Late Neolithic pottery from a NW Iberian dolmen: production, use and reject

Abstract

Trabajo presentado en la 26th EAA Virtual Annual Meeting (European Association of Archaeologists), celebrada online del 24 al 30 de agosto de 2020.This contribution will present the results of the study of the Late Neolithic pottery documented during the excavation of the “Dolmen 4” of the Guidoiro Areoso islet, that is located in Arousa bay (Pontevedra), one of the most important archaeological areas in the Prehistory of Galicia. The site was in constant use from 4600 BC to 800 BC, which includes diverse funerary and ceremonial uses. This study, focuses on the reconstruction of the vessels’s "life" (their manufacture, use and reject), has two basic methodological blocks: one is based on the archeological features of the pottery and another that focus on analytical work. The archaeological part of the study includes the analysis of the morpho-technical features of the pots, their spatial distribution at the site and the type of context in which they were found. The analytical work included archeometric techniques like XRF, XRD, FTIR-ATR, thermochemistry and solid’s colorimetry, allowing us to complete the information about the first steps of the pots biography related to their manufacture. The results of this research will provide us a better understanding of the funerary ritual of this megalithic burial from a material and sociocultural point of view. In addition, a comparative study with other sites in the NW Spain will allow us to start the characterization of the Late Neolithic pottery of the region, a matter that is still poorly addresse