Esther López-Montalvo | Université Toulouse II Jean Jaurès (original) (raw)

Books by Esther López-Montalvo

www.nature.com/scientificreports, Feb 7, 2020

Violence seems deeply rooted in human nature and an endemic potential for such is today frequentl... more Violence seems deeply rooted in human nature and an endemic potential for such is today frequently associated with differing ethnic, religious or socio-economic backgrounds. Ethnic nepotism is believed to be one of the main causes of inter-group violence in multi-ethnic societies. At the site of Els Trocs in the Spanish Pyrenees, rivalling groups of either migrating early farmers or farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers collided violently around 5300 BCE. This clash apparently resulted in a massacre of the Els Trocs farmers. The overkill reaction was possibly triggered by xenophobia or massive disputes over resources or privileges. In the present, violence and xenophobia are controlled and sanctioned through social codes of conduct and institutions. So that, rather than representing an insurmountable evolutionary inheritance, violence and ethnic nepotism can be overcome and a sustainable future achieved through mutual respect, tolerance and openness to multi-ethnic societies.

Papers by Esther López-Montalvo

espanolLa Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent, Valencia) es un yacimiento de referencia en el estudio del... more espanolLa Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent, Valencia) es un yacimiento de referencia en el estudio del Neolitico antiguo peninsular y del Mediterraneo occidental. La singularidad de sus materiales y su uso como espacio funerario dentro de la red de asentamientos que articulan el territorio neolitico valenciano han merecido una extensa literatura. A estas aportaciones, se suma el hallazgo en 2006 de motivos esquematicos en una de las salas interiores, en un contexto de absoluta oscuridad y estrechamente asociado a un doble enterramiento perteneciente al Neolitico antiguo. Este hallazgo matiza el patron de ocupacion de las grafias rupestres esquematicas en las comarcas valencianas, vinculado hasta el momento a espacios abiertos al aire libre, y reabre el debate sobre la funcionalidad del horizonte esquematico dentro de las pautas rituales funerarias de los grupos neoliticos. Este trabajo constituye un primer avance dentro del proyecto de documentacion y estudio integral de las pinturas esq...

Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 2021

Abstract: In Europe, the emergence of the agro-pastoral way of life is accompanied of a novel soc... more Abstract: In Europe, the emergence of the agro-pastoral way of life is accompanied of a novel socio-symbolic system that develops new forms of expression, themes and supports. In this sense, the shape, themes and decorative patterns in ceramics have particularly favoured the characterisation of both regional identities and spheres of influence at dif- ferent temporal and geographic scales. Among the themes portrayed, the figurative motifs take on special relevance since they also invoke a symbolic sphere that underlies the complex spread of farming from the Near East into Europe. Bearing this in mind, we present the first figurative zoomorphic decoration identified on pottery from the beginning of the Neolithic in Mediterranean France. Although these depictions are well known in Italy and Spain, they were still unheard of in our country.
The analysed vase comes from the coastal site of La Corrège (Leucate, Aude), discovered in the 1970s following dredging operations. New radiocarbon dates place this site in the period of full development of the cardial complex in southern France and Mediterranean Spain, between 5300 and 5000 cal. BCE.
The three-dimensional reconstruction of the decorated vessel and the microscopic observation of technical gestures, allowed us to virtually replace the motifs on the graphic space provided by the body of the vase, and thus to reproduce the spatial and narrative structure of the decoration. The in-depth analysis of the motifs and spatial patterns allows us to determine the order of the lines and the sequence of execution of the decoration, to interpret this decoration as the representation of a wild animal, probably a wild boar if we consider certain distinctive anatomical features of this spe- cies, and to deduce a narrative dimension.
This figurative ornamentation also provides new arguments regarding both the highly diversified means and forms of symbolic expression accompany the Neolithic transition in this area, and the fact that systematic opposition between schematic graphic expression and naturalist expression does not seem to be relevant. In this context, the characteriza- tion of the diversity of the graphic expressions of the first farmers’ communities is an important challenge for future research. The study of graphic traditions and their large-scale distribution can thus provide new arguments for the analysis of the spatial and temporal dynamics of Mediterranean Neolithisation, while at the same time promoting our understanding of the symbolic system of the first farming societies, as the driving force of their identity and social cohesion.

Scientific Reports of Nature, 2018

The Iberian Mediterranean Basin is home to one of the largest groups of prehistoric rock art site... more The Iberian Mediterranean Basin is home to one of the largest groups of prehistoric rock art sites in Europe. Despite the cultural relevance of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art, pigment composition remains partially unknown, and the nature of the binders used for painting has yet to be disclosed. In this work, we present the first omic analysis applied to one of the flagship Levantine rock art sites: the Valltorta ravine (Castellón, Spain). We used high-throughput sequencing to provide the first description of the bacterial communities colonizing the rock art patina, which proved to be dominated by Firmicutes species and might have a protective effect on the paintings. Proteomic analysis was also performed on rock art microsamples in order to determine the organic binders present in Levantine prehistoric rock art pigments. This information could shed light on the controversial dating of this UNESCO Cultural Heritage, and contribute to defining the chrono-cultural framework of the societies responsible for these paintings. Spanish Levantine rock art is a unique pictorial expression in Prehistoric Europe due to the naturalism of depictions, the narrative component of scenes, and the vast distribution of rock-art shelters in the Iberian Mediterranean basin (Fig. 1a,b). Despite the historical and aesthetic value of Levantine rock art and its unprecedented distribution, its chrono-cultural framework is still unclear, due to the difficulties in radiocarbon dating of pigments 1. Consequently, disparate chronological hypotheses have been proposed and, recently, new arguments have fuelled the debate, resulting in two alternative hypotheses on the chrono-cultural framework for Levantine rock art: one hypothesis proposes a Neolithic origin linked to the Neolithisation process and the spread of the " Neolithic package " in the Iberian Peninsula (from the 6 th to the 3 rd millennium cal. BC) 2,3 while the other argues a Mesolithic affiliation, based mainly on the thematic content of scenes 4,5 , since big game hunting is one of the most frequent activities portrayed in the Levantine graphic tradition. Besides dating, we also lack information on the sequence of technical gestures (chaîne opératoire) of Levantine pigments. Most archaeological research has focused on the characterization of raw materials, rather than the technical processes involved in executing the paintings. This approach is justified by the assumption that Levantine pigments were simple solutions/suspensions rather than complex mixtures, since components such as proteins or lipids, which could act as binders in mixtures, had not been detected at that point. Recently, we developed a new protocol including archaeobotanical microanalysis and experimental archaeology that enabled us to detect binders used to prepare Levantine charcoal pigments; however, we were unsuccessful in identifying them physico-chemically by in situ energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXRF) and Raman spectroscopy 6. In order to improve the characterization of Levantine pigment composition we also need a better understanding of the microbial communities associated to the rock art patina to assess their putative role in the preservation of the raw materials and binders used. Microbial activity is central to rock-art preservation and degradation 7–9. In particular, microorganisms are known to alter the composition of the mineral patina covering rock art paintings. For instance, the production of oxalic acid and other organic acids as a consequence of microbial metabolism is linked with the reinforcement of the patina, whereas microbial solubilisation of carbonates results in the

Special Issue of Quaternary International: Neolithisation of the Western Mediterranean: New debates about an old issue, 2018

From a historical point of view, the Neolithic transition constitutes a fundamental period during... more From a historical point of view, the Neolithic transition constitutes a fundamental period during which people changed their relationship with the environment, and established – in diverse ways – an economy based on stockbreeding and agriculture. The consequences of this transition have cascaded to the present day, and serve as the foundation of modern rural society. For this reason, the origin and spread of agriculture has long been a topic of significant interest for archaeology and anthropology. In archaeology, the approaches to studying this “Neolithisation” process are extremely varied in order to encompass the vast changes, which occurred within the human-environment system. In Europe, the study of Neolithisation has focused on the vectors of this change (i.e. cultural diffusion via the indigenous hunter-gatherer so- cieties vs. demic diffusion by populations migrating from the Near East, where most of the animals and plant species in question had been do- mesticated). Equally, the study of Neolithisation in Europe involves examining the rhythms of emergence of novel techno-economic traits, whilst considering the greater or lesser favourability of the natural and cultural environments within which such novelties appeared. In the western Mediterranean, recent multidisciplinary research shows that the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition was a complex phenomenon that linear models cannot explain. Dispersal routes and rhythms of diffusion of the agro-pastoral economy, Mesolithic inheritance, regional inter- actions between communities and functional adaptations are all vari- ables that must be explored, in order to understand how Mediterranean societies were reshaped during this period.
Within this general framework, this volume aims to contribute to the advances in the investigation by gathering a set of eight papers, previously presented at the XVII UISPP World Congress (Burgos, Spain, September 2014) in the framework of the session “Contexts without definition, definitions without context. Arguments for the character- ization of the (pre)historic realities during the Neolithisation of the western Mediterranean”. Insofar as the pre-historic realities of the Neolithic transition benefit from a holistic approach, we gathered a community of colleagues working on this theme from a large variety of fields: technical production, graphic expression, resources and terri- torial management, economic organization, stratigraphic and tapho- nomic analysis and radiocarbon data, etc. From a geographical view- point, each paper deals with a specific region; the local and regional scales constitute the area of empirical study and ensure proper con- textualization of the data, and the western Mediterranean provides an overall reference point and a broader context for the interpretations ˗ these two scales of analysis being inextricably linked.

Quaternary International, 2018

In the framework of the long-standing debate regarding the chronology of Spanish Levantine rock a... more In the framework of the long-standing debate regarding the chronology of Spanish Levantine rock art, the hypotheses proposing its cultural affiliation to the Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic societies are largely based on the socio-economic activities depicted in the Levantine scenes, in particular hunting. This position is closely related to the belief that there is a radical opposition between hunter-gatherers and agropastoralist – wild vs. domestic – where hunting is not envisaged to have neither a complementary economic purpose nor a significant social and symbolic role during the settlement and expansion of the “Neolithic package”.

In order to assess the validity of Levantine hunting scenes as a chrono-cultural marker of Epipalaeolithic-Mesolithic societies, this paper explores the role of hunting in Neolithic societies of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin (6th-3rd millennium cal BC). To do this, economic data, from archaeozoological and isotopic studies permitting the evaluation of wild and domestic animals consumption patterns, along with other social, identity-related and symbolic elements, such as the funerary record, personal ornaments and Levantine iconography itself, will be taking into account.

La ciencia y el arte VI. Ciencias experimentales y conservación del patrimonio, 2017

Resumen: La conservación y documentación de arte rupestre prehistórico, así como su difu-sión, so... more Resumen: La conservación y documentación de arte rupestre prehistórico, así como su difu-sión, son importantes vías de investigación a desarrollar. En muchos casos, las pinturas rupes-tres se localizan en lugares de difícil acceso, expuestas a agentes externos que comprometen su conservación. La necesidad de ofrecer una documentación rigurosa, que favorezca a su vez la difusión y la conservación patrimonial de las pinturas levantinas, clasificadas como Patrimo-nio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, conlleva el desarrollo y aplicación de nuevas tecnologías de análisis y documentación no invasivas. Teniendo en cuenta estas premisas, en este trabajo se expone un nuevo protocolo de trabajo que comprende, por un lado, la aplicación de la técnica de análisis de componentes principales (ACP) para el estudio y documentación de pinturas rupestres levantinas. A partir de las técnicas de análisis multivariante se persigue diferenciar los distintos pigmentos utiliza-dos, y estos a su vez de la roca soporte, apoyándonos paralelamente en reproducciones expe-rimentales de pigmentos. Por otro lado, con la información relevante extraída del análisis se desarrolla una serie de aplicaciones de realidad aumentada (RA) con fines divulgativos y orien-tadas a usuarios que utilizan teléfonos inteligentes o tabletas. Abstract: An important area to explore is conservation, documentation and cultural dissemination of prehistoric rock art. Normally, rock art paintings are located in difficult access sites and the weathering complicate their preservation. The necessity of an accurate documentation that offers dissemination and heritage conservation of Levantine paintings, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, entail the development and implementation of new and non-invasive analysis and documentation technologies. Bearing this premises in mind, in this paper a new working protocol is shown. On one hand, the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is applied to study and document Levantine rock art paintings. The main is, through multivariate analysis techniques, differentiate between pigments and rock and between different pigments. Pigments swatches are used to check the

Conflict Archaeology Materialities of Collective Violence from Prehistory to Late Antiquity.Edited by Manuel Fernández-Götz and Nico Roymans. Routledge. 236 pages | 62 Color Illus., 2018

We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish L... more We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish Levantine rock art. This new protocol seeks to identify the raw materials that were used, as well as reconstruct the different technical gestures and decision-making processes involved in the obtaining of these black pigments. For the first of these goals, the pictorial matter of the black figurative motifs documented at the Les Dogues rock art shelter (Ares del Maestre, Castellón, Spain) was characterized through the combination of physicochemical and archeobotanical analyses. During the first stage of our research protocol, in situ and non-destructive analyses were carried out by means of portable Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluo-rescence spectrometry (EDXRF); during the second stage, samples were analyzed by Optical Microscopy (OM), Raman spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Two major conclusions have been drawn from these analyses: first, charred plant matter has been identified as a main component of these prehistoric black pigments; and second, angiosperm and conifer charcoal was a primary raw material for pigment production, identified by means of the archaeobotanical study of plant cells. For the second goal, black charcoal pigments were replicated in the laboratory by using different raw materials and binders and by reproducing two main chaıˆnes opératoires. The comparative study of the structure and preservation of plant tissues of both prehistoric and experimental pigments by means of SEM-EDX underlines both a complex preparation process and the use of likely pigment recipes, mixing raw material with fatty or oily binders. Finally, the formal and stylistic analysis of the motifs portrayed at Les Dogues allowed us to explore the relationship between identified stylistic phases and black charcoal pigment use, raising new archaeological questions concerning the acquisition of know-how and the transfer of traditionally learned chaînes opératoires in Spanish Levantine rock art.

Sagvntvm Extra, Apr 27, 2012

L'expression narrative dans les arts rupestres : approches théoriques Les créations artistiqu... more L'expression narrative dans les arts rupestres : approches théoriques Les créations artistiques préhistoriques qui nous sont parvenues (art mobilier, art rupestre) consti-tuent une source d'information inestimable sur les cultures de ces sociétés. L'art rupestre est l'une des constantes des sociétés sans écriture, mais nous sommes incapables d'interpréter ces mes-sages totalement étrangers à notre propre culture (E. Panofsky). Les arts post-glaciaires tels que l'art du Levant espagnol ou l'art du nord de l'Afrique nous semblent plus faciles à aborder, car l'homme y est omniprésent et participe à des actions que nous pouvons identifi er (chasse, guerre, etc.). Dans l'art paléolithique, l'homme est très rarement représenté et pourtant la dynamique des représen-tations animales plaide en faveur de compositions narratives. C'est pourquoi, dans le cadre de notre projet, nous accordons un intérêt particulier à l'expression narrative dans...

ABSTRACT téc-nicas de documentación digital 2D y 3D, es reflexionar críticamente sobre las venta-... more ABSTRACT téc-nicas de documentación digital 2D y 3D, es reflexionar críticamente sobre las venta-jas y problemáticas de cada una de ellas. Paralelamente, proponemos unos criterios generales mínimos para la documentación integral del arte rupestre. Esta reflexión nos permite concluir que las técnicas 3D no son necesariamente una alternativa a las técnicas 2D, sino que las complementan, e incluso se combinan para ofrecer una lectura volumétrica no sólo del soporte, sino también de los motivos, que va más allá de la mera copia digital. The digital age has made accessible to archaeology and to rock art studies a wide range of tools and software to get a more complete documentation of rock art. This paper aims to go beyond the listing and description of the digital techniques available today. What we suggest, from our experience in the use of 2D and 3D digital recording techniques is to reflect critically on the advantages and limitations of each one of them. We also suggest some minimum steps to produce accurate rock art reproductions. We conclude that 3D techniques are not necessarily an alternative to 2D techniques, but a complement. Moreover, they should be used together to provide volumetric reproduc-tions not only of the bedrock, but also of the motifs. Reflexiones sobre las técnicas de documentación digital del arte rupestre: la restitución bidimensional (2D) versus la tridimensional (3D) Thoughts about digital recording techniques of rock art: Bidimensional restitution (2D) vs. threedimensional records (3D) Palabras clave Arte rupestre levantino, Documentación digital, calcos 2D, modelos 3D, fotogrametría, escáner láser Recibido · mayo 2010 Aceptado · noviembre 2010 Revisado · junio 2013

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www.nature.com/scientificreports, Feb 7, 2020

Violence seems deeply rooted in human nature and an endemic potential for such is today frequentl... more Violence seems deeply rooted in human nature and an endemic potential for such is today frequently associated with differing ethnic, religious or socio-economic backgrounds. Ethnic nepotism is believed to be one of the main causes of inter-group violence in multi-ethnic societies. At the site of Els Trocs in the Spanish Pyrenees, rivalling groups of either migrating early farmers or farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers collided violently around 5300 BCE. This clash apparently resulted in a massacre of the Els Trocs farmers. The overkill reaction was possibly triggered by xenophobia or massive disputes over resources or privileges. In the present, violence and xenophobia are controlled and sanctioned through social codes of conduct and institutions. So that, rather than representing an insurmountable evolutionary inheritance, violence and ethnic nepotism can be overcome and a sustainable future achieved through mutual respect, tolerance and openness to multi-ethnic societies.

espanolLa Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent, Valencia) es un yacimiento de referencia en el estudio del... more espanolLa Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent, Valencia) es un yacimiento de referencia en el estudio del Neolitico antiguo peninsular y del Mediterraneo occidental. La singularidad de sus materiales y su uso como espacio funerario dentro de la red de asentamientos que articulan el territorio neolitico valenciano han merecido una extensa literatura. A estas aportaciones, se suma el hallazgo en 2006 de motivos esquematicos en una de las salas interiores, en un contexto de absoluta oscuridad y estrechamente asociado a un doble enterramiento perteneciente al Neolitico antiguo. Este hallazgo matiza el patron de ocupacion de las grafias rupestres esquematicas en las comarcas valencianas, vinculado hasta el momento a espacios abiertos al aire libre, y reabre el debate sobre la funcionalidad del horizonte esquematico dentro de las pautas rituales funerarias de los grupos neoliticos. Este trabajo constituye un primer avance dentro del proyecto de documentacion y estudio integral de las pinturas esq...

Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 2021

Abstract: In Europe, the emergence of the agro-pastoral way of life is accompanied of a novel soc... more Abstract: In Europe, the emergence of the agro-pastoral way of life is accompanied of a novel socio-symbolic system that develops new forms of expression, themes and supports. In this sense, the shape, themes and decorative patterns in ceramics have particularly favoured the characterisation of both regional identities and spheres of influence at dif- ferent temporal and geographic scales. Among the themes portrayed, the figurative motifs take on special relevance since they also invoke a symbolic sphere that underlies the complex spread of farming from the Near East into Europe. Bearing this in mind, we present the first figurative zoomorphic decoration identified on pottery from the beginning of the Neolithic in Mediterranean France. Although these depictions are well known in Italy and Spain, they were still unheard of in our country.
The analysed vase comes from the coastal site of La Corrège (Leucate, Aude), discovered in the 1970s following dredging operations. New radiocarbon dates place this site in the period of full development of the cardial complex in southern France and Mediterranean Spain, between 5300 and 5000 cal. BCE.
The three-dimensional reconstruction of the decorated vessel and the microscopic observation of technical gestures, allowed us to virtually replace the motifs on the graphic space provided by the body of the vase, and thus to reproduce the spatial and narrative structure of the decoration. The in-depth analysis of the motifs and spatial patterns allows us to determine the order of the lines and the sequence of execution of the decoration, to interpret this decoration as the representation of a wild animal, probably a wild boar if we consider certain distinctive anatomical features of this spe- cies, and to deduce a narrative dimension.
This figurative ornamentation also provides new arguments regarding both the highly diversified means and forms of symbolic expression accompany the Neolithic transition in this area, and the fact that systematic opposition between schematic graphic expression and naturalist expression does not seem to be relevant. In this context, the characteriza- tion of the diversity of the graphic expressions of the first farmers’ communities is an important challenge for future research. The study of graphic traditions and their large-scale distribution can thus provide new arguments for the analysis of the spatial and temporal dynamics of Mediterranean Neolithisation, while at the same time promoting our understanding of the symbolic system of the first farming societies, as the driving force of their identity and social cohesion.

Scientific Reports of Nature, 2018

The Iberian Mediterranean Basin is home to one of the largest groups of prehistoric rock art site... more The Iberian Mediterranean Basin is home to one of the largest groups of prehistoric rock art sites in Europe. Despite the cultural relevance of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art, pigment composition remains partially unknown, and the nature of the binders used for painting has yet to be disclosed. In this work, we present the first omic analysis applied to one of the flagship Levantine rock art sites: the Valltorta ravine (Castellón, Spain). We used high-throughput sequencing to provide the first description of the bacterial communities colonizing the rock art patina, which proved to be dominated by Firmicutes species and might have a protective effect on the paintings. Proteomic analysis was also performed on rock art microsamples in order to determine the organic binders present in Levantine prehistoric rock art pigments. This information could shed light on the controversial dating of this UNESCO Cultural Heritage, and contribute to defining the chrono-cultural framework of the societies responsible for these paintings. Spanish Levantine rock art is a unique pictorial expression in Prehistoric Europe due to the naturalism of depictions, the narrative component of scenes, and the vast distribution of rock-art shelters in the Iberian Mediterranean basin (Fig. 1a,b). Despite the historical and aesthetic value of Levantine rock art and its unprecedented distribution, its chrono-cultural framework is still unclear, due to the difficulties in radiocarbon dating of pigments 1. Consequently, disparate chronological hypotheses have been proposed and, recently, new arguments have fuelled the debate, resulting in two alternative hypotheses on the chrono-cultural framework for Levantine rock art: one hypothesis proposes a Neolithic origin linked to the Neolithisation process and the spread of the " Neolithic package " in the Iberian Peninsula (from the 6 th to the 3 rd millennium cal. BC) 2,3 while the other argues a Mesolithic affiliation, based mainly on the thematic content of scenes 4,5 , since big game hunting is one of the most frequent activities portrayed in the Levantine graphic tradition. Besides dating, we also lack information on the sequence of technical gestures (chaîne opératoire) of Levantine pigments. Most archaeological research has focused on the characterization of raw materials, rather than the technical processes involved in executing the paintings. This approach is justified by the assumption that Levantine pigments were simple solutions/suspensions rather than complex mixtures, since components such as proteins or lipids, which could act as binders in mixtures, had not been detected at that point. Recently, we developed a new protocol including archaeobotanical microanalysis and experimental archaeology that enabled us to detect binders used to prepare Levantine charcoal pigments; however, we were unsuccessful in identifying them physico-chemically by in situ energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXRF) and Raman spectroscopy 6. In order to improve the characterization of Levantine pigment composition we also need a better understanding of the microbial communities associated to the rock art patina to assess their putative role in the preservation of the raw materials and binders used. Microbial activity is central to rock-art preservation and degradation 7–9. In particular, microorganisms are known to alter the composition of the mineral patina covering rock art paintings. For instance, the production of oxalic acid and other organic acids as a consequence of microbial metabolism is linked with the reinforcement of the patina, whereas microbial solubilisation of carbonates results in the

Special Issue of Quaternary International: Neolithisation of the Western Mediterranean: New debates about an old issue, 2018

From a historical point of view, the Neolithic transition constitutes a fundamental period during... more From a historical point of view, the Neolithic transition constitutes a fundamental period during which people changed their relationship with the environment, and established – in diverse ways – an economy based on stockbreeding and agriculture. The consequences of this transition have cascaded to the present day, and serve as the foundation of modern rural society. For this reason, the origin and spread of agriculture has long been a topic of significant interest for archaeology and anthropology. In archaeology, the approaches to studying this “Neolithisation” process are extremely varied in order to encompass the vast changes, which occurred within the human-environment system. In Europe, the study of Neolithisation has focused on the vectors of this change (i.e. cultural diffusion via the indigenous hunter-gatherer so- cieties vs. demic diffusion by populations migrating from the Near East, where most of the animals and plant species in question had been do- mesticated). Equally, the study of Neolithisation in Europe involves examining the rhythms of emergence of novel techno-economic traits, whilst considering the greater or lesser favourability of the natural and cultural environments within which such novelties appeared. In the western Mediterranean, recent multidisciplinary research shows that the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition was a complex phenomenon that linear models cannot explain. Dispersal routes and rhythms of diffusion of the agro-pastoral economy, Mesolithic inheritance, regional inter- actions between communities and functional adaptations are all vari- ables that must be explored, in order to understand how Mediterranean societies were reshaped during this period.
Within this general framework, this volume aims to contribute to the advances in the investigation by gathering a set of eight papers, previously presented at the XVII UISPP World Congress (Burgos, Spain, September 2014) in the framework of the session “Contexts without definition, definitions without context. Arguments for the character- ization of the (pre)historic realities during the Neolithisation of the western Mediterranean”. Insofar as the pre-historic realities of the Neolithic transition benefit from a holistic approach, we gathered a community of colleagues working on this theme from a large variety of fields: technical production, graphic expression, resources and terri- torial management, economic organization, stratigraphic and tapho- nomic analysis and radiocarbon data, etc. From a geographical view- point, each paper deals with a specific region; the local and regional scales constitute the area of empirical study and ensure proper con- textualization of the data, and the western Mediterranean provides an overall reference point and a broader context for the interpretations ˗ these two scales of analysis being inextricably linked.

Quaternary International, 2018

In the framework of the long-standing debate regarding the chronology of Spanish Levantine rock a... more In the framework of the long-standing debate regarding the chronology of Spanish Levantine rock art, the hypotheses proposing its cultural affiliation to the Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic societies are largely based on the socio-economic activities depicted in the Levantine scenes, in particular hunting. This position is closely related to the belief that there is a radical opposition between hunter-gatherers and agropastoralist – wild vs. domestic – where hunting is not envisaged to have neither a complementary economic purpose nor a significant social and symbolic role during the settlement and expansion of the “Neolithic package”.

In order to assess the validity of Levantine hunting scenes as a chrono-cultural marker of Epipalaeolithic-Mesolithic societies, this paper explores the role of hunting in Neolithic societies of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin (6th-3rd millennium cal BC). To do this, economic data, from archaeozoological and isotopic studies permitting the evaluation of wild and domestic animals consumption patterns, along with other social, identity-related and symbolic elements, such as the funerary record, personal ornaments and Levantine iconography itself, will be taking into account.

La ciencia y el arte VI. Ciencias experimentales y conservación del patrimonio, 2017

Resumen: La conservación y documentación de arte rupestre prehistórico, así como su difu-sión, so... more Resumen: La conservación y documentación de arte rupestre prehistórico, así como su difu-sión, son importantes vías de investigación a desarrollar. En muchos casos, las pinturas rupes-tres se localizan en lugares de difícil acceso, expuestas a agentes externos que comprometen su conservación. La necesidad de ofrecer una documentación rigurosa, que favorezca a su vez la difusión y la conservación patrimonial de las pinturas levantinas, clasificadas como Patrimo-nio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, conlleva el desarrollo y aplicación de nuevas tecnologías de análisis y documentación no invasivas. Teniendo en cuenta estas premisas, en este trabajo se expone un nuevo protocolo de trabajo que comprende, por un lado, la aplicación de la técnica de análisis de componentes principales (ACP) para el estudio y documentación de pinturas rupestres levantinas. A partir de las técnicas de análisis multivariante se persigue diferenciar los distintos pigmentos utiliza-dos, y estos a su vez de la roca soporte, apoyándonos paralelamente en reproducciones expe-rimentales de pigmentos. Por otro lado, con la información relevante extraída del análisis se desarrolla una serie de aplicaciones de realidad aumentada (RA) con fines divulgativos y orien-tadas a usuarios que utilizan teléfonos inteligentes o tabletas. Abstract: An important area to explore is conservation, documentation and cultural dissemination of prehistoric rock art. Normally, rock art paintings are located in difficult access sites and the weathering complicate their preservation. The necessity of an accurate documentation that offers dissemination and heritage conservation of Levantine paintings, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, entail the development and implementation of new and non-invasive analysis and documentation technologies. Bearing this premises in mind, in this paper a new working protocol is shown. On one hand, the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is applied to study and document Levantine rock art paintings. The main is, through multivariate analysis techniques, differentiate between pigments and rock and between different pigments. Pigments swatches are used to check the

Conflict Archaeology Materialities of Collective Violence from Prehistory to Late Antiquity.Edited by Manuel Fernández-Götz and Nico Roymans. Routledge. 236 pages | 62 Color Illus., 2018

We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish L... more We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish Levantine rock art. This new protocol seeks to identify the raw materials that were used, as well as reconstruct the different technical gestures and decision-making processes involved in the obtaining of these black pigments. For the first of these goals, the pictorial matter of the black figurative motifs documented at the Les Dogues rock art shelter (Ares del Maestre, Castellón, Spain) was characterized through the combination of physicochemical and archeobotanical analyses. During the first stage of our research protocol, in situ and non-destructive analyses were carried out by means of portable Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluo-rescence spectrometry (EDXRF); during the second stage, samples were analyzed by Optical Microscopy (OM), Raman spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Two major conclusions have been drawn from these analyses: first, charred plant matter has been identified as a main component of these prehistoric black pigments; and second, angiosperm and conifer charcoal was a primary raw material for pigment production, identified by means of the archaeobotanical study of plant cells. For the second goal, black charcoal pigments were replicated in the laboratory by using different raw materials and binders and by reproducing two main chaıˆnes opératoires. The comparative study of the structure and preservation of plant tissues of both prehistoric and experimental pigments by means of SEM-EDX underlines both a complex preparation process and the use of likely pigment recipes, mixing raw material with fatty or oily binders. Finally, the formal and stylistic analysis of the motifs portrayed at Les Dogues allowed us to explore the relationship between identified stylistic phases and black charcoal pigment use, raising new archaeological questions concerning the acquisition of know-how and the transfer of traditionally learned chaînes opératoires in Spanish Levantine rock art.

Sagvntvm Extra, Apr 27, 2012

L'expression narrative dans les arts rupestres : approches théoriques Les créations artistiqu... more L'expression narrative dans les arts rupestres : approches théoriques Les créations artistiques préhistoriques qui nous sont parvenues (art mobilier, art rupestre) consti-tuent une source d'information inestimable sur les cultures de ces sociétés. L'art rupestre est l'une des constantes des sociétés sans écriture, mais nous sommes incapables d'interpréter ces mes-sages totalement étrangers à notre propre culture (E. Panofsky). Les arts post-glaciaires tels que l'art du Levant espagnol ou l'art du nord de l'Afrique nous semblent plus faciles à aborder, car l'homme y est omniprésent et participe à des actions que nous pouvons identifi er (chasse, guerre, etc.). Dans l'art paléolithique, l'homme est très rarement représenté et pourtant la dynamique des représen-tations animales plaide en faveur de compositions narratives. C'est pourquoi, dans le cadre de notre projet, nous accordons un intérêt particulier à l'expression narrative dans...

ABSTRACT téc-nicas de documentación digital 2D y 3D, es reflexionar críticamente sobre las venta-... more ABSTRACT téc-nicas de documentación digital 2D y 3D, es reflexionar críticamente sobre las venta-jas y problemáticas de cada una de ellas. Paralelamente, proponemos unos criterios generales mínimos para la documentación integral del arte rupestre. Esta reflexión nos permite concluir que las técnicas 3D no son necesariamente una alternativa a las técnicas 2D, sino que las complementan, e incluso se combinan para ofrecer una lectura volumétrica no sólo del soporte, sino también de los motivos, que va más allá de la mera copia digital. The digital age has made accessible to archaeology and to rock art studies a wide range of tools and software to get a more complete documentation of rock art. This paper aims to go beyond the listing and description of the digital techniques available today. What we suggest, from our experience in the use of 2D and 3D digital recording techniques is to reflect critically on the advantages and limitations of each one of them. We also suggest some minimum steps to produce accurate rock art reproductions. We conclude that 3D techniques are not necessarily an alternative to 2D techniques, but a complement. Moreover, they should be used together to provide volumetric reproduc-tions not only of the bedrock, but also of the motifs. Reflexiones sobre las técnicas de documentación digital del arte rupestre: la restitución bidimensional (2D) versus la tridimensional (3D) Thoughts about digital recording techniques of rock art: Bidimensional restitution (2D) vs. threedimensional records (3D) Palabras clave Arte rupestre levantino, Documentación digital, calcos 2D, modelos 3D, fotogrametría, escáner láser Recibido · mayo 2010 Aceptado · noviembre 2010 Revisado · junio 2013

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Journal of Archaeological Science, 2013

This paper presents a further step in the integral documentation of prehistoric rock art, combini... more This paper presents a further step in the integral documentation of prehistoric rock art, combining 2D and 3D digital recording techniques. Image processing and digital enhancement techniques are an invaluable aid to obtain high quality and accurate 2D recordings, especially when working with faint motifs or complex superimpositions. But what constitutes a real breakthrough is the possibility of combining 2D digital tracings with metric 3D models, providing a whole set of metric outputs that improve our understanding of the motifs in their context and, at the same time, can be used to deliver accurate metric reproductions.

A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of colored syste... more A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of colored systems found in prehistoric rock art paintings was conducted in the Cova Remígia rock-shelter, Castellón (Spain). This rock shelter is part of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Some of the paintings belonging to this group are exposed to environmental factors including natural daylight, wind and rain, depending on the time of the day and the season of the year. Therefore, their preservation is a major concern to stakeholders and researchers responsible for protecting and studying these prehistoric paintings. The experimental work in Cova Remigia focused on measuring the reflectance curves (400-700 nm) and determining the photostability of various areas containing red and black pigments on the rock art paintings. The preliminary
results indicate that MFS is a suitable technique for studying the response to light of rock/pigment systems found in rock art sites. The advantages and limitations of the technique are discussed.

Antiquity, 89, 344 : pp 309-329., Apr 2015

How violent was life in Neolithic society, and was there anything resembling organised warfare? R... more How violent was life in Neolithic society, and was there anything resembling organised warfare? Recent research has largely overturned ideas of peaceful farming societies.
Spanish Levantine rock art offers a unique insight into conflict in Neolithic society, with images of violence, real or imagined, being acted out in scenes preserved in rock shelters. Combining this body of data with evidence from the archaeological record, a new way of understanding the imagery in rock art is here proposed. Ethnographic and anthropological
methodologies allow the author to show howsocio-cultural behaviours and individual social roles can be read from rock art.

Spanish Levantine Rock Art is a unique pictorial expression within the prehistoric European conte... more Spanish Levantine Rock Art is a unique pictorial expression within the prehistoric European context. Located in shelters in the inland regions of the Iberian Mediterranean basin, this art form, which must be necessarily studied in the frame of the process of neolithization of this territory, still lacks direct dating, and therefore its authorship is still open to debate.

In this paper we present the first characterization of black pigments used in the Cova Remigia shelters in the Valltorta-Gassulla area (Castellón, Spain) by means of EDXRF spectrometry combined with SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy. Our aim is both to identify the raw material used for the preparation of black pigments and to make a first approach to the cultural choices involved in its use.

The results are relevant for several reasons. Firstly, carbon-based black pigments have been identified for the first time in northern regions of Levantine rock art. Secondly, the recurrent use of black pigments in Cova Remigia questions the assumption of its restricted use in Spanish Levantine art. Thirdly, posterior repainting and graphic re-appropriation of black figures have been observed in Cova Remigia, giving rise to the combination of two colours, black and red, fact that is extremely rare in this rock art tradition. Finally, the identification of organic matter in the black pigments opens the possibility of radiocarbon dating.

L'art Levantin est une manifestation graphique unique à l'échelle européenne, localisé dans le ba... more L'art Levantin est une manifestation graphique unique à l'échelle européenne, localisé dans le basin méditerranéen ibérique. Les peintures levantines se caractérisent par une forte composante naturaliste et narrative. Malgré le potentiel d'information des scènes levantines, à ce jour leur cadre chrono-culturel et leur dynamique historique restent inconnus. L´étude de la chaîne opératoire des pigments levantins peut nous aider à combler ces lacunes. La caractérisation des « recettes » éventuelles et la reconstruction des gestes techniques utilisés lors de la préparation et de l'application de ces pigments sont clés pour définir le « savoir-faire » el le transfert des techniques associés à chaque style, tandis qu'une approche diachronique et à une échelle territoriale plus large permet de caractériser l'évolution des techniques et de définir leur territoire d'influence.
Afin de répondre à ces questions, nous avons développé un nouveau protocole interdisciplinaire d'étude qui associe les analyses physico-chimiques (EDXRF et Raman), la microscopie électronique avec la microanalyse à Rayon X dispersive en énergie (MEB-EDS), l'anthracologie et l'archéologie expérimentale. Ce nouveau protocole nous a permis d'identifier la structure végétale des pigments noirs de l'Abri de Les Dogues (Castellón, Espagne), l'utilisation éventuelle d'un agglutinant gras et de proposer la séquence de gestes techniques suivis pour leur élaboration. Contact: esther.lopez-montalvo@univ-tlse2.fr

A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of ... more A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of colored systems found in prehistoric rock art paintings was conducted in the Cova Remígia rock-shelter, Castellón (Spain). This rock shelter is part of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Some of the paintings belonging to this group are exposed to environmental factors including natural daylight, wind and rain, depending on the time of the day and the season of the year. Therefore, their preservation is a major concern to stakeholders and researchers responsible for protecting and studying these prehistoric paintings. The experimental work in Cova Remigia focused on measuring the reflectance curves (400-700 nm) and determining the photostability of various areas containing red and black pigments on the rock art paintings. The preliminary results indicate that MFS is a suitable technique for studying the response to light of rock/pigment systems found in rock art sites. The advantages and limitations of the technique are discussed.

The Neolithisation of the Western Mediterranean: New Debates About an Old Issue, Apr 10, 2018

- The Neolithisation of the Western Mediterranean: new debates about an old issue Pages 169-171 ... more - The Neolithisation of the Western Mediterranean: new debates about an old issue
Pages 169-171
Claire Manen, Íñigo García Martínez de Lagrán, Esther López-Montalvo

- Review of the archaeological contexts and theoretical models of the Neolithisation of Spain: The North Meseta, The Ebro Valley and Catalonia as a case study
Original research article
Pages 172-194
Íñigo García-Martínez de Lagrán

- Beyond the archaeological contexts: The debate on the records of the Mesolithic and early Neolithic in the upper Ebro Basin
Original research article
Pages 195-204
Alfonso Alday, U. Perales, A. Soto

- Hunting scenes in Spanish Levantine rock art: An unequivocal chrono-cultural marker of Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic Iberian societies?
Original research article
Pages 205-220
Esther López-Montalvo

- Mesolithic and Neolithic material productions in Aveyron (France) during the 6th millennium BC: Originality or adaptability?
Original research article
Pages 221-235
Elsa Defranould, Joséphine Caro, Marc Bobœuf, Claire Manen, Thomas Perrin

- A palaeoeconomic perspective on the Early Neolithic lithic assemblages of the N–NE of the Iberian Peninsula
Original research article
Pages 236-245
Niccolò Mazzucco, Juan Francisco Gibaja

- Buried structures in Barcelona plain's neolithic settlements: A general revision, morphological and morphometric analysis gaining a functional interpretation
Original research article
Pages 246-258
M. Molist, A. Gómez, A. Breu, J. González, ... J. Fernández

- Cocina cave revisited: Bayesian radiocarbon chronology for the last hunter-gatherers and first farmers in Eastern Iberia
Original research article
Pages 259-271
Oreto García-Puchol, Sarah B. McClure, Joaquim Juan-Cabanilles, Agustín A. Diez-Castillo, ... Douglas J. Kennett

- Defining the Early Neolithic of the Eastern Rif, Morocco – Spatial distribution, chronological framework and impact of environmental changes
Original research article
Pages 272-282
J. Linstädter, M. Broich, B. Weninger