de Antropología y Etnología Americanas (Department of American Anthropology and Ethnology) of the Complutense University of Madrid resulted in the publication of contributions on archaeological epistemology and European pre- and proto-history by lewis binford, C. Renfrew, and david clarke, and a new generation of archaeologists became aware of the enormous disproportion between the technical means of the discipline and the historical knowledge it had attained. At the same time, the increasing amount of radiocarbon dating demonstrated the inconsistencies of traditional archaeological chronologies and weakened the authority of the theoretical approaches they embodied (Vicent 1994, 219). Finally, the greater intellectual freedom resulting from the new political situation—the end of the Franco regime and the transition to democratic government, the great increase in the number of university students and professors, and the generational turnover among the latter—favored the development of attitudes critical toward academic authority, which was generally elitist and conservative (Riu 1992, 10; Vicent 1994, 220).

Decentralization and Popularizing of Archaeology in the 1980s and 1990s

The restoration of democracy and the approval of the new constitution of 1978 led to the decentralization of the state. From 1979 on, responsibility for archaeological policy began to be transferred to the seventeen autonomous communities into which Spain was divided. The important Ley de Patrimonio Histórico Español (Law on Spanish Historical Heritage, 1985) responded to this new political reality and established the framework for the archaeological legislation of the autonomous governments (Garcia Fernandez 1989). This process coincided with the high points of the country’s liberalization: joining the Common Market in 1985 and joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1986.

The new organization of the state had a pervasive effect on archaeological activity. It produced large differences in regional policies with respect to the legal and administrative frameworks for archaeology, the available infrastructure, and the degree of governmental intervention. Generally, the management, protection, and conservation of archaeological heritage, such as surveys, mapping, cataloging and restoration projects, and emergency excavations (Jimeno, Recio, and Moreno 1993; Jornadas 1991), particularly in urban areas (Arqueología 1985; Primeras jornadas de arqueología 1983), have taken precedence over research as such (long-term excavations, analyses, dating, publications). Public financing has increased but has focused on the management of archaeology, with the new “contract” archaeologist being responsible for its execution (Querol et al. 1994).

At the same time, the academic world has lost its previous position of almost exclusive dominance, precisely at the time when the increasing specialization of archaeology by historical periods, research projects, and theoretical and methodological outlooks has diversified and increased archaeological activities and their financial cost. A solution to this paradox has been sought through increased participation by research centers and, above all, universities; in projects funded by regional governments; and by an increased appeal to private or other public patronage (bodies responsible for landscape planning and public works).

The teaching of prehistory and classical archaeology still receives most funding, and the two fields had 145 and 62 permanent professors, respectively, by the mid 1990s. The greater influence of prehistory is owing to its role in the discipline’s methodological renewal. American and Oriental archaeology have not seen their limited presence in universities compensated for by the possible impact of archaeological expeditions abroad. Those expeditions are either sporadic and strongly dependent on Spanish foreign policy or are organized by the National Museum of Archaeology (Perez Die 1993), which (given the current trend toward decentralization) does not have the administrative structure and the resources required to achieve an impact.

Medieval archaeology has become increasingly important in terms of practice, but its academic presence continues to be small. The increased importance of urban archaeology has led to its scientific consolidation, an association