Papers: Valencina Copper Age Mega-site by F. Oms
Trabajos de Prehistoria 81 (2), 2024
The quality of the radiometric data available for the study of the megalithic phenomenon in Iberi... more The quality of the radiometric data available for the study of the megalithic phenomenon in Iberia has improved markedly over the last fifteen years. As a result, relevant details are beginning to emerge in terms of the sequence, temporality and evolution of certain monument types, specific construction and clusters of them. In this paper we extend this line of research to the Valencina Copper Age mega-site, located in south-western Iberia. We present 46 fresh radiocarbon dates on human bone for the burial area located on the south-eastern quadrant of this site, which includes La Huera artificial cave, the PP4-Montelirio sector and the great Montelirio tholos. Through Bayesian and spatial modelling, these new dates are combined with eight already-published ones to provide a high-resolution image of the temporality of the complex sequence of burial and formal deposition that took place there during the ‘peak’ period of the site, between c. 2900 and 2650 BC. We examine the start date, sequence, spatial arrangement, duration and end date of 21 newly-dated burials and discuss the implications of the results in terms of the social practices that led to the formation of such a large site.
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Papers: Valencina Copper Age Mega-site by F. Oms