VIIème congrès international des études phéniciennes et puniques , 2019
La Etnobotánica 1 es una disciplina científica que pese a su juventud está obteniendo muy buenos ... more La Etnobotánica 1 es una disciplina científica que pese a su juventud está obteniendo muy buenos resultados en los estudios realizados sobre culturas indígenas américanas, y que también se ha aplicado al ámbito europeo en un contexto neolítico y de la Edad del Bronce. Por otra parte: "The tools of today's neuroscience, including in vivo brain imaging technologies, have put a modern face on the hallucinogens. Scientists can no longer see them as magic drugs but rather as 5-HT2A receptor-specific molecules that affect membrane potentials, neuronal firing frequencies, and neurotransmitter release in particular areasof the brain 2. No existe, sin embargo, que sepamos, ningún estudio etnobotánico en relación al mundo fenicio púnico. No obstante, las preocupaciones científicas e intelectuales que presiden los estudios etnobotánicos estaban ya presentes en algunos de los grandes orientalistas del siglo XIX y del XX. Así, la utilización de inciensos capaces de provocar visiones en el transcurso de los rituales de Astarté había sido ya señalado por alguno de los grandes orientalistas de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, aunque luego el tema no volviera a ser muy tratado. Citando a J.P. Brown, autor del famoso The Dervishes of Oriental Spiritualism, publicado en Londres en 1868, Godbey 3 , en un minucioso y bien documentado trabajo que ha pasado, por lo general, bastante inadvertido, en el que destacaba el efecto narcótico de los inciensos en todo el Próximo Oriente que él atribuía, tras el estudio de los textos antiguos y de las evidencias etnográficas, a que en su composición figuraban estractos de plantas como la adormidera, el cannabis, o el ajenjo, dice: "Brown reminds us that the incense used in the worship of the paphian Venus and Syrian Astarte soothed the votary upon his temple couch and files him with visions of granted desires". La Venus o Afrodita de Pafos, ciudad chipriota, no es sino una representación local de la misma Astarté, conocida también por las inscripciones 4 y venerada en un recinto 5 del que los textos antiguos destacan su "altar fragante"y el "olor dulce de su templo 6 ", en clara relación a la utilización de inciensos 7 y perfumes 8. Astarté, a menudo identificada con Anat 9 , la hermana y consorte de Baal, era la diosa cananeo-fenicia de la fecundidad y el amor, pero también de la justicia y el derecho, y ocupaba un lugar de privilegio en el panteón común. Su nombre, una forma femenina de un teónimo que designa una divinidad estelar, se documenta desde el tercer milenio a. C. en Ebla y Mari, por lo que la podemos considerar como una gran diosa semítico/occidental. Se la relacionaba muy estrechamente con la estrella de la mañana, esto es: Venus, y como otras grandes divinidades orientales recibía el epíteto de "Reina de los Cielos". Como advierte J. H. Stuckey 10 : "Like Sumerian Inanna, she embodies change. To enter into her realm is to undergo transformation, whether by dying on the battlefield, being born, falling in love, engaging in sexual activity, or 1
Los inciensos usados en algunos cultos y oráculos de la antigüedad parecen haber poseido la facul... more Los inciensos usados en algunos cultos y oráculos de la antigüedad parecen haber poseido la facultad de provocar visiones y vaticicios. Un estudio de sus componentes nos revela, desde la perspectiva de la etnobotánica, su potencial psicoactivo.; The incense ...
Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua, t. 24, 2011, pp. 31-46
"Some passages in the Epic of Gilgamesh interpreted from ethnobotanical and psychopharmacological... more "Some passages in the Epic of Gilgamesh interpreted from ethnobotanical and psychopharmacological perspective, suggest, with the help of classical myths, the presence of ritual practices relating to visionary plants."
This paper argues that Tartessos was the result of Phoenician colonialism in the south of the Ibe... more This paper argues that Tartessos was the result of Phoenician colonialism in the south of the Iberian Peninsula arranged by temples as political and economic agencies of the Tyrian palace. Problems of identity are discussed, as well as the nature, often in conflict, of the imposed and forced coexistence between Phoenician settlers and the colonized native people.
Every reference to towns also implies a reference to a stratifi ed society and complex political ... more Every reference to towns also implies a reference to a stratifi ed society and complex political structures. But stratification adopts different shapes, as there are different kinds of towns. It is also possible to distinguish the expressions of a compact town planning from those characteristic of a vague urban development. Concerning the impact that Phoenician urban development had on the natives, the fi rst appropriate distinction sets a clear difference between the adoption of the building techniques and the adoption of the mentality and uses that underlie a particular understanding of the house space and the habitat organization. In general terms, it can be stated that the autochthonous societies took over some items and constructive solutions that were distinctive of the Phoenician town planning, such as the quadrangular base for houses and the use of elaborate coatings for structure surfaces, not adopting either the idea or the distribution of the Phoenician house with several chambers, closed to the exterior but opened to an inner yard. Concerning public or “monumental” architecture, the available data suggest an early Phoenician presence in those places in which such an architecture exists.
The cultural, economic and political interaction between the Phoenicians and native populations i... more The cultural, economic and political interaction between the Phoenicians and native populations in the southern Iberian Peninsula gave rise to a complex historical process marked by unequal exchange, the accumulation of wealth by local elites from controlling other people's work, dissolution of pre-existing social relationships based on kinship and conflicts between the natives and Phoenicians settlers.
Punic Carthage even reached the appearance and character of a Mediterranean polis. The Carthagini... more Punic Carthage even reached the appearance and character of a Mediterranean polis. The Carthaginian citizens took an active part in the city works, had an absolute political sovereignty and authority that were exercised in the People’s Assembly, were not exempt from military recruitment, and fought in the navy. The fleet-and-city link was vital, and that is the reason for the crews to be made up mainly of citizens. Greeks and other foreign people, whose children had a Punic name and performed the sacrifice in the tofet, undoubtedly are samples of assimilation and it seems that they could achieve the citizenship. Its internal history, in the course of which were developed the political institutions Aristotle quotes, was not too different from that of other cities in the same mediterranean scene.
At the ligth of the new evidences, phoenician colonization in Iberian Peninsula is discussed as t... more At the ligth of the new evidences, phoenician colonization in Iberian Peninsula is discussed as the result -encouraged and controled by the Tyrian royal house- of at-home economic and demographic pressures. Neither market, nor private enterprise were possible in such cincumstances. Early presence of urbanism, farming and economic explotation of many local resources, with the concurse of dependent native labor force; the jerachical organization of settlements, as well as the phoenician inland presence, are the characteristic features. The emergence and consolidation of west phoenician aristocracies, united to new political and urban traits and the developing of cultural and ethnic mixed comunities were the most relevant outcomes from a historical perspective.
The politics of alliances between Hiram, David and Solomon that we can read in the Bible show us ... more The politics of alliances between Hiram, David and Solomon that we can read in the Bible show us a treaty between equals which does not reflect the political structure of the area in that moment. The news about different expansionist strategies from the city of Tyre display a different reality. It must be added to this other series of facts during the reign of Solomon which suggest an overdimension in the power of this king and the importance of Jerusalem.
Phoenician colonization was not as peaceful as many scholars claim. Acquisition
of land was an ea... more Phoenician colonization was not as peaceful as many scholars claim. Acquisition of land was an early need despite the importance of long-distance trade enterprises. There is large evidence of territorial expansion and the use of force that was employed by some Eastern Phoenician cities like Tyre in Palestine and Cyprus. In the far West there are signs of conflict and violence between the colonists and the native people that go back as early as the end of the 8th century BC both in Mediterranean and Atlantic contexts.
VIIème congrès international des études phéniciennes et puniques , 2019
La Etnobotánica 1 es una disciplina científica que pese a su juventud está obteniendo muy buenos ... more La Etnobotánica 1 es una disciplina científica que pese a su juventud está obteniendo muy buenos resultados en los estudios realizados sobre culturas indígenas américanas, y que también se ha aplicado al ámbito europeo en un contexto neolítico y de la Edad del Bronce. Por otra parte: "The tools of today's neuroscience, including in vivo brain imaging technologies, have put a modern face on the hallucinogens. Scientists can no longer see them as magic drugs but rather as 5-HT2A receptor-specific molecules that affect membrane potentials, neuronal firing frequencies, and neurotransmitter release in particular areasof the brain 2. No existe, sin embargo, que sepamos, ningún estudio etnobotánico en relación al mundo fenicio púnico. No obstante, las preocupaciones científicas e intelectuales que presiden los estudios etnobotánicos estaban ya presentes en algunos de los grandes orientalistas del siglo XIX y del XX. Así, la utilización de inciensos capaces de provocar visiones en el transcurso de los rituales de Astarté había sido ya señalado por alguno de los grandes orientalistas de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, aunque luego el tema no volviera a ser muy tratado. Citando a J.P. Brown, autor del famoso The Dervishes of Oriental Spiritualism, publicado en Londres en 1868, Godbey 3 , en un minucioso y bien documentado trabajo que ha pasado, por lo general, bastante inadvertido, en el que destacaba el efecto narcótico de los inciensos en todo el Próximo Oriente que él atribuía, tras el estudio de los textos antiguos y de las evidencias etnográficas, a que en su composición figuraban estractos de plantas como la adormidera, el cannabis, o el ajenjo, dice: "Brown reminds us that the incense used in the worship of the paphian Venus and Syrian Astarte soothed the votary upon his temple couch and files him with visions of granted desires". La Venus o Afrodita de Pafos, ciudad chipriota, no es sino una representación local de la misma Astarté, conocida también por las inscripciones 4 y venerada en un recinto 5 del que los textos antiguos destacan su "altar fragante"y el "olor dulce de su templo 6 ", en clara relación a la utilización de inciensos 7 y perfumes 8. Astarté, a menudo identificada con Anat 9 , la hermana y consorte de Baal, era la diosa cananeo-fenicia de la fecundidad y el amor, pero también de la justicia y el derecho, y ocupaba un lugar de privilegio en el panteón común. Su nombre, una forma femenina de un teónimo que designa una divinidad estelar, se documenta desde el tercer milenio a. C. en Ebla y Mari, por lo que la podemos considerar como una gran diosa semítico/occidental. Se la relacionaba muy estrechamente con la estrella de la mañana, esto es: Venus, y como otras grandes divinidades orientales recibía el epíteto de "Reina de los Cielos". Como advierte J. H. Stuckey 10 : "Like Sumerian Inanna, she embodies change. To enter into her realm is to undergo transformation, whether by dying on the battlefield, being born, falling in love, engaging in sexual activity, or 1
Los inciensos usados en algunos cultos y oráculos de la antigüedad parecen haber poseido la facul... more Los inciensos usados en algunos cultos y oráculos de la antigüedad parecen haber poseido la facultad de provocar visiones y vaticicios. Un estudio de sus componentes nos revela, desde la perspectiva de la etnobotánica, su potencial psicoactivo.; The incense ...
Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua, t. 24, 2011, pp. 31-46
"Some passages in the Epic of Gilgamesh interpreted from ethnobotanical and psychopharmacological... more "Some passages in the Epic of Gilgamesh interpreted from ethnobotanical and psychopharmacological perspective, suggest, with the help of classical myths, the presence of ritual practices relating to visionary plants."
This paper argues that Tartessos was the result of Phoenician colonialism in the south of the Ibe... more This paper argues that Tartessos was the result of Phoenician colonialism in the south of the Iberian Peninsula arranged by temples as political and economic agencies of the Tyrian palace. Problems of identity are discussed, as well as the nature, often in conflict, of the imposed and forced coexistence between Phoenician settlers and the colonized native people.
Every reference to towns also implies a reference to a stratifi ed society and complex political ... more Every reference to towns also implies a reference to a stratifi ed society and complex political structures. But stratification adopts different shapes, as there are different kinds of towns. It is also possible to distinguish the expressions of a compact town planning from those characteristic of a vague urban development. Concerning the impact that Phoenician urban development had on the natives, the fi rst appropriate distinction sets a clear difference between the adoption of the building techniques and the adoption of the mentality and uses that underlie a particular understanding of the house space and the habitat organization. In general terms, it can be stated that the autochthonous societies took over some items and constructive solutions that were distinctive of the Phoenician town planning, such as the quadrangular base for houses and the use of elaborate coatings for structure surfaces, not adopting either the idea or the distribution of the Phoenician house with several chambers, closed to the exterior but opened to an inner yard. Concerning public or “monumental” architecture, the available data suggest an early Phoenician presence in those places in which such an architecture exists.
The cultural, economic and political interaction between the Phoenicians and native populations i... more The cultural, economic and political interaction between the Phoenicians and native populations in the southern Iberian Peninsula gave rise to a complex historical process marked by unequal exchange, the accumulation of wealth by local elites from controlling other people's work, dissolution of pre-existing social relationships based on kinship and conflicts between the natives and Phoenicians settlers.
Punic Carthage even reached the appearance and character of a Mediterranean polis. The Carthagini... more Punic Carthage even reached the appearance and character of a Mediterranean polis. The Carthaginian citizens took an active part in the city works, had an absolute political sovereignty and authority that were exercised in the People’s Assembly, were not exempt from military recruitment, and fought in the navy. The fleet-and-city link was vital, and that is the reason for the crews to be made up mainly of citizens. Greeks and other foreign people, whose children had a Punic name and performed the sacrifice in the tofet, undoubtedly are samples of assimilation and it seems that they could achieve the citizenship. Its internal history, in the course of which were developed the political institutions Aristotle quotes, was not too different from that of other cities in the same mediterranean scene.
At the ligth of the new evidences, phoenician colonization in Iberian Peninsula is discussed as t... more At the ligth of the new evidences, phoenician colonization in Iberian Peninsula is discussed as the result -encouraged and controled by the Tyrian royal house- of at-home economic and demographic pressures. Neither market, nor private enterprise were possible in such cincumstances. Early presence of urbanism, farming and economic explotation of many local resources, with the concurse of dependent native labor force; the jerachical organization of settlements, as well as the phoenician inland presence, are the characteristic features. The emergence and consolidation of west phoenician aristocracies, united to new political and urban traits and the developing of cultural and ethnic mixed comunities were the most relevant outcomes from a historical perspective.
The politics of alliances between Hiram, David and Solomon that we can read in the Bible show us ... more The politics of alliances between Hiram, David and Solomon that we can read in the Bible show us a treaty between equals which does not reflect the political structure of the area in that moment. The news about different expansionist strategies from the city of Tyre display a different reality. It must be added to this other series of facts during the reign of Solomon which suggest an overdimension in the power of this king and the importance of Jerusalem.
Phoenician colonization was not as peaceful as many scholars claim. Acquisition
of land was an ea... more Phoenician colonization was not as peaceful as many scholars claim. Acquisition of land was an early need despite the importance of long-distance trade enterprises. There is large evidence of territorial expansion and the use of force that was employed by some Eastern Phoenician cities like Tyre in Palestine and Cyprus. In the far West there are signs of conflict and violence between the colonists and the native people that go back as early as the end of the 8th century BC both in Mediterranean and Atlantic contexts.
En el Próximo Oriente Antiguo, la base de toda la actividad productiva consistía en la explotació... more En el Próximo Oriente Antiguo, la base de toda la actividad productiva consistía en la explotación de los recursos que proporcionaba la tierra. La pesca de los ríos tuvo igualmente una gran importancia. Comenzando por el estudio de los distintos recursos, el sistema de producción y el comercio, este volumen versa sobre las diversas formas de organizar la vida social, económica y cultural, y sus distintas manifestaciones en esta civilización.
El objetivo de este libro es hacer una síntesis sencilla y rigurosa que ayude a entender la histo... more El objetivo de este libro es hacer una síntesis sencilla y rigurosa que ayude a entender la historia del Próximo Oriente en la Antigüedad. Ofrece una visión actualizada y comprensible para aquellos que, universitarios o no, se acerquen sin conocimientos previos a esta materia. En este volumen se tratan el nacimiento de la civilización en el Próximo Oriente y el desarrollo político posterior hasta el final del Imperio Persa.
The incenses used in some cults and oracles in Antiquity seems to have possessed the power to ind... more The incenses used in some cults and oracles in Antiquity seems to have possessed the power to induce visions and prophecies. A study of ancient incenses components, from an ethnobotanical perspective, reveals us their psychoactive power.
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colonized native people.
Concerning the impact that Phoenician urban development had on the natives, the fi rst appropriate distinction sets a clear difference between the adoption of the building techniques and the adoption of the mentality and uses that underlie a particular understanding of the house space and the habitat organization.
In general terms, it can be stated that the autochthonous societies took over some items and constructive solutions that were distinctive of the Phoenician town planning, such as the quadrangular base for houses and the use of elaborate coatings for structure surfaces, not adopting either the idea or the distribution of the Phoenician house with several chambers, closed to the exterior but opened to an inner yard. Concerning public or “monumental” architecture, the available data suggest an early Phoenician presence in those
places in which such an architecture exists.
of land was an early need despite the importance of long-distance trade enterprises.
There is large evidence of territorial expansion and the use of force that was employed by
some Eastern Phoenician cities like Tyre in Palestine and Cyprus. In the far West there are
signs of conflict and violence between the colonists and the native people that go back as
early as the end of the 8th century BC both in Mediterranean and Atlantic contexts.
colonized native people.
Concerning the impact that Phoenician urban development had on the natives, the fi rst appropriate distinction sets a clear difference between the adoption of the building techniques and the adoption of the mentality and uses that underlie a particular understanding of the house space and the habitat organization.
In general terms, it can be stated that the autochthonous societies took over some items and constructive solutions that were distinctive of the Phoenician town planning, such as the quadrangular base for houses and the use of elaborate coatings for structure surfaces, not adopting either the idea or the distribution of the Phoenician house with several chambers, closed to the exterior but opened to an inner yard. Concerning public or “monumental” architecture, the available data suggest an early Phoenician presence in those
places in which such an architecture exists.
of land was an early need despite the importance of long-distance trade enterprises.
There is large evidence of territorial expansion and the use of force that was employed by
some Eastern Phoenician cities like Tyre in Palestine and Cyprus. In the far West there are
signs of conflict and violence between the colonists and the native people that go back as
early as the end of the 8th century BC both in Mediterranean and Atlantic contexts.