Spatiotemporal patterns on the appearance of the first trapeze industries in the Late Mesolithic of the Iberian Peninsula

The spread of trapeze industries (the creation of trapeze-shaped flint tips) during Late Mesolithic is one of the most disruptive phenomena of technological change documented in the European Prehistory. Understanding the chronological patterns of this process requires (i) a critical evaluation of stratigraphic relationship between trapeze assemblages and radiocarbon samples, and (ii) considering different levels of chronological uncertainty according to the inbuilt age of the samples and the calibration process. In this paper, we critically evaluate and analyze the radiocarbon record of the first trapeze industries in the Iberian Peninsula. A dataset of 181 radiocarbon dates from 67 sites dated to 8800–8200 cal BP was collected and evaluated following a strict data quality control protocol, from which 135 dates of 53 sites were retained and classified according to a reliability index. Then, three different phase Bayesian chronological models were created to estimate the duration of the first spread of trapezes across Iberia, considering different levels of chrono-stratigraphic resolution. We find that trapeze industries appeared in the eastern half of Iberia, over an area of 330,000 km2 between 8505–8390 and 8425–8338 cal BP, spanning 0–85 yr (95.4% CI). When the oldest evidence of trapezes from Portugal are considered, the probability distribution expands (8943–8457 and 8686–7688 cal BP), due to the chronological uncertainty of human samples with marine diet and regional ΔR values applied. For the eastern half of Iberia, the current evidence indicates a very rapid spread of trapeze industries initiated in the Central-Western Pyrenees, suggesting cultural diffusion within Mesolithic social networks as the main driving mechanism.This work was funded by the European Research Council (ref. ERC-CoG 2015) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 683018) to J.F.L.d.P. This coauthor was also supported by grant no. 2018/040 from the CIDEGENT Excellence programme of Generalitat Valenciana

Aplicación del sistema de informacion arqueológica SIDGEIPA a la gestión de la excavación de urgencia del yacimiento la Colata (Montavener, Valencia)

La aplicación del programa Sidgeipa en la excavación de urgencia realizada en el yacimiento de La Colata (Montaverner, Valencia), ha permitido documentar de forma rápida y fiable, casi un centenar de estructuras negativas, de diversa tipología y atribución cronológica. Una de las características más eficaces de Sidgeipa reside en su capacidad para almacenar, de forma razonable, la gran cantidad de datos generados en la excavación, las coordenadas tridimensionales de todas las estructuras registradas, los materiales hallados en el interior de sus rellenos (incluidos los individuos enterrados) y toda la información correspondiente a las Unidades Estratigráficas que hayan sido distinguidas. La reconstrucción, tanto de cada una de las estructuras como de plantas generales en las que se relacionen dichas estructuras, facilita la comprensión de las distribuciones espaciales y las transformaciones que ha experimentado el yacimiento, desde su formación hasta el momento de su descubrimiento. La documentación arqueológica generada por la aplicación de Sidgeipa en este yacimiento se podría ampliar, fácilmente, en un futuro si se realizaran nuevos obras, que requirieran trabajos arqueológicos en parcelas contiguas a las intervenidas.The application of SIDGEIPA in the excavation carried out at the La Colata site (Montaverner, Valencia), has allowed the rapid and reliable documentation of almost a hundred negative structures, of different typology and chronological attribution. One of the most effective features of Sidgeipa lies in its ability to reasonably store the large amount of data generated in the excavation, the three-dimensional coordinates of all registered structures, the materials found inside its landfills (including buried individuals) and all information corresponding to the Stratigraphical Units that have been distinguished. The reconstruction, both of each of the structures and of general plants in which these structures are related, facilitates the understanding of the spatial distributions and the transformations that the site has undergone, since its formation until the moment of its discovery. The archaeological documentation generated by SIDGEIPA in this site could easily be expanded in the future if new works were carried out, which required archaeological works in plots adjacent to the one dug this time

Late Glacial and Early Holocene human demographic responses to climatic and environmental change in Atlantic Iberia

Successive generations of hunter-gatherers of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene in Iberia had to contend with rapidly changing environments and climatic conditions. This constrained their economic resources and capacity for demographic growth. The Atlantic façade of Iberia was occupied throughout these times and witnessed very significant environmental transformations. Archaeology offers a perspective on how past human population ecologies changed in response to this scenario. Archaeological radiocarbon data are used here to reconstruct demographics of the region over the long term. We introduce various quantitative methods that allow us to develop palaeodemographic and spatio-temporal models of population growth and density, and compare our results to independent records of palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary change, and growth rates derived from skeletal data. Our results demonstrate that late glacial population growth was stifled by the Younger Dryas stadial, but populations grew in size and density during the Early to Middle Holocene transition. This growth was fuelled in part by an increased dependence on marine and estuarine food sources, demonstrating how the environment was linked to demographic change via the resource base, and ultimately the carrying capacity of the environment. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.FCT: DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0026info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SIDGEIPA: an Archaeological Information System

En el artículo se presenta un nuevo sistema de información arqueológica: SIDGEIPA -SIstema Distribuido para la GEstión Integral del Patrimonio Arqueológico- SIDGEIPA va más allá de la adaptación de un Sistema de Información Geográfica a la Gestión del Patrimonio arqueológico. Las características más destacables de SIDGEIPA son: el estar desarrollado en código Java lo que implica su capacidad multiplataforma; automatización de la matriz Harris, se trata de una aplicación única con la que se pueden realizar todos los procesos informáticos relacionados con la gestión del patrimonio arqueológico (Dibujo asistido por ordenador, base de datos, procesado de imágenes y otros. Los datos que se presentan se realizaron en la excavación de dos yacimientos arqueológicos del Holoceno Inicial en la Comunidad Valenciana: el Mas D’Is (Penàguila, Àlacant) en realidad la primera aldea neolítica localizada en el Mediterráneo peninsular; y Mangraneres (Andilla, València), pequeño yacimiento al aire libre con niveles mesolíticos y neolíticos. Ambos se encuadrar dentro del proyecto AMAPA (Agricultura y Medio Ambiente de los Primeros Agricultores).In our paper we discuss the different aspects of the process we have followed to develop a completely new software to manage Archaeological Parks. The software named SIDGEIPA (Distributed System for Integral Management of Archaeological Parks) includes different modules allowing user to store archaeological data from different sources (excavation, survey, scientific literature, museum collections...) and to process them automatically in order to simplify archaeological research. The new software has been tested in the AMAPA project (Archaeology and Environment of the first agriculturalist in Mediterranean Spain) including a full implementation of it at the excavation level in the Mas D’Is case (a Neolithic Impressed-Ware site). At the conference we will show examples of how the SIDGEIPA software is able to develop a Harrix Matrix and to model 3D reconstructions. Both Technical aspects and archaeological question will be presented and discussed. Examples of the software functionality will be exposed including Geographical Information Systems, Computes Assisted Design and database management. Development of the software have been possible to financial aid from the FEDER program of the European Union being consequence of the full integration of two research projects the Rural Archaeological Park implemented in the Alcaoia-El Comtat valleys (Alacant, Spain) and the Distributed System for Integral Management of Archaeological

Reconstructing Mesolithic social networks on the Iberian Peninsula using ornaments

Archaeologists have been reconstructing interactions amongst hunter-gatherer populations for a long time. These exchanges are materialised in the movements of raw materials and symbolic objects which are found far from their original sources. Social network, i.e. the structure constituted by these interactions, is a well-established concept in archaeology that is used to address the connectivity of hunter-gatherer populations. The heuristic potential of formal network analysis, however, has been scarcely exploited in prehistoric hunter-gatherer archaeology. Here, social network analysis is used to analyse the interactions amongst hunter-gatherers on the Iberian Peninsula in the Early and Late Mesolithic (10,200 to 7600 cal BP). We used ornaments to explore social interaction and constructed one network per phase of the Iberian Mesolithic. We applied a three-steps analysis: First, we characterised the overall structure of the networks. Second, we performed centrality analysis to uncover the most relevant nodes. Finally, we conducted an exploratory analysis of the networks' spatial characteristics. No significant differences were found between the overall network topology of the Early and Late Mesolithic. This suggests that the interaction patterns amongst human groups did not change significantly at a peninsular scale. Moreover, the spatial analysis showed that most interactions between human groups took place over distances under 300 km, but that specific ornament types like Columbella rustica were distributed over more extensive distances. Our findings suggest that Iberian Mesolithic social networks were maintained through a period of environmental, demographic and cultural transformation and that interactions took place at different scales of social integration

Mas d’Is (Penàguila, Alicante): aldeas y recintos monumentales del Neolítico Inicial en el valle del Serpis.

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] este trabajo presentamos los resultados de los recientes trabajos llevados a cabo en la aldea neolítica de Mas d’Is (Penàguila, Alicante), centrándonos en las estructuras documentadas. La integración de los datos obtenidos en un contexto regional nos permiten plantear algunas reflexiones sobre la Arqueología social de los primeros agricultores, al tiempo que las dataciones radiocarbónicas permiten ir ajustando la cronología de la neolitización del Mediterráneo Occidental, así como el desarrollo de dicho proceso histórico.In this paper, results from recent archaeological field work carried out in the Neolithic village of Mas d’Is (Penàguila, Alicante) are presented. We focus on an important set of domestic and monumental architectural structures. Integration of data from the site in a regional context allows us to rethink the social relations of the first farmers in the area. At the same time, radiocarbon data from our excavations show a finer chronology of the neolithization in Western Mediterranean, and what is more important to approach its historical process

El Arenal de la Virgen (Villena, Alicante), the first lacustrine Notches and Denticulates Mesolithic site in the Iberian Peninsula: cultural and chrono-stratigraphical data and palaeoenvironmental context

Fieldwork carried out in the prehistoric site of Arenal de la Virgen (Villena, Alicante) have provided thorough evidences for the first lacustrine occupation belonging to Notches and Denticulates Mesolithic in the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper we present chronostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental data along with material culture, subsistence and habitat record. The whole information is discussed in the context of cultural processes and environmental dynamics that took place along Early and Middle Holocene transition in the Iberian Mediterranean region. The results point out an advanced chronology in the Notches and Denticulates Mesolithic period and situate the occupation in one of the most humid periods during the Holocene.Los trabajos de excavación desarrollados en el yacimiento prehistórico del Arenal de la Virgen (Villena, Alicante) han permitido documentar la primera ocupación perilacustre del Mesolítico de Muescas y Denticulados en la Península Ibérica. Presentamos los datos cronoestratigráficos, paleoambientales, la cultura material del yacimiento, los datos de subsistencia y hábitat. A continuación se discute la información obtenida en el marco de los procesos culturales y de las dinámicas medioambientales que marcaron la transición del Holoceno inicial al Holoceno medio en la fachada mediterránea. Los resultados sitúan la ocupación del yacimiento en uno de los momentos más húmedos del Holoceno, revelando una posición avanzada en el desarrollo del Mesolítico de Muescas y Denticulados

Análisis de la distribución de cerámica en el yacimiento del Mas d'Is (Penàguila, Alacant)

Se analiza la distribución de las cerámicas en el yacimiento del Mas d'Is (Penàguila, Alacant)The distribution of ceramics in the Mas d'Is site (Penàguila, Alacant) is analyzed

Impacts of Early Holocene environmental dynamics on open-air occupation patterns in the Western Mediterranean: insights from El Arenal de la Virgen (Alicante, Spain)

Open-air sites represent a fundamental proxy of the Early Holocene adaptive systems in the Iberian Peninsula. However, its research potential for the study of human–environmental interactions has been minimally explored. In this work, we present the results of an integrated research programme focused on open-area excavations at the Mesolithic site of Arenal de la Virgen (Alicante, Spain). Novel multi-scalar geoarchaeological and archaeo-stratigraphic studies, coupled with featured-based palaeobotanical analysis, were used to design an extensive radiocarbon dating programme and produce different Bayesian chronological models. Our results distinguish two different Mesolithic occupation phases, dating to 9.3–9.1 and 8.6–8.3k cal a bp respectively, consisting of combustion features and lithic scatters. The comparison of occupational dynamics with the nearby palaeoecological records of Salines and Villena indicated that both Mesolithic phases occurred under relatively stable environmental conditions. The second Mesolithic phase, however, ended during the onset of the 8.2k cal a bp climatic event, when sedimentation processes shifted from soil formation to accretion of aeolian sands. We demonstrate that the end of the Mesolithic occupations at Arenal de la Virgen coincides with the cessation of radiocarbon-dated activity in other open-air Postglacial sites in the central Mediterranean region of Iberia.This research is primarily part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 683018) to JFLdP. Additional analyses on the pollen data sets have been produced in the context of the research project HAR2017-88503-P supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. JFLdP is additionally supported by the Plan Gen-T programme (Ref.CIDEGENT-18/040) from the Generalitat Valenciana. JRR is currently supported by a Margarita Salas fellowship (ref. MARSALAS21-22) at the University of Alicante, and AP-D is holder of a María Zambrano fellowship at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) both funded by the European Union-Next Gene and the Ministry of Universities (Government of Spain)

El yacimiento de Colata (Montaverner, Valencia) y los 'poblados de silos' del IV milenio en las comarcas centro-meridionales del País Valenciano

Les estructures documentades al jaciment de Colata (Montaverner, València) mostren la parcialitat del registre que caracteritza aquest tipus de jaciment a l'aire lliure del IV mil·lenni aC, cosa que obliga a plantejar noves estratègies per a reinterpretar l¿evolució en les conductes d'emmagatzematge, consum i producció d'aliments, i en la organització social d'aquestes comunitats. Paraules'clau: Vall d'Albaida. Estructures excavades. Poblats de sitges. Patró d'assentament. Organització social