Mireia López-Bertran | Universitat de València (original) (raw)

Papers by Mireia López-Bertran

Rísquez Cuenca, Carmen, Rueda Galán, Carmen, Molinos Molinos, Manuel, Bellón Ruiz, Juan Pedro y Hornos Mata, Francisca. (coordinadores). (2024). Arturo C. Ruiz Rodríguez y la arqueología íbera en Jaén: Homenaje a 50 años de trayectoria. Universidad de Jaén. Servicio de Publicaciones., 2024

Rubiera Cancelas, C., Garcia-Ventura, A. y Méndez Santiago, B. Cuerpos que envejecen. Vulnerabilidad, familias, dependencia y cuidados en la Antigüedad, 2023

Avar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Life and Society in the Ancient Near East, 2023

As a way to explore certain aspects related to the construction of motherhood, and by extension o... more As a way to explore certain aspects related to the construction of motherhood, and by extension of an ideal of femininity in ancient Mesopotamia, in this article we examine a first millennium BCE baby incantation known to us thanks to two duplicates found in the city of Assur. More specifically, we concentrate on the two references to the mother in this text. In the first one the mother herself cries when she sees that she cannot stop her baby's crying. In the second one the mother is presented as unable to attend to the work she has to do because of the baby's crying. In our analysis we argue that both references underline important pillars in the construction of femininity. On the one hand we emphasise that the crying of the mother can be read, at least partially, as an empathetic reaction. On the other, we defend that the busy mother in the text embodies the ideal of the industrious woman – in contrast to the negative archetype of the lazy woman, a frequent trope in Sumerian and Akkadian literature.

REVISTA EVITERNA Revista iberoamericana, académica científica de Humanidades, Arte y Cultura, 2022

The innovation teaching project ‘Nou-PID: Innovación en la docencia de la Historia del Arte: acci... more The innovation teaching project ‘Nou-PID: Innovación en la docencia de la Historia
del Arte: acciones para dar visibilidad a las mujeres en la Antigüedad’ of the Universitat de València is presented in this article. First, the main goals are explained, which are based on the implementation of the gender perspective in the studies of Antiquity through the flipped classroom and autonomous and integrated learning methodologies. Next, the teaching practices carried out in the different subjects related to Antiquity are developed. They are based on the use of pre-existing quality online resources, and the creation of an online platform through the creation and management of a blog and the generation of videos. The resources, videos and practices have been referenced in detail so they can be implemented and/or discussed by other lecturers. In the last section, a global assessment of the project is undertaken and the study of
feminine images of the past is valued not only to make their presence visible in ancient societies, but also to reflect on the creation of femenine stereotypes.

Rock and Ritual Caves. Rocky Places and Religious Practices in the Ancient Mediterranean. Mondes Anciens (PULM), 2021

The Mummy under the bed,, 2022

In Kiersten Neumann and Allison Thomason (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East. Routledge, London / New York, pp. 100-123., 2022

Unlocking Sacred Landscapes: Spatial analysis of ritual and cult in the Mediterranean , Giorgos Papantoniou, Christine E. Morris and Athanasios K. Vionis (eds.), 2019

This chapter focuses on funerary rituals among Phoenician and Punic communities across the Medite... more This chapter focuses on funerary rituals among Phoenician and Punic communities across the Mediterranean between 900 and 200 BC. Specifically, I aim to apply a sensorial approach that stresses the interplay between bodies, the senses, places and objects in the construction of emotions to cope with death. First, I offer a brief explanation of the
Phoenician and Punic communities, and present a general overview of the funerary rites and landscapes among the Phoenician-Punic people. Then, I analysem the role of the senses in funerals, bearing in mind soundscapes and the visual, haptic, olfactory and gustatory properties of the material culture involved.

Anales de Arqueología y Etnografia Argentina. Volumen 76. n°2, jul-dic 2021: pp. 215-251 Dossier género y arqueología Mendoza, Argentina, 2021

In this paper we present a number of approaches to the issue of female corporeal i... more In this paper we present a number of approaches to the issue of female corporeal identities and their agency. Employing a traverse perspective, we focus on a variety of prehistoric and protohistoric case studies from the Iberian Peninsula as well as from the ancient Mediterranean in general. Our proposal follows three principal lines of research: first, we reflect on the stereotypical images of prehistory which have produced profoundly distorted models of the past. Second, we examine the question of corporeal identities based on a group of selected burials. Finally, using bioarchaeological data, the third line is a comprehensive overview of social status, level of care, and visible changes in female bodies within the context of their specific life cycle. We offer a general reflection which allows us to present the current state of research that has been undertaken by the group Past Women. This covers the study of corporeal identities in the past as a fundamental analytical basis to analyze social behavior and the construction of collective identities. It also helps generate new narratives, collective and inclusive, based on rigorous research.

El cuidado del cuerpo de las mujeres desde la Antigüedad hasta el Renacimiento, 2021

La alimentación en el mundo fenicio-púnico. Producciones, procesos y consumo. Spal Monografías Arqueología XXXII, 2020

Gender in the Phoenician World, Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici, 2017-2019, 2020

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of breast milk in the life cycle of the Phoenician a... more The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of breast milk in the life cycle of the Phoenician and Punic communities. Despite its universality, our starting point is to consider breast milk and the ways it was used and understood as cultural and social phenomena. We explore the diverse uses of breast milk from birth to death in written and iconographic sources as well as the material record from Phoenician, Punic, Levantine, Egyptian, and Graeco-Roman societies. In the first part of the paper we discuss the beginning of breastfeeding for new-borns, its duration, and the process of weaning. We then move on to define the uses of breast milk in adulthood. We contend that breast milk might be used in curative practices, in communal rituals and in funerary rites. In doing so, we stress the essential role of breast milk from a biological, cultural, and ritual perspective and focus on the centrality of certain women in all these contexts.

Boletín de Arte-UMA, n.º 40, 2019

This paper proposes an analysis of the relationship between bovines and humans through the lens o... more This paper proposes an analysis of the relationship between bovines and humans through the lens of animal agency, using various artworks recovered from the site of Polizzello (western Sicily) dated between the 8th and the 6th centuries BCE. Specifically, we study a group of table amphorae decorated with bucrania, together with representations of these animals and hybrid beings painted on clay dishware.
First, we will explain briefly the historical context and the artistic traditions of the island. Next, we will describe the site of Polizzello and the range of artworks. Finally, we will discuss these objects under the lens of the so-called «animal-studies» to highlight the important role of the bovines in human social dynamics.
Keywords: Sicily; Iron Age; Ancient Art; Bucrania; Iconography; Bovines; Animal agency; Nonhuman animals

The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. Edited by Brian R. Doak and Carolina López-Ruiz, 2019

This chapter explores the funerary rites in the Phoenician-Punic world from a comprehensive point... more This chapter explores the funerary rites in the Phoenician-Punic world from a comprehensive point of view, and it focuses on the common points arising from a large amount of data. The concern for burying their deceased and the belief in the soul’s afterlife show that the Phoenicians considered death as a transformation rather than as the end of a person’s life. Through our access to archaeological remains and written sources, we can reconstruct the existence of a meaningful burial program that was destined to provide a “good death” and afterlife. Funerary rituals, thus, are the actions or gestures to achieve this goal. The aim of this chapter is to explain the rites that family members undertook once someone died, in order to transform correctly the deceased person into an otherworldly being, the ancestor. The social implications of the data arising from burials are also briefly considered.
Keywords: ritual, funeral, necropolis, inhumation, incineration, feasting, ancestor, amulet

S.R. Martin, S.M. Langin-Hooper (eds.), The Tiny and the Fragmented, Oxford University Press, 2018

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology,, 2019

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2019

In S. D. Angeli – A. A. Both – S. Hagel – P. Holmes – R. Jiménez Pasalodos – C. Lund (eds.), Music and Sounds in Ancient Europe. Contributions from the European Archaeology Project, EMAP - European Music Archaeology Project & Regione Lazio: Roma: 114-116, 2018

M. Sánchez Romero – R. M. Cid López (eds.): Motherhood and Infancies in the Mediterranean in Antiquity, Oxbow, Oxford & Philadelphia, pp. 87-103, 2018

Rubiera Cancelas, C., Garcia-Ventura, A. y Méndez Santiago, B. Cuerpos que envejecen. Vulnerabilidad, familias, dependencia y cuidados en la Antigüedad, 2023

Avar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Life and Society in the Ancient Near East, 2023

REVISTA EVITERNA Revista iberoamericana, académica científica de Humanidades, Arte y Cultura, 2022

Rock and Ritual Caves. Rocky Places and Religious Practices in the Ancient Mediterranean. Mondes Anciens (PULM), 2021

The Mummy under the bed,, 2022

In Kiersten Neumann and Allison Thomason (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East. Routledge, London / New York, pp. 100-123., 2022

Unlocking Sacred Landscapes: Spatial analysis of ritual and cult in the Mediterranean , Giorgos Papantoniou, Christine E. Morris and Athanasios K. Vionis (eds.), 2019

Anales de Arqueología y Etnografia Argentina. Volumen 76. n°2, jul-dic 2021: pp. 215-251 Dossier género y arqueología Mendoza, Argentina, 2021

El cuidado del cuerpo de las mujeres desde la Antigüedad hasta el Renacimiento, 2021

La alimentación en el mundo fenicio-púnico. Producciones, procesos y consumo. Spal Monografías Arqueología XXXII, 2020

Gender in the Phoenician World, Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici, 2017-2019, 2020

Boletín de Arte-UMA, n.º 40, 2019

The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. Edited by Brian R. Doak and Carolina López-Ruiz, 2019

S.R. Martin, S.M. Langin-Hooper (eds.), The Tiny and the Fragmented, Oxford University Press, 2018

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology,, 2019

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2019

M. Sánchez Romero – R. M. Cid López (eds.): Motherhood and Infancies in the Mediterranean in Antiquity, Oxbow, Oxford & Philadelphia, pp. 87-103, 2018

Quaderns del Museu de Xàbia 4, 2022

Rituals in Phoenician and Punic non-monumental sanctuaries from the Iberian Peninsula, Ibiza and ... more Rituals in Phoenician and Punic non-monumental sanctuaries from the Iberian Peninsula, Ibiza and Sardinia are analized, taking into account the Theory of Practice (Bourdieu) and the Ritualization Theory (Bell). Rituals are studied as dynamic and contextual processes constructed through the perception of the landscapes and the corporealities of the participants in each sanctuary (gestures, senses, movements and decoration). I conclude that rituals are related to everyday practices (eating, drinking, walking) as ritualized activities overemphasized. Finally, rituals are interpreted as arenas in which traditions are constructed and power dynamics are negotiated.
Keywords: ritualization, practice, social landscape, corporealities, senses, archaeology, Phoenician, Punic, power relations, Iberian Peninsula, Ibiza, Sardinia, terracotae.

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean, Archaeology, Heritage Studies, 2019

Cambridge Archaeological Journal 24, 1, 2014

The Iron Age brought lasting changes to the organization of Mediterranean societies, including in... more The Iron Age brought lasting changes to the organization of Mediterranean societies, including increasing social complexity, the creation of city-states and other distinct territorial polities, the emergence of Mediterranean-wide exchange networks, and the widespread adoption of new technologies. These interconnected changes likely had a considerable impact on the economic and political organization and everyday lives of local communities, yet gender-one of the main axes around which people lives is structured-has yet to be fully integrated into this narrative. This is problematic, because traditional norms and behaviors regarding gender likely contributed to shaping local responses to these widespread changes, while also having to shift and adjust, in the long-term, to the changing economic and political context. In this session, we would like to explore this issue from a comparative, Mediterranean perspective, highlighting the diversity of local responses to broad global shifts. In particular, we are calling for contributors to focus on the ways in which the allocation of power changed as more resources became available through Mediterranean-wide exchanges and migrations, as the social organization based largely on kinship became more stratified and as the distinction between the public and the private sphere became sharper. We would like to anchor our discussion around three main points: (1) a focus on all genders in their intersection with other axes of social organization (e.g. age, status); (2) a diachronic perspective; (3) gender in its relation with culture contact: how was gender renegotiated in light of the opportunities/threats/changes that occurred with the renewal and intensification in connectivity that took place in this period?

g e f ö r d e r t a u s Mi t t e l n d e s Z u k u n f t s k o n z e p t s d e r Hu mb o l d t-Un... more g e f ö r d e r t a u s Mi t t e l n d e s Z u k u n f t s k o n z e p t s d e r Hu mb o l d t-Un i v e r s i t ä t z u B e r l i n i m R a h me n d e r E x z e l l e n z i n i t i a t i v e v o n B u n d u n d L ä n d e r n P e r f o r mi n g L u x u r y a n d A u s t e r i t y i n A r c h a i c Gr e e c e a n d B e y o n d K OS MOS Wo r k s h o p 2 0 1 9 Ma y 1 6-1 8 Hu mb o l d t-Un i v e r s i t ä t z u B e r l i n Un t e r d e n L i n d e n 6 , R. 2 2 4 9 a T h u r s d a y F r i d a y 9. 0 0-1 0. 3 0 Di s c u s s i o n A p p r o a c h e s. K u r k e ' s ' p o l i t i c s o f ἁ β ρ ο σ ύ ν η ' a n d b e y o n d 1 0. 3 0-1 1. 0 0 C o f f e e b r e a k I I. T HE E C ONOMI C DI ME NS I ON: T HE P R ODUC T I ON A ND DI S T R I B UT I ON OF L UX UR I E S 1 1. 0 0-1 2. 0 0 F l e u r K e mme r s C o i n i n g r i c h e s. R e s o u r c e s a n d c o i n a g e i n S o u t h e r n I t a l y i n t h e 6 t h c e n t u r y B C E i n t h e 6 t h c e n t u r y B C E 1 2. 0 0-1 3. 0 0 Gu n n a r S e e l e n t a g R e g u l a t i n g t h e u s e s o f r e s o u r c e s a n d g o o d s i n A r c h a i c i n s c r i p t i o n s 1 3. 0 0-1 4. 0 0 L u n c h B r e a k 1 4. 0 0-1 5. 0 0 L i s a E b e r l e Ho r s e b r e e d e r s , s w i n e h e r d 1 6. 0 0-1 6. 3 0 T e a b r e a k I I I. C OMP E T I T I ON A ND C ONF L I C T : NE GOT I A T I NG C ONS UMP T I ON 1 6. 3 0-1 7. 3 0 J a n Me i s t e r Ur b a n l i f e s t y l e a n d A r c h a i c Gr e e k ' a r i s t o c r a t s ' 1 7. 3 0-1 8. 3 0 C o r i n n a R i v a Os c i l l a t i n g v a l u e , d i s l o d g i n g g i f t s. V i o l e n c e i n A r c h a i c S o u t h e r n E t r u r i a 9. 0 0-1 0. 3 0 Di s c u s s i o n S o u r c e s. P o e ms , f a mi l i e s a n d v o t i v e s i n E a s t e r n Gr e e c e 1 0. 3 0-1 1. 0 0 C o f f e e b r e a k I V. I DE NT I T I E S A ND NORMS : T HE MORAL DI S C OUR S E OF C ONS UMP T I ON 1 1. 0 0-1 2. 0 0 Ma r e k We c o w s k i E a r l y Gr e e k p o e t r y a n d s o c i a l mo b i l i t y 1 2. 0 0-1 3. 0 0 1 2. 0 0-1 3. 0 0 Mi r k o C a n e v a r o V i r t u e s i g n a l l i n g i n a n c i e n t A t h e n s. P h i l o t i mi a a n d t h e mo r a l e c o n o my 1 3. 0 0-1 4. 0 0 L u n c h b r e a k 1 4. 0 0-1 6. 0 0 Mi r e i a L ó p e z-B e r t r a n P e r f o r mi n g l u x u r y i n P h o e n i c i a n-P u n i c v i s u a l a n d ma t e r i a l c u l t u r e (7 t h-3 r d c e n t u r i e s B C E) 1 6. 0 0-1 6. 3 0 1 6. 0 0-1 6. 3 0 T e a b r e a k 1 6. 3 0-1 7. 3 0 Da v i d L e S a t u r d a y Or g a n i s e r s : Wo l f g a n g F i l s e r , Mo r i t z Hi n s c h , J a n Me i s t e r C o n t a c t : mo r i t z. h i n s c h @h u-b e r l i n. d e

Santuarios, paisajes sagrados y actividades rituales en el mundo ibérico Jornadas arqueológicas en conmemoración de los 100 años del descubrimiento del santuario de La Serreta

The conference aims to bring together scholars and students who often tackle the same issues as t... more The conference aims to bring together scholars and students who often tackle the same issues as they study clay figurines and related objects from different periods and parts of the Mediterranean region. Scholars who research terracottas of illiterate societies often use anthropological and ethnographical methods, while those studying terracottas of historical periods refer to historical sources and artistic analogies. The various viewpoints and attitudes may enrich and deepen our understanding of terracotta figurines and their role in society. Several studies have revealed that food should not be examined exclusively in connection with the act of meeting a basic biological need for human subsistence. On the contrary, most of these scholars have shown that the analysis of food, foodways and food preparation and consumption practices are crucial to understanding the dynamics of ancient societies. Following these insights, this panel explores clay representations of food in its wider sense. That is, it focuses on terracottas of the edible –such as fruits, animals or bread–, human-like clay figurines undertaking activities related to food preparation, presentation and consumption, as well as clay tools related to food processing, such as clay stamps. We invite papers that present materials from diverse contexts (domestic, sacred and funerary) and different chronologies. We encourage a focus on connections with other 1 meritxell.ferrer@upf.edu; mireia.lopez@uv.es

Manufactured with clay, anthropomorphic masks have been produced since the late Bronze Age and th... more Manufactured with clay, anthropomorphic masks have been produced since the late Bronze Age and throughout all the Iron Age in the Phoenician Levant. From the 7th century BC they appear in the Central (Carthage, Sicily and Sardinia) and Western Mediterranean (South Iberian Peninsula and Ibiza- Balearic Islands-) connected to the Phoenician trade diaspora. So far, they have been mostly found in cemeteries, but they also occur in shrines, houses and workshops, albeit less significantly in number.
Research on Punic masks has mostly highlighted their gestures. Exaggerated mouths, grotesque gesticulation, or demonic appearance have been the usual labels to define these materials since the midst 20th century when P. Cintas (1946) established a first classification. Assuming that gestures are pantomimic and visible body actions, I would like to focus on how the way of representing eyes, mouths, ears and noses in these masks might have been a way of materialising rituals with a high degree of sensory alterations. Furthermore, it is also my intention to analyse their decoration to reinforce the idea that masks also embodied a corporeality of protection.

The aim of the paper is to present and analyze a sample of Phoenician and Punic (seventh-second c... more The aim of the paper is to present and analyze a sample of Phoenician and Punic (seventh-second centuries BCE) terracotta representations of musicians from selected areas of the western Mediterranean (Iberia, Ibiza, and Carthage). The analysis of these depictions consist of three steps. The first step is a description of the instruments represented and the bodily gestures that accompany the practice of performing music with certain instruments. Second, the contextualization of these images within their chronological and geographical framework will be considered in order to shed some light into both the presence of music in rituals and its possible use in association with ritual performances. Finally, the issue of gender will be considered, as these representations are mostly of female figures. The paper will argue that playing music was an empowering activity for certain Phoenician and Punic women.

La Música en el Museo. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, 2019

by George Papasavvas, Alan Peatfield, Vicky Manolopoulou, Christine Morris, Athanasios Vionis, Giorgos Papantoniou, Amelia R Brown, Mireia López-Bertran, Jennifer Webb, Rebecca Sweetman, and Adi Erlich

ARTS IN WORK: ABOUT THE INTERACTION OF SOUNDSCAPES AND TASKSCAPES IN ANTIQUITY Organisers: Ange... more ARTS IN WORK: ABOUT THE INTERACTION
OF SOUNDSCAPES AND TASKSCAPES IN ANTIQUITY

Organisers: Angela Bellia (Italy) - Institute of Heritage Science at the Italian National Research Council; Meritxell Ferrer Martin (Spain) - Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Agnes Garcia-Ventura (Spain) - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Mireia López- Bertran (Spain) - Universitat de València

Working and music/sounds are two topics of research that have been almost unexplored together so far in studies of material culture, especially due their ephemeral nature. On the one hand, when dealing with music, working environments are not usually considered. On the other hand, when dealing with work and production the focus is often on administrative and economic aspects, as well on the so-called chaîne opératoire, but not on soundscapes.

In this session we aim to fill this gap discussing several aspects of the interaction between working and music/sounds through a fresh look of material culture that shed light on the potentialities of objects and architectures as creators of a wide array of sounds that participated in the creation of taskscapes in working environments. Notice that we use indiscriminately and intentionally music and sounds as synonyms as we also aim at discussing the definition of their boundaries. In doing so, we aim to include in the debates on soundscapes issues as diverse as work songs, traditionally considered “music”, but also the crackle of fire or the pounding of mortars, to name two examples, traditionally considered “sounds” (or even “noise”).

How do we define these conceptual borders in working environments? Why? Are they useful for our analysis or they hide more than what they show? To discuss all these issues we encourage contributions by scholars dealing with any period and geography as well as various perspectives: history of religion, archaeomusicology, archaeoacoustics, sound archaeology, ecoarchaeology, classics, anthropology, and art history. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research will be welcome, especially research on archeoacustics based on contemporary analysis like Soundshed Analysis GIStool among others.

Theme: Assembling Archaeological Theory and the Archaeological Sciences.
Keywords: Soundscapes, Taskscapes, Music, Work, Sound objects, Sound tools.

Submissions can only be done online:
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2021/Programme.aspx?WebsiteKey=122bcc87-037e-4265-b72a-db2092c01854&hkey=f557022c-8526-45dd-b4ad-edaeb1c77ac8&Program=3#Program

27th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists WIDENING HORIZONS Session #09... more 27th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists WIDENING HORIZONS

Session #095 ARTS IN WORK: ABOUT THE INTERACTION
OF SOUNDSCAPES AND TASKSCAPES IN ANTIQUITY

Theme: Assembling Archaeological Theory and the Archaeological Sciences.

Keywords: Soundscapes, Taskscapes, Music, Work, Sound objects, Sound tools.

Submissions can only be done online:
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2021/Programme.aspx?WebsiteKey=122bcc87-037e-4265-b72a-db2092c01854&hkey=f557022c-8526-45dd-b4ad-edaeb1c77ac8&Program=3#Program

Working and music/sounds are two topics of research that have been almost unexplored together so ... more Working and music/sounds are two topics of research that have been almost unexplored together so far in studies of material culture, especially due their ephemeral nature. On the one hand, when dealing with music, working environments are not usually considered. On the other hand, when dealing with work and production the focus is often on administrative and economic aspects, as well on the so-called chaîne opératoire, but not on soundscapes.

Encuentros Red PastWomen 25 de febrero, 2021

Enlace al seminario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoo0hohgJVU&t=3729s CUERPOS QUE EXPRESAN: u... more Enlace al seminario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoo0hohgJVU&t=3729s
CUERPOS QUE EXPRESAN: uso de la gestualidad y el vestido en la protohistoria y el mundo moderno