%0 Journal Article
%A Borja, Francisco
%A Zazo Cardeña , Caridad
%A Dabrio, Cristino J.
%A Díaz del Olmo, Fernando
%A Goy Goy, José Luis
%A Lario Gómez, Javier
%T Holocene aeolian phases and humansettlements along the Atlantic coast ofsouthern Spain
%D 1999
%@ 0959-6836
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/57472
%X A combined geomorphological, radiocarbon dating, archaeological and historical approach permitsa refining of the age of the coastal dune systems related to estuaries in the Gulf of Cadiz. Three dune systemsare distinguished in this paper. The oldest one, DI, which accumulated under prevailing WSW winds duringthe first millennium BC, overlays both the occupational horizons of Late Neolithic-Early Copper Age (fourthmillennium BC) and the 'lithic workshop levels' (fourth to second millennia BC). The middle dune system, D2,containing both Roman and medieval remains, accumulated between the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries andthe seventeenth century AD. The youngest D3 system is associated with the time of building of watchtowersin the seventeenth century AD but extends to the present; it is related to SW prevailing winds. We explain theabsence of aeolian deposits prior to ~2700 cal. BP as the result of trapping of a large part of the sedimentsupply in the estuaries, which starved the neighbouring beaches and aeolian settings. Aeolian accumulationreached significant values when sedimentation in the coastal zone changed from being mainly aggradationalin the estuaries (~6500~2700 cal. BP) to mainly progradational in spit barriers and related dunes (post ~2700cal. BP). The present analysis of aeolian systems suggests a non-direct correlation, at least in some cases,between coastal progradation of spit barriers and aridity.
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