The documentation of Palaeolithic art in the open air, together with direct dates for parietal ar... more The documentation of Palaeolithic art in the open air, together with direct dates for parietal art and the study of territories marked by the last hunter groups in southern Europe, supports new interpretations of Palaeolithic art and its continuity in the early Holocene. We provide updated information about the graphic representations in that time of transition, grouped under the term Style V. We also reflect on the chronological framework of some themes and techniques for which dates are available, from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. These topics reveal the strength of the Palaeolithic background in more recent versions of prehistoric art, especially the schematic art associated with the first farmers. These new considerations are added to the presence of Palaeolithic and Post-Palaeolithic art throughout Europe and all over the world, which shows how symbols are social traits of communication associated with human groups. The study of connections through these archaeolo...
Three different types of archaeological sites related to the production and consumption of salt i... more Three different types of archaeological sites related to the production and consumption of salt in the inland Tagus valley have been identified: sites with the direct evidence of salt production, indirect evidence of its production through archaeological surveying and sites where analyses have identified the prehistoric consumption of salt in a domestic context. All together, they enable an up-dated assessment of the prehistoric use of salt in the inland Tagus valley as cyclical, domestic and inserted, like so many other productions, in the characteristic population patterns in the region.
Actas Del Congreso Internacional Sobre Megalitismo Y Otras Manifestaciones Funerarias Contemporaneas En Su Contexto Social Economico Y Cultural 2007 Isbn 9788493767075 Pags 152 187, 2007
The traditional view that posits the existence of a focus of collective burials in the West area ... more The traditional view that posits the existence of a focus of collective burials in the West area of the Tagus and sporadic and late incursions far to the inner parts of the basin, has been losing its strength due to the systematic work carried out from the eighties onwards. The megaliths dated to the middle of the V millennium cal. BC, have to be related to settlement systems rooted in the initial producers groups. The polymorphism of these monuments, their associated grave goods, their symbolic references and their important architectures, posit the existence of important settlement focus, which have in the deposit of the ancestors, a visible reference. The economic and symbolic increase documented in the Late Neolithic, allows the appearance of organized necropolis, associated to the large settlements of the Tertiary plain of the Tagus. The necropolis of artificial caves of “Valle de las Higueras” is a good example of these funerary agglomerations. In this site, findings such as incised Beaker pottery, variscite beads, metals and other prestige goods, allow us to make serious reflections about the origins of social inequality in the inner areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
Documentación y análisis de grabados, pinturas y esculturas del monumento de Katillotxu V, en la ... more Documentación y análisis de grabados, pinturas y esculturas del monumento de Katillotxu V, en la necrópolis del mismo nombre situada sobre la ría de Mundaka. Vizcaya
Información del artículo Estilo V en el ámbito del Duero: cazadores finiglaciares en Siega Verde ... more Información del artículo Estilo V en el ámbito del Duero: cazadores finiglaciares en Siega Verde (Salamanca).
El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Ob... more El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Obermaier en 1924 y casi cien años después, este volumen presenta la primera documentación gráfica sobre sus soportes, incluyendo análisis de pigmentos y dataciones del contexto arqueológico interno y externo del sepulcro. Su arquitectura es el resultado de las transformaciones de un centro ceremonial en un gran monumento megalítico a principios del IV milenio cal BC.. Desde el Neolítico al Bronce Final, generación tras generación, las imágenes de las paredes del dolmen de Soto perpetúan en el sepulcro de los ancestros sus nexos con el pasado.
Ditched enclosures, walled enclosures and megaliths are the three types of monumental structures ... more Ditched enclosures, walled enclosures and megaliths are the three types of monumental structures derived from forms of social cohesion within European Neolithic societies, which is the most convincing hypothesis to explain the relationship between these types of sites. This text proposes that the position of megalithic cemeteries is excellent evidence to develop methods of surveying and territorial studies offering a more varied and richer image. In addition to generally accepted views, it might be added that the memory of the ancestors materialised in the megaliths is a social tool, which helps to support the ideological construction of sites of all kinds. The position of the Azután dolmen on the old terrace of the Tagus and its conspicuousness over the valley always suggested the role of this monument as a visible element of the location of Neolithic groups in the west of Toledo province. During the late 1990s and even more so during the twenty-first century two ideas proved to be the most convincing to understand the relationship between dolmens and human settlements. One was the value of the past, vindicated by the display of large stone tombs dedicated to ancestors; the other the relationship between the monuments and such abiotic resources as water, good farmland, grazing and easy access, all factors favouring human settlement and therefore convincing support for proposals about the close relationship between the habitat and dolmens. Another factor increases the interest in using the position of megaliths as the starting point for research projects on settlement patterns in recent prehistory. This is the evidence of long sequences of use of the monuments, which is an indicator of the permanence of the sites. The functionality of the megaliths, as receptacles of ancestors, adds an ideological component that cannot be ignored when analysing the arguments about the way the territory was used by groups practising farming or metallurgy. The occurrence of all these factors in the case of Azután dolmen was the empirical base to begin intensive surveying together with the use of geophysical techniques. This has led to the discovery of one of the largest groups of ditched enclosures on the southern Spanish Plateau an area where they werecompletely unknown (Schmitt et al. in print). An examination of some of these hypotheses– together with settlement patterns of later European prehistory – may contribute reasonable evidence of interaction. Characterising grave goods and prestige goods circulated during the time megalithic monuments were in use throughout the European plains.
espanolLa oportunidad de retomar el estudio del dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes, Guadalajara, a... more espanolLa oportunidad de retomar el estudio del dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes, Guadalajara, a partir de los materiales conservados en el MAN y de recientes trabajos de campo, ofrece un resultado positivo. Podemos aportar el conocimiento de fuentes de aprovisionamiento, una fecha C14 obtenida de un craneo recientemente documentado en la reestructuracion del MAN, y una nueva lectura de posibles refacturas del monumento. EnglishPositive results have been obtained from resuming the study of the dolmen of El Portillo de las Cortes (Guadalajara, Spain) taking into account materials that are nowadays kept in the MAN (Museo Arqueologico Nacional) as well as recent fieldwork. We hereby present a new C14 date obtained from a recently found and documented skull from the MAN, and new perspectives about possible ancient interventions to rebuild the monument and about supply sources for the community that erected it.
Localización: Arqueología, sociedad, territorio y paisaje: estudios sobre Prehistoria reciente, P... more Localización: Arqueología, sociedad, territorio y paisaje: estudios sobre Prehistoria reciente, Protohistoria y transición al mundo romano en homenaje a Mª Dolores Fernández Posse/coord. por Primitiva Bueno Ramírez, 2011, ISBN 978-84-00-09264-1, págs. 53-74
The application of frontier models has been to the order of the day in some emblematic areas of A... more The application of frontier models has been to the order of the day in some emblematic areas of Atlantic style open air carvings. On the basis of these, similar considerations spread to the whole of the western megalithic sphere. Thus the hypothesis of a true division between open air painting and carving became consolidated, geographically, culturally and chronologically speaking. A painting-open air carving sequence was extended to the megalithic-open air carving sequence, on the basis that the former was characterised by painted decoration. The detailed analysis of the decorative schemes of the Iberian megaliths suggests a series of thoughts on some of these interpretations, as a starting point for a more integral discussion of the symbolic sphere that was consolidated by the megalith builders. The confluence of carving, painting and sculpture in the funerary discourse with themes that are also recognisable in open air rock art places the funerary contexts as references of chronology and ideology for the open air rock art. The documentation of open air graphical markers within the context of the megalithic territories, led by our team in the International Tagus, increases the possibilities of analysis of the relationship between the interior an the exterior decorations in the Atlantic Late Prehistory. If in addition we add the breakdown of the traditional boundaries through the identification of important groups of painted schematic art in areas in which this variant was supposedly rare or absent, the application of this analysis to other areas with the same restrictive concepts, such as Galicia in the Iberian Peninsula, becomes possible. And of course the European Atlantic façade in which carved megalithic decorations are of particular importance. Grabados rupestres de la fachada atlántica europea y africana 150 INTRODUCCIÓN La discusión sobre la diacronía o sincronía entre las manifestaciones al aire libre y las del interior de los dólmenes del llamado arte atlántico ( Costas et al.2006 ) , ha sido una de las bazas más sólidas para la interpretación de éste. En la Península Ibérica la cuestión ha estado estrechamente ligada a la técnica como norma básica para la las representaciones pintadas más antiguas (Acosta, 1968). Dado que el arte megalítico ibérico se entendía como esencialmente pintado (Shee,1981), los grabados al aire libre serían posteriores a la decoración en los megalitos, pese a que en éstos se reconocieron pronto indicios de la presencia y protagonismo de esta técnica. La insistencia en la diferencia entre manifestaciones simbólicas estrictamente megalíticas y sus sucesoras, los grabados al aire libre, ha tenido versiones diferentes en los distintos ámbitos historiográficos del atlántico europeo (Bradley, 2004 ; Burgess, 1990; Johnston , 1993), pues en ellos la pintura no ha jugado el papel que tiene en la Península Ibérica (Bueno y Balbín, 2002; Bueno et al.2009) ; Carrera,2006). La estrecha imbricación entre la pintura como aparato simbólico de carácter religioso y su origen oriental asociado al del paquete neolítico (Jordá, 1984), condujo a una aceptación más o menos explícita de la mediterraneidad y, por ende, de la neolitización, que significaba su presencia en determinados territorios peninsulares. Mientras que el grabado conectaba con otra geografía, la del “arte atlántico” (Bueno y Balbín, 2003). Así se define plenamente, sobre todo a partir de los años 80, un mapa de grafías mediterráneas y atlánticas que señalan en la Península Ibérica el mayor impacto del megalitismo en el occidente peninsular y el de un neolítico de origen oriental, en el Este y Sur (Bueno et al.2008a). El segundo más antiguo, pues en las regiones atlánticas no existiría un neolítico previo a los megalitos. Mapa que ha continuado prácticamente inamovible, pese a que algunos elementos inéditos entran en juego para sostener modelos más complejos de relación . Y no sólo entre las diversas técnicas sino en el marco de las mismas fronteras conceptuales establecidas entre el atlantismo y la mediterraneidad (Bueno et al.2006, 2008a, e.p.a), incluyendo un potente neolítico premegalítico en las regiones atlánticas (Calado, 2002 :22 ), al que se asocian referencias simbólicas (Bueno et al. 2007b). Valorar en este contexto de nuevos parámetros de análisis las aportaciones del arte megalítico ibérico, es del mayor interés. Se trata del único conjunto europeo, al menos hasta el momento, en el que la asociación de técnicas confirma su contemporaneidad absoluta y en el que disponemos de cronologías directas e indirectas, que configuran la más sólida de las constataciones cronológicas que puede ofrecer la simbología postglaciar del Sur de Europa (Bueno et al.2007a ; Scarre, 2008:20). Disponemos, por tanto, de datos acerca de su contemporaneidad con el desarrollo de la pintura esquemática y del grabado al aire libre (Bueno y Balbín, 2006a), avalando la hipótesis de que el arte megalítico es una especialización funeraria del…
RESUMEN La estrecha relación entre la posición de las grafías y los territorios económicos de los... more RESUMEN La estrecha relación entre la posición de las grafías y los territorios económicos de los grupos que las produjeron se constata diacrónicamente. El mundo de los cazadores pa-leolíticos no es sólo el de la oscuridad de las cavernas, sino el de sierras, valles y ríos al aire libre cuyas referencias simbólicas han quedado grabadas y pintadas en soportes rocosos. Son ellos los pioneros en la def inición gráf ica de los lugares que forman parte de su universo cotidiano. La recurrencia en la decoración de los mismos enclaves tiene su constatación con la presencia de grafías postpaleolíticas. Presenta los grandes yaci-mientos al aire libre como la visualización de territorios tradicionales, aquéllos cuya delimitación se conoce por formar parte del grupo, y cuyo tránsito y uso está asegurado por los símbolos de los ancestros. ABSTRACT the close relationship between the position of the graphics and the economic territories of the groups are diachronically tested. the world of the Pal...
The documentation of Palaeolithic art in the open air, together with direct dates for parietal ar... more The documentation of Palaeolithic art in the open air, together with direct dates for parietal art and the study of territories marked by the last hunter groups in southern Europe, supports new interpretations of Palaeolithic art and its continuity in the early Holocene. We provide updated information about the graphic representations in that time of transition, grouped under the term Style V. We also reflect on the chronological framework of some themes and techniques for which dates are available, from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. These topics reveal the strength of the Palaeolithic background in more recent versions of prehistoric art, especially the schematic art associated with the first farmers. These new considerations are added to the presence of Palaeolithic and Post-Palaeolithic art throughout Europe and all over the world, which shows how symbols are social traits of communication associated with human groups. The study of connections through these archaeolo...
Three different types of archaeological sites related to the production and consumption of salt i... more Three different types of archaeological sites related to the production and consumption of salt in the inland Tagus valley have been identified: sites with the direct evidence of salt production, indirect evidence of its production through archaeological surveying and sites where analyses have identified the prehistoric consumption of salt in a domestic context. All together, they enable an up-dated assessment of the prehistoric use of salt in the inland Tagus valley as cyclical, domestic and inserted, like so many other productions, in the characteristic population patterns in the region.
Actas Del Congreso Internacional Sobre Megalitismo Y Otras Manifestaciones Funerarias Contemporaneas En Su Contexto Social Economico Y Cultural 2007 Isbn 9788493767075 Pags 152 187, 2007
The traditional view that posits the existence of a focus of collective burials in the West area ... more The traditional view that posits the existence of a focus of collective burials in the West area of the Tagus and sporadic and late incursions far to the inner parts of the basin, has been losing its strength due to the systematic work carried out from the eighties onwards. The megaliths dated to the middle of the V millennium cal. BC, have to be related to settlement systems rooted in the initial producers groups. The polymorphism of these monuments, their associated grave goods, their symbolic references and their important architectures, posit the existence of important settlement focus, which have in the deposit of the ancestors, a visible reference. The economic and symbolic increase documented in the Late Neolithic, allows the appearance of organized necropolis, associated to the large settlements of the Tertiary plain of the Tagus. The necropolis of artificial caves of “Valle de las Higueras” is a good example of these funerary agglomerations. In this site, findings such as incised Beaker pottery, variscite beads, metals and other prestige goods, allow us to make serious reflections about the origins of social inequality in the inner areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
Documentación y análisis de grabados, pinturas y esculturas del monumento de Katillotxu V, en la ... more Documentación y análisis de grabados, pinturas y esculturas del monumento de Katillotxu V, en la necrópolis del mismo nombre situada sobre la ría de Mundaka. Vizcaya
Información del artículo Estilo V en el ámbito del Duero: cazadores finiglaciares en Siega Verde ... more Información del artículo Estilo V en el ámbito del Duero: cazadores finiglaciares en Siega Verde (Salamanca).
El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Ob... more El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Obermaier en 1924 y casi cien años después, este volumen presenta la primera documentación gráfica sobre sus soportes, incluyendo análisis de pigmentos y dataciones del contexto arqueológico interno y externo del sepulcro. Su arquitectura es el resultado de las transformaciones de un centro ceremonial en un gran monumento megalítico a principios del IV milenio cal BC.. Desde el Neolítico al Bronce Final, generación tras generación, las imágenes de las paredes del dolmen de Soto perpetúan en el sepulcro de los ancestros sus nexos con el pasado.
Ditched enclosures, walled enclosures and megaliths are the three types of monumental structures ... more Ditched enclosures, walled enclosures and megaliths are the three types of monumental structures derived from forms of social cohesion within European Neolithic societies, which is the most convincing hypothesis to explain the relationship between these types of sites. This text proposes that the position of megalithic cemeteries is excellent evidence to develop methods of surveying and territorial studies offering a more varied and richer image. In addition to generally accepted views, it might be added that the memory of the ancestors materialised in the megaliths is a social tool, which helps to support the ideological construction of sites of all kinds. The position of the Azután dolmen on the old terrace of the Tagus and its conspicuousness over the valley always suggested the role of this monument as a visible element of the location of Neolithic groups in the west of Toledo province. During the late 1990s and even more so during the twenty-first century two ideas proved to be the most convincing to understand the relationship between dolmens and human settlements. One was the value of the past, vindicated by the display of large stone tombs dedicated to ancestors; the other the relationship between the monuments and such abiotic resources as water, good farmland, grazing and easy access, all factors favouring human settlement and therefore convincing support for proposals about the close relationship between the habitat and dolmens. Another factor increases the interest in using the position of megaliths as the starting point for research projects on settlement patterns in recent prehistory. This is the evidence of long sequences of use of the monuments, which is an indicator of the permanence of the sites. The functionality of the megaliths, as receptacles of ancestors, adds an ideological component that cannot be ignored when analysing the arguments about the way the territory was used by groups practising farming or metallurgy. The occurrence of all these factors in the case of Azután dolmen was the empirical base to begin intensive surveying together with the use of geophysical techniques. This has led to the discovery of one of the largest groups of ditched enclosures on the southern Spanish Plateau an area where they werecompletely unknown (Schmitt et al. in print). An examination of some of these hypotheses– together with settlement patterns of later European prehistory – may contribute reasonable evidence of interaction. Characterising grave goods and prestige goods circulated during the time megalithic monuments were in use throughout the European plains.
espanolLa oportunidad de retomar el estudio del dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes, Guadalajara, a... more espanolLa oportunidad de retomar el estudio del dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes, Guadalajara, a partir de los materiales conservados en el MAN y de recientes trabajos de campo, ofrece un resultado positivo. Podemos aportar el conocimiento de fuentes de aprovisionamiento, una fecha C14 obtenida de un craneo recientemente documentado en la reestructuracion del MAN, y una nueva lectura de posibles refacturas del monumento. EnglishPositive results have been obtained from resuming the study of the dolmen of El Portillo de las Cortes (Guadalajara, Spain) taking into account materials that are nowadays kept in the MAN (Museo Arqueologico Nacional) as well as recent fieldwork. We hereby present a new C14 date obtained from a recently found and documented skull from the MAN, and new perspectives about possible ancient interventions to rebuild the monument and about supply sources for the community that erected it.
Localización: Arqueología, sociedad, territorio y paisaje: estudios sobre Prehistoria reciente, P... more Localización: Arqueología, sociedad, territorio y paisaje: estudios sobre Prehistoria reciente, Protohistoria y transición al mundo romano en homenaje a Mª Dolores Fernández Posse/coord. por Primitiva Bueno Ramírez, 2011, ISBN 978-84-00-09264-1, págs. 53-74
The application of frontier models has been to the order of the day in some emblematic areas of A... more The application of frontier models has been to the order of the day in some emblematic areas of Atlantic style open air carvings. On the basis of these, similar considerations spread to the whole of the western megalithic sphere. Thus the hypothesis of a true division between open air painting and carving became consolidated, geographically, culturally and chronologically speaking. A painting-open air carving sequence was extended to the megalithic-open air carving sequence, on the basis that the former was characterised by painted decoration. The detailed analysis of the decorative schemes of the Iberian megaliths suggests a series of thoughts on some of these interpretations, as a starting point for a more integral discussion of the symbolic sphere that was consolidated by the megalith builders. The confluence of carving, painting and sculpture in the funerary discourse with themes that are also recognisable in open air rock art places the funerary contexts as references of chronology and ideology for the open air rock art. The documentation of open air graphical markers within the context of the megalithic territories, led by our team in the International Tagus, increases the possibilities of analysis of the relationship between the interior an the exterior decorations in the Atlantic Late Prehistory. If in addition we add the breakdown of the traditional boundaries through the identification of important groups of painted schematic art in areas in which this variant was supposedly rare or absent, the application of this analysis to other areas with the same restrictive concepts, such as Galicia in the Iberian Peninsula, becomes possible. And of course the European Atlantic façade in which carved megalithic decorations are of particular importance. Grabados rupestres de la fachada atlántica europea y africana 150 INTRODUCCIÓN La discusión sobre la diacronía o sincronía entre las manifestaciones al aire libre y las del interior de los dólmenes del llamado arte atlántico ( Costas et al.2006 ) , ha sido una de las bazas más sólidas para la interpretación de éste. En la Península Ibérica la cuestión ha estado estrechamente ligada a la técnica como norma básica para la las representaciones pintadas más antiguas (Acosta, 1968). Dado que el arte megalítico ibérico se entendía como esencialmente pintado (Shee,1981), los grabados al aire libre serían posteriores a la decoración en los megalitos, pese a que en éstos se reconocieron pronto indicios de la presencia y protagonismo de esta técnica. La insistencia en la diferencia entre manifestaciones simbólicas estrictamente megalíticas y sus sucesoras, los grabados al aire libre, ha tenido versiones diferentes en los distintos ámbitos historiográficos del atlántico europeo (Bradley, 2004 ; Burgess, 1990; Johnston , 1993), pues en ellos la pintura no ha jugado el papel que tiene en la Península Ibérica (Bueno y Balbín, 2002; Bueno et al.2009) ; Carrera,2006). La estrecha imbricación entre la pintura como aparato simbólico de carácter religioso y su origen oriental asociado al del paquete neolítico (Jordá, 1984), condujo a una aceptación más o menos explícita de la mediterraneidad y, por ende, de la neolitización, que significaba su presencia en determinados territorios peninsulares. Mientras que el grabado conectaba con otra geografía, la del “arte atlántico” (Bueno y Balbín, 2003). Así se define plenamente, sobre todo a partir de los años 80, un mapa de grafías mediterráneas y atlánticas que señalan en la Península Ibérica el mayor impacto del megalitismo en el occidente peninsular y el de un neolítico de origen oriental, en el Este y Sur (Bueno et al.2008a). El segundo más antiguo, pues en las regiones atlánticas no existiría un neolítico previo a los megalitos. Mapa que ha continuado prácticamente inamovible, pese a que algunos elementos inéditos entran en juego para sostener modelos más complejos de relación . Y no sólo entre las diversas técnicas sino en el marco de las mismas fronteras conceptuales establecidas entre el atlantismo y la mediterraneidad (Bueno et al.2006, 2008a, e.p.a), incluyendo un potente neolítico premegalítico en las regiones atlánticas (Calado, 2002 :22 ), al que se asocian referencias simbólicas (Bueno et al. 2007b). Valorar en este contexto de nuevos parámetros de análisis las aportaciones del arte megalítico ibérico, es del mayor interés. Se trata del único conjunto europeo, al menos hasta el momento, en el que la asociación de técnicas confirma su contemporaneidad absoluta y en el que disponemos de cronologías directas e indirectas, que configuran la más sólida de las constataciones cronológicas que puede ofrecer la simbología postglaciar del Sur de Europa (Bueno et al.2007a ; Scarre, 2008:20). Disponemos, por tanto, de datos acerca de su contemporaneidad con el desarrollo de la pintura esquemática y del grabado al aire libre (Bueno y Balbín, 2006a), avalando la hipótesis de que el arte megalítico es una especialización funeraria del…
RESUMEN La estrecha relación entre la posición de las grafías y los territorios económicos de los... more RESUMEN La estrecha relación entre la posición de las grafías y los territorios económicos de los grupos que las produjeron se constata diacrónicamente. El mundo de los cazadores pa-leolíticos no es sólo el de la oscuridad de las cavernas, sino el de sierras, valles y ríos al aire libre cuyas referencias simbólicas han quedado grabadas y pintadas en soportes rocosos. Son ellos los pioneros en la def inición gráf ica de los lugares que forman parte de su universo cotidiano. La recurrencia en la decoración de los mismos enclaves tiene su constatación con la presencia de grafías postpaleolíticas. Presenta los grandes yaci-mientos al aire libre como la visualización de territorios tradicionales, aquéllos cuya delimitación se conoce por formar parte del grupo, y cuyo tránsito y uso está asegurado por los símbolos de los ancestros. ABSTRACT the close relationship between the position of the graphics and the economic territories of the groups are diachronically tested. the world of the Pal...
Abstract (Late Pleistocene population dynamics in Central Iberia: a new geoarchaeological project... more Abstract (Late Pleistocene population dynamics in Central Iberia: a new geoarchaeological project): We present a new research project aimed at investigating population dynamics and human-environment interactions during the second half of the Late Pleistocene in Central Iberia. In this communication we discuss the state-of-the-art on the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic settlement of the Iberian plateau and we propose new avenues of research for testing the validity of the currently accepted interpretations. It is our hypothesis that models on Late Pleistocene population dynamics in the Iberian interior lands are still biased by the poor quantity and quality of data available, especially for the Upper Palaeolithic. Our project is focused on the geoarchaeological study of 3 selected sites located in the Upper Tagus basin (Northern area of Guadalajara province, Spain).Our methods include micromorpholgy, high resolution sedimentology, 14C, OSL and U/Th dating, pollen, phytolith, microfaunal and anthracological analyses, as well as lithic technology, taphonomy and zooarchaeology.
(Late Pleistocene population dynamics in Central Iberia: a new geoarchaeological project): We pre... more (Late Pleistocene population dynamics in Central Iberia: a new geoarchaeological project): We present a new research project aimed at investigating population dynamics and human-environment interactions during the second half of the Late Pleistocene in Central Iberia. In this communication we discuss the state-of-the-art on the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic settlement of the Iberian plateau and we propose new avenues of research for testing the validity of the currently accepted interpretations. It is our hypothesis that models on Late Pleistocene population dynamics in the Iberian interior lands are still biased by the poor quantity and quality of data available, especially for the Upper Palaeolithic. Our project is focused on the geoarchaeological study of 3 selected sites located in the Upper Tagus basin (Northern area of Guadalajara province, Spain).Our methods include micromorpholgy, high resolution sedimentology, 14C, OSL and U/Th dating, pollen, phytolith, microfaunal and anthracological analyses, as well as lithic technology, taphonomy and zooarchaeology.
In contrast to the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula, the Upper Palaeolithic settlement of c... more In contrast to the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula, the Upper Palaeolithic settlement of central Iberia, dominated by the Spanish plateau, is poorly known. Traditional models assume a total or virtual depopulation of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial. In this paper we present a detailed investigation of human-environment interactions through the first zooarchaeological, tapho-nomic and isotopic study of the key site of Pe~ na Cap on, a rock shelter located in the southeastern foothills of the Central System range that contains a multi-layered deposit dated to marine isotope stage 2 (MIS 2). Analyses of the faunal assemblages of the Proto-Solutrean (3) and Middle Solutrean (2) layers show that human preferentially hunted horse, deer and iberian ibex living in the vicinity of the rock shelter. Isotope geochemistry of the animal remains of Pe~ na Cap on provides us with the first detailed intra-tooth multi-proxy analysis for this time period in southwestern Europe, providing estimates of climatic conditions, seasonal flucturation of diet, as well as patterns of seasonal mobility. Our results indicate that human presence at Pe~ na Cap on was apparently restricted to relatively warm intervals around the LGM or reflects the presence of an ecological refuge, and provide us with evidence of recurrent human presence in the Iberian interior during the Upper Paleolithic prior to the Magdalenian.
Few places in Europe concentrate as many stone steles as the area between the Tagus and the Douro... more Few places in Europe concentrate as many stone steles as the area between the Tagus and the Douro. Archaeology has shown the ample possibilities for mining metal ores, with a clear nerve centre in the modern region of Castelo Branco. From the first discoveries of such unique objects as the Sâo Martinho steles to the current record, the variety and diachronicity of stone steles and menhirs is exceptional on Iberian and European scales. The traditional interpretation that differentiated between the old menhirs and Late Bronze Age steles has been nuanced by the evidence of similar themes and techniques. Another argument presented here is the use of the old stones as the basic material for the production of the Late Bronze Age steles.
The human images carved on these memories in stone express elaborate social narratives. The graphic sequences described here demonstrate the political role of these stones and material justification of ancestral pasts. They were undoubtedly imbued with oral tales about old ancestors and new leaders, to justify the order of the economic systems associated with mining and trade in metals.
El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Ob... more El dolmen de Soto es uno de los mayores monumentos megalíticos de Europa. Fue publicado por H. Obermaier en 1924 y casi cien años después, este volumen presenta la primera documentación gráfica sobre sus soportes, incluyendo análisis de pigmentos y dataciones del contexto arqueológico interno y externo del sepulcro. Su arquitectura es el resultado de las transformaciones de un centro ceremonial en un gran monumento megalítico a principios del IV milenio cal BC.. Desde el Neolítico al Bronce Final, generación tras generación, las imágenes de las paredes del dolmen de Soto perpetúan en el sepulcro de los ancestros sus nexos con el pasado.
The recording of megalithic art on menhirs in Western Iberia used to be performed through direct ... more The recording of megalithic art on menhirs in Western Iberia used to be performed through direct tracing. The use of photographic techniques represented an important advance in the interpretation of some of the most important prehistoric sites in this wide region, and also in the structuring of archaeological narratives. With the development of photogrammetry, the possibilities have improved considerably, enabling the recording of decorations not visible to the naked eye. In this paper, we present a new protocol to highlight the engravings on eroded surfaces, based on High Performance Computing and advanced algorithms for 3D mesh calculation. This tailored protocol has rendered expressive visual results that have succeeded in recording one of the most exceptional cromlechs in Western Europe: Almendres (Portugal). The results have proved the efficiency of the method and the need to revisit the classic megalithic sites.
The presence of painted, carved or sculpted
decorations in European funerary contexts makes
megal... more The presence of painted, carved or sculpted decorations in European funerary contexts makes megalithic art a basic reference in order to classify the use of burial areas. Complex graphic programmes of paintings, engravings and sculptures constituted an essential part of funerary rites. The burial models provided by the Iberian Peninsula are a great contribution to the study of funerary graphics. Moreover, their concurrent open air versions open unforeseen expectations for a re-evaluation of the whole of megalithic art in Europe.
The book assembles new insights into humanity’s social, cultural and economic developments during... more The book assembles new insights into humanity’s social, cultural and economic developments during the Last Glacial Maximum in Western Europe and adjacent regions. It gathers original, up-to-date research results on the Solutrean techno-complex, reflecting four major fields of research: data from current excavations; analysis of lithic assemblages; new results from studies on climatic conditions and human-environmental interactions; and insights into artistic expressions. New methodological and analytical approaches are applied, providing significant contributions to Paleolithic research beyond the Last Glacial Maximum.
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Papers by Balbín Behrmann Rodrigo De
The human images carved on these memories in stone express elaborate social narratives. The graphic sequences described here demonstrate the political role of these stones and material justification of ancestral pasts. They were undoubtedly imbued with oral tales about old ancestors and new leaders, to justify the order of the economic systems associated with mining and trade in metals.
decorations in European funerary contexts makes
megalithic art a basic reference in order to classify the use of
burial areas. Complex graphic programmes of paintings,
engravings and sculptures constituted an essential part
of funerary rites. The burial models provided by the
Iberian Peninsula are a great contribution to the study of
funerary graphics. Moreover, their concurrent open air
versions open unforeseen expectations for a re-evaluation
of the whole of megalithic art in Europe.