El significado de los recintos de fosos prehistóricos continúa siendo un tema debatido. En el presente trabajo se analiza la problemática específica de El Casetón de la Era (Valladolid, España), donde se registra la existencia de un triple foso y una aldea calcolíticos. Una lectura del yacimiento desde diferentes ópticas descarta que los fosos formaran parte del programa urbanístico fundacional del poblado y permite proponer la hipótesis de que fueron excavados en los momentos finales de su ocupación, tal vez como dispositivo de condena y de conversión del sitio en un espacio simbólico.
El Argar (2250-1450 cal a. C.) es una de las culturas arqueológicas más destacadas de la Edad del Bronce en el sureste peninsular. La producción agrícola debió tener un papel fundamental en la subsistencia de las poblaciones argáricas, siendo los útiles de molienda los elementos que proporcionan una mayor información sobre el procesado de alimentos de origen vegetal. En el yacimiento de Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén) se conserva un amplio conjunto de útiles macrolíticos que ofrecen evidencias directas sobre esta actividad. En este trabajo se presenta su análisis tecnológico y funcional, incluyendo el análisis de microrrestos silícicos y calcíticos. Los artefactos estudiados pertenecen a dos fases de ocupación, que abarcan un intervalo temporal de ca. 300 años (1950/1900-1750/1600 cal a. C.). Los resultados relacionan los útiles de molienda de Peñalosa con la molturación de cereales, planteando nuevas líneas de investigación sobre la preparación de alimentos.
The initial results of research carried out on a section of the Guadalimar River are presented. Four small Iberian houses on flat ground have been surveyed and excavated. The sequence of the Orientalising-Early Iberian period of the settlements and their rural character represent a novelty in the research landscape of the Upper Guadalquivir which open up new interpretations of the colonisation models of the Sierra Morena mining district, in a phase of incipient Iberisation of the territory. Based on the results obtained, we propose a review of the peripheral territory of Castulo towards Sierra Morena, prior to the founding of the oppidum of Giribaile and the territorial sanctuaries of Collado de los Jardines and Castellar.
The necropolis of Collado y Pinar de Santa Ana has been known since the late 18th century, when the first explorations were carried out at the site. The cemetery subsequently attracted renewed interest in the late 1950s, which continued until the 1990s. This is a tumular necropolis, some of whose burial groups, already subject to looting in Antiquity, are dated between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (9th-6th centuries BC). In 2024, a new excavation and research project was initiated, which facilitated the documentation of several burial groups of notable complexity, both in terms of their structures and grave goods. In some cases, the absence of cremated remains was also evident. Of particular note among these graves is Tumulus 9, which yielded a significant assemblage of bronze items, including a distinctive terret, alongside other zoomorphic elements that possibly belonged to various parts of horse harnessing equipment. This set provides evidence of the presence of a two-animal chariot. The following study provides a contextual framework for the site and its findings, which belong to the Orientalizing sphere of southern Iberia. The study also discusses parallels between these findings from both a typological and analytical perspective. Finally, the presence in the Jumilla Plateau of what would be the most emblematic parts of a chariot (the terret and zoomorphic harness elements) is evaluated. This is an item of unquestionable prestige, whose distribution points to the periphery of the Tartessian core area of Lower Andalusia, and whose possession suggests the presence of individuals of potentially aristocratic rank with a marked Orientalizing influence.
The carinated vessels of Form 5 are the most abundant type of El Argar pottery. They served a wide range of functions in both domestic and funerary contexts throughout the Argaric period, making them one of the defining archaeological features of this Early Bronze Age society. However, it has not yet been possible to class their obvious morphological diversity into subtypes. This study pursues that goal and explores the chronological implications of the newly proposed typological categories. The aim is to develop a useful tool for dating objects and contexts that lack chronological markers and to deepen our understanding of the technological and socioeconomic dimensions of Argaric pottery.
This article presents new evidence of ritual practices potentially related to those known as 'severed heads'. The analysis of findings recovered from the Iberian Iron Age sites of El Mol & iacute; d'Esp & iacute;gol (Tornabous, Lleida) and Ol & egrave;rdola (Ol & egrave;rdola, Barcelona) extends the southern boundary of this phenomenon, which has traditionally been associated with the Indigetes and Laietani north of the Llobregat River, to Cosetan and Ilergetan contexts. The bioanthropological analysis identified peri mortem cut marks, some of which have tentatively been interpreted as the cause of death and others as ritual manipulation of the skull. Biomolecular analyses of organic substances and strontium and oxygen isotope studies on bone samples and teeth indicate the use of resins, oils, or vegetable waxes in the treatment of splanchnocranium, as well as mobility patterns in line with other cases of 'severed heads'from NE Iberia. These findings provide new insights into a bioanthropological record that is highly restricted, primarily due to cremation being the main funerary ritual in Iberian Iron Age communities. They also contribute to the symbolic, social, and territorial interpretation of this exceptional practice.
The ditched enclosures of the Copper Age in the Iberian Peninsula remain a challenge for archaeological research due to the difficulty in understanding the ideological, economic, political, or simply defensive motivations that led certain communities to construct them. To explore their economic organization, we present the results of the comprehensive techno-functional study of the macrolithic assemblage recovered from the enclosure of Los Melgarejos (Getafe, Madrid), dated to 2675-2500 BCE. This site covers an area of 3-hectare and is bounded by five concentric, discontinuous ditches. The rescue excavation documented all structures and approximately 7 % of the ditches. A total of 550 macrolithic items were recovered, including 283 artefacts, 219 rock fragments, and 48 cobble stones, made from igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Their analysis has allowed us to identify a remarkable diversity of activities, assess their role in productive processes, and contextualize the site within the broader framework of the Iberian Copper Age. Finally, we propose different interpretative scenarios based on the available evidence.
La necrópolis de Collado y Pinar de Santa Ana es conocida desde finales del siglo XVIII, cuando se realizaron las primeras actuaciones en el lugar. El interés por el cementerio se retomó a partir de finales de los años 50 del siglo XX, extendiéndose hasta los años 90. Se trata de una necrópolis tumular cuyos conjuntos, algunos expoliados de antiguo, se fechan entre el Bronce Final y el Hierro Antiguo (ss. IX-VI a. C.). En 2024 se ha iniciado un nuevo proyecto de excavación y estudio que ha permitido documentar varios conjuntos de singular complejidad, tanto por sus estructuras y ajuares como por la ausencia, en algunos casos, de restos de la cremación. Entre ellos destaca el Túmulo 9, que ha proporcionado un importante ajuar que incluye un particular pasarriendas, junto a otros elementos zoomorfos posiblemente pertenecientes a varias camas de atalaje de caballo, conjunto que evidencia la presencia de un carro tirado por dos de estos animales. Este trabajo contextualiza el yacimiento y los hallazgos, pertenecientes al ámbito orientalizante del sur peninsular, desde una perspectiva tipológica y analítica. Finalmente, se valora la presencia en el Altiplano de Jumilla de lo que serían las partes más emblemáticas de un carro (pasarriendas y camas zoomorfas), un elemento de indudable prestigio cuya distribución remite a la periferia del área nuclear tartésica de la Baja Andalucía. Su posesión evidencia la presencia en el lugar de personajes de rango posiblemente aristocrático y marcado carácter orientalizante.
Our knowledge of Chalcolithic copper smelting practices across Iberia is extensive but lacks regional nuance. This prevents an assessment of regional trajectories that may depart from a general ‘Iberian technological tradition’, including their origins and diachronic evolution. This paper contributes to these questions by analysing 3rd millennium BC copper production residues from various sites in Northeast Iberia: Covas Cartanyà, del Buldó, Josefina d’Escornalbou, de l’Heura, and Balma del Duc. Using pXRF, OM, and SEM-EDS, we characterise the ores used and the metallurgical operations conducted (including smelting of copper carbonates, co-smelting of sulphidic and oxidic ores, and melting), and discuss them in relation to their contexts, contemporaneous materials and available lead isotopes data. We reveal Northeast Iberian metallurgy as a distinct and versatile tradition that selectively adopted elements from Southern Iberia and Southern France traditions, and trace the legacy of these idiosyncratic practices in copper and bronze making over two millennia.
Las vasijas carenadas de Forma 5 son las más abundantes de la vajilla argárica. Desempeñaron todo tipo de funciones en contextos residenciales y funerarios durante la diacronía argárica, por lo que constituyen uno de los elementos arqueológicos definidores de esta sociedad del Bronce Antiguo. Sin embargo, su aparente diversidad morfológica no ha podido ser sistematizada en subtipos. El presente trabajo aborda este objetivo y explora las implicaciones cronológicas de las nuevas categorías tipológicas propuestas. Con ello se pretende elaborar una herramienta útil para datar piezas y contextos faltos de anclajes temporales, y profundizar en las dimensiones tecnológicas y socioeconómicas de la alfarería de El Argar.
Se presentan los primeros resultados de una investigación realizada sobre un tramo del curso del río Guadalimar. Se ha realizado una prospección y excavación de cuatro pequeñas casas ibéricas en llano. La secuencia del periodo Orientalizante-Ibérico Antiguo de los asentamientos y su carácter campesino son una novedad en el panorama de la investigación del Alto Guadalquivir que abren nuevas interpretaciones de los modelos de colonización del distrito minero de Sierra Morena, en una fase de incipiente iberización del territorio. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, proponemos una revisión del territorio periférico de Castulo hacia Sierra Morena, antes de la fundación del oppidum de Giribaile y los santuarios territoriales de Collado de los Jardines y Castellar.
This paper presents multi-disciplinary research undertaken between 2022 and 2024 at El Riscal, the only rock art station known in Seville (Andalusia, Spain), a territory otherwise very rich in Late Prehistoric archaeological remains. Discovered in the 1980s and first published in the early 1990s, El Riscal presents engraved motifs not documented in other parts of southern Spain, where schematic-style painted rock art is prevalent. The set of methods employed in this research includes petrology, chemical characterisation (XRD, SEM-EDS), digital photogrammetry and digital image analysis, archaeological prospection and archaeoastronomy. The results throw new light on the characteristics and temporality of the site, with a pervasive significance through time. This, in turn, invites a new approach to the geographical distribution of the various traditions and styles present in Iberian rock art. This research also suggests that re-examining previously published rock art sites could lead to a better understanding of styles, chronologies and traditions.
Los recintos de fosos del Calcolítico peninsular continúan representando un desafío para la investigación arqueológica debido a la dificultad de comprender las motivaciones ideológicas, económicas, políticas o simplemente defensivas que impulsaron su construcción por parte de ciertas comunidades. Para abordar su organización económica, presentamos los resultados del estudio tecno-funcional integral del conjunto de materiales macrolíticos recuperado en el recinto de Los Melgarejos (Getafe, Madrid), datado entre 2675-2500 a. n. e. El yacimiento, de 3 ha de extensión, está delimitado por cinco fosos discontinuos concéntricos. La intervención preventiva excavó la totalidad de las estructuras y aproximadamente el 7 % de todos los fosos. Se recuperaron 550 ítems macrolíticos, entre ellos 283 artefactos, 219 fragmentos de roca y 48 cantos rodados, elaborados en rocas ígneas, sedimentarias y metamórficas. Su análisis ha permitido identificar una notable diversidad de actividades, valorar su relevancia en los procesos productivos y situar el yacimiento en un contexto comparativo dentro del Calcolítico peninsular. Finalmente, sugerimos distintos escenarios interpretativos en función de las evidencias disponibles.
