Sílvia Valenzuela-Lama
Biographic Data
| ID | 113900 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sílvia Valenzuela-Lama |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sílvia |
| FAMILY NAME | Valenzuela-Lama |
| SIGNATURE | VALENZUELA-LAMA S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9886-0372 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 43 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 95 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 43 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Bridging morphometrics and Archaeogenetics
The petrous part of the temporal bone is a target for ancient DNA research due to its biomolecular preservation, yet destructive sampling risks losing valuable morphological information. Bony labyrinth morphology, captured by high-resolution 3D imaging, carries strong taxonomic and evolutionary signals, but its bioarchaeological application remains limited. We assessed the potential of bony labyrinth geometric morphometrics (GMM) for species iden…
Bring your animals
A new strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isoscape of the Iberian Peninsula is provided with an open-access R script. • Carbon and oxygen isotopes show horses received fodder, while caprines relied on local grazing resources. • Multi-isotopic analysis offers new insights into Tartessian livestock management and animal husbandry (5th c. BCE). • Findings illuminate the scale and cultural significance of mass animal sacrifice in Iron Age Iberia. The excavations a…
Siege and Conquest. Zooarchaeological Analysis of a Sealed Dump in the Luque Castle (Córdoba, Spain)
The archaeological excavations undertaken in the Castle of Luque (Córdoba, Spain) in 2007 and 2008 resulted in the identification of a rubbish dump dated to the immediate aftermath of the Castilian conquest ( ad 1243), which included material from the previous period of Almohad domination (mid‐12th to mid‐13th centuries). The dump yielded a homogeneous and sealed faunal assemblage, which can be used to characterize the meat consumption patterns o…
Years of morphometric evolution of sheep, goat and pig in the northwestern Mediterranean basin
Understanding how domestic mammal species evolved through time provides insight into the artificial and natural selection processes that have shaped the diversity of domestic animals. The focus of this article is the morphometric evolution of sheep, goats and suids in the Northwestern Mediterranean Basin over the last 8000 years, employing a 2D geometric morphometrics protocol applied to the third lower molars. Using a comprehensive dataset compr…
Multifactorial temporo-spatial structuring of the morphological diversity of domestic pigs, sheep, and goats between Catalonia (Spain) and Languedoc (France) from the Iron Age to Antiquity
Ocupaciones efímeras en cueva desde la protohistoria hasta la actualidad
Las cavidades han sido lugares utilizados reiteradamente a lo largo de la historia y con distintas funcionalidades tal y como evidencia la tipología de los restos arqueológicos hallados. Así, la presencia de materiales arqueológicos en cuevas y abrigos desde la protohistoria hasta la actualidad está documentada en un buen número de yacimientos, pero pocos han sido objeto de estudio específico. La baja tasa de sedimentación y la escasez del regist…
Becoming Roman
Comparative analysis of confocal microscopy objective magnifications on dental microwear texture Analysis. Implications for dietary reconstruction in caprines
In DMTA, a wide range of microscope objectives has been used, but its variability has been little explored. • This study presents a comparative analysis of dental microwear texture through different microscope objectives. • Dental microwear allowed distinguishing between wild and domestic caprine diets using 10x/0.30, 20x/0.45, 50x/0.80 and 100x/0.80 objectives. • A greater magnification and numerical aperture offer a higher discriminant capacity…
Death or conversion”
The urban planning work carried out in the old seminary district of Lleida, over an area of more than 6,000 m 2 , uncovered important remains of the old Cuirassa quarter. This quarter was inhabited by the Jewish aljama between the 12th century and the end of the 15th century CE. Archeological excavations have documented streets, squares, and private spaces corresponding to several houses, one of which was destroyed by the Christian assault and fi…
Bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variability and Bronze and Iron Ages caprine mobility on the Balearic Islands (Spain)
This paper presents the most extensive 87Sr/86Sr datasets from Late Prehistory contexts in addition to bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr values for baseline characterization on the Balearic Islands. A total of 149 caprine dental enamel samples from Mallorca, Menorca, and Formentera islands (Spain), and 35 environmental baseline samples covering the main geologies of these islands are presented here. In addition, a combination of strontium and oxygen sequent…
Crónica. Encuentros de Reflexión Estratégica de la Conexión-Arqueología (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC)
en tres institutos de la red.Además, cada ERE se proyectó en directo para facilitar la accesibilidad a las presentaciones y debates.A continuación, detallamos las principales acciones realizadas y previstas, que pueden ser
Systems change
Animal management is shaped by its environmental and landscape context, but these factors are rarely investigated quantitatively in zooarchaeological studies. Here we aim to examine the relationship between trends in zooarchaeological data and environmental and climatic dynamics between the Middle Bronze Age and Late Antiquity in lowland northern Italy (Po–Friulian Plain). This region provides an ideal test case to investigate the impact of lands…
New contributions to understand animal size fluctuations in the western mediterranean
Zooarchaeology in the Interconnected Mediterranean
Zoolog R package
Log Size Indexes (LSI) allow the increase of the number of data and have been used in a number of zooarchaeological studies since 1950. However, some standards to calculate the log ratios remain unpublished, the calculation of the indexes can be tedious, and it is further hindered by the diversity of data recording practices. The R package ‘zoolog’ enables calculation of thousands of log-ratios in seconds, with the advantage that the users can ch…
Carefully sourced, carefully managed
Equids played an important role in the development of communication in past societies, and were part of the exchanges between populations. The multi-isotopic study (strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopes) conducted on equid teeth from Bronze and Early Iron Age Can Roqueta suggests that animals originate from diverse locations and their diet was carefully managed. The enriched oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios in equid teeth compared with other tax…
Assessing diet and animal mobility in Iron Age Languedoc, southern France
The societies living in the present-day Languedoc region during the Iron Age (7th-2nd c. BC) experienced a series of progressive transformations, including a demographic growth and an increase in social differentiation, affecting their economic, social and political structure. This context certainly influenced economic organisation, including farming strategies. However, the relationship between animal husbandry and the economical and political c…
Tracing Mobility Patterns of Buried Species of the Late Iron Age Funerary Staggered Turriform of Son Ferrer (Calvià, Spain)
This is the first mobility 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis in human remains made on the Balearic Islands. Eight human individuals buried at the same Late Iron Age funerary chamber of Son Ferrer site (Calvià, Mallorca) have been sampled for strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O). The study includes strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis of domestic mammals buried in the same Funerary Area (FA1) together with present-day vegetation…
Sex in the city
Same Language, Different Diet
This study uses faunal and epigraphic evidence from the valley of Cabrera de Mar in present-day Catalonia (Spain) as proxies for understanding complex processes and dynamics of cultural change between the late Iron Age and early Roman times. The faunal remains indicate significant dietary change, although the epigraphic evidence implies that language—in contrast—changed at a slower pace, as shown by the use of indigenous onomastics and the contin…
Sorting the flock
Sheep and goat are often herded together and show morphological similarities in their skeleton. Being able to identify archaeological remains of these two taxa to species level is particularly important for understanding and characterising past herding practices. Discrete criteria are now available to identify a large number of their bones and teeth, and quantitative approaches have been developed for post-cranial elements but not for mandible an…
Caprine dental microwear reveals livestock management and exploitation of landscape during the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Balearic Islands (ca. 1500–850 cal. BC)
In the last few decades, bioarchaeological studies have grown exponentially on the Balearic Islands. In general, animal husbandry based on domestic triad and a Mediterranean macchia landscape is well-attested during the prehistory of this archipelago. Despite providing meaningful data about dietary patterns and livestock practices, dental microwear analyses on animal teeth have not been previously applied to the research of the Balearic Islands. …
Historical management of equine resources in France from the Iron Age to the Modern Period
Donkeys, horses and their mule hybrids have had a far-reaching impact on human history since they have been domesticated several millennia ago. These animals have indeed provided many economic, social and cultural resources that fueled both agricultural and economic development, war making and cultural exchange. Gaining a full understanding of the respective contributions of the different equine species to past societies remains, however, difficu…
The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes
Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare 1 . However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling 2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc 3 . Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia 5 and Anatolia 6 , have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic,…
Caprine Mobility on the Balearic Islands During the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–850 BC)
This study presents the 87Sr/86Sr ratios from the tooth enamel of 57 sheep and goat specimens, in order to explore animal mobility in the Middle and Late Bronze Age society of the Balearic Islands (Naviform period). Seven archaeological sites from Mallorca and Menorca located in different biotopes and with different functionalities were selected. The results provide some of the first data on the geographic range of meat provisioning at each site.…
Animal Husbandry across the Western Roman Empire
This special issue of the European Journal of Archaeology discusses aspects of animal husbandry in a number of provinces of the Western Roman Empire. In this introduction, we describe the general characteristics of animal husbandry in pre-Roman and Roman times to assess any changes that may have occurred after the Roman conquest. The results suggest that the territoriality typifying the first millennium bc had a significant impact on production, …
New trajectories or accelerating change? Zooarchaeological evidence for Roman transformation of animal husbandry in Northern Italy
Throughout the Western provinces of the Roman Empire, greater economic and political connectivity had a major impact on agricultural production, which grew in scale and specialisation after integration with the Roman state. However, uniquely in Western Europe, farming strategies in Italy began to evolve centuries before the Roman conquest, and many 'Roman' patterns associated with livestock size and the relative proportions of different taxa firs…
Sorting the flock
Sheep and goat are often herded together and show morphological similarities in their skeleton. Being able to identify archaeological remains of these two taxa to species level is particularly important for understanding and characterising past herding practices. Discrete criteria are now available to identify a large number of their bones and teeth, and quantitative approaches have been developed for post-cranial elements but not for mandible an…
Analysis of seasonal mobility of sheep in Iron Age Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) based on strontium and oxygen isotope analysis from tooth enamel
Evolving ecosystems
Reconstruction of Caprine Management and Landscape Use Through Dental Microwear Analysis
This paper presents the results of a pilot study using dental microwear analysis on 23 sheep and goat teeth dated to the 6th century BC from the Iron Age site of El Turó Font de la Canya (Barcelona, Spain). This study aimed to reconstruct livestock management practices and landscape use. The dental microwear pattern indicates that sheep and goats could have been grazing in the same area where vegetation was composed of shrubs, bushes and non-gram…
Caprine Mobility on the Balearic Islands During the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–850 BC)
This study presents the 87Sr/86Sr ratios from the tooth enamel of 57 sheep and goat specimens, in order to explore animal mobility in the Middle and Late Bronze Age society of the Balearic Islands (Naviform period). Seven archaeological sites from Mallorca and Menorca located in different biotopes and with different functionalities were selected. The results provide some of the first data on the geographic range of meat provisioning at each site.…
Assessing diet and animal mobility in Iron Age Languedoc, southern France
The societies living in the present-day Languedoc region during the Iron Age (7th-2nd c. BC) experienced a series of progressive transformations, including a demographic growth and an increase in social differentiation, affecting their economic, social and political structure. This context certainly influenced economic organisation, including farming strategies. However, the relationship between animal husbandry and the economical and political c…
Caprine dental microwear reveals livestock management and exploitation of landscape during the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Balearic Islands (ca. 1500–850 cal. BC)
In the last few decades, bioarchaeological studies have grown exponentially on the Balearic Islands. In general, animal husbandry based on domestic triad and a Mediterranean macchia landscape is well-attested during the prehistory of this archipelago. Despite providing meaningful data about dietary patterns and livestock practices, dental microwear analyses on animal teeth have not been previously applied to the research of the Balearic Islands. …
Livestock production, politics and trade
Zooarchaeological Evidence for Domestic Rituals in the I ron A ge Communities of North‐Eastern I beria (Present‐Day C atalonia) (Sixth–Second Century BC )
Many socio‐economic changes occurred in southern Europe during the first millennium BC . In north‐eastern I beria societies evolved from the small‐scale local groups of the L ate B ronze A ge to the more complex societies of the I ron A ge. Together with a diversity of material changes (detected in pottery, agricultural techniques, architecture, etc.), a new ritual manifestation is attested in the Ancient Iberian Period (about 550 BC ), lasting u…
Years of morphometric evolution of sheep, goat and pig in the northwestern Mediterranean basin
Understanding how domestic mammal species evolved through time provides insight into the artificial and natural selection processes that have shaped the diversity of domestic animals. The focus of this article is the morphometric evolution of sheep, goats and suids in the Northwestern Mediterranean Basin over the last 8000 years, employing a 2D geometric morphometrics protocol applied to the third lower molars. Using a comprehensive dataset compr…
Sex in the city
Can bone surface modifications help to identify livestock pens? The case of the Iron Age settlement of El Turó de la Font de la Canya (Barcelona, Spain)
Tracing Mobility Patterns of Buried Species of the Late Iron Age Funerary Staggered Turriform of Son Ferrer (Calvià, Spain)
This is the first mobility 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis in human remains made on the Balearic Islands. Eight human individuals buried at the same Late Iron Age funerary chamber of Son Ferrer site (Calvià, Mallorca) have been sampled for strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O). The study includes strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis of domestic mammals buried in the same Funerary Area (FA1) together with present-day vegetation…
Inclusive archaeology
Since 2013 we built a working group formed by researchers, educators, social workers, communicators and educational psychologists to bring archaeological research to all types of audiences, especially those with limited access to scientific dissemination programmes. In particular, we refer to people with psychological disorders or physical disabilities, older adults, newcomers, social groups traditionally marginalized and people at risk of social…
Evolving ecosystems
Zooarchaeological Evidence for Domestic Rituals in the I ron A ge Communities of North‐Eastern I beria (Present‐Day C atalonia) (Sixth–Second Century BC )
Many socio‐economic changes occurred in southern Europe during the first millennium BC . In north‐eastern I beria societies evolved from the small‐scale local groups of the L ate B ronze A ge to the more complex societies of the I ron A ge. Together with a diversity of material changes (detected in pottery, agricultural techniques, architecture, etc.), a new ritual manifestation is attested in the Ancient Iberian Period (about 550 BC ), lasting u…
Widening the market. Strontium isotope analysis on cattle teeth from Owslebury (Hampshire, UK) highlights changes in livestock supply between the Iron Age and the Roman period
Shechita and Kashrut
Analysis of seasonal mobility of sheep in Iron Age Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) based on strontium and oxygen isotope analysis from tooth enamel
Depósito votivo o destrucción de necrópolis
Se presenta el estudio de los materiales recuperados en el silo de El Pontarró, en La Secuita (Tarragona), amortizado a finales del siglo V o inicios del IV a.C. Entre ellos destacan un conjunto de elementos de ornamentación de bronce y unas 6.000 cuentas de collar de vidrio, junto a vasijas cerámicas, fusayolas, molinos, restos de fauna terrestre y malacológica (en su mayoría de Cypraea) y otros arqueobotánicos. Algunos de estos objetos son muy …
Animal Husbandry across the Western Roman Empire
This special issue of the European Journal of Archaeology discusses aspects of animal husbandry in a number of provinces of the Western Roman Empire. In this introduction, we describe the general characteristics of animal husbandry in pre-Roman and Roman times to assess any changes that may have occurred after the Roman conquest. The results suggest that the territoriality typifying the first millennium bc had a significant impact on production, …
From western cowboys to eastern shepherds
Roman dogs from the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb – A glimpse into their morphology and genetics
Reconstruction of Caprine Management and Landscape Use Through Dental Microwear Analysis
This paper presents the results of a pilot study using dental microwear analysis on 23 sheep and goat teeth dated to the 6th century BC from the Iron Age site of El Turó Font de la Canya (Barcelona, Spain). This study aimed to reconstruct livestock management practices and landscape use. The dental microwear pattern indicates that sheep and goats could have been grazing in the same area where vegetation was composed of shrubs, bushes and non-gram…
Equid use and provision during the Early Iron Age in Can Roqueta (NE Iberian Peninsula). Zooarchaeological study and first strontium isotope result (87Sr/86Sr)
Numidian State Formation in the Tunisian High Tell
For many archaeologists this quote from Godelier encapsulates one of the main goals of our discipline. The formation of states and cities (one of the elements normally accompanying this form of societal organisation) cannot therefore be limited to the study of individual cases. Whatever the specific differences, these cases may, when interpreted under the light of well-founded hypothetical models, constitute a fundamental part in understanding th…
Discriminating management strategies in modern and archaeological domestic caprines using low-magnification and confocal dental microwear analyses
Livestock production, politics and trade
Can bone surface modifications help to identify livestock pens? The case of the Iron Age settlement of El Turó de la Font de la Canya (Barcelona, Spain)
The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes
Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare 1 . However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling 2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc 3 . Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia 5 and Anatolia 6 , have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic,…
Caprine Mobility on the Balearic Islands During the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–850 BC)
This study presents the 87Sr/86Sr ratios from the tooth enamel of 57 sheep and goat specimens, in order to explore animal mobility in the Middle and Late Bronze Age society of the Balearic Islands (Naviform period). Seven archaeological sites from Mallorca and Menorca located in different biotopes and with different functionalities were selected. The results provide some of the first data on the geographic range of meat provisioning at each site.…
Degradación ambiental, agricultura y decisiones productivas. Un estudio de un área de la pampa argentina
Degradación ambiental, agricultura y decisiones productivas. Un estudio de un área de la pampa argentina
Inclusive archaeology
Since 2013 we built a working group formed by researchers, educators, social workers, communicators and educational psychologists to bring archaeological research to all types of audiences, especially those with limited access to scientific dissemination programmes. In particular, we refer to people with psychological disorders or physical disabilities, older adults, newcomers, social groups traditionally marginalized and people at risk of social…
New trajectories or accelerating change? Zooarchaeological evidence for Roman transformation of animal husbandry in Northern Italy
Throughout the Western provinces of the Roman Empire, greater economic and political connectivity had a major impact on agricultural production, which grew in scale and specialisation after integration with the Roman state. However, uniquely in Western Europe, farming strategies in Italy began to evolve centuries before the Roman conquest, and many 'Roman' patterns associated with livestock size and the relative proportions of different taxa firs…
Sex in the city
Same Language, Different Diet
This study uses faunal and epigraphic evidence from the valley of Cabrera de Mar in present-day Catalonia (Spain) as proxies for understanding complex processes and dynamics of cultural change between the late Iron Age and early Roman times. The faunal remains indicate significant dietary change, although the epigraphic evidence implies that language—in contrast—changed at a slower pace, as shown by the use of indigenous onomastics and the contin…
Sorting the flock
Sheep and goat are often herded together and show morphological similarities in their skeleton. Being able to identify archaeological remains of these two taxa to species level is particularly important for understanding and characterising past herding practices. Discrete criteria are now available to identify a large number of their bones and teeth, and quantitative approaches have been developed for post-cranial elements but not for mandible an…
Caprine dental microwear reveals livestock management and exploitation of landscape during the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Balearic Islands (ca. 1500–850 cal. BC)
In the last few decades, bioarchaeological studies have grown exponentially on the Balearic Islands. In general, animal husbandry based on domestic triad and a Mediterranean macchia landscape is well-attested during the prehistory of this archipelago. Despite providing meaningful data about dietary patterns and livestock practices, dental microwear analyses on animal teeth have not been previously applied to the research of the Balearic Islands. …
Historical management of equine resources in France from the Iron Age to the Modern Period
Donkeys, horses and their mule hybrids have had a far-reaching impact on human history since they have been domesticated several millennia ago. These animals have indeed provided many economic, social and cultural resources that fueled both agricultural and economic development, war making and cultural exchange. Gaining a full understanding of the respective contributions of the different equine species to past societies remains, however, difficu…
Geography (36 works) · Archaeology (29 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (26 works) · Biology (23 works) · Ecology (21 works) · Iron Age (11 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (11 works) · Zooarchaeology (11 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (10 works) · History (10 works)