Chronological Framework for the Early Talayotic Period in Menorca: The Settlement of Cornia Nou

Abstract

The prehistoric site of Cornia Nou (Menorca) features a number of well-preserved architectural structures belonging to the Talayotic culture. Over the last 6 yr, a team linked to the Museum of Menorca has conducted an archaeological excavation project of a large rectangular building attached to the south side of a substantial and massive talayot, which is considered the western talayot. The main objective of this paper is to present the chronological framework of this building, specifying the period of use and the time of abandonment of the building, as well as the dating of the different phases of its construction. A total of 27 14 C analyses were obtained from samples of the stratigraphic layers and architectonic structures inside the South Building (SB). This research has provided new insights concerning the early stages of the Talayotic culture. The 14 C dates allow us to place the first recorded occupation phase of the SB in an interval dated within 1100-900 BC (phase 4). A second phase in the occupation of the SB dates to ~900-800 BC (phase 5). A final occupation phase could be situated between 800-600 BC (phase 6). However, this record provides evidence to suggest that the construction of the west talayot may pertain to a time before the beginning of the 1st millennium cal BC.

Tracing microfossil residues of cereal processing in the archaeobotanical record: an experimental approach

“…The archaeological period with which we are concerned, Talayotic society, is defined by a set of cultural traits that arose in Mallorca and Menorca during the late Bronze and Iron Age ( Fig. 1; Anglada et al 2014;Micó 2005). Talayotic communities followed economic strategies based on cereal growing and herding (Hernández-Gasch et al 2011).…”

A Personal Reflection on 40 Years of Radiocarbon Dating and Archaeology

“…On another occasion, I was asked to date a sample of six charred cereal grains from a gigantic Bronze Age tower in Menorca. It was the only deposit of grain within one particular section of this huge building (Anglada et al 2014). Is single-entity dating necessary in this case?…”

La sucesión de ocupaciones entre el Calcolítico y la Edad Media en el yacimiento de Cornia Nou (Menorca, Islas Baleares) = The succession of occupations between the Chalcolithic and Middle Ages in the site of Cornia Nou (Minorca, Balearic Islands)

“…Castro et al, 1996;Gornés et al 2004) y a inicios del primer milenio cal BC (Lull et al 1999;Micó 2005;Calvo & Guerrero 2011). Recientes trabajos sitúan algunos contextos talayóticos de Menorca en torno al cambio de milenio (Anglada et al 2014). En cualquier caso, ésta transición parece implicar un cierto aumento de la complejidad social que, a nivel material, se manifiesta en el auge de la arquitectura monumental.…”

“…Las dataciones por radiocarbono procedentes del edificio sur han proporcionado, para este periodo, una secuencia cronológica que se sitúa entre 1100-900 cal BC y 800-600 cal BC (Anglada et al 2014).…”

“…Sin embargo, las dataciones radiocarbónicas permiten proponer que el edificio que se le adosa (y que es, por tanto, posterior) estaba ya en uso durante la fase que se sitúa ca. 1100-900 cal BC (Anglada et al 2014).…”