The role played by geologists and mining engineers in the consolidation of prehistoric archeology in Spain (1860-1970)

Abstract

Geoarchaeology, as a scientific discipline, took its first steps in the last quarter of the twentieth century. However, its background lies in the very origins of prehistoric archaeology, from 1860 onwards. In Spain the evolution of Geoarchaeology and the studies that preceded it has kept pace with the rest of Europe. Spain was the third country in the world, after France and Britain, in which the international scientific community recognized the existence of prehistoric industry; similarly, when Geoarchaeology, as an independent scientific discipline, began to be institutionalized in Europe, Spain was not left behind. In this study we will examine the development of prehistoric studies in Spain from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth, showing the effects that geological studies have had on them.