Dataset from archaeological surveys in northern Alicante Province, Pais Valenciano, Spain 1990-2004. Collaborative research by Arizona State University, USA, and Universitat de València, Spain, with support from the Museu Arqueològic of Alcoi. The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation (grants BNS-9115209 and SBR-9904050), the Generalitat de Valencia, and Arizona State University. The surveys took place in a series of valley in the vicinity of the city of Alcoi:
- Polop Alto
- Middle Riu Serpis
- Riu Penaguila
- Vall de Alcalá
- Vall de Gallinera
- Gorgos valley
This survey used a stratified, random sampling design, with complete collection of surface artifacts in collection units. Collection units were terraced agricultural fields. All survey areas and collection units were digitized and georeferenced into GIS formats, and all artifact collections were linked with the GIS data for analyses.
Details of the survey methods and analysis are described in the following papers, and especially the ones starred with an asterisk. Please cite these works as appropriate when using the dataset here.
*Barton, C. M., Bernabeu Aubán, J., Aura Tortosa, J. E., & Garcia Puchol, O. (1999). Landscape dynamics and socioeconomic change: An example from the Polop Alto valley. American Antiquity, 64(4), 609–634. https://doi.org/10.2307/2694208
*Bernabeu Aubán, J., Barton, C. M., Garcia Puchol, O., & La Roca, N. (1999). Prospecciones sistemáticas en el valle del Alcoi (Alicante): Primeros resultados. Arqueología Espacial, 21, 29–64.
*Bernabeu, J., Barton, C. M., Garcia Puchol, O., & La Roca, N. (2000). Systematic survey in Alicante, Spain: First results. Türkyie Bilimer Akademisi Arkeoloji Dergisi, 3, 57–86.
*Barton, C. M., Bernabeu Aubán, J., Aura Tortosa, J. E., Garcia Puchol, O., & La Roca, N. (2002). Dynamic landscapes, artifact taphonomy, and landuse modeling in the western Mediterranean. Geoarchaeology, 17(2), 155–190. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.10008
Barton, C. M., Bernabeu Aubán, J., Aura Tortosa, J. E., & Molina Balaguer, L. (2004). Historical contingency, nonlinearity, and the neolithization of the western Mediterranean. In L. Wandsnider & E. Athanassopoulos (Eds.), Current Issues in Mediterranean Landscape Archaeology (pp. 99–124). University of Pennsylvania Press.
*Barton, C. M., Bernabeu Auban, J., Garcia Puchol, O., Schmich, S., & Molina Balaguer, L. (2004). Long-term socioecology and contingent landscapes. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 11(3), 253–295. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JARM.0000047315.57162.b7
Diez Castillo, A., Barton, C. M., La Roca Cervigón, N., & Bernabeu Aubán, J. (2008). Landscape socioecology in the Serpis Valley (10000-4000 BP). In A. Posluschny, K. Lambers, & I. Herzog (Eds.), Layers of Perception: Proceedings of the 35th CAA Conference, Berlin, April 2007. Dr.Rudolf Habel GmbH. Kolloquien zur Vor- und Fruhgeschichte, Vol. 10. http://hdl.handle.net/10550/58295
Miller, A., & Barton, C. M. (2008). Exploring the land: A comparison of land-use patterns in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the western Mediterranean. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35, 1427–1437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.10.007
This dataset includes:
- Analyses of artifacts collected in pedestrian surveys (csv format files).
- GIS vector data of areas surveyed, sampling strata, and collection units (ESRI shape files).
- Scanned topographic maps that were digitized and georeferenced to used in analyses (tif graphic formats), accompanied by textual information for georeferencing.
- Other scanned maps used to contextualize the survey (jpeg and tif graphic formats), accompanied by textual information for georeferencing.
- Scanned, rectified aerial photos (from 1950s or 1960s) that were used to identify and digitize collection unit fields (jpeg and png graphic formats), accompanied by textual information for georeferencing.
- Image masks of surface erosion in one of the valleys (Polop Alto), processed from aerial photos, used to weight artifact densities and account for artifact loss due to surface processes (png and tif graphic formats), accompanied by textual information for georeferencing. Additional information on this erosion analysis is available in metadata folder and in the Barton et al 2002 paper.
- Metadata to help users understand the data fields and data codes used in the analyses.
- Results of analyses of the impact of surface visibility on artifact collections, and results of recollection of a sample of collection units to assess variability in visibility and densities of surface materials in agricultural fields.
Note that all data field names have been translated into English (from multiple original languages). Translations of field names and codes between English, Español, and Valencià are provided in the metadata section.
Image of the Polop Alto Valley, Alicante, Spain, 1991 (c) C Michael Barton 2022
Although we have tried to make these data as useful as possible, all data are provided as is, with no guarantees express or implied. You are welcome to contact Michael Barton (michael.barton@asu.edu) or other data authors if you have questions, and we will try to respond in a timely way if possible.
Michael Barton, 2022