Ética y arqueología

Vivimos entre objetos. Los objetos nos conducen y enseñan. Todo ellos, ajenos o propios nos hacen. La arqueología es el procedimiento más adecuado para dar cuenta de cómo y por qué constituimos objetos distinguidos de entre las cosas. Útil e instrumento no son lo mismo. Ahondar en la diferencia es una forma de restituir a la ciencia el ambiente ético de su origen y darle satisfacción. La ética de sentirse objeto es la consecuencia necesariaWe live among objects. Objects guide and teach us. All of them, whether owned by us or not, make us. Archaeology is the most suitable procedure if we are to explain how and why we become distinguished objects among the world of things. Useful things and tools are not the same as each other. To go deeply into this difference involves restoring to science its original ethical context and giving it satisfaction. The ethics of being an object is the necessary consequenc

Metal y relaciones sociales de producción durante el III y II milenio ANE en el sudeste de la Península Ibérica

Archaeological research carried out during the last decades in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the social structures of the Copper and Bronze Ages. As in other parts of the Old World, the question about the importance of metallurgy for the economic and political development of society also rises in this region, well known for its rich ore deposits. After a general introduction into the so called Los Millares and El Argar cultures and the forces of production implied in metal working, the relations of production and consumption through which metal circulated are confronted. Hereby it becomes manifest how far the economic organisation of metallurgy and the political structure of society were mutually related.La investigación arqueológica desarrollada durante las últimas décadas en el Sudeste de la península Ibérica ha permitido mejorar nuestro conocimiento de las estructuras sociales del Calcolítico y Bronce. Al igual que en otras regiones con importantes depósitos minerales, también en el Sudeste se plantea la cuestión acerca del papel jugado por la metalurgia en el desarrollo económico y político de la sociedad. Tras una introducción general a las denominadas culturas de Los Millares y El Argar así como a las fuerzas productivas implicadas en la primera metalurgia, este trabajo confronta las relaciones de producción y de consumo a través de las cuales circuló el metal. Este recorrido pone de manifiesto hasta qué punto estuvieron relacionadas la organización económica de la metalurgia y la estructura política de la sociedad

Argaric Sociology : Sex and Death

The detailed, rich and diverse Argaric funerary record offers an opportunity to explore social dimensions that usually remain elusive for prehistoric research, such us social rules on kinship rights and obligations, sexual tolerance and the role of funerary practices in preserving the economic and political organization. This paper addresses these topics through an analysis of the social meaning of Argaric double tombs by looking at body treatment and composition of grave goods assemblages according to gender and class affiliation. The Argaric seems to have been a conservative society, scarcely tolerant regarding homosexuality, and willing to celebrate ancestry associated to certain places as a means of asserting residence and property rights.La variedad, abundancia y detalle del registro funerario argárico permite explorar aspectos por lo general vedados a la investigación de las sociedades prehistóricas. Las normas sociales sobre la distribución de obligaciones y derechos según el parentesco, la permisividad respecto a las relaciones sexuales y el papel de las prácticas funerarias en el mantenimiento de la organización económico-política son algunos de dichos aspectos. En este artículo se propone un acercamiento a los mismos mediante un análisis del significado social de las tumbas dobles argáricas, la composición de los ajuares según el sexo y la clase social del individuo inhumado, así como el tratamiento y disposición de los cadáveres. Las conclusiones dibujan una sociedad conservadora, poco tolerante respecto la homosexualidad y que celebra positivamente los vínculos genealógicos asociados a ciertos espacios, afirmando así derechos de permanencia y propiedad

When 14C dates fall beyond the limits of uncertainty : an assessment of anomalies in Western Mediterranean Bronze Age 14C series

The aim of this article is to bring to light a serious problem affecting radiocarbon dates produced at least from 2009 onwards by the AMS Leibniz laboratory at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (Kiel, Germany). Archaeological observations and cross-checkings between several laboratories confirm that in a significant number of dates, clear deviations of the results from chronological schemes based on stratigraphical sequences and hundreds of measurements have occurred, which usually implies an aging of the 14C value

Soluble Carbohydrates as Osmolytes in Several Halophytes from a Mediterranean Salt Marsh

Compartmentalization of toxic ions in the vacuole and accumulation of osmolytes in the cytoplasm is a common response of halophytes to high soil salinity. Soluble carbohydrates, such as sugars and polyols, are some of the compatible solutes used for osmotic adjustment and osmoprotection. Major carbohydrates were identified and quantified by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography, combined with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), in five halophytic species from a Mediterranean salt marsh (Juncus acutus, Juncus maritimus, Plantago crassifolia, Inula crithmoides and Sarcocornia fruticosa). Sucrose, followed by glucose and fructose were the more representative sugars detected in J. acutus and J. maritimus, and sorbitol the only soluble carbohydrate present at significant levels in P. crassifolia. In the other two taxa analyzed, no clearly predominant carbohydrates were observed: polyols (myo-inositol and glycerol) seemed to be the most representative in I. crithmoides, albeit at relatively low concentrations, and sugars (sucrose and glucose) in S. fruticosa. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to correlate soil properties and meteorological conditions increasing soil salinity, with seasonal changes in carbohydrate contents, to establish their possible function as osmolytes and their contribution to salt tolerance in the investigated species. The obtained results confirmed sorbitol as the major functional osmolyte in P. crassifolia-as it has been described previously for other species of the genus-and suggested the participation of sucrose and, to a lesser extent, glucose and fructose in osmoregulatory mechanisms in J. acutus and J. maritimus.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project CGL2008-00438/BOS), with contribution from the European Regional Development Fund.Peer reviewe