ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS FROM THE NEOLITHIC NECROPOLIS OF CAMPO DE HOCKE
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-10-02

The archaeological excavations carried out during 2008 in the archaeological site of Campo de Hockey allowed to record a Neolithic settlement in the southernmost point of Iberia. This settlement included three main areas: the upper, the intermediate and the lower area. At the upper part, two structures interpreted as huts were documented while in the intermediate area five structures interpreted as storage units were recorded and the unique cemetery at the lower area. The singularity of this necropolis is the high amount of burials, where some of them (n=60) were single with a total estimation of individuals (MNI) of 75. 49 out of the 60 graves were individual (representing 82%), 9 double, and 2 containing 4 individuals. Within those graves, there are some differences in the way they were constructed, some of the better built including prestige objects made of exotic material such as sillimanite, variscite, amber, or turquoise. The purpose of this paper is to combine the anthropological (sex & age estimations and the evaluation of health status) with the biochemical information. Results of the biochemical analysis to investigate diet (δ15N and δ13C), mobility (87Sr/86Sr and δ18O) and total mercury (THg) analysis of the bone are also presented. In addition the new radiocarbon dates (AMS) are presented which are confirming the time span of this necropolis during the 5th-4th millennium BC.


Author(s): Vijande, Eduardo (University of Cadiz) - Díaz-Zorita, Marta (Institut für Ur-und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Tübingen Universität) - Sánchez-Barba, Lydia (Laboratorio de Antropología. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada) - Bocherens, Hervé (Institut für Geowissenchaften, Tübingen Universität; Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Tübingen) - Emslie, Steven (University of North Carolina. Department of Biology and Marine Biology) - Escudero-Carrillo, Javier (Institut für Ur-und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Tübingen Universität)