Guillem Pérez-Jordà

• PhD
• Research Associate at University of Valencia

The European shores of the Mediterranean are characterised by well-known sociocultural and economic dynamics during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (2200–550 BC), but our understanding of the African shores is comparatively vague. Here, the authors present results from excavations at Kach Kouch, Morocco, revealing an occupation phase from 2200–2000...

This paper presents the results of the study of the necropolis found in 2008 at the confluence of Mirador and Santo Domingo streets (Cádiz). The first approach to this funerary area and the structures that constitute it (tombs and graves), carried out by the archaeologist in charge of the excavation, is now completed with a detailed analysis of the...

Se trata de una obra monográfica que recoge las investigaciones realizadas en las excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas en 2023 en el yacimiento del Mas de Fabra (Benicarló, Castellón), en la que se han documentado niveles de ocupación de los inicios de la Edad del Hierro y también de época andalusí.

Study of the archaeobotanical materials (seeds and fruits) recovered in the settlements of Ayuela and La Estación, with levels from the Iron Age and the Islamic period.

Presentamos en este trabajo los sitios arqueológicos de Grañena Baja (fase II) y Arroyo Regordillo, situados muy próximos entre sí junto al cauce medio del río Guadalbullón (término municipal de Jaén). Abordamos la ocupación propia del Neolítico Reciente en ambos sitios, ajustada en cronologías radiocarbónicas a mediados del IV milenio cal AC, cons...

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely cultivated millet in Africa and India but has not yet been identified in Europe, while the earliest remains of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) are attested in Italy in the fifth century AD. This paper presents evidence that pearl millet was introduced to Iberia during the 11th-12th centuries AD. This i...

The presence of plants in funerary rituals is a topic that has not been sufficiently investigated. The necropolis of Puig des Molins (Ibiza) dated to the 1st millennium BC, offers the opportunity to approach the role of plant remains involved in cremation and inhumation rituals, either as part of the pyre and other ritual fires or indirectly , as o...

This study aimed to reconstruct the environmental conditions and the crop management practices and plant characteristics when agriculture appeared in western Europe. We analyzed oak charcoal and a large number of cereal caryopsides recovered from La Draga (Girona, Spain), an early (5300 to 4800 cal. BC) agricultural site from the Iberian Peninsula....

The encounters between the immigrant populations of the Levant and the local communities of the south and east of the Iberian peninsula occurring from the beginning of the first millennium led to the transformation of diet and agricultural production. The arrival of new products such as chickpeas and different fruit trees, including in particular t...

Societal Impact Statement Agrobiodiversity is central to sustainable farming worldwide. Cultivation, conservation and reintroduction of diverse plant species, including ‘forgotten’ and ‘underutilized’ crops, contribute to global agrobiodiversity, living ecosystems and sustainable food production. Such efforts benefit from traditional and historical...

The Phoenician settlement of La Fonteta (Alicante, Spain) was founded in the late 8th cent bc at the mouth of the Río Segura. It has provided one of the most complete archaeobotanical records of all Phoenician Mediterranean sites which points to an agricultural system based on cultivating cereals, pulses and a wide variety of fruits such as grape,...

The 1st millennium ce in the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a continuous exchange of people, goods, food, technology, etc. which led to the transformation of agriculture and the introduction of new crops there. This paper presents the archaeobotanical evidence of the plants that were introduced there during the Roman and medieval periods. C...

In this paper we show some of the first results obtained from the archaeological intervention carried out in July 2019 in Zacatín rock shelter (Gualchos-Castell de Ferro). Even though the information obtained remains preliminary, we have been able to trace the chronology of the human occupation in this shelter, located in an area of cliffs on the c...

This paper presents a refined Mesolithic chronocultural sequence as a result of matching data provided by the set of archaeological research conducted at Cueva de la Cocina (Valencia, Spain) in the 20th and 21st centuries and the new radiocarbon dates record. Because available data are of different quality, we apply a methodological framework based...

This paper focuses on the anthropic dynamics of environmental transformation and natural resource management in the specific case of the archaeological site of Tossal de la Vila in Castelló, Spain, a hillfort located at the end of the Eastern Iberian Cordillera. It presents two phases of occupation determined by multiple radiocarbon dating analyses...

The introduction of the cultivation of millets (Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica) along Iberia’s Mediterranean zone appears to stem from different origins which themselves hinged on their own specific historical developments. The earliest traces in the northeast, presumably of trans-Pyrenean origin, were brought to light in Bronze Age contexts...

Archaeology has long incorporated the methods of the natural sciences and the theoretical principles of the overarching scientific framework. Most archaeologists acknowledge the importance of a systemic perspective in the study of the evolution of human behavior, with emphasis on the contexts in which individuals and populations lived and interacte...

The exhibition, PAST AND PRESENT. ONE HUNDRED YEARS DOING ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA, is conceived as a cultural event for the enjoyment of society. The aim is to show a glimpse of the history of the Laboratory of Archaeology, the addressed research topics and the knowledge generated over a century of work by all the people who have...

La Casa de la Cabeza es un asentamiento rural de los siglos II-I a. C., integrado en el territorio de la ciudad ibérica de Kelin (Caudete de las Fuentes, València), en la Meseta de Requena-Utiel. Su estudio permite avanzar en el conocimiento de los cambios acaecidos en el poblamiento rural indígena con posterioridad a la conquista romana. A pesar d...

This is the study of archaeobotanical materials from an early Iron Age site in the interior of Castelló, in the east of the Iberian Peninsula. It is an example of an inland community coming into contact with the colonial world, observing how in these early times (8th-7th century BC) there were very few changes at the agrarian level, unlike what was...

This paper presents the results of the archaeobotanical study of the Phoenician factory of La Fonteta, located at the mouth of the Segura River.

Vegetation dynamics during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and the beginning of farming are major topics for palaeoenvironmental sciences, especially interesting in ecologically sensitive areas, such as in North Africa. However, there are still important geographic and chronological gaps of environmental information in this region. Archaeobotan...

This work is a starting point for rethinking the role of the Iberian Peninsula in the neolithisation of northern Morocco. It focuses on the similarities and divergences between the first pottery productions and their decorations in both territories. This relationship is supported by the existence of an accurate chronological gradation between the f...

The Lateglacial to early Holocene transition includes climatic events of high and medium magnitude, which ended up defining the current Mediterranean landscapes. Santa Maira sequence covers this period and analyses of different materials have allowed for the reconstruction of the landscape and human strategies for raw materials exploitation. Wood c...

The island of Formentera, with its small extension and flat orography, was settled relatively late in Mediterranean prehistory between the third and second millennium BC. The sites presented in this paper, Cova des Fum and Cova des Riuets, offer evidence of the island’s first occupation. Cova des Fum comprises a necropolis of the Bronze Age and two...

Los bancales son creaciones humanas transformadoras del medio físico, muy visibles en el paisaje actual, y percibidos como parte de un patrimonio histórico que debe preservarse. Sin embargo, su identificación arqueológica no siempre es fácil, pues adolece de problemas derivados del secular trabajo agrario o, simplemente, de su datación. Así, este t...

This work presents the anthracological and archeopalynological results obtained within the project AGRIWESTMED (ERC AdG 230561), which has involved a comprehensive retrieval of archeobiological remains based on a systematic sampling strategy, beyond the recovery of the usual archeological materials. These surveys were conducted on three sites locat...

Abstract: Here we present the study of the pottery remains from the Neolithic phase of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Mechrouha, Tetouan, Morocco), focused on the analysis of decorative patterns and techniques. In its early phase, its association with the first evidence of agriculture and livestock in the western Maghreb, framed in the third quarter of the 6th...

much of the interior of the iberian Peninsula remains “empty” of archeobotanical data (seeds and fruits). Current data of the 1st millennium are scarce and of poor quality, so the information on agricultural activity of the communities that settled there is poor. The current vision allows us to differentiate areas in which new crops are introduced,...

In this paper we present the results of phytolith investigations at two archaeological sites in northwestern Morocco: Khil (Tangier) and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tétouan). The two sites located in Western Maghreb, one on the Atlantic and one on the Mediterranean coast, were investigated in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED project. Phytolith analysis compl...

This paper presents the history of the introduction and expansion of arboriculture during the 1st millennium BC from the South of the Iberian Peninsula to the South of France. The earliest evidence of arboriculture at the beginning of the 1st millennium hails from the south of the Iberia from where it spread northward along the peninsula's eastern...

The present study aims to contribute to the investigation of the role of Phoenicians in the spreading and trade of the grapevine through the morphometric analysis of grape pips. Waterlogged and charred samples were selected from three Iron Age sites in the Western Mediterranean: Motya (Sicily, Italy), Nuraghe S’Urachi (Sardinia, Italy) and Huelva (...

This study focuses on the chronostratigraphic sequence of the Cave of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Dar Ben Karrich, Tétouan, Morocco) excavated in 2012 in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED research project. The broad sequence reveals a series of occupations ranging from the Pleistocene (Moroccan Aterian) to recent historical times. Our research identifies a ri...

Agricultural activities, including practices, crops and techniques have evolved throughout history undergoing tremendous changes. From the early Neolithic farmers in the Mediterranean focused on cereal agriculture and only later, during the 4th/3rd millennium cal. BC in the Eastern basin, other species such as fruit trees were introduced into the a...

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is one of the most important fruit crops of the past and present world, both economically and culturally. The wild and domesticated forms, respectively Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris and V. vinifera subsp. vinifera , differ by an array of traits, including the form of their seeds that may be retrieved in archaeological...

Abstract: The archaeological research at Els Trocs cave is a good example of a successful transdisciplinary project. Together with a great team of specialists in different areas of knowledge, we present an update of our research process. The site is a cave that was occupied for more than two millennia, from the Early Neolithic (the end of the 6th m...

En ocasiones, los hallazgos más simples resultan sorprenden-tes, aunque sean esperables. Siempre se ha aceptado que el uso de materiales tan frági-les como la piel, la madera o las fibras vegetales debieron de ser importantes durante el Paleolítico. Elaborar prendas de protección y abrigo-desde calzado a gorros-, recipientes para el almacenamiento...

Resumen: Se presentan los resultados del análisis de los restos vegetales de los niveles emirales del yacimiento de Cabezo Pardo. El material re-cuperado incluye carbones y semillas procedentes de diversas estructuras de la alquería. Aunque en el cerro se ha documentado un área de habitación, con hogares y vertederos, destaca la función de almacena...

Resumen. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de las intervenciones de urgencia llevadas a cabo en el yacimiento de Limoneros, asentamiento al aire libre ocupado durante la primera mitad del V milenio cal BC localizado al sur de la ciudad de Elche (Alicante), en la llanura aluvial del río Vinalopó. Durante los trabajos de excavación se recon...

En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados del estudio de un nuevo sector de la necrópolis fenicia de Gadir (Cádiz, España). Se trata de un conjunto de cremaciones primarias en fosas, del tipo habitual en la ciudad, que se fechan a partir de mediados del s. VI a.C. Junto a ellas se han documentado fosas y fogatas rituales que contienen re...

In this study we present evidence of braided plant fibres and basketry imprints on clay recovered from Coves de Santa Maira, a Palaeolithic-Mesolithic cave site located in the Mediterranean region of Spain. The anatomical features of these organic fibre remains were identified in the archaeological material and compared with modern Stipa tenacissim...

There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least we...

During archaeological works carried out in the place known as Tablero Alto or Arruzafa, in inner city area of Córdoba (Spain), are documented a number of seven pit- structures, carved in the sandy subsoil, mostly of circular shape and affected by further historical phases. All of them, seems to belong of a same archaeological culture dated to last...

El Coval Simó constituye una de las evidencias más antiguas de poblamiento en la isla de Mallorca y en el ar­chipiélago balear. Tiene, además, la particularidad de ser un hábitat en zona de montaña, de modo que los grupos huma­nos que se asentaron allí debieron de adaptar su sistema agropecuario y de explotación del entorno a este medio. Los restos...

L'article incideix en l’element més distintiu de la plataforma esglaonada del jaciment arqueològic de Mestre Ramon: el seu corredor. S’hi tracten tant els aspectes morfològics i constructius (ca. s. XI a.n.e.), com la seqüència d’ús i desús que palesen els seus elements estructurals i dipòsits arqueològics: des dels successius paviments i nivells d...

Iron Age botanical remains from nuraghe S'Urachi, Sardinia - Guillem Pérez-Jordà, Julia Hurley, Damià Ramis, Peter van Dommelen

Study of the last excavations al Kelin (Caudete de las Fuentes), an Iron Age central place.

Les muralles de Portell de Morella són el testimoni material més evident del seu passat medieval. Tot i això, el seu recinte emmurallat no ha estat mai objecte d’excavacions arqueològiques sistemàtiques que abordaren la seua cronologia inicial i relacionaren els elements arquitectònics visibles amb les restes arqueològiques ocultes al subsòl. Els d...

Of all the plants that were used in early medieval times, many were grown in gardens and orchards and contributed to the subsistence of medieval communities. Archaeobotany provides direct evidence of the range of species used either for food or for other purposes. In this contribution, we explore the evidence of garden produce in early medieval Ibe...

Few studies have dealt with the occupation of caves during the Andalusi period in Southern Iberia. This may be explained by the attention placed traditionally on the trinomial mudun (cities), ḥusūn (fortresses) and qurà (villages), in which other forms of rural occupation have been generally overlooked. In this paper we explore the sequence at La D...

This paper presents an overview of the current state of research on Roman, Late Antique and medieval agriculture in the Iberian Peninsula through the study of archaeobotanical samples (seeds and fruits) collected on a large number of rural and urban sites spread throughout Iberia's geography. It includes published and unpublished data. The plant ta...

Les diferents intervencions arqueològiques al conjunt patrimonial que conformen el Castell Vell i l’ermita de la Magdalena han proporcionat dades arqueològiques rellevants que permeten construir un relat històric més acurat dels fets que allí es desenvoluparen durant el període de dominació andalusina. Les tasques arqueològiques realitzades el 2017...

Este artículo presenta los datos arqueológicos recuperados en las excavaciones del poblado castreño de El Castru, en Vigaña (Balmonte de Miranda, Asturias) realizadas en 2012 y 2013. Dicho yacimiento constituye un buen ejemplo de los pequeños castros de la Edad del Hierro en las montañas del área occidental cantábrica. Por ello, el análisis de las...

Excavation at Pauli Stincus in Sardinia has revealed an ancient plough soil, with associated evidence of intensive prehistoric agricultural activities.

L´arrivée de l´agriculture et l´élevage, apparait comme une des piliers fondamentaux pour la compréhension de la dynamique historique du Maghreb et sa relation avec l´ensemble des régions méditerranéennes, et en particulier, avec la Péninsule Ibérique. Entre 2011 et 2013 dans le cadre du projet AGRIWSTMED Origins and spread of agriculture in the so...

The period comprising the end of the Early Neolithic and the Middle Neolithic, dated broadly within the fifth millennium cal BC, corresponds to an interval that remains largely unknown in the extreme north-western tip of Africa. This situation contrasts with that of the Early Neolithic, a period characterised by the earliest evidence of the diffusi...

This contribution presents preliminary results from PALEOPLANT, a European Research Council (ERC) multidisciplinary research project that focuses on the analyses of plant remains from Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites in North Africa. The project aims are to: (1) characterize wild plant exploitation among human communities; (2) refine current knowle...

The use of seashells for the decoration of pottery from the sixth millennium cal BC is well known in the western Mediterranean, with the emergence of so-called Cardial Pottery. Actually, the most discussed issue up until now has been the use of bivalves for impressed decoration. However, the experimental approach followed in the present study provi...

Despite the current growing number of studies that focus on macrobotanical remains from Middle Palaeolithic contexts, plant use among hunter-gatherer societies remains unknown in many regions of Europe. Large-scale flotation of archaeological sediments has made it possible to recover a large amount of plant remains (fruits, seeds and wood) from uni...

This paper explores the development of Iberian archaeobotany (focusing on seeds and fruits) from the earlier works carried out in the sixties until present day. It deals with the main issues investigated, the advances that have taken place and the missing gaps still to fill up in the various chronological periods under research. The last part of th...

This study is an overview of the state of research on the process of neolithisation of the northwestern corner of Morocco. Particularly noteworthy are the recent findings of a Spanish-Moroccan team in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED project carried out between 2011 and 2013 for the most part at the caves of Magharat el-Khil (Tangier), Kaf Taht el-...

This paper presents new data regarding agricultural developments in the Balearic Islands between the end of the third millennium bc and the arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century bc. Data available so far reveals that agriculture, together with raising livestock, were the population’s source of livelihood. Agriculture in the third and second mill...

This paper explores the development of Iberian archaeobotany (focusing on seeds and fruits) from the earlier works carried out in the sixties until present day. It deals with the main issues investigated, the advances that have taken place and the missing gaps still to fill up in the various chronological periods under research. The last part of th...

The combination of an archaeobotanical analysis from two different sites in the city of Huelva (Spain) and the identification of vine fields in the same area suggests that different fruit tree species (grapevine, olive, almond and pomegranate) and vegetables such as melon were introduced into the Iberian peninsula in the transition from the 9th to...

This paper summarizes results from the AGRIWESTMED project focusing on the characterization of the first agriculture through the study of the available archaeobotanical data and including information from new sites. Detailed information on the particular features of the crop assemblages studied for each period is followed by a thorough discussion o...

Agriculture was introduced in the Iberian Peninsula in the mid-6th millennium cal BC. The first Iberian farmer communities grew seven different cereal species (hulled and free-threshing wheats and hulled and naked barley), seven legumes (broad beans, lentils, peas, grass/red pea, common vetch and bitter vetch) and two oil crops (flax and poppy). Th...

Annoucement of Session at EAA Maastricht Conference

Resumen Se presentan los resultados de la excavación arqueológica de urgencia efectuada en el Mas de Fabra, un asenta-miento de los siglos VII-VI ANE localizado durante las obras de construcción de la variante de la carretera nacional N-340 entre las poblaciones de Benicarló y Vinaròs. Una de sus principales características es la de situarse en lla...

We present the results of excavations carried out in the Tossal de la Vila settlement. At the site, we have identified human occupations of the VIII century and the beginning of the VII BC, finished by fire, which has permitted the recovery of a notable inventory of archaeological material. Later, in the tenth century, an Islamic military emplaceme...

From the introduction of rotary millstones in the 5th century BC, and in particular during the 4th and 3rd centuries, two phenomena can be observed on settlements of the Iberian Culture. The first is the existence of large millstones (either of large diameter or thickness) and second is the use of either stone-built podiums or very high lower stone...

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...

Abstract This paper focuses on the new macro-botanical evidence of South-Western Asian cultivated plants from northern Moroccan Neolithic sites. Due to the reduced presence of plant remains from previous excavations in the region, archaeological evidence of agriculture is rare and the arrival of domesticated plants and the role of farming in the Ea...

Resumen: Se presentan los resultados preliminares de la excavación arqueológica llevada a cabo en el asentamiento prehistórico de Vilches IV (La Torre Uchea, Hellín). La intervención vino motivada por el avance de la cantera que la empresa Grupo Levantina estaba explotando en el cerro de Vistahermosa, junto a la Loma de Vilches. El proceso de excav...

In this paper we present the results of the excavations carried out during 2010 and 2011 in the West Gate of the Iberian oppidum of la Bastida de les Alcusses. A ritual deposit of hundreds of items, including iron objects, charcoal, weapons, pottery, seeds, faunal remains and mud bricks, was recovered. After undertaking the study of all the materia...

No nos podíamos imaginar a finales de junio de 2009 que aquellos rebaños que veíamos aparecer por el paso de las Aras y se diseminaban como mancha de aceite por los claros de las montañas, primero hacia las crestas de los “dosmiles” para bajar paulatinamente a las planicies de mil quinientos metros, podrían ser los herederos directos de una tradici...

The multiple archaeobotanical studies from the east Iberian Peninsula from 2800 cal.BC to 200 BC have provided around twenty wild fruit taxa of varying importance. The aim of this work is to present these taxa and analyse the most important wild fruits, some of them being cultivated since the First Iron Age. Considering sites with comparable sampli...

No nos podíamos imaginar a finales de junio de 2009 que aquellos rebaños que veíamos aparecer por el paso de las Aras y se diseminaban como mancha de aceite por los claros de las montañas, primero hacia las crestas de los “dosmiles” para bajar paulatinamente a las planicies de mil quinientos metros, podrían ser los herederos directos de una tradici...

RESUMEN Se presentan aquí los resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en la Cova d’En Pardo (Planes, Alicante), concretamente los niveles VIII y VIIIb. El desarrollo de un proyecto multidisciplinar ha permitido caracterizar la ocupación de una pequeña cavidad por parte de las primeras comunidades campesinas asociadas al inicio del proceso de...

Se presentan los resultados de la excavación en el abrigo de Valmayor XI (Mequinenza, Zaragoza), donde se ha documentado una secuencia de ocupación de tres fases sucesivas, entre el mesolítico y el neolótico antiguo, con una fase intermedia que economica y culturalmente pertenece a una ocupación temporal de cazadores-recolectores con cultura materi...

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...