Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) isotopic ecology in southern South America: spatial and temporal tendencies, and archaeological implications

We synthesize and discuss available isotopic data on Holocene guanaco samples from southern South America, extending from Tierra del Fuego Island to northern Patagonia and the Pampean region. We evaluate temporal and spatial tendencies on the basis of 91 samples (mainly based on δ¹³C_collagen values), presenting implications for paleodietary research in archaeology. We conclude that there are no strong correlations with latitude in the macro-spatial scale, while there is a set of interesting patterns at smaller regional scales. These patterns lead us to evaluate the role of ecologic and topographic variables (e.g. canopy effect, variations in altitude, ecotones) in structuring isotopic variability. Finally, on the basis of the present analysis we suggest a number of hypotheses and perspectives for the use of stable isotopes as geographic tracers of guanaco distribution in the past, and specific implications for the paleodietary study of human samples.     

Milling Cereals/Legumes and Stamping Bread in Mauretanian Tamuda (Morocco): An Interdisciplinary Study

African Archaeological Review - Recent archaeological excavations (2016–2019) in the city of Tamuda (northern Morocco) yielded evidence of commercial milling and bread-making facilities dated...     

Urban sprawl in Spain: differences among cities and causes

Urban sprawl has a major impact on the environment, public health and the socio-economic evolution of cities. The causes are numerous, being mainly related to the generalized use of the automobile in modern cities. Urban sprawl has been especially relevant in US cities since the 1950s, rapidly spreading to other cities in the rest of the world. This paper studies the case of Spain using recent data. Spanish cities have grown rapidly over the 90s and 2000s. The country has completed the process of urbanization and has suffered the effects of a major real estate bubble. In this context, we are interested in measuring and explaining where and why urban sprawl has appeared in Spanish cities. Digital mapping carried out around the year 2000 providing full coverage of Spain is used to calculate an Urban Sprawl Index. It is applied to all urban areas and municipalities throughout the country, providing an objective, comparable measurement of sprawl and identifying which areas are most affected by this phenomenon. A second stage of analysis is conducted in an attempt to explain the causes of the differences in sprawl among Spanish cities with a regression model based on the literature. We have found that the cases most affected by sprawl are the latest urban developments on the Mediterranean coast as well as certain areas in the vicinity of large cities: the mountains to the north of Madrid and the coastline near Barcelona and Valencia. In some cases, urban sprawl is starting to become a problem for the environment and urban sustainability, with important consequences for the future evolution of the affected cities.     

Georadar investigations in the central nave of Hagia Sofia,Istanbul (Turkey)

Within an interdisciplinary project to study Istanbul’s Hagia Sofia, a georadar survey was carried out in the central nave to assess if the deformations of the structure previously observed could be related to a differential behavior of the subsoil caused by architectural remains underneath. This study faces an unusual challenge since it was necessary to study the space beneath the scaffolding placed for the restoration works. The survey of the central nave was successful and allowed the detection of remains of walls that probably formed the basement of a previous 18- by 22-m structure. In addition, another interesting feature was discovered 2 m below the marble mosaic in the southeastern part of the nave. Although it is not possible to define its function, it seems that there could be a close relationship between this 2- by 3-m buried structure and the marble mosaic in the floor surface. Although some structures were identified under the floor of Hagia Sofia, there are no major changes in the topography of the central nave floor.     

Le Conte de deux cités1 : Analyse comparative des conflits urbains de Montréal et Valence, 1995–2010

A tale of two cities: 9 Comparative analysis of urban conflicts of Montreal and Valencia, 1995–2010 Metropolization processes at work in contemporary societies produce social and spatial change, which can raise strong opposition from a variety of urban actors, leading to acts of dissent. While such urban conflict has been examined in the past, geographical analysis of urban conflicts as sociospatial processes is more recent. Systematic quantitative research on urban conflict is virtually nonexistent in terms of comparative analysis conducted with an international perspective. Systematic comparative analysis sheds light on the existing relationship between urban conflicts and the socio‐territorial contexts in which conflicts emerge and evolve. This article presents a comparative analysis of urban conflict that occurred in a selection of boroughs in two cities characterized by different geographical realities, Valencia (Spain) and Montreal (Canada), between 1995 and 2010. Spatial autocorrelation techniques applied to a conflict database show a significant relationship between the emergence of urban conflict and the spatial distribution of some contextual variables. Indeed, for Montreal as for Valencia, the concentration of urban conflict is the greatest in the most deprived neighbourhoods. Also, regarding the management and regulation of urban conflict, results shed light on important differences between Montreal and Valencia. These differences include the outcome of urban conflicts, repertoire of action of actors involved in conflict activity, and the type of contestation faced by actors who promote the challenged urban projects.     

A Method for the Evaluation of Metropolitan Planning: Application to the Context in Spain

The metropolitan urbanization shows evidence that planning at the regional, subregional and municipal levels with its wide range of territorial, urban and sectorial competences is now longer able to significantly influence territorial development. This has led to a greater demand for alternative approaches, methods and instruments. For this research study, the metropolitan area of Granada was used as a field laboratory to assess the capacity of metropolitan planning to have an impact on metropolitan processes and dynamics. For this purpose, a method for metropolitan planning evaluation, MPE methodology, was proposed, which involves two evaluation processes. This method first evaluated the coherence of plans of different competences and at different scales within the metropolitan context (trans-scalar evaluation); it then evaluated the interaction between methods and proposals in plans and metropolitan dynamics (interactive evaluation).     

The hunted hunter: the capture of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) at the Gran Dolina site,Sierra de Atapuerca,Spain

Many Pleistocene caves and rock shelters contain evidence of carnivore and human activities. For this reason, it is common to recover at these sites faunal remains left by both biological agents. In order to explain the role that carnivores play at the archaeological sites it is necessary to analyse several elements, such as the taxonomical and skeletal representation, the age profiles, the ratio of NISP to MNI, the anthropogenic processing marks on the carcasses (location and purpose of cutmarks and burning and bone breakage patterns), carnivore damage (digested bones, location and frequencies of toothmarks and bone breakage), length of the long bones, frequencies of coprolites and vertical distribution of the faunal remains, inter alia. From this, the documentation of carnivores in a faunal assemblage with a clear anthropogenic component can be understood from three main phenomena: (1) the carnivores as accumulators and the use of the site as a den; (2) carnivores as scavengers of hominid refuse and; (3) carnivores as hominids’ prey. Of these three phenomena, the last one is the least documented at the Middle Pleistocene sites. From this perspective, here we present the case of the anthropogenic use of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) from level TD10-1 of Gran Dolina (MIS 9, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). The lion bone remains show signs of direct interaction between this big cat and human groups that occupied Gran Dolina in these chronologies. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of the role developed by large carnivores in the anthropogenic contexts and to provide data on human use of these predators at the European Middle Pleistocene sites.     

Designated Public Festivals of Interest to Tourists

Event tourism is part of the appeal of a destination and an important contributor to the well-being of communities. This paper examines the festivals classified of interest to tourists by the Spanish Tourist Board. The declaration of Festivals of Interest to Tourists (FITs) is granted to those festivals which demonstrate cultural values and popular traditions, with special consideration to their ethnological characteristics and to their particular importance as a tourist attraction. These festivals provide new opportunities to attract visitors to the places where they are held. Local and regional policies can take advantage of the FITs in order to increase the appeal of a tourist destination. This paper details an exploratory analysis of FITs in Spanish provinces. This study aims to group the provinces according to the characteristics of their FITs. To this end, a cluster analysis is performed and the validity is established using the unbiased estimator out-of-bag.     

Tourism Planning in Sub-regional Destinations: Heterogeneity of the Tourist Experience on the Andalusian Coastal Municipalities

The present paper analyses tourist experience, studying the existing differences among geographical zones within a broader tourist destination with provincial character. Planning and management of tourist destinations must pay special attention to the maintenance and conservation of natural and artificial resources in tourist supply, attempting to improve their competitive position. Hence, this study compares several Andalusian coastal municipalities through different components of tourist supply. Among other obtained results, findings indicate the existence of significant differences in urban environments among the municipalities of Almeria, in beach quality among the municipalities of Cadiz and in accommodation among the municipalities of Malaga.