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Diorites and related rocks in the MØrida area of northern Ossa-Morena (SW Iberia) are intrusive into Precambrian metavolcanic and metasedimentary sequences. Cumulate products from the H 2 O-rich magmas are amphibole-rich gabbros to hornblendites. Major and trace element compositions, including Sr and Nd isotope data, allow the definition of a calc-alkaline series likely formed in relation to an immature arc setting. Crystallization of the intrusives has been established between ca. 570 and 580 Ma by U-Pb dating of constituent zircons. Garnet growth in dioritic rocks reflects a tectonothermal overprint dated by Sm-Nd internal isochrons at around 555 Ma. Older Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf results between ca. 593 and 637 Ma on the same rocks suggest an earlier stage of regional metamorphism within the arc environment. The northern Ossa-Morena composite batholith and related metamorphic units have been tectonized and dismembered in the course of subsequent low-grade events during final stages of the Cadomian orogeny and the Variscan cycle. The units studied represent a well preserved segment of the arc region that evolved in Neoproterozoic times along the western border of Gondwana to conform the Cadomian-Avalonian basement of the Hercynian realm.

The Islamic necropolis discovered in Tauste (Zaragoza, Spain) is the only evidence that a large Muslim community lived in the area between the 8th and 10th centuries. A multi-isotope approach has been used to investigate the mobility and diet of this medieval Muslim population living in a shifting frontier region. Thirty-one individuals were analyzed to determine δ15N, δ13C, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr composition. A combination of strontium and oxygen isotope analysis indicated that most individuals were of local origin although three females and two males were non-local. The non-local males would be from a warmer zone whereas two of the females would be from a more mountainous geographical region and the third from a geologically-different area. The extremely high δ15N baseline at Tauste was due to bedrock composition (gypsum and salt). High individual δ15N values were related to the manuring effect and consumption of fish. Adult males were the most privileged members of society in the medieval Muslim world and, as isotope data reflected, consumed more animal proteins than females and young males.

Roman pottery from the Oiasso harbour (nowadays Irun, Basque Country) was thoroughly studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis in order to identify and characterise the mineralogical composition of those samples and to get a deeper insight into the technologies involved in the elaboration of the ceramic artefacts. The diffraction pattern of the ceramic body shows the presence of mullite and trydimite, which suggests firing temperatures above 1100 • C, and alumina-rich raw materials. Additionally, the presence of pseudowollastonite and diopside observed by the XRD and Raman spectroscopy is explained by the high firing temperatures of lime-rich raw materials. Raman microscopy has also provided further information about the heating temperature and composition of the raw materials. The presence of rutile instead of anatase also suggests a strong heating process. Moreover, the presence of hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) and maghemite (γ -Fe 2 O 3 ) instead of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 )suggests the oxidising conditions during ceramics firing. The comparison of the minerals found in the different Roman potteries with the characteristic mineralogy of the archaeological site suggests the use of raw material coming from different source areas, opening up an interesting discussion about the commercial networks.

Three very different records are combined here to reconstruct the evolution of environments in the Cantabrian Region during the Upper Pleistocene, covering ~35.000 years. Two of these records come from Antoliñako Koba (Bizkaia, Spain), an exceptional prehistoric deposit comprising 9 chrono-cultural units (Aurignacian to Epipaleolithic). The palaeoecological signal of small-vertebrate communities and red deer stable-isotope data (δ13C and δ15N) from this mainland site are contrasted to marine microfaunal evidence (planktonic and benthic foraminifers, ostracods and δ18O data) gathered at the southern Bay of Biscay. Many radiocarbon dates for the Antoliña’s sequence, made it possible to compare the different proxies among them and with other well-known North-Atlantic records. Cooling and warming events regionally recorded, mostly coincide with the climatic evolution of the Upper Pleistocene in the north hemisphere.