Lecture series “The Power of the Past. 150 years of Archaeology in Spain”.
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On the presentation of the book ‘Prehistoric art as Prehistoric culture. Studies in honour of Professor Rodrigo de Balbín-Berhmann’. Rodrigo de Balbín Behrmann’s contributions to the interpretation of Palaeolithic Art are the starting point for presenting the state of the art of research, based on the latest works of Portuguese, Spanish, German and English colleagues, and for disseminating them in the English-speaking world.
The authors of the 17 papers that comprise it are part of the most important European research teams. The presence of some of the authors at this round table will allow us to approach some of the current problems regarding the interpretation of Palaeolithic art. In particular, their sequence, extension, topography and, of course, the role of archaeometry in the evaluation of ancient chronologies, which allow us to consider the relationship between these symbolic productions and Neanderthal groups.
Since their discovery more than 160 years ago, Neanderthals have gone from being seen as the losers of the human family tree to being considered first-rate hominids. In her essay “Neanderthals”, Rebecca Wragg Sykes uses cutting-edge research on the Palaeolithic to debunk clichés about our “distant cousins” and reveals Neanderthals as curious and intelligent humans, knowledgeable about their world, technologically creative and adaptable, who managed to survive for over 300,000 years through periods of colossal climatic upheaval.
This book is an open window for discussion and debate, aimed at both laymen and scientists who are tackling a task that is becoming ever more difficult, with surprising new discoveries that require detours and even 180° turns. Exciting research is becoming increasingly topical.
In 2017, the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha published the Catalogue of Cave Art in the Sierra de las Cuerdas on the occasion of the centenary of the discovery of the Villar del Humo shelters. This is one of the most unique sets of Levantine art declared World Heritage. On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the declaration of the Cave Art of the Mediterranean Arc of the Iberian Peninsula in 1998, the dissemination of this volume is proposed, which is designed to bring all citizens closer to the knowledge and understanding of these assets in their cultural and natural context.
Prehistory and Romanisation in the Eria Valley (León-Zamora) is an informative work that brings together, in an entertaining and didactic way, a series of historical events, based on the archaeological discoveries made over the last 50 years in this valley located between the provinces of León and Zamora. The book aims to be a tribute to the first researchers who delved into the distant past of this valley and a plea in defence of the natural and historical heritage of the rural environment. The authors present little-known aspects of its environment, from a multidisciplinary point of view, which condition the first occupations during Prehistoric times and the extensive development that began with metallurgy until the Roman occupation. Archaeological findings and historical documents help to explain the planning of the territory based on geological and mining resources, and the development achieved by the cultures that occupied the area.
This work presents the results of the scientific study of the great megalithic tomb of Montelirio (Castilleja de Guzmán, Seville), excavated between 2007 and 2010. The exhaustive research carried out over almost 10 years, involving 45 specialists from 16 universities and research centres in five different countries (Germany, Spain, the United States of America, New Zealand and the United Kingdom) has included the deployment of some of the most cutting-edge research methods and techniques in modern archaeology. Taken together, the results reveal one of the most fascinating and enigmatic prehistoric monuments on the European continent, in which a mostly female collective of people were buried, accompanied by unparalleled grave goods including objects unseen anywhere else in the world, such as sophisticated robes made from tens of thousands of perforated beads and ornaments of shell, ivory and amber. The innumerable details revealed by the painstaking research undertaken bring us closer in previously unknown detail to the way of life of Copper Age societies (c. 3200-2300 BCE), and in particular to their technology, craftsmanship, patterns of contact and exchange, social organisation and worldview. With this study, Montelirio joins the select group of ‘classic’ megalithic monuments of Andalusian, Iberian and European Recent Prehistory, confirming the cultural and social emergence of the lower Guadalquivir valley in the third millennium B.C.E., the true genesis of the development process of the city of Seville.
Between the 5th and 3rd millennium BC, Western Europe was the scene of a strong production and circulation of objects (necklace beads, bracelets, axes…) made of stones of an intense green colour, such as variscite or jadeite. From their sources of origin – located in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Barcelona, Huelva, Zamora…) and Europe (Italian Alps) – these objects travelled by land and sea over hundreds or even thousands of kilometres. In this conference, we will explore the manufacturing contexts of these pieces and how they spread to reach human groups in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe. We will also discuss the possible reasons why these greenstone objects were so appreciated by the Neolithic communities of our continent.
Since the end of the 19th century, a hundred and a half warrior stelae have been discovered and numerous studies have been published on them. But there are still many unknowns to be solved. This conference presents the results of recent research, carried out in collaboration with various teams, in which new approaches and cutting-edge technologies have been applied to the study of warrior stelae, and their finding sites, from different areas of the western Iberian Peninsula. The new data contribute to clarify some questions about the meaning and functionality of the stelae, while revealing interesting aspects of their biographies.
The circulation of copper in the western Mediterranean between 1500 and 500 BC reflects a great complexity due to the different interactions that take place in this period in an area that acts as a point of contact between the Atlantic world and the eastern Mediterranean. The local populations of Sardinia and the Iberian Peninsula are influenced by the commercial interests of Phoenician colonial expansion, of which metal is a fundamental part. However, these local commercial interests have more of a social than an economic dimension, which explains why products such as copper, which they themselves produce, form part of the exchange. The presence in Sardinia of other types of metal that are neither local nor Cypriot, and whose origin must be sought in other areas, connects with the debate on the relations between Sardinia and the Iberian Peninsula.
The southeast of the Iberian Peninsula is the region of reference in Western Europe for the first peasant societies that began to use metal. This international visibility of the southeast is due to the intense archaeological activity of the Siret brothers at the end of the 19th century, who managed to incorporate their results into the Prehistory that was being constructed at that time. The spectacular nature and novelty of findings, such as that of Los Millares, have since then been a permanent focus of attention for all those interested in our past.
The Siret collection, deposited in the National Archaeological Museum, continues to be a constant “magnet” of attraction for prehistorians despite the passing of the years, as it allows for cutting-edge research with new perspectives, such as those presented at this conference. Different aspects of Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies will be dealt with, such as their agricultural and livestock farming practices, the sedentarisation and storage that defines the new settlements, their crafts: pottery, metal… All these aspects are imbued with symbolism, but their clearest manifestation is found in the so-called idols and in the funerary world.
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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