Bronze production in Southwestern Iberian Peninsula: the Late Bronze Age metallurgical workshop from Entre Águas 5 (Portugal)

Archaeological works at Entre Águas 5 (Portugal) uncovered a seasonal LBA settlement with significant metallurgical remains (crucibles, moulds, prills and a tuyere) related to bronze production. Radiocarbon dating ascribes an occupation period (10th–9th century BC) previous to Phoenician establishment in Southwestern Iberia. In spite of the proliferation of metal artefacts during LBA, the production of bronze alloys is still poorly understood. An integrated analytical approach (EDXRF, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, micro-EDXRF and Vickers microhardness) was used to characterise this metallurgy. Crucibles show immature slags with copious copper nodules, displaying variable tin content (c. 0–26 wt.%), low iron amount (<0.05 wt.%) and different cooling rates. Certain evidences point to direct reduction of oxide copper ores with cassiterite. Scorched moulds with residues of copper and tin indicate local casting of artefacts. Finished artefacts also recovered at the site have an analogous composition (bronze with ∼10 wt.% Sn and low amounts of Pb, As and Fe) typical of coeval metallurgy in SW Iberia. Some artefacts reveal a relationship between typology and composition or manufacture: a higher tin content for a golden coloured ring or absence of the final hammering for a bracelet. An uncommon gilded nail (gold foil c. 140 μm thick; 11.6 wt.% Ag; ∼1 wt.% Cu) attests the existence of evolved prestige typologies. This LBA settlement discloses a domestic metallurgy whose main features are typical in Iberian Peninsula. Finally, it should be emphasized that a collection as comprehensive and representative of a single workshop has rarely been studied, enabling a deeper understanding of the various operations involving the bronze production and manufacture of artefacts.     

Tourism and Archaeology in Brazil: Postmodern Epistemology in Two Case Studies

This article discusses the relationship between archaeology and tourism in Brazil. After providing a diachronic perspective of the interaction between both two case studies in which we have been involved are examined: the Palmares maroon (Alagoas) and the Erasmos plantation (São Paulo). They exemplify how since the end of the last dictatorial period archaeology and tourism have been increasingly concerned with the social dimensions of both disciplines.     

Technological continuity in Early Iron Age bronze metallurgy at the South-Western Iberian Peninsula – a sight from Castro dos Ratinhos

A collection of 54 bronze artefacts recovered from the inland settlement of Castro dos Ratinhos (Portugal) and belonging mainly to the 9th–8th centuries BC, was studied by the use of non-invasive and micro analytical techniques. EDXRF, Micro-EDXRF, SEM-EDS and Optical Microscopy were used to determine the alloy composition and to identify the different thermo mechanical operations applied in the production of the artefacts. Results show that the collection is entirely composed of good quality binary bronzes (with an average tin content of 10.1 ± 2.5%). Alloys with higher tin contents were kept in as-cast condition and used in the making of ornaments, while tools were often finished with forging and annealing operations. Despite the existence of some Orientalising features in the Castro dos Ratinhos, e.g. rectangular habitat structures, wheel-turned ware and amphorae, the exclusive use of binary alloys with a narrow range of tin content seems to be associated with an indigenous metallurgical tradition inherited from the Late Bronze Age. This may indicate that the Phoenician interaction within the inland indigenous communities was a slow and selective process, probably dependant on the social-economic and cultural development of local communities.     

Governance and cooperation in Euroregions: border tourism between Spain and Portugal

There are several obstacles to establish tourism governance policies in a border area and to improve the conceptualization of tourism in border territories transcending the transnational level, using territorial delimitation at Euroregional level. At borders, tourism usually works as a strategic policy tool to strengthen the regional image, shape common identity narratives and facilitate interactions, becoming these regions, nowadays, challenges for the actors of the territory, representing a priority area for the application of territorial development strategies at local level and at the level of the European Union itself. A qualitative analysis was based on performed semistructured interviews with key tourism stakeholders. From the interviewee? perspective, cooperation should be achieved through cooperation agreements between the business sector and economic agents to develop natural, cultural and heritage resources.     

Archaeology, History, and Historical Archaeology in South America

This paper discusses the relationship between history and archaeology in general, their common concerns and links with historical archaeology. It deals with the development of historical archaeology in three related South American countries, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and pays attention to recent trends in the theory and practice of the discipline in the area.     

Prehistoric hunters and gatherers of Brazil

Although carbon-14 dates prior to 13,000 B.P. have been obtained from several sites east and south of Amazonia, their reliability is uncertain. By about 11,000 B.P., however, two lithic traditions were widespread. The Uruguai tradition, characterized by bifacial stemmed projectile points, was associated with open vegetation in the south; the Itaparica tradition, emphasizing well-formed unifacial artifacts, had dispersed over the eastern tropical parklands. An enormous amount and variety of rock paintings and/or engravings are associated with the latter. Around 7000 B.P., two new traditions emerged to exploit new habitats. The Humaitá tradition, characterized by large bifacial tools and an absence of stone projectile points, expanded over the broad-leaved forests in the south, leaving the open landscapes dominated by the projectile point-using Umbu tradition. The sambaqui (shell midden) tradition, also emphasizing large bifaces, developed along rugged portions of the southern coast. By 4000 B.P., groups along the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo were using domesticated or semidomesticated plants, perhaps sweet manioc. Maize was being grown in Minas Gerais by about 3500 B.P. Carbon-14 dates from numerous sites indicate, however, that the hunter-gatherer way of life persisted in many places long after the advent of pottery-making horticulturalists. The existence of large temporal and spatial gaps even in regions with considerable investigation makes it difficult to reconstruct the process of evolution reflected in these archaeological complexes. Correlations between cultural traditions and environmental fluctuations indicate, however, that adaptation to changing conditions was a significant challenge faced by prehistoric Brazilian populations.     

Reviews of books

Satire in Colonial Spanish America: Turning the New World Upside Down. By Julie Greer Johnson. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Pp. xvii, 224.

La Araucana. Por Alonso De Ercilla Y Zuniga. Edición de Isaias Lerner. Madrid: Editorial Cátedra, 1993. Pp. 1026.

Diente del Parnaso (Manuscrito de la Universidad de Yale). Por Juan Del Valle Y Caviedes. Edición, introducción y notas de Luis Garcia‐Abrines Calvo, con la colaboración de SYDNEY JAIME MUIRDEN. Jaén: Diputación Provincial, 1993. Pp. 481.

Catálogo concordado de la Biblioteca ie Hernando Colón. Tomo 1, 1–400. By Tomas Marin Martinez, Jose Manuel Ruiz Asencio and Klaus Wagner. Madrid: Fundación MAPFRE América, Cabildo de la Catedral de Sevilla, 1993. Pp. 717.

The People of Quito, 1690–1810: Chan, ‘e and Unrest in the Underclass. By Martin Minchom. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, Dellplain Latin American Studies, 1994. Pp. xvii, 297.

Los encomenderos de Quito, 1534–16C 0. Origen y evolución de una élite colonial. By Javier Ortiz De La Tabla Ducasse. Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano‐Americanos, 1993. Pp. xvi, 377.

Word from New Spain: The Spiritual Au obiography of Madre María de San José (1656–1719). Critical edition and introduction by Kathleen Myers. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1993. Pp. x, 234.

Una partecita del cielo. La vida de Santa Rosa de Lima narrada por Don Gonzalo de la Maza a quien ella Ilamal a padre. Versión paleográfica de Luis Millones. Ensayos de Luis Millones y Fernando Iwasaki. Lima, Perú: Editorial Horizonte, 1993. Pp. 217.

Poema Heroyco al merecido aplauso de Soror Ivana Inés de la Crvz. De Ioseph Zatrilla Y Vico. [Barcelona, 1696]. Edición facsímile de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Talleres Gráficos de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, 1993. Pp. xi, 38.

Carta de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz a su confesor. Autodefensa espiritual. Estudios y notas de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Imprenta Madero (Ciudad de México) para Producciones al Voleo El Troquel, 1993. Pp. 253.

Reading Columbus. By Margarita Zamora. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993. Pp. xvi, 247.     

A Report on Historical Archaeology Publications in Latin America

Historical archaeology is today widely practiced in Latin America. Scholars not living or working in the region often are unaware of the research conducted in the countries south of the United States. This brief report outlines some of the historical archaeology conducted in Latin America and provides a brief bibliography.