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Land-Use Dynamics and Socioeconomic Change: An Example from the Polop Alto Valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

C. Michael Barton ,
Joan Bernabeu ,
J. Emili Aura  and
Oreto García
C. Michael Barton
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Archaeological Research Instituten P.O. Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
Joan Bernabeu
Affiliation:
Departament de Prehistoria I Arqueologia, Universidad de Valencía, Avenida Blasco Ibáñez, 28, 46010, Valéncia, España
J. Emili Aura
Affiliation:
Departament de Prehistoria I Arqueologia, Universidad de Valencía, Avenida Blasco Ibáñez, 28, 46010, Valéncia, and Museu Arqueologic Municipal d'Alcoi, Plaçeta del Carbó, s/n, 03801, Alcoi, España
Oreto García
Affiliation:
Departament de Prehistoria I Arqueologia, Universidad de Valencía, Avenida Blasco Ibáñez, 28, 46010, Valéncia, España
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Abstract

The Polop Alto valley, in eastern Spain, serves as the focus of a study of long-term temporal and spatial dynamics in human land use. The data discussed here derive from intensive, pedestrian, non-site survey. We employ the concept of artifact taphonomy to assess the various natural and cultural processes responsible for accumulation and distribution patterns of artifacts. Our results suggest that the most significant land-use changes in the Polop Alto took place at the end of the Pleistocene and accompanying the late Neolithic, while much less notable changes in land-use patterns are associated with the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition and the initial use of domestic plants and animals in the valley.

Résumé

Résumé

El valle del Polop, en el este de España, se utiliza aqui como ejemplo para la discusión de la variabilidad temporal y espacial de larga duración asociada al uso del territorio durante laprehistoria. La información que se discute deriva de la prospección intensiva, e independiente de la localización de asentamientos. Se utiliza el análisis tafonómico de los artefactos para investigar los diversos procesos naturales y antrópicos responsables de las acumulaciones de artefactos y sus patrones de distribución. Nuestros resultados sugieren que los cambios más significativos en la estructuración del territorio en este valle tuvieron lugar hacia el final del Pleistoceno y en los momentos finales del Neolítico, mientras que los cambios asociados a la transición Paleolítico Medio-Superior, o al initio del Neolítico en el valle fueron mucho menores.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 64 , Issue 4 , October 1999 , pp. 609 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1999

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