RITUAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITY AT THE BINIEDRÍS CAVE ALAIOR, BALEARIC ISLANDS, SPAIN
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-10-23

The Biniedrís cave is presented as a ritual space where bodies of two different communities or two different groups have been recovered this cave. Is made up of 18 m2 comprising a great commingled burial ground along with a variety of grave goods. Among the most spectacular material culture, the V-perforated buttons have been documented. The specific climatic conditions of the cave allowed the preservation of some organic material such as plants and wood remains from different species. In addition, the technology and the production process including some elements such as stretcher and cooking accessories have been also documented. The ritual as an individual concept is clearly observed in the inner limits: there is such a space where some pots were deliberated fragmented aiming for a mortuary ritual. In a different space, the clustering of human skulls, clearly organized and surrounded by wooden structures is again reinforcing the burial ritual. The investigation of these group practices associated to another personal practice such as the
small wooden boxes to contain the artificial red coloured hair are among our main objectives. The main objective of this research project is to capture, through the acts, the human remains and the material culture the social ideology of the communities among the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC in the Balearic Islands (occidental Mediterranean).


Author(s): Moreno-Onorato, Auxilio - Alarcón-García, Eva (Department of Prehistory and Archaeology. University of Granada) - Diaz-Zorita Bonilla, Marta (Institut für Ur-und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Eberhardt Karls Universität, Schloß Hohentübingen) - Arboledas-Martínez, Luis (Department of Prehistory and Archaeology. University of Granada)