Recent excavations at the Neolithic site of Cerro Virtud (Almería, southeast Spain) have produced new information about the development of metallurgy that may change ongoing research not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in the rest of western Europe. The discovery of metallurgy in this region in the first half of the 5th millennium BC poses serious challenges to the interpretation of how this industry developed and spread, given that the nearest European region with similar evidence is the Balkans. This study presents the archaeological context of the discovery and the various analytical techniques (XRF, SEM, 14C) that have been applied to it.

El estudio del enterramiento colectivo de Cerro Virtud confirma la importancia de este yacimiento en el desarrollo cronológico y cultural del Neolítico Medio en el Sureste de la Península Ibérica. Además de tratarse de un poblado al aire libre y contar con la primera evidencia de actividad metalúrgica de época neolítica documentada en el Occidente de Europa, presenta un enterramiento colectivo sobre el que se centra este artículo. Los resultados del análisis antropológico indican la presencia de, al menos, once individuos inhumados, unos en posición primaria y otros desplazados. Se aportan las nuevas dataciones de carbono 14 que sitúan cronológicamente al enterramiento en la primera mitad del V milenio cal AC. ABSTRACT Different results from the collective burial of Cerro Virtud confirm the importance of this settlement for our understanding of the Neolithic in southeastern Iberian Peninsula. The site has both open air settlement and collective burial.It also has the first evidence of Neolithic metalworking in western Europe. The article focuses on the collective burial. Padilla, s/n. 45002 Toledo.El artículo fue remitido en su versión final el 9-1-99.Anthropological analysis shows eleven individuals, some of them in primary positions and others displaced. A radiocarbon sequence of the burial is also pesented. The burial chronology is in the first half of V millennium cal EC.Palabras clave: Neolítico Medio. Almería. Enterramiento Colectivo. Dataciones Cl4. Paleopatología. Antropología Física.

La excavación de urgencia de Cerro Virtud (Almería, España) ha documentado nuevos datos que permiten cambiar algunas de las interpretaciones tradicionales sobre el Neolítico. La aparición de un enterramiento colectivo en un yacimiento al aire libre, así como las primeras evidencias de actividad metalúrgica en contexto neolítico son las principales novedades. Se discuten las implicaciones que la aparición del metal supone para comprender el desarrollo del Neolítico en la Península Ibérica, teniendo en cuenta la fuerte carga tecnológica que predomina en el uso de ese término "Neolítico". The rescue excavation of the Cerro Virtud (Almería, Spain), has shown new evidences that might change the traditional interpretations of the Neolithic period. This excavation has documented not only the first burials associated with an open air site but also pristine metallurgical activity within a Neolithic context. When first employed by archaeologists, the term ''Neolithic" implied a thechnological rather than an economic phenomenon. In this article we shall discuss the terminological implications of metal in order to understand the development of Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula.

La excavación arqueológica desarrollada en un sector del Cerro de La Horca ha permitido conocer aspectos inéditos del ritual de enterramiento medieval en Toledo. Se ha documentado una amplia tipología de tumbas con un único elemento constructivo común para todas ellas, la excavación previa de una fosa que, en numerosos casos, alcanza gran profundidad. El desconocimiento sobre el mundo funerario medieval toledano y la falta de materiales arqueológicos representativos en esta necrópolis han obligado a reflexionar sobre la comunidad religiosa a la que pertenecen estos enterramientos. Por fuentes históricas y excavaciones previas, conocemos la localización de necrópolis musulmanas y cristianas. La localización de la(s) judía(s) había sido, al menos hasta ahora, una incógnita.PalabraS clave: Toledo; Cerro de La Horca; patrones funerarios; arqueología medieval.The Medieval NecroPoliS of The Cerro de la HorCa iN Toledo.-The archaeological excavation of part of a medieval necropolis at the Cerro de la Horca (Toledo) has provided new information regarding burial traditions in Toledo. One formal aspect is common to the broad range of graves that have been brought to light, namely the pit that was dug for the burial, being of considerable depth in a number of cases. Because little is known of the funerary practices in Toledo during the Middle Ages and hardly any objects have been recovered in the excavation, it is difficult to identify the religious community to which it belonged. Whereas the location of Muslim and Christian cemeteries have been known through documentary and archaeological sources, only popular traditions quoted so far the Jewish necropolis, its location remaining thus a mystery.

This article discusses the production, distribution and consumption of stone and copper during the Bronze Age in La Mancha. It reviews the archaeological record regarding commodity exchange within this territory in relation to other regions of the Iberian Peninsula. It discusses the results of the analyses of grindstones and metal objects collected along the north-eastern edge of La Mancha, close to the Tagus valley. The materials analysed were obtained from museum collections and recent excavations carried out in this area. We propose a new regionally-based economic model for these resource exploitation activities.