Paper short abstract:

This paper analyzes, from a diachronic perspective, the logics behind the processes of occupation and abandonment of the Island of Ons, which is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. It combines historical analysis with an ethnography of the daily life of the island.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, a multidisciplinary research project about the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park is presented. We will focus on the analysis of daily life of the island of Ons, to understand the logics behind the processes of occupation and abandonment that took place in this territory. The study includes an archeological and historical part that documents the constant changes in the island diachronically; as well as an ethnographic study. After the decades of 1970s and 1980s, the population in the island decreased until it reached the number of four families, who are currently living all around the year. Two main circumstances will be explored: the rural insular landscape and its disarticulation since the 1960s; and the implications of the creation of the National Park for the socio-economic structure of the island. From a rural economy, the island changed into a touristic landscape. In addition, the paper includes a methodological discussion about the importance of combining ethnographic fieldwork in historical and archaeological grounded studies.