Early Medieval Villages in Spain in the light of European experience. New approaches in peasant archaeology

This paper analyses the results of the recent practice of peasant archaeology in Spain in relation to interventions carried out in Europe. The circumstances as well as some of the most significant results obtained from the archaeological study of villages in several sectors of the continent are studied. This is followed by the study of peasant archaeology in the north of Spain from a variety of viewpoints. To this end, we shall avail of a historiographic analysis to reveal the bases on which village archaeology has been built; a sociological analysisnto help us understand the development of this archaeological practice within the framework of heritage management; and an historical analysis allowing us to understand the social transformations of landscape. Last of all, some of the main problems currently under study by specialists in this subject are discussed