Use of animal resources at the Aldovea pre-Beaker Chalcolithic site (Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid)

The zooarchaeological study of the samples from the Chalcolithic units of the Aldovea area, which is one of the three areas of the Aldovea prehistoric site, located in Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid). This site is a Chalcolithic settlement in the Valle Medio del Tajo formed by a concentration of negative structures in the form of pits and silos. The study of the fauna shows two different types of bone accumulations with different meanings. On the one hand, there is a set of fauna linked to economic food uses characterized by the predominance of domestic fauna where sheep and cattle are the main species. On the other, there is a set of fauna deposited in what we have called "Deposits", with a less functional and more symbolic-ritual character, which presents complete individuals buried in anatomical connection or semi-connection in which domestic species such as the dog, the suidae and bovids. In this paper we analyze the differences between both types of contexts, and based on them we will try to discuss the economic implications of the bone assemblages of the first type, and the meaning that the more symbolic accumulations could have.