Abstract
Research on palaeoenvironmental archives has challenged the widely accepted view that atmospheric metal pollution started with the Industrial Revolution, by demonstrating that it dates back to the Bronze Age when mining and metallurgical activities spread. These activities and the exploitation of natural resources for metal extraction and smelting involved intense transformation of the landscape from the Iron Age onwards, with forest decline, among others, one of the most common. This paper examines the methodology used for the detection of past atmospheric metal pollution and other environmental impacts associated with mining and metallurgy and reviews the research performed in this field in North Iberia, with special attention to centuries AD V-XI.
 Minería y metalurgia en el Norte de la Península Ibérica y su relación con la evolución del bosque a partir de archivos ambientales (Siglos V-XI) - La investigación paleoambiental realizada en las últimas décadas en archivos ambientales ha demostrado que, a pesar de hasta hace poco se creía que la contaminación atmosférica metálica habría comenzado con la revolución industrial, las evidencias más antiguas se remontan ya a las primeras sociedades metalúrgicas. Las actividades mineras y metalúrgicas así como la explotación de los recursos naturales para la extracción y procesado de los metales supuso intensas modificaciones del paisaje, siendo la tala de bosques, entre otras, una de las más habituales. En este trabajo se examina la metodología empleada para el estudio de la evolución de la contaminación atmosférica metálica y otros impactos asociados con la minería y la metalurgia y se revisa la investigación realizada en este campo en el Norte de la Península Ibérica, con especial atención al periodo comprendido entre los siglos V-XI AD.
Highlights
THE STUDY OF PAST ATMOSPHERIC METAL POLLUTION AND ITS IMPACTSFor a long time atmospheric metal pollution was considered to have started with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, forced by increased population and an unprecedented technological and economic development
Some of the most well studied European prehistorical mining centres are found in mid Wales, UK, where the Early Mines Research Group did an exhaustive study of the environmental impact associated with Early Bronze Age copper mining (e.g. CREW & CREW 1990; MIGHALL et al 1993; CRADDOCK 1995; TIMBERLAKE 2001)
The Roman period led to an unprecedented increase in the development of mining and metallurgy in North Iberia, especially in AD I-II centuries
Summary
For a long time atmospheric metal pollution was considered to have started with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, forced by increased population and an unprecedented technological and economic development. Later research on palaeoenvironmental archives demonstrated that the evidence of atmospheric metal pollution dates back to metal culture age (e.g. MARTÍNEZ CORTIZAS et al 1997; LEBLANC 2000; MIGHALL et al 2002a; PONTEVEDRA-POMBAL et al 2013). With the study of these archives at an appropriate sampling resolution, phases of mining and metallurgy can be identified and dated, providing valuable information about the duration and chronology of these activities, specially when archaeological information is scarce or confused (MIGHALL et al 2006b). I review the research conducted in this field in North Iberia, a key region for studying past metal pollution due the wealth of mineral deposits, the multi-period history of the industry and the variation in the intensity of mining exploitation through time. Mining and metallurgical activities in N Iberia and their link to forest evolution using environmental archives (centuries AD V to XI)
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