scholarly journals La configuración del paisaje cultural durante la Alta Edad Media (siglos V-XI): cambios ambientales y actividad antrópica en el noroeste de la Península Ibérica

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Manuela Costa-Casais ◽  
Joeri Kaal
Keyword(s):  
Earth Sciences ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
North West ◽  
The North

Este trabajo tiene por objetivo aportar algunos elementos para el debate sobre la reconstrucción paleoambien-tal, desde las disciplinas de las Ciencias de la Tierra, centrándose en el período cultural de la Alta Edad Media (siglos V-XI). El artículo se divide en tres apartados. El primero, introduce conceptos básicos sobre la evolu-ción ambiental: ideas generales sobre la reconstrucción paleoambiental y un breve comentario sobre la activi-dad humana en el contexto de los paleoambientes. El segundo, muestra una aproximación metodológica a la reconstrucción desde diferentes disciplinas de las Ciencias de la Tierra. En el tercero, se comentan algunos resultados recientes obtenidos en el noroeste peninsular utilizando ejemplos de archivos que, en este caso, están representados por suelos coluviales y sus señales geoquímicas, analizando los procesos naturales y otros inducidos por la actividad antrópica, con la finalidad de ilustrar los conceptos discutidos en la primera parte. A modo de conclusión, el artículo se cierra con unas pinceladas sobre el paisaje de la Alta Edad Media en el Noroeste Peninsular, a partir de la interpretación y reconstrucción de los datos obtenidos. The configuration of the cultural landscape during the early Middle Ages (5th-11th centuries): Environ-mental changes and human activity in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula - This paper aims to promote the discussion of some elements relating to paleoenvironmental reconstruction, from the point of view of the Earth Sciences, focusing on the cultural period of the early Middle Ages (5th-11th centuries). The article is divided into three sections. In the first, the basic concepts of environmental evolution are introduced, such as the general ideas of paleoenvironmental reconstruction and a brief commentary on human activity in the context of paleoenvironments. The second section demonstrates a methodological ap-proach to reconstruction from the point of view of different disciplines of Earth Sciences. In the third section, recent results obtained in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula are commented on, making use of samples of colluvial soils and their geochemical signals obtained from environmental archives. An analysis is made of both natural processes and those caused by human activity, in order to illustrate the concepts discussed in the first part. The article concludes with some comments on the landscape of the early Middle Ages in the north-west of the Peninsula, based on the interpretation and reconstruction of the data obtained.

OSSETIAN EPIC AND ARCHAEOLOGY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.А. Туаллагов
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Traditional Image ◽  
Written Sources

Статья посвящена проблеме появления в Нартовском эпосе осетин редкого образа ящерицы. Данный образ практически неизвестен в осетинских мифологических, этнографических и фольклорных материалах, что соответствует положению и у других кавказских народов. Указанное положение определяет актуальность предложенной к анализу темы. Научная новизна исследования заключается в анализе материалов осетинского эпоса в свете древнеиранских религиозно-мифологических представлений и археологических памятников. Целью исследования является определение источника и условий появления соответствующего зооморфного образа в аланских древностях и эпическом наследии осетин. В ходе исследования применялись метод комплексного анализа нарративных и археологических источников на основе принципа историзма и системности изложения. В результате проведенного исследования удалось выявить общий круг археологических и письменных источников, позволяющих определиться с источником появления образа ящерицы в осетинском эпосе. Данный зооморфный образ проникает к аланам в раннем средневековье через посредничество населения Северо-Западного Кавказа, испытывавшего на себе непосредственно влияние зороастризма за счет вхождения данной территории в состав Сасанидской Персии. Не исключено, что прототипом самого изображения мог служить один из местных видов ящериц. Но, если здесь образ ящерицы непосредственно соответствовал образам зороастрийских сил зла , то у алан он был переосмыслен в русле собственных мифологических представлений. Время его появления определяется соответствующими находками зеркал в аланских памятниках. Но образ ящерицы не смог заменить или потеснить традиционный образ змеи, представленный и в эпосе. В эпосе он только пополнил ряд образов гадов в сюжете о волшебной чаше. The article is devoted to the problem of the appearance of a rare image of a lizard in the Narts epic of the Ossetians. This image is practically unknown in Ossetian mythological, ethnographic and folklore materials, which corresponds to the situation in other Caucasian peoples. The specified position determines the relevance of the topic proposed for analysis. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the analysis of the materials of the Ossetian epic in the light of ancient Iranian religious and mythological representations and archaeological monuments. The aim of the study is to determine the source and conditions for the appearance of the corresponding zoomorphic image in the Alanian antiquities and the Ossetian epic heritage. In the course of the study the method of a comprehensive analysis of narrative and archaeological sources based on the principle of historicism and systematic presentation was applied. As a result of the study, it was possible to identify a common circle of archaeological and written sources, allowing to determine the source of the appearance of the image of a lizard in the Ossetian epic. This zoomorphic image penetrates to the Alans in the early Middle Ages through the mediation of the population of the North-West Caucasus, who experienced the direct influence of Zoroastrianism due to the entry of this territory into Sasanian Persia. It is possible that one of the local species of lizards could serve as the prototype of the image itself. But, if here the image of the lizard directly corresponded to the images of the Zoroastrian forces of evil , then among the Alans it was reconsidered in line with its own mythological ideas. The time of its appearance is determined by the corresponding finds of the mirrors in the Alanian monuments. But the image of a lizard could not replace or displace the traditional image of a snake, presented in the epic. In epic, it only replenished a number of images of reptiles in the plot of the magic cup.

Proximity to urban fringe recreational facilities increases native biodiversity in an arid rangeland

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamer Khafaga ◽  
Greg Simkins ◽  
David Gallacher
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Urban Fringe ◽  
Recreational Facilities ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Urban Edge ◽  
Faunal Diversity ◽  
Arabian Oryx ◽  
Arabian Camel ◽  
Arid Rangeland

Urban developments affect neighbouring ecosystems in multiple ways, usually decreasing native biodiversity. Arabian arid rangeland was studied to identify the primary causes of biodiversity variation. Al Marmoum is a 990km2 area on the urban edge of Dubai, designated for ecological ‘enhancement’ and outdoor recreational use. The area lacks historical biodiversity data, but is thought to be primarily influenced by Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758) herbivory. Perennial floral and faunal diversity was assessed at 54 sites. Counts of reintroduced ungulates (Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx (Pallas, 1777), Arabian gazelle Gazella gazella cora (C.H. Smith, 1827) and sand gazelle G.subgutturosa marica (Thomas, 1897)) were made at 79 separate sites. Correlations of observed biodiversity with substrate type, anthropogenic structures, and ungulate distribution were assessed. Native biodiversity was substantially higher in north-north-west locations near recreational facilities, with the most likely cause being differential browsing pressure. Camel browsing faced greater communal regulation in the north-north-west, whereas oryx and gazelles congregated at feed points in the south-south-east that were farther from human activity. Arid rangeland in this socioecological landscape exhibits greater natural biodiversity at the urban fringe. Human activity reduces ungulate density, enabling a greater diversity of perennial flora, which then attracts non-ungulate fauna. Anthropogenic features can therefore offer conservation value in landscapes where ungulate populations are artificially elevated.

scholarly journals Before the Celts: Cosmology, Landscape and Folklore in Neolithic Northwest Iberia

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45
Author(s):  
Fabio Silva
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
The West ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Celtic Studies ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Northwest Iberia

This paper applies a combined landscape and skyscape archaeology methodology to the study of megalithic passage graves in the North-west of the Iberian Peninsula, in an attempt to glimpse the cosmology of these Neolithic Iberians. The reconstructed narrative is found to be supported also by a toponym for a local mountain range and associated folklore, providing an interesting methodology that might be applied in future Celtic studies. The paper uses this data to comment on the ‘Celticization from the West’ hypothesis that posits Celticism originated in the European Atlantic façade during the Bronze Age. If this is the case, then the Megalithic phenomenon that was widespread along the Atlantic façade would have immediately preceded the first Celts.

scholarly journals The metal artefacts from the prehistoric walled enclosure of Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão within the early metallurgy of north-west of Iberian Peninsula

2019 ◽  
pp. 305-328
Author(s):  
Carlo Bottaini ◽  
Ignacio Montero-Ruiz ◽  
Susana Lopes ◽  
Lídia Baptista ◽  
Sérgio Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Pure Copper ◽  
X Ray ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Metal Artefacts ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Arsenical Copper ◽  
North Western

This paper deals with the preliminary results of the typological and analytical study of a collection of copper-based objects found at the site of Castelo Velho (Freixo de Numão). This collection is associated to different contexts from the 3rd millennium BC (Chalcolithic). The analyses, performed by non-destructive X-ray fluorescence (XRF), show that the metals were produced with almost pure copper and arsenical copper (> 2% As). Impurities, such as As (<2%), Fe, Bi, Ag, Sn, Sb and Ni, were also identified, likely due to their presence in the ores used for the production of the objects. The data suggest that the metals from Castelo Velho may be framed within the metallurgical production already known for the Chalcolithic of the North-Western Iberian Peninsula.

The National Museums of Scotland Saqqara Survey Project, Earth Sciences 1990–1998

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-43
Author(s):  
Ian Mathieson ◽  
Elizabeth Bettles ◽  
Jon Dittmer ◽  
Colin Reader
Keyword(s):  
Earth Sciences ◽  
Southern Boundary ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Structural Details ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
National Museums ◽  
Geophysical Prospection

The National Museums of Scotland are engaged in producing an up-to-date archaeological and subsurface geophysical map of an interesting and little explored area of the necropolis of Memphis at Saqqara. The area comprises the Gisr el-Mudir (also known as the ‘Great Enclosure’) at the southern boundary, the open valley between the Sekhemkhet complex and the Gisr el-Mudir stretching north to the Serapeum and containing the L-shaped enclosure at the Old Kingdom tombs around the mastaba of Ptahhotep, the area of the Serapeum and its dependencies, and the valley to the north-west of the Sacred Animal complex down to the edge of the remnant lake at Abusir in the north. The geology, topography, structural details, techniques and instruments for geophysical prospection, methods of interpretation and results of our research are described and discussed. The conclusions draw on the significance of our work using geophysical prospection methods and sondage trenches to find the best solution for archaeological work in desert conditions.

Marine and continental distribution and dynamic of the early spawning migration of twaite shad (Alosa fallax (Lacépède, 1803)) and allis shad (Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Nachón ◽  
M. Mota ◽  
C. Antunes ◽  
M. J. Servia ◽  
F. Cobo
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
The European Union ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Allis Shad ◽  
Alosa Alosa ◽  
Twaite Shad ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Alosa Fallax

Knowledge regarding the marine phase of twaite shad (Alosa fallax (Lacépède, 1803)) and allis shad (Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758)) remains limited. To understand the coastal and continental distribution and dynamic of migration of these species, in the present study we collected official data records of marine landings (kg), separated according to species, for all fish markets in Galicia (north-west of the Iberian Peninsula) and undertook freshwater field sampling campaigns. The findings indicate that both species of shad exhibit a coastal distribution near the rivers where they spawn, namely the Minho and Ulla rivers. Catches at sea declined from January, a phenomenon that can be understood as the onset of migration to the rivers. Bycatch reports are important because both A. fallax and A. alosa are listed in the Annex V of the European Union Habitats Directive, which lists animal species whose exploitation and taking in the wild may be subject to management measures. However, for a better management of these species it is necessary to understand the magnitude of displacements and connection of shad populations at sea.

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