Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades

Research from the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego) offers a rich ethnographic and historical record produced by the late inclusion of Tierra del Fuego in the industrial world (the Beagle Channel was discovered by R. Fitz-Roy in 1830). This is an interesting frame for using new techniques (social simulation by Agent Based Modelling (ABM)) to generate new hypotheses inarchaeology. In this case, the hypothesis is focused on the role of social cooperation in Yámana hunter-fisher-gatherer society.

Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.

The Biniadrís cave is located in the southern part of the island of Menorca (Spain). It is the fourth funerary cave with preserved materials discovered in Menorca up to now, along with Es Càrritx, Es Mussol, and Es Pas. However, the chronology of Biniadrís is more extensive, covering more than seven centuries, allowing for a study of human practices over the “longue durée”. What makes Biniadrís unique is its large number of bioarchaeological remains, mainly human remains and other organic and inorganic material, in an extraordinary state of preservation. The main goal of this paper is to reconstruct the burial ritual using comprehensive bioarchaeological methods, including 14C radiocarbon dating, to understand the modality and temporality of use of the Biniadrís cave during the pre- and protohistory of the Balearic Islands. The palaeodemographic data derived from our ongoing excavation are described here in detail and point to interesting patterns, such as the equal representation of female and male individuals across all ages, including very young and older individuals. The fact that all individuals are equally represented and integrated into the community in the funerary settings provides insights into the group ideology, which are discussed further. These burial practices are interpreted as a strong expression of community identity at Biniadrís linked to its island setting, as seen from the preservation of the funerary memory over such a long period, which is unique for this cave. The multi-proxy approach employed here to study the bioarchaeological and organic remains contributes to a better understanding of the “longue durée” of the funerary ritual and the reconstruction of human behavior during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages of an island community in the western Mediterranean.

This contribution reconstructs the life of the itinerant lecturer Martin Berschitz (ca. 1740-after 1800). Berschitz was an instrument maker and toured parts of Central and Western Europe for about three decades. His public performances focused on electricity, and he also offered to erect lightning rods. Despite his problematic status as a ‘mere showman’, he contributed to the circulation of practical knowledge in natural philosophy though his lectures and instruments. Berschitz was involved in numerous controversies with other practitioners and municipal authorities. The reconstruction of these skirmishes elucidates how scientific expertise and authority were negotiated in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Itinerant lecturers such as Berschitz served as a contrast-foil for the persona of a ‘real’ natural philosopher.