Upper-Pleistocene terrace deposits in Mediterranean climate: geomorphological and source-rock control on mineral and geochemical signatures (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain)

Mineral and chemical composition of alluvial Upper-Pleistocene deposits from the Alto Guadalquivir Basin (SE Spain) were studied as a tool to identify sedimentary and geomorphological processes controlling its formation. Sediments located upstream, in the north-eastern sector of the basin, are rich in dolomite, illite, MgO and KB2BO. Downstream, sediments at the sequence base are enriched in calcite, smectite and CaO, whereas the upper sediments have similar features to those from upstream. Elevated rare-earth elements (REE) values can be related to low carbonate content in the sediments and the increase of silicate material produced and concentrated during soil formation processes in the neighbouring source areas. Two mineralogical and geochemical signatures related to different sediment source areas were identified. Basal levels were deposited during a predominantly erosive initial stage, and are mainly composed of calcite and smectite materials enriched in REE coming from Neogene marls and limestones. Then the deposition of the upper levels of the alluvial sequences, made of dolomite and illitic materials depleted in REE coming from the surrounding Sierra de Cazorla area took place during a less erosive later stage of the fluvial system. Such modification was responsible of the change in the mineralogical and geochemical composition of the alluvial sediments.

These things are alive: relationships between material culture, communities, and archaeological legislation

This paper deals with the relationship between different sets of archaeological legislation, material culture and communities. First it presents a historical sketch of the heritage legislation in the West and its contemporary uses. Secondly, it shows how alternative archaeological agencies, such as community archaeology, deal with these problems. The discussion is especially relevant in Brazil, where contract archaeology is presently overwhelming, and the issue is raised in the last part of the paper.

Negative Archaeology. The Archaeological Borders of the Present

Nowadays, archaeology is trying to redefine its relation with objects. This change is taking place at the same time as the West is breaking once and for all with the generation who did the rural exodus in the mid of the twentieth century. The present paper proposes a revision of the conditions that allow us to both define this rupture and at the same time determine our affinity with materiality. This is done through a reconsideration of the relation between the past and the present and the dynamics marking this difference. We are situated in a moment when the experience of time is shifting and thus so is the integrity of archaeological objects. Under the name of Negative Archaeology, the border between past and present is explored. This border determines the creation of the past in a present which intends to homogenise changes. Archaeology is a unique discipline which could prevent this process, or at least bear witness to the dynamics to which objects seem to be subjected. Obscolescence is introduced as a concept in an attempt to name the aforementioned problem.

La cerámica del yacimiento arqueológico de Castillejo del Bonete (Terrinches, Ciudad Real). Estudio morfológico y tecnólogico

El presente trabajo incluye el estudio de un amplio conjunto cerámico perteneciente al yacimiento arqueológico de la Edad del Cobre y Edad del Bronce de Castillejo del Bonete. La muestra fue recuperada de distintas áreas del asentamiento durante la campaña de excavación de 2012. La investigación ha tenido como fin conocer mejor la relación forma-función de las vasijas, su proceso de fabricación, así como el modelo productivo y las posibles manifestaciones simbólicas presentes en el repertorio analizado. La metodología utilizada para cumplir con los objetivos se ha basado en la recopilación de datos, considerando una serie de variables morfológicas y tecnológicas, y su procesamiento con el empleo de técnicas estadísticas sencillas.

Standardization in the Pre-Columbian Pottery from El Caño, Panama: Specialization, Productivity and Consumption

The pottery found in the burials of El Cano is uniform in style to these made in the coclesanos valleys between 700 and 1000 AD. The coefficient of variability of the different pottery forms, evidence diverse standardizations values for polychrome and non-polychrome ceramics. Moreover, data of funerary contexts from the Cano recently excavated, suggest that elite has controlled ceramic production. This control over the production of certain goods reveals that these were important in the support or proper operational of the chiefdoms in Panama and mark the phase of splendour of this culture.

Grammar in dictionaries revisited: the case of verbs with se

This paper is a study about the way in which se structures are represented in 20 verb entries of nine dictionaries of Spanish language. There is a large number of these structures and they are problematic for native and non native speakers. Verbs of the analysis are middle-high frequency and, in the most part of the cases, very polysemous, and this allows to observe interconnections between the different se structures and the different meanings of each verb. Data of the lexicographic analysis are cross-checked with corpus analysis of the same units. As a result, it is observed that there is a large variety in the data which are offered in each dictionary and in the way they are offered, inter and intradictionary. The reasons range from the theoretical overall of each Project to practical performance. This leads to the conclusion that it is necessary to further progress in the dictionary model it is being handled, in order to offer lexico-grammatical phenomenon such as se verbs in an accurate, clear and exhaustive way.