Resea ch A icle
Wha is a illage? Ag oscapes, collec i e ac ion and
medie al illages in no he n Ibe ia
Juan An onio Qui ós Cas illo1,2,
*
, Josu Na ba e1& Eneko I ia e3
1
He i age and Cul u al Landscapes Resea ch G oup, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y, Spain
2
Ins i u e o A chaeology, Uni e si y College London
3
Depa men o His o ical Sciences and Geog aphy, Uni e si y o Bu gos, Spain
* Au ho o co espondence ✉qui oscas[email p o ec ed]
Why, howand when illages eme ged ac oss medie al
Eu ope a e endu ing ques ions o a chaeologis s and
his o ians because o he wide social and economic
ans o ma ions implied—and because many o
hese se lemen s pe sis o he p esen day. Mos
a chaeological in es iga ions ha e ocused on he
nuclea ed cen es o hese communi ies; he e, ins ead,
he au ho s examine he ole o ag oscapes. Focusing
on an ag icul u al a ea nea he illage o Tobillas,
changes in soil chemis y a e used o documen he
c ea ion and main enance o common fields a es ing
o collec i e ag a ian p ac ice p e-da ing he ounda-
ion o he medie al illage. Re e sing he accep ed
na a i e, he au ho s a gue i was hese p e-exis ing
ag a ian communi ies who coalesced o cons i u e il-
lages such as Tobillas.
Keywo ds: Basque Coun y, Ea ly Middle Ages, illages, soil chemis y, ag icul u e, collec i e ac ion
In oduc ion
Medie al illages a e a key elemen in he con empo a y collec i e imagina ies abou he
Middle Ages in Eu ope. In ideo games and films, he image o a chi al ous ye iolen
pas pe sis s as he popula iew o his pe iod. Recen schola ship on medie al his o y
and a chaeology, howe e , has highligh ed he con ingen and changing na u e o illages
o e he long e m, add essing pe ennial p oblems such as he o ma ion and ans o ma ion
o illage ne wo ks and he abandonmen o la e-medie al illage landscapes. Al hough ou
analy ical me hods and ch onological esolu ion ha e conside ably imp o ed, he heo e ical
amewo ks wi hin which his o ians and a chaeologis s wo k con inue o ely on p oblems
defined long ago. A be e comp ehension o medie al- illage o ma ion equi es no only
Recei ed: 29 July 2022; Re ised: 23 Decembe 2022; Accep ed: 26 Janua y 2023
© The Au ho (s), 2023. Published by Camb idge Uni e si y P ess on behal o An iqui y Publica ions L d. This is an
Open Access a icle, dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion licence (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed e-use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
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he implemen a ion o be e me hods and he acquisi ion o mo e p ecise se lemen ch on-
ologies, bu also he adop ion o a new heo e ical amewo k based on a social, flexible and
p ac ice-o ien a ed concep o communi y. Mo eo e , while ecen s udy o ag a ian spaces
has opened new in e p e a i e a enues ega ding ag icul u al p ac ices, u al landscapes,
en i onmen al ans o ma ions and social dynamics (Qui ós Cas illo 2014; Sch eg 2014),
hese ag oscapes ha e no ye been analysed om he pe spec i e o illage o ma ion.
In his a icle, we examine some key examples o ag oscapes, bo h wi h and wi hou asso-
cia ed illages, in no he n Ibe ia o in es iga e long- e m collec i e ac ion and ag icul u al
p ac ices da ing back o he ea ly medie al pe iod. The in eg a ion o geoa chaeology, se le-
men pa e ns, a chi ec u e, ex ual sou ces and placename e idence wi hin a
his o ical-ecological amewo k allows us o conside collec i e ac ion and i s e ec s on he
ma e iali y o he local landscape.
Ac oss Eu ope, esea ch on ea ly medie al illage o ma ion is highly condi ioned, and
segmen ed, by na ional adi ions ha ocus on di e en his o ical ends and hemes. In
F ance, illage o ma ion has been iden ified as he s abilisa ion o dispe sed se lemen s o
ea ly medie al o igin c. AD 1000 h ough ‘banal seigneu ies’and he eme gence o powe ul
e i o ial lo dships (Chapelo & Fossie 1980). The esul s o he ecen upsu ge o escue o
de elope -led a chaeology, howe e , challenge his explana ion by demons a ing ha he
fi s illages eme ged a an ea lie da e and e ol ed wi hin di e en social and poli ical con-
ex s. Recen esea ch has also documen ed no able egional di e si y alongside he gene ally
accep ed dis inc ion be ween he landscapes o he no h o he coun y and he Medi e a-
nean sou h (Passa ius & Ca a au 2018; Pey emann 2020; Fa o y e al. 2021).
In B i ain, esea ch has ocused on he c ea ion o illages, and common fields. Since Hos-
kins’classic wo k in 1955, he o igins o his binomial ha e cons i u ed one o he basic esea ch
opics o B i ish medie alism. Mo e gene ally, acombina ion o egional s udies, en i onmen al
analyses and de elope -led a chaeology has documen ed no able geog aphical and ypological
di e si y o medie al illages and field sys ems (Robe s & W a hmell 2002; Rippon 2006).
Recen s udies sugges ha he o malisa ion and egionalisa ion o u al se lemen s da e o
he Middle Anglo-Saxon pe iod, in a con ex o an ‘ag icul u al e olu ion’(McKe ache &
Hame ow 2022); he eme gence o ma u e medie al illages is da ed o he La e Anglo-Saxon
pe iod (Ch is ie & S ampe 2012), al hough some his o ical ac o s an icipa ed his p ocess
(Hin on e al. 2011; Oos huizen 2019). None heless, he exac ela ionships be ween illages,
common fields and communi ies emain a ma e o deba e (Dye e al. 2018).
In he wes e n Medi e anean, a en ion has ocused p ima ily on incas ellamen o. Acco d-
ing o his na a i e, he es ablishmen o seigneu ial powe s in he en h and ele en h cen-
u ies AD is eflec ed in he concen a ion o popula ion in o ified hill op cen es wi hin
new mic o- e i o ies o seigneu ial domina ion (Toube 1973). The in es iga ion o medi-
e al o ified si es has, howe e , shown ha incas ellamen o was bu one s age in a longe p o-
cess o se lemen concen a ion ha began in he Ea ly Middle Ages (F anco ich & Hodges
2003; Molina i 2010; Augen i & Gale i 2018).
Finally, in Ibe ia, illage o ma ion has long been add essed in he con ex o he Recon-
quis a— he expulsion o he Muslim popula ion and eplacemen by Ch is ian se le s om
he no h. Since he 1980s, his model o epopula ion has been eplaced by one o colonisa-
ion, s essing he di e ences in social and economic s a us be ween lo ds and peasan s
Juan An onio Qui ós Cas illo e al.
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(Escalona & Ma ín Viso 2020). Mos ecen ly, he de elopmen o an a chaeology o u al
spaces has pe mi ed al e na i e in e p e a i e amewo ks o eme ge, mo e adically econ-
cep ualising he no ion o illages and u al se lemen s in Ibe ia (Vigil-Escale a Gui ado
2007; Qui ós Cas illo 2016). In summa y, ac oss a ious wes e n Eu opean con ex s,
he e is a consensus ha he Ea ly Middle Ages (six h– en h cen u ies) was a c i ical momen
in he de elopmen o illages.
Bu wha is a medie al illage? The influen ial wo k o É. Zado a-Rio (1995) showed ha
Eu opean schola s main ained wo pa allel defini ions o he medie al illage. Among
his o ians, he illage was ( ex ually) defined by ins i u ionalised oci o a achmen , such
as chu ch, ceme e y and cas le; in con as , a chaeologis s defined he illage as a g oup o
houses (Zado a-Rio 1995). The ‘landscape u n’o he pas 25 yea s has, howe e , seen
a chaeologis s engage in a deep heo e ical econcep ualisa ion o illage landscapes. As a
esul , mo e de ailed a chaeological p oxies ha e been gene a ed and new opics add essed,
including u al economies, he ela ionship be ween illages and owns, he pe cep ions
and expe iences o illage s, he local nego ia ion o powe and he go e nance o common
goods (S agno 2017; Mileson & B ookes 2021). Ye , pa adoxically, hese de elopmen s
ha e agmen ed he no ion o he illage in o a he e ogeneous uni e se o concep and
eali ies, challenging a he han esol ing he dialogue be ween he disciplines. Hence,
while his o ians emphasise he poli ical, mo phological and ins i u ional dimension o
illages (Zado a-Rio 1995; Ca ajal Cas o 2021), a chaeologis s inc easingly add ess hemes
o collec i e c ea ion and egula ion and ans o ma ion o ag o-sil o-pas o al esou ces in
shaping sha ed iden i ies and communi y-based social li e (Pey emann 2015; Oos huizen
2016).
To add ess hese challenges, we p opose, fi s , a econside a ion o he heo e ical defin-
i ion o communi y and, second, he analysis o he ma e ial co ela es o communi ies
beyond domes ic se ings. These issues may be pa ially add essed om heo e ical pe spec-
i es, such as collec i e ac ion heo y (DeMa ais & Ea le 2017) o he a chaeology o com-
muni ies (Canu o & Yaege 2000; Ge i sen 2006), whose po en ial o he s udy o
medie al communi ies has ba ely been explo ed. As a esul , he no ion o ‘ illage’can be
eshaped in ela ional e ms and sha ed iden i ies defining communi ies o p ac ice (Wenge
1999). In pa icula , he me hodological and in ellec ual dominance o se lemen a chae-
ology has elega ed he significance o ag icul u al spaces, iewing hem as an ine i able con-
sequence o he c ea ion o communi ies a he han as an in eg al componen in he
success ul o ma ion o a se lemen . In his a icle, we a gue ha conside a ion o hese ag o-
scapes o e s an impo an a enue o challenging and eshaping he mains eam no ion o he
medie al illage.
Villages and ag oscapes in no he n Ibe ia: Tobillas
Tobillas is a small illage, consis ing o a dozen houses, wi hin he na ow alley o he Ome-
cillo i e , a ibu a y o he Eb o, in he wes e n Basque Coun y (Figu e 1). I is an impo -
an loca ion as one o ew places in no h-wes e n Ibe ia ha combines his o ical
documen a ion, a chaeological in es iga ions and ex an ea ly medie al eligious buildings.
Consequen ly, Tobillas o e s an ideal case s udy o a his o ical-a chaeological p ojec
Wha is a illage? Ag oscapes, collec i e ac ion and medie al illages in no he n Ibe ia
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ocused on he illage o ma ion p ocesses. Addi ionally, i migh be conside ed o be a ‘ yp-
ical’ illage, ha ing ea u es in common wi h many o he se lemen s in he egion, which
p esen s he possibili y o ex apola ing he esul s o ou analysis o o he illages.
Today, ex ensi e ag icul u al fields a e ound only on he alley floodplains; he
su ounding moun ain slopes a e o es ed. As a o he nea by loca ions, local oponyms o
placenames a e o medie al o igin, ca ying he memo y o pas ag o-pas o al land use:
ineya ds—El Majuelo, La Viña, Pa al; new in akes o lands—Ce adíos, La Ce ada;
o cha ds and ga dens—La He án, Manzanal. Among hese placenames is La Se na,
which is a ached o a 10ha ag icul u al a ea on he Omecillo floodplain. Comp ising
cha ac e is ic s ip-shaped pa cels o land, o ien a ed pe pendicula o he i e , he a ea is
d ained by a channel, p o ec ed by a flood bank and pa ially delimi ed wi h bounda y s ones
(Figu e 1).
The e m se na appea s in he documen a y sou ces o no he n Ibe ia om he nin h cen-
u y (Ga cía de Co áza 1980; Bo ella Pombo 1988). Al hough i can ha e mul iple
Figu e 1. Map o ea ly medie al occupa ions in he Gaubea alley. Co o ca e occupa ions (six h o se en h cen u y
AD); Villamanca, Basabe and Vallue ca illages (nin h cen u y); San Juan and San a Ola ia nec opolis (nin h o
en h cen u y); San Román de Tobillas (nin h cen u y); San Miguel de Co o (nin h o en h cen u y); and
Vallue ca ( en h o ele en h cen u y) (figu e by Josu Na ba e).
Juan An onio Qui ós Cas illo e al.
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meanings, he e m e e s p ima ily o a ce eal field managed collec i ely o semi-collec i ely.
Se nas a e usually men ioned as belonging o eli es, including kings, bu wo di e en le els
o owne ship can be in e ed om he w i en e idence: local households owning subplo s
linked o neighbou hood use igh s, and a highe o de o owne ship o e seen by eli es
in ended o p o ec he communi y agains unwan ed in e e ence (e.g. om ex e nal agen s)
in e u n o an income and pa onage igh s (Ma ín Viso 2020).
The impo ance o se nas in he ea ly medie al ag icul u al landscapes o Tobillas, and in
he su ounding egion, is well documen ed in he w i en sou ces, which a e ela i ely abun-
dan he e by he s anda ds o Cas ile. When he p i a e chu ch o San Román was ounded in
AD 822, i was p o ided wi h se e al land p ope ies, including se nas and bus os (pas u es),
ex ending o e 6km
2
a ound he illage o Tobillas. The ounda ion cha e appealed o a
na a i e o colonisa ion, he o ically legi imising he app op ia ion o an allegedly ba en
land (La ea 2007). In ac , a chaeological in es iga ion has shown he exis ence o se e al
ea ly medie al ac i i y oci in he a ea o Tobillas, including ca e occupa ions, une a y
a eas and domes ic se lemen . O pa icula significance a e he h ee ea ly medie al
chu ches o Tobillas, Co o and Vallue ca, which ha e been da ed by hei building sequences
and echniques (Sánchez Zufiau e 2007;Figu e 2). Based on he adioca bon da ing o a
bu ial a he Cue a de los Mo os a Co o, he ca e was in use du ing he six h o se en h
cen u ies (Sáez de U u i 1990). Ac i i y a o he nea by illages has also been da ed on
he basis o w i en sou ces (La ea 2007) o he ypology o une a y spaces (Ma ín Viso
2021)(Figu e 1). He e, we explo e he cul u al biog aphy o La Se na in o de o cha ac e ise
he ounda ion and de elopmen o a ep esen a i e ag icul u al a ea managed collec i ely
since, a leas , he Ea ly Middle Ages.
Figu e 2. Cons uc ion sequence o he San Román de Tobillas chu ch, acco ding o Sánchez Zufiau e (2007,figu e
128) (figu e wi h pe mission o Leand o Sánchez Zufiau e).
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Ma e ials and me hods
The ecen a chaeological s udy o ag a ian spaces has e ealed he po en ial o such an
app oach o add essing he complexi y o he social p ac ices ela ed o he managemen
o land and ag icul u al esou ces in he Ea ly Middle Ages (Na ba e-He nández &
Rod íguez-Leja za 2022). The cons uc ion and main enance o ex ensi e, consolida ed
ag a ian spaces equi ed he coo dina ed collec i e ac ion o one o mo e social g oups, he
ma e ial exp ession o which may be obse ed in he landscape in a ious o ms, including
he o ganisa ion o bounda ies and acili ies, and opog aphical, hyd og aphic and geomo -
phological modifica ions esul ing om ag icul u al p ac ices. The iden ifica ion and analysis
o hese ea u es can b oaden ou unde s anding o he social ela ionships ha shaped his-
o ical—and p esen -day—landscapes.
To his end, we ha e explo ed he ag a ian landscape o he illage o Tobillas wi h a wo-
s age me hodology. Fi s , we conduc ed an ex ensi e su ey o La Se na o documen : he
opog aphy and hyd og aphy o he a ea; he mo phology o he s ip-pa cel sys em; local
placenames; and e idence o ag icul u al managemen p ac ices such as ploughing o manu -
ing. The esul ing da a we e colla ed in a GIS da abase and analysed o iden i y a eas pa icu-
la ly influenced by an h opic ac i i y, and hus o econs uc he cul u al biog aphy o his
ag icul u al a ea (Figu e 3).
Figu e 3. Gene al iew o La Se na wi h he illage o Tobillas in he backg ound (pho og aph by Josu Na ba e).
Juan An onio Qui ós Cas illo e al.
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Second, we sampled he soils o La Se na o geoa chaeological analysis. Two sedimen
co es (TOB/1 and TOB/2) we e collec ed om he a ea o help cha ac e ise opog aphic
and hyd og aphic change esul ing om ag icul u al managemen o he land (Figu e 4).
Visual inspec ion confi ms he simila i y o he wo co e sequences. Co e TOB/1 was
sampled a in e als o 50mm o acili a e a de ailed geoa chaeological cha ac e isa ion, con-
duc ed a he Science and Technology Pa k o he Uni e si y o Bu gos. X- ay fluo escence
(XRF) analyses we e ca ied ou wi h he aim o measu ing he weigh pe cen age (w . %) o
di e en chemical elemen s in each sedimen sample. The weigh pe cen age o o ganic
ca bon in he samples was measu ed h ough he Loss on Igni ion (LOI) echnique (Hei i
e al. 2001).
The XRF and LOI da a we e cleaned and analysed using p incipal componen analysis
(PCA; Ho elling 1933). This echnique educes he dimensionali y o a iables o a smalle
numbe o p incipal componen s ha explain as much o he a iabili y in he da a as pos-
sible. In his case, he PCA pe mi s he iden ifica ion o he mos impo an en i onmen al
and an h opogenic p ocesses shaping he a iabili y o he da a (e.g. Gi al e al. 2008,2011;
Ma gale e al. 2014). The ac o sco es o each measu emen a e classified acco ding o
he a iance ha hey explain: a ac o sco e o >0.7 is conside ed high, 0.7–0.5 conside ed
mode a e and <0.5 deemed o be low. Finally, we ob ained adioca bon da es on cha coal
om di e en poin s in he sedimen a y sequence o co e TOB/1. Samples we e sen o
he adioca bon labo a o y o he Uni e si y o Campania o p ocessing. The esul s ha e
been calib a ed using OxCal 4.4.4 so wa e and he a mosphe ic da a by Reime e al.
(2013).
Figu e 4. Ae ial iew o mode n land uses and s uc u es in he La Se na a ea (Tobillas) and illus a ions showing he
loca ions o he co es (figu e by Josu Na ba e).
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Resul s
The esul s o XRF and LOI analyses a e summa ised in Table 1. PCA o he a ia ion in he
elemen al composi ion o he co e TOB/1 samples is shown in Figu e 5. The wo p incipal
componen s explain 86.6 pe cen o o al a iance (Figu e 5).
PC1 explains 65.4 pe cen o he o al a iance. Po assium oxide (K
2
O), silicon dioxide
(SiO
2
), aluminium oxide (Al
2
O
3
), i anium dioxide (TiO
2
), i on (III) oxide (Fe
2
O
3
), sodium
oxide (Na
2
O) and magnesium oxide (MgO) show high posi i e loadings, while calcium
oxide (CaO) and b omine (B ) show high nega i e loadings. This eflec s he in e se a ia ion
o wo dis inc g oups o componen s. Po assium, silicon, aluminium, i anium, i on and
magnesium a e commonly ela ed o he p esence o fine-g ained clay mine als (Koinig
e al. 2003; Kylande e al. 2011). Thei concen a ion is ela ed o he p esence o siliciclas ic
sedimen s o de i al o igin and shows simila a ia ions as o ganic ca bon. In con as , cal-
cium alues a e ela ed o he p esence o ca bona es. Some samples a e almos en i ely com-
posed o calcium ca bona es (Table 1), which may be explained by he p esence o u a, a
limes one o med when ca bona e mine als p ecipi a e ou o ha dwa e sou ces.
PC2 explains 21.2 pe cen o he o al a iance. Phospho us pen oxide (P
2
O
5
), sulphu
ioxide (SO
3
) and manganese oxide (MnO) show high posi i e loadings, while MgO shows
a mode a e posi i e loading. This eflec s he p esence o o ganome allic compounds o
non-edaphic o ganic ma e in he sedimen (Huang & Jin 2008; A a a e al. 2010), he
p esence o which can indica e ag icul u al p ac ices such as manu ing (Na ba e-He nández
e al. 2019,2020). Finally, he adioca bon measu emen s a e summa ised in Table 2.
Table 1. Resul s o XRF and LOI analyses in co e TOB/1, exp essed as weigh pe cen age (w %).
Dep h
(mm) LOI CaO SiO
2
Al
2
O
3
MgO B Fe
2
O
3
K
2
OP
2
O
5
TiO
2
SO
3
MnO
50 7.351 48.44 29.96 7.00 6.37 2.88 2.87 1.12 0.401 0.336 0.144 0.060
100 6.659 49.93 29.12 6.67 6.66 2.72 2.47 1.17 0.404 0.327 0.135 0.058
150 6.604 49.88 29.24 6.62 6.55 2.98 2.38 1.13 0.355 0.298 0.112 0.054
200 6.363 48.22 29.98 7.04 7.00 2.77 2.56 1.20 0.381 0.325 0.141 0.062
250 6.248 48.10 29.68 7.48 6.92 2.93 2.50 1.17 0.407 0.306 0.122 0.065
300 4.378 73.51 13.28 3.88 2.67 3.56 1.66 0.61 0.146 0.169 0.099 0.059
350 4.398 82.10 6.16 2.40 1.06 3.63 1.06 0.32 0.075 0.099 0.115 0.025
400 3.178 87.45 4.19 1.72 1.09 3.99 0.87 0.25 0.082 0.060 0.124 0.023
450 3.108 88.21 3.70 1.33 1.03 3.95 0.93 0.18 0.088 0.080 0.132 0.019
500 3.634 90.39 2.48 0.93 0.59 3.72 1.27 0.11 0.091 0.041 0.132 0.018
550 4.914 82.97 8.36 2.44 0.87 3.44 0.94 0.31 0.071 0.120 0.124 0.021
600 7.145 82.15 7.26 2.52 0.78 3.77 2.50 0.29 0.123 0.104 0.166 0.013
650 4.283 88.46 3.99 1.43 0.93 3.68 0.92 0.22 0.064 0.055 0.084 0.017
700 4.122 84.60 5.56 1.81 0.94 1.69 1.28 0.21 0.054 0.072 0.120 0.014
750 6.792 31.57 47.69 12.25 2.65 0.46 2.59 1.52 0.039 0.589 0.081 0.018
800 4.945 70.14 17.49 4.72 1.47 3.2 1.51 0.62 0.081 0.254 0.132 0.023
850 6.048 16.26 57.57 14.69 3.53 2.09 2.73 1.91 0.076 0.664 0.071 0.027
900 6.312 36.95 42.43 11.25 2.15 2.43 2.29 1.4 0.073 0.525 0.102 0.023
Juan An onio Qui ós Cas illo e al.
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Discussion
Ea ly medie al landscape ans o ma ion: he geoa chaeological eco d
The combined esul s o he geochemical and s a is ical analyses, oge he wi h he adioca -
bon da es, allow he econs uc ion o a high- esolu ion chemo-s a ig aphic sequence om
co e TOB/1, consis ing o ou di e en s a ig aphic uni s (SUs) abo e he Holocene flood-
plain sedimen s (Figu e 6).
The ea lies sedimen s a e included in he SU-4 (700–900mm). Composi ionally, i
shows an al e na ion o silica es (SiO
2
,Al
2
O
3
) and ca bona es (CaO), eflec ed in he chan-
ging alues o PC1. Sedimen s in his uni a e a da k colou , eflec ing a ela i ely high
o ganic ca bon con en , eaching alues o app oxima ely six pe cen . We in e p e
SU-4 as a egula ly flooded ea ly Holocene swampy floodplain deposi . Si ing abo e
his, SU-3 (0.55–0.7m) shows a dec ease in he concen a ion o he siliciclas ic mine al
Figu e 5. Loading ac o s and his og ams o he di e en chemical elemen s analysed o each p incipal componen in he
samples om co e TOB/1 (figu e by Josu Na ba e).
Table 2. Radioca bon da es om co e TOB/1.
Sample Dep h
14
C age (cal. BP) Cal. age (2s)
TOB25 0.25m 360 ± 30 AD 1540–1634 (49.9%)
AD 1456–1529 (45.5%)
TOB30 0.30m 1320 ± 30 AD 653–707 (51.6%)
AD 724–774 (43.8%)
TOB55 0.55m 5144 ± 51 4077–3760 BC (97.3%)
Wha is a illage? Ag oscapes, collec i e ac ion and medie al illages in no he n Ibe ia
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