Radiocarbon chronology of dolmens in the Iberian southwest: architectural sequence and temporality in the el Pozuelo megalithic complex (Huelva, Spain)

This paperes tablishes the chronologyof the ElPozuelo megalithic complexand discusses it in the context of other dolmens that have been dated in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The working methodology combines the study of the stratigraphy and architectural sequence with the Bayesian modeling of the 27 AMS 14C dates obtained for charcoal samples from the four monuments in the Los Llanetes cluster. The most significant chronological results (at 68% probability) are (a) the antiquity and long duration of the megalithic sites, in which several monumental structures succeeded one another ca. 3970–1980 cal BC; (b) the existences of different temporalities in the LateFinal Neolithic dolmens: simple chambers (3970–3760 cal BC), elongated chambers (3790–3620 cal BC) and multiple chambers (3660–3260 cal BC; (c) the continuity of activity during the Copper Age (2980–2580 and 25302180 cal BC); and (d) the permanence of megalithism in the Early Bronze Age, through the presence of terraced enclosures with circular platforms ca. 2230–1940 cal BC. This diachronic sequence and the contextualized analysis of the 152 available radiocarbon dates (27 new, 125 published) supports the establishment of the temporal dynamics of megalithism in the Iberian southwest, introducing key aspects on the emergence, span, and rebuilding of the different dolmens (passage graves, simple chambers, elongated chambers, and multiple chambers) and establishing the phases of activity and reuse of the different architectural types.This study has been carried out within the framework of the R D i Project “MEGA-LITHOS. Geo-archaeological study methods for the investigation of the Huelva megalithisms” (UHU- 1263153) at the University of Huelva, funded by the Operative Programme ERDF 2014-2020 and the Department of Economy and Knowledge in the Government of Andalusia. The radiocarbon dates were commissioned at the CNA by the Culture Department in the Government of Andalusia within the Exceptional Archaeological Activity under our direction. The funding of the open access charge has been assumed by the University of Huelva, thanks to the agreement established with Cambridge University Press. I am grateful to Coronada Mora Molina for her invaluable participation in the excavation and research of the Los Llanetes cluster. Juan Carlos Vera-Rodríguez and Luc Laporte, supervisors of my doctoral thesis, for their guidance and observations for the investigation. M´onica Ruiz Alonso has contributed to the anthracological study of the charcoal samples. Thanks to the reviewers for their comments and suggestions, which have improved several aspects of the wor

Funerary monumentality of the Bronze Age in the South of the Iberian Peninsula: The Necropolis of La Orden-El Seminario, Huelva

La permanencia del megalitismo durante la Edad del Bronce en la península ibérica es uno de los elementos destacados en las investigaciones recientes, interpretándose la continuidad de las arquitecturas y de las prácticas funerarias pretéritas de diversas formas. La excavación microespacial, el análisis arquitectónico de las tumbas, el estudio antropológico y el establecimiento de la cronología de la actividad funeraria de las necrópolis de La Orden– Seminario ha posibilitado caracterizar la existencia de un monumentalismo funerario desarrollado durante la Edad del Bronce Antiguo, c 2300-1900 cal BC. Esta monumentalidad funeraria se sustentó en la reapropiación de las necrópolis calcolíticas para la implantación de tumbas individuales en las cámaras de las sepulturas colectivas. Estas tumbas (covachas, fosas, cámaras con suelos nivelados y “cistas” con cubriciones tumulares) se caracterizan por la perpetuación de esquemas conceptuales de la tradición megalítica, presentando elementos arquitectónicos, técnicas constructivas y materiales que propiciaron la perceptibilidad visual, la perdurabilidad y la recreación de una memoria en torno a los espacios mortuorios ancestrales. En su interior se enterraron individuos de diferente sexo y edad, acompañados de diversos ajuares muebles que representan las diferencias sociales introducidas en la esfera de la muerte por la nueva concepción de las sociedades desigualitarias.The permanence of megalithic architecture during the Bronze Age in the Iberian Peninsula is one of the elements highlighted in recent research, interpreting the continuity of architectures and funerary practices in various ways. The microspatial excavation, the architectural analysis of the tombs, the anthropological study and the establishment of the chronology of the funerary activity of the necropolis of La Orden-Seminario have made it possible to characterise the existence of a funerary monumentalism developed during the Early Bronze Age, c 2300-1900 cal BC. This funerary monumentality was based on the reappropriation of the Chalcolithic necropolis for the implantation of individual tombs inside the collective burial chambers. These tombs (caves, pits, chambers with level floors and “cists” with tumular coverings) are characterized by the perpetuation of conceptual schemes of the megalithic tradition, presenting architectural elements, constructive techniques and materials that contributed the visual perceptibility, the perdurability and the recreation of a memory around the ancestral mortuary spaces. Inside, individuals of different sexes and ages were buried, accompanied by various grave goods that represent the social differences introduced into the sphere of death by the new conception of unequal societies.Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento de la Junta de Andalucía. UHU-1263153Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). 2014-2020 UHU-126315

Life and Death of the Macrolithic Tools from the Third-millennium cal. BC Necropolis of La Orden-Seminario in Southwest Spain

Macrolithic tools are linked to daily activities and, fundamentally, to settlements, hence their importance for the study of Late Prehistoric societies. However, these objects are also associated with funerary contexts, but have not often been analysed holistically. This paper studies an assemblage of macrolithic elements from three collective tombs from the third millennium cal. BC at the site of La Orden-Seminario (Huelva, Spain), from a theoretical and methodological perspective based on the biography of the object. Our analysis focuses on typology, raw materials, technology, function and burial context. The results show that the tools can be linked to domestic activities such as the grinding of cereals and the processing of plant materials, as well as for the production and maintenance of the elements used in these activities. The analysed objects display long biographies of use and, in some cases, we have documented intentional breakage for their deposition in the tombs. The patterns of deposition in the funerary contexts reflect social practices related to the ritual and symbolic behaviours surrounding death and the relationship with everyday objects.This study has been carried out within the framework of the R+D+i Project ‘MEGA-LITHOS. Geo-archaeological study methods for the investigation of the Huelva megalithisms’ (UHU-1263153), at the University of Huelva, funded by the Operative Programme ERDF 2014-2020 and the Department of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Andalusia. The funding of the open access fee has been covered by the University of Huelva, thanks to an agreement with Cambridge University Press. We are grateful to Dr Juan Carlos Vera-Rodríguez for facilitating the study of the materials and Dr Teodosio Donaire Romero for his collaboration in the petrographic analysis. We are grateful for the valuable comments of the anonymous reviewers and the editor, as their suggestions and recommendations have enriched the work. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBU

Análise de proveniência das contas verdes dos Perdigões

A variscite é um mineral raro que oferece uma excelente opotunidade de estudo dos padrões de comércio e troca na Europa durante a Pré- História através da determinação da sua fonte de proveniência. No presente texto será discutida a proveniência das contas de colar verdes com base em análises de XRF e XRD, através das quais se criou uma identidade geoquímica passível de ser comparada com as das fontes de variscite conhecidasVariscite is a rare mineral that offers an excellent opportunity to study trade and exchange patterns in prehistoric Europe through proveniencing of source material. In this paper we discuss the provenance of Perdigões’ green beads by means of XRF and XRD analyses, thus creating a geochemical baseline that is compared with that of the known variscite source

Cuentas de variscita: producción, circulación y presencia en contextos funerarios del suroeste peninsular

En este trabajo, a partir del estudio de unos casos concretos, la problemática de la presencia de las cuentas de collar de piedras verdes en los contextos funerarios del megalitismo del Suroeste peninsular duante la Prehistoria reciente en relación con los centros productores y redes de cirulación. Para ello, hemos realizado una investigación arqueométrica (XRD, XRF) de cuentas de collar procedentes de varias construcciones megalíticas de dos áreas geográficas que poseen dataciones radiocarbónicas calibradas, Cuenca Media del río Guadiana y Andévalo oriental (Huelva), y que comparamos con las fuentes de aprovisionamiento y minas de variscita de Pico Centeno (Encinasola, Huelva). El resultado provisional másd estacable, en torno al que planteamos la discusión, es que durante el III milenio ANE en el Sur peninsular se emplearon diversas materias primas (variscita, moscovita, talco y clorita) para la manufactura de elementos de adorno y su inclusión en redes de circulación de "productos exóticos" de escala regional y suprarregional.This work is focused on the relationship between green beads and the production centres during Iberian Peninsula Late Prehistory. To perform this research we have conducted scientific analyses (XRD, XRF) of beads coming from different megalithic contexts: Guadiana river middle basin and Oriental Andévalo (Huelva), that have been compared with the mineral recovered during the suvery and excavation of Pico Centeno variscite mines (Encinasola, Huelva). These results are discussed on the context of prehistoric exchange

Source characterization variscite of Pico Centeno (Encinasola, Huelva) and study of origin of the Southwest peninsular accounts

En este trabajo estudiamos la explotación e intercambio de variscita de Pico Centeno (Encinasola, Huelva). El análisis XRD y XRF del mineral recogido en Pico Centeno durante las prospecciones arqueológicas proporcionan una impronta físico-química para cada una de las sub-fuentes localizadas durante la prospección. Estas improntas serán comparadas con otras fuentes europeas y con 50 cuentas procedentes de 8 tumbas megalíticas de dos regiones diferentes para comprobar modelos de distribución y procedencia. El mineral recuperado durante las prospecciones de Pico Centeno es variscita, mientras que las cuentas resultaron ser deminerales diversos (moscovita, talco, clorita). A la hora de comprobar la procedencia a través de la composición química encontramos que la alta variabilidad natural de los elementos traza (tradicionalmente considerados indicadores del origen) no permiten establecer la procedencia de las cuentas. Contrariamente pensamos que diferentes proporciones de fosfatos resultado de la génesis de la roca y que resultan en un cociente P/Al diferente de 1, podría ser utilizado cómo indicador del origen. Cocientes P/Al mayores de 1 no han sido descritos para ninguna otra fuente en EuropaIn this paper we discuss the exploitation and exchange of variscite at Pico Centeno source. XRF and XRD analyses of the mineral recovered at Pico Centeno mining district during archaeological survey provides a baselinemineral signature for the source and sub-sources, which were then compared to other sources and to 50 green beads from8megalithic tombs fromtwo different regions, in order to test ‘provenance postulate’ and distribution models. Mineral sampled during survey at Pico Centeno mining district turned out to be pure variscite phases, while extremely varied for the studied green beads: variscite, muscovite, talc or chlorite.We found that the concentrations of trace elements don not allow us to establish the origin of the beads, as traditionally claimed, due to the strong natural variability onminor and trace elements of the sources. Instead we found that different proportions of phosphate species, which results in P/Al ratios higher than 1, arose during the genesis of the variscite deposits. Thus, the P/Al atomic ratio should be an indication of provenance as it is established during mineral genesis. This issue has not been addressed in any of the other studied sources where this ratio seems to be ≈

Provenancing variscite beads: Pico Centeno (Encinasola, Spain) outcrop case study

In this study we discuss the exploitation and exchange of variscite at Pico Centeno mining district during the Copper Age. X-ray fluorescence and diffraction (XRF and XRD, respectively) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses of the mineral recovered at Pico Centeno mining district provides a baseline mineral signature, which was then compared to other Iberian sources and beads from SW Iberian megalithic tombs. We found that the concentrations of trace elements don not allow establishing provenance of the beads, as traditionally claimed. Instead we found that different proportions of phosphate species, which results in P/Al ratios higher than 1, arose during the genesis of the variscite deposits, modifying the concentrations of PO4 3–, H2PO4 – and HPO4 2–. Thus, the P/Al atomic ratio should be an indication of provenance as it is established during mineral genesis

La cronología de la necrópolis de La Orden-Seminario (Huelva). Temporalidades de la actividad funeraria en las sepulturas del III milenio cal BC

This study establishes the chronology of the necropolis of La Orden-Seminario. The research has combined stratigraphic analysis with Bayesian statistical modelling of 17 radiocarbon dates carried out on anthropological remains from three tombs. The results reveal: a) the funerary biography of each tomb; b) the stages of use of the graves; c) two phases of activity in the necropolis. The first phase, ca. 3000-2400/2300 cal BC, is one of collective burials. Its greatest intensity of use is recorded between the 27th and 25th centuries BC, with a concentration of single-generation burials or four or five-generation burials in each funerary level. The second phase, ca. 2300-1900 cal BC, is of individual tombs placed in the old collective graves. It corresponds to a peculiar monumentalism based on the reappropriation of ancestral spaces and the articulation of unequal rituals. This chronological sequence reflects processes related to the diverse temporal dynamics of megalithic tombs in the south of the Iberian Peninsula in the third millennium BC.Este estudio tiene por objeto determinar la cronología de la necrópolis de La Orden-Seminario. La investigación ha combinado el análisis estratigráfico con el modelo estadístico bayesiano de 17 dataciones radiocarbónicas efectuadas sobre restos antropológicos de tres tumbas. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto: a) la biografía funeraria de cada tumba; b) las etapas de uso de las sepulturas; c) dos fases de actividad en la necrópolis. La primera fase, ca. 3000-2400/2300 cal BC, es de sepulturas colectivas. Su mayor intensidad de uso se registra entre las centurias 27 y 25 cal BC, concentrándose los enterramientos de una sola generación o de cuatro o cinco en cada nivel funerario. La segunda fase, ca. 2300-1900 cal BC, es de tumbas individuales implantadas en los viejos sepulcros colectivos. Se corresponde con un peculiar monumentalismo sustentado en la reapropiación de los espacios ancestrales y en la articulación de rituales desiguales. Esta secuencia diacrónica refleja procesos afines a las diversas dinámicas temporales del megalitismo del sur de la península ibérica en el III milenio cal BC