Miriam Cubas - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Miriam Cubas

The objective of this book is to analyse ceramic technology within the geographical context of th... more The objective of this book is to analyse ceramic technology within the geographical context of the Cantabrian region (N Spain) during the fifth millennium cal BC. It analyses ceramics, understood as manufacture, as the result of a technological fabrication process, in relation to the principle of a ceramic manufacturing sequence, which covers a set of operations that transform a raw material into a product with certain physicochemical properties which practically eliminate its original characteristics. Interest in the prehistoric ceramics of the Cantabrian region is a relatively recent phenomenon and is tied to its importance as a cultural marker of the Neolithic Period. The primary references to these types of materials were used to defend the cultural attribution of certain regional contexts to this period. The scarcity of recognisable morphological and decorative features among the first ceramic groups has resulted in their study being relegated in favour of other types of ceramics, such as the Bell Beaker ones, whose morpho-stylistic characteristics permit the establishment of cultural and chronological systems. This current research is focused on analysing the ceramic groups ascribed to the fifth millennium cal BC from the Los Canes (Asturias), Los Gitanos (Cantabria) and Kobaederra (Vizcaya) sites. These sites constitute important sequences for the study of the Neolithisation processes in the region’s western, central and eastern zones.

Papers by Miriam Cubas

La tecnología cerámica durante la Prehistoria Reciente: la Cueva del Niño (Aýna, Albacete)

Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, 2020

En este artículo se presenta el análisis tecnológico del conjunto cerámico documentado en la Cuev... more En este artículo se presenta el análisis tecnológico del conjunto cerámico documentado en la Cueva del Niño (Aýna, Albacete), un yacimiento arqueológico emblemático situado en el interior de la Península Ibérica con ocupaciones adscritas al Neolítico y al Calcolítico. Nuestra investigación aporta nuevos datos sobre las elecciones tecnológicas empleadas por estas comunidades en los diferentes procesos de manufactura de los productos cerámicos. En total se han caracterizado 20 muestras mediante petrografía, de las cuales 6 fueron posteriormente analizadas mediante difracción de rayos X con el objetivo de realizar un acercamiento a las temperaturas de cocción.
Nuestros resultados señalan una cierta variabilidad en las estrategias de captación de las materias primas, cuyas mineralogías son coherentes con el entorno geológico cercano. Además, las elecciones tecnológicas y el uso de los desgrasantes son similares a los observados en otros conjuntos cerámicos adscritos al Neolítico y al Calcolítico, con el uso de arcillas sin modificar y otras con la adición de desgrasantes. Esto está en consonancia con otras tradiciones alfareras identificadas en distintas regiones de la Península Ibérica.

Nature Communications, 2020

The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. ... more The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental
and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from
coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding
implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.

WOODEN TECHNOLOGY DURING THE IRON AGE: THE ASPIO CAVE (RUESGA, NORTH SPAIN)

Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2020

Remains of perishable materials only survive at archaeological sites in extraordinary preservatio... more Remains of perishable materials only survive at archaeological sites in extraordinary preservation conditions. This means that some technologies, such as woodworking, are clearly under‐represented in the archaeological record. Twelve wooden objects were found in the Aspio Cave (Ruesga, Cantabria). The application of an appropriate analytical methodology has allowed us to identify the processes of their selection, acquisition, fabrication and main morphological characteristics. In the case of the combs, morphological parallels have been established with artefacts at Iron Age sites in the British Isles. This singular archaeological assemblage, from a deposit dated in the second or first centuries cal BC, enables an exploration of the role of wood technology in Iron Age societies in Cantabrian Spain.

Production and function of Neolithic black- painted pottery from Schela Cladovei (Iron Gates, Romania) Production and function of Neolithic black-painted pottery from Schela Cladovei (Iron Gates, Romania)

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019

This paper presents for the first time the results of a combination of petrographic, geochemical ... more This paper presents for the first time the results of a combination of petrographic, geochemical and organic residue analyses of early Neolithic ceramics from the Iron Gates region of the Danube basin. Eleven early Neolithic potsherds from Schela Cladovei (Romania) were analysed in detail. The results of the petrographic analysis show that the ceramics were made with the same recipe that was used by Starčevo-Körös-Criș potters elsewhere in southeastern Europe. The SEM-EDX analysis shows one of the earliest uses of Mn-rich black pigments to decorate Neolithic European ceramics. Organic residue analyses detected dairy, non-ruminant and ruminant adipose fats. No evidence of aquatic resources was detected. In summary, the early Neolithic potters at the Iron Gates, although able to make coarse and more sophisticated painted ceramics, did not make specific vessels for a specific use.

Pyrenae, 2019

Scientific dissemination programs seem prepared for all types of audiences, but certain groups ar... more Scientific dissemination programs seem prepared for all types of audiences, but certain groups are often left out because specialists do not think about them when planning them. Those groups include people with physical and intellectual disabilities, older adults, people at risk of social exclusion and newcomers. In this article, we present two outreach activities on Prehistory specifically designed for people with intellectual disabilities. We believe that the model used, the evaluation carried out and the results obtained can be useful for other research groups or educators who work with people with intellectual disabilities.

Antiquity Project Gallery, 2018

Newly discovered archaeological sites in the Uribe Kosta region of northern Spain are illuminatin... more Newly discovered archaeological sites in the Uribe Kosta region of northern Spain are illuminating the establishment of late prehistoric coastal farming settlements and specialised tool-production activities.

RESUMEN La cueva de El Cierro (Fresno, Ribadesella, Asturias) es una cavidad kárstica situada en ... more RESUMEN La cueva de El Cierro (Fresno, Ribadesella, Asturias) es una cavidad kárstica situada en la margen oeste del río Sella y desarrollada en las calizas carboníferas del Macizo Asturiano de la Cordillera Cantábrica (norte de la Península Ibérica), que contiene un importante registro sedimentario, arqueológico y paleontológico del Pleistoceno superior y Holoceno inferior, con abundantes evidencias tecnológicas y restos faunísticos. El registro arqueológico arranca con un nivel que podría corresponder al Paleolítico medio final, sigue con una completa secuencia del Paleolítico superior de la que se cuenta con un nivel del Magdaleniense inferior cla-ramente identificado y datado, y termina con unos niveles datados a finales del Paleolítico superior/Aziliense y en el Mesolítico que configuran un conchero. La secuencia estratigráfica se compone de catorce niveles agrupados en dos unidades litoestratigráficas con características sedimentarias muy distintas, una inferior, siliciclástica y otra superior biogénica formada por la acumulación de conchas y huesos de aporte antrópico, que se estudian con metodología geoarqueológica. En este trabajo se analiza la secuencia litoestratigráfica y se presentan los datos de los análisis granulométricos, mineralógicos, edafológicos y radiométricos. El resul-tado de estos análisis permite interpretar con precisión tanto la litoestratigrafía del depósito como los pro-cesos sedimentarios y diagenéticos responsables de su formación y posterior evolución. Las dataciones radiocarbónicas disponibles permiten situar los niveles superiores de la secuencia siliciclástica en el GS 2b y el conchero inferior en el GI 1 y el GS 1 (Dryas reciente), al final del Pleistoceno superior, mientras que el con-chero superior estaría situado en la cronozona Boreal en los inicios del Holoceno. Palabras clave: karst, norte de Iberia, Pleistoceno superior, procesos sedimentarios, radiocarbono. ABSTRACT The Cierro Cave (Fresno, Ribadesella, Asturias) is a karst cavity located in the west bank of the Sella river and developed in the Carboniferous limestone of the Asturian Massif of the Cantabrian Range (northern Iberian

The number of prehistoric ceramic studies in Catalonia has increased since the beginning of this ... more The number of prehistoric ceramic studies in Catalonia has increased since the beginning of this century. Most of these studies regard pottery as the result of a technological process and focus on raw material procurement, modifications of clay and technological aspects of manufacture. The application of these approaches allows us to distinguish different technological

Archeologické rozhledy LXIX, 2017

Earliest pottery evidence in Cantabrian Spain materialises the way this new technology was adopte... more Earliest pottery evidence in Cantabrian Spain materialises the way this new technology was adopted on the threshold of the 5th millennium cal BC. These ceramic assemblages have rarely been the object of specific
study owing to their limited representativeness from both numerical and morpho-decorative points of view. This paper presents an update on the archaeological evidence, chronology and technological characteristics
of the first pottery in the Cantabrian region. It summarizes recent research on this topic focused on technological analysis of some paradigmatic pottery assemblages. It focuses on the importance of the technological study of the first ceramic assemblages in the Cantabrian region (northern Spain) as a way to approach the social significance of this technological innovation. The available information supports the assertion that the appearance of ceramics in the region does not correspond to an exchange of products, but rather to a transfer of technology, and summarizes the nature of this technology and the main activities related to it.

Sautuola , 2014

RESUMEN A pesar del apogeo de los estudios cerámicos en la década de 1970, el análisis de la cerá... more RESUMEN
A pesar del apogeo de los estudios cerámicos en la década de 1970, el análisis de la cerámica prehistórica en la región cantábrica no ha sido un objeto de investigación recurrente, aunque no debemos olvidar los distintos intentos por sistematizar los conjuntos cerámicos más representativos. La documentación y registro de importantes secuencias arqueológicas, como la del yacimiento de El Mirón, ha provocado que en los últimos años haya un mayor interés por estos materiales, especialmente aquellos adscritos a las cronologías más antiguas. Este aspecto, junto con la introducción de nuevos enfoques en la investigación, ha supuesto que, en la actualidad, contemos con una información pormenorizada sobre este tipo de productos. En este artículo se presenta la cerámica documentada en la región cantábrica entre el V y el IV milenio cal BC señalando su cronología, los contextos arqueológicos disponibles para su estudio y las principales características de estas manufacturas.

ABSTRACT
Despite the peak in pottery studies during the 1970s, the analysis of prehistoric pottery has not been a recurrent topic in research in the
Cantabrian region, although we must not forget the different attempts at systematizing the most representative pottery assemblages. The recording of important archaeological sequences, as at El Mirón, has provoked more interest in these materials, especially those assigned to the earliest chronologies. This aspect, together with the introduction of new theoretical approaches, allows us to obtain detailed information
about these kinds of products. In this paper, we present the pottery documented in the Cantabrian region in the 5th and 4th millennia cal BC
highlighting its chronology, archaeological context and the main features of these manufactures.

Un terminal de cinturón altomedieval de la cueva del Aspio (Ruesga, Cantabria)

En el año 2013, en el marco de la intervención arqueológica en la cueva del Aspio (Ruesga, Cantab... more En el año 2013, en el marco de la intervención arqueológica en la cueva del Aspio (Ruesga, Cantabria), se procedió a realizar una prospección intensiva en el interior de la cavidad que, junto a los distintos conjuntos prehistóricos, permitió recuperar un singular terminal de cinturón altomedieval fechado entre mediados del siglo IX y mediados del siglo X.

In 2013, in the framework of an archaeological project in El Aspio cave (Ruesga, Cantabria), we carried out a superficial survey in which we recorded, together with different prehistoric remains, a singular Early Medieval strap-end dated between the mid- 9th and the middle of the 10th century.

RESUMEN El uso de la arcilla como material constructivo está bien documentado en la Prehistoria e... more RESUMEN El uso de la arcilla como material constructivo está bien documentado en la Prehistoria europea. Su presencia en yacimientos arqueológicos, (en forma de adobes, manteados, revoques…) permite reconstruir los métodos constructivos y los procesos de abandono. Estos fragmentos procedentes del manteado de barro aplicado sobre un entramado vegetal han sido ampliamente documentados en el interior de hoyos en varios yacimientos de cronología calcolítica del valle del Duero. En este artículo se estudian las concentraciones de este material halladas en dos hoyos del yacimiento de El Casetón de la Era (Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid). Su conservación se debe tanto a la acción del fuego que destruyó la vivienda y provocó el endurecimiento del barro como a su rápida deposición en el interior de los hoyos. Estas acciones abren un interesante abanico de hipótesis sobre el final de la vida de estas estructuras y el destino dado a los escombros resultantes.

In Parras, B. y Sanz, R. ACTAS DE LA PRIMERA REUNIÓN CIENTÍFICA DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DE ALBACETE: 253-270.

La Cueva del Niño es uno de los yacimientos clave en la Prehistoria antigua de la provincia de Al... more La Cueva del Niño es uno de los yacimientos clave en la Prehistoria antigua de la provincia de Albacete, gracias a sus pinturas rupestres paleolíticas, únicas en la región, y a su larga secuencia estratigráfica, que incluye niveles del Paleolítico Medio, del Paleolítico Superior y de la
Prehistoria Reciente. No obstante, la información disponible sobre el yacimiento era limitada, a pesar del potencial mostrado en la excavación realizada en 1973. Desde el año 2009 se está llevando a
cabo un análisis multidisciplinar del yacimiento. En este artículo presentamos dicho proyecto, junto con un resumen de los resultados obtenidos hasta ahora.

In Parras, B. y Sanz, R. ACTAS DE LA PRIMERA REUNIÓN CIENTÍFICA DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DE ALBACETE: 297.311

Tradicionalmente, las distintas influencias en la tecnología cerámica se han establecido a partir... more Tradicionalmente, las distintas influencias en la tecnología cerámica se han establecido
a partir de las similitudes morfo-decorativas; sin embargo, la aplicación de métodos de caracterización
permite reconocer diferentes tradiciones tecnológicas con las que se pueden vincular
los distintos conjuntos cerámicos. En este artículo se presenta la descripción macroscópica de los
conjuntos cerámicos procedentes de los yacimientos de la Cueva del Niño (Ayna), Cueva Blanca y
Pico Tienda III (Hellín) con la finalidad de establecer una descripción sistemática en la que basar la
selección de los fragmentos más representativos para el posterior análisis tecnológico.

In Parras, B. y Sanz, R. ACTAS DE LA PRIMERA REUNIÓN CIENTÍFICA DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DE ALBACETE: 287-296

El abrigo de Pico Tienda III (Hellín) ha proporcionado en las dos campañas de excavación que se h... more El abrigo de Pico Tienda III (Hellín) ha proporcionado en las dos campañas de excavación que se han realizado una notable densidad de material arqueológico. Los análisis preliminares desarrollados en ámbitos como la industria lítica, la cerámica, la zooarqueología, etc., junto a las dataciones absolutas, apuntan a la existencia de un horizonte de ocupación del Neolítico antiguo. A tenor de estos datos, Pico Tienda III puede convertirse en un referente para el conocimiento del inicio de las formas de vida agropastoriles no solo en los Campos de Hellín y la cuenca del río Mundo sino también de la provincia de Albacete.

In Parras, B. y Sanz, R. (eds.) ACTAS DE LA PRIMERA REUNIÓN CIENTÍFICA DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DE ALBACETE: 271-286

El yacimiento de Cueva Blanca (Hellín, Albacete), descubierto en 2006, contiene un nivel de ocupa... more El yacimiento de Cueva Blanca (Hellín, Albacete), descubierto en 2006, contiene
un nivel de ocupación humana atribuido al Mesolítico geométrico. En este trabajo se presentan
los resultados más significativos de la investigación multidisciplinar que venimos desarrollando en
él desde que en 2008 se llevara a cabo la primera campaña de excavación. Se trata del primer
yacimiento de este periodo en estratigrafía de la zona de Campos de Hellín (Albacete). Así mismo, en
una de sus paredes son visibles representaciones de arte prehistórico, circunstancia que incrementa
la importancia de este enclave.

La investigación sobre la Edad del Bronce en la región cantábrica se ha centrado tradicionalmente... more La investigación sobre la Edad del Bronce en la región cantábrica se ha centrado tradicionalmente en el estudio de objetos de prestigio y de contextos funerarios, dando lugar a un estado de la cuestión con importantes lagunas acerca del poblamiento, las actividades cotidianas y las estrategias de subsistencia de los grupos humanos durante este período. En este artículo presentamos las evidencias recuperadas en el yacimiento de San Adrian (Sierra de Aizkorri, Gipuzkoa), cuya excavación ha permitido reconstruir aspectos relativos a los modos de vida, la base económica, la cultura material y el contexto medioambiental de una serie de ocupaciones de la Edad del Bronce. Los resultados preliminares revelan la existencia de ocupaciones de hábitat periódicas y la explotación de recursos procedentes del Valle del Ebro y de la costa atlántica, contribuyendo a reconstruir los modos de vida y la circulación de bienes cotidianos en el norte de la península ibérica. LABURPENA Kantauri itsasoko ertzean Brontze Aroko ohizko ikerketa luxozko ondasunen eta hileta-aztarnategien azterketara orekatu izan da. Horren ondorioz, gai historiko honi buruzko egungo egoeran hutsune larriak daude populatze eredua, eguneroko bizimoduak, eta estrategia ekono-mikoak ezagutzeko. Artikulu honetan San Adrian (Aizkorri mendilerroa, Gipuzkoa) aztarnategiko Brontze Aroko okupazioen datuak aurkezten dira, zeinen in-dusketari esker aztertu ahal izan ditugun aldi hartako bizimoduak, oinarri ekonomikoak, kultura materiala eta ingurumena. Behin-behineko datuek bertan bizi-okupazioak maiz ezarri zirela eta Ebro Arroko nahiz Atlantiar itsas-ertzeko baliabideak erabili izan zirela adierazten dute, modu honetan Iberiar penintsulako iparraldean Brontze Aroko bizimoduen eta eguneroko ondasun-zirkulazioaren ezagutzari lugunduz. ABSTRACT Bronze Age studies carried out in the Cantabrian Region have traditionally focused on prestige goods and funerary contexts. As a result of this, the lack of information about daily activities, subsistence strategies, and human settlement on a regional scale is evident in the state of art. However, current research has achieved new discoveries in recent years, allowing a reconstruction of some aspects of the economic structure, settlements, material culture and the palaeoenvironment during the Bronze Age. Indeed, besides the funerary practices discovered in 1983 in San Adrian (Parztuergo Nagusia, Gipuzkoa), research has now revealed the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This paper presents a first characterization of the retrieved evidence and a preliminary evaluation of the archaeological site and its environment. San Adrian is a tunnel-shaped cave located at 1,000 meters a.s.l. in the Aizkorri mountain range, opening a passage beneath the Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed in northern Iberia. The strategic character of this mountain site is demonstrated by the presence of Upper

The Asturian is a classic cultural complex of the European coastal Mesolithic. Since its discover... more The Asturian is a classic cultural complex of the European coastal Mesolithic. Since its discovery by Count Vega del Sella
in 1914, about one hundred thirty sites have been registered solely in Eastern Asturias, and several tens of them have been explored.
However, archaeological information about this Mesolithic complex is tremendously biased. Most of the sites are shell middens in
which only small often calcited sections of the original layers were preserved. One particularly poorly understood aspect is the characterisation
of the dwelling places. Despite the high density of sites (one of the highest in the European Mesolithic), few dwelling floors
features have been described. For this reason, the investigation of this issue was specifically included into the ’COASTTRAN’ research
project, which aimed at studying the Mesolithic and the transition to the Neolithic on the Atlantic coast of Europe. This investigation
started out with the hypothesis that most Asturian dwelling-places would have been located in open air locations near caves containing
shell middens — where waste was accumulated. To test this hypothesis, certain areas that presented the conditions for the preservation
of Holocene sediments and therefore seemed to be appropriate for geophysical surveying were selected. This paper presents the results
obtained at an open air site located near the cave of El Alloru (Llanes, Asturias) characterized by a shell midden deposit. This site was
studied by geophysical surveying and an excavation was carried out in 2013. The paper briefly describes the stratigraphy, discusses the
absolute dates and presents the preliminary results of the study of the lithic assemblage and of the micromorphological, zooarchaeological
(mammals and marine invertebrates) and archaeobotanical analyses (palynology, anthracology and carpology).
El Alloru displays a long sequence with evidence of open air human occupation, which started at a still undetermined time point in the
Upper Palaeolithic, continued during the Mesolithic and finally yielded also Prehistoric remains (at the transition from theLate Bronze
Age to the Early Iron Age). The most significant phase, and the one with the greatest density of evidence of occupation, is dated to the
Late Mesolithic, between 7000 and 5500 cal. BC and can be assigned to the Asturian cultural complex. With regard to this phase, the
excavations made it possible to highlight the existence of an open air activity area, near a cave that contained a shell-midden. This is
shown by the relative variety of the documented archaeological remains, the features identified and the signs of trampling at the basis
of the main occupation level. It still remains unclear whether this was a camp or an area in which specific activities took place, but in
any case, the hypothesis could be confirmed: Asturian settlements existed in the surroundings of caves containing shell middens.
The existence of differences between the archaeological contents of the open-air deposit and the shell-midden should also be noted,
particularly the density of lithic artefacts. This seems to confirm that the caves basically contained accumulations of waste associated
with nearby occupations.
The Mesolithic industry at El Alloru was mostly made from quartzite. The assemblage is outstanding for its important number of Asturian
picks, one the highest known. The archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological records suggest that the groups that occupied El Alloru
in the Mesolithic exploited a wide range of biotopes in the eastern part of the Asturias province. The anthracological study points in
that direction, indicating that wood was collected in the oak forests that at that time covered areas of acidic soils but also in the holm
oak groves on the limestone massifs. The mammal fauna displays the typical traits of the Asturian and the Mesolithic in Northern
Spain in general, with a clear dominance of red deer, complemented by forest species such as roe deer and wild boar. Evidence of the
consumption of hazel nuts, which is also very common in the Mesolithic of Northern Spain, should also be noted. Marine resources
were equally exploited, as shown by the remains of fish and molluscs that have been documented. It is interesting that the sample of the
latter that has been studied to date, while dominated by the characteristic Asturian species (limpets and top shells), displays a peculiarity
already observed at this site and at others, which is that of higher percentages of the top shell (Phorcus lineatus) than is usual in this
archaeological complex.

Nouvelles données sur le Magdalénien infériur de la Région Cantabrique: le Niveau F de la grotte de El Cierro (Ribadesella, Asturies, Espagne)