El yacimiento prehistórico de El Collado (Olica, Valencia): una necrópolis de los últimos cazadores de la Península Ibérica

Hace unos 9.000 años, algunas de las últimas comunidades de cazadores-recolectores del Mesolítico ocuparon las orillas del Mediterráneo. Se trataba de lugares excepcionales en los que poder vivir y desarrollar sus actividades económicas y subsistenciales. Su dieta se basaba en la ingesta de alimentos de origen animal y vegetal que obtenían a partir de la caza, la recolección de frutos y vegetales, y en la consecución de fauna marina (pescados, moluscos, crustáceos, etc.). Se trataba de grupos nómadas que iban moviéndose y asentándose en distintos lugares. Esos movimientos estaban relacionados, probablemente, con la explotación de determinados recursos, su disponibilidad en ciertos momentos del año, las características ambientales y paisajísticas del lugar, su accesibilidad, etc. En todo caso, a menudo se trata de lugares que no se ocupan solamente una vez, sino que se frecuentan de manera recurrente. Este es el caso del interesante yacimiento de El Collado, en Oliva. Su importancia reside en el hecho de ser un asentamiento al aire libre ocupado en distintos momentos a lo largo de más de un milenio, cuando la mayor parte de los yacimientos de este periodo se documentan en cuevas o abrigos. En este lugar, no sólo se ha hallado la necrópolis mesolítica más importante de España, sino que cronológicamente es la primera de toda la Península Ibérica. Sin embargo, siendo uno de los yacimientos más relevantes del oeste del Mediterráneo, ha sido escasamente publicado y estudiado (García Guixé et ál., 2006; Aparicio, 2008; Aparicio, 2014). Estamos ante un contexto arqueológico con una potencialidad enorme del que estamos seguros que en el futuro se obtendrán nuevos datos sobre las comunidades que allí vivieron, de gran relevancia para el estudio de los últimos grupos de cazadores-recolectores en el levante ibérico.Peer reviewe

La nécropole néolithique de la Feixa del Moro (Juberri, Andorre): Examen et nouvelles données

At the beginning of the 1980s, a series of archaeological interventions carried out by what was previously called the 'Servei d'Investigacions Arqueológiques del Patrimoni Artistic Nacional d'Andorra' in a Pyrenean valley in Andorra allowed the investigation of the Feixa del Moro site. In a high-altitude area below a series of abandoned terraces, several dwellings and burial structures were located, all of them with chronologies ranging between the Early and the Middle Neolithic (from the mid 5th millennium to the early 4th millennium cal. BC). The distinctiveness of this site does not only lie in its geographical location, nor in the kind of structures discovered, but also in the very good state of preservation of the human bone material recovered from the burials, making Feixa del Moro one of the reference sites for the Neolithic in the Pyrenees and, in general, the Western Mediterranean. So far, sites with a similar conservation of both bones and burial structures are really uncommon. Moreover, the concentration in so small an area, and in the same stratigraphic unit, of such a diversity of evidence, including burials, silos and hearths, is yet more unusual. There are no similar sites in Andorra, or even in the entire Pyrenees. The only other burial site of comparable chronology discovered in the area is the Segudet site, and only a few high-altitude Neolithic dwelling sites are known. Even if cist burials are quite common in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and in Southern France, Feixa del Moro is the first that has been found at high altitude. The archaeological work undertaken between 1983 and 1985 provided a picture of a farming community belonging to the so-called 'Sepulcros de fosa' Culture, established in the very heart of the Pyrenees and, thus, highlighted the complexity of Neolithic settlement patterns, even in mountainous zones. At the same time, several analyses of the archaeological materials were already carried out, making Feixa del Moro a reference site for archaeological research even now. Nevertheless, three decades later, new methodologies and the technical advances available are allowing archaeologists to refine old interpretations, to reopen old debates and to carry out new analyses that can improve our understanding of the past. In this respect, since 2011, within the research project 'Aproximación a las primeras comunidades neolíticas del NE peninsular a través de sus prácticas funerarias' (HAR2011-23149), funded by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, a group of interdisciplinary researchers have begun to study several Neolithic burial contexts in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, among which Feixa del Moro. Following this perspective, in this paper, we present the outcome of the new analyses carried out on the burial goods and of the biochemistry and radiocarbon analyses carried out on the human bone material from the three cist burials of Feixa del Moro, with the aim of better understanding the early farming communities who settled in the Pyrenees. Since the last archaeological work carried out in the 1990s, large quantities of data have been lost. This has produced a certain degree of confusion and misunderstanding that has been repeated in other studies undertaken a posteriori on the site by other scholars. Some of these interpretations need to be revised. That it is why, within the current research project, we are not only bringing in new analyses, but also re-examining all the old written and graphic information available, as well as the state of the conserved archaeological material. The data presented in this paper resume all the available information on the Feixa del Moro site, correcting old mistakes and bias, updating the 1980s archaeological registers and presenting new analyses as well. Our aim is to ensure that Feixa del Moro remains a reference site for the Pyrenean and Western Mediterranean Neolithic. At the same time, we wish to encourage other researchers to undertake new analyses and to embrace new perspectives in order to improve our understanding of Neolithic societies

The emergence of mesolithic cemeteries in SW Europe: insights from the El Collado (Oliva, Valencia, Spain) radiocarbon record.

Located on the Iberian Mediterranean coast, El Collado is an open-air site where a rescue excavation was conducted over two seasons in 1987 and 1988. The archaeological work excavated a surface area of 143 m2 where 14 burials were discovered, providing skeletal remains from 15 individuals. We have obtained AMS dates for 10 of the 15 individuals by means of the direct dating of human bones. The ranges of the probability distribution of the calibrated dates suggest that the cemetery was used during a long period of time (781-1020 years at a probability of 95.4%). The new dates consequently set back the chrono-cultural attribution of the cemetery from the initial proposal of Late Mesolithic to an older date in the Early Mesolithic. Therefore, El Collado becomes the oldest known cemetery in the Iberian Peninsula, earlier than the numerous Mesolithic funerary contexts documented on the Atlantic façade such as the Portuguese shell-middens in the Muge and Sado Estuaries or the funerary sites on the northern Iberian coast

The Neolithic Necropolis of La Feixa del Moro (Juberri, Andorra): New data on the first farming communities in the Pyrenees

The excavations carried out from 1983 to 1985 on an Andorran hillside by the former Andorra National Artistic Heritage Archaeological Research Service revealed one of the most important Neolithic sites in the Pyrenees. Directed by Xavier Llovera and Pere Canturri, the excavations uncovered a settlement with two interesting features: 1) it was located in a high mountain area, and 2) the same place possessed numerous domestic and funerary structures. Both factors have made La Feixa del Moro a key site in the prehistory of both the Pyrenees and the western Mediterranean in general. Three decades later, a pluridisciplinary team has begun a careful review of the documentation, studied the human remains and artefacts in the graves, carried out several forms of biochemical analysis and obtained new radiocarbon determinations for the individuals exhumed in two of the three burials in stone boxes (or cists). The objective is a better understanding of the first farming communities that settled in the Pyrenees. © 2016

Samples dated, with the grave number, bone type and sample weight.

<p>Samples dated, with the grave number, bone type and sample weight.</p

The individual found in a primary position in Grave 12 was possibly bound up when buried (Photograph in Aparicio 2008 [28]: 135).

<p>The individual found in a primary position in Grave 12 was possibly bound up when buried (Photograph in Aparicio 2008 [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0115505#pone.0115505.ref028" target="_blank">28</a>]: 135).</p

Oxcal three phase overlapping model with the 95.4% distribution chronological ranges of the boundary start and end in the Iberian Mediterranean, Cantabrian and Portugal regional units.

<p>Oxcal three phase overlapping model with the 95.4% distribution chronological ranges of the boundary start and end in the Iberian Mediterranean, Cantabrian and Portugal regional units.</p

Bayesian phasing model plot of the El Collado level II sequence based on radiocarbon determinations of human skeletons (see Table 5).

<p>Light gray color represents the prior distributions, the dark gray the posterior distributions constrained to the phase. The cross represents the median of the posterior distribution ranges. The brackets indicate the Agreement index of each sample in the phase model.</p

Photographs of Graves 4, 5, 6 and 13 in El Collado cemetery.

<p>Photographs of Graves 4, 5, 6 and 13 in El Collado cemetery.</p