Angel Carrancho

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• PhD
• Senior Lecturer at University of Burgos

Due to its long occupation throughout the Middle Palaeolithic and the abundance of its pyrotechnological evidence, the Abric Romaní rockshelter (Capellades, Barcelona) provides an ideal setting for studying Neanderthal fire use. We conducted an archaeomagnetic study of four hearths from Level R (ca. 60 ky BP). Rock magnetism experiments, including...

During the course of the excavations of the Early Iron Age site of El Castillar (northern Spain), a well-preserved burnt level was discovered. The wide time interval provided by four 14C dates (ca. 800 – 416 BCE) offered a good opportunity to perform a full-vector archaeomagnetic study to date the last heating and site abandonment. These studies an...

Middens, commonly found in archaeological sites across different chronologies, serve as rich sedimentary archives of daily life by capturing the refuse and discarded artifacts of past human groups. This study focuses on the midden deposits of the Early Iron Age settlement site of Cerro de San Vicente (Central Iberia). We applied a high-resolution,...

The extended period of coexistence between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Europe coincided with the emergence of regionally distinctive lithic industries, signalling the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic. The Iberian Peninsula was on the periphery of pioneering Upper Palaeolithic developments, with archaeological remains primarily found in northern...

Here we present a novel approach that combines soil micromorphology with the analysis of magnetically oriented samples to improve the interpretation of archaeomagnetic results. The aim is to test whether irregular archaeomagnetic data can be examined with micromorphological soil analysis in a single sample methodology, allowing said archaeomagnetic...

Se presenta en esta comunicación los resultados obtenidos del estudio de las cerámicas neolíticas del yacimiento de El Portalón (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos). Estos estudios se realizan desde una perspectiva multianalítica, que aporta información sobre materias primas y los usos de los recipientes. El yacimiento cuenta con una secuencia estratigráf...

A basaltic lava flow erupted from the Tajogaite volcano on 4 December 2021, in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) was sampled to find out to what extent reliable and correct information on both intensity and direction of the Earth's magnetic field can be obtained from the palaeomagnetic signal recorded in a lava flow which erupted under known conditi...

Resolving the timescale of human activity in the Palaeolithic Age is one of the most challenging problems in prehistoric archaeology. The duration and frequency of hunter-gatherer camps reflect key aspects of social life and human–environment interactions. However, the time dimension of Palaeolithic contexts is generally inaccurately reconstructed...

For geoarchaeologists the use of multiproxy and multimethod integrative approaches has become common for studying the sedimentary context of archaeological materials. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach that combines rock magnetic analysis with micromorphological analysis. We first conduct a brief examination of the magnetic properties of...

The improvement of the archaeomagnetic dating method requires compiling new and older data of the Earth's magnetic field (EMF) variations for the last millennia. Combustion events from fumier sequences have been proposed as good directional EMF recorders. However, they are subjected to diverse taphonomical processes and how these affect the archaeo...

Colina de los Quemadosin Córdoba (Spain) is a Phoenicianarchaeological site with an estimated age between VIII and VI BC. We present results of an archaeointensity study to date this site. For this purpose, a circular mud kiln was sampled, obtaining 13 non-oriented hand samples. 12 out of 16 archaeointensity determinations have been obtained using...

The Sant Genís Formation is located in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula (Catalonia, Spain) and is dated to the Priabonian (upper Eocene), being part of the evaporitic formations of the margin of the Ebro Basin. It is formed by a succession of sandy lutites, occasional limestone layers, marls, and local stratified gypsum and cherts, including the San...

Se presentan los resultados de las excavaciones (2006, 2017 y 2021) en un sector de la aldea del Hierro I del Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca). Se ha exhumado un agregado informal de edificios y estructuras adjetivas de adobe cuyo patrón espacial es afín al esquema transcultural patrilocal. El artículo se centra en la casa 1 y sus cenizales. Tal vi...

El espacio doméstico es un campo considerablemente desatendido por la investigación del Calcolítico de la meseta norte española. Los fragmentos del barro empleado en las construcciones, frecuentes en los asentamientos de la época, no han recibido hasta la última década ninguna atención y muchos permanecen sin estudiar en los fondos de los museos pr...

El arqueomagnetismo es una técnica de datación que permite datar el último calentamiento de ciertos materiales arqueológicos y geológicos quemados. El estudio de la termorremanencia registrada en materiales como hornos, hogares o rocas volcánicas, permite reconstruir las variaciones en la dirección y/o intensidad del campo magnético terrestre a lo...

Fumier sequences play a primary role in the study of livestock management and the use of space in prehistoric pastoralist societies. These sequences are formed when dung accumulated in sheepfold caves and rock shelters is burnt, resulting in an overlapping of burnt and unburnt sedimentary layers. Thus, fire is a key taphonomic agent in the formatio...

The analysis of the magnetic record of burnt archeological materials provides valuable information of both chronological and geophysical interest. Archeomagnetic studies carried out on independently well-dated materials allow to obtain data in order to improve and temporally extend the reference curves of the variations of the Earth’s magnetic fiel...

Here we present preliminary results for new methodological approaches to integrating archaeomagnetic methodologies with archaeological soil micromorphology. Recently, more scientific methods utilized in archaeological research are being directly integrated with micromorphological analysis through the subsampling of micromorphological blocks. This i...

We present an archeomagnetic study carried out in a medieval hearth from an archeological site, named Cañada Real and located in Caleruega (Burgos, North Spain). The main goal of the study is to determine the age of the last fire event occurred in the site. The studied materials included 12 hand samples, 9 of them oriented, collected from a hearth...

In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configu...

We present new radiometric ages and full-vector paleomagnetic data from São Vicente Island, Cape Verde. Samples were obtained from a sequence of 11 nephelinitic flows. A K-Ar age determination was performed on the lowermost flow of the sequence, yielding an upper Miocene age of 6.07 ± 0.16 (2σ) Ma. Considering the normal polarity observed in all fl...

We present new radiometric ages and full-vector paleomagnetic data from São Vicente Island, Cape Verde. Samples were obtained from a sequence of 11 nephelinitic flows. A K-Ar age determination was performed on the lowermost flow of the sequence, yielding an upper Miocene age of 6.07 ± 0.16 (2σ) Ma. Considering the normal polarity observed in all fl...

The Aïn Beni Mathar – Guefaït (ABM-GFT) region in Eastern Morocco is the object of anarchaeological, palaeontological, geological and geochronological research project, led by an interna-tional team since 2006. The research in this former fluvio-lacustrine basin, roughly 2000 km2, hasrevealed a significant number of Pleistocene and Holocene sites....

The ability to make and use fire can be considered as a behavioural threshold in human evolution. The aim of this chapter is to present an overview of the research on fire among Neanderthals. We compiled and reviewed the archaeological evidence and scientific studies on the topic, including different methodological approaches, theoretical considera...

We report an archeomagnetic study from the Early Iron Age archeological site of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Spain). The studied materials were sampled from one roundhouse and its central fireplace, a surrounding burnt floor, and slags with a twofold objective. First, to archeomagnetically determine the last use of the central fireplace, becaus...

El Portalón de Cueva Mayor located in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Atapuerca, is a unique reference Late Prehistory archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula, covering some 7 kyr of Holocene occupations. Herein we present the study of lipid residue analyses from 108 pottery sherds coupled with faunal kill-off patterns from the Neolithic,...

The Modern period in Europe is marked by the introduction of deep agricultural changes. In the Basque Country (northern Spain), the implantation of an intensive crop rotation was made possible by the expansion of agricultural liming, although the extent and implications of this practice have not been previously explored in depth. The present paper...

Here we report a detailed archaeomagnetic and rock-magnetic study of a pottery kiln from Burgos (Spain) to reconstruct its burning conditions and date its last use and abandonment age. During the course of a rescue archaeological excavation carried out in 2015 in the center of Burgos city, a medieval pottery workshop was discovered. Two well-preser...

This study presents new high precision age and full-vector archaeomagnetic data from a kiln excavated in the Roman archaeological site of Mitreo's house (Mérida, Badajoz, Spain). The age of the kiln was obtained by the stratigraphic method and by the ceramological study of the italic and sigillata pottery found with a very precise age date of 55 ±...

An archaeomagnetic, rock magnetic and magnetic fabric study has been carried out on seven anthropogenic ash horizons in the Middle Paleolithic sedimentary level XXIV at the rock shelter of Crvena Stijena (‘Red Rock’), Montenegro. The study has multiple goals, including the identification of iron bearing minerals formed during combustion, assessment...

By studying combustion structures, which conceal information about anthropogenic activity, we might learn about their makers. This is especially important for remote time periods like the Middle Paleolithic, whose archaeological record comprises numerous combustion structures. The majority of these are simple, flat, open hearths, although a small n...

The site of Gruta da Aroeira (Torres Novas, Portugal), with evidence of human occupancy dating to ca. 400 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 11), is one of the very few Middle Pleistocene localities to have provided a fossil hominin cranium associated with Acheulean bifaces in a cave context. The multianalytic study reported here of the by-products of burnin...

The progressive southward reoccupation of territories of the Iberian Peninsula by the Christian kingdom against the Muslims from the eighth century AD onwards is a well-known process. However, there are few well-dated sites of this period, especially in the northern plateau of Spain. Here we report the full vector archaeomagnetic dating of two hear...

There is a relatively low amount of Middle Paleolithic sites in Europe dating to MIS 4. Of the few that exist, several of them lack evidence for anthropogenic fire, raising the question of how this period of global cooling may have affected the Neanderthal population. The Iberian Peninsula is a key area to explore this issue, as it has been conside...

The radiocarbon technique is widely used to date Late Pleistocene and Holocene lava flows. The significant difference with palaeomagnetic methods is that the 14C dating is performed on the organic matter carbonized by the rock formation or the paleosols found within or below the lava flow. On the contrary, the archaeomagnetic dating allows to date...

During the course of the excavations of the San Quirce open-air archaeological site in Spain, an unusual negative structure was identified in the Holocene level dated ca. sixth millennium cal BC. A fire pit alongside a single post-hole and intense fire-burning activity was recorded. Yet, the most striking feature of the structure is the absence of...

Archaeomagnetic and rock-magnetic methods are of great value in the identification of archaeological fire, especially in Palaeolithic sites where evidence is usually scarce, ambiguous or poorly preserved. Although taphonomic processes can significantly modify Palaeolithic combustion structures, the extent to which such processes affect the magnetic...

In this paper we report the results of an archaeomagnetic and rock-magnetic study performed on a set of Ne-olithic and Chalcolithic potsherds from El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) to investigate their thermal history and obtain information about their function during ancient times. Two types of palaeomagnetic beh...

The Late Pliocene is a very interesting period as climate deteriorated from a warm optimum at ca. 3.3-3.0 Ma to a progressive climate cooling. Simultaneously, the Medi-terranean area witnessed the establishment of the Med-iterranean-type seasonal precipitation rhythm (summer drought). These important climate changes produced significant vegetation...

Here we report the archaeomagnetic, rock-magnetic and Raman spectroscopy results of sample analysis from two types of limestones that were experimentally heated under controlled conditions. These lithologies have been commonly identified at the middle-palaeolithic sites of Descubierta Cave and Navalmaillo rock-shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Sp...

In absence of organic remains suitable for radiocarbon dating, archaeomagnetic dating can contribute significantly to the better understanding and rescue of our past and cultural heritage. Nowadays, in the archaeological research is fundamental to obtain as much information as possible, including precise dates of the archaeological sites; indeed, t...

Los restos cerámicos aportan una importante información para la reconstrucción de las formas de vida de las sociedades pretéritas. Por ello, su estudio mediante la aplicación de técnicas que trascienden la descripción tipológica es importante a la hora de estudiar antiguas poblaciones y su evolución socio-económica. En esta comunicación se presenta...

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Se presenta un estudio arqueomagnético y de propie-dades magnéticas sobre muestras arqueológicas quemadas procedentes de dos hornos del monasterio de San Pelayo (Cevico Navero, Palencia). El objetivo del estudio es datar su último uso mediante arqueomagnetismo. Los materia-les estudiados corresponden a un horno de fabricación de campanas y otro que...

We present preliminary rock magnetic results and paleodirections from a Cretaceous alkaline dyke swarm in the Asunción Rift, Eastern Paraguay. Previous investigations suggest that these dykes extruded in a rather short period of time, in the period 126-127 Ma, during normal and reversed polarity field configuration (Velazquez et al., 2011). Paleodi...

Resumen: Se tomaron muestras de 16 lavas dacíticas y riolíticas de edad paleógena y cretácica cerca de la ciudad de Bolnisi, en el sur de la República de Georgia con dos objetivos: (i) Obtener nuevos resultados paleomagnéticos para la región del Cáucaso y (ii) aportar nuevos datos de paleointensidad correspondientes a unos periodos, el Cretácico y...

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Sixteen Miocene, Pleistocene and historic lava flows have been sampled in Lanzarote (Canary Islands) for paleointensity analysis with both the Coe and multispecimen methods. Besides obtaining new data, the main goal of the study was the comparison of paleointensity results determined with two different techniques. Characteristic Remanent Magnetizat...

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This paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign of the Artusia rock shelter in Unzué, Navarre, Spain. Chronocultural and archaeobiological analyses revealed five different occupation phases (Artusia I-V) within the regional Mesolithic timeline, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Ge...

Archaeomagnetic dating based on the full geomagnetic field vector was carried out on a limekiln excavated at Pinilla del Valle archaeological site (Madrid, Spain). The limekiln tradition in this area is largely documented by historical sources for recent centuries but the date of the studied kiln's last use was unknown. The combination of mean arch...

The research for referential data on current livestock contexts is essential for correctly interpreting archaeological records documented in prehistoric livestock spaces. Experimental programmes such as the one begun in 2014 in the Mas del Pepet pen (Rojals, Tarragona) has permitted an understanding, among other matters, of fold characteristics acc...

Archaeomagnetic dating is probably one of the most known applications of magnetic methods to archaeology but there are others still underutilized and of particular interest to Palaeolithic archaeology. Here, we report a novel application of archaeomagnetism as a technique to determine temporal diachronies among combustion features from the same sur...

The archaeological site of El Mirador is located in the southern slope of the Sierra de Atapuerca. The work developed at the site is providing a substantial set of data from the Upper Palaeolithic and Early Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Throughout at least about 4000 years of occupation, the cave was used for various activities, among which,...

A paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study has been carried out on 16 dacitic and rhyolitic lavas of Cretaceous and Paleogene age to find out their suitability for absolute paleointensity determinations. Experiments were aimed to obtain information about the characteristics of the remanence recorded in the lavas, to find out the carriers of remanence...

Paleomagnetism and rock magnetism experiments were carried out on the Pliocene Apnia sequence. This sequence consists of basaltic flows with K-Ar ages between 3.70 ±0.20 and 3.09 ±0.10 Ma, and is located in the western Djavakheti Highland, one of the most important volcanic regions of the Lesser Caucasus. Previous paleomagnetic studies on different...

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Recent archaeomagnetic studies carried out on Mid-to Late Holocene burnt anthropogenic cave sediments have shown that under certain conditions, these materials are suitable geomagnetic field recorders. Archaeomagnetic analyses carried out on these contexts constitute a rich source of information not only for geophysical purposes -in terms of recons...

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Evidence of late Early Pleistocene elephant butchery activity has been excavated in the Pit 1 locality at Barranc de la Boella (Catalonia, Spain). The fossil assemblage mainly comprises the remains of one prime adult individual of Mammuthus meridionalis, together with 125 lithic artefacts, among which several refitting groups of chert have been ide...

Keywords: European Early Acheulean Late Early Pleistocene Barranc de la Boella Butchering site Europe a b s t r a c t Since 2007, excavations at Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain) have revealed three localities with rich archaeo-paleontological assemblages: La Mina, El Forn and Pit 1. Palaeontology, palae-omagnetism and cosmogenic a...

This paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign of the Artusia rock shelter in Unzue�, Navarre, Spain. Chronocultural and archaeobiological analyses revealed five different occupation phases (Artusia IeV) within the regional Mesolithic timeline, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the G...

Archeomagnetism is an example of the interdisciplinary nature of most archeometric research: It requires expertise from both earth sciences and archeology, and the results are of benefit for both disciplines (Aitken, 1964). The geophysicist can gain information about the magnetization of materials and the behavior of the geomagnetic field, while th...

Geomagnetic reversals are global phenomena that require several stratigraphic correlation and dating methods for their firm identifications. For about 50 years the paleomagnetists attempted to acquire as many detailed records as possible using the magnetic memory of sediments and lava flows. Yet, transitional field behavior remains poorly character...

Dating Pleistocene occupations in the circum-Mediterranean region plays a key role in the study of human evolution, as is critical to establish an accurate time framework for better understanding ho, when, and why the first human expansions occurred outside the African continent. The chronology of Lower Paleolithic archaeological sites in Morocco,...

The use of palaeomagnetic techniques to study the ancient record of Earth´s magnetic field in archaeological camples is known as archaeomagnetism. Archaeomagnetic dating is probably the most known application of magnetic methods to archaeology but there are others still underutilized and of great interest to prehistoric archaeology. Here we report...

We carried out a combined thermal and magnetic evaluation on experimentally knapped clasts of different lithologies (chert, quartzite, limestone, sandstone and obsidian) heated under controlled field and temperature conditions. The main aim of this study is to estimate the feasibility of use of these raw materials, which are commonly found in prehi...

Dating Pleistocene occupations in the Circum-Mediterranean region plays a key role in the study of human evolution, as it is critical to establish an accurate time framework for better understanding how, when and why the first human expansions occured outside the African continent. In Eurasia this out of Africa expansion and colonization probabl oc...

El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain): a whole perspective

The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace...

This study deals with the geochronological, geoarchaeological, sedimentological and geomorphological analyses of sandy Pleistocene fluvial deposits exposed throughout the Prados-Guatén Depression, occupying the wide drainage divide of the Guadarrama and Jarama rivers draining towards the Tagus River (SW Madrid, Central Spain). Pleistocene fluvial d...

This paper presents the results of the 2009 and 2010 excavation campaigns of the Artusia rock shelter (Unzué, Navarre, Spain). Five different Mesolithic occupation phases (Artusia I-V) have been identified, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Geometric Mesolithic (Artusia III, IV and V). In addition...