The need to understand the cultural biographies of alpine and subalpine landscapes during Later Prehistory: Upland Archaeology in the Cantabrian Mountains

Abstract

Current debates around the Anthropocene tend to focus on recent planetary-scale processes. However, regional and small-scale processes can be very telling about human agency in the shaping of landscapes overtime. Indeed, anthropogenic impacts of different intensities can be observed on landscapes since Prehistory – even in such remote and allegedly marginal areas as deserts, wetlands or mountains. In this article, I reflect on the long-term anthropization of alpine and subalpine areas in the western area of the Cantabrian Mountains (North-West of Iberia) in Later Prehistory. Studying the earlier anthropogenic pressure on upland environs in this period reminds us of the potential of landscape archaeology to enhance interdisciplinarity in debates about the Anthropocene. With the aim of emphasizing the role of archaeology as a mediating arena between social sciences, humanities and earth sciences, I analyse the scarce archaeological information available for upland landscapes of this study area to show how these datasets can nuance evolutionary interpretations of paleo-environmental sequences studied at natural deposits. Only through integrated and comprehensive discussions around the cultural and environmental traits of landscapes will we be able to fully understand the complex social contexts where agrarian labour and collective action shaped the alpine and subalpine areas in the Cantabrian Mountains since the spread of the Neolithic.

Transhumance and long-term deforestation in the subalpine belt of the central Spanish Pyrenees: An interdisciplinary approach

“…Nevertheless, it is difficult to establish the consequences of this extensive grazing and its dependence on long-distance seasonal displacements in search of the best grasslands. Unfortunately, most archaeological remnants (e.g., huts, watering places, stalls) have disappeared because they were only transitory structures or because they were only scarcely studied, except in the Eastern Pyrenees (Ejarque et al, 2010;Bal et al, 2011;Catalán et al, 2013;Gassiot et al, 2014;Palet et al, 2014), in the Pardina Ravine of the Central Pyrenees (Laborda et al, 2017), and in the Cantabrian Mountains (González-Álvarez et al, 2016(González-Álvarez et al, , 2018González-Álvarez, 2019). Another complication is that the Latin terminology is often confusing.…”

Transformaciones recientes en los paisajes rurales de la Cordillera Cantábrica (Noroeste Ibérico)

“…Por todo lo anterior, he apostado por focalizar la atención de mis investigaciones en la Cordillera Cantábrica, convirtiendo este territorio en el área central de mi trabajo. Con ello, pongo el acento en valorar la capacidad de acción o de agencia de las comunidades humanas en el modelado de los pisos alpino y subalpino de estas montañas (González Álvarez, 2019b). Con este objetivo, pretendo no sólo abordar preguntas de investigación relacionadas con los grupos humanos del pasado.…”

Geo-ecology in the Anthropocene

“…It is called the Early Anthropogenic Era and some authors use the term PaleoAnthropocene (Foley et al, 2005;Ruddiman and Thomson, 2001). González-Álvarez (2019) indicated that anthropogenic impacts with different intensities on landscapes occur since prehistory. This author analyzes the long-term anthropization of alpine and subalpine areas in the northwestern area of the Iberian Peninsula and highlights the potential of landscape archaeology (cultural and environmental traits of landscapes) to analyze the Anthropocene.…”