The Neolithic Transition in the Iberian Peninsula: Data Analysis and Modeling

We apply GIS techniques to analyze a carefully selected database of 93 Early Neolithic sites in the Iberian Peninsula. This allows us to study the spatial dynamics of the Neolithic transition in Iberia. We study how the Neolithic was introduced into the peninsula in order to test the hypothesis that the Neolithic was introduced almost simultaneously from two sources: one at the northeast (via the Mediterranean coast) and another one at the south (possibly from Northern Africa). We also analyze how the expansion of the Neolithic transition took place within the Iberian Peninsula and measure local rates of spread in order to identify regions with fast and slow rates (such as the slowdown at the Cantabrian coast). In addition, we attempt to reproduce the main results obtained from the GIS analysis by applying reaction–dispersal models to the expansion of the Neolithic transition in the Iberian Peninsula. We conclude that a model with two sources is a reasonable assumption that agrees better with the archaeological data available at present than a model with a single source.     

Computer vision methods and rock art: towards a digital detection of pigments

A non-invasive procedure for assessing and interpreting the pigments of rock art paintings through computer vision and photogrammetric techniques is presented. The method is designed to document and interpret poorly preserved pigments by making use of advanced techniques of photogrammetry and computational imaging. Two different software solutions that were developed by the authors have been used for this purpose. Finally, two case studies of rock art paintings from Spain have been analysed, which show the reliability of the method.     

Revolutionary versus Reactionary: Contrasting Portuguese and Spanish Civil-Military Relations during Democratisation

The military is an important factor for the success or failure of democratisation processes. Portugal and Spain provide two paradigmatic cases. Despite their socio-economic, political and cultural similarities, these countries developed very different civil-military relations which significantly impacted their transitions. After having handed power over to a civilian dictator, Salazar, the Portuguese military eventually caused the downfall of his authoritarian Estado Novo regime and steered the transition to democracy. In contrast, the Spanish military, which had helped Franco defeat the Second Republic, remained loyal to the dictator’s principles and, after his death, obstructed the democratisation process. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, this interdisciplinary article contrasts the challenges posed by the military and the policies implemented by the Iberian governments to depoliticise and control it. It shows that the failed coups d’état in these countries helped tighten civilian control and paved the way for democratic consolidation. Using a policy instruments comparative framework, this paper demonstrates that not only the attitudes of the military but also the tools used to keep them under control were substantially different in Portugal and Spain. Historical legacies from the Spanish Civil War, Second World War and Colonial conflicts, as well as contextual factors, serve to explain this variation.     

Assessment of the Permeability of Historical Defensive Systems: the Case of the Lines of Torres Vedras

As the largest part of military usage of the territory depends on a thorough analysis of its morphology, spatial analysis with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software reveals a great potential as a way for studying battlefields and/or other military buildings and scenarios from the past, while supporting interpretations of territorial occupation and related organization of military forces through event simulation. This paper presents a GIS-based method to model and assess the permeability of historical defensive systems from the period that preceded the mechanization of warfare of the late nineteenth century, i.e., based on artillery installed in fortifications. The method was applied to analyze the permeability of the Lines of Torres Vedras (LTV) defensive system, a multi-line fortification complex which was operational during the Peninsular War in the beginning of the nineteenth century and located north of Lisbon, Portugal. The structures of the LTV and local terrain were modelled in GIS using a set of proposed parameters that support territorial analysis, combined with the capability of contemporary weaponry. A methodical quantification and combination of these parameters enabled a better understanding of the systemic design of the defensive lines in terms of its permeability, contributing to a discussion of the LTV particular military setting based on the interpretation of these indicators. Global and sectorial analyses of the permeability of the LTV defensive system were conducted.     

Millet microremains—an alternative approach to understand cultivation and use of critical crops in Prehistory

The term “millets” is used to identify several genera of grasses (Poaceae), most of which belong to the subfamily Panicoideae. Millets are one of the major food sources in arid and semi-arid areas of the world and they have been important crops in the prehistory of Africa and Eurasia. In this paper, we discuss phytoliths and starch grains from two of the less studied major millets (Pennisetum glaucum and Sorghum bicolor) as well as from some small millet species that are not normally considered of much importance (so-called forgotten millets: Digitaria ciliaris, Echinochloa colona, Echinochloa frumentacea, Brachiaria ramosa, Setaria pumila and Setaria verticillata). The preliminary results of this study on phytolith morphology, both at single and joined (silica skeletons) morphotypes, and starch grains show great potentials for the identification of different genus or species on the basis of microremains.     

Aroche (Huelva,Andalucía): a new Neolithic axehead of Alpine jade in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula

The discovery of a Neolithic Alpine jade axehead in Aroche, in the southwest of Spain, revives the question of long-distance exchange between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. This polished blade belongs to a typological model quite characteristic of Alpine production during the second half of the 5th millennium B.C. Different mineralogical approaches (macroscopic features examination, specific gravity, direct XRD, non-destructive μXRF spectroscopy, optical stereomicroscopy, magnetic susceptibility determination and microprobe analysis) have identified the rock as an omphacitic jadeitite (mixed jade) with some tiny garnets and a weak retromorphosis. This analysis and the comparison of the rock structure with the referential JADE of Alpine natural jade samples, as well as the extraction modalities and shaping of the axe, provide strong arguments to assign the Aroche axe to a production of Mont Viso: the origin of thousands of axes that circulated in Europe between Ireland and Sicily. The Aroche axe, discovered not far from the variscite mines of Encinasola, could be considered as part of a possible exchange system between the Iberian Peninsula and the Gulf of Morbihan, in Brittany.