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THE PATH TO PREHISTORY

December 2021
June 2022

Vilanova
y Piera
C | Corona, 36 - 46003 València · www.museuprehistoriavalencia.es

VILANOVA Y PIERA.
THE PATH TO PREHISTORY
The year 2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of
Juan Vilanova y Piera, a Valencian scientist who is relatively
unknown to the wider public. A versatile researcher and
popularizer, graduate in Medicine, doctor in Sciences,
professor of Geology and Palaeontology, in later life Juan
Vilanova enthusiastically took up the study of Prehistory, and
became one of its most accredited figures during the second
half of the nineteenth century.
Vilanova was the prestigious academic who defended the
antiquity of the paintings of Altamira and who insisted that
the Bronze Age had been preceded by a Copper Age. He
was the author of the first Spanish study to record both the
knowledge accumulating from studies of Prehistory and
the Spanish archaeological sites that were known at that
time. He also prospected numerous sites in the province of
Valencia, and published the first descriptions of them.
The exhibition Vilanova y Piera: the Road to Prehistory is
divided into four parts. The first, Europe under construction,
in the patio leading to room I, provides a contextualization
of the nineteenth century in which Vilanova lived (18211893) – a period of vast political, social, scientific, industrial
and economic changes. The second, Vilanova y Piera, in
room 1, covers both his personal and professional life and
the process in which Prehistory developed from Geology.
After a short transition, in which visitors are invited to
reflect on the concept of Prehistory, the third part, The
Road to Prehistory, focuses on two fundamental themes
that characterized Vilanova’s career: his participation at

international conferences on Prehistory, and his awareness
of the importance of dissemination. After a section on his
links with other researchers, the final part, Vilanova’s Legacy,
examines two interrelated aspects: the Documentary and
Bibliographical Collection on which the exhibition is based,
and Vilanova’s most important contributions to Prehistory.

EUROPE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Nineteenth-century Europe was marked by profound
political, economic and social change. The construction of
nation states became consolidated as the continent imposed
simultaneously its colonial rule and its models of knowledge
on the rest of the world. Countries like Germany and Italy
unified during this period; others, such as France, Spain
and Britain, consolidated their national structures, which
presented many common features. These new nations
gradually built a new system of production known as the
Industrial Revolution. This transformation brought with it
the appearance of factories, countless new products, and
the beginning of mass consumption. As part of this process,
the bourgeoisie adopted a decisive role in all areas of the
society. The domain of this new ruling class was none other
than the city, which was expanding to limits never seen
before. At the same time, the rise in the population over the
course of the century and the exodus from the countryside to
the city created a new social class: the proletariat.

Europe between 1821 and 1893
Only six years separated the birth of Juan Vilanova y Piera
and the end of the Napoleonic wars, after which Britain

ENGLISH

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replaced France as the dominant power in Europe. These
wars destroyed the Spanish state, which lost practically all of
its American colonies and entered into profound political and
economic decline. The European aristocracy gradually gave
way to the bourgeoisie, not only in terms of the possession of
wealth but also in the capacity to make political decisions.

Europe in 1893
At the time of Vilanova’s death, in 1893, the European
model of nation states was well established. All countries,
to different degrees, participated in a capitalist model of
industrial production where the liberal bourgeoisie dominated
the economic and political landscape. Parliaments and
democratic systems gradually replaced absolutist monarchies.
The competition between European nations expanded across
the globe, with the creation of colonial empires. Within a few
years, the tensions between these powers would culminate in
the outbreak of the First World War.
The donation
The exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous
donation by Juan Masiá Vilanova and his granddaughter
Natalia Mansilla Masiá, comprising documentation and
other scientific and personal materials that belonged to Juan
Vilanova y Piera. These are now kept in the Library of the
Valencia Museum of Prehistory.

VILANOVA Y PIERA
Juan Vilanova y Piera was born in the province of Valencia,
on May 5, 1821 into a rural middle-class family in Alcalà de
Xivert in Castelló. In his adolescence he moved to the city of
Valencia, where he studied university degrees in Medicine and
Science, and then went on to Madrid to pursue a doctorate in
Natural Sciences. After applying for various chairs at Spanish
universities, he undertook a four-year stay in Europe to train
in Geology. Thist journey shaped his professional career and
was the first of a multitude of scientific trips that Vilanova
made all over Europe. On his return, he became Spain’s
first university professor of Geology and Palaeontology, but
his interests extended beyond these disciplines. In fact, his
scientific and curiosity accompanied him throughout his
life; when he encountered the incipient field of Prehistory
he devoted himself to it wholeheartedly, and became the
reference point in the study of Spanish prehistory in the
second half of the nineteenth century.

Vilanova’s personal life (a family history)
Juan Vilanova shared his life with Francisca de Paula Pizcueta,
whom he married in Valencia in 1858, and with whom he
had five children. Francisca was the daughter of the doctor
and botanist José Pizcueta, rector of the Literary University
of Valencia, who had been Vilanova’s professor. Like most
nineteenth-century middle-class women, Francisca’s role
was limited to the home. But despite their conservative
outlook, Vilanova and his wife opted for a relatively modern
education for their daughters, offering them the opportunity
to join the recently created School of Governesses of the
Association for the Teaching of Women.
Between Valencia and Madrid

Although they lived in Madrid, the Vilanova-Pizcueta family
regularly travelled to Valencia to visit their relatives, and they
also used to spend the summer there. On these visits, Juan
Vilanova made excursions and surveys and gave lectures. He
was fond of music, theatre and opera and maintained close
contact with conservative politicians and people in the world
of culture, such as the poet Vicente Querol, the politician and
historian Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, the writer Juan Valera
and the journalist Teodoro Llorente.

Vilanova. A nineteenth-century scholar and naturalist
Vilanova believed that science could help countries to
modernize. He was a founding member of many scientific
associations, among them the Spanish Society of Natural
History and the Spanish Anthropological Society. As well
as the creation of academic societies, so important in the
nineteenth century, he also supported the organization of
scientific congresses. His Catholicism led him to defend
creationist positions and to oppose the theory of evolution,
and his views came in for criticism from fellow scientists – but
also from members of the Catholic church, who found his
stance too moderate.
Vilanova. Geologist and palaeontologist
Juan Vilanova was first and foremost a geologist and
palaeontologist. The results of his work are found in
the Manual of Geology (1860) and the Compendium of
Geology (1872), among other publications. Interestingly, the
Compendium included the first description of the remains of
a dinosaur in Spain. For many years, in addition to his classes
at the University Vilanova gave courses in these disciplines
at the Madrid Athenaeum. He was also a member of the
Geological Map Commission and drew up the geological
reports on Castellón (1859), Teruel (1863) and Valencia (1867
and 1893); he also prepared a report on Alicante, although
it was never published.

FROM GEOLOGY TO PREHISTORY
At the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the
nineteenth, the advance of geology – the vertical reading
of time suggested by stratigraphy and the development
of palaeontology – meant that many new theories were
emerging regarding the age of the Earth. Until that time,
due to the Biblical account, the Earth was believed to be no
more than 6,000 years old.
The beginnings of prehistory were controversial, since its
study, and the new theory that proposed that the human
species was the result of the evolution of other living beings,
clashed head-on with the Bible’s teachings regarding the
antiquity and the origin of humankind. But the discipline
became firmly established with the demonstration of the
coexistence of human beings with already extinct animals.

Stratigraphic section
Prehistory takes part of its methodology from geology.
For example, it uses stratigraphy to order and interpret
the archaeological record, and uses the different tools to
identify the different periods. Thus, the presence of certain
tools made of stone or bone, or later of ceramics and metals,
indicates a specific cultural period. This is what is called an
index fossil. In addition, like geologists, prehistorians name

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the different stages after the deposits that are considered
representative, which are known as type-sites.

First evidences
The findings of Boucher de Perthes in the terraces of
Abbeville in France in 1858-59 demonstrated the coexistence
of humans with already extinct animals, considered at that
time to be antediluvian. These findings pushed back the
date of the origin of humankind. In 1863, the discovery of a
human jaw at the Moulin Quignon site reaffirmed this theory,
since the specimen was found together with stone tools and
remains of these extinct animals. The decisive proof that
humans coincided in time with these animals (and also that
they had an artistic capacity) came in 1864 when Lartet found
a fragment of a mammoth tusk bearing an engraved image
of this animal in the cave of La Madeleine, in France.

History versus Prehistory
Until the nineteenth century, the history of humanity had been
narrated by the Bible, and human beings were descendants
of Noah. Once evidence emerged for their coexistence with
extinct animal species, the antiquity of human beings was
accepted. This was the background to the emergence of
prehistory, a discipline that took geology as the foundation
of its methods, as distinct from the study of history, which
dealt with the periods documented by written sources.
In view of the technological similarity of prehistoric
pieces made of stone and bone and the material culture
of contemporary indigenous societies in Australia and
America, scientists began to make comparisons between
different peoples. Thus, societies were considered to have
reached different phases of development on the basis of
the presence of certain objects. The European society of the
nineteenth century was regarded as representing the final
stage in this development. This perspective was the result of
a particular conception of history, which gave precedence
to technological innovation and to writing.

THE PATH TO PREHISTORY
The concept of prehistory became popular in academic
circles during the second half of the nineteenth century, as
a result of various discoveries in Europe. This new discipline
studied the materials discovered by chance in mines,
quarries and engineering works, and the finds emerging
from the first archaeological excavations. The Scandinavian
countries, Britain, Germany and France soon stood out in
the studies of prehistory, and the discoveries of scholars
from these countries were incorporated into their respective
national discourses, in an attempt to establish links between
the excavated remains and a remote past. The main interests
at these early stages were the periodization of prehistory, the
typological classification of materials, and the assessment of
the age of the human species. All these themes were explored
by Juan Vilanova y Piera during his research career. Vilanova
also propounded and disseminated important concepts such
as the Mesolithic or the Copper Age, and published the first
summary of the prehistory of the peninsula. 

the first International Congress of Anthropology and
Prehistoric Archaeology to bring together the disparate
areas of study that could be classified under the heading
of prehistory. Its creators sought to address the past
scientifically and to establish a new methodology for its study.
Fourteen international meetings were held, the forerunners
of the international congresses that are still held today. The
main researchers of the moment attended these meetings in
different European cities, and their debates and discussions
helped to create a European research framework for
prehistory. Juan Vilanova made the most of these meetings to
incorporate new ideas and disseminate the new finds being
recorded in various parts of the country, especially the aites
that he had visited and surveyed in Valencia and elsewhere
in the peninsula.
Paris 1867
In 1867, Vilanova went to Paris to speak at the Second
International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric
Archaeology. The meeting coincided with the most
spectacular Universal Exhibition held to date. Congress
participants debated issues such as which humans had
inhabited prehistoric caves, or which populations had
initiated the Bronze Age in Europe. At this congress Vilanova
learnt many new concepts and new methodologies.
Participants had the opportunity to visit the first exhibition
of prehistoric materials in the History of Work display at
the Universal Exhibition, and to take part in pioneering
experimental archaeology practices during an excursion to
Levallois.
Copenhagen 1869
Vilanova’s trip to Denmark in 1869 coincided with a
revolutionary period in Spain in which significant democratic
and social advances were achieved. Vilanova travelled to
Copenhagen with his friend Francisco Tubino, a journalist
and prehistorian, to attend the Fourth International Congress
of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology. The choice
of venue was no accident: the Danes had been the first to
establish a chronological sequence for prehistory based on
technological change, incorporating the Stone, Bronze and
Iron Ages (a sequence that, broadly speaking, continues to
this day). During his return trip from Scandinavia, Vilanova
visited some of the main prehistoric sites in Europe.
Lisbon 1880
The Ninth International Congress of Anthropology and
Prehistoric Archaeology was held in Lisbon in 1880. The
congress was inaugurated by the King of Portugal in the
presence of ministers, the diplomatic corps, and state
officials. The participants went on excursions to sites of
interest in specially chartered trains and even, in one case,
on a Portuguese Navy warship. The sessions were marked by
intense debates on the Ages of Copper and Bronze. On this
issue, Vilanova always defended the existence of a Copper
Age in prehistory, and believed that it had been particularly
significant in the Iberian Peninsula. Vilanova also suggested
visiting Altamira with a delegation of congress participants,
but his proposal was rejected.

The International Congresses of Anthropology and
Prehistoric Archaeology

The dissemination of science

In 1865, Gabriel de Mortillet and Édouard Desor organized

Although slightly later than other European countries, the

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dissemination of culture and science in Spain underwent an
unprecedented transformation during the second half of the
nineteenth century. This change was due to the rise of the
urban middle and upper classes. Their new cultural interests
and their conception of intellectual engagement as a leisure
and social activity were key in the emergence of athenaeums,
museums, exhibitions and café society. The opera, the
theatre and public gardens became enormously popular
among the bourgeoisie. Thanks to the greater freedom of the
press, hundreds of new newspapers, journals and books now
disseminated the new cultural models associated with the
bourgeoisie, new scientific and technological breakthroughs,
and the arrival of new ideas.
Juan Vilanova y Piera used all the means available in his time
to bring his discoveries and knowledge to a wider public.
The spoken word
In addition to his teaching work at the University, Vilanova
actively disseminated his ideas in a variety of forums all over
Spain. He took part in hundreds of seminars and meetings
and was a member of many scientific committees. Since
several of his speeches have survived, we can gain an idea
of how he expressed himself in public and how he prepared
these oral presentations. One of Vilanova’s favourite venues
for presenting and discussing his ideas was the Scientific and
Literary Athenaeum in Madrid, where he was the first scholar
to teach courses on prehistory.
The written word
Vilanova’s written production is vast: from his first study
published in 1858 to the last one published in the year of
his death, more than 250 titles show his commitment to
dissemination in scientific journals and books. Some of his
works would go down in posterity as references in their field:
for instance, the Manual of geology applied to agriculture
and the industrial arts (1860-61), Origin, nature and antiquity
of man (1872) and Iberian geology and protohistory (1894).
He also published numerous articles in the press; particularly
important were his descriptions of the sites he had visited in
the newspaper Las Provincias, founded in 1866.
Exhibitions
From his time as a young scholar in Paris, Vilanova was
keen to build up his geological and archaeological
collections. Sometimes, the materials were finds from his
own prospecting and, in other cases, they came from his
contacts or were purchased from third parties. Some of these
collections served to show the rest of Europe the advances of
prehistory in the Iberian Peninsula, and were reproduced on
print plates in numerous publications and reference works.
Many of the archaeological objects that he acquired over
the course of his life were kept in the National Museum of
Natural Sciences and the National Archaeological Museum.

PREHISTORY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Spanish prehistory in the nineteenth century.
Vilanova’s connections with prehistorians in Spain
Juan Vilanova maintained close contact with other
researchers interested in peninsular prehistory. Among them
was Casiano de Prado, a mining engineer and pioneer in the
discipline, whose work at San Isidro in Madrid established
the site as a part of European prehistory. As for Manuel de

Góngora, Vilanova helped him to choose the materials that
he wanted to donate to the National Archaeological Museum.
In addition, Góngora gave Vilanova some engravings that
would later appear in Origin, nature... and Iberian geology
and protohistory. Other scholars were Francisco Tubino, Juan
de Dios de la Rada and Vilanova’s own brother, José, a mining
engineer, who frequently accompanied him on prospections
and was one of the most active members of the Valencian
Archaeological Society.
The book by the Siret brothers
The Siret brothers made one of the most important
contributions to the prehistory of Iberia when they discovered
and excavated the cultures of El Algar and Los Millares,
documenting thousands of objects and establishing the
first cultural sequence from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
in south-eastern Spain. They published their research in a
magnificent two-volume monograph, which had an initial
print run of 100 copies. The study received the lucrative
Martorell Prize and the gold medal at the universal
exhibitions of Toulouse and Barcelona. Vilanova visited the
archaeological excavations over several days after returning
from a congress in Algiers in 1881. This book was part of his
private library.

VILANOVA’S LEGACY
Juan Vilanova’s contributions to prehistory transcend
the nineteenth century. The documentation generated
throughout his life, now preserved in the Vilanova Collection,
has made it possible to explore his life and achievements
beyond the records left in his writings.

The Vilanova Collection, a window into the past
The documentary and bibliographical collection of Juan
Vilanova y Piera in the Valencia Museum of Prehistory
brings together books by renowned nineteenth-century
researchers from his private library, first editions of his own
publications, original manuscripts, correspondence, field
and travel notebooks, maps, plans, drawings, sketches,
accreditations, academic titles, medals, and awards. It also
contains a large number of family photographs, including a
daguerreotype of the scientist as a young man, and images
of other researchers with whom he coincided at conferences.
Vilanova’s habit of reusing paper (invoices, advertisements,
correspondence, receipts, and so on) to write on allows us
to reconstruct part of his everyday life, and also that of the
middle-classes of the nineteenth century.
Opening windows into the future. Contributions to prehistory
In addition to his belief in the existence of a Copper Age prior
to the Bronze Age, his definition of Mesolithic as a period
between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic, his defence of
the antiquity of the Altamira paintings and his position as
intermediary between European and Spanish science, Juan
Vilanova visited and described many sites where subsequent
archaeological excavations have provided invaluable
information on prehistoric life. These sites include Parpalló,
Cova Negra, Bolomor, Ereta del Pedregal, Les Llometes,
Cabezo Redondo, Avellanera and Cova Pastrana, all key
settlements in the study of prehistory both in Valencia and in
Europe as a whole. Many of them have been excavated and
studied by the Valencia Museum of Prehistory.

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