Builders of Megaliths: Society, monumentality and environment in 4th millennium cal BC Antequera

Sanjuán, Leonardo García; Rodríguez, Luis Efrén Fernández; Nieto, Verónica Balsera; Molina, Coronada Mora; García, Marisa Cisneros; Ariza, Oliva Rodríguez; Rodríguez, José Antonio Lozano; Díaz, Sebastián Pérez; Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, Reyes; Sáez, José Antonio López

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102555

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…At Arroyo Saladillo, four pits were covered by a stone slab and a small mound. The individual burial S-94 was dated in 4040–3800 cal BC (García Sanjuán et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current state of knowledge of the age of megalithic monuments in the southern Iberian Peninsula is uneven. In recent years, research based on long series of radiocarbon dates for megalithic tombs in the southeast of the peninsula (Lozano Medina and Aranda Jiménez 2018) has obtained interesting results for the chronologies of the necropolises of El Barranquete (Aranda Jiménez and Lozano Medina 2014;Aranda Jiménez et al 2017a), Panoría (Aranda Jiménez et al 2017b, 2020a, Las Churuletas, La Atalaya and Llano del Jaut ón (Aranda Jiménez et al 2017c), Los Millares (Aranda Jiménez et al 2020b;Molina et al 2020) and Mojácar (Aranda Jiménez et al 2020c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radiocarbon Chronology of Dolmens in the Iberian Southwest: Architectural Sequence and Temporality in the El Pozuelo Megalithic Complex (Huelva, Spain)

Catela

2022

Radiocarbon

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This paper establishes the chronology of the El Pozuelo megalithic complex and discusses it in the context of other dolmens that have been dated in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The working methodology combines the study of the stratigraphy and architectural sequence with the Bayesian modeling of the 27 AMS 14C dates obtained for charcoal samples from the four monuments in the Los Llanetes cluster. The most significant chronological results (at 68% probability) are (a) the antiquity and long duration of the megalithic sites, in which several monumental structures succeeded one another ca. 3970–1980 cal BC; (b) the existences of different temporalities in the Late-Final Neolithic dolmens: simple chambers (3970–3760 cal BC), elongated chambers (3790–3620 cal BC) and multiple chambers (3660–3260 cal BC; (c) the continuity of activity during the Copper Age (2980–2580 and 2530–2180 cal BC); and (d) the permanence of megalithism in the Early Bronze Age, through the presence of terraced enclosures with circular platforms ca. 2230–1940 cal BC. This diachronic sequence and the contextualized analysis of the 152 available radiocarbon dates (27 new, 125 published) supports the establishment of the temporal dynamics of megalithism in the Iberian southwest, introducing key aspects on the emergence, span, and rebuilding of the different dolmens (passage graves, simple chambers, elongated chambers, and multiple chambers) and establishing the phases of activity and reuse of the different architectural types.

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“…At Arroyo Saladillo, four pits were covered by a stone slab and a small mound. The individual burial S-94 was dated in 4040–3800 cal BC (García Sanjuán et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Chronology of Dolmens in the Iberian Southwest: Architectural Sequence and Temporality in the El Pozuelo Megalithic Complex (Huelva, Spain)

Catela

2022

Radiocarbon

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“…Recent radiocarbon dates situate the origins of megalithism in southern Portugal after 3700 BC, challenging earlier ideas regarding the date of the beginning of this phenomenon in the region to the early 5th millennium BC 68 , 69 . In Andalusia, the earliest dates correspond to the necropolis of Arroyo Saladillo (Antequera, Málaga), in which a single proto-megalithic burial (structure 94) was dated to 4041–3803 cal BC 2σ 70 . This is the only stone-built grave in the entire necropolis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is an oval mound, 2.6 m in diameter, made with large stones. Under the mound, two large stone slabs were found to cover a pit containing a single burial and modest grave goods 70 . In the province of Cádiz, the earliest funerary megalith was the Dolmen de Alberite I (Villamartín), dated to the turn of the 4th millenium; this chronology, however, was obtained from a carbon sample that did not allow for greater precision 71 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerning the orientation of the burials, most individuals (52.17%) were placed facing east (E or NE) (Fig. 7 ), a tradition preserved in later megalithic constructions 70 , 82 . In addition, the number of individuals placed facing south or north is overrepresented in trenches 14 and 15, because in this area most graves were oriented using the main funerary structure (E11T14, Type VIII) as reference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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At the beginnings of the funerary Megalithism in Iberia at Campo de Hockey necropolis

Vijande-Vila

Bonilla²,

Morell-Rovira

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The excavations undertaken at the Campo de Hockey site in 2008 led to the identification of a major Neolithic necropolis in the former Island of San Fernando (Bay of Cádiz). This work presents the results of the latest studies, which indicate that the site stands as one of the oldest megalithic necropolises in the Iberian Peninsula. The main aim of this work is to present with precision the chronology of this necropolis through a Bayesian statistical model that confirms that the necropolis was in use from c. 4300 to 3800 cal BC. The presence of prestige grave goods in the earliest and most monumental graves suggest that the Megalithism phenomenon emerged in relation to maritime routes linked to the distribution of exotic products. We also aim to examine funerary practices in these early megalithic communities, and especially their way of life and the social reproduction system. As such, in addition to the chronological information and the Bayesian statistics, we provide the results of a comprehensive interdisciplinary study, including anthropological, archaeometric and genetic data.

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A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith

Sanjuán

Medialdea

Nieto³

et al. 2022

Quat. res.

Self Cite

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The scientific study of Neolithic monuments holds fundamental keys to the analysis of early social complexity. This is often impeded by the challenges involved in understanding their temporality and, particularly, their initial construction dates. This problem is most severe in monuments that were not predominantly used for burial and went on to have long biographies in which activity in later periods obliterated the material record of the earliest phases. That was certainly the case of the Menga dolmen, part of the Antequera World Heritage site (Málaga, Spain), and one of the most remarkable megaliths in Europe, for which, after nearly 200 years of explorations and research, no firm chronology existed. The research presented in this paper shows how this problem was tackled through a multimethod, scientific, and geoarchaeological approach. The analysis of 29 fresh numerical ages, including radiocarbon determinations as well as optically stimulated luminescence, thermoluminescence, and uranium-thorium dates, led to the successful establishment of Menga's construction date and the subsequent contextualization of the monument within the social and cultural background it arose in. Placing the dolmen in the context of its time of “birth” introduces entirely new possibilities for its interpretation, both in terms of local and supralocal social and cultural processes.

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Builders of Megaliths: Society, monumentality and environment in 4th millennium cal BC Antequera

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Radiocarbon Chronology of Dolmens in the Iberian Southwest: Architectural Sequence and Temporality in the El Pozuelo Megalithic Complex (Huelva, Spain)

Radiocarbon Chronology of Dolmens in the Iberian Southwest: Architectural Sequence and Temporality in the El Pozuelo Megalithic Complex (Huelva, Spain)

At the beginnings of the funerary Megalithism in Iberia at Campo de Hockey necropolis

A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith

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