Papers by Ramon Fábregas Valcarce
The origin and spread of pottery vessels marked an important change in culinary practices of preh... more The origin and spread of pottery vessels marked an important change in culinary practices of prehistoric societies. Its introduction across Europe followed different geographic patterns and processes. In this context, the introduction and adoption of pottery technology in the western extreme of the continent occurred later than in other parts of South Europe. This presentation is focused on the earliest evidence of pottery use along the Southwestern Atlantic coast of Europe. In this way, representative pottery assemblages from Portugal, Spain and France are used to investigate the role of this technology in relation to the arrival of the first domesticates to the region. By applying organic residue analysis on extracted lipids (i. e. gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas-chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry), this presentation assesses the function of pottery during this unprecedented cultural transition, which supposed the end of the ...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023
Although a theoretical model for the settlement patterns of Galician Palaeolithic has been propos... more Although a theoretical model for the settlement patterns of Galician Palaeolithic has been proposed in the last decades, it has not been statistically tested. The present paper aims to check whether this previous theoretical model can be verified statistically. For this purpose, a methodology based on the creation of a predictive model has been used in which the main environmental variables were analysed and their suitability for predicting the location of Palaeolithic sites statistically verified. The predictive model shows that the most accurate variables are elevation, slope, cost to potential hydrology, the cost to wetland areas, and visual prominence. The results demonstrated that the theoretical model was fulfilled in some of the variables previously proposed. Thus, we have shown the usefulness of this approach to test hypotheses and the results obtained open new possibilities of analysis in the study of the Palaeolithic sites in NW Iberia.
Vegueta, 2023
The perceptibility of a prehistoric monument (the property of being perceptible from its surround... more The perceptibility of a prehistoric monument (the property of being perceptible from its surrounding landscape) can be quite difficult to analyse by means of traditional static models. Such difficulty lies in the fact that perceptibility depends upon many other factors beyond simple topographical position, such as size, colour, contrast with the surroundings or even the specific circumstances of the audience, many such circumstances being of an immaterial nature. In this paper, we explore the potential use of Agent-Based Modelling for the analysis of archaeological perceptibility.
MUNIBE Antropologia-Arkeologia, 2022
RESUMEN El análisis arqueométrico de un hacha de color verde recuperada en los años 20 del pasado... more RESUMEN El análisis arqueométrico de un hacha de color verde recuperada en los años 20 del pasado siglo en el entorno de Monte Aberto-Elviña (A Coruña), que probablemente habría formado parte del ajuar de uno de los tres túmulos que componían la necrópolis homónima, ha permitido determinar que se trata de un hacha tipo Durrington "goutte d'eau", fabricada en jadeíta de origen alpino proveniente posiblemente de las formaciones existentes en San Front (Cuneo, Piamonte). Esta circunstancia la convierte-tras el hacha de Vilapedre (Lugo)-en la segunda pieza de procedencia alpina documentada en territorio gallego. En este artículo se intenta determinar el origen arqueológico del hacha de Monte Aberto-Elviña con la mayor exactitud posible, al tiempo que se ofrecen los resultados del análisis arqueométrico y se reflexiona sobre el cómo y el cuándo esta pieza habría llegado al Noroeste Ibérico. LABURPENA Joan den mendeko 20ko hamarkadan Aberto-Elviña (A Coruña) mendi inguruan aurkitutako aizkora berdearen (seguru asko, izen bereko nekropolia osatzen zuten hiru tumuluetako bateko etxeko hornidurako elementuetako bat izango zen) azterketa arkeometrikoak zehaztu duenez, Durrington "goutte d'eau" motako aizkora da, jatorri alpetarra duen jadeitan fabrikatutakoa. Seguru asko, San Front-eko (Cuneo, Piemonte) eraketetakoa izango da materiala. Hori dela eta, Vilapedreko (Lugo) aizkoraren ondoren, Galizian dokumentatutako alpetar jatorriko bigarren pieza dela esan dezakegu. Artikulu honetan, Aberto-Elviña mendiko aizkoraren jatorri arkeologikoa ahalik eta zehaztasun handienarekin finkatzen saiatu gara. Aldi berean, azterketa arkeometrikoaren emaitzak azaltzen dira eta pieza hori Iberiar penintsulako ipar-mendebaldera nola eta noiz iritsiko zen gaiaren inguruko gogoeta jasotzen du.
FABREGAS VALCARCE R., LOMBERA-HERMIDA A. DE, RODRIGUEZ-RELLAN C. et PETREQUIN P., 2018.- Green an... more FABREGAS VALCARCE R., LOMBERA-HERMIDA A. DE, RODRIGUEZ-RELLAN C. et PETREQUIN P., 2018.- Green and-or far away : the case of the Alpine axes in Iberia, in : A. Cruz et J.F. Gibaja (ed.), Interchange in Pre- and Protohistory. BAR S2891, Oxford, BAR Publishing : 61-67
Large polished axes of Alpine jades have circulated across Europe during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. The presence of the Alpine axes in the Iberian Peninsula is further restricted than elsewhere in Western Europe, though still signifi cant. Over 40 alpine axes have been catalogued in Iberia. Along with those Alpine jades, there are long axes made of local stones that can be considered as an imitation of the Alpine examples (ie. Cangas Type). Their distribution over the Iberian Peninsula can be interpreted within the exchange networks of other materials, such as variscite beads or certain varieties of flint. The important concentration identifi ed in Catalonia may be related with the expansion of the Chasséen culture. As for the other Iberian occurrences, a leapfrog model typical of the seafaring is proposed for the coastal distribution that was complemented with the use of major river valleys for their spread into inland areas. Finally, the distribution of the Cangas-type axes on Northwest Iberia may point to an Atlantic coastal connection between the European fi nisterrae. Contextual analysis and a few radiocarbon dates point to a timespan between the second half of the Vth and the beginning of the IVth Millennia BC, however in Southern Spain seem to last into contexts of the IIIrd and even IInd Millennia BC.
Keywords: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Alpine jades, sillimanite, variscite, Northwest Iberia.
Image, Memory and Monumentality. Archaeological engagements with the material world: a celebration of the academic achievements of Professor Richard Bradley, 2012
Richard Bradley’s research on Iberian open-air rock art has proved essential in understanding its... more Richard Bradley’s research on Iberian open-air rock art has proved essential in understanding its relationship with prehistoric landscapes. However, there remain a number of constraints and issues surrounding the interpretation of open-air rock art which are considered here. A consensus about the chronology of this phenomenon (which places it in the local Bronze Age) has been challenged, with some researchers claiming an Iron Age date for many petroglyphs. This is subject to critical scrutiny and here rejected. Matters are not helped by the absence of a comprehensive catalogue of the open-air rock art, and the fact that most sites have never been studied in depth. An opportunity is also taken to review the interpretation of Galician rock art as an open or hardly-restricted phenomenon, drawing attention to physical constraints that existed on its observation. Another controversial issue among specialists has been the precise relationship between Galician rock art and the domestic sphere, leading to a presentation of dichotomous ‘sacred’ versus ‘domestic’ areas. While contemporary settlements might be difficult to detect, this dichotomous image is shown to be erroneous, with human activity being demonstrated in the surroundings of many petroglyphs.
Estudos do Quaternário, 2021
En este estudio presentamos el análisis locacional del yacimiento de Cova Eirós (Triacastela, Lug... more En este estudio presentamos el análisis locacional del yacimiento de Cova Eirós (Triacastela, Lugo). Se trata de un lugar arqueológico que ha sido ocupado desde el Paleolítico medio hasta la actualidad. A partir de los SIG y la estadística pretendemos acercarnos a aquellos factores medioambientales que definen su importancia como lugar de ocupación a lo largo del tiempo y de manera recurrente. Una vez analizadas las variables que podrían marcar su patrón de ocupación, hemos podido comprobar que Cova Eirós es un punto importante, destacado y estratégico, pues se halla muy próximo a las rutas de tránsito potencial y con gran visibilidad. Además se encuentra resguardado y emplazado sobre una fuerte pendiente. El yacimiento cuenta con recursos cinegéticos y zonas de obtención de materias primas susceptibles de ser explotados en las inmediaciones, por lo que se trata de un enclave que presenta unas condiciones de habitabilidad ideales para los grupos de cazadores-recolectores.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2022
The present paper aims to offer an evaluation of the cluster method analysis to settlement distri... more The present paper aims to offer an evaluation of the cluster method analysis to settlement distribution of archaeological sites (k-means, DBSCAN, percolation analysis) and to show the potentiality of such methods on a regional scale. We analyse the distribution of Palaeolithic sites in Galician territory (NW Iberia) in order to identify the clustering areas and verify if these areas correspond with the traditional research zones. The results showed that the percolation analysis and, to a lesser extent, DBSCAN, worked best. We observe that the traditionally researched areas on the Galician Palaeolithic actually fit with the cluster pattern of points employing a 6-8 km threshold.
Antiquity, 2005
Using plasma chemistry, carbon was extracted from charcoal paint samples collected from megalithi... more Using plasma chemistry, carbon was extracted from charcoal paint samples collected from megalithic monuments in north-west Iberia. Nine accelerator mass spectrometric radiocarbon dates on these paints establish their age to be within 1000 14C years of each other, centred at approximately 5000 BP. These radiocarbon ages for megalithic paintings fall within the proposed time period for north-west Iberian megalithic culture. Multiple layers of paint on some stones show that more than one painting episode occurred.
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2021
The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as... more The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain. This artefact-as other "Tumiac type" axes (long polished blades, generally butt-perforated)-would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a green-coloured rock for which there are sources in the western Italian Alps. In this paper, we have traced the possible archaeological origin of this artefact back by examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia. Furthermore, we have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and an elemental analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX) of both the Vilapedre axe and geological samples from several places at the Alps where prehistoric quarrying of greenstones has been reported. The aims were physicochemically characterizing the axe to provide information about its possible geological source. During our analyses, we have found significant compositional similarities between the Vilapedre axe and one of the geological samples coming from the Alps (Alp06). The results are therefore consistent with the alleged Alpine origin of this artefact. The presence of this axe in Northwest Spain, together with other evidence, such as the presence of objects of Iberian origin in Breton monuments, strongly suggests the existence of contacts between both regions of the Atlantic façade during the Neolithic onwards in which seafaring would undoubtedly have played an important role. O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
Our knowledge about Paleolithic art has been changing substantially and new discoveries and dates... more Our knowledge about Paleolithic art has been changing substantially and new discoveries and dates are modifying some traditionally accepted considerations. In this context, the geographic spread and the end of this graphic-artistic cycle are two of the main topics of the current scientific debate. The discovery and study of rock art in Cova Eirós, located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, whose walls display geometric / stylized animals with linear interior fills, widens the territory of Paleolithic rock art in North Iberia beyond the traditional Franco-Cantabrian core. This find is framed in the successive discoveries made in the last 20 years that break with the perception of the Franco-Cantabrian region as being the core of the Paleolithic art. Moreover, the formal and stylistic features of some motifs from Cova Eirós allow to ascribe them to the final stages of the Paleolithic-style portable and rock art, classified as Style V or fini-Paleolithic; a pan-European tradition that began ~ 12,000-11,500 BP and lasted up to ~9,500-9,000 BP, in correspondence with the last hunter-gatherer groups.
nature communications, 2020
The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. ... more The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.
Quaternary International, 2020
The Tardiglacial of Portugal has been associated with the Magdalenian culture and lithic industri... more The Tardiglacial of Portugal has been associated with the Magdalenian culture and lithic industries characterized by tool miniaturization, a diversity of microlith types, and the absence of a intentional blade production. The technological characterization, the chronology and the phasing of the Portuguese Magdalenian have been defined based on data recovered from open-air sites of the Estremadura region (Central Portugal).
This paper presents an overview of the research undertaken over the last twenty-five years, including results from research and preventive archaeology fieldwork outside this region, namely in the Côa, Sabor and Vouga Valleys (northern Portugal), as well as in the Guadiana Valley and Algarve regions (southern Portugal). Our chronological boundaries are the Greenland Stadial 2-1b and the 8.2 ka event, from Early Magdalenian to Early Mesolithic.
Regarding vegetation, deciduous Quercus underwent expansion during the warm phases of the Tardiglacial and retracted during cold ones, when pines increased. After the Solutrean, the faunal assemblages show a decrease in the variability of the represented species and an increase in fish, birds, small mammals and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Concerning the cultural sequence, the Middle Magdalenian remains uncharacterized.
After the Upper Magdalenian, and thenceforward, the use of local raw materials and of cores-on-flakes (burin or carinated endscraper type) for bladelet production gradually increased. In terms of lithic armatures typology, a four-stage sequence can be discerned: 1) Upper Magdalenian with axial points rather than backed bladelets, quite common in previous phases; 2) Final Magdalenian with an increase in the diversity of
armature types; 3) Azilian with geometric microliths, curved backed points (Azilian points) and Malaurie points, and 4) Early Mesolithic without retouched bladelet tools or at best a persistence of Azilian armature types.
There were some changes in the Palaeolithic rock art of the Douro basin between phase 3 (Final Magdalenian) and phase 4 (Late Azilian): figurative animal representations give place to animal depictions characterized by their geometrical bodies, often filled-in, and red deer becomes the best-represented animal.
GALLÆCIA 38: 9-32 • 2019, 2020
Recentes traballos realizados no concello das Neves veñen a aportar novos datos sobre a arte rup... more Recentes traballos realizados no concello das Neves veñen a aportar novos datos sobre a arte rupestre nesta zona do Miño. Así, coas novas prospeccións incrementouse considerablemente o número de estacións rupestres coñecidas ata o de agora, con respecto ás recollidas na Dirección Xeral de Patrimonio Cultural, o que nos leva a pensar nunha distribución máis ampla dos gra-vados de arte rupestre atlántica e de algúns dos seus motivos.
Palabras Chave: Petróglifos, prospección, arte rupes-tre, val do Miño
Recent works performed in the As Neves Council have become a valuable source of new data on rock art in this area of the Miño. Thus, with these new surveys the number of petroglyphs known up to now has come to a considerable increase, in regards to those that were previously collected in the Dirección Xeral de Patrimonio Cultural, which leads us to believe in a wider distribution of the atlantic rock art and some of its motifs.
P. Pétrequin/S. Cassen/M. Errera/L. Klassen/A. Sheridan et Anne-Marie Pétrequin (éds.), JADE. Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen. Ve et IVe millénaires av. J.-C. Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté (Besançon 2012), Tome 1, 574-727., 2012
Plutôt que de vouloir privilégier, comme par le passé, des études régionales de toutes les haches... more Plutôt que de vouloir privilégier, comme par le passé, des études régionales de toutes les haches alpines-car le travail serait colossal à l'échelle de l'Europe avec certainement plus d'une dizaine de milliers de haches polies-, nous avons introduit l'idée d'une étude sys-tématique, mais qui porterait essentiellement sur les grandes haches, la coupure (selon des critères ethno-graphiques observés en Nouvelle-Guinée) étant établie à 13,5 cm. Après dix années de travail en bibliographie et en musées, notre inventaire compte aujourd'hui 1 764 haches, réparties entre l'Irlande, la Bretagne et le Portugal à l'ouest, la Bulgarie et la Turquie à l'est, le Danemark au nord, la Sicile au sud. L'extension des réseaux de circulation des haches en roches alpines atteint donc 3 000 km à vol d'oiseau entre l'Atlantique et la Mer Noire. Pour le V e millénaire, le classement typologique de ces outils polis permet de distinguer 15 types différents. En étudiant le rapport longueur/largeur des exemplai-res complets, ces types s'organisent en chronologie lorsque l'on travaille en analyse factorielle sur les dé-pôts de haches (dépôts funéraires et assemblages en-fouis sans rapport avec un espace funéraire), en ex-cluant le type Puy (une imitation de hache en cuivre, d'introduction récente avec le Chasséen, vers la fin du V e millénaire) :-Bégude est le dépôt le plus ancien (début du V e millénaire) ;-suit le groupe des dépôts du Morbihan avec Mané er Hroëck et Tumiac, puis Bernon, enfin Saint-Michel et Petit Rohu (vers le milieu du V e millénaire)-la série s'achève avec Büssleben, Mönchpfiffel, Gon-senheim, Altenstadt, Le Pecq et Abbeville pendant la 2 e moitié du V e millénaire et le début du IV e. La typologie « intuitive » et les premières sériations chronologiques que nous avions autrefois proposées (en nous fondant sur les associations typologiques dans les dépôts et sur les haches en contexte daté) se trouvent ainsi confirmées, à des nuances près.
Nature Communications, 2020
The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. ... more The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental
and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from
coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding
implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.
P. Pétrequin/S. Cassen/M. Errera/L. Klassen/A. Sheridan et Anne-Marie Pétrequin (éds.), JADE. Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen. Ve et IVe millénaires av. J.-C. Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté (Besançon 2012), Tome 2, 1015-1045., 2012
Les signes en jades alpins et leurs imitations-Chapitre 18-La circulation des haches carnacéennes... more Les signes en jades alpins et leurs imitations-Chapitre 18-La circulation des haches carnacéennes en Europe occidentale Jade Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen V e et IV e millénaires av. J.-C. Résumé : Vers le milieu du V e millénaire, les élites du golfe du Morbihan ont transformé certaines grandes haches en roches alpines-en particulier celles en jadéitite-. Il s'agissait de produire des types originaux et difficiles à imiter, destinés à être déposés dans des sépultures monumentales ou bien dressés dans des points par-ticuliers du paysage religieux. Ces haches dites car-nacéennes, avec les types Saint-Michel et Tumiac (à talon perforé ou non), à tranchant plus ou moins évasé, résultent du remodelage par polissage de haches al-pines plus massives, mais qui, en Bretagne, ont été considérées comme des ébauches en matière premiè-re exotique particulièrement précieuse, destinée à être repensée et retravaillée. Depuis le golfe du Morbihan, quelques dizaines de ces haches carnacéennes ont été injectées dans les transferts à longue distance, au cours de la deuxième moitié du V e millénaire. Certaines de ces anciennes ha-ches alpines ont à nouveau parcouru des centaines de kilomètres jusqu'au nord-ouest de l'Espagne, le nord de l'Allemagne et l'Italie avec les exemplaires d'Emilie Romagne et des Pouilles. En Europe occidentale, la valeur de ces objets-signes associés à la grammaire religieuse du golfe du Morbihan était telle que les haches carnacéennes en jade ont fait l'objet d'imitations en roches locales, comme le silex pour le type Saint-Michel en Bassin parisien et au Da-nemark, les sillimanites dans le cas du type Cangas en Espagne ou bien les serpentinites pour le type Zug en Suisse. La datation de ces imitations devrait permettre de se faire une idée de la vitesse de transfert des haches carnacéennes depuis la Bretagne jusqu'à l'intérieur du continent. Ainsi la hache de Laterza aurait été trouvée en contexte Serra d'Alto final/Diana, vers la fin du V e millénaire. L'exemplaire le plus ancien du type Zug pourrait être attribué aux 43 e-42 e siècles av. J.-C. Quant au type Cangas, une première apparition vers la fin du V e millénaire est également tout à fait plausible. Dans ce contexte chronologique, la circulation des ha-ches carnacéennes s'avère essentielle pour suivre l'ex-pansion de la symbolique religieuse carnacéenne (stè-les, gravures …) le long des littoraux atlantiques et vers l'intérieur de Europe continentale. Abstract : Around the middle of the 5 th millennium, the elite in the Gulf of Morbihan transformed certain large axeheads made of Alpine rocks, especially those of jadeitite. What they were doing was to create new types of axehead that were original and hard to imitate, which they then deposited in monumental graves or 'planted' upright at specific locations in the ritual landscape. These 'Carnac-type' axeheads-comprising those of Saint-Michel and Tumiac types (some of the latter having perforations through their butts), with blades that project from the sides to varying degrees-resulted from the reshaping , through polishing, of larger Alpine axeheads. The latter had been treated as though they were simply roughouts, made from a particularly precious exotic raw material, destined to be re-conceptualised and reworked. Several dozen of these Carnac-type axeheads were subsequently 'injected' into the system of long-distance exchanges during the second half of the 5 th millennium. Some of these ancient Alpine axeheads, having already travelled over several hundred kilometres to Brittany, then travelled similar distances again, ending up in northwest Spain, northern Germany and Italy (with examples from Emilia Romagna and Puglia).
Revista de Arqueología, 2001
It is an -quite controversial in its time- appraisal about the situation of Galician archaeology ... more It is an -quite controversial in its time- appraisal about the situation of Galician archaeology and its many shortcomings at the start of the XXI century.
Documenta Praehistorica, 2019
The history of research on the Neolithic of the Atlantic façade shows how speculation about prehi... more The history of research on the Neolithic of the Atlantic façade shows how speculation about prehistoric mobility, especially across the sea, is mainly based on three types of archaeological evidence: megalithic monuments, rare stones, and pottery decoration. With the aim of approaching the issue from other perspectives, we have focused on the Morbihan area, a focal point of the Euro-pean Neolithic during the mid-5 th millennium BC. The analysis of this area has allowed us to grasp which objects, ideas and beliefs may have been desired, adopted and imitated at the time. We shall begin with an architectural concept, the standing stone. These were sometimes engraved with signs that can be directly compared between Brittany, Galicia (NW Spain) and Portugal, but for which there are no intermediate parallels in other areas of the French or Spanish coast. The unique accumulation and transformation of polished blades made of Alpine rocks and found inside tombs or in other sort of depositions in the Carnac region allowed us to establish a second link with Galicia and the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, where certain types of the axes were imitated using a set of different rocks (sillimanite, amphibolite). Finally, the variscites and turquoises from different Spa-nish regions were used for the manufacture of beads and pendants at the Carnacean tombs, without it being possible-once again-to retrieve similar objects in the intermediate areas. The mastery of direct Atlantic sea routes is posed as an explanation for this geographical distribution. But, beyond the information drawn from specific artefacts-whose presence/absence should not be used in excess as an argument to endorse or underrate such movements across the ocean-we will return to a more poetic and universal phenomenon: the spell of the sea. Therefore, we will focus on the depictions of boats on the stelae of Morbihan to open such a debate.
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Papers by Ramon Fábregas Valcarce
Large polished axes of Alpine jades have circulated across Europe during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. The presence of the Alpine axes in the Iberian Peninsula is further restricted than elsewhere in Western Europe, though still signifi cant. Over 40 alpine axes have been catalogued in Iberia. Along with those Alpine jades, there are long axes made of local stones that can be considered as an imitation of the Alpine examples (ie. Cangas Type). Their distribution over the Iberian Peninsula can be interpreted within the exchange networks of other materials, such as variscite beads or certain varieties of flint. The important concentration identifi ed in Catalonia may be related with the expansion of the Chasséen culture. As for the other Iberian occurrences, a leapfrog model typical of the seafaring is proposed for the coastal distribution that was complemented with the use of major river valleys for their spread into inland areas. Finally, the distribution of the Cangas-type axes on Northwest Iberia may point to an Atlantic coastal connection between the European fi nisterrae. Contextual analysis and a few radiocarbon dates point to a timespan between the second half of the Vth and the beginning of the IVth Millennia BC, however in Southern Spain seem to last into contexts of the IIIrd and even IInd Millennia BC.
Keywords: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Alpine jades, sillimanite, variscite, Northwest Iberia.
This paper presents an overview of the research undertaken over the last twenty-five years, including results from research and preventive archaeology fieldwork outside this region, namely in the Côa, Sabor and Vouga Valleys (northern Portugal), as well as in the Guadiana Valley and Algarve regions (southern Portugal). Our chronological boundaries are the Greenland Stadial 2-1b and the 8.2 ka event, from Early Magdalenian to Early Mesolithic.
Regarding vegetation, deciduous Quercus underwent expansion during the warm phases of the Tardiglacial and retracted during cold ones, when pines increased. After the Solutrean, the faunal assemblages show a decrease in the variability of the represented species and an increase in fish, birds, small mammals and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Concerning the cultural sequence, the Middle Magdalenian remains uncharacterized.
After the Upper Magdalenian, and thenceforward, the use of local raw materials and of cores-on-flakes (burin or carinated endscraper type) for bladelet production gradually increased. In terms of lithic armatures typology, a four-stage sequence can be discerned: 1) Upper Magdalenian with axial points rather than backed bladelets, quite common in previous phases; 2) Final Magdalenian with an increase in the diversity of
armature types; 3) Azilian with geometric microliths, curved backed points (Azilian points) and Malaurie points, and 4) Early Mesolithic without retouched bladelet tools or at best a persistence of Azilian armature types.
There were some changes in the Palaeolithic rock art of the Douro basin between phase 3 (Final Magdalenian) and phase 4 (Late Azilian): figurative animal representations give place to animal depictions characterized by their geometrical bodies, often filled-in, and red deer becomes the best-represented animal.
Palabras Chave: Petróglifos, prospección, arte rupes-tre, val do Miño
Recent works performed in the As Neves Council have become a valuable source of new data on rock art in this area of the Miño. Thus, with these new surveys the number of petroglyphs known up to now has come to a considerable increase, in regards to those that were previously collected in the Dirección Xeral de Patrimonio Cultural, which leads us to believe in a wider distribution of the atlantic rock art and some of its motifs.
and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from
coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding
implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.
Large polished axes of Alpine jades have circulated across Europe during the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. The presence of the Alpine axes in the Iberian Peninsula is further restricted than elsewhere in Western Europe, though still signifi cant. Over 40 alpine axes have been catalogued in Iberia. Along with those Alpine jades, there are long axes made of local stones that can be considered as an imitation of the Alpine examples (ie. Cangas Type). Their distribution over the Iberian Peninsula can be interpreted within the exchange networks of other materials, such as variscite beads or certain varieties of flint. The important concentration identifi ed in Catalonia may be related with the expansion of the Chasséen culture. As for the other Iberian occurrences, a leapfrog model typical of the seafaring is proposed for the coastal distribution that was complemented with the use of major river valleys for their spread into inland areas. Finally, the distribution of the Cangas-type axes on Northwest Iberia may point to an Atlantic coastal connection between the European fi nisterrae. Contextual analysis and a few radiocarbon dates point to a timespan between the second half of the Vth and the beginning of the IVth Millennia BC, however in Southern Spain seem to last into contexts of the IIIrd and even IInd Millennia BC.
Keywords: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Alpine jades, sillimanite, variscite, Northwest Iberia.
This paper presents an overview of the research undertaken over the last twenty-five years, including results from research and preventive archaeology fieldwork outside this region, namely in the Côa, Sabor and Vouga Valleys (northern Portugal), as well as in the Guadiana Valley and Algarve regions (southern Portugal). Our chronological boundaries are the Greenland Stadial 2-1b and the 8.2 ka event, from Early Magdalenian to Early Mesolithic.
Regarding vegetation, deciduous Quercus underwent expansion during the warm phases of the Tardiglacial and retracted during cold ones, when pines increased. After the Solutrean, the faunal assemblages show a decrease in the variability of the represented species and an increase in fish, birds, small mammals and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Concerning the cultural sequence, the Middle Magdalenian remains uncharacterized.
After the Upper Magdalenian, and thenceforward, the use of local raw materials and of cores-on-flakes (burin or carinated endscraper type) for bladelet production gradually increased. In terms of lithic armatures typology, a four-stage sequence can be discerned: 1) Upper Magdalenian with axial points rather than backed bladelets, quite common in previous phases; 2) Final Magdalenian with an increase in the diversity of
armature types; 3) Azilian with geometric microliths, curved backed points (Azilian points) and Malaurie points, and 4) Early Mesolithic without retouched bladelet tools or at best a persistence of Azilian armature types.
There were some changes in the Palaeolithic rock art of the Douro basin between phase 3 (Final Magdalenian) and phase 4 (Late Azilian): figurative animal representations give place to animal depictions characterized by their geometrical bodies, often filled-in, and red deer becomes the best-represented animal.
Palabras Chave: Petróglifos, prospección, arte rupes-tre, val do Miño
Recent works performed in the As Neves Council have become a valuable source of new data on rock art in this area of the Miño. Thus, with these new surveys the number of petroglyphs known up to now has come to a considerable increase, in regards to those that were previously collected in the Dirección Xeral de Patrimonio Cultural, which leads us to believe in a wider distribution of the atlantic rock art and some of its motifs.
and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from
coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding
implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.
The paper deals with the find of a large carved stela after the destruction of a barrow at Os Campiños (Rianxo, A Coruña). The character of the carvings and their distribution on both faces of the stone suggest that we are before an anthropomorphic representation that initially stood in the open-air. At a certain point it was probably incorporated as a part of the stone chamber contained within the mound. Lacking any clear context and with few clear parallels, its chronology remains obscure ranging from the Neolithic to the Copper Age.
context. The results suggest that the site is located on an alluvial plain formed by sandy sediments with a high content of silt and clay. Material originating from the granite slopes, and rich in gravels and macrocharcoals, fossilized on this alluvial plain. The results allow us to identify an alluvial surface on which archaeological structures were built, which have been fossilized by colluvial material. Radiocarbon dating was carried out on two charcoal fragments. The oldest, located at a depth of 82 cm, in the transition between the pedosedimentary levels identified as alluvial and colluvial facies, consists of a fragment of deciduous Quercus charcoal, with a date of 8595-8455 cal BP (6645-6505 cal BC). The second, at a depth of 40 cm, on a piece of Erica sp. charcoal, was dated at 1235 to 1205 cal BP (cal AD 715-745).
environment for an efficient socialization of this heritage. With this line of action we intend to achieve, beyond a social function, an economic impact on the small rural villages of the inner regions of Galicia.
University of Santiago, producing a couple of papers as a result, one of them ("Impresiones de un viaje
prehistórico por Galicia") outlining for the first time a general and scientific view of Galician prehistory
up to the Iron Age. In this paper we analyze the circumstances of his travel and make a comparison
between the current 'state of the art' in Galician archaeology and the hypothesis and opinions advanced
by the German scholar seventy four years before. In spite of the logical increase in our knowledge
of the Calician past, it is hardly surprising to note the degree of scholarship and also foresight achieved
by Obermaier in his brief contribution.
A quick outlook on the main features of the Galician Bronze Age, taking into account aspects such as funerary customs, open-air rock art, settlement patterns and manufacturing activities (pottery making, gold and copper working). Some attention is paid, too, to the developments along the Cantabrian region and Northern Portugal.
By the last decade of the 19th century, Federico Maciñeira, one of the first Galician archaeologists and a very thorough one, started a field work in the Northern reaches of the province of La Corunna, bringing to the light the extraordinary number of megalithic mounds that were preserved in that area. Among his finds featured two stone circles in A Mourela (As Pontes) to which (and to the mounds in the surroundings) dedicated a long paper in 1929. Unfortunately, the lack of similar finds in Galicia, together with the destruction of the stones making up the larger of these constructions led to the near oblivion of these cromlechs that were but scantily referred to in the scientific literature for nearly eight decades.
In the beginning of the 21st century, the larger of the two circles of A Mourela came again into the limelight, because it was threatened of destruction due to the construction of a motorway, motivating a first archaeological digging in 2005, from which we have but a short report. After some months of stalemate a second rescue dig was undertaken by the signatories of this monograph between January and March 2007 and we had to deal with the problem of interpreting a partially excavated site, lacking the necessary data about the characteristics of the features discovered earlier and the uppermost levels already removed. Moreover, from the brief report of the previous dig we assumed that we were to investigate a Neolithic site with a complex history that allegedly included a funerary use of some structures detected by our predecessor. We endeavored to overcome these daunting difficulties by mustering a multidisciplinary team that would provide us with as much information as it could be extracted from the available evidence.
An outlook on the first human occupation of Galicia (NW Spain) from Lower Paleolithic times to the Final Upper Paleolithic. Attention is paid as well to the evidence from neighboring North Portugal.
In this paper we will present a brief synthesis of the state of the art about two of these green rocks that were particularly popular in Western Europe during a significant part of Late Prehistory: jade and variscite.
escasa. Esta situación va a cambiar en el verano de 1980, cuando una excavación arqueológica realizada en la sepultura de corredor de Cova da Moura -A Coruña- produjo un número sorprendentemente alto de artefactos, entre cerámicas, puntas de flecha y hachas pulimentadas. Igualmente inesperado resultó el hallazgo de decenas de guijarros, lisos o apenas decorados, distribuidos por el exterior del túmulo frente a la entrada que da paso a la construcción ortostática. Dotados de una forma más o menos antropomórfica, fueron identificados como ídolos. Como sucede a menudo en Arqueología, este insólito descubrimiento fue seguido por varios otros en rápida sucesión, aunque generalmente están faltos de una publicación adecuada. Tras más de 3 décadas del primer descubrimiento, queremos reflexionar sobre lo que sabemos en torno a estas singulares representaciones en piedra, todavía relativamente escasas.
One of the aspects on which research has most regularly focused regards the relationship between megaliths and movement, not just as the eventual correlation between mound location and paths across the landscape, but on a more general way by assessing the use of building materials or grave-goods of non-local origin.
In the last decade, there has been a renewed effort at surveying the Barbanza peninsula leading to the discovery of scores of new mounds, thus significantly modifying the distribution of these monuments and breaking somewhat the paramount role of the high sierra with respect to this funerary phenomenon. Moreover, by employing new methodologies, such as Geographical Information Systems and spatial statistics, we can observe that mounds are indeed associated with transit routes and, at a local scale, with conspicuous areas more often than, for instance, rock art sites.
Therefore, an image surges forward where megalithic architecture does not act exclusively as a static milestone but, rather, as a dynamic agent linked to a cognitive geography developed by communities in the Late Prehistory that undertake the exploitation of different landscapes and resources, from the very coast to the uplands. In the framework of this process, however, a marked variability can be observed regarding the conspicuity that these monuments might have had in the prehistoric landscape. This may suggest a multiplicity of roles or audiences, ranging from those intended to be real landmarks to others apparently designed to go unnoticed.
The first analysis of the rock art sites listed on the Dirección Xeral de Patrimonio Cultural's catalogue for the province of A Coruña (a total of 781 petroglyphs) has shown that the census is much larger than that handled by former quantitative approaches, including sites located in areas with no previous records of inscultures. However, despite the new findings, the weight of coastal rock art (pointed out by almost every work about this phenomenon) is still evident.
The proximity to the sea does not only result in a larger number of rock art sites but also in their greater complexity and diversity of the motifs displayed. Thus, the catalogue of A Coruña shows how the naturalistic motifs (animals, weapons, etc...) are closely related to the south-western coast of the province, while way inland they are virtually non-existent. For their part, geometric figures -albeit with a much wider distribution- show a much higher complexity near the coastline.
Regarding the general coexistence of different types of motifs on the same rock, a first quantitative glimpse on this matter suggests that there are some trends pointing to the existence of a certain correlation between the most common geometrical motifs. As for the naturalistic images, animals show a bigger tendency to coming along with geometric motifs (mainly circular combinations) although they also appear in isolation a significant number of times.
by the German scholar seventy four years before. In spite of the logical increase in our knowledge of the Calician past, it is hardly surprising to note the degree of scholarship and also foresight achieved
by Obermaier in his brief contribution.
In this sense, the discovery of new sites with rock art has caused not only a territorial expansion of this phenomenon, but also led to relativize concepts such as open-air rock art itself."
O presente volume fai unha achega interdisciplinar a estas rechamantes manifestacións gráficas
En este trabajo, se ofrece una revisión extensiva de la literatura científica referida a la distribución de adornos realizados en variscita y en otras piedras verdes a lo largo de España Occidental. Esta región tiene una importancia crucial para la comprensión de este fenómeno, puesto que dos de las tres minas principales explotadas durante la prehistoria están situadas allí. Quizás debido a esta importancia, el Occidente Español ha sido el escenario de un esfuerzo analítico –actualmente en marcha– que, sin embargo, no siempre ha ido acompañado de una síntesis interpretativa global para toda el área. A partir de una base de datos de poco más de 130 yacimientos del Neolítico al Bronce Inicial con cuentas realizadas en piedra verde, ofrecemos un estado de la cuestión y una primera cuantificación de la distribución de los adornos en variscita y otras piedras verdes a lo largo de España Occidental. Este paso resulta fundamental para poder alcanzar un conocimiento básico de su evolución cronológica, sus diferencias regionales y de los procesos socioeconómicos que hicieron posible la aparición de intensas actividades mineras así como el intercambio de estos diminutos objetos a lo largo de distancias realmente largas.
We shall review, in the light of the last discoveries, aspects such as the chronology of the regional rock art, the audience it was meant to address or the archaeological context of the carved rocks. Going beyond the perception of the rock art as a mediating element, open to the different communities inhabiting the land, we might acknowledge its possible role as an active agent through which human groups would negotiate its own identity and association with the surrounding space. The relationship between petroglyphs and landscape would be a dialectic one, so that several factors could regulate the access and reading of the decorated panels, eventually restricting these to certain individuals or sectors of the communities. Lastly, the similarities with the rock art in other areas of Atlantic Europe may be just another example of the circulation along the seaways of goods, ideas and people at least from the early Neolithic.
La asociación de un registro lítico achelense con unas dataciones del Pleistoceno
superior lo convirtió en uno de los yacimientos más controvertidos. Por ello, son numerosas
las intervenciones arqueológicas y revisiones que intentaron comprender la problemática del
yacimiento desde un punto de vista geomorfológico, sedimentario y arqueológico. En este
capítulo juntamos toda la información espacial referente a dichas intervenciones y ofrecemos
los datos de las intervenciones llevadas a cabo en la década de los 90 y de la revisión de su
industria lítica del Locus I, conjuntos que parecían sugerir la existencia de varias ocupaciones
ampliamente diferenciadas desde el punto de vista temporal en Budiño. Los datos estratigráficos,
tafonómicos y tecnológicos corroboran que gran parte de estas industrias se encuentran
en posición derivada y que, actualmente, todos los conjuntos parecen corresponderse con
ocupaciones desarrolladas en la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno medio.
the relevance that in the Neolithic, as well as in more recent periods, acquired exchange networks. Contacts between groups hundreds of kilometres apart are demonstrated using such axes. Their presence, often in funerary contexts, confers to these instruments a value that exceeds their purely functional aspects
of aspect, slope, average height, least-cost paths, visibility and proximity to river courses and routes. This spatial and diachronic approach lead to the identification of the evolution and variability of the settlement patterns of the Paleolithic sites ascribed to the Mode 2, Mode 3 and Mode 4.
We are centering on two study areas, Western Europe and México/Southwest US, which are far apart not just in geographical terms but also with regard to their chronology and socioeconomic features: while some North and Mesoamerican groups range from relatively complex farming societies up to state-like organizations during the 1st and 2nd Millennia AD, the European counterparts are comparatively simpler polities spanning the 5th/3rd Millennia BC. By contrasting the archaeological evidence from diverse areas we may gain insights into the role that production/movement of those green stones played in their respective political and ritual economies. Also, we think it useful to compare the scientific approaches applied to this question in different parts of the globe.
in a NW-SE direction. The course of the river follows a winding path directed by the pattern of fracturing, in which sediment has accumulated in sections characterized by changes in the direction of the channel. Along the course of the river, archaeological sites have been located
spanning a wide chronological range. Mounds and petroglyphs are preferably located in high places and structures of “huts” are located in areas with alluvial accumulation at the foot of the slopes, slightly away from the current course of the river. The pedo-sedimentary sequence
studied, located in the largest alluvial plain of the stretch of river, is set in an
context. The results suggest that the site is located on an alluvial plain formed by sandy sediments with a high content of silt and clay. Material originating from the granite slopes, and rich in gravels and macrocharcoals, fossilized on this alluvial plain. The results allow us to identify an
alluvial surface on which archaeological structures were built, which have been fossilized by colluvial material. Radiocarbon dating was carried out on two charcoal fragments. The oldest, located at a depth of 82 cm, in the transition between the pedosedimentary levels identified as
alluvial and colluvial facies, consists of a fragment of deciduous Quercus charcoal, with a date of 8595-8455 cal BP (6645-6505 cal BC). The second, at a depth of 40 cm, on a piece of Erica sp. charcoal, was dated at 1235 to 1205 cal BP (cal AD 715-745).
The geographical distribution of the main types of motifs (cupmarks, circular combinations, zoomorphs, etc... ) can be displayed on the map. A bar plot shows the rock art catalog in the different Galician counties.
Consello da Cultura Galega, Santiago de Compostela
Mércores, 27 de marzo de 2019