POSTER CÁDIZ.pdf

Journal of Archaeological Science, 57

Cultural contact, exchange and interaction feature high in the list of challenging topics of current research on European Prehistory. Not far off is the issue of the changing role of monuments in the making and maintaining of key cultural devices such as memory and identity. Addressing both these highly-debated issues from a science-based perspective, in this paper we look at an unusual case study set in southern Iberia and illustrate how these archaeological questions can benefit from robust materials-science approaches. We present the contextual, morphological and analytical study of an exceptional Early Iron Age hoard composed of a number of different (and mostly exotic) materials such as amber, quartz, silver and ceramic. This hoard, found under the fallen orthostat of a megalithic structure built at least 2000 years earlier, throws new light on long-distance exchange networks and the effect they could have had on the cultural identities and social relations of local Iberian Early Iron Age communities. Moreover, the archaeometric study reveals how diverse and distant the sources of these item are (Northern Europe to Eastern and Western Mediterranean raw materials, as well as local and eastern technologies), therefore raising questions concerning the social mechanisms used to establish change and resistance in contexts of colonial encounter.

Dibujos Contemporáneos de interpretación a partir de las piezas arqueológicas (prehistoria, fenicia, Grecia y Roma) del Museo de Cádiz (España). Comptemporay drawings after the archaeological objectas (prehistory, Phoenician, Greek and Roman cultures) in the Museum of Cadiz (Spain)

Journal of Archaeological Science, 57: 322–334, 2015

Cultural contact, exchange and interaction feature high in the list of challenging topics of current research on European Prehistory. Not far off is the issue of the changing role of monuments in the making and maintaining of key cultural devices such as memory and identity. Addressing both these highly-debated issues from a science-based perspective, in this paper we look at an unusual case study set in southern Iberia and illustrate how these archaeological questions can benefit from robust materials-science approaches. We present the contextual, morphological and analytical study of an exceptional Early Iron Age hoard composed of a number of different (and mostly exotic) materials such as amber, quartz, silver and ceramic. This hoard, found under the fallen orthostat of a megalithic structure built at least 2000 years earlier, throws new light on long-distance exchange networks and the effect they could have had on the cultural identities and social relations of local Iberian Early Iron Age communities. Moreover, the archaeometric study reveals how diverse and distant the sources of these item are (Northern Europe to Eastern and Western Mediterranean raw materials, as well as local and eastern technologies), therefore raising questions concerning the social mechanisms used to establish change and resistance in contexts of colonial encounter.

Trabajos de Prehistoria 76 (2), 254-271, 2019

ENGLISH: "The investigation of the Iberian megalithic phenomenon has only recently begun to benefit from the expansion of the technical and scientific potential of modern archaeology. There are still very few Iberian megaliths for which high resolution scientific research has been carried out, providing detailed data on their design, uses and biographies. This paper presents the results of the multidisciplinary study of the Palacio III tholos, part of a larger megalithic complex located in Almadén de la Plata (Seville). This study is based on a wide-spectrum methodology that integrates geoarchae-ology, techno-morphological and functional analysis of portable material culture and graphic analysis, all combined within a meticulously contextual perspective. The results provide a wealth of data on how, through a series of carefully constructed cultural choices, this monument represents a true place of encounter between the locally available geological resources and other resources that were only accessible through contact with neighbouring communities. Whether in its raw state, finely carved in the form of engraved and painted sculptures or transformed into artefacts of high technical and personal value, the materiality of the stone in the Palacio III tholos acquires multiple cultural dimensions that only a modern scientific approach is able to reconstruct." ESPAÑOL: "Solo recientemente la investigación del fenómeno megalítico ibérico ha comenzado a beneficiarse de la ampliación del potencial técnico y científico de la arqueología moderna. Todavía son muy pocos los megalitos ibéricos para los que se han realizado investigaciones científicas de alta resolución, capaces de aportar datos detallados sobre su diseño, usos y biografías. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio del tholos del complejo megalítico de Palacio III (Almadén de la Plata, Sevilla), abordado mediante una metodología multidisciplinar que integra la geoarqueología, el estudio tecnomorfológico y funcional de la cultura material portable y el análisis gráfico, dentro de una meticulosa valoración contextual. Los resultados aportan datos muy novedosos respecto a cómo, a través de una serie de elecciones culturales cuidadosamente construidas, este monumento representa un verdadero lugar de encuentro entre los recursos geológicos localmente disponibles y los recursos accesibles mediante contacto con otras comunidades. Bien en su forma bruta, bien labrada en forma de esculturas grabadas y pintadas o transformada en artefactos de alto valor técnico y personal, la materialidad de la piedra adquiere en Palacio III múltiples dimensiones culturales que solo a través de la moderna investigación científica es posible reconstruir. "

ArchéoSciences, 2009

Nouvelles trouvailles pour un ancien trésor : l'étude archéométrique de nouveaux objets en or du sanctuaire phénicien de El Carambolo (Camas, Séville, Espagne

Megaliths – Societies – Landscapes Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe, 2019

The main goal of this paper is to present a summary of the research conducted in the main sector of the archaeological site of the Copper Age of Valencina, and specifically those in the surroundings of the most important monument that this area holds, the tholos of La Pastora. This project has been conceived from a territorial perspective at different levels to study the monument internally in the spatial setting of the archaeological site, as well as the higher context of the regional level. Achieving this goal required fulfilling the geophysical prospecting of several hectares, excavations and geoarchaeological studies. A vast section of ditch with a double/triple design and diverse types of prehistoric structures on both sides has been identified and excavated. Their main features are their abundance and foremost the presence of constructions that may easily reach 60m in diameter and appear organised in a clearly ordered area. In the excavations, the smallest structures appear as circular and polylobular pits with different archaeological deposits, between which those strictly funerary are also included. Radiocarbon dating varies between the most ancient corresponding to pit no. 105 (2919–2874 cal BC) and the most recent obtained in burial no. 437 (2573–2350 cal BC). The tholos of La Pastora is defined as a singular construction with a tumulus of 85m of diameter jointed with concentric rings and radial lines. The structural materials used and certain slabs made out of bioeroded sandstones – from the analysis of which we may infer their origin – the moment of quarry extraction, the palaeoenvironmental conditions of the surroundings and the date of the monument construction (2830–2450 cal BC) stand out inside it.

Quaternary International 424, 232-249., 2016

Rock crystal appears relatively frequently in Late Prehistoric Iberian sites, especially in the form of micro-blades and knapping debris. With some exceptions, however, these finds have seldom been looked into in any detail, and therefore little is known about the technology involved in the use of this material, its social and economic relevance or its symbolic significance. In this paper we examine a collection of rock crystal artefacts recently found at Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), one of the largest 3rd millennium BC sites in Western Europe. Among the objects included in this study are a long dagger blade, twenty-five arrowheads and a core, all of which form the most technically sophisticated and esthetically impressive collection of rock crystal material culture ever found in Prehistoric Iberia. Through the analysis of the procedures and techniques applied in the production of these objects , the chemical characterisation of the raw materials through Raman spectroscopy and RTI image processing and the careful assessment of the archaeological contexts in which they were found, this paper makes a robust contribution towards the study of the role of rock crystal in Copper Age technology and society. Recent research suggest that Valencina was a major node in the circulation of exotic materials such as ivory, amber, cinnabar or flint in Copper Age Iberia, which provides a very good background to assess the relevance of rock crystal as a traded commodity. In addition we discuss the role of rock crystal as a marker of status in large megalithic monuments, as well as its possible symbolic connotations.