Lauro Olmo-Enciso

En las dos últimas décadas, la arqueología ha podido caracterizar las transformaciones urbanas desarrolladas entre el final del Imperio Romano y la consolidación del estado visigodo. El proceso constructivo –en el que la Iglesia desempeñó un papel clave– es bien conocido, aunque lamentablemente las estructuras relacionadas con el poder del Estado siguen siendo esquivas. Este trabajo ofrece una visión general de los resultados más recientes en el centro de la Península Ibérica, focalizándose en el complejo palatino de Reccopolis, junto a una aproximación a los datos obtenidos en la Vega Baja de Toledo, que muestra la planificación urbana y palacial vinculada a la consolidación del Reino Visigodo a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo VI.

Ecuador is a key area in South America when it comes to understanding the economic, social and archaeological aspects of pre-Hispanic cultures in the northwestern region of the Andes. Among the most complex societies to have inhabited this territory is the so-called Manteño culture (AD ∼800–1530), which spanned across most of Ecuador’s central Pacific coast. Ongoing research at the site of Ligüiqui (Manta, Manabí) has enabled us to obtain a more complete overview of the chronological sequence of the Manteño period as well as contributing further data on the advanced stage of social development reached during the period; characterized by the hierarchical arrangement of sites, the use of extensive settlement models, and semi-circular stone fish traps (corrales). In order to understand the role played by this coastal site in the complex Manteño culture, a detailed radiocarbon study was performed in the sequence of the Ligüiqui site. In addition, using a detailed review of available Manteño settlement radiocarbon data (13 sites and 64 dates), we established a chronostratigraphic framework for the culture. Our data indicate that Ligüiqui probably acted as a supply centre for marine-origin products from the twelfth century onwards with activity peaking during the Late Manteño period. A multisite comparison using Bayesian modeling indicates an early onset of the Manteño culture in Ligüiqui around AD 700, and a general demise in most of the sites AD ∼1500 or slightly before. This culture finally collapsed before AD ∼1600 during the early Spanish colonial period. Only one site, La Libertad, shows potential evidence of having remained a Manteño settlement after that date.

La expansión del reino visigodo en la segunda mitad del siglo VI se apoyó en buena medida en el levantamiento o reconstrucción de varios conjuntos urbanos y de sus fortificaciones, de los que en las últimas décadas comenzamos a tener una información amplia (Valencia la Vella, Ribarroja; Tolmo de Minateda, Hellín; Punt del Cid, Almenara; Begastri, Cehegín). Entre todos ellos, destaca el núcleo urbano de Reccopolis dotado de un recinto amurallado de casi 2 km de perímetro, siendo uno de los más extensos hasta ahora conocidos en la península ibérica. El análisis de sus características constructivas a partir de un amplio estudio fotogramétrico, con apoyo de imágenes LIDAR, así como la revisión de las intervenciones arqueológicas ha permitido establecer un marco comparativo con otros recintos peninsulares y con la África bizantina, que señala la existencia de un contexto común de usos defensivos y de exaltación del poder a través del empleo de la arquitectura militar.

THERE IS A LACK OF INDIVIDUAL AND OVERARCHING STUDIES of defensive systems after the Roman collapse in the West, as well as of urban defences in Hispania during the Visigothic period. A key site for questioning the latter is the walled royal Visigothic foundation of Reccopolis. The first excavations on Reccopolis’ circuit wall began in the 1980s, and later investigations were carried out in some areas of the defensive system. However, until now no comprehensive analysis has brought together the evidence from all of these excavations, LiDAR scans, a 3 D survey of the extant structure, and a set of new radiocarbon dates. All of these data allow us to interpret what is so far the only Visigothic defensive curtain wall whose entire layout is known, as well as to explore parallels with Byzantine military forms. This paper highlights the urban and architectural value, but also the apparent uniqueness, of the Reccopolis enceinte within the Iberian Peninsula.

The use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has revolutionised pre-Hispanic archaeology in large tracts of Central America (Canuto et. al. 2018; Fisher et al. 2016; Garrison et al. 2019; Chase & Weishampel, 2016). This contribution is particularly significant in areas in which jungles and a complex orography had precluded the implementation of large-scale landscape archaeology studies.Although this technology has not been used in South America as intensively as in Central America (Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, among others), LiDAR is beginning to be used to answer questions concerning the interaction between the landscape, pre-Hispanic societies and their economic exploitation strategies (Amazonia, Peru) (Van Valkenburg et al., 2020). This work analyses one of the most important archaeological areas in central Ecuador, Cerros de Hojas-Jaboncillo (Figs. 1 & 2), which has traditionally been identified as a major centre of the Manteña culture. This culture spanned the current provinces of Manabí, Santa Elena and Guayas between the 8th and 15th centuries AD.Although the site was discovered in the early 20th century (Saville, 1907 & 1910; Estrada, 1957) on the slopes and summits of the Chongón-Colonche and Balzar hills range (formerly called Sierra de Bálsamo), it has not been until recent moments that the characterization of its extension, its spatial conformation, as well as the main geoarchaeological characteristics of the site have begun to be possible (López, 2008; Delgado, 2009; Tobar, 2012; Lunniss, 2012; Veintimilla-Bustamante, 2012). The limitations of previous studies were largely due to the prevalence of thick sub-tropical forests, whose trees are sometimes 14 m tall.In 2016, a large-scale LiDAR flight covering 147.78 km² at a density of 9 ppm² has revealed the main features of the archaeological complex, including various sites that illustrate a multi-nuclear settlement pattern (Figs. 5, 8 & 10). The study suggests that settlements, between 0.5 and 3 ha in size (Fig. 8), followed a common pattern, standing on small long hilltop plateaus. The complexes were visually connected and were linked by a road network.There is little doubt that one of the most important discoveries concerns the relationship between archaeological sites and complex agrarian systems, which point to the exploitation of wide areas. These had irrigation systems that involved rainwater retention and water resources maximisation (Figs. 6 & 8). The system made intensive rainwater use during the humid season (December-May); it also took advantage of the coastal mists that ensure precipitations on the hilltops.At the same time, the LiDAR survey has established differences between the settlement pattern in the north-eastern sector, in which the interaction between settlements and the agro-system is not so obvious, and the south-western sector, whose settlements are clearly related to wide terraced systems.These results will allow for comparisons between Cerros de Hojas-Jaboncillo and other known Manteño sites, such as Japotó (Bouchard, 2010), Agua Blanca (McEwan & Silva, 1992) and Ligüiqui. All of them point to the continued occupation of the same areas, and the continuity of some sites at least between the Guangala period (500 BC.-600 AD) and the late Manteño period (12th-15th centuries), as seen in Salango and its territory (Béarez, Gay & Lunniss, 2012).Most research in the 20th century has argued for an increase in social complexity during the classic Manteño period (8th-11th centuries), following a diffusionist explanatory pattern (Estrada, 1957). However, the LiDAR analysis of the Cerros de Hojas-Jaboncillo site points to prolonged periods of stable management of the environment, a response to the need to make use of the available resources. Archaeology, through large-scale landscape studies and the in-depth characterisation of sites through wide-ranging sampling methodologies can contribute to answering the question as to whether environmental management led to the formation of a “Manteño state” or whether this society can be better defined as a chiefdom (Touchard-Houlbert, 2010).Highlights:The study focused on the LiDAR research of the Cerro de Hojas-Jaboncillo, the most important pre-Hispanic site in the Manabi province (Ecuador).LiDAR technology has allowed users to identify an intense occupation in a forest area, where until now, it was impossible to detect archaeological structures.The study has established the close relationship between the pre-Hispanic occupation model and the use of complex irrigation systems.

Reccopolis is the sole archaeologically-attested Visigothic city foundation in the Iberian Peninsula. Created under King Leovigild in A.D. 576, the city played a notable role in the landscape, persisting as the focal point of the territory through to the 8th century AD. This paper offers an overview of the most recent results from the project undertaken in and around Reccopolis, which in the last two decades has drawn much from the discipline of Landscape Archeology, enabling fuller understanding of the agrosystem, the character and structure of rural occupation and exploitation, and a developed awareness of environmental conditions across the Early Middle Ages in the territory of the Central Plateau of the Iberian Peninsula.