Books by Enrique Cerrillo-Cuenca
The convergence of a number of research groups with common interests in an area little favored by... more The convergence of a number of research groups with common interests in an area little favored by the traditional hypotheses of the interpretation of Peninsular Prehistory made a group of scholars aware of the necessity of periodic meetings to evaluate current thinking. The first took place at Santiago de Alcántara. The contents of these meetings has centered on the analysis of the undervaluing paradigms that have shaped an image of the peninsular interior void of population and subject to late and little compact impulses of more civilizing cultures, always settled on the Iberian coasts, both in the east and the west.
Extremadura Arqueológica IX, 2001
This is the first monograph to focus on the study of Early Neolithic groups along the Tagus river... more This is the first monograph to focus on the study of Early Neolithic groups along the Tagus river basin, in Central Spain. The author presents the first archaeological results on the Neolithic communities in the province of Caceres, Central Spain, establishing a theoretical and methodological framework to analyse the archaeological record. A large part of the work gathers together previous archaeological research on the area and presents new data obtained from a review of museum collections, surveys, and the excavation of the site of Los Barruecos, the main archaeological reference for the Early Neolithic in the region. Other chapters cover the Early Neolithic material culture, the archaeobotanical data and an analysis of faunal remains, among other data.
Papers by Enrique Cerrillo-Cuenca
Archaeological Prsopection, 2024
The evolving dynamics of climate change and water resource management present unique challenges f... more The evolving dynamics of climate change and water resource management present unique challenges for the research and conservation of archaeological heritage, particularly within reservoirs. The Dolmen of Guadalperal in Spain and its surrounding archaeological sites exemplify such a scenario. This study is dedicated to the development and application of a comprehensive methodology for archaeological documentation and site detection, integrating an array of approaches including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from Sentinel-1, photogrammetric restitution using historical imagery and geometric recording of sites with diverse sensing equipment. A distinctive aspect of this research lies in juxtaposing multibeam sonar data, typically associated with underwater surveys, with standard land-based documentation methods like photogrammetry and LiDAR. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating data from these diverse techniques in detecting new archaeological sites and monitoring their alterations, which could be potentially harmful.
Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
Abstract The present paper shows that is possible to record archaeological sites using 4k videos ... more Abstract The present paper shows that is possible to record archaeological sites using 4k videos from UAVs. The here described methodology starts with the decomposition of the videos in the original frames. Considering that the recording of videos is taken at a regular pace the extracted frames can be selected in different patterns to assure a proper photogrammetric restitution. In this paper, we have tested different configurations (overlapping of frames and the number of ground control points) to design an efficient protocol. The results show that the method is suitable for surveying large sites and that 4k videos can be a reliable source for producing accurate cartographic products (digital terrain models and ortho-images).
Goal: Ph.D. project, FCT funded - In the transition and consolidation of the agro-pastoralist sys... more Goal: Ph.D. project, FCT funded - In the transition and consolidation of the agro-pastoralist system in Western Iberia the knowledge about the palaeoeconomic aspects is still scarce. An investigation project focusing in the low and middle Tejo valley (Portugal and Spain) was prepared in order to help decrease this research gap. The project consists on the revision and study of archaeofauna collections; the necessity to increase actualistic data and socialize scientific knowledge are also outlined. Our aim is to relaunch the discussion of the paradigms applied to this transitive period basing our studies in the archaeofauna records from different regional scales, this way allowing a confrontation at the peninsular and european scale.
Date: 1 May 2012 - 30 January 2017
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2013
Resumos | Jorge Raposo (português), Luisa Pinho (inglês) e Maria Isabel dos Santos (francês) Mode... more Resumos | Jorge Raposo (português), Luisa Pinho (inglês) e Maria Isabel dos Santos (francês) Modelo gráfico, tratamento de imagem e paginação electrónica | Jorge Raposo
Arqueologia Subacuatica Espanola Actas Del I Congreso De Arqueologia Nautica Y Subacuatica Espanola Cartagena 14 15 Y 16 De Marzo De 2013 Vol 2 2014 Isbn 978 84 9828 487 4 Pags 67 80, 2014
During the 1960 and 1970 decades, several engineering works were performed along the Tagus River ... more During the 1960 and 1970 decades, several engineering works were performed along the Tagus River for producing hydroelectric energy; consequently areas with high potential archaeological were flooded. Since the heritage preservation polices were in an early stage, the works didn’t count with impact evaluation assesses, and a system- atic documentation of heritage was never performed. Nowadays, there is awareness for engaging in activities directed to the underwater heritage that lies in continental waters, which should lead to a discussion about how to face its preservation. Current laws do not reflect the status of this specific underwater heritage, consequently, the sites are consid- ered as conventional terrestrial archaeological heritage. It seems evident that is necessary to develop techniques to boost the gathering of information on the sites and their environments, which should be also dedicated to analyse and model the agents that aggravate its deterioration.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2021
Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a statistical technique for decomposing information from ... more Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a statistical technique for decomposing information from datasets into maximally independent components. ICA allows the researcher to recover two or more independent signals that appear mixed within the same dataset. This paper shows ICA to be an extremely effective method for separating different colours found in rock paintings into discrete images or components. The comparison between the results of ICA and PCA (Principal Component Analysis) shows that ICA accurately separates panels with more than one type of colour, while PCA achieves a lower degree of separation. This study also shows that in scenes with monochrome depictions, ICA tends to be slightly more effective in separating the pigments from the rock. The ICA method has been applied successfully to several rock art panels from Northern Chile, where the use of diverse types of mineral pigments is common. Two analyses conducted at the Pampa El Muerto 11 site in the Northern Chilean highlands reveal how ICA can contribute to a more compelling interpretation of more intricate panels. The comparison between the results of ICA and PCA (Principal Components Analysis) shows that ICA correctly separates panels with more than one type of pigment, while PCA achieves a lower degree of separation. This study also shows that in scenes with monochrome depictions, ICA tends to be slightly more effective in separating the pigments from the rock. ICA algorithm has been successfully in several rock panels from Northern Chile, where the use of diverse types of mineral pigments is usual. Two panels from the Pampa El Muerto site have been analysed with the technique mentioned above, informing that its application can collaborate on a more compelling interpretation of intricate panels. Free accessible (until January 03, 2021) at: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1c4G%7E15SlTogjG
Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional, 2020
Resumen: Este trabajo pretende realizar una evaluación de los usos de la tecnología LiDAR en la a... more Resumen: Este trabajo pretende realizar una evaluación de los usos de la tecnología LiDAR en la arqueología española en su corto recorrido de apenas cinco años desde la liberación de datos por parte del Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). Presenta una recogida bibliográfica de la información por periodos, comunidades autónomas y tipos de sitios arqueológicos, con el objetivo de evaluar el grado de implantación del LiDAR en la disciplina arqueológica. Finalmente realiza algunas propuestas de trabajo futuras. Palabras clave: Tecnologías de la información geográficas. Teledetección. Análisis del paisaje en arqueología. Recuentos. Regiones de España. Abstract: This paper intends to evaluate the uses of LiDAR technology in Spanish archaeology during the short span of time after the free dissemination of data by the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN). We present a bibliographical collection of information by periods, regions and types of archaeological sites with the aim of evaluating the degree of implementation of LiDAR in Spanish archaeological practice. Finally, we analyse some future proposals.
Quaternary International, 2017
The distribution and location of Naturalistic Tradition rock art paintings from the Precordillera... more The distribution and location of Naturalistic Tradition rock art paintings from the Precordillera (western foothills of the Andean Cordillera), in northernmost Chile, are discussed. Stylistic similarities in rock art suggest a connection between different sites and the construction of a specific symbolic territory and cultural landscape, where information-flows played a significant role. This process begun after the end of the Middle Archaic period (ca. 6000 BP) and during the Late Archaic (6.000e3.700 BP), when important transformations took place in social organization, interaction, mobility, economy and ideology in the whole South-Central Andes region. In the Precordillera changes related to camelid management were crucial, as shown by specific scenes of animals and human-animal interactions. The legitimation of this space required a territorial definition and new social interactions. In addition to the study of settlement patterns in the precordillera, this rock art study contributes to the further consideration of the social dimensions of the archaic highland communities.
Archaeological Prospection, 2019
The megalithic sites from southwest Iberia represent one of the largest clusters of prehistoric m... more The megalithic sites from southwest Iberia represent one of the largest clusters of prehistoric monuments in Europe from the Neolithic and Copper Age (fifth and third millennia cal BC). Unlike other regions from western Europe, there has not been a recent effort to map the distribution of these kinds of burials across this vast territory. Therefore, this article aims to collect geographic information from three regions of southwest Iberia (Alentejo and Beira Baixa from Portugal and Extremadura from Spain) and to compare the archaeological evidence between different landscape units. We have mapped already known megaliths (ca 2000) and settlements (ca 1500) in this area. Moreover, through the interpretation of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) datasets, we have identified new walled enclosures and megaliths in the Extremadura region (Spain), the only one of the three where LiDAR data are available. The new data reveals new connections between settlements, burials and other archaeological evidence. Finally, we discuss the impact that these new data have on a new overall interpretation of megalithic landscapes from the Iberian Peninsula, stressing also the potential risks that the massive application of remote sensing can have in the production of archaeological knowledge.
The Holocene, 2015
A detailed pollen analysis has been carried out on two sediment cores taken from a marsh area loc... more A detailed pollen analysis has been carried out on two sediment cores taken from a marsh area located in the Doñana National Park, southwestern Spain. The studied sedimentary sequences contain a similar late Holocene record of vegetation and climate and show a progressive aridification trend since at least 5000 cal. yr BP, through a decrease in forest cover in this area. Long-term vegetation changes shown here (semi-desert expansion and Mediterranean forest decline) paralleled declining summer insolation. Decreasing summer insolation most likely impacted negatively on tree growing season as well as on winter precipitation in the area. Superimposed on the long-term aridification trend were multi-centennial scale periods characterized by forest reductions or increases in arid and halophytic plants that can be interpreted as produced by enhanced droughts and/or by local geodynamic processes. These are centered at ca. 4000, 3000-2500, and 1000 cal. yr BP, coinciding in timing and duration with well-known dry events in the western Mediterranean and other areas but could have also been generated by local sedimentary or geodynamic processes such as a marine transgression in a subsidence context and extreme wave events (EWEs). The alternation of persistent North Atlantic Oscillation modes probably played an important role in controlling these relatively humid-arid cycles.
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Books by Enrique Cerrillo-Cuenca
Papers by Enrique Cerrillo-Cuenca
Date: 1 May 2012 - 30 January 2017
Date: 1 May 2012 - 30 January 2017
Entender como se produce la asimilación de contenidos científicos, los de las llamadas “ciencias prehistóricas”, en un ambiente como el de Extremadura, sólo es posible a través de la figura de Vicente Paredes. Paredes mantendrá contacto epistolar con las persona- lidades más influyentes de la Prehistoria peninsular de finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX, y tratará de ofrecer su peculiar interpretación de ese pasado primitivo a través de artículos en la Revista de Extremadura.
Communication presented at 1º Congresso de Arqueologia do Alto Ribatejo. Vila Nova da Barquinha, 11-12 Outubro, 2011.
stelae with engraved weapons and chronologically advanced megalithic graves. The importance of human images in the development
of Iberian megalithic art supports an evolution of these contents toward pieces with engraved weapons which dating back to the 3rd
millennium cal BC.
From the analysis of the evidences reported by the whole geographical sector, this paper is also aimed at determining if the graphic
resources used in these stelae express any kind of identity.
Visible stelae in barrows and chambers from the 3rd millennium cal BC would be the images around which sepulchral areas were
progressively added, thus constituting true ancestral references throughout the Bronze Age.
Keywords: Chalcolithic, megalithic sites, identities, metallurgy, SW Iberian Peninsula