Porcs, cavalls, ovelles i infants. Noves aportacions a les pràctiques rituals de la fortalesa dels Vilars (Arbeca, les Garrigues)

Aquest estudi inclou els resultats de l’anàlisi dels dipòsits sota paviment excavats a la fortalesa dels Vilars (Arbeca, les Garrigues). Es tractaran aspectes com la problemàtica que planteja la seva interpretació i aportarem un nou enfocament interpretatiu gràcies a un estudi que integra les dades arqueozoològiques amb les pro- cedents de les fonts antigues, l’etnografia i l’antropologia. La complexitat inherent en l’estudi del rol animal en el si de les societats humanes obliga a anar més enllà de l’àmbit estrictament econòmic i tenir en compte aspectes com l’imaginari col·lectiu, les creences i les relacions afectives fruit de la interacció entre les persones i els animals. En definitiva, la pregunta que es pretén respondre és la de si tots els dipòsits responen a una mateixa motivació o demanda i, per tant, si és lícit interpretar-los de la mateixa manera

zoolog R package: Zooarchaeological analysis with log-ratios

Log Size Indexes (LSI) allow the increase of the number of data and have been used in a number of zooarchaeological studies since 1950. However, some standards to calculate the log ratios remain unpublished, the calculation of the indexes can be tedious, and it is further hindered by the diversity of data recording practices. The R package ‘zoolog’ enables calculation of thousands of log-ratios in seconds, with the advantage that the users can choose between different public references, which increases the repeatability and comparability of the results, allowing the smooth integration of references and databases with heterogeneous nomenclatures. Alternatively, the users may use their own references. This paper presents the main functionalities and procedures enabled by the package ‘zoolog’, together with some examples of use. A real dataset and several examples with R code are provided with the aim of facilitating osteometrical analyses in zooarchaeology.This work was developed as part of the ERC-Starting Grant ZooMWest (Grant agreement 716298)

From Anatolia to Algarve : Assessing the Early Stages of Neolithisation Processes in Europe

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic “way of life” in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe was organised in Barcelona on 6–8 November 2019. The conference was a great success with more than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research.The work was financed by a grant generously provided by the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) (grant reference: SGR-2017-995) of the Generalitat de Catalunya

Scientific outreach about Prehistory with intellectually disabled people: a particular experience

Los programas de divulgación científica parecen preparados para todo tipo de público. Sin embargo, ciertos colectivos —p.e., personas con discapacidad física e intelectual, de la tercera edad, en riesgo de exclusión social, inmigrantes recién llegados— quedan habitualmente al margen de tales programas y no se piensa en ellos a la hora de diseñarlos. En este artículo presentamos dos actividades divulgativas centradas en la arqueología prehistórica y específicamente diseñadas para personas con discapacidad intelectual. Creemos que la metodología empleada, la evaluación realizada y los resultados obteni-dos pueden servir a otros grupos de investigación o a educadores que trabajan con estos colectivos.Scientific dissemination programs seem prepared for all types of audiences, but certain groups are often left out because specialists do not think about them when planning them. Those groups include people with physical and intellectual disabilities, older adults, people at risk of social exclusion and newcomers. In this article, we present two outreach activities on Prehistory specifically designed for people with intellectual disabilities. We believe that the model used, the evaluation carried out and the results obtained can be useful for other research groups or educators who work with people with intellectual disabilities

The Elderly people: great forgotten by the scientific dissemination

[EN] Although scientific dissemination programmes related to Archaeology seem prepared for all types of audiences, the reality is clearly different. Museums, archaeological parks, guided visits to archaeological sites usually have a “captive” or faithful audience, such as children and young people from primary or high schools, and families with resources that usually participate in scientific events, such as Science Week or Museum’s Night. In this sense, other target groups are ignored by these programmes and even they are not considered in their design. Among them are included the elderly people, those who have some physical or intellectual disabilities, people in risk of social exclusion or newly immigrants without economic resources. In this paper, we present our experience with elderly people, some of whom are in a difficult economic situation due to the pension they receive or present physical and mental difficulties. This situation become even more critical when, being interested, they cannot afford the payment of a bus or they have difficulties to move alone. The model and methodology employed in our activities can be a reference for other research groups or educators who work or pretend to begin a scientific dissemination program with elderly people.[ES] Aunque los programas de divulgación científica relacionados con la arqueología parecen preparados para todo tipo de públicos, la realidad es muy diferente. Los museos, los parques arqueológicos, las visitas a yacimientos, suelen tener un público “cautivo” o fiel como son los niños y jóvenes de escuelas e institutos, y las familias con ciertos recursos que suelen participar en las Semanas de la Ciencia, la Noche de los Museos, etc. En este sentido, muchos otros colectivos quedan al margen de tales programas y ni siquiera se piensa en ellos a la hora de diseñarlos. Entre ellos estarían, por ejemplo, las personas de la Tercera Edad, las que tienen alguna discapacidad física e intelectual, las que por distintos motivos están en riesgo de exclusión social o los inmigrantes recién llegados que no tienen los mínimos recursos económicos. En el presente artículo queremos detenernos en nuestra experiencia con personas de la Tercera Edad, algunas de las cuales se encuentran en una situación económica complicada por la pensión que reciben o presentan ciertas dificultades físicas y psíquicas. Esta situación, evidentemente, se hace aún más crítica cuando, estando interesados, les es imposible costearse un autobús o tienen dificultades para trasladarse solos. El modelo y metodología empleada en las actividades que organizamos pueden servir de referencia para otros grupos de investigación o educadores que trabajan o pretenden iniciar un programa de divulgación científica con nuestros mayores.Las actividades que venimos realizando desde 2013 han sido posible gracias a la financiación que nos ha ofrecido la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT) en tres proyectos: #RavalEsCiencia: La Ciencia te acerca al pasado. Raval una historia de hace más de 6000 años (FCT-13-6944), #BCN-ConCiencia: Barcelona, una Historia de hace 6000 años. ¡Conoce a sus protagonistas! (FCT-16-10722) e Integra>Ciencia: Divulgación científica sin barreras (FCT-17-11972).Peer reviewe

The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData availability: All collapsed and paired-end sequence data for samples sequenced in this study are available in compressed fastq format through the European Nucleotide Archive under accession number PRJEB44430, together with rescaled and trimmed bam sequence alignments against both the nuclear and mitochondrial horse reference genomes. Previously published ancient data used in this study are available under accession numbers PRJEB7537, PRJEB10098, PRJEB10854, PRJEB22390 and PRJEB31613, and detailed in Supplementary Table 1. The genomes of ten modern horses, publicly available, were also accessed as indicated in their corresponding original publications57,61,85-87.NOTE: see the published version available via the DOI in this record for the full list of authorsDomestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 BC. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia and Anatolia, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 BC, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 BC driving the spread of Indo-European languages. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium BC Sintashta culture