Abstract
AbstractThis article discusses a petrographic study of Late Iron Age (400–19 BCE) ceramics from El Castru in Vigaña (Asturias, NW Spain), providing evidence, for the first time in this region and time period, for the circulation of ceramics across NW Iberia. This preliminary study comprises the petrographic analysis of 40 pottery sherds and nine geological samples in order to discuss the mineralogical composition of the ceramic fabrics. The results point to a non‐local origin of most samples, providing the basis of a re‐examination of traditional views on the self‐sufficiency and isolation of Iron Age communities in Asturias during the Late Iron Age.
Highlights
During the first millennium BCE, communities in the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula inhabited hilltop sites, locally known as castros (=hillforts) (Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2017)
The present study provides a new contribution to a growing body of archaeometric research on Iron Age ceramics in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula (Lopez de Heredia et al, 2018), aiming to reassess traditional assumptions concerning the organisation of ceramic production in Iron Age rural societies in this part of Iberia
Our research is a first step in reconsidering patterns of mobility and interaction underpinning the procurement of ceramics or ceramic clays in rural mountainous areas of Asturias during the Iron Age
Summary
During the first millennium BCE, communities in the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula inhabited hilltop sites, locally known as castros (=hillforts) (Parcero-Oubiña et al, 2017). In the mountainous regions of northern Iberia, stretching between the interior of Galicia and western Asturias, Late Iron Age (400– 19 BCE) groups have been characterised as ‘deep-rural’ communities (Marín Suarez, 2011), considering anthropological analogies established by Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal (2012) based on Jȩdrej’s (1995) research, and general views on Iron Age societies under the umbrella of. Archaeometric studies have been conducted in NW Iberia looking at gold (e.g. Armada & GarcíaVuelta, 2015) or metal objects (e.g. Farci et al, 2017), but pottery is still underinvestigated for this region
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