La cronología y temporalidad del fenómeno megalítico del sureste de la península Ibérica

Résumé

RESUMEN (INGLÉS) / ABSTRACT Time is fundamental in Archaeology. We need to understand the temporal dimension of the past materiality to be able to interpret it. Our ability to understand it will determine our ability to formulate questions and suggest answers about the past. The study of the megalithic phenomenon, as part of the materiality of the past, need to approach its temporal dimension. This is specifically relevant in places where time played an important role, as they were conceived to build past and future. South-eastern Iberia was a region with an intense megalithic activity, where around a thousand monuments have been documented. The significance of the megalithic phenomenon attracted attention since the first years of Archaeology and more than 600 tombs were excavated between the end of the 19st century and the beginning of the 20st century. Despite the number, knowledge and relevance of the megalithism to the study of the late prehistory societies of South-eastern Iberia, the approach to its temporal dimension has been based in typological criteria and in very few absolute dates (just 10 radiocarbon dates until 2012). This work emerged in an attempt to improve this situation and to explore the following issues: when did the megalithic phenomenon in South-eastern Iberia start? When did the different types of megalithic tombs appear and when were they used? Which was the temporality of single megalithic graves? How long was the use of these tombs? What was the temporal relationship between the tombs that conform a necropolis? Did the tombs experience activity in periods different to those considered to be of construction and use? What was the intensity of this activity? To look at these issues we needed to apply a methodology that assumed, on the one hand, the specificities of the dating method (14C) and, on the other hand, the specificities of the context under study. Megalithic monuments constitute palimpsests resulting from their continued use during, sometimes, long periods of time and where human bones frequently are disarticulated. For these reasons, the planned methodology has follow these criteria: a) we focused primarily on anthropological remains since they are short-lived samples and the most representative finds of the different ritual practices and depositional events that took place in each tomb; b) we decided to date the minimum number of individuals identified by the anthropological studies as the best way of ensuring that no individual was dated twice and to explore the timescale and funerary span of specific sepulchres; c) we undertook isotope analysis to reconstruct the diet of dated individuals, with the aim to examine the possible reservoir effect on the radiocarbon dates. To develop the dating programme, we have focused our attention on several necropolises characteristic of the different types of megalithic tombs known in the study area. This is the case of El Barranquete (Níjar, Almería), a necropolis formed by tombs with chambers covered by false vaults (tholoi); the necropolis of Panoría (Darro, Granada), shaped by orthostatic tombs with short passages recently excavated by our Research Group, and finally, the necropolises of Las Churuletas, La Atalaya and El Llano de El Jautón (Purchena, Almería), which are mainly characterised by circular chambers without passages known as rundgräber. As a result, 88 radiocarbon dates have been obtained and analysed with different statistical approaches, mainly the Bayesian framework. The examination of the completed radiocarbon series has led to place the appearance of megalithic phenomenon in South-eastern Iberia around 3810-3635 cal BC (89.7% of probability). This estimation is very similar to that obtained for the series of dates available in the whole southern Iberia (3850-3690 cal BC; 95% of probability).It seems that the megalithic phenomenon could have started in the different regions of south Iberia in quite close moments. Likewise, all types of megalithic sepulchres, except tholoi, were being built and used since the beginning of the IV Millennium BC. In the South-eastern, there is no chronological difference between the appearance of tombs with circular chamber and corridor and rundgräber, in contrast to the traditional established periodization. In the III Millennium, the appearance of the tholoi would be accompanied by a considerable intensification of the megalithic funerary activity. This intensification is displayed by all types of tombs and would imply the construction of new tombs and the use of new and already ancient tombs. Thanks to the applied methodology has been possible to explore the temporality of single megalithic graves. It surprises their strong diversity that reveals the complexity of the studied phenomenon and the limitations of the traditional methods to approach its temporal dimension. Along with the tombs that demonstrate short and intense spans of use, others show long periods of funerary activity. Moreover, while some graves experienced a continued activity, others had some centuries breaks before they were be reused. Analysing the temporality of several tombs coming from a same necropolis, it has been possible to determine the accumulative character of these places. They were probably the result of different events of construction and use and their final configuration seems not to have been previously planned. Another relevant concern that the radiocarbon series has revealed is the extraordinary intensity with which some of the analysed megalithic sepulchres were used during the Bronze Age. These practices were especially intense at the start of the Argaric period, not showing any interruption regarding the chalcolithic use of the graves. Regardless, what is important is that many of these ritual practices would have remained hidden since no related grave goods informed us about their existence, particularly in what concerns to the LateBronze Age. In conclusion, the significance of the results of this work are not only chronological, but also methodological. In effect, the strategy planned for the radiocarbon dating programme, that assumed the complexity of the studied contexts, has emerged as a powerful tool that contributes to changing many of our current approaches to the megalithic phenomenon.