Esteban Álvarez-Fernández

Biographic Data

ID72433
NAMEEsteban Álvarez-Fernández
GIVEN NAMESEsteban
FAMILY NAMEÁlvarez-Fernández
SIGNATUREÁLVAREZ-FERNÁNDEZ E
AFFILIATIONSUniversidad de Salamanca
ORCID0000-0002-7895-3421
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS65
TOTAL CITATIONS412
AUTHOR COUNT65
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2001
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX9

  • Transformation and continuity in the exploitation of faunal resources in the Tormes Valley (Salamanca, Spain)

    Open AccessRocío Pazos García, Antonio Blanco-González et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2026

    This paper shows the results of the archaeozoological analysis carried out on faunal assemblages —consisting of domestic contexts, but predominantly middens— from the excavations at San Vicente Ferrer Street (third to second centuries BCE) and the Trilingüe College (first to third centuries CE) in the city of Salamanca (Spain). More than 5,000 faunal remains were identified from an anatomical, taxonomic and taphonomic perspective to examine the t…

  • Technological variability and raw material procurement in the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian

    Open AccessDiego Herrero-Alonso, Sergio Martín-Jarque et al.ARTICLEArchaeological and Anthropological…2026

    This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the lithic assemblage from Level G1 of El Cierro Cave (northern Spain), attributed to the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian. The study comprises 2,829 items, including 2,800 knapped artefacts, six macrolithic tools and 23 unmodified pebbles. Lithic procurement is dominated by flint, followed by quartzite and minor amounts of quartz. Eleven flint types have been identified, with local raw materials prevai…

  • Zooarchaeology and Mobility in the Past

    Open AccessRodrigo Portero, Rocío Pazos García et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Archaeology2026

  • Shellfish procurement and seasonal scheduling across the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition at Zacatín rock shelter (Gualchos-Castell de Ferro, Granada, southern Iberia)

    Open AccessA Aguirre-Uribesalgo, Asier García-Escárzaga et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2026

    This study investigates the intertidal shellfish exploitation by the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers, and their role within broader subsistence strategies during the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition on the Mediterranean coast of the Alboran Sea. We conducted taxonomic, biometric, and stable oxygen isotope ratio (δ 18 O) analyses of Patella caerulea Linnaeus, 1758, shells recovered from the Zacatín rock shelter (Granada, southern Iberia…

  • Archaeofauna from an Early Iron Age (900 − 500 BCE) village in Central Iberia

    Open AccessRocío Pazos García, Antonio Blanco-González et al.ARTICLEArchaeological and Anthropological…2026

    This paper presents the results of the archaeozoological analysis of more than 5,000 bone remains in a domestic context in the village of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Spain). One of the objectives is to infer the use of domesticates and meat consumption in a multi-dwelling compound arranged around a central courtyard dating from c. 650 − 500 BCE and interpreted as the neighbourhood of a well-off virilocal corporate group, which yield numerous…

  • The application of quartzite petrogenesis in Palaeolithic research

    Open AccessAlejandro Prieto, Noora Taipale et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2026

    Archaeologically-oriented petrography has changed the way of conceiving economic and social practices during the Palaeolithic. Research on quartzite, the second most widely used lithic resource, has experienced a notable increase thanks to the formal definition of the material, methodological improvements, and case studies that are shedding light on the economy and social interactions during the Palaeolithic. This paper briefly presents the progr…

  • New Dates for the Emergence of the Megalithic Phenomenon on the Iberian Plateau

    Open AccessRosa Barroso Bermejo, Primitiva Bueno-Ramírez et al.ARTICLECambridge Archaeological Journal2026

    This study presents an analysis of funerary practices at the site of Valdelasilla (Illescas, Toledo, Spain). The methodology integrates the morphological study of burial structures, anthropological analyses, a consideration of grave goods and the radiocarbon dating of human bone. The chronological data indicate funerary activity at the site from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. Bayesian modelling confirms the establishment of a plan…

  • Re-Evaluating Subsistence Strategies During the Solutrean in the Cantabrian Region ( c. 22–19.5 ky cal BP )

    Open AccessRodrigo Portero, María José Fernández-Gómez et al.ARTICLEEuropean Journal of Archaeology2026References: 23

    The Solutrean in the Cantabrian region is one of the periods in the Upper Palaeolithic with the highest number of faunal studies conducted in recent decades, which offer valuable insights into how human groups exploited their environment for survival. Here, the authors analyse twenty-four archaeological levels from twelve sites dated between c. 22 and 19.5 ky cal bp , focusing on the exploitation of large mammals through palaeoecological and pala…

  • New Evidence for Late Glacial Shellfishing Seasonality and Coastal Environments in Atlantic Europe from Shell δ 18 O values

    A Marchán-Fernández, Asier García-Escárzaga et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Archaeology2025References: 33

    [EN] In recent decades, the role of marine resources in prehistoric hunter-gatherer diets has been widely debated. While some scholars propose that shellfish served as an emergency food supply during resource scarcity, others highlight their broader nutritional benefits. This paper applies δ18O analyses to Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758 shells from Cuevona de Ardines and El Cierro caves (Asturias, Spain) to determine seasonal patterns in shellfis…

  • Coastal Settlement in the Late Pleistocene of the Bay of Biscay (North Iberia)

    Jesus Tapia Sagarna, A Marchán-Fernández et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Archaeology2025References: 13

  • Shells in the Pits

    Esteban Álvarez-Fernández, A Marchán-Fernández et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Archaeology2025References: 10

    [EN] Negative structures (pits), dated to the second half of the sixth millennium cal BC, have been documented at Lapiás das Lameiras (Sintra, Estremadura, Portugal), an open-air settlement in the Estremadura limestone area. Their sedimentary fill contains a large number of archaeological remains, of both biotic and abiotic origins. This paper presents the complete study of the invertebrates documented in these structures. Marine invertebrates li…

  • Unravelling Subsistence and Territorial Management Strategies in the Upper Solutrean at El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain)

    Rodrigo Portero, Mikelo Elorza et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Archaeology2025Cited by: 1References: 17

    [EN]The Solutrean period in Cantabrian Spain runs from between ca. 24 and 19.5 ky cal BP, that is from the Heinrich Event 2 to the early part of Greenland Stadial-2b. El Cierro cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain) presents one of the most complete Upper Palaeolithic stratigraphical sequences in northern Spain; it has two levels (Cierro H2 and H1) dated by radiocarbon ca. 22 ky cal BP that contain abundant biotic and abiotic remains. In this paper …

  • Bayesian estimates of the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect during the Magdalenian in northern Iberia

    Open AccessAsier García-Escárzaga, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández et al.ARTICLERadiocarbon2025References: 42

    Quantifying marine reservoir effects (MREs) across time and space is crucial for establishing accurate archaeological chronologies, including the activities of past hominines. Although the northern Iberian Peninsula shows a high density of Upper Paleolithic sites and marine shells are frequently found in these assemblages, quantification of MREs in this coastal region remains limited. We performed Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon measurements fro…

  • A “shell-midden” dated to the Middle Ages in Northern Spain

    Open AccessEsteban Álvarez-Fernández, Rafael Bolado Del Castillo et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2025

  • Feet on the ground

    Open AccessAmaia Aguirre Uribesalgo, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2024

    The Iberian Peninsula is the ideal setting for the study of the use of marine resources in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Previous studies have focused on specific geographical areas and on a single chronological period. Instead, we offer here a synthesis of the peninsula covering a broad period of time, thus allowing a study of the role of marine resources in the Neolithisation process. Published data on the exploitation of marine mollusc…

  • Raw Materials and Lithic Production During the Early Magdalenian in Cantabrian Spain

    Open AccessSergio Martín-Jarque, Margarita Vadillo Conesa et al.ARTICLEJournal of Paleolithic Archaeology2024Cited by: 1References: 17

    The lithic assemblage studied here comes from Cova Rosa, one of the main Upper Palaeolithic sites in Asturias (northern Spain). The remains were found in Layer B5, which was excavated by F. Jordá Cerdá and A. Gómez Fuentes in 1978 and are associated with an osseous assemblage and archaeozoological remains. This occupation has been dated by radiocarbon to about 16,400 BP ( ca . 19.8–19.6 ka cal BP), corresponding to Archaic/Lower Magdalenian. The …

  • Subsistence Strategies in the Lower Magdalenian at El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain)

    Open AccessRodrigo Portero, Marián Cueto et al.ARTICLEJournal of Paleolithic Archaeology2024Cited by: 4References: 34

    El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain) possesses one of the most complete Upper Palaeolithic stratigraphic sequences in northern Spain. Magdalenian occupations, particularly the lower Magdalenian, are well represented in its full sequence. This article presents the zooarchaeological analysis of the levels Cierro G1, Cierro G and Cierro F, dated by 14 C to between 20,000 and 17,000 cal BP. The remains correspond to vertebrates (mainly large…

  • Les silex et autres matières premières comme preuves de contacts entre les groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs pendant le Paléolithique supérieur de la région cantabrique (nord de l’Espagne)

    Open AccessSergio Martín-Jarque, Antonio Tarriño et al.ARTICLEL Anthropologie2023

    [En] Flint was the most widely used lithic raw material in Europe in Prehistory and, more specifically, was a fundamental resource in the economic and social networks of hunter-gatherer groups in the Cantabrian Spain during the Upper Palaeolithic. The undeniable preference for it compared with other resources was due to a series of factors, such as its easy availability because of its abundance and wide distribution of outcrops, and its excellent…

  • Sella 2020 Introduction

    Open AccessJ Jordá, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2023References: 4

  • Gallus gallus at the Late Antiquity site of El Castillón (Santa Eulalia de Tábara, Zamora, Spain)

    Open AccessÓscar González Cabezas, Mikelo Elorza et al.ARTICLEArchaeofauna2023Cited by: 4

    [En] Large number of zooarchaeological remains have been documented at El Castillón archaeological site (Province of Zamora, north-western Spain) and dated to Late Antiquity, in the 5th and 6th centuries cal AD. While most of them belong to domestic mammals, and a few to wild ones, remains of other vertebrates have been reported, among them birds. This article details the archaeofaunistic investigation of the galliform remains documented at the s…

  • Mise à jour des recherches sur les chasseurs-cueilleurs côtiers dans le Sud-Est de la péninsule ibérique durant le Magdalénien

    Open AccessEsteban Álvarez-Fernández, Amaia Aguirre-Uribesalgo et al.ARTICLEPaléo2023Cited by: 1References: 1

    Le sud-est de la péninsule Ibérique concentre un certain nombre de grottes et d’abris, dans lesquels diverses occupations ont été documentées, qui permettent de reconstituer l ́occupation des communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs à la fin du Paléolithique supérieur. Au cours des dernières décennies, la révision du matériel archéologique et la fouille de nouveaux contextes ont permis d’aborder les stratégies de subsistance des groupes attribués au M…

  • Surf and turf. Animal resources in the human diet in Cantabrian Spain during the Mesolithic (11.5 – 7.5 Ky cal. BP)

    Open AccessRodrigo Portero, Marián Cueto et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2022

    The beginning of the Holocene involved a series of climatic and environmental changes that affected the ways of life of the last hunter-gatherers. In the case of the Spanish Cantabrian region, these changes transformed the material culture and the way human groups interacted with the environment and, therefore, the subsistence strategies of the end of the Upper Pleistocene. In terms of the use of faunal resources, this period was characterised by…

  • Determination of lithic raw materials in Cantabrian Spain during Greenland Stadial 2

    Open AccessSergio Martín-Jarque, Diego Herrero-Alonso et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2022Cited by: 1References: 17

    The lithic assemblage studied here comes from the space known as the ' Area de Estancia in Tito Bustillo Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain), a representative Magdalenian site. The remains were found in Sub-level 1c2 in the Lower Complex (1LC), which was excavated by J.A. Moure Romanillo from 1981 to 1983 and is associated with abundant evidence of osseous industry, fauna, portable art, etc. The present study is especially innovative because it i…

  • La Cuevona de Avín (Avín, Asturias, North Spain)

    Open AccessEsteban Álvarez-Fernández, Sergio Martín-Jarque et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2022Cited by: 1References: 22

    The archaeological investigations carried out in the last twenty years in the Lower Valley of the River Güeña (Asturias, central part of northern Spain) have documented different prehistoric sites, particularly with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations. This paper presents the results of the archaeological excavation carried out in the cave of La Cuevona de Avín. From the systematic study of the biotic and abiotic remains, a total of three o…

  • New insights into upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic occupations in Les Pedroses cave (Asturies, north Spain)

    Open AccessAlberto Martínez-Villa, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science…2022Cited by: 2References: 13