Jose Cristobal Carvajal Lopez
@leicester.ac.uk
University of Leicester
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Daniel J. Albero Santacreu, Jose C. Carvajal López, and Alejandro Ramos Benito
MDPI AG
In this paper, we addressed the chemical composition and main features of a glazed Almohad ceramic assemblage recovered from Puig de Sa Morisca, a rural Islamic site located in southwest Mallorca. The glazes were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS). The archaeometrical analysis conducted allowed us to characterize the technological choices applied by potters from the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century. The exclusive use of lead-silica glazes was confirmed, which in some cases was opacified with tin. We also established that some tableware vessels, which were imported to the island, have shown glazes with a particular composition within the analyzed record.
Jelena Živković, Vesna Bikić, Myrto Georgakopoulou, and José Cristobal Carvajal López
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
This paper discusses an archaeology of ceramic craft and artisans in the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries Belgrade and problematises its relation to historical models of urban production in the Ottoman Empire. The study focuses on five common wares, representative of the Middle Danube region, found in well-defined consumption contexts of Belgrade’s intra and extra muros settlements. The production technology of these wares, including ceramic bodies, slips, and glazes, was studied with ceramic petrography and chemical analysis, and the results were interpreted using the chaîne opératoire conceptual framework. The petrographic study was also used for a preliminary provenance determination of raw materials. It is proposed that Monochrome Glazed Ware, Slip-Painted Ware, and Domestic Unglazed Ware were locally made in Belgrade following the Ottoman conquest in 1521. The emergence of this production coincides with the abrupt cultural change in the Middle Danube region marked by migrations and new socio-economic conditions initiated by the Ottomans. Traits of the local production are compared to the existing corpus of knowledge on the urban craftsmanship and guilds formulated in Ottoman historiography for the purpose of developing a cross-disciplinary approach to crafts and artisans in the Ottoman Empire.
Jelena Živković, Vesna Bikić, José Cristobal Carvajal López, and Myrto Georgakopoulou
Elsevier BV
José C. Carvajal López, Jelena Živković, Alkindi Aljawabra, and Rim Lababidi
Oxford University Press
This text is a reflection about the development of Islamic heritage in three different peninsulas where Islam has played an important role in the past: Qatar, Iberia, and the Balkans. The selection of these three spaces responds to the experience and academic specialization of the authors. There is a necessary simplification of the themes discussed due to the wide amount of information that has been used in the text, which includes a wide variety of approaches from different regions, languages, and traditions of scholarship. The aim of this exercise is to offer a comparative perspective that shows the complications and chances inherent to the definition of Islamic heritage beyond the limits of given communities and territories.
D. J. Albero Santacreu, G. Mateu Vicens, A. Ramos Benito, J. C. Carvajal López, and M. Georgakopoulou
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Ceramic production and distribution analyses are not frequent for the Almohad rural society in al-Andalus and completely absent in the Balearic Islands. Here, we discuss the role of Islamic ceramics at the seaside site of Puig de Sa Morisca (southwestern Mallorca) applying archaeometric techniques such as petrographic microscope and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The results evidenced a dominance of a chemically monogenic group characterised by Neogene calcareous marine clays. Furthermore, some ceramics seem to have been produced in the urban centre of Madīna Mayūrqa and later distributed to the neighbouring rural area. On the other hand, a reduced number of pieces were identified as imported items similarly distributed in rural contexts. These materials indicated that significant social and economic interaction networks between urban and rural communities were at work before the Christian conquest of the island.
Jelena Živković, Timothy Power, Myrto Georgakopoulou, and José Cristobal Carvajal López
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
José C. Carvajal López
Informa UK Limited
This paper will present a study of the landscapes surrounding Butrint (southern Albania) that addresses several themes related to hydraulic landscapes, including the relationship between politics and regional water management in a border area between Venetians (14th to 18th centuries) and Ottomans (19th to 20th centuries) and the development of different landscapes, local economies and settlement patterns related to these hydraulic landscapes in response to political changes. Evidence from archaeological activities undertaken in the area of Butrint shows how the material conditions of the landscape, and, in particular, the use of the hydraulic resources, changed between the 14th and 20th centuries.
José C. Carvajal López
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT This article presents a brief overview of archaeological studies on the pottery produced and used during the eighth century, the period immediately after the conquest of al-Andalus. It demonstrates that in spite of valuable advances in the field, scholars have been limited in their considerations of the impact of post-conquest Muslim immigration upon ceramic production because of two main factors. The first is an excessive reliance on a flawed theory, namely that eighth-century ceramics were ambiguous, that is, typologically undefined ceramics, embedded in the transition between the Visigothic Kingdom and the Caliphate. The second is a lack of an appropriate methodology, a result of the particular development of the field of medieval pottery studies in Iberia, which has favored approaches that fail to account for a period of time during which changes in pottery manufacture were fast and primarily unrelated to the scale of production or the degree of specialization of the artisans. Consequently, the impact of post-conquest immigration of Muslims on ceramic production has been understudied. This article proposes to show how a different theoretical and methodological stance in the study of early Islamic ceramics can help to elucidate this impact and lend support to an alternative narrative of the emergence of al-Andalus.
José C. Carvajal López, Anno Hein, Michael D. Glascock, and Peter M. Day
Elsevier BV
In this paper petrographic and NAA analyses of two categories of ceramic wares of the early medieval Vega of Granada (southeast Spain) are presented. The vessels analysed include Water Containers and Glazed Wares and were manufactured between the sixth and the twelfth centuries CE. This is the period of the Islamization of Iberia and the emergence of al-Andalus. The studies in this paper offer an opportunity to understand technological, social and economic changes that were part of the pattern of Islamization. The results of this work show that there is a differential pattern of distribution for the samples studied in the eastern and western areas of the Vega and that there is a chronological change in technological variability of the production of the wares under investigation. An earlier period in which this variability is high gave way to a period where the variability is much less and potentially more standardised technological procedures were followed.
Judit Molera, Jose Cristóbal Carvajal López, Glòria Molina, and Trinitat Pradell
Elsevier BV
This paper presents an analysis of glazes of vessels unearthed in archaeological excavation in the Vega of Granada (south-east Spain) and that can be dated between the 9th and the 12th centuries AD. The material analysed includes the first glazed ceramics produced in Al-Andalus after the Islamic occupation of the Peninsula. From a very early period (mid to late-9th century) there is a coexistence of lead-alkaline monochrome (green and honey) glazed vessels, and of polychrome decorated (green, white and brown) tin-glazed, wares early examples of the so called green and manganese wares. From the 10th century onwards honey lead-alkaline glazed vessels often with manganese-painted decorations are found. The chemical composition of the ceramic pastes, glazes and decorations as well as of the microcrystallites present in the glazes is obtained from polished cross sections of the glazes by SEM-EDS, OM and EPM. Information about the materials and methods of production is discussed and compared to contemporary productions from other areas in Al Andalus and also to later productions.
Jose C. Carvajal López
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
José C. Carvajal López and Peter M. Day
Elsevier BV
Abstract This paper presents a first approach to the petrographic analysis of ceramics in the early medieval Vega of Granada (south east Spain) between the 6th and the 11th centuries. The cooking wares of two sites of the Vega with urban character, Ilbira and Garnata, are considered. They were, at different times, political capitals of the area and the production and distribution of their ceramic products have much to tell us about the nature and extent of their authority. The petrographic study shows that the assemblages of cooking pots retrieved at each site have characteristic fabric groups that allow us to relate to production centres in the vicinity of the site, if not in the site itself. Furthermore, the petrographic analysis proves that a small number of vessels move between the sites. The pattern of this movement is consistent with the historical and archaeological background of the Vega of Granada.
A. Gnasso, E. E. Intagliata and T. MacMaster
Peter Lang UK
JOSÉ C CARVAJAL
Informa UK Limited
Abstract THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW of the archaeology of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Islamic Spain and Portugal), from its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day. Innovative approaches and challenging theoretical stances made the archaeology of al-Andalus the spearhead of medieval archaeology in Iberia between the 1980s and 1990s. A problematic, and often conflicting, relationship between archaeology and history has characterised medieval archaeology in Spain since its inception, however, and a new awareness of these problems is emerging. This paper reviews past and current attitudes to such challenges and reflects on the future needs of the discipline. It also reflects on the politics of archaeology and on the role of medieval archaeology in revealing social change, which has until now been underrated. Abstract L’archéologie d’al-Andalus: passé, présent et avenir par José C Carvajal Cet article fait un tour d’horizon de l’archéologie d’al-Andalus (nom arabe donné à l’Espagne et au Portugal islamiques), depuis ses prémices à la fin des années 1970 jusqu’à nos jours. Des approches innovantes et des positions théoriques controversées ont fait de l’archéologie d’al-Andalus le fer de lance de l’archéologie médiévale entre 1980 et 1990. Or, un rapport problématique et souvent conflictuel entre archéologie et histoire a caractérisé l’archéologie médiévale en Espagne depuis ses débuts, et une nouvelle sensibilisation à ces problèmes est en train d’émerger. Ce papier examine quelles attitudes passées et présentes ont permis de faire face à ces défis et réfléchit aux besoins futurs de la discipline. Il réfléchit également aux liens entre la politique et l’archéologie et au rôle jusqu’à présent sous-estimé de l’archéologie médiévale, qui permet de révéler l’évolution sociale. Abstract Die Archäologie von Al-Andalus: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft von José C Carvajal Dieser Artikel bietet einen Überblick über die Archäologie von al-Andalus (arabischer Name für das islamische Spanien und Portugal) von ihren Anfängen in den späten 1970er Jahren bis heute. Innovative Ansätze und anspruchsvolle theoretische Positionen machten die Archäologie von al-Andalus zwischen den 1980er und 1990er Jahren zum Vorreiter der Archäologie des Mittelalters. Eine problematische und oft konfliktreiche Beziehung zwischen Archäologie und Geschichte ist jedoch seit ihren Anfängen ebenfalls charakteristisch für die Archäologie des Mittelalters in Spanien, und es entsteht gerade ein neues Bewusstsein für diese Probleme. Dieser Artikel überprüft vergangene und gegenwärtige Einstellungen zu solchen Herausforderungen und überdenkt die zukünftigen Bedürfnisse dieser Disziplin. Er überdenkt auch die Politik der Archäologie und die Rolle der Archäologie des Mittelalters bei der Aufdeckung sozialen Wandels, die bisher unterschätzt wurde. Abstract L’archeologia di Al-Andalus: passato, presente e futuro di José C Carvajal Questo studio presenta una panoramica dell’archeologia di al-Andalus (nome arabo della penisola iberica musulmana), a partire dai suoi inizi verso la fine degli anni ‘70 del secolo scorso fino a oggi. Nel decennio tra il 1980 e il 1990 l’archeologia di al-Andalus si era conquistata un posto di avanguardia nell’archeologia medievale per i suoi approcci innovativi e per gli orientamenti teorici. Fin dagli inizi l’archeologia medievale in Spagna è stata caratterizzata dal rapporto problematico e spesso conflittuale tra archeologia e storia, tuttavia sta emergendo una nuova consapevolezza di questi problemi. Questa pubblicazione passa in rassegna gli atteggiamenti passati e presenti di fronte a tali sfide e riflette sulle esigenze di questa disciplina in futuro. Riflette inoltre sulle politiche dell’archeologia e sul ruolo che l’archeologia medievale riveste nel portare a conoscenza i cambiamenti sociali, ruolo che finora è stato sottovalutato.
Jose C. Carvajal Lopez
Equinox Publishing
And the journal keeps on growing.
In the inaugural issue of the Journal of Islamic Archaeology our editor, Bethany Walker, opened on a very positive and optimistic note, to which I am happy to subscribe. In that address she also mentioned the forthcoming launch of the blog Letters From the Sands, which is the topic of this short note...
Jose C. Carvajal and Peter M. Day
Wiley
In this paper we undertake a petrographic analysis of cooking wares in order to explore the relationship between cultural change and issues of production, consumption and distribution of cooking wares, and particularly between political authority and the location of workshops in the early Islamic Vega of Granada, a region in south-eastern Spain. This work offers the possibility of testing the potential of thin section petrography in combination with a detailed archaeological study and a well-documented historical background. Examination of both the technology and microprovenance of wares within the Vega has led to a fruitful set of results with an important impact on our understanding of the place of ceramic material culture on both the local and the regional scale. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
José C. Carvajal
Informa UK Limited
Abstract This study strives to understand Islamicisation from a social point of view, rather than related only to the religious conversion or to a set of specific Islamic material manifestations. A historical context is considered as a case study. The period of the Islamicisation in the Vega of Granada (south east Spain) lasted from the 8th to the 11th centuries CE. The process of social change in this context is described using a combination of historical and archaeological sources, and then insights are made on the relation of such changes with the form of Islam that was adopted. The results point to two distinctive periods that are related with a different form of Islam and therefore, arguably, with two different islamicisations.
Jose C. Carvajal Lopez
Informa UK Limited
This project was conceived as a way of establishing links between production centres at the two extremes of the Mediterranean during the period of the Islamic expansion. Additionally, my knowledge of the early Islamic pottery of Spain (7th to 11th centuries CE) could be tested against the productions of the Levant, specifically that of Palestine, where many of the Arab settlers of the West (supposedly those who transmitted the basics of Islamic culture) had their roots. The project did not assume a straightforward relationship of between the pottery of a homeland (the Levant) and that of a colony (al-Andalus). There is no doubt that a sense of the centrality of Arabia and the Levant is paramount all over the Islamic culture, but this centrality is more a shared topological conception that binds together all the people and lands of Islam rather than an essentially political and economic core-periphery relation. In Gosden’s proposed model of colonialism, this relationship should be understood in between the middle ground and the shared cultural milieu (Gosden 2005, 30–33). Research in Spain shows that only a minority of Arabs chose to settle in al-Andalus in comparison with a larger influx of Berbers from North Africa and a considerable native pre-conquest population (Chalmeta 1994). However, there was a marked cultural change towards an Islamic society after the conquest of al-Andalus and the Arab influence must have played an important role in this (without dismissing other influences as well). A way to study this may be the comparison of material culture from areas with a documented strong Arab settlement with that from well-contextualised assemblages in the Levant. My research area in Spain is the Vega of Granada, in the South East part of the Peninsula. It is a region with a substantial Arab population during the relevant period, since besides the establishment of Arab communities in the years immediately after the conquest (the so-called Baladīyah) there was the addition after 742 CE of significant numbers of the Jundīya or Shamsīya, Levantine troops sent by the Caliph Hisham ibn ‘Abd al-Malīk to end the Berber revolt that had begun in the province of Ifriqīya. Defeated in Africa and pushed into Iberia, the Jundīya recovered in the peninsula and took over the control of the province of al-Andalus. Although many of them probably returned to the East, a significant though not defined number of these soldiers from the Levant stayed as the main army of the Muslims in the area. The kurah or province of Ilbirah (that included the Vega of Granada) was one of the areas where the Jundīya had a more dense settlement mostly by members of the Jund of Damascus.1 The Jundīya and possibly other Arab groups had come directly from the Levant, and it is logical to think that they would set to reproduce the material culture in their birthplaces. That in turn would have an impact on the developing new Islamic culture of al-Andalus. Now, this does not mean that in al-Andalus there is a simple reproduction of cultural patterns of the other end of the Mediterranean. A careful examination of the material culture on both sides is required to understand their links. Pottery, in particular, is a medium that is especially sensitive to cultural change for its connection with all social groups, its frequent discard and substitution of styles, raw materials and techniques, and its relevance to many different areas of production and consumption.