, Mike Luke, Richard Mortimer, Jocelyne Desideri, Marie Besse, Günter Brücken, Mirosław Furmanek, Agata Hałuszko, Maksym Mackiewicz, Artur Rapiński, Stephany Leach, Ignacio Soriano, Katina T. Lillios, João Luís Cardoso, Michael Parker Pearson, Piotr Włodarczak, T. Douglas Price, Pilar Prieto, Pierre-Jérôme Rey, Roberto Risch, Manuel A. Rojo Guerra, Aurore Schmitt, Joël Serralongue, Ana Maria Silva, Václav Smrčka, Luc Vergnaud, João Zilhão, David Caramelli, Thomas Higham, Mark G. Thomas, Douglas J. Kennett, Harry Fokkens, Volker Heyd, Alison Sheridan, Karl-Göran Sjögren, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Johannes Krause, Ron Pinhasi, Wolfgang Haak, Ian Barnes, Carles Lalueza-Fox, David Reich (2018) – The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe, Nature, 21 february 2018, doi:10.1038/nature25738

Abstract
From around 2750 to 2500 BC, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 BC. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.
Research Interests:
Mientras que en los contextos funerarios los esqueletos humanos completos o parciales son bien reconocibles, no suele ocurrir lo mismo en aquellos que se encuentran de forma aislada o mezclados con artefactos y otros restos de origen... more
Mientras que en los contextos funerarios los esqueletos humanos completos o parciales son bien reconocibles, no suele ocurrir lo mismo en aquellos que se encuentran de forma aislada o mezclados con artefactos y otros restos de origen animal. Su identificación, aunque sólo sea de forma fragmentaria, es una línea de estudio que no siempre ha tenido la atención que merece debido a que los análisis arqueofaunísticos suelen emprenderse de forma tardía en relación con los de otros materiales y ello impide, en la mayoría de las ocasiones, que los restos antropológicos fuera de las tumbas sean identificados y estudiados adecuadamente. Sin embargo, precisamente algunos de los hallazgos aislados no reconocidos durante las tareas de campo pueden llegar a aportar una información muy valiosa para aproximarnos al mundo de la compleja simbología del Calcolítico desde una perspectiva en la que el apoyo empírico resulta fundamental. El presente trabajo se basa fundamentalmente en los restos antropológicos recuperados en las campañas de excavación realizadas en el yacimiento de Camino de las Yeseras desde el año 2003, la representatividad esquelética humana dentro y fuera de las tumbas campaniformes, en la que se percibe una extracción y traslado de restos seleccionados que a su vez vuelven a incorporarse a otras estructuras no funerarias, como las cabañas, hoyos y fosos. En muchos casos, se confirma una interesante asociación de mandíbulas con otros restos de perro.
The large Chalcolithic ditched enclosure of Camino de las Yeseras has a number of animal deposits among its numerous features, located in strategic places within the site. The objective of this chapter is to discuss two bovine crania... more
The large Chalcolithic ditched enclosure of Camino de las Yeseras has a number of animal deposits among its numerous features, located in strategic places within the site. The objective of this chapter is to discuss two bovine crania deposits dated to the third millennium BC from a spatial, stratigraphic, and taphonomic perspective, as well as their contextual characteristics. These deposits were placed at strategic locations within the site; the first is near an entrance to a ditched
enclosure and the other is possibly related to Bell Beaker features. There is evidence that each of these crania were treated differently. Both were accompanied by a series of artifacts alongside selected anatomical parts from other taxa. Since both deposits represent unique events in time and space, they reveal sequences with a high symbolic value and emphasize the fact that bovines played a relevant role in both the subsistence and symbolic sphere of Camino de las Yeseras and the Chalcolithic communities in central Iberia in general.
Research Interests:
This paper reviews the faunas retrieved at the PP4-Montelirio sector of the Chalcolithic site of Valencina de la Concepción, setting apart remains found in association with or without human bones. Although the structures of non-funerary... more
This paper reviews the faunas retrieved at the PP4-Montelirio sector of the Chalcolithic site of Valencina de la Concepción, setting apart remains found in association with or without human bones. Although the structures of non-funerary character exhibit a similar mammalian profile to those of funerary nature, the molluscs and some items such as red deer antlers, a ram’s bucranium or the triton (Charonia lampas) seem to have a clear symbolic nature. A third of the 61 funerary structures incorporate the concave valve of scallops (Genus Pecten), and, less often, limpet shells of the species Cymbula nigra. These two taxa, considered as funerary offers, are always placed next to some of the inhumations. The prevalence of scallops in the tombs may constitute an identity sign for the members of this community. All the species documented in our study, with the sole exception of the aurochs (Bos primigenius), are still to be found in the region.
Research Interests:
Información del artículo Estudio preliminar de los quelonios del yacimiento calcolítico (Holoceno) de Camino de las Yeseras (Madrid, España).
Review of the main problems related to the interpretation of recent prehistoric faunal deposits recovered in the Iberian Meseta. Proposal of diffent types of deposits related to funerary or domestic contexts, species, skeletal... more
Review of the main problems related to the interpretation of recent prehistoric faunal deposits recovered in the Iberian Meseta. Proposal  of diffent types  of deposits related to funerary or domestic contexts, species, skeletal representation, age, sex and other archaeological artefacts.
A critical review of chalcolithic archaeozoological studies and the use of zoological and morphological terminology in Archaeology
Until recently, few studies have been made of lithic tools from Chalcolithic sites although they comprise a very abundant record in many productive and funerary contexts. However, it is now possible to go deeper into more aspects than... more
Until recently, few studies have been made of lithic tools from Chalcolithic sites although they comprise a very abundant record in many productive and funerary contexts. However, it is now possible to go deeper into more aspects than merely typological ones. Use-wear analysis provides the possibility of inferring the functionality of certain lithic pieces that, until now, have been interpreted as sickles by applying only typological analysis. This research presents an initial study of 17 blade and leaf-shaped tools documented at the central Iberian site of Camino de las Yeseras (San Fernando de Henares, Madrid, Spain). The sample was recovered in different types of domestic structures-huts, segments of ditched enclosures and different pit features-. Although they are typical of Chalcolithic assemblages, these types of tools have not been systematically studied from a traceological or even technological point of view. The results of this study reveal cereal processing in the site, which is well supported by the presence of millstones, remains of cereal grains, pollen and other phytolithic evidence of vegetal elements like spikes and straw. We have performed a techno-traceological study of a set of blade and leaf-shaped pieces in order to identify their use and try to distinguish tasks connected with farming activities. This research has obtained important results inferring that the leaf-shaped bifacial pieces were not only sickles, but also threshing-board elements. The traces on the tools confirm the implementation of a new farming technology at the site, which would favour a more efficient exploitation of vegetal resources. Indeed, large-scale cereal production would require tools as complex and effective as threshing-boards. In conclusion, it is necessary to emphasize the important role that use-wear analysis can play in research into Chalcolithic lithic technology. In this case, the use-wear results indicate that most of the pieces described ty-pologically as sickles must have been hafted or inserted in some kind of threshing tool. Up to now, only a few Iberian sites are known with threshing tools, and the Camino de las Yeseras results indicate new agricultural technologies in cereal grain exploitation at Chalcolithic Iberian sites.
The current paper presents the study of a domestic structure, a kind of a hut pit, from Camino de las Yeseras, excavated in 2010. It assumes a formal analysis about the space and the materials with the aim to characterize this hut, its... more
The current paper presents the study of a domestic structure, a kind of a hut pit, from Camino de las Yeseras, excavated in 2010. It assumes a formal analysis about the space and the materials with the aim to characterize this hut, its use, its chronological correspondence and the processes occurred from its construction to its abandonment.
Due the hardness in the interpretation of this kind of structures, which most of them were cleaned and filled during or after their abandonment, this study aims to get a better definition and knowledge about the useful life of pit settlements. This objective continues the investigation field of our research team for a comprehensive study of Camino de las Yeseras.
This study offers a technological and typological characterization of lithic and bone industry as well as a pottery, faunal and architecture study thanks to provided structure remains. Furthermore there is a 14C date that allows to relate this hut with the same period, settlement and funerary space of Camino de las Yeseras, and contributes to new interesting data about domestic environments of the settlement. 
The results of the studies of each type of remains have been able to confirm that this hut is defined by a small store pit, a central hearth and a cooking surface documented in situ. The central space is filled by sediments and material remains affected by postdepositional processes. Although these data can not define specifically all activities that occupied this space, provide new data on the use of space in a key stage of the occupation of the site.
Research Interests:
Este trabajo presenta las características de una de las entradas documentadas en el foso 4 de Camino de las Yeseras, la mejor conocida y estudiada hasta el momento de todos los recintos de foso del yacimiento. Como ocurre con otros... more
Este trabajo presenta las características de una de las entradas documentadas en el foso 4 de Camino de las Yeseras, la mejor conocida y estudiada hasta el momento de todos los recintos de foso del yacimiento. Como ocurre con otros recintos de foso peninsulares y europeos, las zonas de acceso o tránsito son propensas a contener depósitos estructurados o presentar un carácter más singular en la naturaleza de sus contenidos. El objetivo de este trabajo es el de contextualizar si también en este caso la secuencia de colmatación del foso per-mite confirmar reiteradas actividades antrópicas que implican una manifiesta intencionalidad en los depósitos o si los rellenos son el resultado de una colmatación por abandono. La localización y estudio de estas zonas singulares supone un acercamiento cada vez más habitual en los trabajos sobre recintos peninsulares como vía de análisis de estas estructuras, tras unos primeros años de aproximacio-nes más procesualistas y materialistas sobre el tema centradas en la capacidad de estos asentamientos para agregar población, así como el grado de complejidad social desarrollado para llevar a cabo este tipo de construc-ciones. De este modo, en una primera parte del texto se revisa la ubicación del recinto 4 así como la orientación del acceso dentro del conjunto de recintos hasta hoy conocido y en relación a la topografía natural añadiendo, a lo ya conocido en publicaciones anteriores, algunas consideraciones astronómicas a la organización del espacio y a la estructuración arquitectónica de los fosos. En una segunda parte se describen los rellenos del foso en el acceso además de las principales características de los materiales que contienen y se hace una propuesta de secuencia temporal. La interpretación final que se propone sugiere la consideración del acceso como un lugar destacado en los recintos, en torno al cual se realiza-ban determinadas prácticas de carácter simbólico en las que los animales tienen especial significado, particular-mente los perros dada la cantidad de restos y la singularidad de algunos de los depósitos relacionados con esta especie.
Research Interests:
The chelonian accumulation of thousand of postcranial elements (especially those corresponding to the shells) of the freshwater turtles Mauremys leprosa and Emys orbicularis in one pit from the Chalcolithic site of Camino de las Yeseras... more
The chelonian accumulation of thousand of postcranial elements (especially those corresponding to the shells) of the freshwater turtles Mauremys leprosa and Emys orbicularis in one pit from the Chalcolithic site of Camino de las Yeseras (Madrid, Spain) is studied. For this purpose, an update of the presence and nature of the turtle remains in the Iberian archaeological sites is presented. The whole Iberian archaeological record of turtles is examined taking into account both the temporal and the faunistic context. This revision is done through a comprehensive literature review, covering both archaeological and systematic publications. The limited information in several studies and publications presenting remains of turtles is notified, and inaccuracies or problems in some of them are discussed. In this sense, new interpretations concerning the firsthand study of some of these remains are presented here. In addition, specimens from several archaeological sites where the turtles were hitherto unpublished are analyzed here.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The accumulation of thousands of terrapins' shells and bones (Mauremys leprosa and Emys orbicularis) in one pit from the Chalcolithic site of Camino de las Yeseras (Madrid, Spain) was superficially consolidated and retrieved as a block to... more
The accumulation of thousands of terrapins' shells and bones (Mauremys leprosa and Emys orbicularis) in one pit from the Chalcolithic site of Camino de las Yeseras (Madrid, Spain) was superficially consolidated and retrieved as a block to avoid the pieces collapse. A preliminary study presented identification of species and environmental interpretation. We present the methodological procedure of the excavation taken place in the laboratory from the lower levels through superficial ones to prevent loosing those non-consolidated elements and identify anatomic skeletal connection to estimate individual numbers. The preservation of the assemblage and the taphonomical processes involved in this accumulation constitute an important methodological challenge. Palabras clave: Calcolítico, metodología de excavación, tortugas dulceacuícolas, Península Ibérica.
Research Interests:
This paper refers the results of recent analyses realized to different components of chalcolithic grave goods, especially Bell Beaker ones in the Madrid region. New information about the materials of funerary records are not only an... more
This paper refers the results of recent analyses realized to different components of  chalcolithic grave goods, especially
Bell Beaker ones in the Madrid region. New information about the materials of funerary records are not only an
expression of the acquisitive capacity that certain prominent individuals could have by the control of some resources,
not only copper and gold, but also ivory and cinnabar and their routes of distribution. In addition, the results revealed that
the symbolic and prestige value of ivory and cinnabar is extended by an elite which power acquired more relevance which till now there had been assigned from the classic funerary package.
"En el marco de la colaboración establecida entre los distintos grupos de investigación que forman parte del grupo PACDAM destacan los estudios dedicados al Calcolítico madrileño, una de las etapas más dinámicas de la Prehistoria reciente... more
"En el marco de la colaboración establecida entre los distintos grupos de investigación que forman parte del grupo PACDAM destacan los estudios dedicados al Calcolítico madrileño, una de las etapas más dinámicas de la Prehistoria reciente en la Región en la que se documentan importantes cambios desde el punto de vista social y económico que tienen también reflejo en cambios en los patrones de asentamiento.

Todas estas novedades acaecidas a lo largo del III milenio a.C. han sido analizadas desde una óptica interdisciplinar que han permitido avances sustanciales en el conocimiento del Medio ambiente, de las características y formas de vida de la población y en el conocimiento de los restos industriales que han permitido identificar algunas áreas de captación de materias primas y la existencia de intercambios a larga distancia que han hecho posible la adquisición de materias exóticas destinadas a la elaboración de objetos de prestigio reservados a determinadas élites.

En el estudio coordinado por el grupo de la UAM, han intervenido también investigadores del CSIC y de la UCM que forman parte del mencionado proyecto PADCAM.

Fruto de esta colaboración es la reciente edición: Yacimientos Calcolíticos con campaniformes de la Región de Madrid. Nuevos estudios. a cargo de C. Blasco, C. Liesau y P. Ríos. La obra ha sido presentada en el marco del 15º Bell Beaker International Conference. From Atlantic to Ural, celebrada en Poio (Pontevedra) (5-9 de mayo). El trabajo es una puesta al día de diversos aspectos de la Prehistoria madrileña hace 5000 años."
From the faunal sample recovered in different Chalcolithic features, it is striking the high ratio of consumed domestic animals over the hunted species. At present, the apparent scarcity of bird, reptile, fish, mollusk and mite remains... more
From the faunal sample recovered in different Chalcolithic features, it is striking the high ratio of consumed domestic animals over the hunted species. At present, the apparent scarcity of bird, reptile, fish, mollusk and mite remains appear in punctual contexts, and their main interest as environmental indicators indeed is.
Although a comprehensive evaluation of the role played by fauna - from both spatial and chronological perspectives - remains to be assessed, during the Chalcolithic occupation cattle exploitation from porcine, sheep and goat is enhanced. The distribution from the different structures varies, but we must point out that porcine has a similar to the ovicaprine.
In livestock management, the inhabitants from Camino de las Yeseras take advantage of the young animals (tender meat) and the adults are primarily exploited for secondary products (milk derivatives and their active strength). The senile animals are rarely found, providing additional evidence for the wealth of their stock.
In some cases, faunal remains also appear in funerary contexts, as offerings deposited near the burial, or as possible evidence of feasting practices with a different spatial distribution depending on the anatomic part, uniquely observed in a Bell Beakers tomb. In other cases, we find ritual deposits of aurochs crania and of dogs, some of them located in strategic spatial distribution.
Over the last few years, thousands of bovine bone remains were recovered from Camino de las Yeseras, selected and cleaned. Almost a hundred aurochs (Bos primigenius, Boj.) bones were found in different contexts. Two crania found in... more
Over the last few years, thousands of bovine bone remains were recovered from Camino de las Yeseras, selected and cleaned. Almost a hundred aurochs (Bos primigenius, Boj.) bones were found in different contexts. Two crania found in peculiar deposits, prompted us to perform a more comprehensive study beyond traditional archaeozoological, osteomorpho-logical and metrical characterization. Close cooperation between the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Palaeogenome group of the Jacques Monod Institute, enabled us to successfully carry out a palaeogenetic study of these bone remains, which along with being integrated into a larger study of the genetic diversity of aurochsen, yielded new and interesting results on a more local scale as well, i.e., on the genetic population structure of recent Holocene aurochsen of the Iberian Peninsula.
Raw materials identification from ornamental artefacts and pigments were presented coming from different chalcolithic sites of Madrid. The results determine cinnabar presence in most red pigmented samples recovered form household and... more
Raw materials identification from ornamental artefacts and pigments were presented coming from different chalcolithic sites of Madrid. The results determine cinnabar presence in most red pigmented samples recovered form household and funerary contexts. Stone beads are made of limestone, variscite and other green elements. Only ivories can be associated to Ciempozuelos Bell Beaker tombs. The presence of some raw materials absent in the surroundig geology could be confirm the arrival of exotic elements through long distance exchanges.
The excavations carried out in the site of Camino de las Yeseras has provided a series of new aspects of the Chalcolithic period of Madrid.One of the most interesting aspect has been the fact that it has been possible to perform a study... more
The excavations carried out in the site of Camino de las Yeseras has provided a series of new aspects of the Chalcolithic period of Madrid.One of the most interesting aspect has been the fact that it has been possible to perform a study of the funeral rituals with a great variety of individual and collective burials in enclosures or delimited areas. Among the last ones, hipogeus and small caves were especially assigned to groups
containing Bell Beaker pottery. The osteomorphologic and size characteristics of some Bell Beaker individuals point them out as having a conspicuous physical aspect during their life time and the funerary gifts consist fundamentally of ceramic sets of Ciempozuelos style in an unusual association accompanied by prestigious elements such as golden beads.
The preliminary results are presented of the excavations in a large ditched enclosured chaclolithic settlement. The site was probably a central place in the production and long-distance exchange of surplus. The accumulations found of raw... more
The preliminary results are presented of the excavations in a large ditched enclosured chaclolithic settlement. The site was probably a central place in the production and long-distance exchange of surplus. The accumulations found of raw materials (flint, granite and metamorhic stones) and agricultural, stockbreeding and industrial products were exchanged by other foreign products (variscite, cinnabar, ivory and gold). Ritual data are also remarcable: a significant number of individual and collective burials have been recorded in pits, small artificial caves and hypogea, delimited in special areas. The richer burials had Ciempozuelos-style Bell Beaker elements and prestige items, such as gold and ivory beads. Osteomorphological and size features of some Bell Beaker individuals point out a remarkable physical aspect during their life time. Th faunal deposits, which included mixed species associations, evidence a complex symbolic relationship with animals. The site is essential for the knowledge of the Chalcolithic period and the impact of Bell Beaker customs and funerary rituals in the consolidation of social inequalities amidst the first metallurgical societies of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.
"The aim of this paper is double. Our first aim is to evaluate the most relevant architectural characteristics and artifacts of the site at Camino de las Yeseras, in Madrid region, during pre-Bell Beaker and Bell Beaker periods. The... more
"The aim of this paper is double. Our first aim is to evaluate the most relevant architectural characteristics and artifacts of the site at Camino de las Yeseras, in Madrid region, during pre-Bell Beaker and Bell Beaker periods. The second purpose in our minds is to find out what could be the social implications of integrating the Bell-Beaker culture into a Chalcolitic hut pit settlement, firmly rooted from the beginning of the third millennium to the beginning of the second (cal BC). Without discarding that this location works as a central place, due to its size, its strategic location -an area in which most basic resources were available — and its architectural complexity — great excavated hut pits, ditched enclosures, high
number of pits, channels, postholes, trenchs burials in pit- what really makes Bell Beaker phase different is its domestic architecture due to of its reduction in size, its spatial concentration with its remarkable development of pits in which previous phase house structures are maintained. Although Bell-Beaker ware introduces new shapes and decoration, at first of the comb decorated maritime style and latter on with incised decoration of Ciempozuelos style, the traditional pottery manufacture is maintained. It has to be taken into account that the use of Bell Beaker ware is not domestic but mainly burial in
purpose. This Bell-Beaker ware is linked to single or double burials in pit that present richer grave goods than collective
burials. This fact seems to confirm the existence of a relation between Bell-Beaker ware and metallurgic production, as well
as other resources exploitation, probably as a mark of exclusiveness on the part of some of Bell-Beaker individuals."
""This paper present a first approach to the Calcolithic settlement of “Camino de las Yeseras” in which a third millenium BC occupation has been documented. During the transition to the second millenium BC, Bell Beaker groups appear... more
""This paper present a first approach to the Calcolithic
settlement of “Camino de las Yeseras” in which a third
millenium BC occupation has been documented. During the
transition to the second millenium BC, Bell Beaker groups
appear in the sequence. They exploit new lithic resources,
adapt their domestic stock for increased mobility, and practice
new diversified funerary rituals in the settlement. The
temporal framework is supported by a sequence of many
C14 and TL dates.

Key words: Calcolithic settlement. Bell Beaker. Tagus
Valley. Funerary practices.""
Información del artículo El poblado calcolítico de la Loma de Chiclana (Vallecas, Madrid): excavaciones de urgencia realizadas en 1987.
"Five specialized studies about a young Argaric woman’s ostentatious tomb are presented. Starting from this singular burial, several aspects are discussed: the Argaric funerary ritual and the social rank of the dead individuals; the... more
"Five specialized studies about a young Argaric woman’s ostentatious tomb are presented. Starting from this singular burial, several aspects are discussed: the Argaric funerary ritual and the social rank of the dead individuals; the calibrated C-14 dates from Fuente Álamo, particularly from the south slope of the site; the human bones found in the graves at Fuente Álamo in 1996-1999; the offering of animals and liquids in Argaric burials; the prehistoric weaves.
All of these contributions bring us valuable information about
the young woman buried in grave 111, not only when she died
but also how the society where she lived was.

Key words: Fuente Álamo. Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates.
Mortuary practice. Organic offerings. Animal offering. Textile.
Social rank."
This paper presents the preliminary results of a pit located in a pit-settlement in the valley of the river Jarama (San Fernando de Henares, Madrid). Teh contents of the pit revealed an important deposit of the five known domestic animals... more
This paper presents the preliminary results of a pit located in a pit-settlement in the valley of the river Jarama (San Fernando de Henares, Madrid). Teh contents of the pit revealed an important deposit of the five known domestic animals with special emphasis on the cow related to the bone findings and number of individuals. The characteristics of the archaeological context and the skeletal portions seem to indicate a ritual act of the deposit. The type of the pottery associated to the faunal remains and the dating of one pottery fragment TL(3451 BP) from this pit assign it to the local Middle Bronze Age called Protocogotas Horizon
Study of the structures and archaeological record recovered from an old survey excavation (1982-83). Bronze Age pit site in Madrid (Protocogotas and Cogotas I).
Key Words: domestic stocks, hunting, bone tools, possible use of a flesh-hook for hanging a hindleg of a sheep.
In the present work the main findings of a duoble pit deposit of the Bronze Age settlement La Fábrica de Ladrillos are exposed. Whereas the ceramic remains on the button of a characteristic Protocogotas horizon seem to correspond with... more
In the present work the main findings of a duoble pit deposit of the Bronze Age settlement La Fábrica de Ladrillos are exposed. Whereas the ceramic remains on the button of a characteristic Protocogotas horizon seem to correspond with amortized materials, possibly used to seal the deposit and some líthic artefacts are also amortized, although varied in their origin, the faunal remains are very abundant and well preserved. In the recovered bones are frecuent articulated portions of the axial and appendicular skeleton of at least five young cattle that seem to indicate the use of this taxa in aspects that extend beyond their traditional use obtaining the primary and secondary products.
Radiocarbon datings and termoluminiscency had been applied for dating two Bronze Age horizons (Protocogotas and Cogotas I) at the site of La Fabrica de Ladrillos (Getafe, Madrid).
Valoración comparada de faunas recuperadas en diferentes yacimientos del curso medio del Duero con una cronología que abraca el Hierro I y Hierro II. Destaca la abrumadora dominancia de los mamíferos domésticos frente a los silvestres... more
Valoración comparada de faunas recuperadas en diferentes yacimientos del curso medio del Duero con una cronología que abraca el Hierro I y Hierro II. Destaca la abrumadora dominancia de los mamíferos domésticos frente a los silvestres (ciervo, corzo, jabalí, oso, lobo, lince, gato montés, tejón, nutria, liebre, conejo y excepcionales restos de uro y castor) y las no menos interesantes faunas comensales (gorrión común y ratón doméstico) además de otros restos de aves, reptiles, peces y moluscos.
"This paper aims to emphasize the importance of imported commensal faunas in archaeological contexts by reporting on the earliest known house sparrows and house mice form the Iberian peninsula. The finds, which date to the Iron Age of a... more
"This paper aims to emphasize the importance of imported commensal faunas in archaeological contexts by reporting on the earliest known house sparrows and house mice form the Iberian peninsula. The finds, which date to the Iron Age of a hinterland area of the peninsula, have been identified on the basis of osteomorphological and osteometrical criteria, which are specified in the text in order to demostrate the reliability of the identification. The temporal and geographical coincidence of these remains in the two sites analysed with those of donkey and, secondarily, chicken remains and faunal remains of litoral origin, lends support to the hypotesis that these animals arrived with the earliest trans-Mediterranean colonizers to the southern
shores of the iberian peninsula and spread involuntarily therafter as "side-products" of the Phoenician commercial routes throughout the Iberian hinterland."
"The vetton culture is one of the archaeozoologically less documented areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Without a thorough knowledge of the faunas from the hillforts of this area one will be unable to provide even the barest hints of te... more
"The vetton culture is one of the archaeozoologically less documented areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Without a thorough knowledge of the faunas from the hillforts of this area one will be unable to provide even the barest hints of te paleoconomy having to do with husbandry practices. Archaeozoological analyses would, at their least, provide data on the faunas consumed and help with the assessment of the stockbreeding that the classical sources have repeatedly mentioned. Such analyses would furthermore provide a framework for the interpretation and function of the hundred of animales sculptures, the so-called "verracos", presumably depicting cattle and boar.

A small sample of some 250 remains retrieved in the hillfort of Salmantica allowed us to identify seven species of mammals, mostly domestic taxa, in what apparenly constitutes  a dumpyard with food leftovers. Data referring to age at slaughter, sex and biometry hint towards a morhological homogeneity with other bovine and ovicaprine populations from the north central plateau of Iberia as well a local husbandry centered on cattle, sheep and goat being secondary and pig testimonial. Also testimonial one could label on the basis of this analysis activities such as hunting and trade.




"
Study of faunal remains and bone industry of the hillfort and comparative analysis with other asturian sites.
The study of the faunal remains of Campa Torres has allowed to aproximate us to the paleoeconomical patterns of one of the most important fortified Iron Age hillforts in Asturias. The cattle suposes the main stock during the prerroman... more
The study of the faunal remains of Campa Torres has allowed to aproximate us to the paleoeconomical patterns of one of the most important fortified Iron Age hillforts in Asturias. The cattle suposes the main stock during the prerroman occupation, complemented marginally with the sheep, goat and pig. The low frecuency of the horse and dog bones states a habitual pattern as in most prehistoric sites, although the exhaustive disarticulation marks of dogs do not discard the consume of these carnivores. The huntig activities are evidenced only by some testimonial remains of red deer.
Con el presente trabajo se pretende dar a conocer los resultados del estudio de la fauna procedente de las excavaciones realizadas en el Arroyo Culebro, así como de otros estudios faunísticos inéditos de la Comunidad de Madrid valorando,... more
Con el presente trabajo se pretende dar a conocer los resultados del estudio de la fauna procedente de las excavaciones realizadas en el Arroyo Culebro, así como de otros estudios faunísticos inéditos de la Comunidad de Madrid valorando, en un somero estudio, la problemática de estos yacimientos y sus muestras con los datos conocidos en la actualidad.
Study of faunal remains recovered close to the altar. Domestic and wild species are represented, mainly by burned front and hind legs.
La Cueva de Balmori (Asturias) se localiza a unos 600 m. del pueblo que le da nombre y a 500 m. del estuario del río Barro. El yacimiento arqueológico, adscrito al Paleolítico Superior, fue descubierto en 1908 y Vega del Sella publicó,... more
La Cueva de Balmori (Asturias) se localiza a unos 600 m. del pueblo que le da nombre y a 500 m. del estuario del río Barro. El yacimiento
arqueológico, adscrito al Paleolítico Superior, fue descubierto en 1908 y Vega del Sella publicó, entre otros materiales, una placa ósea
perforada con un grabado de bovino recuperada en un contexto del Magdaleniense final a inicios del Aziliense. En la descripción de la pieza
indicó que el soporte podría ser un fragmento de caparazón de una gran tortuga. El objetivo que se persigue en este trabajo es el de discutir
la naturaleza de esta placa ósea y comentar algunos detalles en su decoración y uso.
The study of ivory beads and V shaped Buttons recovered in a Bell Beaker tomb with FTIR spectroscopy revealed the use of ancient elephant tusk (Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus) and african elephant tusk (Loxodonta africana) as raw... more
The study of ivory beads and V shaped Buttons recovered in a Bell Beaker tomb with FTIR spectroscopy revealed the use of ancient elephant tusk (Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus) and african elephant tusk (Loxodonta africana) as raw material for these pieces.
The aim of this contribution is to reveal the possibilities applied to identify bone artifacts recovered from two Bell Beaker tombs. Teh great variety in mammal teeth resources so called "ivories" as proboscideans, narwhal, sperm whale,... more
The aim of this contribution is to reveal the possibilities applied to identify bone artifacts recovered from two Bell Beaker tombs. Teh great variety in mammal teeth resources so called "ivories" as proboscideans, narwhal, sperm whale, walrus, hippopotamus, needs the combination o several techniques to assure the identification. In this case we applied the FTIR and micro-TC to observe the raw material characters.
An ivory workshop in the Bronze Age site of Fuente Álamo was located with bracelets, pearls, a comb and also raw and waste materials. Furthermore other sites with ivory studies are discussed and the use and importation of a great variety... more
An ivory workshop in the Bronze Age site of Fuente Álamo was located with bracelets, pearls, a comb and also raw and waste materials. Furthermore other sites with ivory studies are discussed and the use and importation of a great variety of ivories during the second millennium B.C. in "El Argar Culture".
Through the study of antler tools from site of El Soto de Medinilla (Valladolid) we have tried to come to the metodological and terminological aspects but also to the kind of extraction system used. It has also been taken into... more
Through the study of antler tools from site of El Soto de Medinilla (Valladolid) we have tried to come to the metodological and terminological aspects but also to the kind of extraction system used. It has also been taken into consideration the anatomical origin of the different units, a very important factor for the utility of each tool with special stress on the analysis of the tools known as <<shafts>>.
"This paper is a preliminary notification of an experimental program concerning works performed on miscellaneous raw materials with various types of saws. Despite the performance limitations that this type of testing convey in the control... more
"This paper is a preliminary notification of an experimental program concerning works performed on miscellaneous raw materials with various types of saws. Despite the performance limitations that this type of testing convey in the control of certain variables, we have tried from an experimental perspective to tackle a series of classical clichés, frequently quoted in bibliographies, in which, among others, the functional nature of some tools made of almost pure copper or with arsenic impurities is questioned. As a result of which it has been proposed that artefacts made out of bronze are much more “functiona”l and “resistant” than those made out of other materials.
In order to test some of the previously mentioned arguments we have considered it convenient to experiment with non-compact and fragile tools such as saws. Three medium size saws were manufactured according to morphological criteria of Argaric pieces. In terms of metallurgical composition, the first one was made out of a hundred per cent pure copper plate, the second was made out of arsenical copper (As-2%), and finally the third one out of bronze (Sn-10%). The raw materials used for this experimental program were green olive tree wood, a soaked red deer antler and a fresh bovine femur. The saw process was performed in a stepped shape, and the profiles were registered respectively at intervals of one, five, and ten minutes.
The results achieved with the copper saw were surprising not only because of its capacity to saw hard raw materials, but also for its strength. It was used for a period of almost an hour and its original morphology was hardly altered. However, when the results of this saw were compared to those of the other two saws a lesser “efficiency” was detected when it was used to saw the antler or the bone. It was quite evident that under the same pressure and time requirements its effect on the raw material was very limited (Figures 4-6). When the experiment was concluded, the copper saw only showed that the cutting edge laterals were slightly more polished, and its tooth had a minor abrasion, while the arsenic copper and the bronze saws presented very few macroscopic traces. Another interesting result that came out of the trial was the slim difference between the sawing capability of the arsenical copper saw and the bronze one. The results obtained with the former presented a wider spectrum depending on the raw material employed: less depth in the wood and a more in the other two raw materials, but in both cases there were no relevant differences. With the appropriate precautions, due to the fact that not all the variables were tackled, the “efficiency” and “resistance” results obtained with the arsenical saw were more similar to the ones of the bronze saw than those of the copper saw. Thanks to the forging process of the arsenic copper saw, the degree of hardness reached goes beyond that of the cast bronze, but those results will be the subject of future trials."
Since manipulative traces on the bone surfaces were not only evident but very abundant as well, an essential portion of the faunal analysis derived into a comprehensive experimental programme to check, among others, wheter such traces had... more
Since manipulative traces on the bone surfaces were not only evident but very abundant as well, an essential portion of the faunal analysis derived into a comprehensive experimental programme to check, among others, wheter such traces had been made exclusively by metallic instruments or if, as postulated, lithic instruments were also involved. The experimental programme eventually developed into a full specific methodology involving both macroscopical and microscopical analysis which constitute an independent section of this contribution. Among its results, one should mention the diagnostic features which appear after any activity which needs of a prolongued time to be carried out versus the difficulties of inferring the nature of the instruments involved in some activities. Flint turns out to be extremely fragile material in the case of activities involving either pressure or percussion whereas such restriction has never been the case for metallic instruments (bronze, copper with As, iron). In fact even ternary alloys of bronze stand prolongued activities of pressure and percussion without further problems.
The work discusses the implications of a horse mandible retrieved in the spanish Iron Age "tell" of "El Soto de Medinilla". The abrasion detected on a left lower premolar is probably caused by a harness with a bit.
"The paper documents what can probably be considered the last megafaunal extinction event in the Iberian Peninsula, namely that of the half-ass locally called zebro or encebro, from a double toponymic and historiographica perspective.... more
"The paper documents what can probably be considered the last megafaunal extinction event in the Iberian Peninsula, namely that of the half-ass locally called zebro or encebro, from a double toponymic and historiographica perspective. Since there are serious hints that this animal might correspond to the Equus hydruntinus of the european pleistocene, the work constitutes what will be a fisrt attempt to solve this long-standing paleontological riddle, a riddle in which archaeozoological findings are already starting to provide data as well.

KEYWORDS: ENCEBRO, ZEBRO, ONAGER. HALF-ASS, Equus hydruntinus, IBERIA, EXTINCTlON, TOPONYMS, HISTORICAL SOURCE"
Revisión de los materiales de la colección Bento custodiada en el Museo de Arqueología de Cataluña en Barcelona que proceden de recolecciones superficiales realizadas en las terrazas del Manzanares en los años 30 del siglo XX. Con el... more
Revisión de los materiales de la colección Bento custodiada en el Museo de Arqueología de Cataluña en Barcelona que proceden de recolecciones superficiales realizadas en las terrazas del Manzanares en los años 30 del siglo XX. Con el crecimiento urbano y la explotación de áridos se liberaron también restos de fauna en diferentes estados de conservación y de fosilización. Exposición de la problemática de identificar faunas cuaternarias con dificultades de asignción de inventarios, contextualización y cronologías, al abarcar esta colección un registro que abarca desde el Paleolítico Antiguo al Hierro I.
Información del artículo Plaza del Marqués:: Aproximación arqueozoológica preliminar a la fauna recuperada en el asentamiento romano de Cimadevilla (Gijón, Asturias).
Información del artículo Plaza del Marqués:: Aproximación arqueozoológica preliminar a la fauna recuperada en el asentamiento romano de Cimadevilla (Gijón, Asturias).
A handful finds of camel bones from Iberia now illuminate the faint story of camels in Roman and Muslim Europe- and hint at why the dromedary never became established as a domesticate in the peninsula.
Study of faunal remains associated to a roman pottery kiln. At the entrance of the "praefurnium" was recoverd a common ware jug and a THS Hisp. 27 bowl associated to a partial skeleton of a lamb.
Se estudian las faunas recuperadas en el sector PP4-Montelirio del yacimiento calcolítico de Valencina de la Concepción, distinguiendo aquellas recuperadas en tumbas con restos humanos de los depósitos carentes de éstos. En las segundas... more
Se estudian las faunas recuperadas en el sector PP4-Montelirio del yacimiento calcolítico de Valencina de la Concepción, distinguiendo aquellas recuperadas en tumbas con restos humanos de los depósitos carentes de éstos. En las segundas se documenta un espectro de mamíferos similar al del registro funerario lo que sin embargo difiere en las especies de moluscos y en determinadas faunas como las astas de ciervo, parte de un bucráneo de un carnero o el tritón (Charonia lampas) que apuntan al carácter simbólico de los depósitos funerarios. Un tercio de las 61  estructuras funerarias presenta la valva cóncava de la viera (género Pecten) y, en menor medida, lapas de la especie Cymbula nigra. Ambas especies, que interpretamos como ajuares, se sitúan siempre próximas a algún inhumado. La presencia recurrente de vieras pudiera asociarse con la identidad de determinados individuos. La totalidad de las especies documentadas en este estudio, a excepción del uro (Bos primigenius), se encuentran actualmente en la zona.


This paper reviews the faunas retrieved at the PP4-Montelirio sector of the Chalcolithic site of Valencina de la Concepción, setting apart remains found in association with or without human bones. Although the structures of non-funerary character exhibit a similar mammalian profile to those of funerary nature, the molluscs and some items such as red deer antlers, a ram’s bucranium or the triton (Charonia lampas) seem to have a clear symbolic nature. A third of the 61 funerary structures incorporate the concave valve of scallops (Genus Pecten), and, less often, limpet shells of the species Cymbula nigra. These two taxa, considered as funerary offers, are always placed next to some of the inhumations. The prevalence of scallops in the tombs may constitute an identity sign for the members of this community. All the species documented in our study, with the sole exception of the aurochs (Bos primigenius), are still to be found in the region.
Research Interests:
In the country estate of ar-Rummānīya near Córdoba (Spain) the remains of an Islamic garden of the 10th century are preserved on three terraces. This book presents the results of a comprehensive archaeological study of the garden, in... more
In the country estate of ar-Rummānīya near Córdoba (Spain) the remains of an Islamic garden of the 10th century are preserved on three terraces. This book presents the results of a comprehensive archaeological study of the garden, in particular the results of archaeobotanical studies. For the first time, insights into the design of a garden from the heyday of Islamic culture could be gained.
In der Glanzzeit des Kalifats war die Stadt Córdoba (Spanien) von luxuriösen Landvillen umgeben. Historische Quellen berichten von prachtvollen Palastanlagen, exotischen Gärten und ausgedehnten Ländereien. Die Bauten stehen am Anfang... more
In der Glanzzeit des Kalifats war die Stadt Córdoba (Spanien) von luxuriösen Landvillen umgeben. Historische Quellen berichten von prachtvollen Palastanlagen, exotischen Gärten und ausgedehnten Ländereien. Die Bauten stehen am Anfang einer Entwicklung, die später zum Bau der Alhambra in Granada führte, aber auch auf die europäische Architektur- und Landschaftsgestaltung Einfluss nahm. Im vorliegenden Band werden erstmals die archäologischen Überreste einer solchen Landvilla umfassend vorgestellt.
Der Landsitz ar-Rummānīya liegt am Fuß der Sierra Morena, rund 10 km westlich des Stadtzentrums von Córdoba und 2 km westlich der Palaststadt Madinat al-Zahrā’. Die Anlage wurde vermutlich von ad-Durrī „dem Kleinen“, einem Finanzminister des Kalifen al-Hakam I., um das Jahr 965 errichtet. Sie umfasst vier Terrassen, von denen drei als Garten gestaltet waren. Auf der obersten Terrasse lagen Wohngebäude sowie ein ungewöhnlich großes Wasserbecken. Architektonischer Höhepunkt war ein Saalbau, der sich einerseits zu dem Wasserbecken, andererseits zu dem Garten öffnete. Der Saal ist insofern von besonderer Bedeutung, als bei der Anlage seiner Arkaden erstmals die Prinzipien der Perspektive berücksichtigt fanden.
Die vorliegende Monographie ist Ergebnis eines seit 2006 laufenden Gemeinschaftsprojektes des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, der Universidad Autónoma de Madrid und des Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra. Neben einer detaillierten Beschreibung der baulichen Überreste und der archäologischen Grabungsbefunde umfasst der Band Beiträge zur Geschichte, Geologie, Wassertechnik und Botanik des Fundplatzes. Zudem stellt der Band den Landsitz in den Kontext der Geschichte der islamischen Palastarchitektur im Allgemeinen.
Research Interests:
En las diferentes intervenciones arqueológicas realizadas en el gran recinto de fosos calcolítico de Camino de las Yeseras se han hallado más de tres mil útiles óseos, mayoritariamente tipos apuntados. Estos proceden de hoyos de... more
En las diferentes intervenciones arqueológicas realizadas en el gran recinto de fosos calcolítico de Camino de las Yeseras se han hallado más de tres mil útiles óseos, mayoritariamente tipos apuntados. Estos proceden de hoyos de diferentes dimensiones, tramos de foso y, en menor medida, de cabañas y tumbas. Generalmente se encuentran mezclados con otros registros arqueológicos, como la cerámica, la industria lítica y restos arqueofaunísticos. En el presente trabajo exponemos los resultados preliminares de la caracterización de un tipo óseo que, hasta la fecha, se le ha prestado escasa atención: los artefactos sobre costillas de mamíferos. En esta categoría también se incluyen otros huesos de mamíferos que presentan una morfología similar a las láminas costales como son los procesos espinosos o transversales de las vértebras costales o lumbares. La mayoría de los artefactos en costilla presentan un escaso grado de modificación antrópica por lo que suelen pasar desapercibidos como úti...
Nachruf für Prof. Dr. Angela von den Driesch (1934–2012).
Despite advanced skills of the Beaker people as regards metalworking and metallurgy of all available metals (copper, gold, silver, electrum) in the third millennium BC, archaeological contexts yielded only little exact evidence of these... more
Despite advanced skills of the Beaker people as regards metalworking and metallurgy of all available metals (copper, gold, silver, electrum) in the third millennium BC, archaeological contexts yielded only little exact evidence of these technological processes. Technological equipment is lacking and individual components of metalworking tools (mould, nozzle, hammers, anvils) are most often found as parts of prestigious artefacts of grave goods in forms of symbolic packages in clearly defined deposits. It is significant that they were fixed to rich male burials (even cenotaphs!), often at a leading position within the burial ground between England (Amesbury) and the Carpathian Basin (Szigetszentmiklós) and they significantly accumulated on the territory of the Czech Republic, particularly in Moravia (around 20 graves CWC and BBC). New microscopic analyses (SEM) have brought further evidence confirming the function and practical use of these tools (high presence of gold, silver and co...
... Eficacia e ineficacia de las sierras metálicas: ¿sólo sirven las de bronce? Autores:Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck; Localización: Análisis funcional: su aplicación al estudio de sociedades prehistóricas / coord. por Ignacio ...
Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto HAR 2011-28731, Plan Nacional I+D+i del Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Gobierno de Espana.
TDX - Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa - 10 anys 2001 · 2011. Cerca avançada. Restringir a TDX. ...
Review of the main problems related to the interpretation of recent prehistoric faunal deposits recovered in the Iberian Meseta. Proposal of diffent types of deposits related to funerary or domestic contexts, species, skeletal... more
Review of the main problems related to the interpretation of recent prehistoric faunal deposits recovered in the Iberian Meseta. Proposal of diffent types of deposits related to funerary or domestic contexts, species, skeletal representation, age, sex and other archaeological artefacts.
Información del artículo Ganadería y aprovechamiento animal.
Seleccionar todos Título: Investigación de la escena de un crimen del siglo IX. ¿Qué pasó en la villa romana de El Saucedo, Toledo, hace 1.200 años, donde un niño/a de 6-7 años murió decapitado/a por una espada? Una apasionante... more
Seleccionar todos Título: Investigación de la escena de un crimen del siglo IX. ¿Qué pasó en la villa romana de El Saucedo, Toledo, hace 1.200 años, donde un niño/a de 6-7 años murió decapitado/a por una espada? Una apasionante investigación antropológica. ...
Localización: Arqueología y Medio ambiente: el primer milenio a. C. en el Duero medio/coord. por Germán Delibes de Castro Árbol académico, Zoa Escudero Navarro, Fernando Romero Carnicero, Arturo Morales Muñiz, 1995, ISBN 84-7846-387-9,... more
Localización: Arqueología y Medio ambiente: el primer milenio a. C. en el Duero medio/coord. por Germán Delibes de Castro Árbol académico, Zoa Escudero Navarro, Fernando Romero Carnicero, Arturo Morales Muñiz, 1995, ISBN 84-7846-387-9, págs. ...
Información del artículo Termoluminiscencia y C14, dos métodos complementarios para la aproximación cronológica en la datación de yacimientos de la prehistoria reciente.
El Parque Nacional de Monfragüe (Cáceres) conserva un importante complejo de arte rupestre formado por más de un centenar de abrigos con pinturas y grabados postpaleolíticos. En el presente trabajo vamos a dar a conocer un avance de las... more
El Parque Nacional de Monfragüe (Cáceres) conserva un importante complejo de arte rupestre formado por más de un centenar de abrigos con pinturas y grabados postpaleolíticos. En el presente trabajo vamos a dar a conocer un avance de las conclusiones obtenidas en las últimas campañas de investigación llevadas a cabo en el sector del cañón del Arroyo Barbaón (Serradilla). En él se ha procedido a la documentación digital de las representaciones pictográficas de sus 29 abrigos. Además, a través de las excavaciones realizadas en el interior de la Cueva del Sapo, que han proporcionado diversos materiales cerámicos y líticos, así como los restos de un hogar, se intenta contextualizar arqueológicamente el conjunto de arte rupestre. Finalmente, el hallazgo en el abrigo Friso del Terror de un fragmento de cuarcita desprendido que conservaba algunos trazos pintados ha permitido realizar análisis para caracterizar el pigmento que fue utilizado en su elaboración. Con estas aportaciones pretendem...
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La captura y el consumo de pequeñas presas por parte del ser humano en momentos anteriores al Paleolítico Superior es parte de un amplio debate (Stiner et al., 1999). Pese a que algunos autores consideran que el aprovechamiento... more
La captura y el consumo de pequeñas presas por parte del ser humano en momentos anteriores al Paleolítico Superior es parte de un amplio debate (Stiner et al., 1999). Pese a que algunos autores consideran que el aprovechamiento sistemático de pequeñas presas está asociado al comportamiento humano moderno, existe una serie de yacimientos antiguos en los que se ha documentado el aprovechamiento del llamado small game. Los quelonios se incluyen dentro de este concepto de pequeñas presas si bien, al igual que la mayoría de microvertebrados, se estudian principalmente por su valor como bioindicador. El material de quelonios en los yacimientos arqueológicos del Pleistoceno ibérico es relativamente abundante (Fèlix et al., 2006; Morales y Sanchis, 2009). Presentamos una aproximación metodológica y varios resultados correspondientes a los estudios que se vienen realizando al respecto, que suponen una detallada puesta al día sobre la información de estos reptiles en el registro arqueológico del Pleistoceno peninsular.
Turtles are relatively abundant in the Iberian Archaeological record. An update of the data concerning the systematic identifications and the interpretations of these turtle findings in the context of each site is presented here. A... more
Turtles are relatively abundant in the Iberian Archaeological record. An update of the data concerning the systematic identifications and the interpretations of these turtle findings in the context of each site is presented here. A comprehensive literature review has been performed, considering both archaeological and systematic publications. New interpretations concerning the firsthand study of some of these remains are presented. In addition, specimens from several archaeological sites where turtle findings were hitherto unpublished, are also analyzed. The results of this study are presented in order to propose biogeographical, temporal, and biological interpretations. With the aim of comprehending the interaction of humans with these reptiles throughout the Iberian archaeological record, we consider that they were captured mainly as a food resource, but also employed for other purposes.
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The presence of more than 4000 terrapin shell fragments as the sole content of a pit in the ditched enclosure of Camino de las Yeseras has been reported as a unique finding of these reptiles for the Iberian Peninsula (Pérez et al., 2011;... more
The presence of more than 4000 terrapin shell fragments as the sole content of a pit in the ditched enclosure of Camino de las Yeseras has been reported as a unique finding of these reptiles for the Iberian Peninsula (Pérez et al., 2011; Boneta et al., 2013). Two species were identified in this pit as belonging to the European pond terrapin (i.e. Emys orbicularis) and the Spanish terrapin (i.e. Mauremys leprosa). Recent faunal investigations of diverse features and chronologies in this large long-term occupation site (mainly belonging to the 3rd Millennium cal BC), have identified 10 new terrapin osseous remains from seven different contexts. The aim of this contribution is to present the first results of their identification in features, pits and huts, and to discuss their spatial distribution in the site. Otherwise, intermingled with other mammalian faunal remains in different contexts, their evidence in other features give us a new insight to comprehend the reach of their caption as a consumption resource in a site located nearby the confluence of the Jarama and Henares rivers.