The Cañaveral de León stela (Huelva, Spain). A monumental sculpture in a landscape of settlements and pathways

Rivera Jiménez, Timoteo; García Sanjuán, Leonardo; Díaz-Guardamino, Marta; Donaire Romero, Teodosio; Morales González, Juan Antonio; Lozano Rodríguez, José Antonio; Rogerio Candelera, Miguel Ángel; Bermejo Meléndez, Javier; Aguilera Collado, Elena

Abstract

A newly discovered prehistoric stela from Cañaveral de León (Huelva, Spain) is studied through a combination of scientific methods, including thin section petrography and lithological contextualisation, various state-of-the-art digital imaging techniques for the analysis of the engraved motifs (3D modelling and Reflectance Transformation Imaging), and detection of pigments on its surface (Principal Components Analysis, HSI-contrast stretch, ferric pigments index and algebraic operations between bands), as well as archaeological surveys aimed at establishing the landscape context the stela was part of. The results reveal this stela is analogous to a larger series of late prehistoric sculptures portraying personages with ‘headdresses’, largely concentrated in the Iberian south-west and often connected to Bronze Age settlements and burial sites. In addition, the Cañaveral de León stela is closely associated to an old pathway that has had a historical prominence in terms of long-distance mobility, connecting various regions of western Spain in a South-North direction.

Citation

Rivera Jiménez, T., García Sanjuán, L., Díaz-Guardamino, M., Donaire Romero, T., Morales González, J. A., Lozano Rodríguez, J. A., Rogerio Candelera, M. Á., Bermejo Meléndez, J., & Aguilera Collado, E. (2021). The Cañaveral de León stela (Huelva, Spain). A monumental sculpture in a landscape of settlements and pathways. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 40(Part A), Article 103251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103251

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 17, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Deposit Date: Nov 22, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 22, 2021
• Journal: Journal of archaeological science, reports.
• Print ISSN: 2352-409X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: Part A
• Article Number: 103251
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103251
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1223806