News

Archaeological work carried out at the Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Priorat)—located within the Serra de Montsant Natural Park—between 30 May and 28 June 2026, has yielded new evidence of exceptional interest for understanding the prehistory of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The campaign was conducted by a team of researchers from the Department of Prehistory at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Milà i Fontanals Institution for Research in the Humanities of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IMF), with the support of the Ulldemolins Town Council and the Serra de Montsant Natural Park, as part of the four-year archaeology projects of the Catalan Ministry for Culture.

Neanderthal populations in southern Europe collected shellfish throughout the year, with a marked preference for the colder months, according to a new international study led by researchers from ICTA-UAB, the IsoTOPIK Lab at the University of Burgos (UBU), and the Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria at the University of Cantabria (UC).

The UAB presents Roca dels Bous Immersive, a new model for visitors that integrates scientific discoveries with hyperrealistic and interactive technology and makes the archaeological heritage of this site more accessible, understandable and attractive for everyone.

Alberto García Piquer, researcher at the Department of Prehistory, is autor and co-editor of the book The Archaeology of Seafaring in Small-Scale Societies. The book explores through numerous examples the development of maritime technology and how the availability of canoes and small boats became a key element of livelihood and social transformation in many parts of the world. Published by the University Press of Florida, it is available in an open access edition with the support of Lund University, Sweden.

The hunting of large whales goes back much further in time than previously thought. New research from ICTA-UAB and the Department of Prehistory of the UAB reveals that Indigenous communities in southern Brazil were hunting large cetaceans 5,000 years ago, around a thousand years before the earliest documented evidence from Arctic and North Pacific societies.

The documentary Off the Archeological Record, produced by the UAB and the Pastwomen network, received the EITB Award for gender perspective in the 25th edition of the recently held International Archaeological Film Festival of the Bidasoa (FICAB). The jury awarded the film for its detailed treatment of the experiences of several generations of women archaeologists.

The Centre for the Study of Prehistoric Archaeological Heritage of the Department of Prehistory (CEPAP-UAB) will highlight the archaeological heritage of the Tabac Cave (Camarasa) site through a new interactive exhibition that connects heritage, technology and society. The exhibition “Traces of a New World: The First Neolithic People of the Tabac Cave” will be carried out with the support of a social impact grant from the Government of Catalonia (IMPACTE), which promotes equality, sustainability and open science as cross-cutting themes.

The UAB celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Archaeology and Palaeontology Campus with a conference on the history and future challenges of this network, made up of archaeological sites, municipal facilities, museums and archaeological parks in which the University carries out part of its teaching and research in both disciplines. The campus is a strategic project of the UAB that represents an essential improvement in the training of archaeologists and palaeontologists in Catalonia, with the introduction of compulsory practices in archaeology and paleontology as a distinctive feature.

The Department of Prehistory is taking part in the 2025 European Researchers’ Night.

The Faculty of Philosophy and Arts at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is organizing a series of academic and cultural activities to raise awareness and foster debate on sexism in the field of archaeology.