Abel Ruiz-Giralt
Biographic Data
| ID | 194049 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abel Ruiz-Giralt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Abel |
| FAMILY NAME | Ruiz-Giralt |
| SIGNATURE | RUIZ-GIRALT A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universitat Pompeu Fabra |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8472-043X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Experts against automation? Comparing artificial intelligence and human identifications of multi-cell cereal husk phytoliths
This study compares the efficacy of a deep learning-based computer vision model against manual expert identification of multi-cell husk phytoliths from wheat ( Triticum boeticum/dicoccoides ), barley ( Hordeum spontaneum ), and oats ( Avena sativa ). Conducted via an online survey in 2024 with twelve respondents (92% completion rate, one respondent did not finish), the survey presented 18 phytolith images selected based on: 1) deep learning perfo…
Anthropic Activity Markers 2.0
Anthropic Activity Markers (AAMs) were formalized over 10 years ago as a toolkit to infer human activities from biological and geochemical signatures preserved in sediments. This paper presents AAMs 2.0, a revised analytical framework that integrates compositional data analysis (CoDA) and geostatistics, as the appropriate statistical foundations for this approach. We first outline the theoretical motivation of this framework, demonstrating that t…
Developing Geo-Ethnoarchaeological Methods for Studying Archaeological Pastoral Sites
This paper presents the aims, methods, and some initial results of the project ‘(Re)Constructing the Archaeology of Mobile Pastoralism (CAMP)’, a multi-disciplinary investigation into anthropogenic deposits from pastoral contexts in dryland regions. Ethnoarchaeology has played a pivotal role in transforming the study of pastoralism, particularly in environments where material traces are often ephemeral and underrepresented in the archaeological r…
The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa
This article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenced by adjacent areas including eastern Sudan, Egypt and southern Arabia. The archaeobotanical record shows that farming in the northern highlands was …
Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Agricultural Economy at Ona Adi, Tigrai (Ethiopia)
Archaeobotanical investigations at the site of Ona Adi in Tigrai were conducted during the 2013–2015 field seasons within the framework of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP). The site occupation spanned the Middle/Late Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 750/600 BCE) to the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom (ca. 700 CE), including the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (ca. 400 BCE–CE 1). The main objective of the study was to examine the agricult…
Sorghum and Finger Millet Cultivation during the Aksumite Period
Cross-cultural models are a useful tool to generate hypotheses about the past using ethnographic data, especially when they can be validated against the archaeological record. In this paper, we propose the use of computer modelling techniques to gain insights into the agricultural history in the northern Horn of Africa of two key staple crops, i.e. finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To date, our understanding of the …
Burning questions
Sorghum was first domesticated approximately 6000 years ago in the eastern Sahel region of Africa, but our understanding of its agricultural history is uneven due to the paucity of the available archaeobotanical evidence. Despite growing interest in the issue, sorghum response to fire exposure has been little investigated. In this paper, the resistance of six domesticated sorghum varieties (Sorghum bicolor) and one wild specimen (Sorghum arundina…
Pre-Aksumite plant husbandry in the Horn of Africa
The Pre-Aksumite Period
The Pre-Aksumite Period (mid-second to late first millennia BC) witnessed the rise of complex societies in the Horn of Africa. Archaeological survey and excavations in the Gulo Makeda region of Eastern Tigrai by the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) have produced new data and insights into this critical juncture in the cultural history of the region. Based on data from Mezber and other archaeological sites, we present a new Pre-Aksumit…
No Rain, No Grain? Ethnoarchaeology of Sorghum and Millet Cultivation in Dryland Environments of Sudan, Pakistan, and Ethiopia
Drylands cover more than 40% of the earth’s land surface, are found on all continents, and are home to 30% of the world’s population. Due to water scarcity, they are generally considered unsuitable for lasting human settlement. While pastoralism has been reconceptualized recently as a rational, efficient, and sustainable way to live in drylands, agriculture without irrigation is generally considered unfeasible in hyper-arid and arid drylands. Thi…
Human-woodland interactions during the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite periods in northeastern Tigray, Ethiopia
Pre-Aksumite plant husbandry in the Horn of Africa
The Pre-Aksumite Period
The Pre-Aksumite Period (mid-second to late first millennia BC) witnessed the rise of complex societies in the Horn of Africa. Archaeological survey and excavations in the Gulo Makeda region of Eastern Tigrai by the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) have produced new data and insights into this critical juncture in the cultural history of the region. Based on data from Mezber and other archaeological sites, we present a new Pre-Aksumit…
Human-woodland interactions during the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite periods in northeastern Tigray, Ethiopia
Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Agricultural Economy at Ona Adi, Tigrai (Ethiopia)
Archaeobotanical investigations at the site of Ona Adi in Tigrai were conducted during the 2013–2015 field seasons within the framework of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP). The site occupation spanned the Middle/Late Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 750/600 BCE) to the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom (ca. 700 CE), including the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (ca. 400 BCE–CE 1). The main objective of the study was to examine the agricult…
No Rain, No Grain? Ethnoarchaeology of Sorghum and Millet Cultivation in Dryland Environments of Sudan, Pakistan, and Ethiopia
Drylands cover more than 40% of the earth’s land surface, are found on all continents, and are home to 30% of the world’s population. Due to water scarcity, they are generally considered unsuitable for lasting human settlement. While pastoralism has been reconceptualized recently as a rational, efficient, and sustainable way to live in drylands, agriculture without irrigation is generally considered unfeasible in hyper-arid and arid drylands. Thi…
Human-woodland interactions during the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite periods in northeastern Tigray, Ethiopia
Sorghum and Finger Millet Cultivation during the Aksumite Period
Cross-cultural models are a useful tool to generate hypotheses about the past using ethnographic data, especially when they can be validated against the archaeological record. In this paper, we propose the use of computer modelling techniques to gain insights into the agricultural history in the northern Horn of Africa of two key staple crops, i.e. finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To date, our understanding of the …
Burning questions
Sorghum was first domesticated approximately 6000 years ago in the eastern Sahel region of Africa, but our understanding of its agricultural history is uneven due to the paucity of the available archaeobotanical evidence. Despite growing interest in the issue, sorghum response to fire exposure has been little investigated. In this paper, the resistance of six domesticated sorghum varieties (Sorghum bicolor) and one wild specimen (Sorghum arundina…
Pre-Aksumite plant husbandry in the Horn of Africa
The Pre-Aksumite Period
The Pre-Aksumite Period (mid-second to late first millennia BC) witnessed the rise of complex societies in the Horn of Africa. Archaeological survey and excavations in the Gulo Makeda region of Eastern Tigrai by the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) have produced new data and insights into this critical juncture in the cultural history of the region. Based on data from Mezber and other archaeological sites, we present a new Pre-Aksumit…
The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa
This article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenced by adjacent areas including eastern Sudan, Egypt and southern Arabia. The archaeobotanical record shows that farming in the northern highlands was …
Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Agricultural Economy at Ona Adi, Tigrai (Ethiopia)
Archaeobotanical investigations at the site of Ona Adi in Tigrai were conducted during the 2013–2015 field seasons within the framework of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP). The site occupation spanned the Middle/Late Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 750/600 BCE) to the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom (ca. 700 CE), including the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (ca. 400 BCE–CE 1). The main objective of the study was to examine the agricult…
Experts against automation? Comparing artificial intelligence and human identifications of multi-cell cereal husk phytoliths
This study compares the efficacy of a deep learning-based computer vision model against manual expert identification of multi-cell husk phytoliths from wheat ( Triticum boeticum/dicoccoides ), barley ( Hordeum spontaneum ), and oats ( Avena sativa ). Conducted via an online survey in 2024 with twelve respondents (92% completion rate, one respondent did not finish), the survey presented 18 phytolith images selected based on: 1) deep learning perfo…
Anthropic Activity Markers 2.0
Anthropic Activity Markers (AAMs) were formalized over 10 years ago as a toolkit to infer human activities from biological and geochemical signatures preserved in sediments. This paper presents AAMs 2.0, a revised analytical framework that integrates compositional data analysis (CoDA) and geostatistics, as the appropriate statistical foundations for this approach. We first outline the theoretical motivation of this framework, demonstrating that t…
Developing Geo-Ethnoarchaeological Methods for Studying Archaeological Pastoral Sites
This paper presents the aims, methods, and some initial results of the project ‘(Re)Constructing the Archaeology of Mobile Pastoralism (CAMP)’, a multi-disciplinary investigation into anthropogenic deposits from pastoral contexts in dryland regions. Ethnoarchaeology has played a pivotal role in transforming the study of pastoralism, particularly in environments where material traces are often ephemeral and underrepresented in the archaeological r…
Agriculture (7 works) · Biology (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Archaeology (6 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (6 works) · Ecology (5 works) · Agroforestry (4 works) · Agronomy (4 works) · Forestry (4 works) · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology (4 works)