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Although the amount of data on the Italian Copper Age has increased significantly in the last decades, little is known about the relationship between humans and the environment. Material culture su...

of the accepted Session #217 for the 27th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (Kiel 2021)

International audience

International audience

Prehistoric societies have mined and quarried flint for many thousands of years across Europe. Nevertheless, this kind of activity has remained unrecognized in the Iberian Peninsula until the discovery these last fifteen years of the Casa Montero (Vicálvaro, Madrid) and Sierra de Araico (Treviño, Alava) Neolithic mining complexes. The flint quarries of Montvell (Castelló de Farfanya, Lleida), recently excavated, configure the first example of a flint extraction specialized site in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, it grants a unique opportunity to make an accurate approximation to this phenomenon. Nodular brown flint has been attested inside the lacustrine Oligocene limestones in the area of Montvell. This particular raw material can be considered as one of the best fitted for knapping activities in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula. Evidences of extraction activities were located stepped along the hill slopes and were carried out removing the layers containing the bigger flint nodules. The flint exploitation was easy thanks to the fact that the pursued layers outcrop vertically and are quite accessible. This situation allowed the opening of successive extraction fronts without being necessary to withdraw huge quantities of residues. In 2004 the late Neolithic-Chalcolithic site of les Auvelles was excavated. Given that it is located near the Montvell quarries, it was then suggested that it could be related to the local flint management. It was also proposed that the processing techniques may have included heat treatment of flint nodules, although for the time being it has not been proved. The on-going investigation will lead us to establish not only the chronological duration and the scope of the extraction activities, but also the possible contemporaneity between the two sites.

International audience; Theories of the economic evolution of societies and their diversity arecritically examined, paying particular attention to the evolution of hunter-gatherersocieties. An interdisciplinary approach drawing on anthropology and economicsis adopted. Currently, three main stereotypes of the nature of hunter-gatherersocieties exist. While these indicate that they were diverse, they fail to capturethe full extent of their diversity. It is argued that this diversity increased with thepassage of time and was shaped by the varied local eco-geographic conditions inwhich these societies evolved. This raises the question of whether this developmenthad the same basis as speciation in the biological theory of natural selection. Thisis discussed and then particular attention is given to Adam Smith’s vision of theeconomic evolution of human societies. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that theevolutionary path of modern economies and societies has diverged from that of prehistoricsocieties—they have become less diverse. Modern societies may also havebecome more ultrasocial, a process which accelerated following the commencementof agriculture.

Economics, Ecology and the Environment (Working Papers N°197); It is argued that attributes which have been widely used to typify hunter-gatherer societies are inadequate for several reasons. One is that they fail to capture the full extent of the diversity of these societies. We suggest some additional attributes which should be taken into account in characterizing these societies. Linear (unidirectional) models of the development of prehistoric societies are criticized and multi-linear models are discussed. Currently, three main stereotypes of the nature of hunter-gatherer societies exist. While these indicate that they were diverse, they fail to capture the full extent of their diversity. It is suggested that this diversity increased with the passage of time and was shaped by the varied local eco-geographic conditions (local resource endowments) in which these societies existed. This raises the question of whether this development had the same basis as speciation in the biological theory of natural selection. This is discussed and then particular attention is given to Adam Smith’s vision of the evolution of human societies. In conclusion, it is suggested that the evolutionary path of modern societies has diverged from that of prehistoric societies.

Director: Felipe Criado Boado Lugar de lectura: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Fecha de lectura: 28 de agosto de 2000, [ES] Este trabajo trata de contribuir con nuevos datos generados desde y para Uruguay a la construcción del pasado en la región meridional sudamericana. Los objetivos generales que nos hemos planteado intentan proponer una mirada diferente al registro arqueológico regional, basada en nuevos modelos interpretativos y metodologías de trabajo. El trabajo se estructura en dos partes. La primera de ellas, descriptiva, sitúa las bases teóricas, los antecedentes y el estado actual de la investigación sobre la monumentalidad de Uruguay. En la segunda parte se presenta el estudio espacial de un caso concreto y en una región determinada: la cuenca del Arroyo Yaguarí en el Departamento de Tacuarembó. El trabajo comienza con una reflexión general sobre la labor de cualquier humanista en el contexto de producción de conocimientos en Latinoamérica. A continuación se expone en forma sintética el desarrollo histórico de la investigación sobre sociedades de cazadores recolectores. El siguiente capítulo supone un breve repaso por diferentes perspectivas teóricas que han conceptualizado la sociedad cazadora recolectora. Los siguientes apartados (4, 5 y 6) intentan mostrar una caracterización general de las sociedades prehistóricas de la región, incluida la sociedad constructora de cerritos. Por último, en la segunda parte del trabajo, mediante la aplicación de procedimientos derivados de la Arqueología del Paisaje, se intenta una aproximación al estudio del origen y desarrollo de la monumentalidad en las tierras bajas sudamericanas centrándonos en el reconocimiento e interpretación de las formas de representación espacial de las sociedades prehistóricas constructoras de cerritos en la región centro uruguaya. La metodología utilizada incluye como herramienta principal el análisis formal a escalas diferentes y como innovación técnica el estudio de la fotografía aérea durante gran parte del análisis.

xv, 349 σ. : εικ. ; 30 εκ.

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