Papers by Jonathan Santana
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jul 1, 2024
We provide insights into the period during which the Canary Islands were colonized and specifical... more We provide insights into the period during which the Canary Islands were colonized and specifically the ways in which people dispersed throughout the archipelago. Our research indicates that the Romans first arrived on the islands around the 1st century BCE. Berber populations permanently settled the islands between the 1st and 4th centuries CE, leading to a rapid and complete colonization of the archipelago. This study sheds light on the coastal dynamics of northwestern African societies during the Late Holocene, revealing how the islands were colonized, and contributing to our understanding of the migrations of African farming communities.
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Quaternary International
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Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Jun 22, 2023
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Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Jun 22, 2023
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Nature Communications
The indigenous population of the Canary Islands, which colonized the archipelago around the 3rd c... more The indigenous population of the Canary Islands, which colonized the archipelago around the 3rd century CE, provides both a window into the past of North Africa and a unique model to explore the effects of insularity. We generate genome-wide data from 40 individuals from the seven islands, dated between the 3rd–16rd centuries CE. Along with components already present in Moroccan Neolithic populations, the Canarian natives show signatures related to Bronze Age expansions in Eurasia and trans-Saharan migrations. The lack of gene flow between islands and constant or decreasing effective population sizes suggest that populations were isolated. While some island populations maintained relatively high genetic diversity, with the only detected bottleneck coinciding with the colonization time, other islands with fewer natural resources show the effects of insularity and isolation. Finally, consistent genetic differentiation between eastern and western islands points to a more complex coloni...
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Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
The Canary Islands were settled ca. 1,800 years ago by Amazigh/Berber farming populations origina... more The Canary Islands were settled ca. 1,800 years ago by Amazigh/Berber farming populations originating in North Africa. This historical event represents the last and westernmost expansion of the Mediterranean farming package in Antiquity, and investigating it yields information about crop dispersal along the periphery of the Mediterranean world around the turn of the first millennium ce. The current study focuses on archaeobotanical evidence recorded in a series of pre-Hispanic/Amazigh sites of the Canary Islands (ca. 2nd–15th centuries ce). It offers new, unpublished archaeobotanical findings and direct radiocarbon datings of plant remains from the different islands. The general goal is to gain a better grasp of how the first settlers of the Canary Islands adapted their farming activities to the different natural conditions of each island. The results suggest a shared crop ‘package’ throughout the islands since at least the 3rd–5th centuries ce. This set of plants was likely introdu...
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[EN] This paper presents the results of the fieldwork carried out within the Project “Archaeology... more [EN] This paper presents the results of the fieldwork carried out within the Project “Archaeology to the West of Homs” in 2009. The sites at Jeftelik and Tell Marj have been excavated and the work surveying the megalithic necropolis in the area has continued. Jeftelik is an early Natufian site, with a probable habitation structure associated with a large amount of knapped lithic objects. Its characteristics and chronology question conventional models about the origin and expansion of the Natufian. Tell Marj is a late Neolithic settlement, with houses with well-built rectangular basalt walls. Two occupation phases have been identified to date, in which the older phase exhibits several stages of re-building and superimposition of houses. The archaeological material found includes large numbers of projectile points and remains suggesting the incorporation of complex economic and social forms, with long-distance exchange networks and large-scale storage. The megalithic necropolises that have been studied cover large areas, several tens of square kilometres. Complex monuments have been identified, sometimes, associated with other types of structures apart from the funerary constructions themselves.[ES] En el artículo se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de campo desarrollados en el marco del proyecto “Arqueología al oeste de Homs” en 2009. Se han excavado los yacimientos de Jeftelik y Tell Marj y se ha continuado la prospección de las necrópolis megalíticas en la región. Jeftelik es un yacimiento natufiense antiguo en el que se ha localizado una probable estructura de habitación a la que está asociado una gran cantidad de material lítico tallado. Sus características y cronología ponen en cuestión los modelos convencionales sobre el origen y expansión del natufiense. Tell Marj es un poblado construido al final del neolítico en el que las casas cuentan con muros de basalto bien escuadrados. En el lugar se han reconocido dos fases de ocupación por el momento, la más antigua de las cuales muestra varias reconstrucciones y superposiciones de casas. Entre el material arqueológico destaca la extraordinaria abundancia de puntas de proyectil y la presencia de restos que sugieren la implantación de formas económicas y sociales complejas, con intercambios a larga distancia y almacenamiento a gran escala. Las necrópolis megalíticas reconocidas destacan por la gran extensión de las áreas ocupadas, de decenas de km., y por la existencia de monumentos complejos que a veces asocian otro tipo de estructuras a las construcciones funerarias propiamente dichas.Este proyecto está financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (proyectos i+D+i HUM2007-66128-C02-01 y 02), el Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España del Mnisterio de Cultura, el programa EXCAVA de la Generalitat de Catralunya, la Universidad Saint-Joseph de Beirut y la Universidad de Cantabria. Agradecemos a la su apoyo a la Dirección General de Antigüedades y Museos de la República Árabe de Siria.Peer Reviewe
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Homo, 2019
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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2017
Perimortem traumas have been identified in a pre-Hispanic Canary mummy (fifth-sixth centuries cal... more Perimortem traumas have been identified in a pre-Hispanic Canary mummy (fifth-sixth centuries cal AD). The location and nature of the fractures in the cranium, cervical vertebrae, ribs and both legs indicate a fall from a considerable height, which would have been the cause of death. Supported by forensic anthropology criteria and historical information about the population of origin, the circumstances in which the fatal injuries might have occurred are discussed. Given the pattern of the injuries, it is debated whether they were the result of an accident or a ritual suicide, as aggression is thought to be a less likely scenario. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Jeftelik is an example of a site with early Natufian levels, dated around 12,000 cal BC. At the m... more Jeftelik is an example of a site with early Natufian levels, dated around 12,000 cal BC. At the moment we have detected elements of a building structure. This is a pit whose walls were reinforced with stones. Its size and shape suggest that this building was a human dwelling. Parallels are known of half-buried huts, with stone walls reinforcing the pit walls, at several Natufian sites, like Ain-Mallaha, Baaz or Dederiyeh. The test excavations at Tell Marj have revealed a pottery Neolithic site, dated to about 6000 calBC. The site of Tell Ezou has revealed Bronze Age and Chalcolithic archaeological levels. The megalithic necropolis at Orontes (Qattina) and the Bouqaia, pose interesting interpretation problems in terms of the identification of the human groups who built these tombs. The geoarchaeological survey of the Bouqaia basin has demonstrated the enormous potential of the area for the study of environmental changes during the Holocene.
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14th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan, Jan 21, 2019
International audienc
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espanolKharaysin es un yacimiento datado en el Neolitico Preceramico A y B, entre finales del x y... more espanolKharaysin es un yacimiento datado en el Neolitico Preceramico A y B, entre finales del x y la primera mitad del viii milenio cal a. C., situado en el pueblo de Quneya, junto al rio Zarqa, con 25 ha de extension. Por el momento se han detectado cuatro fases de ocupacion: dos correspondientes al Preceramico A y otras dos al B. La abundancia de restos humanos, de utillaje, faunisticos y arqueobotanicos recuperados hace de Kharaysin un yacimiento clave para comprender los origenes de la agricultura y la ganaderia, asi como el proceso de sedentarizacion de las poblaciones en el norte de Jordania. EnglishKharaysin is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site, dated between the end of the 10th millennium and the first half of the 8th millennium cal BC. It is located at the village of Quneya, by the Zarqa River, with 25 ha in extension. Up to the present, four phases of occupation have been discovered, two corresponding to the PPNA and two to the PPNB. The abundant i...
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Ayuda. Buscador. Ver el registro completo y el enlace al documento. Registro completo. Recurso de... more Ayuda. Buscador. Ver el registro completo y el enlace al documento. Registro completo. Recurso de origen, Digital.CSIC. Identificador, http://hdl.handle.net/10261/8497. Título, Rapport de terrain 2008. Mission syro-libano-espagnole à l ouest de Homs. Autor, Ibáñez, Juan José. ...
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Communications Biology
The Middle East plays a central role in human history harbouring a vast diversity of ethnic, cult... more The Middle East plays a central role in human history harbouring a vast diversity of ethnic, cultural and religious groups. However, much remains to be understood about past and present genomic diversity in this region. Here we present a multidisciplinary bioarchaeological analysis of two individuals dated to the late 7th and early 8th centuries, the Umayyad Era, from Tell Qarassa, an open-air site in modern-day Syria. Radiocarbon dates and burial type are consistent with one of the earliest Islamic Arab burials in the Levant. Interestingly, we found genomic similarity to a genotyped group of modern-day Bedouins and Saudi rather than to most neighbouring Levantine groups. This study represents the genomic analysis of a secondary use site with characteristics consistent with an early Islamic burial in the Levant. We discuss our findings and possible historic scenarios in the light of forces such as genetic drift and their possible interaction with religious and cultural processes (in...
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Interciencia, Dec 1, 2018
RESUMEN Las especies de Spondylus constituyen un grupo de moluscos de gran importancia dentro de ... more RESUMEN Las especies de Spondylus constituyen un grupo de moluscos de gran importancia dentro de las culturas americanas desde el tercer milenio a.C. hasta el siglo XVII, recuperando su im-portancia en las décadas recientes. El presente artículo es una cronología sintética del simbolismo del Spondylus en diferentes culturas del pasado de Suramérica. Mediante la reconstrucción histórica del uso del Spondylus se expone el papel que ha juga-do en la historia suramericana, lo cual ha permitido y poten-ciado la interacción entre diferentes culturas. Hoy en día, so-bre todo en Ecuador, ha resurgido el Spondylus como símbolo de gran importancia, suponiendo un vínculo entre regiones y, uniendo las comunidades actuales con su pasado histórico.
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Kharaysin is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site located in the village of Quneya, in the Zarqa River va... more Kharaysin is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site located in the village of Quneya, in the Zarqa River valley, over 25 ha in size and dating from the 9th millennium cal BC. Two occupation levels have been documented. In excavation area IJ100, two oval semi-sunken houses with plaster floors were excavated; these dated from the beginning of the 9th millennium cal BC, the late phase of the PPNA. Over this architectural level, a straight stone wall and a burial correspond to the beginning of the Middle PPNB, at the end of the 9th millennium cal BC. Further south, down the slope of the site, in trenches CDEFG-55 and TUVX-60, a Middle PPNB occupation has also been documented, with rectangular buildings built on the surface, stone walls and plastered floors. In Area U60, paintings were discovered on the plastered floor of one building. Bipolar technology, Jericho and Amuq points and bent sickle blades are observed in the Middle PPNB occupation phase. The PPNA material culture, which is still poorly documented, seems to be characterized by unipolar knapping, blades with double pairs of notches and decorated grooved stones.
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espanolSe presentan algunas reflexiones sobre la practica mortuoria de los antiguos canarios, en ... more espanolSe presentan algunas reflexiones sobre la practica mortuoria de los antiguos canarios, en particular sobre el fenomeno de la momificacion. Se parte de un breve repaso historiogra- fico a las bases desde las que se ha construido la nocion de momia. Y se propone el analisis de esta entidad no como un fenomeno singular con valor en si mismo, sino al amparo de las normas sepulcrales de la poblacion prehispanica de Gran Canaria. Esta perspectiva de estudio, asi como los analisis arqueotanatologicos de los depositos funerarios insulares, la valoracion particularizada de los procesos tafonomicos en estos contextos y, en especial, la reconceptualizacion de la idea de la muerte en esta sociedad, conducen a una forma de entender «la momia» algo diferente a como tradicionalmente se ha hecho. El principal elemento de cuestionamiento es la habitual consideracion de «la momia» como reflejo evidente de la diferenciacion social en la practica funeraria, junto a la asuncion de la momificacion...
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Scientific Reports, 2021
Human mobility and migration are thought to have played essential roles in the consolidation and ... more Human mobility and migration are thought to have played essential roles in the consolidation and expansion of sedentary villages, long-distance exchanges and transmission of ideas and practices during the Neolithic transition of the Near East. Few isotopic studies of human remains dating to this early complex transition offer direct evidence of mobility and migration. The aim of this study is to identify first-generation non-local individuals from Natufian to Pre-Pottery Neolithic C periods to explore the scope of human mobility and migration during the Neolithic transition in the Southern Levant, an area that is central to this historical process. The study adopted a multi-approach resorting to strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18OVSMOW) and carbon (δ13C) isotope ratio analyses of tooth enamel of 67 human individuals from five sites in Jordan, Syria, and Israel. The isotope ratios point both to a significant level of human migration and/or mobility in the Final Natufian which is comp...
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Resumen del trabajo presentado al "XVII World UISPP Congress" celebrado en Burgos (Espa... more Resumen del trabajo presentado al "XVII World UISPP Congress" celebrado en Burgos (Espana) del 1 al 7 de septiembre de 2014.-- et al.
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Papers by Jonathan Santana
Department of Archaeology, Durham University - 21st of June, 2018
more info: https://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/conferences/current/buildingbridges/
Desde las universidades de Valladolid, Granada y La Laguna, sedes de los distintos proyectos de investigación (junto a investigadores invitados de la Universidad de Alcalá y la UPV) queremos reivindicar la cultura popular y el patrimonio rural.
Los habitantes de Reinoso y su Ayuntamiento han asumido que el Dolmen de “El Pendón” es un símbolo de identidad colectivo y generosamente reclaman que la investigación no cese y una el presente con el pasado.
Esperamos que esta iniciativa pueda extenderse en el futuro a otras zonas rurales haciéndolas protagonistas de su pasado.
DATOS DE LA ACTIVIDAD Y FORMA DE INSCRIPCIÓN:
FECHA: 29, 30 y 31 de JULIO.
LUGAR DE CELEBRACIÓN: Reinoso (Burgos). Edificio EDUM y Dolmen de “El Pendón”.
INSCRIPCIÓN GRATUITA EN: sonia.diaz@uva.es 70 plazas por riguroso orden cronológico de inscripción. La inscripción incluye la comida de los días 29, 30 y 31, amabilidad del Ayuntamiento.