Abstract
There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800–4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.
Highlights
Introduction and objectivesNeolithic funerary practices in the Iberian Peninsula are relatively well known
The main objectives of this paper are firstly, to present the new depositional context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of empirical data obtained by interdisciplinary methods; and secondly, to place this find within the general context of the body of contemporaneous funerary data known at present in the Iberian Peninsula
This indicates a strong relationship between the possible sequence of events in the context provided by C006, and between this context and the population responsible for the material record found during 2016 in C003. This material record is attributed to the Middle Neolithic A in the proposed periodisation [19], while the Middle Neolithic B does not display this type of pottery. This defining pottery style, is only known in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, and with decorative compositions similar to those of Dehesilla Cave appears to be restricted to the caves of El Parralejo (San Josedel Valle) [93,94,95], Anfora (Ardales) [96], Gato (Benaojan) [97] and the open air site of Esperilla (Espera) [98]
Summary
Neolithic funerary practices in the Iberian Peninsula are relatively well known. The present state of knowledge is unevenly distributed between the different archaeological periods that make up the general framework of the Neolithic. There is a large number of sites attributed to the Early Neolithic [12], conventionally dated in the Iberian Peninsula between ca. The funerary evidence known at present for this period is most abundantly from cave sites. Burials are documented at open-air sites, where they tend to belong to individual and very rarely multiple inhumations deposited in pits within settlement contexts. The bodies are placed in a flexed position, lying on the side, with variable assemblages of grave goods, essentially combinations of pottery, stone tools, bone and/or shell elements, and frequently faunal remains [11]
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