Understanding the formation of long-term persistent soil organic matter (SOM) is key to optimizing soil management and predicting the response of the terrestrial organic carbon (OC) pool to climate change, yet our knowledge of the soil-type dependent weight of different stabilization pathways (e.g., recalcitrance and mineral binding) is fragmentary. Owing to their stratigraphy, the exceptionally SOM-rich (up to 2 m of mineral soil with >5% OC) colluvial slope deposits of Atlantic Europe (Haplic Umbrisol [colluvic/hyperhumic]) are archives of palaeo-environmental conditions including SOM formation pathways. The objective of this study was to determine how the different drivers of persistent SOM formation influenced the formation of these organic-rich soils. For this purpose, we use Holocene (similar to 9000 yrs) molecular composition records obtained from pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC-MS). The results emphasize three pathways to stability (i.e., persistence on millennial timescales): 1) palaeofires that generated recalcitrant pyrogenic SOM, 2) release of root-derived aliphatic macromolecules (suberin-like SOM), and 3) formation of microbial necromass. Pathways 1 and 2 are controlled by land use: Pathway 1 was relatively important under intense anthropogenic fire regimes and pyrophytic shrubland expansion; Pathway 2 was stimulated during early forest phases and under pasture conditions, when past societies focused vegetation management on grazing instead of fire; Pathway 3 was controlled by binding with aluminium-dominated mineral phases. However, we found indications that Pathway 2 (suberin input and preservation) relied partially on sorptive preservation as well. Aided by structured equation modeling (SEM), we show that the formation of persistent SOM pools was driven by balanced weights of i) microbial vs. plant-derived SOM and ii) intrinsic chemical properties of SOM (recalcitrance continuum) vs. mineral binding/occlusion, which varied in keeping with interactions between past land use, topography and vegetation. These findings are inconsistent with the prevalent paradigm of persistent SOM formation by sorptive/occlusive preservation of microbial necromass alone.

The paper examines how materializations of human practices relate to human cognition and to socio-cultural contexts. By combining evidence on the relationship between material culture and perceptual behaviour, we aim to understand the interactions between the mind, objects, and the world. The research is based on data regarding the visual perception of prehistoric pottery that was analyzed using Eye-Tracking techniques in a way that has not been applied previously to archaeological material culture. The datasets come from Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula) and range from the Middle Neolithic until the end of the Iron Age (6000-200 BP). They belong to very different contexts that comprise a long-term history through diverse socio-cultural formations. A rigorous methodology makes it possible to unveil cross- and intra-cultural patterns of visual response to materiality, while avoiding presentism and subjective bias. The results provide new insights into the agency of material culture, which contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the mind and the material world, and account for the transitive engagement between the way of thinking, seeing, and making things.

This article proposes a novel computational approach to embodied approaches in cognitive archaeology called computational cognitive archaeology (CCA). We argue that cognitive archaeology, understood as the study of the human mind based on archaeological findings such as artefacts and material remains excavated and interpreted in the present, can benefit from the integration of novel methods in computational neuroscience interested in modelling the way the brain, the body and the environment are coupled and parameterized to allow for adaptive behaviour. We discuss the kind of tasks that CCA may engage in with a narrative example of how one can model the cumulative cultural evolution of the material and cognitive components of technologies, focusing on the case of knapping technology. This article thus provides a novel theoretical framework to formalize research in cognitive archaeology using recent developments in computational neuroscience.

This paper presents a study of visual perception through the application of eye-tracking of prehistoric ceramics. The study is a feasible methodology to understand the agency of material culture through quantitative techniques, which allows for the analyses of possible relationships between visual-perceptual behaviour, material culture and social complexity. In particular, the horizontality of gaze is shown to be associated with pottery from early periods and its verticality increases in pottery materials from later, more complex societies. These, and other results, confirm that differential patterns of visual response by observers are determined by the material characteristics of each ceramic style. Implications for improved interpretation of archaeological phenomena are discussed including the possibilities of new applications for heritage management. Therefore, eye-tracking analysis appears to be a powerful and profitable archaeometric technique.

This paper investigates the land- and sky-scapes surrounding the dolmens of Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), Galicia. Having uncovered previously that the location of megalithic monuments in this coherent area of the south-eastern side of the European Atlantic Façade connects to complex topographical features, we now show how this chosen topography connects to astronomical phenomena. We will see how the detailed shape of the horizon coincides with specific risings and settings of the Sun and Moon, providing further support for the notion that the creators of these monuments selectively drew upon a variety of features found in their natural world.

This paper investigates the extended landscapes surrounding dolmens in the area of Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), Galicia. Having previously uncovered that the megalithic monuments in this coherent area of the south-eastern side of the Atlantic Façade are visually situated in relation to complex topographical variables, we now reveal our investigations into the connections between the chosen topography of these same sites combined with astronomical phenomena. We will see how the detailed shape of the horizon coincides with specific risings and settings of the Sun and Moon, providing further support for the notion that the creators of these monuments selectively drew upon variables found in their natural world that included astronomical bodies.

This paper presents new data on the spatial organization of mound-builder groups in the India Muerta wetlands, Uruguay. This area presents the beginning of land architecture in the region (ca. 4800–5000 years BP), associated with more arid climate. This construction tradition continues and intensifies, mainly from ca 3000 years BP, from the establishment of warmer and damper conditions. New sources of information and geospatial technologies have made it possible to locate mound sites with greater precision, as well as to analyze settlement patterns. Indigenous communities occupied areas of hills, plains and wetlands, showing differences but also regularities in spatial organization in each area. In the whole area, earthen mound complexes form groups of different orders, from regional to domestic units, configured by mounds, negative structures and limited spaces. The location of the mounds is primarily in dry areas, known locally as islands, which are prominent in the landscape during floods in this wetland-dominated environment. Through this analysis of the landscape, this work delves into the underlying logic of the social construction of the territory. The results achieved in this paper are consistent with previous research suggesting planned occupation associated with villages integrated within broader regional systems.

The social dimension of value has become a cornerstone of the debate about tourism conservation, management and sustainability in relation to cultural heritage. This article examines the role of social value in heritage management and tourism promotion through the case of the Altamira Cave as a UNESCO World Heritage site by analysing the perspectives of non‑expert actors in heritage management. To do this, two surveys were conducted, one aimed at visitors (1047 valid questionnaires) and the other at the Spanish population at large as the host community (1000 valid questionnaires). The results show how these agents interpret the existence, aesthetic, economic and legacy value in ways that differ from those of the experts, deepening the complex relationship between heritage promotion and preservation, and broadening the debate on how social value can contribute to strengthen the international and national image of heritage destinations in the face of the uncertain future of the global tourism market.

En el presente artículo se realiza un estudio perceptual de diferentes estilos de cerámica prehistórica de Galicia (con cronología entre el 6000 y el 2000 BP) mediante la técnica de seguimiento de movimientos oculares. Este análisis permite comprobar la relación de la mente con la materialidad y sugiere la existencia de una estrecha imbricación entre el diseñar, el ver y el hacer a lo largo de la historia. El trabajo examina cómo las materializaciones de las prácticas humanas se correlacionan con la cognición y con el contexto socio-cultural. Las interrelaciones de la cultura material y el comportamiento perceptual, apuntan a una clara conexión entre la mente, los objetos y el mundo. El trabajo aplica técnicas medibles y numéricas, que permiten hacer una aproximación arqueométrica a temas cognitivos mediante la combinación de las neurociencias con investigación interpretativa y reflexiva. Esta investigación ofrece nuevas perspectivas sobre la cultura material y contribuye a comprender la interrelación entre la mente y el mundo material, así como la existencia de un vínculo transitivo entre formas de pensar, de mirar y de hacer cosas. De este modo, el texto hace algunos aportes para entender las fuerzas materiales que guían la percepción y el pensamiento.

America's first urban centers may have been located in the Supe Valley, Peru. After investigating the location and the orientation of the main built structures, we show that it is not only the presence of the Supe River that determines their orientation but also that astronomical relationships within the orientation of the buildings dictate their setting within the valley. The southernmost position of moonrise on the horizon seems to be the most important astronomical target. There is the possibility of a trend toward attributing greater importance to the June solstice sunrise and the rising of certain stars or asterisms. These orientations could relate to specific moments throughout the year, in particular to seasonal rains, subsequent river flooding, and agricultural cycles. This is one of the earliest examples of the interaction of land- and skyscapes in human cultures and indeed the first in the Americas.

This paper presents an active inference based simulation study of visual foraging. The goal of the simulation is to show the effect of the acquisition of culturally patterned attention styles on cognitive task performance, under active inference. We show how cultural artefacts like antique vase decorations drive cognitive functions such as perception, action and learning, as well as task performance in a simple visual discrimination task. We thus describe a new active inference based research pipeline that future work may employ to inquire on deep guiding principles determining the manner in which material culture drives human thought, by building and rebuilding our patterns of attention.

This article presents a perceptual study of different styles of prehistoric Galician ceramics (from 6000 to 2000 BP) using the technique of eye-tracking. This analysis demonstrates the material engagement of mind by showing that the visual world fosters the entanglement of doing, seeing, and designing over the course of history. We examine how materializations of human practices relate to cognition and to socio-cultural contexts. The interrelations between material culture and perceptual reactions indicate a clear connection between the mind, objects and the world. We apply measurable and numeric techniques, providing an archaeometric approach to cognitive topics by combining neurosciences with interpretive and reflective research. This research provides new insights into the material culture, contributes to the understanding of the relationship between mind and the material world, and accounts for the transitive engagement between ways of thinking, seeing and making things. Thus the text contributes to understand the material forces driving perception and thought.

The social dimension of value has become a cornerstone of the debate about tourism conservation, management and sustainability in relation to cultural heritage. This article examines the role of social value in heritage management and tourism promotion through the case of the Altamira Cave as a UNESCO World Heritage site by analysing the perspectives of non-expert actors in heritage management. To do this, two surveys were conducted, one aimed at visitors (1047 valid questionnaires) and the other at the Spanish population at large as the host community (1000 valid questionnaires). The results show how these agents interpret the existence, aesthetic, economic and legacy value in ways that differ from those of the experts, deepening the complex relationship between heritage promotion and preservation, and broadening the debate on how social value can contribute to strengthen the international and national image of heritage destinations in the face of the uncertain future of the global tourism market.

Trabajo presentado en los Seminars of Archaeology of University of Exeter, celebrados en febrero de 2020.

We live in a cluttered visual world that is overflowing with information, the continuous processing of which would be a truly daunting task. Nevertheless, our brains have evolved to select which part of a visual scene is to be prioritized and analysed in detail, and which parts can be discarded or analysed at a later stage. This selection is in part determined by the visual stimuli themselves, and is known as "selective attention", which, in turn, determines how we explore and interact with our environment, including the distinct human artefacts produced in different socio-cultural contexts. Here we hypothesize that visual responses and material objects should therefore co-evolve to reflect changes in social complexity and culture throughout history. Using eye-tracking, we analysed the eye scan paths in response to prehistoric pottery ranging from the Neolithic through to the Iron Age (ca 6000-2000 BP), finding that each ceramic style caused a particular pattern of visual exploration. Horizontal movements become dominant in earlier periods, while vertical movements are more frequent in later periods that were marked by greater social complexity.

Los comentarios al articulo se encuentran en Chungara 51(1), 2019: Algunas Reflexiones desde Mexico. Manuel Gandara Vazquez; Comentarios a: Gonzalez-Ruibal, A., P. Alonso Gonzalez y F. Criado-Boado. En Contra del Populismo Reaccionario: Hacia una Nueva Arqueologia Publica. Wilhelm Londono; Arqueologia y Derechos Humanos. Pedro Paulo A. Funari y Andres Alarcon-Jimenez; Nunca Fuimos Apoliticos: Comentarios a “En Contra del Populismo Reaccionario: Hacia una Nueva Arqueologia Publica. Henry Tantalean; Comentario a “En Contra del Populismo Reaccionario: Hacia una Nueva Arqueologia Publica”, de Alfredo Gonzalez Ruibal, Pablo Alonso Gonzalez y Felipe Criado-Boado. Alejandro Haber; Comentario al Articulo: En Contra del Populismo Reaccionario: Hacia una Nueva Arqueologia Publica de Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal, Pablo Alonso Gonzalez y Felipe Criado-Boado. Feliz A. Acuto; ?Vox Populi, Vox Dei? La Urgencia de Teorizar lo Politico y Politizar lo Teorico en Arqueologia. Dante Angelo

The Pago Lindo site in the River Plate basin (Uruguay) is an important pre-hispanic mound settlement (ca. 3000-600 BP), of which the technologically and socially advanced nature have only recently been revealed. Different angles of pedogenetic and palaeo-ecological science are rapidly improving our understanding of the history of the site and the relationships between human activity and habitat alteration. Here we add to this progress by molecular characterization of soil organic matter (SOM) in anthropogenic earthen mounds, canals and lagoons from Pago Lindo, by pyrolysis-GC-MS. The results showed that the SOM in the earthen mound and the archaeological lagoon are composed of microbial (partially chitin), aliphatic (partially root-derived) and pyrogenic (from fireplaces or wildfires) materials, whereas the canal and younger lagoon contained SOM with larger proportions of relatively intact plant remains (lignin and polysaccharides from herbaceous species). In most systems, a clear degradation trend can be observed with increasing depth -either from intact plant remains to microbial tissues (canal, young lagoon), or from microbial tissues to recalcitrant aliphatic and pyrogenic sources (earthen mound, ancient lagoon)- which is indicative of a strong control of decay intensity on SOM composition. Multivariate statistics confirmed that most variability in pyrolysis fingerprints can be attributed to degradation/preservation dynamics, which probably erased most of the molecular information on habitat development under the influence of past societies, including nearby maize cultivation.

This paper evaluates the complexities of radiocarbon ( C-14) dates from soil organic matter (SOM) in archaeological scenarios. The aqueous NaOH-insoluble residual SOM from Neolithic to medieval sites in NW Spain produced consistently older calibrated C-14 ages than NaOH-extractable SOM. Using pyrolysis-gas chromatographymass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC-MS). we analyzed the molecular composition of these SOM fractions, aiming to understand the differences in C-14 ages and to gain insight on SOM dynamics in relation to age fractionation. The molecular composition of the NaOH-extractable SOM, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of total SOM, has a larger proportion of microbial detritus than the NaOH-insoluble SOM. This might suggest that the discrepancies between the two fractions is due to microbial rejuvenation in the extractable fraction, leading to C-14 results that are younger than the activity that is to be dated. However, archaeological evidence presented here unambiguously shows that the C-14 age of the extractable SOM provides the more accurate age for the targeted activity, and that the insoluble fraction contains inherited old carbon. After statistical data evaluation using Partial Least Squares-Regression (PLS-R), it is concluded that this inherited SOM is a mixture of Black Carbon from wild and/or domestic fires and recalcitrant aliphatic SOM.

Este mes de septiembre se cumplen 25 años desde que la EAA (European Association of Archaeologists) celebró su reunión inaugural en Liubliana (Eslovenia). En cierto sentido es una asociación muy pegada a España, desde que celebró su primera reunión un año después en Santiago de Compostela, en 1995. Por alguna razón España se ha mantenido a través de los años como una de las nacionalidades con mayor número de miembros. El presidente de la EAA comparte en revista PH para el público hispanohablante qué significa este 25 aniversario.

From Brazil to the United Kingdom, 2016 was a critical year in global politics. Heritage, ethics and the way that archaeologists relate to the public were and will all be affected, and it is time to reflect critically on the phenomenon of ‘reactionary populism’ and how it affects the practice and theory of archaeology. ‘Reactionary populism’ can be defined as a political form that is anti-liberal in terms of identity politics (e.g. multiculturalism, abortion rights, minority rights, religious freedom), but liberal in economic policies. It is characterised by nationalism, racism and anti-intellectualism, and as Judith Butler states in a recent interview, it wants “to restore an earlier state of society, driven by nostalgia or a perceived loss of privilege” (Soloveitchik 2016). Our intention here is to argue that the liberal, multi-vocal model of the social sciences and the humanities is no longer a viable option. Instead, we ask our colleagues to embrace an archaeology that is ready to intervene in wider public debates not limited to issues of heritage or of local relevance, is not afraid of defending its expert knowledge in the public arena, and is committed to reflective, critical teaching.