A funerary perspective on Bell Beaker period in the Western Mediterranean. Reading the social context of individual burials at La Vital (Gandía, Valencia)

Puchol, Oreto García; Aubán, Joan Bernabéu; Marco, Yolanda Carrión; Balaguer, Lluís Molina; Jordà, Guillem Pérez; Gómez‐Puche, Magdalena

doi:10.3989/tp.2013.12112

Cited by 17 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…This process coincides with important economic changes in the agropastoral system and the development of extensive social networks through which diffuse products (like ivory, and copper), ideas (like maritime and international bell beaker styles) and maybe people. At local and regional-scale, sites such as Jovades, Arenal de la Costa, and La Vital [90] (i.e., this latter is close to Pego-Oliva), exemplify changes operating alongside these transformations. The use of oxen for traction plough could probably be placed from the beginning of this period, but the first direct dated bone with pathologies related to this activity comes from the site of Niuet at ca.…”

Section: Optimum Of the Mid-holocene Forest At The End Of The Neolithic (6600-5300 Cal Bp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-Ecological Contingencies with Climate Changes over the Prehistory in the Mediterranean Iberia

et al. 2020

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We conducted palynological, sedimentological, and chronological analyses of a coastal sediment sequence to investigate landscape evolution and agropastoral practices in the Nao Cap region (Spain, Western Mediterranean) since the Holocene. The results allowed for a reconstruction of vegetation, fire, and erosion dynamics in the area, implicating the role of fire in vegetation turnover at 5300 (mesophilous forests replaced by sclerophyllous scrubs) and at 3200 calibrated before present (cal. BP) (more xerophytics). Cereal cultivation was apparent from the beginning of the record, during the Mid-Neolithic period. From 5300 to 3800 cal. BP, long-lasting soil erosion was associated with the presence of cereals, indicating intense land-use during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. The decline of the agriculture signal and vegetal recolonization is likely explained by land abandonment during the Final Bronze Age. Anthropogenic markers reappeared during the Iberian period when more settlements were present. A contingency of human and environmental agencies was found at 5900, 4200, and 2800 cal. BP, coinciding with abrupt climate events, that have manifested locally in reduced spring discharge, an absence of agropastoral evidence, and a marked decline in settlement densities. This case study, covering five millennia and three climate events, highlights how past climate changes have affected human activities, and also shows that people repeatedly reoccupied the coast once the perturbation was gone. The littoral zone remained attractive for prehistoric communities despite the costs of living in an area exposed to climatic hazards, such as droughts.

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Section: Optimum Of the Mid-holocene Forest At The End Of The Neolithic (6600-5300 Cal Bp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-Ecological Contingencies with Climate Changes over the Prehistory in the Mediterranean Iberia

et al. 2020

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“…One remarkable feature occurring in the Valencia region is the exclusivity of the use of natural caves for collective burials during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. Even though there are several examples of individual pit tombs (García Puchol et al 2013a), for nearly 2 millennia collective burials constitute the dominant burial pattern (Soler 2002; McClure et al 2011; García Puchol et al 2012a, 2012b). About 130 sites are known in the region, but information concerning the sequence and archaeological remains is often scarce and frequently not available (Soler 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest Evidence of Neolithic Collective Burials from Eastern Iberia: Radiocarbon Dating at the Archaeological Site of Les Llometes (Alicante, Spain)

et al. 2016

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ABSTRACT. In the Valencia region of Spain, the dominant use of natural caves for collective burials during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods has been documented. Collective burials are central to the hypothesis about social relationships in Copper Age societies from Iberia, and key to interpreting kinship-based societies. Les Llometes (Alcoi, Alicante) is one of the biggest collective burial sites existing in eastern Iberia. This article presents the direct 14 C dates on 25 skeletal remains at the site. The results indicate that the site was used as a burial place from the end of the 5th millennium cal BC until the end of the 4th millennium cal BC, and is a first milestone for future studies that will shed light on the transition towards social structure through the use of a cemetery space. Moreover, this research is one of the few investigations of Late Neolithic collective burials in Iberia that comprises an extensive accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C data set of almost all the individuals reported at a single site. This case also serves to highlight the utility of revisiting materials from historic excavations by 14 C dating all the skeletal remains that define the minimum number of individuals, and therefore ensuring a more complete picture of the prehistoric human record.

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Linking Up Bell Beakers in the Iberian Peninsula

Jiménez-Puerto,

Aubán

2023

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Many studies in complexity theory employ agent-based models whose interactions can be expressed as networks. In such models, the pattern of interactions between actors is crucial, and the network topology that emerges from the raw data can be characterized through many metrics. One tool previously used in archaeology studies has the potential to deal with networks in social contexts at different scales of analysis: social network analysis (SNA). This discipline has been applied successfully in a wide range of archaeological problems, providing valuable insights and a different perspective. It also could be helpful to quantify concepts associated with social complexity, such as robustness or resilience. In this work, we propose some methodologic possibilities for consideration in the phase definition of the adaptive cycle model (ACM), using SNA tools. To illustrate the process, we will present a case study from the Copper Age in the Iberian Peninsula: the Bell Beaker phase.

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A funerary perspective on Bell Beaker period in the Western Mediterranean. Reading the social context of individual burials at La Vital (Gandía, Valencia)

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Socio-Ecological Contingencies with Climate Changes over the Prehistory in the Mediterranean Iberia

Socio-Ecological Contingencies with Climate Changes over the Prehistory in the Mediterranean Iberia

Earliest Evidence of Neolithic Collective Burials from Eastern Iberia: Radiocarbon Dating at the Archaeological Site of Les Llometes (Alicante, Spain)

Linking Up Bell Beakers in the Iberian Peninsula

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