agricultural production and social change in bronze age. gatas

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Agricultural production and social

change in the Bronze Age of southeastSpain: the Gatas Project

P.V. CASTRO, R.W. CHAPMAN, S. GILI, V. LULL, R. MIcó,

C. RIHUETE, R. RISCH & M.E. SANAHUJA*

This paper presents new data on agricultural production, the palaeoenvironment andsocial change during the Bronze Age of southeast Spain. The authors argue against the

inference of rrigation as the basis for agriculture and relate th e emergen ce of cereal

monoculture to the extraction of surplus and the exploitation of human labour.

Key-words: southeast Spain, Bronze Age, agricultural production, irrigation, social change, Gatas

The site of Gatas is located in lh e foothills of

lhe sierra Cabrera, on the soulhem edge of the

basin of Vera, in the east of Almería province,

soulheast Spain (FIGURES 1-2). The hill on wbich

fue settlement is located occupies an area of

about 1 hectare, an d is naturally defended by

vertical slapes an all hu t au e side. It was dis

covered in 1886 by Louis an d Remi Siret, whoexcavated Bronze Age suuctures and depos

its, including burials, on lhe top oflhe hill (Siret& Siret 1887: 165-77). No further fieldwork has

taken place at Gatas until almost exactly a cen

tury latero The settlement an d funerary records

of sites such as Gatas, El Argar an d Fuente Alamo

within the Vera basin testify to the existence

of stratified society in the late 3rd an d early

2nd millennia Be (for details of sites, cultures

an d dating, see Chapman 1990; Castro el al.1996). It is lhis record of social change which

makes the Verabasin sites and sequence of wider

importance in the study ofthe European BronzeAge.

Debate Oi l th e local origins of stratification

has centred on lhe nature and role of Copper

an d Bronze Age production and on the degreeto which the palaeoenvironment was different

to the degraded, semi-arid one visible today in

the Vera basin an d olher parts oflowland soulh-

east Spain. The link between production and

environment is seen clearly in th e debate Over

the existence, or not, of capital investment in

irrigation an d polyculture, an d their role in

enabling (by whatever means) agricultural set

tlement and social stratification. Central to this

debate has been

a an evaluation of the actual evid ence for thesepractices (e.g. Chapman 1978; 1990),

b different interpretations of the local climate

in later prehistory (given existing palaeoenvironmental data) and the extent to

which it determined particular productive practices (e.g. semi-arid climate - see

Chapman 1978; 1990; Gilman 1976;Gilman & Thornes 1985; humid climate

- see Lu1l1980; 1983; Ramos 1981), and

c contrasting ideas as to th e role of a g r i c u l ~tural production in social change (e.g. lhe

adaptationist position of Chapman 1978,as opposed to lhe capital inveslroent model

ofGilman 1976, the complementary productionmodel ofLull1980; 1983, and the

social storage model of Malhers 1984a;

1984b).The main objective of the Gatas project is

lhe evaluation of lhese models. This is to beachieved by th e analysis of th e successive oc-

" Castro, Gili, Lull, Micó, Rihuete, Risch & Sanahuja, Departamento Antropología Social i Prehistoria, Facultat de

Lletres, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain. [email protected]

Chapman, Department of Archaeology, University ofReading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 2AH, England.

[email protected]

Received 15 March 1999, accepted 4 May 1999, revised 31 August 1999.

ANrIQUITY 73 (1999): 846-56

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE BRONZE AGE OF SOUTHEAST SPAIN 847

FIGURE 1. Location oi

Gatas in southeastSpain.

FIGURE 2. The location

oimodern towns,villages andprehistoric sites in the

Vera basin mentioned

in the texto1 El Oficio.2 Fuente Alama.

3 Almizaraque.4 Campos.5 El Argar.6 Gatas.

7 Las Pilas.

Tajo

GuadiaM

cupations at Gatas, within a context of criticalevaluation of contemporary prehistoric settlements

in the same region. Thr ee phases of fieldworkbegan with archaeological and palaeoecological

ouerO

Madrid.

Málaga'-- !7

Oran

JP 'arcelona

survey in 1985 (Chapman el al. 1987), follow edby sondage excavations in 1986-7 (Castro el

al. in press a) an d mOfe extensive, area excavations in 1987, 1989, 1991 an d 1995 (Castro



848 P.V. CASTRO, R.W. CHAPMAN, S. GILI, V. LULL, R. MICÓ, C. RlliUETE, R. RISCH & M.E. SANAHU)A

(,--"'>-_"--{'-,

( _ . r ~

• Tow,,"

Contour n metres

et al. 1991; 1993 in press b; Buikstra et al. 1995).In Ihe rest of Ihis paper, we present data from

Galas princ ipally on changing production duringthe Copper an d Bronze Ages, developing th e

arguments proposed in an earlier paper (Ruízet 01.1992). Most oflhis data comes from phase

2 of Ihe project (Castro et al. in press a), alIhough none of the data so far available to us

fram phase 3 in any way contradict OUT broad

interpretation. Wherever possible, Ihe Galas data

will be placed in a more regional context (forsite locations, see FIGURE 2). The data are pre

sented by radiocarbon-dated occupation phasesat Gatas (see Castro et al. in press a).

Agricultural production at Gatas

Phase 1. Copper Age: c. 2850-2650 Be

The earliest occupation at Gatas consists ofCop

per Age lithies an d pottery found in two areas

ofthe hill, in S l an d Zone C (FIGURE 3). In nei

ther case is there any trace of structures in situ,which, along wilh smal! sample size, restricts

Ihe weight Ihat can be placed on this dala. Nearly90% of the plant remains consisted of ane ce-

M ec M, "' "

N

1 FIGURE 3. Plan of

Gatas, showingSondeos 1- 4 and

ZonesA-G.

Contours at 1O-m

intervals.

real, Hordeum vulgare, while the remainder

consisted of legumes. Such a dominance of

cereals over legumes, while based on a small

sample at Gatas, is repeated at olher Copper

Age sites wilh larger samples, as for example

at Almizaraque in the norlh of the Vera basin

(Rivera & Obón unpublished). Animal bones

are also present in smal! numbers (only 12·4%could be identified to species an d body part,Castro et al. in press a) and include domesticated ovicaprids and pigs: Ihe absence ofbovids

is attributed to the nature of Ihe sample, given

Ihat Ihey are present in olher faunal assemblagesin southeast Spain. Such evidence for agricultural production is not accompanied in this

phase by Ihe presence of grinding stones.The localion ofGatas, sorne 5 km inland from

Ihe coast, an d at an altitude of 253 m, contras!swith sites such as Almizaraque, which havecultivable soils closer to hand. Along wilh olhersites of bolh types, Ihey were occupied in the

Copper Age in a landscape wilh greater vegetation cover Ihan at Ihe present day: as shown bypollen from Gatas an d Almizaraque, Ihe denser

I


20

5IGURE 4. Frequencyof seeds of cerealsand legumes per

volume of excavated

deposit during Gatasphases 1-6.

o!-'---'--,--'-----'---r'--4 5 63

river-side cover included deciduous species, indicative of greater local humidity related to higherwater-tables an d more running water.

Phase 2. Argaric Bronze Age: C. 2250-1950 Be

This is Ihe first of 3 phases oflhe early BronzeAge group known after Ihe type-site ofEI Argar,located C. 13 km to Ihe norlh of Gatas in the

middle of the Vera basin. This phase sees !h e

abandonment of many low-Iying Copper Agesites, with the emphasis now on more elevated

settlements like Gatas, terraced into !h e foothills and using ovoid to rectilinear, rather than

circular, structures. Other changes included

individual intra-mural, rather than collective

megalithic, bruial, and amarked increase in melalproduction. Domestic an d funerary evidence

supports the inference of ncr easing social s-rratification during Ihe phases of Ihe Argaric (Lul!1983; Lull & Estévez 1986; Lul! & Risch 1995).

As in the Copper Age, the plant and animal

remains comprise small samples. The plant

remains are dominated by cereals: whether

identified to species or not, cereals ad d up to97·6% of the assemblage from Ihe sondages,

with legumes comprising the remaining 2·4%.Identified wheat and barley occur in roughly

equal percentages. The faunal assemblage is

dominated by bovids an d ovicaprids, togelher

amounting to 90% of the total by weight. As in

phase 1, grinding stones were absent.Much the same vegetation cover is indicated

as for Ih e Copper Age, with species such asUlmus an d Salix/Populus growing in woods

along riversides and more open, maqujo veg-

0.003

0.0025

0.002

0,0015

0.001

O.ooos

FIGURE 5. Frequencyof grinding stones per volume

of excavated deposit during Gatas phases 1-6.

etatian, with areas of apen evergreen waodland

(Pistacia, Olea, Pinus, Quercus) away from riversan d streams.

Phase 3. Argaric Bronze Age: C. 1950-1700 Be

It s in phase 3 that sample size increases, withmarked increases in the frequency of evidence

for agricultural production, both on the hill of

Gatas and in !he deposits located at it s south

em foot. This phase is also marked by the fust

buildings with dry-slone foundations, replac

ing Ihose built of upright posts in phase 2.In addition to sample size, Ihe range ofplant

food species also increases in phase 3. Allhough

cereals still dominate th e assemblage, !heir

overal! frequency is down to 69·5%, while leguminous species (especially Pisum an d Vicia)



850 P.V. CASTRO. R.W. CHAPMAN. S. GILI, V. LULL, R. MJCÓ, C. RIHUETE, R. RISCH & M.E. SANAHUjA

increase markedly. Among the identified cereals, Hordeum vuIgare no w dominaíed Tritícum

by a ratio of 11·4:1, an d Ihe barley was inlro

duced 'clean' inlo Ihe settlemenl. Other spe

cies identified in mínimal numbers included

Ficus cariea, Linum usitatissimum (both in the

fill oftomb 26), an d Vilis vinifera (one seed).Hislorical dala from the Almanzora valley,

in Ihe norlh of the basin of Vera, show Ihal dry

farming (secano) of eereals, with a normal al

lemation of 3- 4 years fallow for every year of

cultivation, was practised successfully in the18th cenlury AD. Within Ihe Aguas valley, clase

lo Galas, al the presenl day 91% of the eulti

valed area is for dry farming of eereals, pre

dominantly barley (Capel & Pascual 1984).

Indeed barley is no l only the main crop culti

vated today: it was also so in historie periods(Kleinpenning 1967; Martín Galindo 1975). It

is known for its grealer adaplabilily lo arid and

semi-arid conditions, its earlier maturity and

its greater resistance to parasites. In contrastthe water requirements of the legumes, andespecially th e beans (the quality of which declines significantly when cultivated in regions

wilh less than 400-500 mm of rainfall, see

Fomés 1983: 51-2), and lhe flax, suggesl Ihalthese species were cultivated in conditions of

water enhancement, near river courses and in

areas with higher water tables or seasona l in

undation. Peas and vetch are sensitive to lackof waler during growth (García Romero 1941;Langer & Hill1987), while flaxrequires annual

precipitalion of 400-750 mm an d moderale lo

cool lemperalures during grawth. According

lo Marlin & Leonard (1976: 798-9), high lem

peralures an d droughl lead lo reduced yields,smaller sizes and poorer oil quality. The short

root system of flax means that it is dependent onmoislure within 60'cm oflhe surface. The habi

tals of sorne of lhe weeds of cultivation found in

phase 3 (e.g. Galium aparine, Euphorbia peplus) also suggesl sorne form of huerta cultivation.

This reconstruction of extensiv e barley cullivalion an d locally inlensive huertas for leg

umes, flax and species such as Brassica is

preferred lo one of crop rolalion. In addition

lo lhe dala on known habitals an d yields, the

dominance of cereals over legumes at Gatas (as

well as al Almizaraque and Fuenle Alama) ar

gues against simple crop rotation, as do ourcalculalions of lh e areas of land required for

cultivalion of Ihese species in this (and later)

periods of Ihe Bronze Age (Castro el al. 1998;

in press a). Given the cultivation of fue basinof Vera during the lasl 5000 years, we prefer areconstruction of one year's cereal cultivationallernaling with 1- 2 years fallow, ralher than

the longer fallow practised in recent times.

The cultivalion of pulses would have provided an important source of protein, and, incombination with cereals, would have givenIhe inhabitanls of Galas mosl of the amino ac

ids required for a heallhy die!. Al Ihe same time

it is worlh stressing Ihal nol all of the pulses

need have been consumed by humans: the casefor the cultivationofvelch for animal feed, based

on modern observations, has been made in

Castro el al. (in press a) an d by Halslead & Jones(1989). The benefils of pulse cultivalion came

at a cost, given their inc reased labour costs (e.g.weeding, hoeing elc., see White 1970: 191;

Halslead & Jones 1989: 49), although lhese wou ldalso have been beneficial lo flax, which is besl

grown away from weeds and after row cropsor legumes (Marlin & Leonard 1976: 803).

Although domesticaled species dominaled

th e faunal assemblage (ovicaprids, followed by

bovids an d pigs)' lhe presence of species such

as Cervus and Felis sylvestris indicates areas

ofMediterranean woodland (dominaled by 01-ive, mastic, pine, kermes oak, etc.) sUITounding the cultivaled plols, while mounlain goals

would have lived higher in Ihe sierra Cabrera.The case for an increase in agricultural pro

duclion in phase 3 is also supporled by lhe

increase in the frequency of seeds per volumeof excavaled deposit (FIGURE 4), an d of grinding slones and other macrolilhic lools (FIGURE5). Charcoal and palien evidence also leslifiesto increased clearance and increased exploitation of woody species.

Phase 4. Argarie Bronze Age: c. 1700-1500 BC

The lasl phase of Ihe Argaric sees a further in

crease in agricultural production. Now the frequency of leguminous species declines to lessIhan 2% of lhe planl foods, an d barley domi

nates this cereal monoculture by a ratio of 114:1over wheat. The absence of data from the excavaled areas al the southem fool of he hill makes

il difficult lo decide whether primary processing/threshing of cereals look place here, o r else

where, befare being introduced lo lhe settlemen!.As with phase 3, we argue lhal Ihis empha

sis on cereal cultivation would have been based

on dry farming, as again supported by sorne ofthe weeds of cultivation. The increase in produc-

'1


tion (FIGURES 4-5) would have required dearance

oflarger areas for cultivalion an d for fallow peri

ods of al leasl 2 years. The praclise of opportunistic, continuous dry cultivation has also beenobserved in recent times when there is sufficientrainfall (Kleinpenning 1967). Anincreaseinsuch

clearance of maquia and Mediterranean woodland around, and al an increasing distance from,

Galas is supparled by lhe charcoal species recovered. Palien analysis supports lhis inlerpre

tation, withmore clearance along the water-courses

where lhe legumes would have been cultivaled,and fue increase o fherbace ous plants characteristic of dry, waste or saline areas is also telling,as is the evidence for more degraded maqma.

Given this evidence, we argue that fue mode l

of slubble grazing proposed by Halslead forNeolilhic Greece (1981; 1987) is also relevanl

in the lower Aguas. As in phase 3, ovicapridsare the most frequent ofthe domesticated animals and could have grazed on lh e fallow areas, fertilizing them at the same time. The fact

that pigs were next in frequency is perhaps incontradiction to the picture of increased clearance of lhe low-Iying woody areas by lhe side

ofrivers and streams, and would have required

sorne feeding supplemenl. Cattle and horse mayhave been used for bolh traclion and carriage,

as well as for threshing crops.These changes in phase 4 can be pul inlo a

broader conlext, nol only of he preceding phasesof the Argaric, bul also ofthe lower Aguas as a

whole. As far as the latter is concemed, two

trends are imporlanl. Firsl, Ihe populalion of

the lower Aguas may have doubled or lripled

from the Copper Age lo Ihe Argaric, according

to our calculations based on surface areas andagricultural produc tion (Castroel al. 1998; Castroel al. in press c), while aggregating in a smaller

number of settlemenls. Secondly, these settlemenls differed in size (up lo 3 ha) and localion

(low-Iying vs foolhills around Ihe basin) righlacross Ihe Vera basin, bu l lh e relalionship be

tween settlement size and amounts of accessi

ble cultivable land was no l as expecled (FIGURE6): Ihe larger settlemenls had less cultivable

land wilhin 2 km, suggesting lhal smaller sel

tlemenls were linked lo primary, agricultural

production, while lhe larger siles received tribule

from, and exerdsed politico-economic controlover, lhe smaller, low-Iying sites.

This agricultural produclion was marked bya 'lake-off' during phases 2- 4 al Galas, if we

compare the indices for frequency per volume

of excavaled deposit for planl remains (FIGURE4) with those for grinding slones (FIGURE 5) an d

lilhic lools in general (FIGURE 7). This increase

in production was even more marked at the

conlemporary sile ofFuenle Alama in lhe north

oflhe Vera basin (Slika 1988). In bolh sites th e

emphasis was on Ihe cultivalion ofbarley, and

the smaller seeds al Fuenle Alama and El Argar

supporl the inference of dry cultivalion (Hopf

1991; Slika 1988). Bul while barley could givegood yields under a syslem of dry farming, fal

low and slubble grazing, lhe leguminous spede s are more likely to have been wet farmed

in huertas, as argued for phase 3. Flax was alsopresent at Fuente Alama (as in other contem

porary sites such as El Argar, La Baslida de

Tolana, an d Zapala), comprising 30% of lh e

seeds during lhe fusl two phases of occupation.

The dominance of cereals:legumes on both sitesalso argues against crop rotation and in favour of

our inlerpretation of extensive dry farming far

cereals and localized horticulture for legumes albolh sites. The exislence of such horticulture is

also suggesled by lhe soil micromorphology analyses on deposits al lhe soulhem fool of lhe hill of

Galas (Castro el al. in press a).

While labour could be organized in relatíonto the sowing and harvesting regimes of cereals an d legumes, lh e exlension of dry farming,especially in Gatas 3-4, would have increasedlabour cosls in getting lo an d from fields, aswell as the costs of cereal processing, animal

traction an d Ihe abilily lo provide adequale

animal manure for fallow areas (e! Gamble

1982). Reducing Ihe period of fallow lo enable

more continued cultivation of existing fieldswould have led lo rapid exhauslion of the soils.

As it is, the marked increase and climax in

exploitation of wood species from the maquia

vegelation in phase 4 supports lhe argumenl

for wider clearance lo expand dry farming of

barley. Lastly, il is worth noling lhal the grinding stones used at Gatas increased in frequencyduring phases 3-4, they were smaller in size

than those kllown from contemporary sites suchas Fuente Alamo and would have been less pro

ductive of flour. Thus lhe expansion of agri

cultural produclion in Ihese phases depended

more on human labonr than on improvementin the produclive lechnology.

Phase 5. Poslargarie: 1500-1300 BC

This phase marks Ihe beginning of Ihe Laler

Bronze Age in soulheasl Spain, wilh th e en d



85 2 P.V. CASTRO, R.W. CHAPMAN, S. GIL!, V. LULL, R. MICÓ, C. RIHUETE, R. RISCH & M.E. SANAHUjA

3.5

•.0 •

2.5 •

2.0 • •1.5

1.0 • •0.5

O • • • -. •O 100 200 300 400 500

3.5

•3.0 •

2.5 •

2.0 •

1.5

1.0 ..

0.5

o • • • •

o 100 200 300 400 500 600

FIGURE 7. Frequency of ithics per volume of

excavated deposit during Gatas phases 1-6.

•

•

•600 700 800

FIGURE 6. Relation Ofsite size (vertical

axis) to areas(horizontal axis)

(both in hectares) ofdry (above) and wet

• • • • (below) farmi ng

700 800within 2 km of sifes

900 1000 in the Vera basin.

of inlramural burial among other changes. Cereals remain dominant among the plant remains,

although the ratio ofbarley lo wheal decreases

lo 8·6:1. While lhe remainder of the plant remains comprise only 1%afthe total, fue range

of species is broader than in phase 4: they in

elude species of legumes an d flax, as well asVitis vinifera an d stones of Olea Europea, both

in sondeo 2 at the soulhem foot of he hill. Once

again we appear ta be dealing with extensive

dry farming of cereals an d small patches of

horticulture. The increased dietary range, alongwilh lhe animal products, ma y indicate an improvement in diet an d heallh over phase 4. Adecrease in agricultural production is indicated

(FIGURES 4-5). The pre sence of fragmentedgrindingstones with less maintained working surfaces

suggests re-use frOID the Argaric occupation.


The charcoal assemblages from this phase aredominated by Olea and Pista cea (80% of lhe total), suggesting further elearance of lhe maquiavegetation at middle and low altitudes. The frequency of Tamarix charcoals also suggesls lhe

presence of saline soils in an increasingly steppelike landscape. Overall lhe exploitation of timber resources is less than in the previous perlad(and more like lhat in phases 1-2), eilher as aresult of decreasing demand or availabilily afierlhe widespread clearance of phases 3-4.

Phase 6. Postargaric: c.1300-10 00 BeThis is th e last phase of occupation of Gatasfor nearly two lhousand years, an d is part of awider abandonment of settlements of Argaric

origin in this area. Cereals dominate the plantremains with almost the same frequeney as in

phase 5, while the ratio of barley lo wheat isalso the same as in the previous phase. Therange of species exploited decreased, and it

appears lhat horticulture of leguminous and

olher species was abandoned. Gn lhe other hand,

it is suggested lhat animal husbandry (mainly

cattle) and hunting (deer) played an increas

ing role in subsistence.

Charcoals indicate lhe continued exploilation of lh e maquia, while pollen shows the final disappearance of the deciduous species

which had been present along low-Iying water

COUIses since the beginning of the site's occu

pation. There are also indica tions of more aridconditions (see below).

Agricultural production andpalaeoenvironment

The results of the excavations at Gatas permitthe conslruction of a more detailed, an d ralher

different, sequence o f agricultural production

during lhe Copper an d Bronze Ages of lhis region of soulheast Spain. Throughout lhis se

quence we propose that such production wasbased on dry farming of cereals, predominantly

barley, with leguminous species an d flax being grown in horticultural plots in low-Iying

areas of higher water-table, seasonal inunda

tion or (Iess likely) small-scale irrigalion systems. The dry-farming regime was based on shortfallow periods an d stubble grazing by domes

tic livestock. There was a marked increase in

agricultural production during the Argaric

Bronze Age, in Gatas phases 3-4, c. 1950-1500

BC, facussing increasingly on barley monoculture

and associated with more widespread vegetation elearance. This began wilh lhe deciduous

species in riverside habitals (which disappeared

by lhe end of lhe 2nd millennium BC) an d extended to lh e woody species of lh e maquia

vegetation at increasing distances from fue settlemen!. During lhe Postargaric phases of occupation (Gatas 5-6), agricultural production

deelined an d diversified as the effects of the

over-expansion of the Argaric sys tem took ef

fect on lhe surrounding landscape.

This emphasis on dry farming for cereals andsmall horticultural plots for legumes an d flaxis supported by lhe data from th e contempo

rary site of Fuente Alamo, in lhe north of the

Vera basin. Further, independent supporl is

given by analyses of plant seeds fram later pre

historie sites in southeast Spain for their car-

bon isotope discrimination values, which relateto lheir water status during growth (Araus et

al. 1997a; 1997b): higher values (above 18%)

indicate growth under eonditions of rrigation,or in naturally weUer soils. The values meas

ured on wheat and barley seeds do not sup

port the inference of irrigation practices, bu tthe mean values for Vic¡ia Java beans were C.

1 % higher than those for cereals. Two hypotheses are proposed for lhis pattern. Either lhe

differences in values were the result of differ

ences in growth p a t t e r n s between beans and

cereals, or the beans were selectively wateredin small plots at sorne sites ( as we propase for

Gatas). Unfortunatelygrain samples were ana

Iysed frOID only two sites in lh e Vera basin (LasPilas an d Campos, bolh of Copper Age date),but lheir results support the main pattern.

Climatic inferenees are also made from the

results of these analyses. For example, the mean

carbon isotope discrimination values for seeds

frOID archaeological sites in lhe Baza and Guadix

basins (located to lhe northeast of Granada) were

higher than lhose modem crops which are dryfarmed in the same region, indicating a wetter

climate in lhe 3rd and 2n d millennia BC. Calculations oflhe water regime during grain filling (Araus et al. 1997a: 735-6), and hence of

precipitation values, also support this inference.

Comparison of samples from southeast andnorlheast Spain show a lrend lowards aridity

from the Neolilhic to the ¡ron Age, bu t a further 41% decrease in precipitation from thenuntil the present day in lhe southeast (as com

pared wilh a 12% decrease in the norlheast).

________ ----11



854 p.v CASTRO, R.W, CHAPMAN, S, GIL!, V, LULL, R. MICÓ, C, RIHUETE, R. RISCH & M.E. SANAHUjA

Araus et al. (1997b) cite otber studies which

show steady decrease in precipitation in south

ern Spain from tbe late 19th to tb e mid 20th

centuries, with a decrease of 150 mm in th e

annual precipitation of th e Murcia region, c.

90 km to the nortb of the Vera basin.

Data on changing temperatures are harder tocome by, but tbe Gatas project has again made

an important contribution . Oxygen isotope analyses on 12 sea shells (G1ycimeris ) from stratifiedan d dated contexts in three sondeos (Castro et

al. in press a) show that the average annual seasurface temperature was the same, aI even slightlyhigher, at tbe beginning of fue 2nd millennium

BC (in phases 3-4 ) as at fue present day. This temperatu re fell by 1 C from 1500-1300 BC (phase 5,Postargaric) an d by a forfuer 1·5'C from 1300-

1000 BC (phase 6, Postargaric).Overall. tben, tbere is a wide range of data

to support fue existence of environmental degradation in the Vera. In addition to the new

data cited in this paper, cores in the lower valleys of tb e Almanzora and Aguas rivers as well

as historical an d contemporary data on fallingwater tables show the extent of soH erosion an d

coastal advancement. and the more regular water

flow which characterized the basin's riveIs infue past (Hoffman 1988).

These changes in our knowledge of palaeoenvironments are important not only in them

selves, but also in terms of our inferences on

agricultural production in the 3rd an d 2nd

millennia BC. Earlier in this paper we noted

fue debate which has taken place on fue relationship between agricultural production an d

the palaeoenvITonment n southeast Spain. This

debate focussed on tbe relationship between

the semi-arid climate of the southeast an d the

use of rrigation technology. On fue premiss that

'dry farming is not a viable subsistence strategy in tbe arid lowlands', Gilman & Thornes

(1985:183) argued tbat 'it is presumably th edevelopment ofhydraulic technology fuat made

agriculturally based occupation of fue coastallowlan ds possib le' (1985: 183; see also Chapman

1978; 1990). They supported fuis hypothesis

by analyses of site location strategies to dem

onstrate tb e potential for we t farming.This hypothesis is not supported by fue new

data from Gatas. We argue tbat irrigation was

not a necessity for successful agricultural pro

duction in the coastal lowlands of soutbeast

Spain. Cultivation in small horticultural plots

was important for th e successful production

of pulses (and fue sources of protein lhereili)an d flax, bu t was not used for tb e farming of

cereals, which provided most of tbe dietary

input. Th e potential for such horticulture varied between site locations, as was argued by

Gihnan &Thornes, but tbe extent to which fuatpotential was exploited depended on social and

political factors. The location of Gatas 'max

imises hydraulic potential' (Gihnan &Thornes

1985: 110) an d is classified as 'wet farming'according to its potentiallanduse, while Fuente

Alama is in a potential 'dry farming' location(Gilman& Thornes 1985: 103-5). The archaeological evidence suggests the practice of a comparable, predominan tiy dry-farming, subsistenceduring fue Bronze Age occupatio ns at bofu sites.In the case of Fuente Alama, tb e small area ofpotentially irrigable land clase to tb e site may

have been sufficient for fue small-plot horticulture discussed in this papero At Gatas the

area at fue soufu ern foot of fue hill by the ramblade Charco (Castro et al. in press a; Ruíz et al.

1992: 23) and the irrigated land to the north of

tbe site (the most fertile in the basin ofVera al

tbe present day) may have been more than sufficient to meet fue horticultural needs of its

inhabitants. The foil 'potential' of Gatas' location for 'wet farming' was not exploited during the Bronze Age.

The evidence for water conservation in prehistorie soutbeast Spain (see Chapman 1978;1990: 125-7) appears to relate to domestic consumption (most notably in hilltop, defended

Argaric settlements such as Fuente Alamo an d

El Oficio). Th e famous 'galleries' found by the

Sirets at the eastern foot of Gatas alongside fueRambla del Charco could have been used forwater storage (gallery no. 1) an d for irrigation

(gallery no. 2), but fuey are not securely dated,an d formal similarities currently favour construction an d use during the Arab occupation

of th e area in th e eaTly 2nd millennium AD(Castro et al. in press a). Evidence for prehis

toric water diversion comes from tbree sites.Ditches filled witb water-deposited sediments

have been excavated at the Copper Age settiements of Cerro de la Virgen (in th e interior

uplands of eastern Granada, Schüle 1967) an d

Ciavieja (on the soufuem coast to the west of

Almería, Carrilero & Suárez 1989-90). In fuecase of fue latter, the two ditches were only

used in the earliest phase of occupation (FinalNeolithicJ, which would hardly be expected if

irrigation was the basis of successful agricul-


tural production. The excavators argue fuat fueseditches were for drainage purposes, although

fuey do not explain why fuey ceased to be used.

Th e case for water transport via an aqueduct

into the settlement at Los Millares has been

questioned recently by Capel et al. (1998), who

argue that it was used neither for transporting

water from nearby hot springs, nor for protect

ing such water from evaporation processes.

Clearly there is littie evidence here to support

th e widespread practice of irrigation to enable

successfol agricultural production. Even if heditch at Virgen were used for irrigating crops,the questions arise as to why, an d for whose

benefit?

Alongside irrigation, tbe case for the practise of polyculture in fue Coppe r Agean d ArgaricBronze Age in soufueast Spa in (e.g. Gihnan 1976;1981) has not received support from lh e excavations at Gatas (nor at Fuente Alama). Alfuoughwe gladly admit fue small sample size at present,th e evidence for th e exploitation of vines and

olives increases at fue en d of the Argaric (phase4) an d in the Postargaric (phase 5) (Castro et

al. in press a), an d not at fue beginning of fueoccupation sequence. Even then we do not

believe that this necessarily constitutes'polyculture'. EIsewhere claims have been made

far cultivation of olives (Rodriguez Ariza &Vemet (1991) on the Copper Age site of LosMillares). But given fue problems in distinguishing wild an d cultivated species of olives an d

grapes (e.g. Terra11996) no reliable evidence

exists for the production and consumption of

eifuer olive oil or wine (rather than grape juice)in later prehistoric southeast Spain.

Conclusions

One of fue substan tive results o f fue Gatas projectto date has been the demonstration of changes

in the Content an d context of agricultural pro

duction during the 3rd an d 2nd millennia BC.Situating Gatas within its regional context in

the basin of Vera, we argue that the social exploitation of nature included a balance of ex-

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Paradise Lost: the bombing of the Templeof the Tooth - a UNESCO World Heritage

site in Sri Lanka

ROBIN CONINGHAM & NICK LEWER*

The bombing of the Temple of he Tooth at Kandy in 1998 provides the foeus for an

analysis of he politieal targeting of heritage in Sri Lanka.

Key-words: Sri Lanka, Kandy, terrorism, Buddhist temple, UNESCO

Inlroduction

That archaeology has played a significant role

in the creation oí nation-states around the globeis well atlested (Diaz-Andreu & Champion 1996;Kohl & Fawcelt 1995; Gathercole & Lowenlhal

1994), From Smilh's manipulatio n at Great Zimbabwe (Garlake 1973) to Mussolini's second

Roman empire (Guidi 1996) an d lhe Nazi quest

far homelands (Arnold 1992), archaeology has

been used to legitimize expansiono Physical

remains have equally been used to support lhe

dismemberment of larger units asillustrated

wilhin the former USSR (Kohl & Tsetskhladze1995; Puodziunas & Girininkas 1996), Whilst

the past has also been used internally within

nation-states to promote arre social grouping

to the exclusion of olhers (Jones & Pay 1994;Silberman 1989), a worrying recent phenom

erran is th e destruction of monuments which

are perceived to represent the past of others.Such atlacks have been me t with widespread

condemnation as illustrated by th e response

to th e demolition of monuments in former

Yugoslavia (Chippindale 1992; 1994; Chapman

1994), the obliteration of lhe Babri mosque atAyodhya (MandaI1993) and the Taliban threat

to lhe Bamiyan Buddhas (SPACH 1997). In starkcontrast, the bombing of one of Sri Lanka's

holiest Buddhist shrines, lh e Temple of lhe

Buddha's Toolh in Kandy, on 25 January 1998,has attracted little commentdespit e its UNESCOWorld Heritage status (FIGURE 1). Th e purpose

of lhis paper is to place the targeted site in its

historical context an d to discuss the island's

military an d political background in arder to

understand its selection for destruction.

The political and military context

Over lhe last 25 years the Govemment of Sri

Lanka has faced challenges from two sources:

firstly in 1971, and again in 1988/89, the

Sinhalese Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) arevolutionary Marxist organization which also

mixed elements of Sinhala chauvinismo The)vp

were effectively destroy ed in a bloody fight wilhlhe security farces in 1989 (Gunaratna 1995;Chandraprema 1991). Secondly, from lh e early

1970s, and with an increasing degree offeroc

ity, militant Tamil groups have been fightingfor an independent country, Tamil Eelam or

'Tamil homeland', to be established in he north

an d east of Sri Lanka. Tamils represent 18% of

the island's population and Sinhalese 74%, lh e

balance being made up ofMuslims and Burghers (Tambiah 1986: 4), Whilst most Sinhalese

are Buddhist an d most Tamils Hindu, there are

minarities of Christians within bolh (Tambiah1986: 4), It should be stressed, however, lhat

this conflict is no t necessarily a religious war

but certainly arre of secession from a state which

is perceived to be dominated by lhe Sinhalese

and Buddhism (Tambiah 1986: 126),Dne Tamil group, th e Liberation Tigers of

Tamil Eelam (LTTE), no w dominates lhis bat

tle (Gunaratna 1994; Swamy 1994), A turning

point in the conflict occurred in 1983 when

* Coningham, Department of Archaeological Sciences, Universi ty of Bradford, Bradford BD7 mp , England. Lewer,

Department ofPeace Studies, University ofBradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, England.

Received 15 October 1998, revised 20 January 1999, aecepted 18 February 1999, revised 9 June 1999.

ANTIQUITY 73 (1999): 857--66

agricultural production and social change in bronze age. gatas

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