Papers by Javier Ordoño Daubagna
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
The relationship between infant and child feeding practices and early mortality is difficult to a... more The relationship between infant and child feeding practices and early mortality is difficult to address in past societies. Here, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope measurements of bulk bone and sequential dentine samples of deciduous second and/or permanent first molars of four younger children, one older child, one late adolescent, and two young adults (n = 8) from Moro de Alins cave, north-eastern Iberia, are used to explore the potential impact of early-life nutrition on mortality in the Bronze Age. Isotope results are compatible with generally short exclusive breastfeeding and standard weaning periods compared to other pre-modern populations. However, there are differences in exclusive breastfeeding mean δ13C values and in Δ13C trophic shifts between exclusive breastfeeding and immediate post-weaning isotope values for those individuals who survived into adolescence and adulthood and those who did not. While the former seem to be consistent with trophic distances p...
Arkeoikuska: Investigación arqueológica, 2019
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2021
Abstract The insufficient attention traditionally paid to the complex mortuary biographies of meg... more Abstract The insufficient attention traditionally paid to the complex mortuary biographies of megalithic graves has long obscured a significant amount of synchronic and diachronic information. The Rioja Alavesa region of north-central Iberia holds a number of megalithic graves with large skeletal assemblages that can generally be ordered by internal stratigraphy and/or relatively fine-grained radiocarbon chronologies, providing a rare opportunity to assess the potential of such information. Here, we undertake stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 125 human and seven animal bone collagen samples from six late prehistoric megalithic graves (La Cascaja, El Sotillo, San Martin, Alto de la Huesera, Chabola de la Hechicera and Longar) which, together with 107 previously published Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic (ca. 3600-2900 BC) bone collagen samples (100 humans and six animals) from the same tombs, are used to explore subsistence trends over time. This approach provides a means to address the socio-economic response of northern Iberian megalithic communities to the cultural and climatic changes occurring in late prehistory. Isotopic data are contextualized using palaeoenvironmental and osteoarchaeological information. The results show a significant shift in diet between the late Middle Neolithic and the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic that coincides with marked changes in burial practices that are likely related to the transition from mainly pastoral to mixed farming economies. There may also be a change in subsistence between the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic and the following periods, suggested by differences in δ15N values between the layers of the Alto de la Huesera megalithic grave, as well as in population and funerary dynamics. By contrast, an apparent continuity in subsistence is seen, at least isotopically, from the Middle Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age, despite clear changes in beliefs and socio-economic practices. These findings support the existence of substantial asynchronous changes in lifeways and ideology among Iberian megalithic groups and challenge the traditional idea of a long and uniform stability in late prehistoric northern Iberia.
Quaternary International, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Trabajos de Prehistoria, 2017
Se presentan los resultados del análisis de isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno sobre coláge... more Se presentan los resultados del análisis de isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno sobre colágeno óseo de los individuos depositados en la cista guipuzcoana de la Edad del Bronce (II milenio cal. BC) de Ondarre. Los datos obtenidos sugieren una dieta mixta de origen terrestre basada en el consumo de plantas C3 y sobre todo de animales domésticos. No existen indicios de que los recursos marinos, lacustre-fluviales o las plantas C4 supusieran una contribución significativa a la subsistencia cotidiana, tal y como parece ocurrir en otros yacimientos coetáneos de la Península Ibérica y el archipiélago balear. La elevada ingesta proteica observada podría vincularse con el estatus de los inhumados y/o con la prevalencia de un modelo económico ganadero en que el consumo de productos animales tendría un gran peso.
Antiquity, 2020
Once considered rare, archaeological examples of violence in prehistoric Europe have accumulated ... more Once considered rare, archaeological examples of violence in prehistoric Europe have accumulated over recent decades, with new discoveries providing evidence of large-scale, organised warfare among pre- and protohistoric populations. One example is La Hoya in north-central Iberia. Between the mid fourth and late third centuries BC, the site was subjected to a violent attack, its inhabitants killed and the settlement burned. Here the authors present osteological analyses for a massacre: decapitations, amputations and other sharp-force injuries affecting a wide cross section of the community. They interpret the massacre as an instance of conflict between rival local communities, contributing to a growing picture of the scale and nature of violence in Iron Age Europe.
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition has stimulated much debate over the last decades with... more The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition has stimulated much debate over the last decades within archaeological research. Several factors have been suggested to explain the different changes that happened in this controversial period (human biology, technological evolution, language, symbolism). However, there are still many unknown areas to analyze. One of them is the territorial behaviour of the populations involved in the process. Until now there has been very little insight in the spatial distribution of the sites and even less about the decisions and conditionings that led them to settle and move back and forth across the territory. This contribution analyzes the case of the Cantabrian Region, an excellent setting for an archaeo-geographical study because of its ample archaeological record (approximately 125 sites) and its specific geography lie. The main caves and rockshelters (88 per cent of the total) are examined in order to gather information on their spatial distribution, their geographical and topographical position with regard to their natural environment, their orientation, their relationship with the main economic resources (especially water sources, accessible biotopes, and lithic raw material supplies) and, where possible, on their quality and functionality. The interpretation of these variables allows us to detect differences and similarities in the territorial behaviour of the ‘transitional populations’.
Science Advances, 2020
The coexistence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sci... more The coexistence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sciences that is not easily addressed in prehistory. Differences in mortuary treatment can help approach this issue. Here, we present a multi-isotope study to track both diet and mobility through the life histories of 32 broadly coeval Late Neolithic individuals interred in caves and in megalithic graves of a restricted region of northern Iberia. The results show significant differences in infant- and child-rearing practices, in subsistence strategies, and in landscape use between burial locations. From this, we posit that the presence of communities with distinct lifestyles and cultural backgrounds is a primary reason for Late Neolithic variability in burial location in Western Europe and provides evidence of an early “them and us” scenario. We argue that this differentiation could have played a role in the building of lasting structures of socioeconomic inequality and, occasionally, viole...
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope research on past populations in the Iberian Neolithic has emph... more Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope research on past populations in the Iberian Neolithic has emphasized the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. This study provides the first isotopic insights into the diet and subsistence economy of Early and Middle Neolithic populations from open-air sites in interior north-central Iberia. We present bone collagen carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope ratios for 44 humans and 33 animals recovered from six cemeteries of the Ebro valley and the northern Iberian Plateau. The results obtained are consistent with the C 3 terrestrial diets typical of other contemporary southwestern European populations, but the spacing between human and herbivore values from Los Cascajos and Paternanbidea sites is higher than expected, and a significant positive correlation is identified between the δ 13 C and δ 15 N human values at both. Moreover, the results clearly differ from those of the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic in the same region, which show significantly lower δ 13 C and δ 15 N values. These findings contribute to an understanding of the implementation of an agro-pastoral economy in interior Iberia, suggesting a stronger reliance on animal foods among the first Neolithic groups of inner Iberia than in subsequent periods as well as differential access to some resources (possibly suckling herbivores) in the diet, which may point to the existence of early social or economic inequalities that do not seem to be linked to age and sex parameters or to mortuary treatment.
Munibe Antropologia-Arkeologia, 2016
Los estudios referentes a la gestión de los recursos líticos-especialmente el sílex-por parte de ... more Los estudios referentes a la gestión de los recursos líticos-especialmente el sílex-por parte de los grupos prehistóricos en las dos vertientes del Pirineo occidental han aumentado de manera considerable en las últimas décadas. En este trabajo, pretendemos realizar una aproximación a la movilidad de los grupos superopaleolíticos, mediante los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG). Estos nos permiten relacionar espacialmente los afloramientos de sílex y los restos líticos encontrados en los yacimientos arqueológicos. Para ello, hemos construido, a través de los Cost Distance Analysis, una serie de mapas que permiten detectar las dinámicas de expansión de cada uno de afloramientos, así como los patrones de aprovisionamiento de cada yacimiento. Adicionalmente, hemos relacionado los valores numéricos obtenidos del análisis espacial con la cantidad de sílex encontrado en cada nivel arqueológico a partir de estadística descriptiva y la aplicación de la lógica difusa. De esta forma hemos podido revisar los conceptos de autoctonía y aloctonía, así como plantear modelos generales de aprovisionamiento y distribución de sílex en la región. LABURPENA Mendebaldeko Pirinioen bi isurialdeetan historiaurreko taldeek baliabide litikoen-batez ere silexa-inguruan eginiko kudeaketari buruzko azterlanak asko ugaritu dira azken hamarkadetan. Lan honetan, hurbiltze bat egin nahi diogu talde superopaleolitikoen mugikortasunari, Informazio Geografikoko Sistemen (GIS) bidez. Hala, espazioa kontuan hartuta lotu ditzakegu aztarnategi arkeologikoetan aurkitutako silexaren eta hondakin litikoen azaleratzeak. Horretarako, Cost Distance Analysis direlakoen bidez, zenbait mapa eraiki ditugu eta horiei esker, azaleratze bakoitzaren hedatze-dinamikak detektatu ditugu. Aztarnategi bakoitzaren hornitze-ereduak ere eraiki ditugu. Horrez gain, azterketa espazialaren emaitza gisa eskuratu ditugun zenbakizko balioak maila arkeologiko bakoitzean aurkitutako silex kantitatearekin lotu ditugu deskribapenezko estatistikatik abiatuta eta logika lausoa aplikatuta. Hala, autoktonia eta aloktonia kontzeptuak berraztertu ahal izan ditugu eta aipatutako eremuko hornitze-eredu orokorrak eta silexaren banaketa planteatu ditugu.
Munibe Antropologia-Arkeologia, 2016
Tradicionalmente, viene considerándose que el paso de los grupos humanos por los Pirineos resulta... more Tradicionalmente, viene considerándose que el paso de los grupos humanos por los Pirineos resulta dificultoso durante el Paleolítico y existen, efectivamente, datos que contradicen este planteamiento. Incluso podemos valorar como verosímil la existencia de una región paleolítica pirenaica, con rasgos culturales específicos y una serie de yacimientos implicados, especialmente durante el Magdaleniense. La existencia de rutas de tránsito a través de los tramos centrales de los Pirineos no es incompatible, sin embargo, con una mayor preferencia por los pasos occidental y oriental entre la Península Ibérica y el resto del continente europeo. Partiendo de esta hipótesis, nos proponemos explorar la ruta occidental del poblamiento peninsular, la que cruza el País Vasco, a partir de diferentes tipos de registro: la propia dispersión de los yacimientos arqueológicos, la distribución de materias primas líticas, los tecnocomplejos y las similitudes o diferencias en los comportamientos culturales y económicos de los grupos humanos. Para ello, partimos de la reflexión teórica efectuada en el Coloquio de Tarascon (2004), para comprobar la validez de aquella propuesta, desde la perspectiva de doce años. LABURPENA Sarritan aipatu da Pirinioetako pasatzea zaila izan dela gizakientzako, Paleolitoan zehar, eta ba dira datuak hipotesi hau ezeztatzeko. Batzuk aipatu dute Pirinioetako eremu kultural bat, adierazle kultural oso espezifikoekin, bereziki Magdalen aldian. Pirinioak zeharkatzen dituzten zenbait pasabideen izatea, aldi berean, bateragarria da beste planteamenduarekin, hain zuzen ere, gizataldeek nahiago izaten dituztela Pirinioetako mendebaldeko eta ekialdeko ertzak Iberiar Penintsula eta kontinentearen arteko pasabideak bezala, erosoagoak direlako. Hipotesi hau abiapuntutzat hartuta, mendebaldeko pasabidea (Euskal Herria zeharkatzen duena) zenbait erregistro materialen arabera aztertuko dugu: aztarnategi arkeologikoen sakabanaketa, harrizko lehengaien hornidura eta gizataldeen portaera kultural eta ekonomikoen arteko aldeak eta desberdintasunak. Aspaldian, 2004ko Tarascon-sur-Ariègen izandako kongresuan egin genuen hausnarketa teoretikoa izan da gure oinarria, hamabi urte beranduago hipotesi horren baliokidetza aztertzeko.
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2016
Studies on lithic resource management –mainly flint– by prehistoric groups south of the western P... more Studies on lithic resource management –mainly flint– by prehistoric groups south of the western Pyrenees have significantly increased during the past decades. These studies usually focus on identifying outcrops and characterising the different varieties found at archaeological sites. However, the understanding of mobility and territorial management patterns based on raw materials is still very limited and has only been tackled in terms of lineal distance.This paper proposes a methodological approach for the territorial analysis of flint distribution with the three following aims: 1) to determine the expansion ranges of each variety of flint from its outcrop; 2) to spatially relate these outcrops with archaeological sites; and 3) to improve our knowledge on the catchment strategies of Upper Palaeolithic groups.The methodological tool chosen to fulfil these objectives is the Geographic Information System (GIS), because it allows to relate spatially the flint outcrops and flint varieti...
Due to many concurrent circumstances (scarce records, enormous periods of time used and the local... more Due to many concurrent circumstances (scarce records, enormous periods of time used and the localist view of research), it has not been common to reflect on the geography of palaeolithic societies. The growing interest in studying the sources and distribution areas of different resources, such as lithic raw materials, means this topic can now be examined with quite reliable data. applied to the case being analysed here (the Basque Crossroads), it enables a very different view on the spatial behaviour of human groups from the one we had a few decades ago, on two different scales. The first scale is within the general framework of southwestern europe, the region in which the Basque Crossroads served as a corridor for the movement of human and animal populations. The second scale is in understanding settlement patterns during the palaeolithic in a small region like the basque country, with a sufficiently representative and widely-known record. As a consequence of the reflections on the distribution of lithic resources in the various phases of the palaeolithic, it is possible to predict a new distribution of archaeological sites, whose reliability is being verified through selective archaeological surveying.
It has traditionally been thought that movement of human groups across the Pyrenees would have be... more It has traditionally been thought that movement of human groups across the Pyrenees would have been difficult in the Palaeolithic, although there are data contradicting this view. It may even be proposed that a Pyrenean region existed in the Palaeolithic with specific cultural traits and a series of sites, especially in the Magdalenian. The existence of routes across the central parts of the Pyrenees is not incompatible, however, with a preference for the western and eastern routes between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. With this hypothesis, we propose to explore the western route for the movement of populations, the one that crosses the Basque Country, through different kinds of record: the location of the archaeological sites themselves, the distribution of lithic raw materials, the technocomplexes, and the similarities and differences in the cultural and subsistence behaviour of the human groups.
Munibe Antropologia-Arkeologia, 2008
El análisis arqueológico del territorio ha sufrido en las últimas décadas una evolución decisiva ... more El análisis arqueológico del territorio ha sufrido en las últimas décadas una evolución decisiva dentro de la investigación de la Prehistoria Cantábrica, convirtiéndose en la actualidad en una aproximación básica para la comprensión de las formas de vida de las sociedades que poblaron este marco geográfico. Ello se ve reflejado en la gran profusión de trabajos que, aunque de forma diferente, han tratado y tratan esta cuestión en detalle, y que conforman en su conjunto el presente estado de conocimiento sobre la noción de territorio para este período. El Paleolítico se nos ofrece como un marco cronológico idóneo para entender este proceso por dos motivos: primero, porque su estudio, en el cual el análisis de la territorialidad debe jugar un papel destacado en los próximos años, continúa siendo de gran actualidad dentro de la disciplina prehistórica cantábrica; y segundo, porque es en períodos tan complejos y todavía desconocidos como éste donde mejor se puede valorar la aplicabilidad y posibilidades reales de las diversas aproximaciones territoriales que se han propuesto hasta la fecha.
American journal of physical anthropology, Jul 15, 2018
San Juan ante Portam Latinam is one of a small number of European Neolithic sites meeting many of... more San Juan ante Portam Latinam is one of a small number of European Neolithic sites meeting many of the archaeological criteria expected for a mass grave, and furthermore presents evidence for violent conflict. This study aims to differentiate between what is potentially a single episode of deposition, versus deposition over some centuries, or, alternatively, that resulting from a combination of catastrophic and attritional mortality. The criteria developed are intended to have wider applicability to other such proposed events. Ten new AMS C determinations on human bone from the site, together with previously available dates, are analyzed through Bayesian modeling to refine the site's chronology. This is used together with the population's demographic profile as the basis for agent-based demographic modeling. The new radiocarbon results, while improving the site's chronology, fail to resolve the question whether the burial represents a single event, or deposition over deca...
In this article are exposed the results obtained in the archaeological prospecting developed in t... more In this article are exposed the results obtained in the archaeological prospecting developed in the open air site of Larrañaga (Hondarribia, Gipuzkoa). We also put these results in the same framework with those obtained in our prospecting project with archaeological polls of the Mount Jaizkibel, that is being developed by M.J. Iriarte and A. Arrizabalaga since 2001, in the northeast sector of the mount Jaizkibel (municipality of Hondarribia, northern slope).
Excavations at the Iron Age settlement of La Hoya in north-central Iberia, which was attacked bet... more Excavations at the Iron Age settlement of La Hoya in north-central Iberia, which was attacked between the mid-4th and the late 3rd centuries BC, provided fossilized scenes of devastation and death but also an extraordinary opportunity to analyze lifeways. Here, we conduct stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human, animal and plant remains to reconstruct aspects of subsistence. The results indicate a mainly C3-based subsistence economy, focused on the cultivation of cereals and the herding of domestic animals, particularly pigs, as the archaeological data support. Although C4 plants are less abundant, they may have played a key role in infant and child feeding practices. Inferred differences in livestock management, as well as in manuring intensity and management in relation to water resources between crops, suggest a well-established farming economy. Inter-household variability in crop-cultivation and land-use suggests household production and subsistence autonomy, and su...
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Papers by Javier Ordoño Daubagna
human groups across the Pyrenees would have been
difficult in the Palaeolithic, although there are data
contradicting this view. It may even be proposed that
a Pyrenean region existed in the Palaeolithic with specific
cultural traits and a series of sites, especially in the
Magdalenian. The existence of routes across the central
parts of the Pyrenees is not incompatible, however, with
a preference for the western and eastern routes between
the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. With this
hypothesis, we propose to explore the western route
for the movement of populations, the one that crosses
the Basque Country, through different kinds of record:
the location of the archaeological sites themselves, the
distribution of lithic raw materials, the technocomplexes,
and the similarities and differences in the cultural and
subsistence behaviour of the human groups.