Arqueología de una aldea medieval y su espacio agrario: Villanueva de Santo Adriano (Asturias, noroeste de la península Ibérica)

This article examines the causes of the establishment and temporal evolution of a medieval village in the mountainous region of Asturias, in the north-wester n Iber ian Peninsula. A variety of methods were used for this purpose, including landscape archaeolog y, r ural histor y, the study of place names and written documents, combined with archaeolog ical excavation, paleo-environmental analysis and sedimentological studies. A priority research point included the village surroundings that had been used for agricultural production; the whole area was analysed as one single object of study. This approach provided the possibility of identifying the various moments of stability and change in the landscape along with a reconstruction of the histor y of this still inhabited village and its agr icultural milieu beginning in the Early Middle Ages (eighth to eleventh centuries). Further research along the lines developed here should provide data for comparison and connect this agricultural archaeology research with the broader European framework of discussion launched in past decades.