Arqueologia forense by Ermengol Gassiot Ballbè
Entramados. Diálogo interdisciplinar para la reconstrucción de la memoria histórica, pp. 105-121, 2012
Cuadernos de Medicina Forense, 16(1): 65-79, 2010
Archaeologies. Journal of the World Archaeology Congress, 4(3): 429-444, 2008
The recovery of historic memory of the Spanish Civil War is a multilayered initiative to escape b... more The recovery of historic memory of the Spanish Civil War is a multilayered initiative to escape both the romanticism of the Franco era, in which only the glory of the victors was celebrated while their past atrocities were ignored, and the cautiousness of the post-Franco democracy, for which forced amnesia of the Civil War was considered a sacrifice for the greater good. In the past five years the efforts to recover historic memory have gained empirical footing by employing archaeological methods to locate, enumerate and identify the victims of extrajudicial executions. The ultimate goals of such work include the production of a more accurate historical statement of past events, the repatriation of missing persons to their families, and the documentation of physical evidence that may allow families to seek civil restitutions. While the scientific methodology is fairly straightforward, the process is nonetheless inherently political in that various government bodies can and do impede recovery efforts. This paper contextualizes the current political and social climate of human rights investigations in Spain by illustrating some of the recent recovery efforts in Catalonia and Andalucia. Le rétablissement de la mémoire historique concernant la guerre civile espagnole est une initiative à plusieurs niveaux pour échapper au romantisme de l’ère franquiste, dans laquelle seule la gloire des vainqueurs était célébrée, tandis que leurs exactions criminelles étaient passées sous silence. La prudence de la démocratie postfranquiste forçait l’amnésie de la guerre civile tout en la considérant comme un sacrifice nécessaire au bien de tous. Au cours de ces cinq dernières années, les efforts déployés pour rétablir la mémoire historique a empiriquement gagné du terrain de façon par l’emploi de méthodes archéologiques destinées à localiser, faire le compte et identifier les victimes d’exécutions extrajudiciaires. Les objectifs ultimes d’un tel travail comprennent la production d’une mémoire historique plus précise des événements passés, la restitution des personnes disparues à leurs familles, et la documentation de preuves physiques qui peuvent conduire les familles à entamer des poursuites judiciaires en vue d’obtenir des compensations. Tandis que la méthodologie scientifique est assez simple et directe, le processus est malgré tout politique par nature et sujet aux divers corps gouvernementaux qui peuvent entraver les efforts déployés. Cet article contextualise la politique et le climat social actuels des enquêtes sur les droits humanitaires en Espagne, en illustrant les efforts récents de rétablissement de la mémoire historique en Catalogne et en Andalousie. La recuperación de la memoria histórica de la Guerra Civil Española es una iniciativa de varios niveles con la que se persigue escapar tanto del romanticismo de la era franquista, en la que sólo se celebraba la gloria de los vencedores ocultando las atrocidades del pasado, y la prudencia de la democracia posterior a Franco, que consideraba la amnesia sobre lo relacionado con la Guerra Civil un sacrificio necesario para disfrutar de más prosperidad. En los últimos cinco años, los esfuerzos para recuperar la memoria histórica han ganado fundamento empírico con el empleo de métodos arqueológicos que permiten localizar, enumerar e identificar las víctimas de las ejecuciones extrajudiciales. El fin último de este trabajo es la recuperación de unos hechos históricos más precisos del pasado, la repatriación de los desaparecidos a sus familias y la documentación de las pruebas físicas que pueden permitir a las familias solicitar restituciones civiles. Aunque el método científico es bastante sencillo, el proceso es sin embargo político en esencia, en el sentido de que los distintos organismos gubernamentales puede constituir un obstáculo a los esfuerzos de recuperación y de hecho, lo hacen. Este trabajo presenta el clima político y social de las investigaciones actuales sobre derechos humanos en España, poniendo como ejemplo algunos de los trabajos recientes de recuperación en Cataluña y Andalucía.
Complutum 19(2): 119-130, 2008
Archaeology and Capitalism. From Ethics to Politics, pp. 84-102, 2007
Mientras tanto, 97: 95-112, 2005
Arqueologia de l'alta muntanya by Ermengol Gassiot Ballbè
Open Archaeology, 2021
After years of intense fieldwork, our knowledge about the Neolithisation of the Pyrenees has cons... more After years of intense fieldwork, our knowledge about the Neolithisation of the Pyrenees has considerably increased. In the southern central Pyrenees, some previously unknown Neolithic sites have been discovered at subalpine and alpine altitudes (1,000-1,500 m a.s.l.). One of them is Cueva Lóbrica, 1,170 m a.s.l., which has an occupation phase with impressed pottery dated ca. 5400 cal BCE. Another is Coro Trasito, 1,558 m a.s.l., a large rock shelter that preserves evidence of continuous occupations in the Early Neolithic, 5300-4600 cal BCE. Evidence of human occupation at higher altitudes has also been documented. In the Axial Pyrenees, at the Obagues de Ratera rock shelter, 2,345 m a.s.l., an occupation has been dated to around 5730-5600 cal BCE. At Cova del Sardo, in the Sant Nicolau Valley, at 1,780 m a.s.l., a series of occupations have been excavated, dated to ca. 5600-4500 cal BCE. These sites allow us to discuss patterns of occupation of the mountainous areas between the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. Recent data suggest that the last hunter-gatherer occupied all altitudinal stages of the Pyrenees, both in the outer and inner ranges. A change in the settlement pattern seems to have occurred in the Early Neolithic, which consisted of a concentration of occupations in the valley bottom and mid-slopes, in biotopes favourable to both herding and agriculture.
Quaternary International, 2020
For the last twenty years, various interdisciplinary research programs have been studying human p... more For the last twenty years, various interdisciplinary research programs have been studying human presence in high mountain environments and how the different activities carried out there have impacted on the landscape and transformed it since the Early Holocene. Grazing, hunting, mining, and charcoal-making are the most significant outdoor productive activities that have been detected. At the same time, on a day-today basis, there was a daily household firewood management, studied here, which was related to fires for cooking, heat and light, as basic needs to be satisfied in the caves and rock-shelters occupied in this high-mountain territory since Prehistory. This paper presents the anthracological results from three sites located in the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park (PNAESM) in the Central Pyrenees occupied between the 9th and the 1st millennia cal BCE. In the PNAESM, different types of occupations have been identified in a basic spatial distribution by a hearth and some artefacts associated with past daily life. In the limit between the upper montane and the subalpine zones, at 1790 m a.s.l., Sardo Cave contains a sequence of seasonal occupations (4600-2500 cal BCE) that used local wood selected according to their needs. In the limit between the subalpine and alpine zones, firewood-gathering would have taken place in the surroundings of the sites from what was available at any moment. However the occupations identified in the rock-shelters of Estany de la Coveta I (7001-3028 cal BCE) at 2430 m a.s.l. and Obagues de Ratera (8182-540 cal BCE) at 2323 m a.s.l. seem to be short-term. In the context of the Central and Eastern Pyrenees, this appears to be the general pattern that will be better defined as more anthracological analyses are performed.
II Jornades d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia del Pirineu i Aran, 2020
II Jornades d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia del Pirineu i Aran, 2020
Sobrarbe. Revista del Centro de Estudios de Sobrarbe, 2019
Trabajos de Prehistoria, 2020
Recent archaeological research in the mountains of Ibe ria is beginning to document extensive seq... more Recent archaeological research in the mountains of Ibe ria is beginning to document extensive sequences of occu pation during de Holocene. In the Pyrenees stands out the location of a considerable number of sites date to 3350 and 2350 cal BC (Late Neolithic / Chalcolithic). This phenome non seems to link with the consolidation of the livestock exploitation in the alpine and subalpine zones. This work undertakes a the dispersion pattern analysis of archaeolog ical sites of this period in the National Park of Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici, in the Central Pyrenees. Using GIS it defines influence areas around the sites and the opti mal paths between them so as to evaluate two important variables in any livestock practice: the accessibility to the settlements and grazing areas. For comparative purposes the dispersion pattern of modern and contemporary sites is analysed as well. This study allows to conclude significant differences in the distribution of the sites both ancient and recent in relation to pastures and roads.
Actas. III Congreso de Arqueología y Patrimonio Aragonés, 2020
The use of the caves as places to house cattle is a recurring phenomenon in southern Europe. In a... more The use of the caves as places to house cattle is a recurring phenomenon in southern Europe. In archeology, this use is documented from the Early Neolithic largely by studying the “fumiers.” The excavation of the cave of Coro Trasito has allowed to document a detailed archaeological sequence of the ancient Neolithic, dated between 5300 and 4500 calANE, with a succession of layers of “fumier”. Nevertheless, their open area excavation shown the complexity of uses of the cavity, where activities of housing, production and habitat alternate. The present communication exposes the occupation floor of phase 4 of the site, where the overlapping of homes shows the configuration of a habitat and work space during an episode of interruption in the formation of the “fumier” during the first half of the V Millennium calBC.
Actas. III Congreso de Arqueología y Patrimonio Aragonés, 2020
In this paper we want to present a preview of a series of places with rock art found in the Ordes... more In this paper we want to present a preview of a series of places with rock art found in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, all of them belong to the municipality of Fanlo. The style of the paintings are classified in Levantine art and schematic art. Having studied the high mountain context in which all of them are found, it can be affirmed that, due to their location, they correspond to the northernmost and highest altitude cave paintings that are known in the Iberian Peninsula.
We can also affirm that these coats with cave paintings mark a new limit in the dispersion map of postpalolitic rock art in which these territories were left out until now.
Proyectos de investigación en Parques Nacionales: 2013-2017, 2019
The initial presence of humans in the high mountains almost since 8000 years ago shows more eleme... more The initial presence of humans in the high mountains almost since 8000 years ago shows more elements of domestication than initially estimated. Although the geographic extent of archaeological explorations is still limited, there is evidence of domestic livestock use and, in some cases, likely mixed-cereal agriculture at intermediate altitudes. It has not been possible to verify an impact of this activity on the landscape yet. In the Pyrenees, the distribution of archaeological sites in the high mountain changes associated with climate in the middle of the Holocene. The occupation of shelters and the number of archaeological sites decline. However, the human impact on the landscape is evident in some palaeoecological registers during the Bronze Age and involves the forest opening for grazing, probably using fire, on many occasions. The Middle Ages constitute the definitive transformation of the landscape and an organization of the use of the territory that has remained largely to present. A greater variety of land use, such as mining and metallurgy, added to livestock also with strong impact on forests. In the Sierra Nevada, the development of the irrigation ditch system by the Andalusians modified the hydrology to the present, with other implications on the landscape yet to be determined. Likely, the medieval imprint is still present in the current distribution of the species and the edaphic processes that occur tin the high mountain. From the initial mosaic of incipient transformations to the forcefulness and diversity of the Middle Ages, the spatial projection and temporal continuity on how the landscape acculturation of the high-mountain took place still require a deeper exploration throughout the territory.
Bolskan, 27, 2019
This article discloses the new panel with cave paintings of O Lomar, located in the municipality ... more This article discloses the new panel with cave paintings of O Lomar, located in the municipality of Fanlo (Huesca). The style of the paintings is natunaturalistic and is included in the so-called Levantine style rock art. Its location, altitude, geolocation and support make this finding unique.
Archéologies numériques, 2019
Les pratiques actuelles de la recherche en archéologie confirment une tendance forte au regroupe... more Les pratiques actuelles de la recherche en archéologie confirment une tendance forte au regroupement des chercheurs et à la mutualisation des données imposant désormais la mise en place de plateformes communes. Ce changement des pratiques se traduit par le passage du travail en local à l'ouverture vers des bases de données partagées entre plusieurs équipes, plusieurs institutions, voire plusieurs pays. Depuis 2005, l'expérience de sept travaux réalisés au sein du laboratoire Traces (Architerre, ChasséoLab, Départ, Graph-Comp, Modelespace, Monumen, M&P) en collaboration avec des institutions partenaires françaises et étrangères (ministère de la Culture, services régionaux, CNRS, universités, organismes et entreprises de l'archéologie préventive, associations, etc.) permet d'exposer les principes de la coordination, complexe, du travail collaboratif et l'impact des choix effectués. ABSTRACT. Current archaeological research practices confirm a strong trend towards the grouping of researchers and the sharing of data, which now requires the establishment of shared platforms. This change in practices is reflected in the shift from working locally to opening up to databases shared by several teams, several institutions and even several countries. Since 2005, the experience of seven projects carried out in the Traces laboratory (Architerre, ChasséoLab, Départ, Graph-Comp, Modelespace, Monumen, M&P) in collaboration with French and foreign partner institutions (Ministry of Culture, regional services, CNRS, universities, preventive archaeology organizations and companies, associations, etc.) has helped to clarify the principles of coordination, complexity, collaborative work and the impact of the choices made. MOTS-CLÉS. Archéologie, BD partagées, Webmapping, mutualisation, interopérabilité, gestion de projet.
Les Valls d’Andorra durant el Neolític: un encreuament de camins al centre dels Pirineus, 2018
Nabius, 17, 2019
“Voleu anar a plegar bolets”.
Aquesta va ser la frase que ens van dedicar alguns companys de prof... more “Voleu anar a plegar bolets”.
Aquesta va ser la frase que ens van dedicar alguns companys de professió quan fa prop de 18 anys, un grup d’arqueòlegs encara joves, doctors i llicenciats en arqueologia prehistòrica, vam demanar la primera autorització per fer prospeccions arqueològiques al nord del Pallars Sobirà. Formaven l’embrió de l’actual Grup d’Arqueologia de l’Alta Muntanya (GAAM) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona i el
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Les valls de Son i de Baiasca van ser les àrees escollides per aquella primera recerca l’any
2011. Es tractava de fer-hi prospeccions arqueològiques, de cercar i documentar a través de les evidències en superfície jaciments. Fora dels
pobles i les seues immediacions, de les construccions medievals, no s’hi coneixien restes arqueològiques.
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Arqueologia forense by Ermengol Gassiot Ballbè
Arqueologia de l'alta muntanya by Ermengol Gassiot Ballbè
We can also affirm that these coats with cave paintings mark a new limit in the dispersion map of postpalolitic rock art in which these territories were left out until now.
Aquesta va ser la frase que ens van dedicar alguns companys de professió quan fa prop de 18 anys, un grup d’arqueòlegs encara joves, doctors i llicenciats en arqueologia prehistòrica, vam demanar la primera autorització per fer prospeccions arqueològiques al nord del Pallars Sobirà. Formaven l’embrió de l’actual Grup d’Arqueologia de l’Alta Muntanya (GAAM) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona i el
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Les valls de Son i de Baiasca van ser les àrees escollides per aquella primera recerca l’any
2011. Es tractava de fer-hi prospeccions arqueològiques, de cercar i documentar a través de les evidències en superfície jaciments. Fora dels
pobles i les seues immediacions, de les construccions medievals, no s’hi coneixien restes arqueològiques.
We can also affirm that these coats with cave paintings mark a new limit in the dispersion map of postpalolitic rock art in which these territories were left out until now.
Aquesta va ser la frase que ens van dedicar alguns companys de professió quan fa prop de 18 anys, un grup d’arqueòlegs encara joves, doctors i llicenciats en arqueologia prehistòrica, vam demanar la primera autorització per fer prospeccions arqueològiques al nord del Pallars Sobirà. Formaven l’embrió de l’actual Grup d’Arqueologia de l’Alta Muntanya (GAAM) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona i el
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Les valls de Son i de Baiasca van ser les àrees escollides per aquella primera recerca l’any
2011. Es tractava de fer-hi prospeccions arqueològiques, de cercar i documentar a través de les evidències en superfície jaciments. Fora dels
pobles i les seues immediacions, de les construccions medievals, no s’hi coneixien restes arqueològiques.
Coro Trasito. Se describen las principales características morfológicas de estas estructuras, se detallan los elementos diferenciales de las fosas de la Edad del Bronce y del neolítico y se aportan elementos para inferir su funcionalidad y comprender su distribución espacial dentro de la cavidad. Así mismo se detallan otros elementos constructivos que, posiblemente, completaron la estructuración del espacio.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Neolítico; Edad del Bronce; Cueva redil; Almacenaje; Excavación en extensión; Pirineo.
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Extended diggings in cave’s area are showing occupations from Neolithic (VI and V Millennium calBC) and Bronze Age (middle of II Millennium calBC). About that, especially in the former, human settlement has to do with their use like a fold cave. We could see this fact in the “fumier” layers. Nevertheless, the presence of storage silos shows the presence of storage activities on the different phases of occupation, cattle stabling and distinction of cave space. We will present the prehistorical occupations in Coro Trasito at the moment. We will show morphological attributes of structures, distinctive features of Neolithic and bronze age silos too. We would like to understand their functionality and spatial distribution, and we will characterize other spatial features.
KEY WORDS: Neolithic; Bronze Age; Fold Cave; Storage; Open area excavation; Pyrenees.
L’analyse archéozoologique de la faune tétrapode issue de la tranchée met en évidence non seulement l’importance des rapports entre les groupes humains et la faune tétrapode de la région pendant les périodes étudiées, mais aussi, celle des variations qui ont eu lieu au cours du temps dans les comportements de subsistance.
Trois conclusions principales se dégagent de cette recherche:
1. Le spectre de la faune tétrapode issu de l’échantillon étudié, indique la présence d’une gestion saisonnière des ressources.
2. L’accroissement des valeurs du NR, du NMI et du nombre de taxons associés aux niches écologiques liées à l’eau douce, dans les périodes les plus récentes, témoignent d’une augmentation dans l’exploitation des ressources dulçaquicoles au cours du temps.
3. Le grand nombre d’écosystèmes exploités, la richesse et la diversité de l’assemblage permettent de conclure que les groupes humains de Karoline avaient une économie de
subsistance généraliste et opportuniste.
Ces populations précolombiennes, bien que continentales, ont donc adopté un mode de vie très similaire à celui des populations céramiques insulaires de la Caraïbe datées de la même période.
midden nº 4 of the Karoline site, in the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. In this geographical area, the shell-middens are generally constituted of Polymesoda sp. However, at Karoline the main taxon is a marine shell, Donax sp. In addition, several other taxa (nine) have been recognized; although some of them have been collected as food, some other were used to produce goods of direct (ornaments) and indirect (tools) consumption. Use wear analysis of these shells permits identify what of them were used as tools.
Keywords: Malacology, Caribe, Nicaragua, Archaeology.
Keywords: Shell midden, Archaeomalacology, Caribbean, Donax sp.
on the site Zamostje 2. Three fish-traps made from pine and spruce
splinters were discovered during surface excavations. They dated
to the early Neolithic period. Another two constructions made
from long pine, spruce and willow splinters were found during
underwater prospection in river Dubna bed. These objects are
dated to the late Mesolithic period; their preliminary attribution
is a mobile fish-screen. Besides the structures made from wood
splinters around 230 vertical piles found during underwater and
surface investigations. They belong to the different chronological
periods. Some of the piles are linked with fishery constructions;
other ones represent remains of separate buildings.
[...] L’estudi que ha portat a l’edició del llibre Comunitats agrícoles al
Pirineu. L’ocupació humana a Juberri durant la segona meitat del
Vè mil·lenni cal AC (Feixa del Moro, Camp del Colomer i Carrer
Llinàs 28, Andorra) neix, inicialment, d’una excavació d’urgèn·
cia realitzada al Camp del Colomer i d’una de preventiva al
Carrer Llinàs núm. 28, ambdues a la vila de Juberri (2009 i
2010).
De bon principi, la tipologia de les restes excavades i els ma·
terials exhumats deixaven entreveure que aquests jaciments
presentaven unes peculiaritats mereixedores d’una anàlisi més
acurada i, a la llum dels primers resultats obtinguts, es va pro·
gramar l’edició d’una monografia del Patrimoni Cultural d’An·
dorra per tal d’ampliar l’abast del que, sinó, hauria estat una
mera memòria administrativa.
El treball resulta de la implicació constant de diversos inves·
tigadors i col·laboradors sense els quals el sisè volum de la col·
lecció, que aporta noves dades sobre el llegat neolític d’Andor·
ra i, de retruc, permet nous enfocaments sobre la prehistòria
d’aquest sector dels Pirineus Orientals, no hauria pogut veure
la llum.
Cal també destacar que, per primera vegada, aquest projecte
s’ha ideat per ser difós digitalment. D’aquesta manera s’assoleix
la possibilitat de facilitar la seva difusió entre la comunitat ci·
entífica i el públic en general i, de ben segur, aquesta aportació
obre la porta a nous estudis que perfilaran i completaran el
nostre coneixement d’aquest període de les Valls.[...]