A Provenance Study of Early Bronze Age Artefacts Found in Asturias (Spain) by Means of Metal Impurities and Lead,Copper and Antimony Isotopic Compositions

We describe here the first combined isotopic and impurities study on 27 copper artefacts found in the north‐west of Spain. This study follows previous studies on the lead isotopic composition of copper ores in three local mines that were exploited during the Bronze Age. The levels of impurities found were clearly different from ingots and axes, with ingots having much higher levels of impurities. It was not possible to differentiate the origin of the artefacts only by the impurities present. On the other hand, the lead isotopic composition indicated that all artefacts were prepared from local ores, the ‘La Profunda’ mine being the most probable source for most artefacts that carried out a clear radiogenic lead signature. The copper isotopic composition seemed to be able to differentiate artefacts from the ‘El Aramo’ mine from those from the ‘El Milagro’ and ‘La Profunda’ mines. On the other hand, the antimony isotopic signature was not useful for source allocation.     

Tectonic control over large-scale diffuse degassing in eastern Sicily (Italy)

Eastern Sicily (southern Italy) is characterised by the presence of many natural gas emissions (mofettes, mud volcanoes). These gases are mostly carbon dioxide and methane, with minor amounts of helium, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. In this study, the extent and orientation of soil gas anomalies (He and CO₂) were investigated on a wide area (approximately 110 km²) located just SW of Mt. Etna. From a structural point of view, this area lays on a typical foredeep–foreland system that marks the boundary between the southern part of the Eurasian plate and the northern part of the African plate in the central Mediterranean. No tectonic structure was revealed in this area by surface geological surveys. Very high soil emissions were found, and their spatial pattern reveals the existence of some active faults all directed about N50°E. This direction coincides with that of two major fault systems that cut eastern Sicily and are evident, respectively, NE and SW of the study area. Soil gas data suggest that these fault systems are the expression of a single continuous structural line which is probably responsible for the past and present magma uprise in eastern Sicily. Isotopic values of carbon of CO₂ suggest a minor contribution of organic carbon. Moreover, in the highest degassing sites the isotopic values of He found in association with CO₂ (He abundance = 11–70 p.p.m.; R/R_a between 6.0 and 6.2) suggest that both gases are mantle derived. The extent of the areas affected by high gas emissions and the amounts of deep CO₂ emitted in the investigated area (several hundred tonnes per day) may provide additional supporting evidence of a mantle upwelling taking place beneath this region.     

World Heritage and the Local Community: The Case of Atapuerca (Burgos,Spain)

As social constructions, heritage properties require the participation of all their stakeholders, especially in the case of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) World Heritage Site is used as a test case for assessing the fulfilment of the local community’s development expectations, perceptions, and values. This paper is the first formal attempt to ascertain the opinions of residents in the surrounding villages — Ibeas de Juarros and Atapuerca — regarding the initiatives taken by the authorities, and the changes produced, since the site was included in the World Heritage List. The results show that many improvements can be made with the aim of democratizing the decision-making process, ensuring the involvement of the local community and improving their quality of life, in order to fulfil the spirit and recommendations of UNESCO.     

Defining the Lead Isotopic Fingerprint of Copper Ores from North‐West Spain: The El Milagro Mine (Asturias)

This study is focused on the El Milagro mine (Asturias, Spain) and is part of a large‐scale effort on the measurement of the lead isotopic composition of Spanish copper ores from prehistoric mines in the provinces of Asturias and León, from which no data were available until recently. Lead isotopic values are compared to the published lead data from the El Aramo mine in the same region. The results show that both mines have a very similar lead isotopic composition, apart from some highly radiogenic samples in the El Milagro mine, which are clearly different from those previously reported for the Iberian Peninsula.     

‘A Great People Struggling for Their Liberties’: Spain and the Mediterranean in the Eyes of the Benthamites

Summary

This article examines the relationship of Jeremy Bentham and some of his disciples within Romantic Liberalism in the Mediterranean in the early 1820s. By studying the content of Bentham's correspondence with his collaborators and some Spanish political leaders, the text sheds light on Bentham's ideas on constitutional rule, the independence of Latin America and religious tolerance.     

Emergent Complexity,Changing Landscapes,and Spheres of Interaction in Southeastern South America During the Middle and Late Holocene

Newly created academic programs at Brazilian universities have provided the impetus for new archaeological projects in southeastern South America during the last two decades. The new data are changing our views on emergent social complexity, natural and human-induced transformation of the landscape, and transcontinental expansions and cultural interactions across the Río de la Plata basin during the Middle and Late Holocene. We concentrate on six major archaeological traditions/regions: the Sambaquis, the Pantanal, the Constructores de Cerritos, the Tupiguarani, the Southern Proto-Jê, and the middle and lower Paraná River. Diverse and autonomous complex developments exhibit distinct built landscapes in a region previously thought of as marginal compared with cultural developments in the Andes or Mesoamerica. The trajectories toward increased sociopolitical complexity flourished in very different and changing environmental conditions. While some groups were pushed to wetland areas during a drier mid-Holocene, others took advantage of the more humid Late Holocene climate to intensively manage Araucaria forests. The start of the second millennium AD was a critical period marked by an increased number of archaeological sites, the construction of ceremonial architecture, and the intensification of landscape transformation; it also was marked by the rapid expansion of influences from outside the La Plata basin. The Amazonian Tupiguarani and Arawak newcomers brought with them significant changes in technologies and social and political structures, as well as novel landscape management practices.     

Selection and Exploitation of Macro‐Vertebrate Resources During the Upper Palaeolithic in Northern Spain. New Evidence from Coímbre Cave (Peñamellera Alta,Asturias)

The exploitation of ungulates in the Cantabrian region during the Upper Palaeolithic is characterized by the appearance of progressively specialized hunting strategies, especially during the Magdalenian. This specialization focused on either Iberian ibex or red deer, depending on environmental or topographic features. Red deer, for instance, was hunted mostly on the plains while ibex and/or chamois was hunted in rocky and mountainous areas. Here we present new zooarchaeological and taphonomic evidence from Coímbre cave (northern Spain), a site located in the rugged region between the Picos de Europa and Sierra del Cuera (Asturias) which has evidence for specialized ibex hunting. We discuss the possible reasons for such a selective hunting pattern. While the predominance of mountain species such as Iberian ibex or chamois in the Magdalenian levels suggests prey selection based on topographic or environmental criteria, the predominance of large bovids in the Gravettian level could imply that other alternatives were available. We also provide evidence of a pattern of rabbit exploitation which is unusual by comparison with other Upper Palaeolithic sites of northern Spain, and which taphonomic evidence suggests was due to human activity.