Propuesta y síntesis metodológica de Arqueología del Paisajeun diseño para la Prehistoria Reciente de la Meseta Norte

Abstract

Since 1999 to 2007 we have applied several full-coverage systematic surveys in the Sierra de Atapuerca and in the adjacent valleys of the rivers Arlanzón, Vena and Pico. The aim of this paper is to suggest a complete methodological approach inspired in the theoretical principles of the Landscape Archaeology, a previous way for understanding, in other future essay, the development of the Settlement Patterns from Neolithic to the Bronze Age and its historical process. We discuss archaeological methods, the data selection, the new techniques of terrain modelling and geospatial analysis with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and its integration in the design of an Analytical Model based on the Multivariate Statistic and the Spatial Analysis. The landscape is a social phenomenon as the result of the mutual relationships between environmental factors, economics, socio-political points of view and the symbolic dimension. The multi-dimensional character of the prehistoric landscape needs of different quantitative variables and to make advances in technology for his understanding. The result of this paper is a methodological design with several analytical stages: Fieldwork, Surveys and Geoarchaeology, GIS and Geospatial database, Morfo-technical and Cultural Analysis of the Artefacts, Functional Analysis of the Sites, Locational Analysis and Territorial Analysis. In the Locational and Territorial Analysis we present in two list near of 40 notable variables which can be used to study location strategies, and more than 30 analytical models where the theoretical concepts, methods and parameters are described. Finally, the paper is illustrated with 13 Digital Terrain Models (DTM).