The symbolic meaning of cattle and sheep/goat in the Bronze Age: Faunal inclusions in funerary contexts of South‐Western Iberia

Costa, Cláudia; Bettencourt, Ana M. S.; Senra, Marta

doi:10.1002/oa.2756

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Blanco-Gonzalez et al 2018). The changes in funerary contexts, where collective secondary burials are replaced by individual primary burials, is accompanied by the introduction of a highly standardised behaviour of adding to the grave the front-limb segments or isolated bones of cattle or caprids (Costa et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and another association with rabbit. Cattle is represented solely from front limbs, whether articulated radius, ulna and carpals or isolated carpals (Costa et al 2019). As for Ovis/Capra, isolated bones, such as radius or carpals, were collected inside hypogea, and in one pit (FE152) at Montinhos 6 there was a cluster of limb bones, cranium and torso.…”

Section: Nd Millennium Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC: Exploring Cultural Diversity and Change in Late Prehistoric Communities

Lopes¹,

Gomes²

2021

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'Between the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC: Exploring Cultural Diversity and Change in Late Prehistoric Communities' is a collection of studies on the cultural reconfigurations that occurred in western Europe between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. It brings together seven texts focusing on the evidence from the West of the Iberian Peninsula, and one on the South of England. The texts have their origin in a landmark meeting held at the University of Coimbra in November 2018, where scholars explored the grand narratives explaining the differences between what are traditionally considered Chalcolithic (or Late Neolithic) and Bronze Age communities. The contributions look at key aspects of these grand narratives through regional perspectives, asking the following questions: is there clear data to support the idea of an intensification of social complexity towards the emergence of the Bronze Age chiefdoms? What is the role of monumental architecture within this process? How do we best discuss the different levels of architectural visibility during this period? How can we interpret collective and individual burials in relation to the emergence of individual/territorial powers? In answering these questions, the papers explore regional diversity and argue that regional specificities resist a general interpretation of the historical process at stake. In light of this resistance, the book emphasizes that cultural singularities only become visible through contextual, medium, or low-scale approaches. The recognition of singularities challenges grand narratives, but also carries the potential to expand our understanding of the changes that occurred during this key moment of Late Prehistory. The book thus offers readers the opportunity to think about the diversity of archaeological evidence in combination with an exploration of the available range of approaches and narratives. The critical intertwining of multiple points of view is necessary, because it gets us closer to how elusive the cultural differences of prehistoric communities can be. This elusive dimension is precisely what can force us to constantly rethink what we see and what questions we ask.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nd Millennium Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC: Exploring Cultural Diversity and Change in Late Prehistoric Communities

Lopes¹,

Gomes²

2021

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“…Moreover, the faunal remains associated with the funerary rituals in Torre Velha 12 and other sites of the southwestern Iberia [26] are no more than segments of limbs. This reveal a highly structured anthropogenic behavior materializing the cultural and symbolic values of the front limbs, in one hand, and of the animal itself.…”

Section: Faunal Accumulations and Their Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Bronze age insertion of domestic animals in funerary contexts seems to be a common practice and is attested through the inclusion of cattle and sheep/goats segments of front limbs, in hypogea of southwestern Iberia [26] as documented in Torre Velha 3 [5][6][7], Outeiro Alto [4], Belmeque [14], Montinhos 6 [8] and Torre Velha 12, and, as well, through the inclusion of pigs, sheep/goats and cattle remains in funerary pits, as recorded in Horta do Jacinto [13] and Outeiro Alto 2 [12].…”

Section: Torre Velha 12 In the Regional Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faunal Remains from Torre Velha 12 (Serpa, Beja, Southwest of Portugal): Relationship between Animals and Bronze Age Communities

et al. 2019

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Torre Velha 12 is located in Serpa (Beja) and was excavated and directed by two of the authors (LB and SG), during an emergency intervention within the Alqueva Project. This site is characterized by negative structures filled with pottery sherds and other materials dating to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. The aim of this paper is to publish the study of the faunal remains dated from Bronze Age (2nd millennium BCE). The faunal assemblage is small and comes from non-funerary pits and from funerary hypogea. Other than a bone artefact and an undetermined shell fragment, all of the remains integrated in the pits were classified as mammals. Sheep/goat is was frequently found while other species such as cattle and swines had lower frequencies. Fragments of cattle limbs are the only faunal remains associated with human burials and reveal a clear taxonomical and anatomical pattern that may be an indicator of a careful and structured anthropogenic behavior. The aim of this paper is to understand the social relationship between animals and the Bronze Age communities.

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“…La función paradigmática es responsable de una nueva apertura significante. Sobre los datos taxonómicos y anatómicos que la posibilitan, se han realizado los citados estudios recientes, al hilo del interés en los ajuares alimenticios en otros periodos y regiones de la prehistoria reciente peninsular (Garrido et al 2011;Garrido 2012Garrido -2013Costa et al 2019).…”

Section: La Fauna En Ajuares Funerarios Argáricos: Estado De La Cuestión Problemáticas Y Objetivosunclassified

Las ofrendas de fauna en tumbas argáricas: nuevas perspectivas desde La Almoloya y La Bastida (Murcia)

et al. 2021

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Los restos de fauna, escasa o dudosamente documentados en tumbas del Grupo Argárico, han cobrado relevancia en los últimos años al amparo del concepto “comensalidad”. El objetivo de este trabajo es revisar su aplicación en las interpretaciones actuales, así como explorar nuevas vías de análisis a partir de los registros de La Almoloya y La Bastida (Murcia). Los resultados indican que la asignación de porciones faunísticas fue una práctica frecuente y socialmente transversal, que solo excluyó de forma significativa a la población infantil y que, con el tiempo, se hizo más restrictiva. Más que indicadoras de distancia socioeconómica, las ofrendas faunísticas tuvieron un sentido político: la donación de “alimento” resultó clave en el reconocimiento social de buena parte de los miembros de las comunidades argáricas.

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The symbolic meaning of cattle and sheep/goat in the Bronze Age: Faunal inclusions in funerary contexts of South‐Western Iberia

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

Between the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC: Exploring Cultural Diversity and Change in Late Prehistoric Communities

Between the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC: Exploring Cultural Diversity and Change in Late Prehistoric Communities

Faunal Remains from Torre Velha 12 (Serpa, Beja, Southwest of Portugal): Relationship between Animals and Bronze Age Communities

Las ofrendas de fauna en tumbas argáricas: nuevas perspectivas desde La Almoloya y La Bastida (Murcia)

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