Mid‐ to late Holocene environmental changes and human‐environment interactions in the surroundings of La Silla del Papa, SW Spain

Abstract

In southern Iberia, the surroundings of the Strait of Gibraltar are known as a crossroad for population movements, cultural exchanges, and trade from Late Prehistory to modern times. However, questions remain about the impact of this historical development on the environment. The settlement of La Silla del Papa, an important hillfort in southern Andalusia (Cádiz), was occupied during the entire Iron Age, replaced by the coastal town Baelo Claudia during Roman times, and re‐occupied during Early Medieval times. As such, La Silla del Papa and its territory represent an ideal location for long‐term studies on human‐environment interactions. Within the framework of the interdisciplinary project “Archeostraits,” geoarchaeological investigations in the surroundings of La Silla del Papa aimed at constraining ecological conditions and human‐environment interactions during the mid‐ and late Holocene and during major human occupation phases. Our results document an early mid‐Holocene marine embayment in the lower floodplain of the Río del Cachón, rapidly turning into a coastal lagoon and later into freshwater‐dominated wetlands. After approximately 2100 BP (c. 150 BC), fluvial and alluvial deposition i600ing a high anthropogenic impact on the local landscape during Roman or post‐Roman times. Palynological results reveal fluctuating agricultural and pastoral activities and distinct periods of landscape opening during the Neolithic and Iron Age.

Holocene coastal evolution and environmental changes in the lower Río Guadiaro valley, with particular focus on the Bronze to Iron Age harbour ‘Montilla’ of Los Castillejos de Alcorrín (Málaga, Andalusia, Spain)

“…While the geoarchaeological research during the mid-1980s suggested a coastal embayment and direct marine access to Montilla (Hoffmann, 1988a,b;Schubart, 1988), these studies lacked detail, particularly in terms of the chronological resolution and the spatio-temporal evolution of palaeoenvironments in the surroundings of the site. In addition, as confirmed by a number of publications since then (e.g., Brisset et al, 2018;May et al, 2021;Vacchi et al, 2016), the decelerating rates of the relative sea-level (RSL) rise since 7000 B.P. facilitated a rather rapid lateral progradation of river deltas, the siltation of estuaries, and the evolution of floodplains, particularly in the lower stretches and estuaries of large rivers.…”

“…in the area around Montilla. In agreement with the evolution of other coastal lowlands in southern Spain (e.g.,Brisset et al, 2018;May et al, 2021), delta progradation, floodplain evolution and the seaward migration of the coastline to approximately its present location had already taken place before the Phoenicians arrived in southern Iberia, resulting in a river-dominated landscape in the lower Guadiaro valley at that time. Lagoonal conditions at Montilla had thus likely already disappeared during Phoenician times, and a direct access by boat (e.g., in the form of a lagoonal coastline) to the settlement, postulated in previous research…”

A pedo-geomorphological view on land use and its potential in the surroundings of the ancient Hispano-Roman city Munigua (Seville, SW Spain)

“…This observation chronologically reasonably matches with recent investigations in Spanish river catchments. May et al (2021) reported on increased fluvial and alluvial deposition during Roman or post-Roman times (after approx. 2100 cal BP) and suggest that this is related to a high anthropogenic impact on the local landscape.…”

Prospecciones arqueológicas y dinámicas del poblamiento en la campiña de Tarifa (Cádiz). Las raíces protohistóricas del territorio de Baelo Claudia

“…Moret. Los trabajos realizados han consistido en estudios geoarqueológicos y paleobotánicos para determinar el grado de antropización y la evolución geomorfológica de estuarios y ensenadas de la zona (May et al, 2021), y especialmente en prospecciones arqueológicas superficiales destinadas a caracterizar los diferentes modelos de poblamiento. El segundo proyecto es "La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz): oppidum, necrópolis y territorio (2014-2019)", un Proyecto General de Investigación de la Junta de Andalucía dirigido por P. Moret, que aúna la vertiente del territorio con la urbana.…”