Papers by Juan F. Ruiz López
Filling the Void: Rock-art Continuity Over the Pleistocene–Holocene Boundary in Eastern Iberia
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Apr 6, 2022
In this paper we study several panels with incised engravings, which have been discovered in rece... more In this paper we study several panels with incised engravings, which have been discovered in recent years, from two shelters in the area of the River Martín (Teruel), Cañada de Marco and Los Borriquitos. They are of great scientific interest for several reasons. Firstly, because they represent an expansion of the Late Upper Palaeolithic engraving facies of Mediterranean Iberia, limited until now to ten sites. In these two new sites, these incised engravings are underlying Levantine and Schematic pictographs, and occasionally are interstratified with Levantine paintings, an exceptional fact which is published in its entirety for the first time. These stratigraphic relationships reflect continuity/change dynamics during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and throughout the Holocene artistic cycle, topics which are crucial on a European scale. Finally, we have identified iconographic continuities between Epimagdalenian engravings and Levantine art, suggesting a possible link between these two graphic expressions. These findings may constitute solid support for the hypothesis about the pre-Neolithic origin of the exceptional Levantine art of the Iberian peninsula. In memoriam Ramiro Alloza
Los primeros ejemplos de arte rupestre levantino en el municipio conquense de Villar del Humo se ... more Los primeros ejemplos de arte rupestre levantino en el municipio conquense de Villar del Humo se descubrieron en 1917. Peña del Escrito, Selva Pascuala o Marmalo han sido citados repetidamente desde entonces, pese a la ausencia durante décadas de proyectos de investigación. Pero el arte levantino de la zona no se acaba en estas cavidades, sino que en la actualidad se conocen un buen número de abrigos inéditos. El más importante de ellos es, sin duda, el Abrigo de Los Arenales, que se presenta en esta publicación y en el que se hacen patentes las complejas relaciones existentes en esta área entre motivos de corte naturalista y esquemáticos.Levantine Art in Villar del Humo town (Cuenca province) was discovered for the first time in 1917. Peña del Escrito, Selva Pascuala or Marmalo rock shelters has often been quoted since then, in spite of the lack of research projects. Levantine Art in this region doesn’t come to an end with these caves but new sites have been discovered in the last ...
Símbolos de la muerte en la Prehistoria reciente del sur de Europa: el dolmen de Soto, Huelva, España
Consejería de Cultura, 2018
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.
Calcium oxalates and prehistoric paintings. The usefulness of these biomaterials
Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 2007
Oxalate accretions of whewellite (CaC 2 O 4 .H 2 O) and weddellite (CaC 2 O 4 .(2+x)H 2 O, x ≤ 0.... more Oxalate accretions of whewellite (CaC 2 O 4 .H 2 O) and weddellite (CaC 2 O 4 .(2+x)H 2 O, x ≤ 0.5) have been found by Raman microscopy on Post-Palaeolithic rock paintings from open-air rock shelters of Triassic sandstone in the Sierra de las Cuerdas (Cuenca, Spain). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of these accretions suggests that they could have been produced by colonies of lichens that lived on the rock surface. Raman and petrologic microscopy of samples from a painting panel has revealed the nature and distribution of the components: α-quartz, haematite, whewellite, gypsum, muscovite, microcline, anatase and rutile. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy confirms these results. The observed microstratigraphic oxalate layers are very helpful for archaeological studies. The pigment, haematite, is located between two of them and some superimposition of pictographs or repainting processes have been detected. The observed oxalate layers protect these works of art, prevent weat...
Arte rupestre en el entorno de Valeria. De la Serranía a la
Old dates do not make a new archaeology:the need to integrate archaeometric and archaeologial methods in the rockart studies
RESUMEN: Los autores exponen las dificultades por las que hubo de pasar la respuesta a un ar-tícu... more RESUMEN: Los autores exponen las dificultades por las que hubo de pasar la respuesta a un ar-tículo, publicado en Science en 2018, en el que se afirmaba que el Neandertal era el autor de ciertas pinturas de tres cuevas españolas, según dataciones obtenidas por el método del uranio-torio. En esa respuesta, se explicitaban las distintas fuentes de error que pue-den conducir a fechas anormalmente envejecidas y se recapitulaban los argumentos ar-queológicos que contradicen dataciones tan antiguas. Muchos de los evaluadores de las revistas americanas prefirieron confiar en la arqueometría más que en la Arqueología europea, para ellos desconocida. Así, el artículo circuló por las manos de numerosos re-visores, transcurriendo un año y medio antes de que pudiera, por fin, salir en el Journal of Human Evolution. Este proceso ilustra la opacidad que subyace tras la aparente obje-tividad y neutralidad del procedimiento de evaluación científica de revisión por pares cuando se trata de contradec...
Long-term in situ non-invasive spectroscopic monitoring of weathering processes in open-air prehistoric rock art sites
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2020
In this work, an innovative non-destructive monitoring methodology based on the analysis over tim... more In this work, an innovative non-destructive monitoring methodology based on the analysis over time of open-air rock art sites is presented. This approach is based on the combination of in situ spectroscopic and chemometric studies to diagnose and monitor the state of conservation of rock art sites. Data acquired over a period of time by non-invasive analytical techniques such as portable Raman spectrometry (RS) and handheld energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (HH-EDXRF) spectrometry are compared to detect physicochemical changes that could affect the rock painting integrity. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed procedure, three analysis campaigns (between 2013 and 2016) were carried out, analyzing Levantine rock pictographs preserved in the rock shelter of Solana de las Covachas VI (Albacete, Spain; see Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM) Fig. S1). The analyzed areas showed different types of active weathering processes such as gypsum and calcium oxalate formation, giving rise to conservation issues such as painting fading, surface loss, microbial colonizations, and formation of crusts. Results evidence that the proposed methodology can be very useful to monitor chemical changes in the surface of the walls where the rock art is located, thus obtaining crucial information for its preservation and management.
Hidden images in Atxurra Cave (Northern Spain): A new proposal for visibility analyses of Palaeolithic rock art in subterranean environments
Quaternary International, 2020
Abstract Visibility has been the subject of study in Palaeolithic rock art research ever since th... more Abstract Visibility has been the subject of study in Palaeolithic rock art research ever since the discovery of Altamira Cave in 1879. Nevertheless, until now, the different approaches have been based on subjective assessments, due to computational limitations for a more objective methodology. Nowadays, cutting-edge technologies such as GIS allow us to address spatial studies in caves and overcome their geomorphologically complex and closed characteristics. Here we describe an innovative methodology that uses computing tools available to any researcher to study the viewsheds of the graphic units in decorated caves. We have tested its validity on the recently discovered rock art ensemble of Atxurra Cave, in Northern Spain. We demonstrate that this technology (GIS), widely used in other fields of archaeology, especially in outdoor studies, is also useable in caverns, taking into account the complex morphologies -ceilings and diverse floor-levels, for example. These programmes have also allowed us to consider the lighting systems used by the prehistoric groups inside the cave, as well as various data previously estimated by other authors, such as the height of individuals during the European LUP. The dynamism of these tools −2.5D-, as well as the advancement of new 3D GIS technologies, will allow in the future remarkable progress in these types of structural studies for a better understanding of Palaeolithic cave art phenomena.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
The discovery of Palaeolithic parietal art in the cave of Atxurra took place within an archaeolog... more The discovery of Palaeolithic parietal art in the cave of Atxurra took place within an archaeological surveying project that has been carried out over the last decade in the eastern Cantabrian region. As a consequence of this project, the number of caves with parietal art known in this region has tripled. The case of Atxurra Cave is a remarkable contribution because of the number of parietal representations and the presence of a related external and internal archaeological context. Through this contribution, we present the main data derived from the cave study project that is currently underway, as well as its implications for the reformulation of symbolic interaction during the late Upper Palaeolithic. Atxurra Cave is in the municipal district of Berriatua (Basque Country, Spain) on the right bank of the River Lea, at 70 m a.s.l. and 6 km from the modern coastline. It is located in an area with numerous archaeological sites, including such important Late Upper Palaeolithic deposits as Lumentxa, Santa Catalina, Armintxe and Laminak II, among
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
Diagnosis and monitoring of rock art sites in “4D · arte rupestre” projects
Les Nouvelles de l'archéologie, 2018
Since 2013 the projects “4D · arte rupestre” have been carried out in more than 20 sites along th... more Since 2013 the projects “4D · arte rupestre” have been carried out in more than 20 sites along the eastern half of the Iberian Peninsula, in locations included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 1998. The purpose of these projects was the development of protocols for diagnosis and monitoring of rock art sites, using several cutting-edge technologies, including 3D modelling based in close range photogrammetry, gigapixel imaging, enhancement with decorrelation stretch algorithms, colorimetric control, in situ physicochemical analyses, biogeochemical analyses of alteration, or thermal imaging.The success of these multidisciplinary projects in the diagnosis of the alterations in a rock art panel and in the monitoring of their change over time demonstrates that current technologies can contribute in a significant way to the preservation of these invaluable cultural properties. This is especially transcendent for controlling the evolution of cave and rock art sites in the present scenarios of climatic change. Finally, some of those technologies can increase the public awareness about the fragility and cultural significance of the prehistoric graphic expressions. Rock art can be appreciated by the general public using webpages and digital repositories that allow a better experience for faded or ill-preserved sites.
Tool mark analyses for the identification of palaeolithic art and modern graffiti. The case of Grottes d’Agneux in Rully (Saône-et-Loire, France)
Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 2019
Abstract The identification of technical traits derived from the analyses of photogrammetric 3D m... more Abstract The identification of technical traits derived from the analyses of photogrammetric 3D models can be used for archaeological objectives. In this paper, we are proposing a methodology for discrimination of parietal engravings based on 3D models build with photogrammetry software. Our case study are the caves of Agneux, two small caverns with an astonishing number of graffiti on their walls. Most of these graffiti were made since 19th century, but with some examples of depictions that are compatible with the technical features of Palaeolithic art. The analyses of the marks in some lines in Agneux I have demonstrated the use of different tools. Virtual illumination has been applied to identify and read words and dates which can be discarded as prehistoric. These results will be compared with replicative experiments. This methodology could be useful for the discrimination of prehistoric graphic expressions in panels with a biography of long-term human interventions.
On the limits of 3D capture: A new method to approach the photogrammetric recording of palaeolithic thin incised engravings in Atxurra Cave (northern Spain)
Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 2019
Abstract Rock-art recording has been significantly improved in recent years by new technologies. ... more Abstract Rock-art recording has been significantly improved in recent years by new technologies. Nonetheless, accurate documentation of certain engravings is a challenge for these cutting-edge technologies, especially the extremely thin incised lines used in many Palaeolithic engraved motifs. In this paper, we propose a new methodology for recording these engravings with the objective of producing results comparable to the information available for Palaeolithic portable art. We are currently testing a multi-scale modelling methodology for these engravings. The objective is to produce affordable ultra-high resolution 3D models. Our methodology is completely built around close-range photogrammetry techniques, capturing scenes in increasingly higher resolutions and with different light settings. These entities are referenced to a local coordinate system allowing the overlapping of the different captures. Finally, the detailed tracings achieved from the independent higher resolution 3D models can be accurately gathered in an overall 3D model of lower resolution without geometric distortions.
Teatro de sombras. La modulación espacial de las figuras en el arte rupestre levantino
Cuadernos De Arte Rupestre Revista Del Centro De Interpretacion De Arte Rupestre De Moratalla, 2007
Analytical Methods, 2014
An in situ study of post-Palaeolithic blackish pictographs found in an open air rock-shelter, Los... more An in situ study of post-Palaeolithic blackish pictographs found in an open air rock-shelter, Los Chaparros site (Albalate del Arzobispo, Teruel province, Spain), was carried out to identify the black pigments used. The composition of the pigments was analyzed by means of non-invasive instrumentation, such as a portable Raman spectrometer (RS) and a hand-held energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analyzer. In addition, some black natural deposits with a dendritic pattern, typical of manganese compounds, were also in situ analysed with the aforementioned techniques to explore the possibility that post-Paleolithic people used minerals from the surroundings of the Los Chaparros rock-shelter to elaborate the paintings. The results obtained by the EDXRF analyses of black pigments showed differences in composition between a black Levantine deer, in which manganese was present as the main element, and a deep red Schematic pictograph that included manganese as the secondary element. The results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of collected EDXRF spectra showed similarities in the elemental composition between the manganese dendrite formations present in the rock-shelter and the black deer. In order to confirm this, the in situ analytical campaign was completed with some analysis in the laboratory by using micro-RS (m-RS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on mineral samples having black crystallisations. Two specimens were taken, one from the black dendrite present in the same rockshelter and the other from the Los Mases de Crivillén mining area (which is near to Los Chaparros). These analyses revealed that the characteristic bands of Mn-O and Mn-OH bending and stretching vibrations obtained in situ on the black pictograph were the same as those observed in the Raman spectra of the dendrite mineralization of Los Chaparros obtained in the laboratory by m-RS.
El descubrimiento del Abrigo de Los Arenales lo efectuamos el 15 de abril del año 2001 durante lo... more El descubrimiento del Abrigo de Los Arenales lo efectuamos el 15 de abril del año 2001 durante los trabajos de prospección orientados a la localización de arte rupestre que estábamos realizando en el marco del proyecto de investigación "Documentación y prospección de arte rupestre en la Sierra de las Cuerdas", por parte del autor de estas líneas, siendo puesto en conocimiento de las autoridades competentes de inmediato. Éste fue el primero de una serie de descubrimientos que a lo largo de los cuatro años de duración del proyecto incrementaron el número de cavidades con pinturas rupestres de la zona desde las trece conocidas con anterioridad hasta las cuarenta que se documentan en la actualidad . Esperamos ir dando a conocer progresivamente estas estaciones inéditas a lo largo de próximos artículos o monografías. La localización de estas pinturas rupestres, en un paraje en el que no se conocía ningún ejemplo de arte prehistórico con anterioridad, vino a confirmar las esperanzas que teníamos puestas en el descubrimiento de arte rupestre en esta parte de la Serranía
μ-Raman spectroscopy of prehistoric paintings from the Abrigo Remacha rock shelter (Villaseca, Segovia, Spain)
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 2013
ABSTRACT
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 2011
Significant paintings from the Tito Bustillo (Ribadesella, Asturias) and El Buxu (Cardes, Asturia... more Significant paintings from the Tito Bustillo (Ribadesella, Asturias) and El Buxu (Cardes, Asturias) caves, renowned archaeological sites of the Cantabrian Palaeolithic cave art, were studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Auxiliary techniques like infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry were also applied. Haematite (a-Fe 2 O 3 ) of three granular sizes (<1, <10 and <30 mm) is the main red component of these paintings. Wüstite, amorphous carbon, and Mn are additional components of some pigments. Hydroxyapatite was also detected in one pictograph. Calcite, a-quartz and clay minerals are used as filler materials. Particles of anatase are present in some cases. No organic binders were detected. Considering the main components, granular size, and secondary phases with Ni and Mn in the pigments it is concluded that the ochre quarry in the Tito Bustillo cave was not used to make the pigments of the selected paintings. Two figures of this cave seem to have been painted with a similar pigment. A possible relationship between paintings of both caves is discussed.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2012
Since 2005 we have been utilizing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dating in research on ... more Since 2005 we have been utilizing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dating in research on calcium oxalate crusts associated with open air rock art of the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper we present two dates linked with three eye-idol pictographs at Abrigo de los Oculados (Henarejos, Cuenca, Spain). Radiocarbon ages for these motifs agree with the expected iconography-based archaeological chronology. Such oxalate dates could provide an independent basis for evaluating chronological theories for post-Palaeolithic sites, designated in the UNESCO World Heritage List as Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula.
Cronología del arte rupestre Postpaleolítico y datación absoluta de pátinas de oxalato cálcico: primeras experiencias en Castilla-La Mancha (2004-2007)
… (Valencia, 3, 4 y 5 de …, 2009
Localización: El arte rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo de la Península Ibérica: 10 años en la lista... more Localización: El arte rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo de la Península Ibérica: 10 años en la lista del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO: Actas IV Congreso:(Valencia, 3, 4 y 5 de diciembre de 2008)/coord. por José Antonio López Mira, Rafael Martínez Valle, Consuelo ...
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Papers by Juan F. Ruiz López
pinturas rupestres de la Cañada de Marco en Alcaine por parte de José
Gil Luna, pastor de Alcaine y buen conocedor de la zona. Se trata de
un excepcional conjunto de pinturas, referencia del arte rupestre levantino e incluido como uno de los cuatro yacimientos estelares de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón dentro del documento presentado a la UNESCO para la declaración del Arte Rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo de la Península Ibérica como Patrimonio de la Humanidad, hecho que se produjo en 1998.