An archaeological approach to regional environmental pollution in the south-western Iberian Peninsula related to Third millennium BC mining and metallurgy

Nocete, Francisco; Álex, E.; Nieto, José Miguel; Sáez, Reinaldo; Bayona, Moisés Rodríguez

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.04.012

Cited by 139 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In the southwest Iberian Peninsula, evidence of ecological degradation has been detected from the Chalcolithic. In the beginning of the third millennium BC, intensive copper mining and smelting developed in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southwestern Spain (Nocete et al, 2005). It was of great magnitude and provoked systematic deforestation and increased erosion and the beginnings of heavy metal pollution in the estuaries of Tinto and Odiel rivers (Gulf of Cádiz).…”

Section: Humans As Agents Of Disturbance (And More "Unexpected Pathwamentioning

confidence: 99%

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Carrión

Fernández

González-Sampériz

et al. 2010

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

347

219

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Recent, high-resolution palaeoecological records are changing the traditional picture of post-glacial vegetation succession in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the influence of Lateglacial and Early Holocene climatic changes, other factors are critical in the course of vegetation development and we observe strong regional differences. The floristic composition, location and structure of glacial tree populations and communities may have been primary causes of vegetation development. Refugial populations in the Baetic cordilleras would have been a source, but not the only one, for the early Lateglacial oak expansions. From Mid to Late Holocene, inertial, resilient, and rapid responses of vegetation to climatic change are described, and regional differences in the response are stressed. The role of fire, pastoralism, agriculture, and other anthropogenic disturbances (such as mining), during the Copper, Bronze, Iberian, and Roman times, is analysed. The implications of ecological transitions in cultural changes, especially when they occur as societal collapses, are discussed.

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Section: Humans As Agents Of Disturbance (And More "Unexpected Pathwamentioning

confidence: 99%

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Carrión

Fernández

González-Sampériz

et al. 2010

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

347

219

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“…Pyrite is the main metallic mineral, although sphalerite, galena, cha1copyrite and arsenopyrite are also found in lower quantities. An intense mining activity in this province, which goes back to the Third millennium B. C. (van Geen et al 1997;Nocete et al 2005;Ruiz et al 1998), is related to the exploitation of S-Gu-Pb-Zn from the sulfide ore bodies and, to a lesser extent, to Ag-Au (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A Geochemical and Geophysical Characterization of Sulfide Mine Ponds at the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Crespo

Martín-Velázquez

Gómez-Ortíz

et al. 2010

Water Air Soil Pollut

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“…Los estudios palinológicos y antracológicos de Cabezo Juré permiten establecer un primer balance del impacto en el entorno vegetal que causó una comunidad minero-metalúrgica del III Milenio ANE en su necesidad de contar con combustible para la alimentación de los hornos metalúrgicos (Álex et al, 2004;Nocete et al, 2005b) En la primera ocupación del sitio (cal. 2873±120 ANE), el porcentaje de polen arbóreo se cifra en un 13%, el arbustivo en un 21% y el herbáceo en un 66%.…”

Section: Resultados Y Discusiónunclassified

“…La evolución del nivel de metales pesados registrado en los moluscos recuperados en los sitios arqueológicos con cronologías comprendidas entre el 6000 y el 2200 ANE muestra el inicio de la contaminación por metales pesados (Cu, Zn y As), asociada a la minería y metalurgia en las aguas del Golfo de Cádiz, en el estuario de los ríos Tinto y Odiel, en la primera mitad del III Milenio ANE (Nocete et al, 2005b).…”

Section: Resultados Y Discusiónunclassified

Intensidad e intensificaciÃ³n en la primera minerÃa y metalurgia del cobre especializada de la PenÃnsula IbÃ©rica (III milenio a.n.e.): la identificaciÃ³n arqueolÃ³gica de un proceso regional de deforestaciÃ³n y poluciÃ³n

Calvo¹,

Tur²,

Liñán³

et al. 2004

Rev. atl.-mediterr. prehist. arqueol. soc.

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Intensidad e intensificación en la primera minería y metalurgia del cobre… RAMPAS, 7, 2004RAMPAS, 7, -2005. Resumen.El desarrollo de la primera estructura política centralizada en el sur de la Península Ibérica durante el III Milenio ANE determinó una división territorial del trabajo, con unos procesos de intensificación en la explotación minera que provocaron el primer gran impacto local y regional sobre el medioambiente. Para evaluarla hemos seleccionado el principal metalotecto del suroeste de Europa, la Faja Pirítica Ibérica, así como una metodología basada en la correlación de análisis palinológicos, antracológicos y químicos, estos últimos sobre conchas de moluscos marinos procedentes de registros arqueológicos contextualizados espacial y cronológicamente en una secuencia entre el VI y II Milenio ANE. Los resultados muestran que la metalurgia del cobre desarrollada en el suroeste de la Península Ibérica durante el III Milenio ANE generó un incremento de la deforestación, una aceleración de los procesos erosivos y contribuyó a la contaminación regional de las aguas del Golfo de Cádiz por metales pesados, en el área correspondiente a la desembocadura de los ríos Tinto y Odiel. F. Nocete, E. Álex, J. M. Nieto, R. Sáez, N. Inácio y M. R. Bayona, RAMPAS, 7, 2004 Revista Atlántica-Mediterránea Abstract.The development of the first inter-settlement hierarchical framework in the South of the Iberian Peninsula in the Third millennium BC lead to a territorial division of labour, in which intensification of mining activities caused the first significant environmental impact on local and regional scales. To evaluate this impact we have selected the prime mining district in Southwestern Europe, the Iberian Pyrite Belt, and a method based on the correlation of pollen, charcoal and chemical analysis. The latter analyses were carried out on marine mollusc shells from spatially and chronologically contextualised archaeological records from a sequence ranging from the Sixth to the Second millennium BC. The results reveal that the copper metallurgy which developed in the South-western Iberian Peninsula in the Third millennium BC augmented deforestation, increased the rate of erosion processes and contaminated, at a regional scale, the waters of the Gulf of Cádiz -corresponding to the mouth of the Tinto and Odiel rivers -with heavy metals.Key Words: III millennium ANE, south-western Iberian Peninsula, pollution, mining and smelting copper, deforestation, heavy metal. Sumario:1. Introducción. 2. El diseño de una metodología de contrastación. 3. Resultados y discusión. 4.Conclusiones. 5. Agradecimientos. 6. Bibliografía. Introducción.La asociación del origen y desarrollo de la Civilización Occidental a los de la metalurgia del cobre fue, y sigue siendo, el paradigma que ha centrado la mayor parte de los programas de investigación de la arqueología europea de los siglos XIX y XX.En él, la tradición arqueológica española, basándose exclusivamente en los parcos registros del sureste y en los vacíos de investigación del suroeste ...

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An archaeological approach to regional environmental pollution in the south-western Iberian Peninsula related to Third millennium BC mining and metallurgy

Cited by 139 publications

References 15 publications

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

A Geochemical and Geophysical Characterization of Sulfide Mine Ponds at the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Intensidad e intensificaciÃ³n en la primera minerÃa y metalurgia del cobre especializada de la PenÃnsula IbÃ©rica (III milenio a.n.e.): la identificaciÃ³n arqueolÃ³gica de un proceso regional de deforestaciÃ³n y poluciÃ³n

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An archaeological approach to regional environmental pollution in the south-western Iberian Peninsula related to Third millennium BC mining and metallurgy

Cited by 139 publications

References 15 publications

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

A Geochemical and Geophysical Characterization of Sulfide Mine Ponds at the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Intensidad e intensificaciÃ³n en la primera minerÃ­a y metalurgia del cobre especializada de la PenÃ­nsula IbÃ©rica (III milenio a.n.e.): la identificaciÃ³n arqueolÃ³gica de un proceso regional de deforestaciÃ³n y poluciÃ³n

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Intensidad e intensificaciÃ³n en la primera minerÃa y metalurgia del cobre especializada de la PenÃnsula IbÃ©rica (III milenio a.n.e.): la identificaciÃ³n arqueolÃ³gica de un proceso regional de deforestaciÃ³n y poluciÃ³n