Pre-roman Spain

RESUMEN: Este trabajo lo realicé en colaboración con V. Durán Recio, a quien se deben la actividad arqueológica, la catalogación del material arqueológico y la valoración de la mayoría de los yacimientos. A mi labor se deben las “Consideraciones Iniciales”, las “Conclusiones” correspondientes a cada uno de lo capítulos, la "Red viaria romana" y algunas precisiones en el estudio particular de los yacimientos. El libro incluye un apreciable número de novedades que me han permitido, por un lado, realizar aportaciones novedosas y, por otro, confirmar hipótesis adelantadas por otros investigadores. En resumen, el resultado de esta colaboración con V. Durán ha permitido integrar un territorio de casi 1000 kilómetros cuadrados en la evolución histórica del Sur peninsular desde el Calcolítico hasta el siglo V d.C. a partir de los datos suministrados por dicho territorio y no por la extensión al mismo de conclusiones generales derivadas del estudio de zonas más extensas.

ABASTRACT: I wrote this book in collaboration with V. Durán-Recio, who developed the archaeological work, the cataloging of the archaeological material and the evaluation of most archaeological sites. I am the author of the “Initial Considerations”, the “Conclusions” corresponding to each of the chapters and some precisions about several archaeological sites. This book includes a substantial number of novelties that have allowed me to carry out novel contributions and confirm hypothesis of other scholars. In short, the result of this collaboration between V. Durán and me is the integration of a territory of almost 1000 square kilometres in the historical evolution of the Southern Iberian Peninsula from Chalcolithic to the fifth century, by means of the data supplied by the territory of Écija (province of Seville) and not through the application to this territory of conclusions derived from general studies.

RESUMEN: Según la Arqueología, los griegos mantuvieron relaciones mucho más intensas con la colonia fenicia de Huelva que con cualquier otra población del sur de la Península Ibérica durante el último tercio del siglo VII y el primero del VI a.C. Por lo tanto, puede defenderse que los griegos dieron el nombre de Ταρτησσός a dicha colonia, independientemente de la evolución posterior del término. La interrupción de los contactos directos de los griegos con el enclave onubense, durante la segunda mitad del siglo VI a.C., significó el olvido de la ubicación precisa de Tarteso.

ABSTRACT: According to Archaeology, the Greeks had more intense relationships with the Phoenician colony of Huelva than with any other town of the Southern Iberian Peninsula, during the last third of the seventh century and the first third of the sixth century B.C. Therefore, it can be sustained that the Greeks gave the name Ταρτησσός to the quoted colony, independently of how this term evolved later. The break of the direct Greek contacts with this town, during the second half of the sixth century B.C., caused that the precise location of Tartessus fell into oblivion.

RESUMEN: Se defiende en este artículo la fundación de una colonia fenicia en terrenos de la actual ciudad de Huelva en el segundo cuarto del siglo IX a.C. También se sostiene que el sustrato mediterráneo oriental es identificable por sus casas, lugares de culto y cementerios, entre otras manifestaciones de su cultura material, y que la presencia de pobladores pertenecientes al sustrato local no está suficientemente probada.

ABSTRACT: The foundation of a Phoenician colony on lands of the modern city of Huelva, in the second quarter of the ninth century BC, is defended in this paper. It is also argued that the settlers of Eastern Mediterranean origin can be identified by their dwellings, places of worship, and necropoleis, among other samples of their material culture, and that the presence of settlers belonging to the local substratum is not adequately proven.

RESUMEN: Las familias aristocráticas que conformaban las élites de cada una de las comunidades del Bajo Guadalquivir durante los siglos V–III a.C. ocupaban la cúspide de unidades económicas que respondían a la forma social de la «casa grande», que era la propia de las sociedades agrarias regidas por aristocracias guerreras. Desde mediados del siglo V a.C., algunas de estas aristocracias multiplicaron sus intercambios con Gadir. La participación en estas transacciones no las convertía en aristocracias comerciales, pues su actividad exportadora no sólo no fue la única, sino que probablemente tampoco fue una de las más importantes como vía de enriquecimiento. Por el contrario, es defendible la creciente importancia de la actividad desplegada por comerciantes privados, fundamentalmente gadiritas, probablemente actuando dentro de las coordenadas definidas por un comercio administrado que aún debía de controlar algunos aspectos importantes de los intercambios.

ABSTRACT: The aristocratic families comprising the elites in each of the communities of the Lower Guadalquivir region during the 5th-3rd centuries BCE stood at the apex of economic units having the social form known as the «great house», typical of agrarian societies ruled by warrior aristocracies. Starting in the mid-5th century BCE, some of these aristocracies began multiplying their exchanges with Gadir. Their participation in such transactions did not turn them into trading aristocracies since exporting was not only not their sole activity but probably was not even one of the most important of their sources of wealth. To the contrary, there is a good case for the growing importance of the activity carried on by private traders, largely from Gadir, who probably operated within the coordinates defined by a regulated system of trade which would still have controlled some major aspects of commercial exchange.

RESUMÉ: Les familles aristocratiques qui formaient les élites de chacune des communautés du Bas Guadalquivir pendant les V-IIIe siècles av. J.-C. étaient à la tête des unités économiques répondant à la forme sociale de la « grande maison », qui était le propre des sociétés agraires dirigées par des aristocraties guerrières. À partir de la moitié du Ve siècle av. J-.C., certaines de ces aristocraties ont multiplié leurs échanges avec Gadir. Leur participation à ces transactions ne faisait pour autant pas d’elles des aristocraties commerciales, car l’exportation n’était pas leur seule activité ; de plus, elle ne fut probablement pas l’une de leurs plus importantes voies d’enrichissement. Au contraire, on peut défendre l’idée d’une importance croissante de l’activité déployée par des commerçants privés, fondamentalement gadirites, agissant probablement à l’intérieur des coordonnées définies par un commerce administré qui devait toujours contrôler certains aspects importants des échanges.

RESUMEN: Defiendo en este artículo la hipótesis de que las edificaciones levantadas por los fenicios en el extremo norte de la actual península de Cádiz, en el paso del siglo IX al VIII a.C., estuvieron fundamentalmente dedicadas a las actividades cultuales desarrolladas por los cananeos asentados en la colonia de Doña Blanca y a labores pesqueras y de procesado de las capturas y que estas instalaciones terminarían por convertirse, a lo largo del siglo VI a.C., en una entidad poblacional de cierta importancia desde el punto de vista demográfico, como consecuencia del aporte poblacional recibido desde las colonias fenicias ubicadas en el Bajo Guadalquivir y la zona de Huelva, territorio en el que se produjo el colapso del mundo colonial cananeo, y en un centro de cierta preeminencia desde el punto de vista político–económico, en gran medida como consecuencia de la desaparición de dicho horizonte colonial.

ABSTRACT: I defend in this paper the hypothesis that the structures set up by the Phoenicians in the North of the present peninsula of Cadiz, from the late ninth century or early eighth century B.C. onward, were mainly devoted to the religious activities of the settlers established in the colony of Doña Blanca and that fish processing labours were also carried out in the ancient island of Cadiz. Likewise, I argue that these buildings became, over the course of the sixth century B.C., both an important population entity from a demographic point of view, on account of the arrival of people from the Phoenician colonies sited in the Low Guadalquivir and the area of Huelva, a territory in which the Canaanite colonial world collapsed, and an important centre from a political and economic point of view, to a great extent due to the disappearance of the quoted colonial horizon.

RESUMEN: Los aspectos míticos de la figura de Argantonio, manifestación del buen monarca acogedor del viajero y expresión de la idea de fuente de riqueza lejana y misteriosa; la base mítica de su cronología vital, determinada por la aplicación de un módulo cronológico mítico de origen mesopotámico integrado en el acervo mítico griego, la utilización de un verdadero cliché narrativo para contar la historia de sus relaciones con los marinos foceos y el probable origen de su propio nombre, quizá tomado por Caronte de Lámpsaco de un ciclo mitológico bitinio, permiten poner muy en duda la historicidad de este personaje.

ABSTRACT: Several elements of the story narrated by Herodotus (I, 163) about Arganthonius, King of Tartessus, allow questioning the historical reality of this personage: first, the mythical aspects of his figure, since he can be considered both a realization of the picture of the friendly king who welcomes the travellers and an embodiment of the idea of a far-off and mysterious source of wealth; second, the chronology of his reign and his life, in which a mythical period of Mesopotamian origin was used; third, the history itself of his relationships with the Phocaean sailors, in which a narrative cliché was employed, and finally the likely origin of his own name, maybe taken by Charon of Lampsacus from a Bithynian mythological cycle.

RESUMEN: En este artículo se publica una nueva estela del Bronce Final hallada en las cercanías del arroyo del Berraco, en terrenos de la finca «El Berraco», situada en el término de Écija (Sevilla). El análisis de la representación figurada grabada en la estela permite realizar algunas apreciaciones sobre la funcionalidad de ésta y otras “hero stones” similares.

ABSTRACT: In this paper a new stele of the Late Bronze Age from the Iberian Peninsula found in the «El Berraco» estate, near the Berraco stream, in the municipal district of Écija (province of Seville) is revealed. The analysis of the figurative representation engraved on the stele allows to present a number of ideas regarding the functional nature of this and other similar “hero stones”.

Nesta crónica, revisitamos diversos NNL e NNP atestados nas fontes antigas, que, com a exclusão de quatro casos — saico, siCounin, śeCena e  / TAMVSIENSI —, já foram alvo de comentários nossos em textos anteriores.
In this review, we analyse several personal and place names attested in ancient sources, which, with the exception of four cases — saico, siCounin, śeCena and  / TAMVSIENSI — have already been the subject of our comments in previous texts.

This paper aims to compare the image of Spain and the Spaniards that Silius Italicus presents in his epic account of the Second Punic War with the one portrayed by his main source, Ab urbe condita. It will explore how and why Silius alters the role played by the Spaniards in the history of Livy beyond the well-studied case of the Saguntines, which will be examined as a reference point. The paper will focus particularly on Punica 1-3, in which the Flavian poet recounts the fall of Saguntum and introduces the rest of the Spaniards as Hannibal's allies in the war. It will argue that the poet overrides historical veracity in order to present an image of Spain recognizable to his contemporary audience. This image is a complex one that combines barbarism and civilization and ultimately shows that in the eyes of the Romans, Spain was part of the Empire, although preserving an alien and exotic identity.

Are we allowed to claim that a city remains the same even if a succession of events has altered it so as to make it essentially other? Why should a historian speak of the reconstruction of a city rather than stating that a new one was built, when devastating wars and the advent of new peoples have left hardly anything of the entity it used to be? As the historian and antiquarian Lluis Pons d'Icart asked such questions in his Libro de las grandezas de Tarragona (1572, with a manuscript in Catalan of 1564), he was implicitly addressing the ability of historians to discriminate among the numerous layers embedded in the remnants of a city (often associated with the rule of different peoples) and the right to determine the role that each of them ought to be granted in the history of the place. Focusing on a period that witnessed the appearance of a tradition of urban history based on the examination of material remains, I will analyze how Pons d'Icart placed himself in a conjuncture in which historians had to decide whether they should take ruins as signifiers of a multicultural and hybrid past, or see them through a selective, ideological lens, underscoring some layers at the expense of others.