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A mid-third millennium BC collective burial cave in central Iberia: El Rebollosillo (Torrelaguna, Madrid)
Journal article   Open access

A mid-third millennium BC collective burial cave in central Iberia: El Rebollosillo (Torrelaguna, Madrid)

Pedro Díaz-del-Río, Susana Consuegra, Julia Audije, Susana Zapata, Óscar Cambra, Armando González, Anna Waterman, Jonathan Thomas, David Peate, Carlos Odriozola, …
Trabajos de prehistoria, Vol.74(1), pp.68-85
07/01/2017
DOI: 10.3989/tp.2017.12184
url
https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2017.12184View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

El Rebollosillo is a small karstic cave located in the center of Iberia used for the disposition of secondary burials during the mid third millennium BC. We present bioanthropological, isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ18O) analyses and 16 radiocarbon dates on human remains, as well as mineralogical characterization of 6 beads (4 of them variscite from Palazuelo de las Cuevas, Zamora), and a quantitative analysis of 43 pottery fragments recovered during the 1989 excavations. A minimum of 21 individuals have been identified, covering all age ranges and sex. Low percentages of pathologies have been detected, mainly dental calculus and caries, with specific cases of cribra orbitalia, periostosis and arthritis. Only adults received a clearly individualized treatment, suggestive of achieved status. We interpret the evidence as a multi-staged mortuary program, the last phase of which is documented at the site, with previous stages perhaps carried out elsewhere, and we evaluate these results in the context of the regional funerary record.
Península Ibérica Radiocarbono Variscita Bioantropología Enterramiento colectivo Estatus adquirido Edad del Cobre Enterramiento secundario Análisis isotópico

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