Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Straddling both sides of the western Pyrenees mountains, the Basque Country is home to a rich archaeological history, well-defined identity and diverse cultural traditions that have been successfully maintained even in modern times. Outside its borders, the Basque diaspora spans multiple countries, with the Western United States in particular home to thriving Basque Communities. Despite a strong tradition of archaeological investigation, Basque archaeological research has received comparatively little attention in the English-speaking world, with new discoveries often lacking in international scope. Though early investigations focused extensively on the monumental prehistoric landscape and the determination of Basque origins, the world of Basque archaeology is today wide-ranging, with investigations carried out in multiple continents and spanning diverse geographical and temporal scopes. This session brings together researchers from across the globe to spark discussion around a diverse array of topics related to the Basque Country; from the latest archaeological discoveries and ongoing investigations to the application of innovative methods of site detection and chemical analyses to reconstruct past diet and migration patterns. The session aims to strengthen links between researchers in varied branches of Basque archaeology and anthropology and to promote broader engagement of these topics both in the Basque Country and beyond.

Other Keywords
North America • Bioarchaeology/Skeletal Analysis • Multi-regional/Comparative • Europe: Western Europe

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)

  • Documents (10)
Documents
  • The Aierdi site: a roman-era mining complex in the Western Pyrenees (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Teresa Lacosta Ramírez.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. One of the Roman Empire's interests in its provinces was the exploitation of their mineral resources. In the region of the Western Pyrenees, the Empire promoted mining activities for gold, silver, iron and copper. Notably, the mining complex in the Aierdi Ravine (Lantz, Navarra, Spain) stands out...

  • Applications of Isotope Analysis to Conflict Archaeology: A Case Study from the Northern Iberian Peninsula (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Andrea Zurek-Ost.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Isotopic approaches to investigate geographic area of origin, mobility, and dietary practices have long been applied to archaeological and forensic contexts. Isotopic ratios from human bones and teeth can be used to derive information about cultural, geographic, and demographic group membership....

  • The archaeological discovery and analysis of the "Hombre de Loizu" (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Maitane Tirapu De Goñi.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2020, during a speleological intervention in a cave located in the Erro Valley (Navarra), the oldest set of skeletal remains in the region was discovered. Radiocarbon dating revealed the individual to be more than 11,000 years old, placing the remains in the early Mesolithic period. Due to the...

  • The Archaeology of Historic and Modern Conflict in the Basque Country (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emma Bonthorne.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Basque Country was the setting for numerous large-scale conflicts, including the War of the Pyrenees, the Peninsular War, the Carlist Wars, and the Spanish Civil War. These conflicts deeply impacted Basque society and left an enduring legacy within the...

  • Basque Tree Carvings in the American West (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Iñaki Arrieta Baro.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Tree carvings, arborglyphs, or lertxun-marrak in Euskera, etched by sheepherders constitute one of the most visible remnants of Basque culture in the Western United States. They are also a case of living forms containing art created in open spaces, which creates innumerable challenges for their...

  • Basque Whaling and Inuit Contacts on the Quebec Lower North Shore (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only William Fitzhugh.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. <html> The first sustained post-Norse northern contacts between Europeans and Indigenous North Americans began in the Gulf of St. Lawrence beginning in the mid-16<sup>th</sup> century. Mik’maq of the southern Gulf were quick to engage with Basque whalers and traders. In the northern Gulf and...

  • From mountain high to valley low: a comparative study of two medieval funerary sites in northwest Navarre (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mikaila Walker.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Excavations conducted by Aditu Arkeologia at the sites of San Miguel de Excelsis and Santa Maria de Zamartze revealed more than 180 inhumated human skeletal remains dating from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries CE. These sites, located within the municipality of Uharte-Arakil (Navarre, Spain),...

  • Historical Archaeological Approaches to the Basque Influence on the Economic and Cultural Development of the American West (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Madeleine Philips.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Popular conceptions of the settlement of the American West have long been associated with stoic cowboys, resolute homesteaders, and even California’s tenacious Miner Forty-Niners. These archetypes are representative the vast region’s development through the utilization of its abundant natural...

  • <html>Stable isotope examination (δ<sup>18</sup>O, δ<sup>13</sup>C) of human remains from the Monastery of Santa María de Zamartze (Uharte-Arakil Municipality, Navarre)</html> (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Leslie Fitzpatrick.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. <html> A subset of human remains (n=155) recovered during the 2011 to 2015 excavations from the Monastery of Santa María de Zamartze burial grounds were analyzed for stable oxygen and carbon isotopes derived from bone and tooth carbonate. Provided this site’s close geographic association with a...

  • Non-human animal use at the Silo of Charlemagne (Orreaga/Roncesvalles, Navarre) (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kate Bajorek.

    This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Basque Archaeology: Current Research and Future Directions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents the preliminary results of a zooarchaeological study of the non-human bone recovered from the Silo of Charlemagne, a long-term, multi-use ossuary located in Orreaga/Roncesvalles, Navarre (Basque Country). Animal husbandry in the Pyrenees historically includes raising domestic...