Cultivated crops are present in Andalusia and Mediterranean Morocco at least from the second half of the 6th millennium cal BC. Free-threshing and hulled wheat and barley have been identified but the naked types are more abundant. Legumes show a high diversity: lentil, broad bean, pea, grass pea and bitter vetch. Flax has been identified at least from the late Neolithic and there might be a case of local cultivation and domestication of poppy. Wild plant foods are still present but it is difficult to evaluate their relative contribution to human diet. ; This work has been carried out within the following projects: § ERC-230561 (European Commission), § HAR2008-06477-C03-03/HIST, § HAR2008-09120/HIST (Plan Nacional de I+D+i), § Programa Consolider TCP-CSD2007-00058, § PTDC/HAH/64548/2006 (FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal). The work of L. Zapata is part of Research Group at the UPV / EHU IT-288-07 funded by the Basque Government. ; Peer reviewed
This contribution focuses on the preliminary results of the AGRIWESTMED project which focuses on the archaeobotanical analyses of early Neolithic sites in the western Mediterranean region (both in Iberia and in northern Morocco). A large number of sites has been studied producing an interesting dataset of plant remains which places the earliest examples of domesticated plants in the second half of the 6th millennium cal BC. Plant diversity is high as it is shown by the large number of species represented: hulled and naked wheats, barley, peas, fava beans, vetches, lentils and grass peas. To more crops, poppy and flax, are also part of the first agricultural crops of the area. Although agriculture seems to occupy a first place in the production of food, gathering is well represented in the Moroccan sites where a large number of species has been identified. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013)/ERC Grant Agreement nº 230561. In addition, the research has also benefited from the project I-COOP0011 funded by the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) and from projects TPC-CSD2OO7-00058, HAR2008- 09120/HIST and HAR2011-23716 funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. L. Zapata is part of the Research Group in Prehistory IT622-13/ UFI 11-09 of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. ; Peer reviewed
Evolution and change in agricultural practice is a major factor in the codification of social relations and represents one of the main resources employed by human societies to establish a durable relationship with their environment. Using a multi-proxy integrated approach, this paper seeks to decipher the long-term dynamics that have shaped agricultural landscapes in the Basque Country (N Spain). Social and economic indicators (archival records, toponymy and oral sources) are used along with geological core sampling (geochemistry, magnetic, palynological and carpological analyses) to reconstruct a diachronic sequence of human settlement and agricultural management in the village of Aizarna over the last ~1500 years. The oldest records obtained refer to non-agricultural human activities dating back to the Roman period. Later on, traces of agricultural landscape-transformation can be divided into four main phases: 1) the onset of terraced agriculture, defined by the clearance and terracing of previous forested areas during the Early Middle Ages; 2) a Late Medieval reorganisation, with new terraces being (re)constructed close to dispersed farmsteads, linked to the emergence of the modern rural landscape; 3) a new model of intensive polyculture developed during the Modern period as a consequence of the introduction of new crops of American origin; and 4) the mechanisation and commercialisation of the agricultural production over the 20th century. These results provide a valuable pathway for the investigation of currently inhabited rural contexts, and offer, for the first time in this region, an overview on long-term landscape construction in the Atlantic areas of the Basque Country. ; Fieldwork was funded by the Culture Department of the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, and by the Project "Peasant Agency and socio-political complexity in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages" (Ministry of Economy, AEI/FEDER EU HUM2016-76094-C4-2-R), jointly participated in by the Research Group on Heritage and Cultural Landscapes (Basque Government, IT936-16) and the Group of Rural Studies (UPV/EHU-CSIC Associated Unit). Á. Carrancho acknowledges the financial support given by the Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León (project BU235P18) with also FEDER funding.
Few studies have dealt with the occupation of caves during the Andalusi period in Southern Iberia. This may be explained by the attention placed traditionally on the trinomial mudun (cities), ḥusūn (fortresses) and qurà (farmsteads), 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.
Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312–2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, δ18O and δ13C stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the 'off-season' lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities arriving in Iberia facilitated the anthropisation process of the subalpine areas of the Central Pyrenees. ; This paper was supported by several projects awarded to MR-G: 'Los Caminos del Neolítico' (HAR2009-09027) and 'Los Caminos del Neolítico II' (HAR2013-46800 P) were granted by the National R&D&I Plan/Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (https://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/) and co-financed by the Government of Aragón (https://www.aragon.es/), and 'La Memoria del Camino: Ciencia y divulgación de las primeras rutas pecuarias neolíticas en el Pirineo-MEDELCA' (FCT-2015-9947) was financed by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) (https://www.fecyt.es/). The archaeozoological research was carried out within the framework of the project awarded to MM-G '… y la oveja domesticó al pastor: Señales genómicas y arqueozoológicas de los primeros ovinos durante la neolitización de la península ibérica' (HAR2016-75914-R) by the National R&D&I Plan/Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (https://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/). AH was awarded a PhD grant by the Université Fédérale de Toulouse ANR-11-IDEX-0002-02 (https://www.univ-toulouse.fr/). Support of the publication fee was granted by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).
The sedimentological, geochemical and palynological analyses performed in the Conquezuela palaeolake (41°11′N; 2°33′W; 1124 m a.s.l.) provide a detailed, multiproxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in one of the key areas of inner Iberian Neolithic colonization. Combined with archaeobotanical and archaeological data from well-dated settlements along the Conquezuela–Ambrona Valley we investigate how environmental conditions may affect both socio-economic adaptations and livelihood strategies of prehistoric communities. The first evidences of early Neolithic occupation in the valley ca. 7250–6450 cal yr BP (5300–4500 BC) coincided with the onset of a period (7540–6200 cal yr BP, 5590–4250 BC) with higher water availability and warmer climate as alluvial environments were substituted by carbonate-wetland environments in the basin. The Conquezuela record supports an early Neolithic colonization of the inner regions of Iberia favored by warmer and humid climate features and with preferential settlement patterns associated to lakes. The maximum human occupation of the valley occurred during the mid–late Neolithic and Chalcolithic (6200–3200 cal yr BP, 4250–1250 BC) as evidenced by the high number of archaeological sites. Although a number of hydrological oscillations have been detected during this period, the intense landscape transformation at basin-scale, leading to a deforested landscape, was largely a consequence of widespread farming and pastoral practices. Socio-economic activities during Bronze, Iron and Roman times modified this inherited landscape, but the second largest ecosystem transformation only occurred during Mediaeval times when a new agrarian landscape developed with the expansion of stockbreeding transhumance. The current vegetation cover characterized by patches of holm and marcescent oaks and fields reflects an intense human management combining both extensive herding with agrarian activities in order to transform the previous forested landscape into a dehesa-like system. ; The funding for the present study derives from DINAMO2 (CGL-BOS 2012-33063) and AGRIWESTMED (ERC Grant Agreement #230561) projects, provided by the Spanish Inter-Ministry Commission of Science and Technology (CICYT) and the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013). XRF data were obtained at the XRF Core Scanner Laboratory (CRG Marine Geosciences, University of Barcelona). Josu Aranbarri acknowledges the predoctoral funding provided by the Basque Country Government (ref: FI-2010-5). Graciela Gil-Romera hold a post-doctoral contract funded by "Juan de la Cierva" (ref: JCI2009-04345) program. Eduardo García-Prieto and Maria Leunda are supported by predoctoral FPI grants BES-2010-038593 and BES-2013-063753, respectively. We also thank Elena Royo for her help with the lab procedures and the two anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions. ; Peer reviewed
This paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign of the Artusia rock shelter in Unzué, Navarre, Spain. Chronocultural and archaeobiological analyses revealed five different occupation phases (Artusia I–V) within the regional Mesolithic timeline, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Geometric Mesolithic (Artusia III, IV, and V). In addition, the study of the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental evolution in the entire record helped to clearly define several climatic events which developed around 6550 cal BC–8500 cal BP and 6250 cal BC–8200 cal BP. Here, we present a description of these events and their (pre)historical interpretation with the aim of recognizing how they influenced the Mesolithic hunter–gatherer groups living in the Ebro Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. ; projects "Los Caminos del Neolítico" -HAR2009- 09027- and "Los Caminos del Neolítico II" -(HAR2013-46800-P)- under directed by Dr. Manuel Rojo Guerra, granted by the Subdirectorate General for Research Projects/General Directorate of Research and Management of the National Plan for R and D and Innovation/Secretary of State for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, and co-financed by the Government of Navarre. All analytical work and radiocarbon dating were carried out within the project "Origins and spread of agriculture in the western Mediterranean region" -ERC-2008-AdG 230561-, coordinated by Dr. Leonor Pe~na Chocarro and financed by the European Research Council.
