- Megaliths (Archaeology), Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Environmental Archaeology, Palaeobotany, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Social Complexity, and 35 morePalinology, Climatic Change, Archaeolgy, Paleoclimate, Palaeoenvironment, Paleoecology, Paleo-Environment Reconstruction, Climate Change, Paleoclimatology, Neolithic Europe, Paleoenvironment, Neolithic Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Palaeoecology, Palynology, Holocene environmental change, Pollen analysis, Prehistoric Archaeology, Neolithic Transition, Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, Extreme climate events, Landscape and Land-use-history, Landscape Ecology, Botany, NPP analysis, Prehistoric agriculture, Vegetation, Prehistory, Ethnobotany, Quaternary environments, Origins of Agriculture, Archaeobotany, Mesolithic/Neolithic, Mesolithic Archaeology, palaeoecology, palynology, Quaternary, archaeobotany, and Holoceneedit
- PhDedit
The cooling and drying associated with the so-called ‘8.2 ka event’ have long been hypothesized as having sweeping implications for human societies in the Early Holocene, including some of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Atlantic... more
The cooling and drying associated with the so-called ‘8.2 ka event’ have long been hypothesized as having sweeping implications for human societies in the Early Holocene, including some of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Atlantic Europe. Nevertheless, detailed ‘on-site’ records with which the impacts of broader climate changes on human-relevant environments can be explored have been lacking. Here, we reconstruct sea surface temperatures (SST) from δ18O values measured on subfossil topshells Phorcus lineatus exploited by the Mesolithic human groups that lived at El Mazo cave (N Spain) between 9 and 7.4 ka. Bayesian modelling of 65 radiocarbon dates, in combination with this δ18O data, provide a high-resolution seasonal record of SST, revealing that colder SST during the 8.2 ka event led to changes in the availability of different shellfish species. Intensification in the exploitation of molluscs by humans indicates demographic growth in these Atlantic coastal settings which a...
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espanolEn esta Tesis Doctoral, mediante el estudio de microfosiles polinicos y no polinicos de cuatro yacimientos arqueologicos y de tres turberas, junto con una revision bibliografica de estudios paleoambientales situados en la zona de... more
espanolEn esta Tesis Doctoral, mediante el estudio de microfosiles polinicos y no polinicos de cuatro yacimientos arqueologicos y de tres turberas, junto con una revision bibliografica de estudios paleoambientales situados en la zona de estudio, la region Cantabrica central, se ofrece una reconstruccion, de manera sintetica, de la dinamica vegetal, de los posibles cambios ambientales y de la historia de la vegetacion desde los inicios del Mesolitico hasta el final del Calcolitico. Ademas, se analiza la resiliencia y vulnerabilidad de los sistemas sociales y ecologicos del Holoceno Inicial y Medio a traves de los datos recogidos a lo largo de este trabajo. La combinacion de lo anterior, junto con estudios polinicos y arqueologicos tiene como objetivo aportar una perspectiva diferente a las problematicas clasicas existentes para la Prehistoria, haciendose hincapie en la interaccion del ser humano con el medio ambiente, y en como las diversas actividades economicas desarrolladas en el ...
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Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, and 10 moreHistorical Archaeology, Research Methodology, Landscape Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Prehistory, Arqueología, Prehistoria, and Roman Archaeology
Resumen: Análisis arqueopalinológicos se llevaron a cabo en contextos del yacimiento de La Vereda (Burguillos, Sevilla), en el sur de España, ubicados cronológicamente en el siglo III d.C. en el momento de abandono hasta la actualidad del... more
Resumen: Análisis arqueopalinológicos se llevaron a cabo en contextos del yacimiento de La Vereda (Burguillos, Sevilla), en el sur de España, ubicados cronológicamente en el siglo III d.C. en el momento de abandono hasta la actualidad del área excavada. Los datos aportados por el estudio de pólenes y mi-crofósiles no polínicos contribuyen notablemente a detallar la función de determinadas estructuras documentadas en el sitio. En época romana se cultivaron cereales, lino y olivos, en un paisaje muy alterado por las actividades antrópicas. Abstract: Palynological analyses were carried out on layers from the site of La Vereda in Burguillos (Sevilla), in southern Spain. The layers dated to the 3 rd century AD, around the time of the abandonment of the present excavated area. Data from pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs contributed to add details on the function of the site and their structures. During Roman times, cereals, flax and olive were cultivated, and human activities highly influenced the landscape. Recepción: 1 de junio de 2016. Aceptación: 23 de noviembre de 2016
Seis mil años de gestión y dinámica antrópica en el entorno del Parque Natural de los Collados del Asón (Cordillera Cantábrica Oriental) Six thousand years of management and anthropic dynamics in Collados del Asón Natural Park (Eastern... more
Seis mil años de gestión y dinámica antrópica en el entorno del Parque Natural de los Collados del Asón (Cordillera Cantábrica Oriental) Six thousand years of management and anthropic dynamics in Collados del Asón Natural Park (Eastern Cantabrian Range) Resumen El conocimiento acerca de la evolución de los espacios de montaña resulta ser una problemática de gran interés tanto desde el punto de vista paleoambiental como en relación con las ocupaciones humanas. En este trabajo analizamos la composición y evolución de la vegetación de la turbera de Sotombo, en las cercanías del Parque Natural de los Collados del Asón (Cantabria) en los últimos 6000 años, a través del estudio de pólenes, esporas y microfósiles no polínicos, apoyados por una serie de 8 dataciones radiocarbónicas. Los principales resultados señalan en el inicio de la secuencia el dominio de los bosques caducifolios junto con pinares ca. 5926-2418 cal BP. A partir de este momento se evidencia claramente la antropización del paisaje, en fechas contemporáneas a la expansión de los hayedos. Con posterioridad (desde ca. 596 cal BP) se inicia el desarrollo de las praderas montanas que dominan el paisaje actual. Palabas clave: Análisis palinológico; Impacto antrópico; Historia de la vegetación; Holoceno; Norte de la Península Ibérica.
The Asturian is a classic cultural complex of the European coastal Mesolithic. Since its discovery by Count Vega del Sella in 1914, about one hundred thirty sites have been registered solely in Eastern Asturias, and several tens of them... more
The Asturian is a classic cultural complex of the European coastal Mesolithic. Since its discovery by Count Vega del Sella in 1914, about one hundred thirty sites have been registered solely in Eastern Asturias, and several tens of them have been explored. However, archaeological information about this Mesolithic complex is tremendously biased. Most of the sites are shell middens in which only small often calcited sections of the original layers were preserved. One particularly poorly understood aspect is the charac- terisation of the dwelling places. Despite the high density of sites (one of the highest in the European Mesolithic), few dwelling oors features have been described. For this reason, the investigation of this issue was speci cally included into the ’COASTTRAN’ research project, which aimed at studying the Mesolithic and the transition to the Neolithic on the Atlantic coast of Europe. This investigation started out with the hypothesis that most Asturian dwelling-places would have been located in open air locations near caves containing shell middens — where waste was accumulated. To test this hypothesis, certain areas that presented the conditions for the preservation of Holocene sediments and therefore seemed to be appropriate for geophysical surveying were selected. This paper presents the results obtained at an open air site located near the cave of El Alloru (Llanes, Asturias) characterized by a shell midden deposit. This site was studied by geophysical surveying and an excavation was carried out in 2013. The paper brie y describes the stratigraphy, discusses the absolute dates and presents the preliminary results of the study of the lithic assemblage and of the micromorphological, zooarchaeolo- gical (mammals and marine invertebrates) and archaeobotanical analyses (palynology, anthracology and carpology).
El Alloru displays a long sequence with evidence of open air human occupation, which started at a still undetermined time point in the Upper Palaeolithic, continued during the Mesolithic and nally yielded also Prehistoric remains (at the transition from theLate Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age). The most signi cant phase, and the one with the greatest density of evidence of occupation, is dated to the Late Mesolithic, between 7000 and 5500 cal. BC and can be assigned to the Asturian cultural complex. With regard to this phase, the excavations made it possible to highlight the existence of an open air activity area, near a cave that contained a shell-midden. This is shown by the relative variety of the documented archaeological remains, the features identi ed and the signs of trampling at the basis of the main occupation level. It still remains unclear whether this was a camp or an area in which speci c activities took place, but in any case, the hypothesis could be con rmed: Asturian settlements existed in the surroundings of caves containing shell middens.
The existence of differences between the archaeological contents of the open-air deposit and the shell-midden should also be noted, particularly the density of lithic artefacts. This seems to con rm that the caves basically contained accumulations of waste associated with nearby occupations.
The Mesolithic industry at El Alloru was mostly made from quartzite. The assemblage is outstanding for its important number of Astu- rian picks, one the highest known. The archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological records suggest that the groups that occupied El Alloru in the Mesolithic exploited a wide range of biotopes in the eastern part of the Asturias province. The anthracological study points in that direction, indicating that wood was collected in the oak forests that at that time covered areas of acidic soils but also in the holm oak groves on the limestone massifs. The mammal fauna displays the typical traits of the Asturian and the Mesolithic in Northern Spain in general, with a clear dominance of red deer, complemented by forest species such as roe deer and wild boar. Evidence of the consumption of hazel nuts, which is also very common in the Mesolithic of Northern Spain, should also be noted. Marine resources were equally exploited, as shown by the remains of sh and molluscs that have been documented. It is interesting that the sample of the latter that has been studied to date, while dominated by the characteristic Asturian species (limpets and top shells), displays a peculiarity already observed at this site and at others, which is that of higher percentages of the top shell (Phorcus lineatus) than is usual in this archaeological complex.
El Alloru displays a long sequence with evidence of open air human occupation, which started at a still undetermined time point in the Upper Palaeolithic, continued during the Mesolithic and nally yielded also Prehistoric remains (at the transition from theLate Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age). The most signi cant phase, and the one with the greatest density of evidence of occupation, is dated to the Late Mesolithic, between 7000 and 5500 cal. BC and can be assigned to the Asturian cultural complex. With regard to this phase, the excavations made it possible to highlight the existence of an open air activity area, near a cave that contained a shell-midden. This is shown by the relative variety of the documented archaeological remains, the features identi ed and the signs of trampling at the basis of the main occupation level. It still remains unclear whether this was a camp or an area in which speci c activities took place, but in any case, the hypothesis could be con rmed: Asturian settlements existed in the surroundings of caves containing shell middens.
The existence of differences between the archaeological contents of the open-air deposit and the shell-midden should also be noted, particularly the density of lithic artefacts. This seems to con rm that the caves basically contained accumulations of waste associated with nearby occupations.
The Mesolithic industry at El Alloru was mostly made from quartzite. The assemblage is outstanding for its important number of Astu- rian picks, one the highest known. The archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological records suggest that the groups that occupied El Alloru in the Mesolithic exploited a wide range of biotopes in the eastern part of the Asturias province. The anthracological study points in that direction, indicating that wood was collected in the oak forests that at that time covered areas of acidic soils but also in the holm oak groves on the limestone massifs. The mammal fauna displays the typical traits of the Asturian and the Mesolithic in Northern Spain in general, with a clear dominance of red deer, complemented by forest species such as roe deer and wild boar. Evidence of the consumption of hazel nuts, which is also very common in the Mesolithic of Northern Spain, should also be noted. Marine resources were equally exploited, as shown by the remains of sh and molluscs that have been documented. It is interesting that the sample of the latter that has been studied to date, while dominated by the characteristic Asturian species (limpets and top shells), displays a peculiarity already observed at this site and at others, which is that of higher percentages of the top shell (Phorcus lineatus) than is usual in this archaeological complex.
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L'Asturien est un des complexes culturels classiques du Mésolithique côtier européen. Depuis sa découverte par le comte de la Vega del Sella en 1914, cent-trente sites environ ont été catalogués rien que dans l'est des Asturies et des... more
L'Asturien est un des complexes culturels classiques du Mésolithique côtier européen. Depuis sa découverte par le comte de la Vega del Sella en 1914, cent-trente sites environ ont été catalogués rien que dans l'est des Asturies et des dizaines d'entre eux ont été fouillés. Cependant, les informations archéologiques sur ce complexe sont très biaisées. La plupart des sites sont des amas coquilliers dont seuls de petits témoins des couches originales, souvent cimentés, sont préservés. Un aspect particulièrement mal connu est celui de la caractérisation des lieux d'habitat. Malgré la grande densité de sites (une des plus élevées du Mésolithique européen) aucun sol ou structure d'habitation n'a été décrit. C'est pour cela que dans le cadre de « COASTTRAN », un projet de recherche orienté sur l'étude du Mésolithique et la transition au Néolithique dans les aires côtières de l'Europe atlantique, une recherche spécifique sur ce problème a été planifiée. Nous sommes partis de l'hypothèse que la plupart des lieux d'habitat asturiens auraient été des lieux de plein air proches des grottes avec amas coquilliers, ces derniers étant des zones d'accumulation de résidus. Pour vérifier cette hypothèse, certaines aires où les conditions de préservation des sédiments holocènes semblaient appropriées à une prospection géophysique ont été sélectionnées. Nous présentons ici les résultats obtenus dans un site de plein air près de l'amas coquillier de la grotte d'El Alloru (Llanes, Asturies). Le site a fait l'objet d'une prospection géophysique et d'une fouille en 2013. Dans cet article, nous allons décrire sommairement la stratigraphie, suivie d'une discussion des datations absolues pour ensuite présenter les résultats préliminaires des études de l'industrie lithique, la micromorphologie, l'archéozoologie (mammifères et invertébrés marins) et l'archéobotanique (palynologie, anthracologie et carpologie). El Alloru présente une longue séquence de témoignages d'activités humaines en plein air, qui débutent à un moment encore indéterminé du Paléolithique supérieur. Elles se poursuivent au Mésolithique jusque dans la Protohistoire (á la transition du Bronze final à l'âge du Fer ancien). La phase la plus remarquable est celle du Mésolithique final, datée entre 7000 et 5500 cal. BC avec une plus grande densité de preuves d'occupation, attribuables au complexe culturel asturien. Dans cette phase, nos recherches ont permis de constater l'exis-tence d'une aire d'activité, localisée dans une zone à l'extérieur à proximité d'une grotte renfermant un amas coquillier. La relative variété des restes archéologiques répertoriés, les structures localisées ainsi que les indices de piétinement sur la base du niveau principal d'occupation semblent en témoigner. Il est encore tôt pour déterminer si nous nous trouvons face à un campement ou face à une zone dédiée à une quelconque activité spécifique mais dans tous les cas, une hypothèse à nuancer paraît se confirmer : celle de l'existence d'implantations asturiennes dans les environs des grottes présentant des amas coquilliers. L'existence de différences entre le contenu archéologique du gisement de plein air et celui du dépôt de l'amas coquillier est aussi à remarquer, en particulier la densité de matériel lithique, ce qui semble confirmer que les amas en grotte étaient essentiellement des zones d'accumulation de résidus associées à d'autres installations proches. L'industrie mésolithique d'El Alloru a été réalisée principalement en quartzite. L'ensemble se détache par sa haute densité de pics asturiens, une des plus élevées connues. Les ensembles archéobotanique et archéozoologique suggèrent que les groupes qui occupaient El Alloru durant le Mésolithique exploitaient une large série de biotopes de la zone orientale des Asturies. L'étude anthracologique converge dans cette direction ; elle indique que l'approvisionnement de bois se pratiquait dans les forêts de chênes caducifoliés qui devraient alors couvrir les zones à substrat plus acide, mais aussi les bois de chêne vert poussant sur les massifs calcaires. La faune de