Books by Daniel Garcia-Rivero
Actas del VII Congreso sobre Neolítico en la península ibérica, 2023
Desde su nacimiento hace 25 años, el objetivo principal de la serie Congresos sobre el Neolítico ... more Desde su nacimiento hace 25 años, el objetivo principal de la serie Congresos sobre el Neolítico en la Península Ibérica ha sido la puesta al día de los más recientes trabajos de investigación llevados a cabo sobre el Neolítico, época de especiales y profundas transformaciones en el devenir de la Prehistoria euroasiática. Los foros de estas reuniones periódicas han servido también como cauce transmisor fundamental de los datos adquiridos en las últimas intervenciones arqueológicas y estudios de campo en general. La trayectoria hasta ahora desarrollada ha conseguido un avance del conocimiento importante, que a día de hoy cuenta con una riqueza de perspectivas científicas de gran repercusión a la hora de emprender nuevas propuestas interpretativas y proyectos renovados de investigación. Todo ello está permitiendo comprender mejor los cambios acontecidos en la península ibérica a lo largo del Neolítico, desde las primeras poblaciones de agricultores y ganaderos del VI milenio hasta las sociedades más complejas del IV milenio a.C. Las Actas del VII Congreso sobre el Neolítico en la península ibérica compilan el novedoso conocimiento desarrollado durante los últimos años por parte de casi una centena y media de especialistas. Están estructuradas en seis bloques temáticos que representan apropiadamente el panorama de la arqueología neolítica peninsular a día de hoy: 1) Nuevos sitios y secuencias: estratigrafía, sedimentología y dataciones; 2) Tecnología e intercambio: relaciones inter e intracomunitarias; 3) Simbolismo: arte rupestre, mundo funerario, cosmovisiones; 4) Paisajes neolíticos: paleoambiente, agricultura y ganadería; 5) Cambios culturales: nuevos datos y aproximaciones sobre la transición Neolítico Antiguo-Medio; y 6) IV milenio A.C.: Neolítico Final. Por todo ello, estas Actas pueden considerarse pues el canal óptimo para acercarse al estado actual de la cuestión del Neolítico peninsular, no sólo para arqueólogos versados en la materia sino también para principiantes y estudiantes que quieran introducirse en ella.
This book attempts to show why and how the theory of evolution is relevant to the study of materi... more This book attempts to show why and how the theory of evolution is relevant to the study of material culture and human cultural change in Archaeology. Firstly, the main theoretical points of Darwinian philosophy are presented to a humanist readership. Secondly, a detailed introduction is given to the practical application of this epistemology in the tasks of classification and sequencing of archaeological data, thus introducing the reader to the phylogenetic methodology, and especially to Cladistics.
No monographic study about bell beaker pot in the Middle and Lower Guadiana basin has been carrie... more No monographic study about bell beaker pot in the Middle and Lower Guadiana basin has been carried out until now. Moreover, the recent archaeological excavations in the area, due to the construction of the Alqueva dam, have provided new and substantial information about the 3 rd millennium b.C. The present study contributes not only to the currently known bell beaker pots, but also to the information related to their archaeological contexts. There are 54 known sites with beaker pottery throughout the region under study, which is noteworthy if one takes into account that this area was considered as marginal with regards to the beaker phenomenon twenty years ago, when only a few sites had been identified. Statistical analyses of the pottery assemblage are carried out, but our work also studies the distribution of pottery within the settlements (micro and semi-micro scale) and throughout the region (macro scale). As many general studies about the beaker phenomenon have pointed out, our study demonstrates here too that these pots have a prestige role and, as the archaeological record suggests, their use was restricted to a specific sector of society.
Papers by Daniel Garcia-Rivero
Complutum 33(2), 2022
La Cueva de los Murciélagos de Zuheros (Córdoba) es una de las cavidades más relevantes en la his... more La Cueva de los Murciélagos de Zuheros (Córdoba) es una de las cavidades más relevantes en la historiografía arqueológica para el estudio del Neolítico en el sur de la península ibérica. Después de un recorrido por sus intervenciones arqueológicas, sus dataciones radiocarbónicas y el estado previo del conocimiento sobre sus cerámicas neolíticas, este trabajo tiene como objetivo fundamental presentar las bases del estudio del conjunto cerámico procedente de la secuencia adscrita al Neolítico antiguo de las campañas de 1990-1991 y 1993. Durante éstas se emplearon técnicas y métodos modernos de excavación y, por tanto, proporcionan una información con garantías sobre la estratigrafía y el conjunto de materiales de este sitio arqueológico. Este análisis tiene un carácter extensivo y cuantitativo, y se centra en las dimensiones morfológica, tecnológica y especialmente decorativa, tanto a nivel de técnicas como de motivos. Permite no sólo una revisión del conocimiento anterior sobre las cerámicas del yacimiento, sino también concluir con una caracterización detallada y un estado actual del conjunto cerámico del Neolítico antiguo de este relevante enclave ubicado en la Subbética cordobesa.
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2022
Archaeology has long incorporated the methods of the natural sciences and the theoretical princip... more Archaeology has long incorporated the methods of the natural sciences and the theoretical principles of the overarching scientific framework. Most archaeologists acknowledge the importance of a systemic perspective in the study of the evolution of human behavior, with emphasis on the contexts in which individuals and populations lived and interacted. This article develops an ecological approach to the subsistence patterns and dynamics of the Neolithic populations in the westernmost regions of the Mediterranean. Methodologically, it implements a systematic quantitative exploration of the structure and evolution of the botanical and zoological taxa documented in a human settlement. Empirically, it begins with one of the most complete and relevant Neolithic archaeological sequences in the region, Dehesilla Cave, which has provided a dataset from high-resolution stratigraphy. The new results are then compared with the available archaeobotanical and archaeozoological records throughout the south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Documenta Praehistorica, 2021
An intact archaeological context named Locus 1 has recently been discovered at Dehesilla Cave (so... more An intact archaeological context named Locus 1 has recently been discovered at Dehesilla Cave (southern Spain). The ritual funerary deposition consists of a complete pottery jar with part of a human calvarium over the mouth, and was occulted by large stone blocks. This paper offers a presentation of the new data provided mainly by the stratigraphic, osteological, pottery, lithic and radiocarbon analyses. A systematic review of the relevant evidence in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Neolithic (c. 5600–4800 cal BC) provides a context for this finding and supports its interpretation with reference to several possible anthropological scenarios.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2016
This paper addresses the plain common pottery associated with Beaker contexts in the Southwest of... more This paper addresses the plain common pottery associated with Beaker contexts in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The detailed systematic study focuses on the pottery assemblage provided by one of the region's most important settlements, San Blas (Badajoz, Spain), while comparisons are made with other important sites in the study area. By means of the stratigraphic, typological and statistical analysis of the data, the main patterns of change in this material culture throughout the temporal sequence are identified and the historical explanatory factors are inferred. Specifically, during the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC, an important change took place in the management of economic risk, which is materialised by a significant reduction in food storage and by the more immediate direct or indirect consumption of resources. We suggest that these patterns reflect a shift towards a short-term projection of the future, in a context with strong evidence of instability.
Spal, 2022
Resumen Este artículo presenta los datos procedentes de un nuevo corte -denominado C006- realizad... more Resumen Este artículo presenta los datos procedentes de un nuevo corte -denominado C006- realizado durante 2017 en Cueva de la Dehesilla. Por vez primera, se excava una de las salas más internas de la cavidad -sala 4-. El área intervenida muestra una secuencia estratigráfica datada desde el Neolítico Antiguo hasta el Neolítico Final, y cubierta por una gruesa colada calcárea. Concretamente, se presentan los datos estratigráficos, materiales -cerámicos y líticos- y radiocarbónicos. Posteriormente, se realiza una comparación sistemática entre estos datos y los previamente conocidos en el corte C003, ubicado cerca de la entrada de la cavidad. Esta aproximación permite detectar diversos patrones empíricos subyacentes al registro material, y explorar cuestiones tanto cronoculturales como también relacionadas con las actividades y usos diferenciales contextuales en ambas salas de la cueva.
Clasificacion Y Arqueologia Enfoques Y Metodos Taxonomicos a La Luz De La Evolucion Darwiniana 2010 Isbn 978 84 472 1199 9 Pags 61 94, 2010
Información del artículo Introducción a la teoría de la clasificación y de las escuelas taxonómic... more Información del artículo Introducción a la teoría de la clasificación y de las escuelas taxonómicas (Fenética, cladística y taxonomía evolutiva).
Estudios De Prehistoria Y Arqueologia En Homenaje a Pilar Acosta Martinez 2009 Isbn 978 84 472 1140 1 Pags 233 254, 2009
Información del artículo Campaniforme, jerarquización social y selección interdérmica en el suroe... more Información del artículo Campaniforme, jerarquización social y selección interdérmica en el suroeste de la Península Ibérica: Una aproximación desde la arqueología evolutiva.
Contextualizando la cerámica impressa: Horizontes culturales en la península Ibérica, 2020
Documenta Praehistorica (https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/9589), 2021
An intact archaeological context named Locus 1 has recently been discovered at Dehesilla Cave (so... more An intact archaeological context named Locus 1 has recently been discovered at Dehesilla Cave (southern Spain). The ritual funerary deposition consists of a complete pottery jar with part of a human calvarium over the mouth, and was occulted by large stone blocks. This paper offers a presentation of the new data provided mainly by the stratigraphic, osteological, pottery, lithic and radiocarbon analyses. A systematic review of the relevant evidence in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Neolithic (c. 5600–4800 cal BC) provides a context for this finding and supports its interpretation with reference to several possible anthropological scenarios.
Sagvntvm, 2020
The article provides new data from the recent archaeological excavations in the megalithic area o... more The article provides new data from the recent archaeological excavations in the megalithic area of Los Molares (province of Seville). The
archaeological interventions were carried out before the urbanization of the El Palomar area, near to the dolmens of El Palomar and Cañada
Real, and they documented several prehistoric burials in three different pits. The archaeological contexts, the bioarchaeological information,
the pottery and lithic sets, as well as the results of the radiocarbonic analyses are presented. A discussion is made on the historical implications
of these new findings in relation to the previously known megalithic site and on the funerary archaeological record of the 4th millennium cal
BC on the Eastern of the Lower Guadalquivir basin.
European Journal of Archaeology, 2020
This article, on the Early Neolithic pottery from the Cabeço da Amoreira shellmidden in the Muge ... more This article, on the Early Neolithic pottery from the Cabeço da Amoreira shellmidden in the Muge region of central Portugal, presents a detailed review of the evidence to date and a systematic analysis of the decorative and mineralogical characteristics of the stratified and radiocarbon-dated ceramic assemblage. A homogenous pottery manufacturing tradition seems to be present right from the beginning, including both local and non-local ceramics. The authors formulate a working hypothesis on the geographic origin of the exogenous pottery, which contributes to the discussion of the dynamics of mobility and social networks in the Neolithization of southwestern Europe.
PLoS ONE, 2020
There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsu... more There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800–4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.
Journal of Islamic Archaeology 5,2: 119-151, 2018
Few studies have dealt with the occupation of caves during the Andalusi period in Southern Ibe-ri... more Few studies have dealt with the occupation of caves during the Andalusi period in Southern Ibe-ria. This may be explained by the attention placed traditionally on the trinomial mudun (cities), ḥusūn (fortresses) and qurà (villages), in which other forms of rural occupation have been generally overlooked. In this paper we explore the sequence at La Dehesilla Cave-based on the analysis of animal skeleton remains, pollen, seeds and fruits, and phytoliths-with the aim to define the economic systems of its Andalusi inhabitants. Because the sequence displays two different occupation phases, the first during the Taifa Period in the second half of the 11th century and the second during the Almohad Period in the second half of the 12th century, this study characterises the ecological and economic systems of the two periods and highlights the differences between them. The data suggest that the economy of both periods was mainly based on livestock, and especially on sheep herds. However, their comparison enables us to observe a few significant differences that indicate dissimilar behavioural and economic patterns. Plant macro-remains show a larger amount of cereals and leguminous seeds, as well as of domestic fruits, in the Taifa Period than in the Almohad Period. The zoological record displays clear differences between the two periods. The Taifa Period shows a greater proportion of herds while the input from hunting increased in the Almohad Period. Also, there are proportionally opposite patterns in the age of sacrifice of sheep. The earlier period may have seen a more sedentary herding and partly farming population, while the second period may correspond to a mainly herding, perhaps mobile, population. These results are discussed within the political dynamics of the historical framework of the surrounding territory and contribute to the knowledge of the rural economic dynamics of the Andalusi period.
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2019
This paper presents the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data of the 6th to 4th millennia c... more This paper presents the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data of the 6th to 4th millennia cal BC sequence recently documented at Dehesilla Cave, and puts forward an interdisciplinary approach to the significant ecological patterns from this key archaeological site in the Southern Iberian Peninsula throughout the entire Neolithic period.
Results
indicate an ecological scenario characterised mainly by oak and wild olive forests, and human populations with agricultural practices and herds of mainly sheep and goats. However, this general panorama must have undergone several remarkable fluctuations.
The first Neolithic populations of Dehesilla Cave, dated around the mid-6th millennium cal BC and linked to the Mediterranean impressa pottery complex, do not yet display evidences of agriculture, while all of the subsequent Early Neolithic levels indicate a model of small-scale populations with a mixed economy but still with a greater component of livestock.
The second quarter of the 5th millennium cal BC shows a marked accentuation of the monoculture of naked wheats, which could have been related to the transition from an intensive to an extensive farming system. This may have entailed a selective pressure on the environment, leading to a large deforestation spanning the second half of the 5th millennium cal BC and the constitution of relatively open thermo-Mediterranean forests with a physiognomy similar to that of the dehesa.
These ecological patterns are discussed within a review of the current state of the art of the use of plant and animal resources by the Neolithic human populations in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
In: Pereira, T., Terradas, X. & Bicho, N. (eds.) (2017): The Exploitation of Raw Materials in Prehistory. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017
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Books by Daniel Garcia-Rivero
Papers by Daniel Garcia-Rivero
archaeological interventions were carried out before the urbanization of the El Palomar area, near to the dolmens of El Palomar and Cañada
Real, and they documented several prehistoric burials in three different pits. The archaeological contexts, the bioarchaeological information,
the pottery and lithic sets, as well as the results of the radiocarbonic analyses are presented. A discussion is made on the historical implications
of these new findings in relation to the previously known megalithic site and on the funerary archaeological record of the 4th millennium cal
BC on the Eastern of the Lower Guadalquivir basin.
Results
indicate an ecological scenario characterised mainly by oak and wild olive forests, and human populations with agricultural practices and herds of mainly sheep and goats. However, this general panorama must have undergone several remarkable fluctuations.
The first Neolithic populations of Dehesilla Cave, dated around the mid-6th millennium cal BC and linked to the Mediterranean impressa pottery complex, do not yet display evidences of agriculture, while all of the subsequent Early Neolithic levels indicate a model of small-scale populations with a mixed economy but still with a greater component of livestock.
The second quarter of the 5th millennium cal BC shows a marked accentuation of the monoculture of naked wheats, which could have been related to the transition from an intensive to an extensive farming system. This may have entailed a selective pressure on the environment, leading to a large deforestation spanning the second half of the 5th millennium cal BC and the constitution of relatively open thermo-Mediterranean forests with a physiognomy similar to that of the dehesa.
These ecological patterns are discussed within a review of the current state of the art of the use of plant and animal resources by the Neolithic human populations in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
archaeological interventions were carried out before the urbanization of the El Palomar area, near to the dolmens of El Palomar and Cañada
Real, and they documented several prehistoric burials in three different pits. The archaeological contexts, the bioarchaeological information,
the pottery and lithic sets, as well as the results of the radiocarbonic analyses are presented. A discussion is made on the historical implications
of these new findings in relation to the previously known megalithic site and on the funerary archaeological record of the 4th millennium cal
BC on the Eastern of the Lower Guadalquivir basin.
Results
indicate an ecological scenario characterised mainly by oak and wild olive forests, and human populations with agricultural practices and herds of mainly sheep and goats. However, this general panorama must have undergone several remarkable fluctuations.
The first Neolithic populations of Dehesilla Cave, dated around the mid-6th millennium cal BC and linked to the Mediterranean impressa pottery complex, do not yet display evidences of agriculture, while all of the subsequent Early Neolithic levels indicate a model of small-scale populations with a mixed economy but still with a greater component of livestock.
The second quarter of the 5th millennium cal BC shows a marked accentuation of the monoculture of naked wheats, which could have been related to the transition from an intensive to an extensive farming system. This may have entailed a selective pressure on the environment, leading to a large deforestation spanning the second half of the 5th millennium cal BC and the constitution of relatively open thermo-Mediterranean forests with a physiognomy similar to that of the dehesa.
These ecological patterns are discussed within a review of the current state of the art of the use of plant and animal resources by the Neolithic human populations in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
This paper presents the new data obtained from the recent archaeological work carried out at La Dehesilla Cave (Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz), specifically from the excavation of two areas located on the platform just outside the cave entrance. This site is of renowned importance for the Late Prehistory of the southwestern sector of the Iberian Peninsula but now provides a series of stratigraphic, structural and material informations that enable us to confirm the existence of an Andalusi site. There is evidence of two periods, the first corresponding to an occupation during the time of the First Taifa Kingdoms(second half of the 11th century) and the second during the Almohad chrono-cultural period (second half of the 12th century), with an abandonment of approximately half a century between the two. The data presented here, with particular emphasis on the stratigraphic record and on the material pottery markers, contribute to the definition of the phases of the Andalusi sequence of occupation of the site of La Dehesilla Cave, while the discussion provides a renewed perspective on its regional historical and territorial context.
of animal skeleton remains, pollen, seeds and fruits, and phytoliths—with the aim to define the economic systems of its Andalusi inhabitants. Because the sequence displays two different occupation phases, the first during the Taifa Period in the second half of the 11th century and the second during the Almohad Period in the second half of the 12th century, this study characterises the ecological and economic systems of the two periods and highlights the differences between them.
The data suggest that the economy of both periods was mainly based on livestock, and especially on sheep herds. However, their comparison enables us to observe a few significant differences that indicate dissimilar behavioural and economic patterns. Plant macro-remains show a larger amount of cereals and leguminous seeds, as well as of domestic fruits, in the Taifa Period than in the Almohad Period. The zoological record displays clear differences between the two periods.
The Taifa Period shows a greater proportion of herds while the input from hunting increased in the Almohad Period. Also, there are proportionally opposite patterns in the age of sacrifice of sheep. The earlier period may have seen a more sedentary herding and partly farming population,
while the second period may correspond to a mainly herding, perhaps mobile, population. These results are discussed within the political dynamics of the historical framework of the surrounding territory and contribute to the knowledge of the rural economic dynamics of the Andalusi period.