La Cueva de la Dehesilla (Sierra de Cádiz): vuelta a un sitio clave para el Neolítico del sur de la península ibérica

Abstract

La Cueva de la Dehesilla contó con dos excavaciones arqueológicas en 1977 y 1981. Desde entonces se conoce el potencial prehistórico del sitio, especialmente en relación con sus fases neolíticas, y se convirtió en uno de los enclaves fundamentales en el sur de la península ibérica. Este artículo presenta los datos procedentes de las recientes intervenciones arqueológicas retomadas cuatro décadas después. Concretamente se da a conocer la secuencia estratigráfica prehistórica de un sondeo efectuado en 2016, sus conjuntos cerámico y lítico, así como cuatro fechas radiocarbónicas. Entre los resultados, destaca la relativa antigüedad de las nuevas dataciones y la presencia de posible ceramica impressa, indicador material de las primeras poblaciones neolíticas en el Mediterráneo occidental. Los datos obtenidos implican diversos puntos de discusión sobre el origen y la evolución de las sociedades campesinas y ganaderas a niveles regional y peninsular. LABURPENA Dehesillako kobazuloan bi indusketa arkeologiko egin zituzten 1977an eta 1981ean. Ordutik, badakigu tokiak historiaurreko potentzial handia duela, bereziki bere fase neolitikoekin lotuta. Hori dela eta, Iberiar penintsulako hegoaldean oinarrizko gune bihurtu zen. Artikulu honek lau hamarkada geroago duela gutxi berriro hasi dituzten lan arkeologikoetatik jasotako datuak aurkezten ditu. Zehatzago esanda, 2016an egindako zundaketa baten historiaurreko segida estratigrafikoa, multzo zeramiko eta litikoa, eta lau data erradiokarboniko biltzen ditu. Emaitza horien artean, nabarmendu beharrekoa da datazio berriak nahiko zaharrak direla eta ceramica impressa delakoa topatu dutela ustez. Mendebaldeko Mediterraneoan lehen populazio neolitikoak zeudela erakusten duen adierazle materiala da hori. Lortutako datuek eskualde eta penintsula mailetako abeltzainen eta nekazarien gizarteek izandako bilakaerari eta jatorriari buruzko eztabaida sorrarazi dute.

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

“…Radiocarbon dates and material culture, especially pottery, converge to indicate that the archaeological record of the context analysed in this paper is consistent with that of the period traditionally known as Middle Neolithic. The previous 2016 excavation season at Dehesilla Cave had already documented a Neolithic sequence in Trench C003 with a thick level, the materials and dates of which are similar to those presented here [19]. This layer, Unit 14,…”

“…In fact, this specific period has very few chronological parallels in Andalusian sites that are well dated from domestic and/or short-lived elements, although there are some scarce dates that cover the second and third quarters of the 5 th millennium BC from a scatter of cave and open-air sites in the Mediterranean coastal regions and southeast Andalusia. If there were a similar hiatus at Dehesilla Cave, however, it may only have been a little later, from the middle of the 5 th millennium cal BC, in the period known as Middle Neolithic B, where it is noted, for example, that the volume of archaeological material remains decrease sharply with respect to the previous period analysed in this work [19].…”

“…This layer, Unit 14, yielded a radiocarbon date around 4728–4549 cal BC from a sheep/goat molar, most probably an Ovis aries . This unit displayed a large assemblage of engraved pottery [ 19 ], which also characterises the context now treated. This decorative group is present in the most complete vessels described above, both in the context containing the skulls ( Locus 2), as well as in the associated hearth (UE 7).…”

“…The data presented in this paper are provided by the recent excavations carried out within the framework of the project "Dehesilla Cave: archaeological and environmental studies for the knowledge of the Prehistoric human occupation of the Sierra de Cádiz", directed by one of the authors (DGR) (Fig 1). This project conducted a first excavation season in 2016 that led to the identification of several Medieval occupation phases outside the mouth of the cave [17,18], and a complete Neolithic sequence in the room of the cave nearest the entrance [19] in which previous excavations had been carried out in the 1970s and 80s [20]. The unpublished data presented here come specifically from the second excavation season, in 2017, and from the excavation area identified as C006 located in Room 4, one of the inner-most spaces of Dehesilla Cave.…”

“…It is impossible to establish whether they may have been direct descendants of other populations previously present in southern Iberia or not. Indeed, at Dehesilla Cave there is evidence that the populations corresponding to the Early Neolithic occupied this site during at least the second half of the 6 th millennium BC [19].…”