Balearic Prehistoric Ecology and Culture, Parts i - iii: The Excavation and Study of Certain Caves, Rock Shelters and Settlements 9781407392073, 9781407392080, 9781407392097, 9780860541875, 9781407329512

Citation preview

Balearic Prehistoric Ecology and Culture The Excavation and Study of Certain Caves, Rock Shelters and Settlements

William H. Waldren

Part i

BAR International Series I 49(i) 1982

B.A.R.

B.A.R., 122 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2. 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS

A. R. Hands, B .Sc . , M. A . , D .Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

B.A.R. S149 (I),

1982: 'Balearic.Prehistoric Ecology and Culture' Part I

© William H. Waldren, 1982. The author's moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9781407392073 (Volume I) paperback ISBN 9781407392080 (Volume II) paperback ISBN 9781407392097 (Volume III) paperback ISBN 9780860541875 (Volume set) paperback ISBN 9781407329512 (Volume set) e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860541875 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

PREFACE

This thesis presents t he r esults o f twenty years a rchaeological a nd palaeontological r esearch, h istoric

1 960 t o

1 980,

i nvolving Balearic pre-

e cology and culture which has been c entered i n two i mportant

r esearch s ites;

t he c ave o f S on Muleta,

s helter of S on Matge, two s ites,

Valldemosa,

S oller,

Mallorca,

Mallorca a nd t he r ock

Balearics,

S pain.

These

discovered and excavated a s well a s s tudied by t he author,

have produced a n u nusual and i mportant chronological , stratigraphical, e cological and c ultural s equence, i ndeed,

unprecendented i n t he B alearics a nd,

r emarkable f or i ts c ompleteness by any s tandards.

over t he years has r evealed a f und o f n ew i nformation,

The r esearch

d ata a nd evi-

d ence which greatly amplifies a s w ell a s c hanges numerous a spects o f B alearic prehistory. prehistory based on

I t o ffers a n ew c hronological

s ixteen year dating programme s ince

1 964,

thus

f ramework f or l ocal

1 00 chronometric d ates which a re the product o f a i naugurated and directed by t he author

f orming a n ew perspective of prehistoric e vents

t his a rea of the Western M editerranean. with other r esults,

This c ontribution,

when l inked

makes possible t he addition o f two prehistoric per-

i ods t o the t raditional t ripartite c hronological s ystem, a lly,

i n

permits t heir s ubdivision i nto phases.

This,

a nd addition-

i n turn,

makes i t

possible t o s uggest parallels a nd t o c orrelate the Balearic prehistoric s equence with that of Continental E urope, r esearch,

s omething which,

prior t o this

c ould only be a pproached i n t he broadest of manner.

Furthermore, a nd evidence

the r esearch i n this thesis e stablishes n ew views

i nvolving t he f ossil f auna r ecords of the i slands'

e ndemic P leistocene

s pecies,

A eotragus b alearicus,

a ntelope,

Bate

( 1909), t hought by most a uthorities

t o have become e xtinct s ome 4 0,000 t o 2 0,000 years a go. r esearch has

The a uthor's

s hown that this i ndigenous ruminant not only s urvived t he

l ast g laciation but was present a t t he f irst arrival o f man, the animal extinct,

e xtinct,

e specially t he curiously evolved a berrant

s urvived a s l ate a s c irca 2 200 b .c.

a nd t hat

a t which t ime i t became

directly or i ndirectly d ue t o the a ctions o f man.

The r esearch

a lso d emonstrates that the first human o ccupation of the B alearic I sl ands t ook place a s early as t he F ifth M illennium b .c.

- a n event pre-

viously b elieved by authorities t o b e n o e arlier t han t he S econd M illennium b .c.

This thesis examines , d iscusses and i llustrates wide variety of c ultural and e cological with the

i n d etail t his

i nformation and d ata,

s upporting evidence o f a rtefacts and s tratigraphy,

author b elieves t o be the most l ogical possible manner.

a long

i n what t he

I t b egins with

the Presettlement Period r epresented i n t he cave o f Muleta r esearch s ite,

c irca

1 00;000 years ago,

a nd i t a lso examines other r elated e vi-

d ence f rom the whole of t he P liestocene and H olocene e pochs.

Under n ormal c ircumstances,

a t hesis

would o nlyinclude t hat part o f a s ite's

i n prehistoric a rchaeology

s tratigraphy,

materials that c oncern early man and his cultural

c hronology a nd

i nvolvements,

a nd a ny

preceding earlier e cological a nd f aunal a spects o f the s ite would b e l eft f or eventual s eparate

s tudy.

H owever,

t his t hesis d evotes c onsid-

e rable

s pace to t he s tudy o f presettlement s tratigraphical c ontexts

a nd t heir f aunal c ontents b ecause of their potential s cientific and i nterpretative value,

i f and when— Mesolithic or Upper Palaeolithic

man i s d iscovered i n t he B alearic I slands;

the author b elieves,

a

s trong future possibility when t he r ight s ites are i nvestigated.

I t

i s t he author's premise that when e arlier evidence of man i s d iscovered his

s ubsistence and e conomy will c ertainly prove t o have b een based on

a s imilar c oexistence w ith i totragus b alearicus as that demonstrated i n Muleta a nd Matge during t he Fourth a nd F ifth Millennia b .c. s ame t ime,

any evidence of M esolithic or U pper Palaeolithic m an,

i t d oes appear,

when

will more t han l ikely be f ound i n a s imilar r ock s helter

o r c ave with comparable s tratigraphical a ble

At t he

s ource of c omparable

c onditions.

Therefore,

a n avail-

s tratigraphical a nd chronological a s w ell a s

material d escription will b e of great value t o f uture r esearchers. I n this t hesis,

t he Matge r ock s helter r esearch s ite's c ultural

s tratigraphes and their a rtefacts a re

s tudied c losely a s t hey a ppeared

t hroughout the d eposit's c ontexts o f the Pretalayotic P eriods Post Talayotic Period

( Neolithic), ( Iron Age)

l ocal Early S ettlement a nd

Talayotic P eriod

( Bronze Age)

a nd t he

a long w ith t heir available e xtensive

chronometric dating and other r esults a lready mentioned;

t hus making

possible t he presentation of a f ar more complete a nd precise c hronolog ical

f ramework f or Balearic prehistory than has previously e xisted.

This n ewechronological f ramework i s based o n a pentapartite d ivision o f prehistory f or t he Balearic I slands,

which c an b e s et out

i n t he f ollowing periodisation:

( 1 )

T he P resettlement P eriod ,

( 2)

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod ,

( 3)

T he P retalayotic P eriod , circa 3 000 b .c. t o 1 400 b .c. ( a)

t he f ossil r ecord until 5 000 b .c. c irca 5 000 b .c.

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase ,

t o 3 000 b .c.

c irca 3 000 b .c.

t o 2 000 b .c. ( b) ( c) ( 4)

T he T alayotic P eriod , ( a) ( b) ( c)

( 5)

T he E arly B eaker P hase , circa 2 000 b .c. t o 1 700 b .c. T he L ate B eaker P hase , circa 1 700 b .c. t o 1 400 b .c. c irca

T he E arly B ronze A ge, circa 1 400 b .c. t o 1 300 b .c. T he M iddle B ronze A ge , circa 1 300 b .c. t o 1 000 b .c. T he L ate B ronze A ge, circa 1 000 b .c. t o 8 00 b .c.

T he P ost T alayotic P eriod , ( a) ( b) ( c)

1 400 b .c t o 8 00 b .c.

circa 8 00 b .c.

t o

1 23 B .C.

T he E arly I ron A ge, circa 800 b .c. t o 6 00 b .c. T he M iddle I ron A ge, circa 600 b .c. t o 4 00 b .c. T he L ate I ron A ge, circa 400 b .c. t o 1 23 B .C.

This thesis i s organised s o t hat t here are two volumes. V olume I consists of the text, i llustrations, t ables a nd other graphics n ece ssary t o t he t ext. V olume I I i s t he appendices which c onsists o f a s eries of s hort preliminary, open-ended s tudies and s pecialised r es earch d irectly r elated t o t he t ext; i t s eems e asier however f rom t he r eader's point of view t o k eep s uch matters o f d etail out o f t he main t ext s o a s not t o overload i t or i nterrupt t he s equential a ccount.

i v

G enerally,

each a ppendix i s r elated t o r esearch on a s pecific t opic or

a rea of s tudy,

r elevant t o one particular period,

but i n s ome c ases

A ppendix A , A n I nventory o f R adiocarbon a nd O ther A nalyses R es ults U sed i n t he R esearch S ites), the appendix concerns all the pre( e.g.

historic periods.

The r eason they do not a lways have a s equential num-

b er i s due t o t he f act that s ome o f t he a ppendices' i n the process o f r esearch and a ' slotted'

s tudies a re s till

number r eference

i n t he

Volume has been a lready a ssigned t o t he particular project f or l ater addition.

S ome o f the appendices c ontain very preliminary r esults o f

( e.g. A ppendix 3 A, A P reliminary P ottery T hinS ectioning S tudy o f B alearic P rehistoric C eramic W ares). This k ind c ontinuing r esearch o f

i nformation i s worth i ncluding when i t i s pertinent t o a particular

a rea o f r esearch;

i t a lso s erves t o i ndicate

t he whole project

( of which this t hesis

t inuing.

I n s ome cases,

t ially b eyond t he s tage

I n addition,

s ome o f t he ways

i s merely a part)

i n which

i s s till c on-

the work may a lready have been t aken s ubstani ndicated i n t he preliminary r eport.

V olume I I is a volume of photographs and consists

of more than one hundred plates which i llustrate t he physical evidence c onnected with t he r esearch, more easily have t he

and i s d esigned s o t hat t he r eader c an

i llustrations a t hand while r eading t he t ext.

V olume I I also contains site plans and s ections, which a re n ecessarily s omewhat numerous

i n view o f the variety o f g eographical

s tratigraphical c ontents.

l ocales a nd

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

During t he

l ast s ix years

t his t hesis and i ts

s pent a t Oxford i n preparation o f

s ubsequent publication,

o f t ime c onsidering i ts d edication,

I have

s pent a great d eal

with t he end r esult o f answering

t he question of both d edication a nd a cknowledgements by a kind o f i nner s cenario.

" Where shall I b egin,

P lease Y our Majesty?"

" Begin at the b eginning , " and go until you c ome

t he King said gravely,

t o t he end:

t he s top" .

L ewis Carrol Alice in W onderland

I n a ll events,

i t i s not t o any s ingle person to whom t his

work has been d edicated,

but t o a l ong l ist o f d eserving people,

o f whom have had a s pecial r ole i n i ts u ltimate r ealisation.

a ll

There-

f ore a ny d edication a nd a cknowledgement a t a ll must s tart a t the beg inning a nd must go t o the end. pression o f gratitude work i nvolved;

At the

i t will have t o b e

s ame t ime,

t o g ive

f ull e x-

i n proportion t o the

hence extensive.

F or a s tart, whose understanding,

i t i s d edicated t o my wife,

Jacqueline D ee W aldren,

d evotion and e ncouragement have

s ustained a ll my

e fforts f rom t he very f irst.

I t Dr .

i s d edicated t o the

Luis F ericot Garcia,

l ate Sr.

Joan Malverti and the

both o f whom were among the

t o e ncourage my early Balearic prehistoric

f irst a cademics

s tudies and i nvestigations;

their passing i s a great l oss to I berian a rchaeology. i s given Dr.

l ate

Guillermo Rossello B ordoy whose

Gratitude,too,

l ong f riendship and c ol-

l aboration f rom t he outset t o t he present have been a l ong and meani ngful basis f or encouragement. a nd good f riend, a nd who

Dr .

I a lso have a l arge d ebt t o my d ear

Professor Daniel

i ntroduced me t o Dr .

both o f whom f irst t ested my s kills c lose

W oods,

Antonio Arribas

who knows my beginning a nd Dr .

Miguel Tarra dell

i n the f ield and s ince have b ecome

f riends and c olleagues.

Not much would have been possible t hrough the years without t he a id o f t he l ate Mrs.

Janet U pjohn S tearns,

my f ield work f or s ixteen years, r epay.

I have a s imilar d ebt t o Mr.

f inance my work i n the

who f inancially f unded

t o h er I owe more than I c an ever W alter 0 .

H einze,

who a lso h elped

f ield a nd who i n addition c ounselled me

i n t he

running of t he business end of t he D eya Archaeological Museum a nd R es earch C entre

( DAMARC);

at the

s ame t ime a cting l ike a f ather a s w ell

a s a d ear f riend f or over f ifteen years. a good part o f t his thesis.

vii

To both of t hem I dedicate

I must extend t hanks t o another two g ood f riends,

R ay,

who was

n ised,

i nstrumental

and t o D r .

D r .

C layton

i n having my work f irst a cademically r ecog-

M inze S tuiver, who has been responsible for the

greater part of t he c hronometric analyses which h as g iven u s s o much i nsight r egarding t he a ge of the materials w e have e xcavated d uring two decades.

I must a lso e xpress my gratitude t o D r . valuable c ounsel, Spain possible

advice a nd s upportive

f or many years.

M anual F ernandez -M iranda ,

M artin A lmagro whose

i nterest have made my work i n

our a ssociation on our Minorcan project over t he l ast years, adding n ew perspective t o my i nvestigations. hve a d ebt t o S r .

D r .

To my c olleague and g ood f riend ,

I e xtend my warmest r egards a nd t hanks f or t hus

I n t his r espect,

I a lso

L uis P lantalamor M assanet who has been l ike a f amily

member a s well a s a c lose f riend and c olleague over t he y ears;

both o n

Minorca and Mallorca.

I cannot f orget my c lose a ssociate a nd d ear f riend,

C rusafönt P airo, l ong e fforts

who f irst e ncouraged my paleontological

i n Muleta.

D r . M iguel

s tudies

a nd my

H is particular understanding o f my work has

made a great d eal possible which otherwise might n ot have been attempted. To my good f riend D r .

P aul Y .

S ondaar , with whom I have spent so many

pleasant hours d iscussing i totragus,

I a lso e xtend my thanks f or a ll

his good a dvice.

During the l ast f ive years t he l edgements has grown even l onger, experience.

l ist of names d eserving a cknow-

e specially s ince my Oxford a cademic

Therefore I c an n ever e xpress

Oxford s upervisor,

D r .

D erek A .

R oe,

s ufficient t hanks t o my

f or h is i nfinite patience i n

r eading every word of t his thesis a nd helping me c orrect i ts many rough areas;

E vans,

and most o f a ll f or not g iving up.

I extend a s pecial t hanks

To P rofessor J ohn D .

f or his a ppreciated b elief i n my work

and i n s eeing my n eed t o s um i t a ll up i n a n a rticulate f orm.

R obert W .

C hapman,

I am i n great d ebt f or t he

To D r .

f inal s upervision a nd

help i n bringing t he whole work t ogether i n a n a cceptable f orm.

This l ist o f a cknowledgements c annot be c omplete without e xpressing my d eepest a ppreciation t o my f ield s taff, s o l oyal over the years;

who have r emained

t herefore I g ive particular t hanks t o M r.

E dward A .O . S anders , M r . S tephen H erz, M iss C ynthia W aldren , M iss J acqueline B lack and my daughters, T alis, D eia , T ana and M ' ya W aldren . I a lso extend s incere r egards t o f ormer s taff members a nd c ontributors who greatly helped i n e xcavation and DAMARC a ctivities and projects i n g eneral.

Therefore

s pecial thanks must t o t o M r .

G reville H yatt, M iss H elena W allace, M rs. D rake .

G ary R eal , M r . S ylvia D rane and M r . T homas

For the l ast f ive years, I owe a d ebt t o my d ear f riends M r . G eorge B arrie and Mrs. M ary B arrie who have helped s o g enerously i n the

l ast s tages of my work here at Oxford.

and s pecial t hanks t o my

I must a lso g ive s eparate

s piritual brother and s ister, M r .

viii

L ars

Eisenhardt and Mrs.

Gae Eisenhardt who have helped me over so many of

the hard parts during the

Chronologically, thanks

last

l ast but i n no way l east,

to a good f riend with infinite patience,

having prepared the text as tude to the

it f inally s tands.

Mr .

a very s pecial Rex C .

and Mr .

David R .

( B.A.R.),

Dr .

W alker f or accepting i t f or publication

insuring i t against possible obscurity.

The

following

i nstitutions,

and other s cientific organisations

university and f aculty departments and f oundations have contributed i n

one way or another to my efforts over the

last

1 8 years and,

merit my acknowledgement f or their help i n numerous ways, and academically.

My thanks are extended to:

Museum of Natural History;

the

the Quaternary Research Centre,

S eattle;

the Geochronological Laboratory,

the University of Pennsylvania; S cience Foundation; the Centre of Field

Quaternary Research Centre, Linacre College,

University of Washington at University of Arizona at Tus-

the National Geographic

S cripps

University of California at La Jolla; Los Angeles;

Peabody

United States

the Carnegie Museum of Natural

History;

the National

c ertainly,

f inancially

Yale University,

Smithsonian I nstitution,

National Museum of Natural History;

con;

Kennard f or

And particular grati-

s taff of the British Archaeological Reports

Anthony Hands hence

1 5 years.

Society;

I nstitute of Oceanography,

the University of California at

Research;

the Donald Baden-Powell

Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford;

University of Oxford;

the British Museum of Natural

History and the Research Laboratories of the British Museum.

ix

CONTENTS

P REFACE .a nd A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I NTRODUCTION .

1

1 .

The Research Sites and the Chronological

2 .

The Geographic Location of the Research

1 4

2 .1

The

1 4

3 .

Mallorca

3 .1

Region

3 .2

I slands and the Distances of

S cheme

I nterest

9

1 7 The Northern S ierras

1 7

Region 2 .

The Central P lains

1 7

3 .3

Region 3 .

The Southeastern Hills

1 8

3 .4

Region 4 .

The Northeastern Range

1 8

3 .5

The Water and Mineral Resources of Mallorca

1 8

4 .

Minorca

2 1

4 .1

Region

4 .2

Region 2 .

4 .3

The Water and Mineral Resources of Minorca

2 5

5 .

I biza and Formentera,

2 5

6 .

G eneral Comments

2 6

7 .

History of Archaeological Research i n the Balearics

2 6

8 .

A Summary of the Current Chronological S chemes

2 8

C HAPTER I .

1 .

1 .

The Northern S econdary Formations

2 1

The Southern Tertiary Formations

2 2

T he S ite:

General Comments

t he C ave o f S on M uleta ( 1,A,SM )

1 .

I ntroduction

2 .

The Geographic Location and Geological

3 3

3 5 Structure of

the Muleta Cave

3 6

2 .1

A Description of the Cave S ectors

3 8

2 .2

A Few Observations on the Accumulation of the Muleta 3 9

D eposit 2 .3

A Summary of the Methodology Used i n the Excavations 4 1

and Research ( i)

The Excavation and Earth Removal

( ii)

The Hydraulic Washing System

( iii)

Earth Removal

( iv )

The Collection of Samples

( v )

Regarding Additional Research Currently i n Progress

and Weighing f or Special Analysis

3 .

S tratigraphy and

Dating of the Muleta D eposit:

Summary

( 1)

The Presettlement Period

( ii)

The Early S ettlement Period

( Strata I nferior to

( iii)

The Pretalayotic Period

( iv)

The Talayotic and Post Talayoitc Periods

4 3

7 )

( Strata 7 to 6 )

( Strata 6 t o 4 )

( Strata 4 to 0 ) 4 .

The Muleta Stratigraphies

4 .1

The

' X'

i n Detail

S ector Stratigraphy,

( X,O,EF,CD,AB and Z )

I ts D escription and Chrono-

l ogy 5 .

The

4 6 ' 0',

' EF',

' CD',

and

' AB'

S ector Stratigraphies,

Their Description and Chronology 5 .1

The

' 0'

S ector Stratigraphy,

5 6

I ts D escription and Chrono-

l ogy 5 .2

The

4 5

5 6 ' EF'

S ector Stratigraphy,

I ts D escription and Chron

l ogy

5 9

5 .2.1

The

' E'

S ector Stratigraphy

6 0

5 .2.2

The

' F'

S ector Stratigraphy

6 2

5 .2.3

The

' CD'

5 .2.4

The

S tratigraphical

C HAPTER I I .

and the

' AB'

S ectors

Stratigraphies

Sequence of the

' Z'

6 4

S ector Cave

6 4

T he P resettlement P eriod

7 3

1 .

The Background to the New Evidence

7 5

2 .

On the Origin of the

7 6

2 .1

Myotragus balearicus Table

1 .

Species

7 8

Dentition Formulas gus

i n the Different Myotra-

Species

2 .2

Myotragus batei

9 1

2 .3

Myotragus antiquus

9 2

3 .

Competitive Behaviour in Myotragus balearicus:

4 .

S exual Dimorphism i n Myotragus balearicus:

5 .

Hypnomys morpheus

6 .

Nesiotites hidalgo

7 .

Concerning the other Vertebrate and I nvertebrate

8 .

Some Preliminary I ndications of the P eriods's Ecology

9 .

Remarks on the

Summary

S ummary

1 .

9 6 9 7 1 00

fauna

1 01 1 01

I nterpretations of t he Presettlement

Period

C HAPTER I II .

9 2

1 03

T he C hronological S cheme, a nd E vidence

The Presettlement Period:

t he P eriods, P hases

the Pleistocene until

xii

1 05

5 000 b .c.

1 07

1 .1

The Chronometric Data f or the P resettlement P eriod Table

2 .

List of Available Chronometric D ates

1 10

f rom t he

Muleta D eposit f or t he Presettlement P eriod 2 .

The Early S ettlement P eriod;

c irca 5 000 b .c.

t o c irca 3 000

3 000 b .c. 2 .1

1 12

The Chronometric Data f or the Early S ettlement P eriod Table

3 .

L ist of Available Chronometric Dates

1 14

f rom

t he Muleta a nd Matge D eposits f or t he Early S ettlement P eriod 3 .

The Pretalayotic P eriod:

c irca 3 000 b .c.

3 .1

The Neolithic Early C eramic Phase:

t o

1 400 b .c.

c irca 3 000 b .c.

t o

c irca 2 000 b .c.

1 18

3 .2

The Early B eaker Phase:

3 .3

The Late B eaker Phase:

3 .4

The Chronometric Data f or t he P retalayotic P eriod Table 4 .

1 16

c irca 2 000 b .c. t o c irca c irca

1 700 b.c. t o c irca

1 700 b .c. 1 400 b.c.

L ist of Available Chronometric Dates

1 18 1 20 1 22

f rom

the Muleta a nd Matge D eposits a s well a s Other S ites with

1 4C Dates

f or t he P retala-

yotic P eriod a nd I ts Phases 4 .

The Talayotic P eriod:

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o c irca 8 00 b .c.

1 24

4 .1

The Early B ronze Age:

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o c irca

1 25

4 .2

The Middle Bronze Age:

4 .3

The Late Bronze Age;

4 .4

The Chronometric Data f or the Talayotic P eriod Table

5 .

c irca

c irca

1 300 b .c.

1 000 b .c.

1 300 b .c.

t o c irca

1 000 b .c.

t o c irca 8 00 b .c.

1 26 1 26 1 26

List of Available Chronometric Dates f rom the Muleta and Matge D eposits a s well a s Other S ites with

1 4C Dates f or the Tala-

yotic P eriod a nd I ts Phases 5 .

The Post Talayotic P eriod:

c irca 8 00 b .c.

t o c irca

1 00 b .c.

1 28

5 .1

The Early

I ron Age:

5 .2

The Middle I ron Age:

5 .3

The Late

5 .4

The Chronometric D ata f or the Post Talayotic P eriod

I ron Age:

Table 6 .

c irca 8 00 b .c.

t o c irca 6 00 b .c.

c irca 6 00 b .c.

c irca 4 00 b .c.

to c irca 4 00 b .c.

t o c irca

1 00 b .c.

List o f Available Chronometric Dates

1 29 1 30 1 31

f rom

t he Muleta a nd Matge D eposits a s w ell a s Other S ites w ith

1 4C Dates

f or the P ost

Talayotic P eriod and I ts Phase

C HAPTER I V :

T he S ite: t he R ock S helter o f S on M atge

( 1,B ,ABSM )

I ntroduction 2 .

1 37

1 39

The G eographic Location and G eological S ituation of the Matge

S helter

1 40

2 .1

General Considerations

3 .

The East Enclosure Stratigraphy:

3 .1

1 41 I ntroduction

1 45

The East Enclosure Early S ettlement Stratigraphy i n Detail

1 46

3 .2

The East Enclosure Pretalayotic Stratigraphy i n Detail

1 56

3 .3

The East Enclosure Talayotic Stratigraphy i n D etail

1 63

4 .

The Central

1 68

4 .1

The Central Ecnlosure Pretalayotic Stratigraphy i n

Stratigraphy:

I ntroduction

Detail

1 68

4 .2

The Central Enclosure Talayotic Stratigraphy in Detail

1 69

5 .

The West Enclosure Stratigraphy:

1 70

5 .1

The West Enclosure Talayotic

6 .

The Post Talayotic Stratigraphical S equence:

I ntroduction

Stratigraphy i n D etail

I ntroduction 6 .1

1 70

1 72

Concerning the Lime Conglomerate Categories and Stratigraphy

1 81

6 .2

The West Enclosure Post Talayotic Stratigraphy i n D etail

1 82

6 .3

The Central Enclosure Post Talayotic

Stratigraphy i n

Detail

1 84

6 .4

The East Enclosure Post Talayotic Stratigraphy i n Detail

1 86

7 .

The Matge

1 88

C HAPTER V .

Stratigraphy in Summary

T he S econdary S ites

1 91

1 .

Background to the New Evidence

1 93

2 .

The Rock Shelter of Muertos Gallard

1 93

3 .

The

1 94

4 .

The Muertos Gallard Pretalayotic

4 .1

The Pretalayotic Stratigraphy of the

Stratigraphy in General

Grave 4 .2

4 .4

1 95

I nner Shelter Area

1

1 95

The Pretalayotic Stratigraphy of the Parapet Area Grave

4 .3

Stratigraphy in D etail

2

1 96

The Talayotic

Stratigraphy of the

I nner Shelter Area

The Post Talayotic S tratigraphy of the

1 98

I nner Shelter

Area

1 99

4 .5

The Post Talayotic Stratigraphy of the Parapet Area

2 00

5 .

The Cave of Son Marroig

2 00

5 .1

The

2 01

6 .

The Cave of

6 .1

The Puig Cave

Stratigraphy i n General Son Puig

2 01

Stratigraphy and Structure

xiv

2 02

C HAPTER V I .

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod

2 05

1 .

Background to the New Evidence

2 07

1 .1

The Human Skeletal Remains

2 08

Table

7 .

I nventory of Human Bones

1 .2

The Myotragus balearicus Coprolite Beds

2 11

1 .3

The Artificially Trimmed Horns

2 13

1 .4

The Myotragus Bones with Butchering Marks:

Burnt and

Unburnt 1 .5

2 16

The Charcoal Table

8 .

f rom the Early S ettlement Hearths

2 17

I nventory of Butchered Bones

1 .6

The Artefact Evidence of the Early S ettlement World

2 .

The Available Ecological Data for the Early S ettlement Period

3 .

2 21

Table

9 .

Pollen Count Table

Table

1 0.

Pollen Sample Levels

Remarks on the

f rom the Cave of Muleta and Correlated

1 4C Dates

I nterpretation of the Early S ettlement

Period

C HAPTER V II .

2 21

T he P retalayotic P eriod

2 25

1 .

Background to the New Evidence

1 .1

The Balearic Geographic

1 .2

The S cheme and Nomenclature

' Arc of

2 27 Immediate

I nfluence'

2 31

Balearic Pottery Technology:

the Neolithic Early

Ceramic Phase 2 .1

2 30

for the Description of

Pottery Forms 2 .

2 20

2 36

The Other Evidence Concerning the Matge NECP Contexts Table

1 1.

A S election of

I berian Neolithic

1 4C Dates

Table

1 2.

A S election of I berian Neolithic

1 4C Dates

Table

1 3.

A S election of I berian and European Neolithic

2 53

f or Fauna f or Grain 1 4C Dates and S ites 3 .

Balearic Beaker I nfluences:

f or Comparison

the Early Beaker Phase

2 54

Table

1 4.

A S election of

I berian Beaker

Table

1 5.

A S election of

I berian-Valencian Bronze Age

1 4C Dates Table

1 6.

f or Comparison

Matge Pretalayotic Pottery, Stratigraphical

Table

1 7.

1 4C Dates

Chronometric and

S equence

Balearic Pretalayotic EBP and LBP

1 4C Dates

f or Other Beaker S ites Table

1 8.

The Early Beaker Strata, Dates

Their Age

i n

1 4C

f or EBP and Indigenous Wares

3 .1

The EBP and LBP Pretalayotic Pottery Forms:

4 .

Balearic Beaker Ware

an Analysis

from the EBP Pottery Assemblage

XV

2 64 2 65

5 .

Balearic Metal Working Technology

2 95

6 .

The Pretalayotic Stone Artefacts

3 07

7 .

The Pretalayotic Bone and Shell Artefacts

3 08

Table

1 9.

Prinipcal Mallorcan S ites with Bone Buttons

Table

2 0.

Bronze Awl Hoard Frequencies

and

' V'

Perforated Types

8 .

The First Balearic Open-Air S ettlements

3 08

9 .

The Evidence:

3 20

1 0.

1 1.

the Late Beaker Phase

Remarks Concerning the Burial Customs of the Pretalayotic Period

3 23

Remarks on the

3 24

C HAPTER V III .

I nterpretation of the Pretalayotic Period

T he T alayotic P eriod

3 27

1 .

Background to the New Evidence

3 29

1 .1

A Note on the Material

3 30

1 .2

A Brief Description and General Chronology of the

I ncluded i n the Research

Talyotic Buildings 1 .3

3 30

S ome of the Problems Regarding the Talayotic S ettlements

1 .4

3 37

The Distribution of the Research S ites and Other Ref erence

Sites:

Mallorca and Minorca

Table

2 1.

List of the General Distribution of

Table

2 2.

A S ummary:

S ettlement S ites:

3 39

Mallorca and Minorca

Talayotic S ettlements on Mal-

lorca and Minorca 1 .5

Relevant Local

S equences

i n Adjacent Areas During

Talayotic Period 2 .

3 46

Concerning the Pottery Technology and Typology of the Talayotic Period

2 .1

Some Remarks on the

3 48 I nterpretation of the Pottery Tech-

nological Changes 2 .2

3 49

Some Preliminary Remarks on the Thin-Sectioning Research of Talayotic Pottery Wares and Their Comparison with Pretalayotic Wares Table

2 .3

2 3.

3 50

Classification of Thin-Section Specimens

Some Preliminary Conclusions Concerning the ThinS ectioning of the Pretalayotic and Talayotic Periods

3 .

The Pottery Markings of the Talayotic Bronze Age:

a

General Description and Discussion 4 .

3 54

3 56

The Talayotic EBA and MBA Pottery f rom the Matge East Enclosure

3 70

x vi

4 .1

A Statistical Analysis of EBA and MBA Pottery Sherds Table

2 4.

Table

2 5.

Sample Model of EBA and MBA Talayotic Pots

Table

2 6.

I nventory of Fragments

3 71

I nventory of EBA and MBA Pottery s herds: Matge Cache Areas

5 .

The Talayotic EBA and MBA Pottery Finds

f rom the

Central Enclosure 6 .

3 78

The Talayotic EBA and MBA Contexts of the West Enclosure

7 .

3 79

The Talayotic EBA and MBA Bronze Finds of the East Enclosure

3 79

8 .

The Muertos Gallard EBA and MBA Pottery Finds

3 90

9 .

The LBA Pottery Kiln from t he Matge West Enclosure

3 90

Table

2 7.

I nventory of Fragments

1 0.

The LBA Pottery of the Muleta Cave D eposit

1 1.

Concerning the other LBA Artefacts

3 93

f rom the Research

S ite

3 93

1 2.

Concerning the Burial Customs of the Talayotic Period

3 99

1 3.

Remarks on the

4 00

I nterpretation of the Talayotic Period

xvii

L IST O F I LLUSTRATIONS

Figure

1 .

Chronological and Stratigraphical Overlaps of

xxvii

the Research S ites

I NTRODUCTION .

( Front i spiece)

1

Figure

2 .

Geographic Location of the Research Stations

Figure

3 .

Balearic Pentapartite Division of Prehistory

Figure

4 .

The Three

Stages

7 1 1

i n the Formation of the Balearic

I slands

1 5

Geological Map of Mallorca and Regions

1 9

Figure 6 .

Geological Map of Minorca and Regions

2 3

Figure

Ordinance Map Overlay

3 1

Figure

5 .

7 .

C HAPTER I .

( Front i spiece)

3 3

Figure 8 .

Muleta Profile

Figure 9 .

Muleta S ection,

Lower Cave,

E-W Profile

5 5

Lower Cave,

N-S Profile

6 5

Figure

1 0.

Muleta S ection,

Figure

1 1.

' Z'

C HAPTER II .

S ection,

' X'

S ector

Cave Profile,

4 7

N-S

6 7

7 3

( Frontispiece)

Figure

1 2.

Myotragus balearicus and Myotragus batei

7 9

Figure

1 3.

Metacarpals

8 1

Figure

1 4.

The Degrees of Tarsal Fusion,

Carpals and Meta-

carpals

8 3

Figure

1 5.

Pathological Knitted Fracture

8 5

Figure

1 6.

Pathological Metacarpals

8 6

Figure

1 7.

Typical Dietary Wear in the Teeth of Aged 8 7

Myotragus 1 8.

Myotragus

Figure

1 9.

Myotragus Mandibles

8 9

0. Figure 2

Angle of

9 3

1. Figure 2

ection S exing Myotragus Horn Cores by Longitudinal S

9 5

Hypnomys Morpheus

99

Figure

2 2.

I ncisors

- Three Species

88

Figure

Impact of Two Jousting Postures

CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV.

(Frontispiece)

105

(Frontispiece)

137

Figure 23A. East Enclosure - Matge, E-W Profile Figure 23B. East Enclosure - Matge, Plan Figure 24.

Figure 25. Figure 26. Figure 27.

East Enclosure - Matge, N-W Profile Matge Habitational Zones Complex

Matge East Enclosure Pretalayotic Hearths, Hearth 9 Matge Hearths 1 , 2, 3 and 5

Figure 28.

Matge Rock Shelter Profile and Central Enclosure Plan

Figure 29.

Matge, West Enclosure, North-South Profile

Figure 30.

Matge, Normal Distribution of Lime Inhumations' Stratigraphy

147 148 149 153 154 155 167 171

175

Figure 31.

Lime Stratigraphies, 1-6

Figure 32.

Lime Stratigraphies, 7-10 and Contact Zones

CHAPTER V.

(Front ispiece)

191

Figure 33.

Muertos Gallard-Profiles, N-S

1-97

CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. Figure 34.

(Front ispiece)

177

178

205 225

(Frontispiece) The Balearic islands in Their Western European Context; the Pretalayoitc Perioct, 'Arc of Immediate Influence'

229

Figure 35.

The Location of the Inflection Point in Pottery

232

Figure 36.

Description of Pottery Contour

233

Figure 37.

Matge-NECP Pottery Forms, 1-2

234

Figure 38.

Matge-NECP Pottery Forms, 1-5

235

Figure 39.

Parallels, Italy-Liguria

243

Figure 40.

Parallels, France-Seine et Oise

244

Figure 41. Figure 42.

Parallels, France-Yonne, Loire

245

Parallels , Middle Neolithic Pottery Forms, Cortaillod Culture

246

Figure 43.

Parallels,:- Spain-CatahJ>nia , 1-12

,

XX

247

Figure

4 4.

Parallels,

Spain-Catalonia,

1 -3

2 48

Figure 4 5.

Parallels,

Spain-Catalonia,

1 -4

2 49

Figure 46.

Parallels,

Spain-Catalonia,

1 -3

2 50

Figure

4 7.

Son Muleta,

Pottery Forms, Pottery Forms,

1 -4

2 59

Figure 48.

S on Matge,

Figure 49.

Perforated Lugs and Relief Borders, S culpted Borders

1 -3

2 60 I ncised and

f rom Muertos Gallard and Matge

Figure

5 0.

S on Puig Pottery Forms,

Figure

5 1.

Mallorca Pottery Forms

Figure

5 2.

Assemblage of Pretalayotic Pottery Forms

Figure

5 3.

Pretalayotic Pottery Forms from the Research

2 61

1 -5

2 62

f rom Various

Stations

2 63 2 64

Stations-a S election

2 67

Figure

5 4.

Parallels,

Spain-Catalonia,

1 -5

Figure

5 5.

Parallels,

Catalonia and Mallorca,

2 68 Decorative

Motif and Form

2 69 2 70

Figure

5 6.

Matge,

ABSM

Figure

5 7.

Chronological Development of the Pointed CornerPointed Form

2 71

Figure

5 8.

Muleta,

S imple End-Pointed Unrestricted Form

2 72

Figure

5 9.

Muleta,

Composite Corner-Pointed Unrestricted Form

2 73

Figure

6 0.

A S election of Pottery Sherds

2 74 2 75

Figure

6 1.

Pottery Profiles-Various

Figure

6 2.

Marroig,

Figure 6 3.

Pottery Forms,

6 4.

5. Figure 6

2 76

1 -4

The F elanitx Fragments and Samples of Balearic Beakers Wares

Figure

from Ferrandell-

Oleza and Torralba den Salort

f or Comparison

2 77

Ferrandell-Oleza Beaker Ware

2 78

Balearic The

I nfluence-Pretalayotic Period-2000 b .c.,

' Arc of

Immediate

I nfluence'

and I berian

Beaker Culture Groups

2 79

Figure 66.

Chart of Beaker Patterns and Incised Designs

2 80

7. Figure 6

An Assortment of Balearic Patterns and Motifs,

1 -4

2 82

Figure 68.

An Assortment of Balearic Patterns

and Motifs,

5 -8

2 83

Figure

69.

An Assortment of Balearic Patterns and Motifs,

9 -12

2 84

Figure

7 0.

An Assortment of Balearic Patterns and Motifs,

1 3-15

2 85

Figure

7 1.

Copper Laurel Leaf Dagger and Sandstone

Hone

from

Son Puig

2 86

Figure

7 2.

S on Matge-Portion of Bronze Awl Hoards

2 87

Figure

7 3.

Son Matge-Bronze Awls-Young Goat Bone Handles

2 88

Figure

7 4.

Son Matge

2 89

( Beaker Workshop)

xxi

Crucible

Sherds

Figure

7 5.

Matge-Bronze Awls and Sheath Mould

Figure

7 6.

Matge-Copper Arrowhead and I ncised Ivory Beaker Comb 2 91

Figure

7 7.

A Selection of Stone Hones

Figure

7 8.

A Selection of

Figure

7 9.

' V'

2 90

f rom the Research S ites

2 92

Perforated Bone and Stone Buttpns

f rom the Research Sites

2 93

Matge-Bone and Bronze Awls

2 94

Figure 80.

Ferrandell-Oleza-Flint,

Figure

8 1.

Other F lint Blades,

Figure

8 2.

Matge-Flint F lakes A ,B and C

3 02

Figure 8 3.

Muelta-Flint Flakes A ,B,C and D

3 03

Figure 8 4.

Muleta-Cobblestone Tools

3 04

Figure

8 5.

Matge-Cobblestone Tools

3 05

Figure

8 6.

Muertos Gallard-Cobblestone Tools

3 06

Figure 8 7.

The Ca Na Costa Megalithic Chamber Tomb

3 11

Figure

The Old S ettlement,

88.

1 ,

S ickle

and Blade

2 and 3

3 00 3 01

Ferrandell-Oleza Settlement

Complex

3 12

Figure 89.

Son Ferrandell-Oleza,

Plans

Figure

9 0.

Son Ferrandell-Oleza,

Beaker Pottery

3 14

Figure

9 1.

Son Ferrandell-Oleza,

Beaker Pottery

3 15

Figure

9 2.

Son Ferrandell-Oleza,

Beaker Pottery

3 16

Figure 9 3.

Son Ferrandell-Oleza,

Beaker Pottery

3 17

Figure

9 4.

' A'

and

' B'

Mallorca Late Beaker Ware Pottery

C HAPTER V III .

3 18

( Frontispiece)

3 27

Figure

9 5.

Mallorca-Minorca,

A Naveta-Plan and Profile S ection

Figure

9 6.

Mallorca-Minorca,

A Round Talayotic Plan and Profile

Sections Figure

9 7.

3 13

3 31

3 32

Mallorca-Minorca,

A Square Talayotic plan and Profile 3 33

Section Figure

9 8.

Minorca,

Figure

9 9.

Mallorca-Map-Distribution of S ettlements

3 40

Figure

1 00.

Minorca-Map-Distribution of S ettlements

3 41

Figure

1 01.

Talayotic Pottery Forms

3 44

Figure

1 02.

Minorca-Talyotic Naveta Pottery Forms

3 45

Figure

1 03.

Copper and Bronze Age Abstract Pottery Markings

3 57

Figure

1 04.

Matge-Abstract Pottery Markings-Frequency Chart

3 58

Figure

1 05.

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age,

3 59

1 -4

A Taula,Plan and Profile

S ection

EBA-LBA Pottery Forms,

3 34

Figure

1 06.

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

Figure

1 07.

Figure

1 08.

1 09.

Figure

1 10.

1 11.

Figure

1 12.

1 13.

EBA-LBA Pottery

3 0-39

3 63 EBA-LBA Pottery

4 0-47

3 64 EBA-LBA Pottery

4 8-59

3 65

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

Figure

3 62

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

EBA-LBA Pottery

2 2-29

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

Figure

3 61

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, F orms,

EBA-LBA Pottery

1 3-21

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

Figure

3 60

Matge-Talayotic Bronze Age, Forms,

EBA-LBA Pottery

5 -12

EBA-LBA Pottery

6 0-70

Parallels,

3 66

French and Balearic Middle Bronze Age

Pottery Forms

3 67

Figure

1 14.

Matge-Talayotic Anthropomorphic Idol

3 74

Figure

1 15.

Parallels,

3 75

Figure

1 16.

Matge-Talyotic

Figure

1 17.

Talyotic Minorcan Buttressed Necked Vase

3 77

Figure

1 18.

Matge-Bronze

Sword

3 81

Figure

1 19.

Matge-Bronze

Head piece

3 82

Figure

1 20.

Matge-Bronze

S pearhead and Arrowhead

3 83

Figure

1 21.

Matge-Talayotic B ronze Razor-like B lade

3 84

Figure

1 22.

Minorcan Mould and Matge Bronze Blade

3 85

Figure

1 23.

European Bronze Razor Types

3 86

Figure

1 24.

Parallels,

Anthropomorphic I dols of Portugal Z oomorphic Vessel

3 76

Bronze Age Carved Cist S lab and

Bronze Weapon from Matge

3 87

Figure

1 25.

Matge-Copper Awl with Bronze H ead Case Over Clay

3 88

Figure

1 26.

Muertos Gallard,

EBA Shards

3 94

Figure

1 27.

Matge-LBA Pottery Kiln Ares

3 95

Figure

1 28.

Matge-LBA and EIA Pottery Forms,

1 -3

3 96

Figure

1 29.

Matge-LBA and E IA Pottery Forms,

4 -11

3 97

Figure

1 30.

Muleta LBA Sherd Profiles

3 98

' Time present and time past Are both perhaps present i n time

f uture,

And time future contained i n t ime past.'

T .S .

E liot

( 1888-1965) Burnt

N orton

Chrono logica l a nd S tr•tigr•ph ical O ver l•ps o f t he R eser brch S ites

MI N ORC A

MAL L ORC A

b . c.

TORRALBA DEN SALORT

•

l eATGE FLA l aA leG ILL . I. OLEZA

GAL LAR D a tA RII IG

I IS

I S

M U LETA

C u ltura l

2 143 12700

Lev• le

•

*3800 • : 39 88 7 0 5

Ca w° lite

S ods m y t e tragus b a lea r icus

COntext•

4730 *5 1 85

•

Geological C•nter iti

*chrono metric d a t ings mai•r importance •I ndly ‘c lu•I chrono m•tric dating&

• •

I NTRODUCT I ON

I ntroduction

The purpose o f t his t hesis

i s t o present n ew i nformation a nd

d ata r elated t o Balearic prehistoric e cology a nd culture

f rom t wo major

t he c ave o f S on M uleta ( 6220'E , 3 9249'N ) and ( b ) t he R ock S helter o f S on M atge ( 6225'E , 3 92 3 5'N )(Figure 1 )(inventoried S M a nd A BSM r espectively), on which only a rchaeological a nd palaeontological s ites,

i nterim r eports have e ntirely o n the s o

s o f ar a ppeared.

a uthor's

f indings

( a)

The c onclusions r eached a re based

i n the

f ar o f h is r esearch undertaken f rom

f ield,

1 960 t o

a nd r epresent t he r esults 1 980.

more o utstanding n ew e vidence obtained i ncludes the

A s ummary o f t he f ollowing,

a ll

f ully

d iscussed i n t his thesis. ( 1)

By e xtensive a nd varied chronometric d ating m ethods and

l ong t erm c onventional excavation,

i t dates a nd examines t hese two

l ocally unparalleled s tratigraphical

s equences

f rom about

1 00,000 years

f orward. ( 2)

I n

mic ruminant,

s o d oing,

i t d emonstrates the

l ate

s urvival o f t he ende-

M yotragus b alearicus on Mallorca, previously assumed to

have b ecome extinct s ome 4 0,000 t o 2 0,000 y ears ago,

a nd s heds n ew l ight

on f actors

c irca 2 200 b .c.

s urrounding t he extinction o f the a nimal,

( 3) I slands,

I t r evises dating of man's earliest presence

c irca 5 000 b .c.; ( 4)

Furthermore,

i t d emonstrates and examines the

t ionships existing b etween man a nd M yotragus c irca 2 000 b .c., ( 5) rth z ones

I t makes a s pecial s tudy of the r emarkable

t o

At the

s ame t ime,

s equence of h ea-

( Mätge), examining their contents

their c hronology and c orrelation f rom c irca 4 000 b .c.

t o c irca

a nd s mall c attle)

1 400 b .c.

i t e stablishes the earliest evidence o f

p ottery t echnology a nd i ntroduction o f d omesticated animals

( 7)

s pecial r ela-

f rom a bout 5 000 b .c.

which w ere the outcome of t heir b eing c ontemporary.

i n one o f the r esearch s ites

( 6)

i n t he B alearic

s ome three thousand y ears earlier t han b elieved.

( goat, p ig

i n Mallorca f rom a s early a s 2 700 b .c.

There

i s the c onformation o f t he presence o f B eaker wares

i n the r esearch s ites,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

t o

d ence that s uggests a l ate B eaker phase,

1 700 b .c., c irca

with additional e vi-

1 700 b .c.

t o c irca

1 400

b .c. ( 8)

Excavations

in

( Mätge) has produ-

one o f the r esearch s ites

c ed pottery e vidence c onsisting o f

s everal hundred c omplete and f ragme-

n tary pots of a s ingle chronological phase,

c irca

1 300 b .c.

t o c irca

1 000 b .c. ( 9)

The

s ame r esearch s ite has produced t he

f irst c eramic k iln

that c ontained a l arge quantity o f broken pottery b elonging t o a nother chronological phase,

c irca

1 000 b .c.

4

t o c irca 8 00 b .c.

( 10)

There

i s c hronometric and s tratigraphic e vidence

i ng the dates o f the

s uggest-

( copper , b ronze a nd i ron)

i ntroduction o f m etal

i nto Mallorca f rom one o f the r esearch s ites. ( 11) i n the

As a f inal c ontribution,

f orm o f

f rom t he

s ites

e xtensive

1 10 chronometric r eadings, s tudied h ere,

c hronological e vidence

the overwhelming majority

a re a lso the product of t he present r ese-

a rch.

While this thesis d eals primarily with the r esearch a t M uleta a nd M atge, some s pace will be d evoted t o r elated s maller s tations s uch a s t he c ave o f S on M arroig ( SMRG ) and t he r ock s helter o f M uertos G allard ( AMG) , and others with which the writer has had some personal involvement o r where h e can vouch f or the quality of the work c arried out. main part of t his thesis i s based on c ompleted r esearch; preliminary

s tatements a re

The

a lthough s ome

i ncluded on particular r esearch a spects a nd

projects which will not b e c ompleted f or

s ome

t ime.

These a re i ncluded

h ere b ecause they a re r elevant t o t he understanding o f t he r esearch that has

a lready b een c ompleted.

The work on Mallorca i s,

a fter a ll,

a c on-

t inuing r esearch programme.

The only unique

two

s ites o f Muleta and Matge

f orm a c ombination that i s not

i n Mallorca a nd the r est of the Balearics but by the

s tandards elsewhere

i n the world.

This evaluation i s

s o f or

s ame

s everal

r easons: ( 1) prehistoric

both the

s ites c ontain the d eepest a nd hence the

r ecord y et e ncountered i n the Balearics.

f orm a n early unbroken e cological a nd cultural the period under r esearch ( 2) the

i slands'

a ntelope,

( Figure 2 ), s keletal evidence of

extinct and curiously evolved endemic

eotragus b alearicus.

At Muleta,

f auna,

both the

s equence until well s ites

a c lose major

i nto the

a ssociation between man a nd

and,

a t t he

s ite's

1 0 meters d epth

H olocene epoch,

i nclude evidence of the

presence of man f rom c irca 5 000 b .c.

e specially the

these a ppear i n the

s tratigraphy throughout t he d eposit's a ccumulation of

( 3)

they

s equence of l evels f or

both s tations have produced abundant

f rom the base of the

l ongest

T ogether,

i slands'

s ame t ime,

e arliest d emonstrate

I totragus b alearicus, the i slands'

i ndigenous meat s ource. ( 4)

both the

s ites'

s tratigraphies overlap f rom c irca 5 000 b .c.

f orward c ontaining c ommon a rchaeological and palaeontological materials which have no precedents

i n the Balearics and which f orm a body o f f uture

r eference material and data. the

two s ettlements d iffer,

While the making the

i nterest g enerally a s well a s ' yardstick' of the

s etting a nd i ndividual r ole o f c ombined e vidence o f much w ider

s pecifically,

of c hronological events

H olocene epochs.

5

they f orm a n i mportant

f or part of the Q uaternary a nd a ll

A s t his thesis c oncerns a spects t here

i s naturally considerable

i n both e cology a nd c ulture,

s pace d evoted t o r eference,

d escription

and c omments c oncerning t he f ossil f auna r ecord o f t he Balearic c overing s everal million y ears. c oncerns t he r eal

A lthough,

I slands

most of t his c ommentary

s tarting point o f a pproximately 2 50,000 y ears;

which i s d etermined by t he b eginning of the r esearch s ites'

a point

proper s trati-

g raphies.

The emphasis,

t ime a nd s pace d edicated h ere t o palaeontological

d ata w ith prehistoric a rchaeology i s not w ithout s pecific motive a nd d esign o n the part o f the a uthor.

The

i nclusion o f c onsiderable d ata,

i nformation and d escription of Muleta's presettlement s tratigraphies a nd materials

i n this thesis

i s d one b ecause of t he

s trong i ntegral

nature of not only that unique a nd unprecedented s ite but, s imilar i ntegral nature of both s ites. a uthor t hat t o t he

I t i s

a lso,

t he

the c onviction o f t he

s pend only a brief i ntroductory s pace on t he

s ubject o f

f ossil r ecord evidence g enerally and t he presettlement a spects

t he Muleta d eposit would b e

t o d estroy t he t rue

unusual a nd r ich s tratigraphical

s equence,

a s a l ocal a s well a s universal,

unparalleled s tratigraphy.

Furthermore, s equence

a ltering i ts

i ntegral value

t o i nterrupt a nd s eparate the Muleta s tratigraphical

i nvolving the palaeontological l evels and t heir materials would

be t o s everely a lter a potential f uture r eference would b e

i n

i mportance o f t he s ite's

i mmediately a vailable t o f uture

c ave a nd r ock s helter r esearch. a reas d emonstrates,

i t i s

s ource which o therwise

i nvestigators when d ealing w ith

A s t he author's

i nvestigations i n t hese

i n caves a nd r ock s helters where e vidence o f

s till earlier Balearic o ccupation will most l ikely be f ound by f uture i nvestigators.

Therefore,

t he r eader s hould make

a moment's

s erious r eflection on t he part o f

i t e vident that i f and when M esolithic or U pper

P aleolithic man i s encountered i n the Balearic a nd e conomy undoubtedly will be based on t he

i slands'

I slands h is

major f auna f or s everal million years,

and e xtensive r eference

s ubsistence

eotragus b alearicus ,

a s i t was

a nd t hat a ny d etailed

s ource r elated t o c ave and r ock s helter s trati-

g raphic c ontexts and their materials,

s uch a s those f ound i n t he c ontexts

of t he presettlement l evels at Matge,

will b e of i ntrinsic value t o

r esearchers.

I n the mind o f the author,

t hese

f actors and probabilities

s upport t he c onclusion i n t his thesis of a d etailed d escription a nd c ons ideration of s ome

l ength,

o ther t han a n i ntroductory one,

Muleta presettlement l evels; s tudies,

s edimentological

s tatistics and other s tatistics r egarding o steo-

l ogical data a nd i nformation,

s uch a s biometrics and other r elated s tudies

a re preliminary i n nature a nd s ome a re more pertinent available author believes

c oncerning t he

and e ven though many of t he palaeontological

s till

i n progress a nd s ome o f t he

i nformation they c ontain i s

i ncluded where t he

i t i s necessary t o s upport h is hypotheses.

I t i s a r emarkable

f act t hat a l ong p eriod of s ome

can b e documented f rom the Muleta a nd Matge s ites a lone,

2 50,000 y ears

mainly due t o

t he e xtensive nature of the r esearch c arried out on t hem a nd t he a bundant chronological data they provided. emerging i s c ompletely n ew,

Most of t he r esults and i nformation

and o ffer n ew perspectives on t he'prehistoric

6

Geograph ic L ocat ion

o f

t he Research S tat ions

MUL ETA

M ATG E

Sol l er

Al cudia

Va l ldemosa

•L luch mayor

M A LL O R C A

fi g .2

e cology a nd culture o f t he B alearics. a nd i nformation c an be c omparative materials

s imply d o not e xist,

which c annot be emphasised t oo t his t hesis,

A ccordingly,

not a ll o f t his d ata

i mmediately o r d irectly a pplied e lsewhere,

e specially,

s trongly,

e ven o n Mallorca;

s ince

a c ondition

r egarding a g ood proportion o f

i n contexts of the P resettlement a nd E arly

S ettlement P eriods e xamination,

at Muleta a nd Matge. S imilarly, t he m ethods o f both c onventional a nd n ew, which have b een a pplied t o t hese

s ites have no l ocal a nd i n s ome c ases f ew i mmediate parallels e lsewhere.

One of t he guidelines of t his

t hesis

i s t he author's o pinion t hat

by c oncentrating on a f ew s ites a nd d ealing with t hese i n d etail,

h e c an

present a more d etailed a nd c oherent picture t han c ould have b een o btained by more

s uperficial

s tudy o f a g reater number o f s ites.

t he a lready ample l ength o f this t hesis, H owever,

t he existing t ext i s

R egardless o f

much more c ould have been written.

i n a s ense a n operation o f t aking s tock a nd

e stablishing g eneral hypotheses,

u sing s o f ar a s possible o nly i nformation

o f guaranteed quality a nd not i n t rying t o e stablish r igid c orrelative a ssociations and g eographic boundaries f or Balearic materials a nd a rtef acts;

a lthough possible parallels and c omparisons a re a ttempted a nd

s uggested with t hose

f arther a field,

s uch a s with t he author's

' arc o f

i mmediate i nfluence' as related to the Balearic I slands t hroughout their prehistory.

The n ew evidence,

i n the mind of the author,

tates a period of d igestion by others,

t hen n ecessi-

a nd the a pproach presented h ere

s hould permit t hat i mportant process t o t ake place.

I n t his way,

t he

a uthor c an d raw a l ine t o c ontinuing i n-coming d ata a nd i nformation f rom his current excavational a ctivities a t the end of presenting the r esults t inuing a nd have

1 .

s o f ar,

1 980,

While

even though i nvestigations a re s till c on-

the o rganisation of this t hesis

( Figures 2 a nd 3 )

i s a rranged i n t he o rder o f

t heir n atural chronological order can a lso maintained,

a ccording t o the a uthor's periods.

s ake of

a lready passed b eyond that l ine.

T he R esearch S ites a nd t he C hronological S cheme

t heir d iscovery,

f or t he

s cheme o f f ive major B alearic prehistoric

There i s a volume of t ext f or e ach of t he t wo major s tations

( Muleta a nd Matge ) prehistory.

( 1 )

a nd e ach of t hese c onsider t he f ive d ivisions o f

The p rehistoric periods a re a s

f ollows:

T he P resettlement P eriod , the Pleistocene until 5 000 b .c. This period c onsists o f a brief d escription o f t he f ossil

a nimal

s pecies,

t heir origin, c oming of man.

t heir ancestral t ypes a nd t hat which i s k nown a bout

d evelopment a nd e cological e nvironment prior t o t he The materials

i llustrating t his p eriod c ome e xclusively

f rom t he Muleta c ave. ( II)

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod , c irca 5 000 b .c .

t o 3 000 b .c .

This period c oncerns the f irst a rrival o f man i n t he B alearic c erns

I slands a s demonstrated i n t he r esearch s ites.

t he a spects o f

I t a lso c on-

man's c oexistence w ith the e ndemic ruminant,

9

Myotragus balearicus c irca 5 000 b .c. a nd

Myotragus

i n t he

t o 3 000 b .c.

t hat t he

' a'

The e vidence o f man

s o f ar f ound without pottery present

s tratigraphies o f t he r esearch s ites.

t his period a s i n t he

i n t his period i s

c eramic r ather t han

' pre'

The a uthor r efers t o c eramic b ecause h e b elieves

l ack of pottery i s due t o t he poverty of t he particular l evel

s ite r ather t han t he a bsence o f a k nowledge of c eramic t ech-

n ology. The d etailed e vidence

i n t hese t wo periods c omes

t he principal r esearch s ites of Muleta a nd Matge, g iven o f t heir

f rom

a nd a n a ccount i s

s tratigraphies and t he methodology u sed during t he

r esearch. ( III)

T he Pretalayotic P eriod ,

c irca 3 000 b .c.

t o

1 400 b .c.

This period i s r epresented mainly by e vidence a nd mate rials

f ound i n c aves and r ock s helters

s ettlements)

( but r ecently i n open-air

where Talayotic megalithic building a ctivities h ad not

y et t aken place.

The period i s

s ynonymous w ith the N eolithic a nd

t he l ocal c ulture of the caves and r ock s helters. f or t he r esearch a re Muleta,

The

s ites e mployed

Matge , Muertos G allard a nd Marroig w ith

brief r eferences t o other l ocales where c omparative d ata and r esults have emerged. ( 1)

The period c an be s ubdivided

a s

f ollows:

The N eolithic Early C eramic Phase

( NECP)

c irca 3 000 b .c.

t o c irca 2 000 b .c. This phase marks t he f irst a ppearance o f pottery at Matge with t he r emains of Myo tragus a nd d omesticated a nimals f ound i n h earth a nd l iving z ones of the

( 2 )

s ite.

The Early B eaker Phase

( EBP)

c irca 2 000 b .c.

This phase marks t he presence a t the Matge

t o

1 700 b .c.

s ite o f

B eaker c ontexts a ssociated with a l iving a rea a nd a B eaker workshop a rea a s a ttested by a n a bundance o f B eaker wares of EBP type a long with other a rtefacts,

s imilar t o t hose

f ound i n

c ontinental s ites.

I t i s a t this phase t hat s olid evidence i s f ound s uggesting t he i ntroduction o f t he primary s ites

f irst metal working.

The

( with 1 4C documentation)

i ncised pottery e vidence

and s econdary s ites

1 4C d ocumentation but with c omparable materials)

f rom

( with n o

a re e xamined i n d e-

t ail a long w ith the a bsolute chronometric d ating r esults and t he f irst of a nalyses r esults of bronze ( 3)

s amples f rom t he r esearch s ites.

T he Late B eaker Phase

( LBP),

c irca

1 700

b .c t o

1 400 b .c.

This phase marks the presence o f r elevant l evels a t Matge a nd o ther s ites where they have y ielded LBP wares which a ppear l ate a nd i ndigenous i n character. metal working having taken place

There

i s quite a bit o f e vidence o f

i n t his phase and t hese a spects a rise

a long with t he problems c oncerning i ts s till more c ommon u se i n the Talayotic P eriod.

1 0

Ba lear ic P entapart ite D iv is ion o f P reh istory

as z l b c

P ost Co lon isation Ro man Co lon isat ion

*

L ate

*

I ron Age

Middle

Early

1 23 350 P ost T a layotic P er iod

*

I ron Age

5 00

800

I ron Age

Late

B ronze

Age

* 1 000 T a layo tic P er iod

Middle

Early

B ronze Age

B ronze Age

* 1 400

Ear ly Beaker P eriod

4

* 1 300

Late Beaker

P reta layot ic

5

Phase

1 700

Phase

2000

3 Neo lith ic Ear ly Cera mic

$000

Phase

4000 * Ear ly Sett le ment

P er iod

2

5000 * 1

F oss iI R ecord

P resettle ment

P eriod

1

f ig .3

( Iv )

T he T alayotic P eriod ,

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o 8 00 b .c.

The p eriod i n t his t hesis c omprises t he B alearic B ronze Age and t he t ime when Talayotic megalithic building was a t i ts h eight. I t can b e

s ub-divided i nto t hree phases:

( 1 )

T he E arly B ronze A ge This phase

( on 1 4C e vidence)

t he r esearch at S on S evera-Pula ( 1400 b .c.,

s ite,

b efore

( SP,37),

ABSM,38 a nd 3 6)

i t b ecame a c emetery a bout

i n burial customs

1 400 b .c.

t o

1 300 b .c.

s o f ar a vailable,

i n one of t he

s ites u sed i n

a nd i t i s a lso t he

l atest

when Matge was u sed a s a habitational

pottery s tyles a ppear a t t his t ime,

( 2)

c irca

i ncludes t he e arliest d ate,

f or a Talayotic building s ite

( EBA),

1 300 b .c.

and t here a re

C ompletely n ew s ome d ecided c hanges

f rom t hose of t he L ate B eaker Phase.

T he M iddle B ronze A ge

( MBA),

c irca

1 300 b .c t o

1 000 b .c.

This phase d emonstrates the h eight o f t he Talayotic cultural period,

w ith bronze

i n c ommon u se,

the

a ctive a nd building a t i ts most e laborate. a bandoned a s a l iving a rea, f unctioned a s one

f or s ome

s ettlements a t their most Matge was c ompletely

and i nstead was u sed a s a c emetery which 1 200 years.

Comparisons

i n t he a rtefact

t ypologies can b e made w ith the European Mainland.

( 3 )

T he L ate B ronze A ge

( LBA), circa 1 000 b .c. t o 8 00 b .c.

This phase i s marked by t he

i ntroduction o f i ron a rtefacts

t oward t he end o f this phase a t Matge and e lsewhere a s i ndicated by 1 4C analysis.

S ome Punic wares appear i n s ettlements

l ike S 'Illot.

Building a ctivities c ontinue vigourously at s ettlement s ites, c onstruction of d efense walls, t oward t he end o f t he phase, ever,

i n s ome r espects

i ncluding

r enovation of e xisting s tructures,

the building of Taula s anctuaries.

a nd How-

i t i s within this phase t hat the f irst d ecline

o f Talayotic building begin.

( v )

T he P ost T alayotic P erod ,

c irca 8 00 b .c t o R oman C oloni-

s ation The P ost Talayotic P eriod i s d istinguished f rom t he Talayotic P eriod by s everal major f actors: i ron and i ts c ommon u se, ( c)

i mportant changes

a rtefacts and

( d )

a nd t radition.

t he

( b)

( a)

the g eneral i ntroduction of

c ertain d istinct changes

i n burial c ustoms,

i n t echnology a nd s tyles o f pottery and other s teady d ecline o f the Talayotic building a ctiviites

The most i mportant s ites u sed i n t his r esearch t o d em-

onstrate t hese a spects a re Matge a nd Muertos Gallard. b e

s ub-divided i nto the

( 1 )

The period may

f ollowing three phases:

T he E arly I ron A ge

( 1 7 1 4,

c irca 8 00 b .c.

t o 6 00 b .c.

This phase i s a t ransitional one during which t ime t here r adical change

i n burial customs,

i nhumation i n quicklime.

At Matge we have the f irst

t o t race t he duration of this d ate here a ppears

1 4C d ating s urvey

l ocal burial phenomenon,

a nd i ts o ldest

c lose t o t he middle part of the phase,

( S tuiver a nd W aldren 1 975 ) .

i s a

f rom c remation a nd e arth burials t o

This phase a lso

1 3

c irca 6 90 b .c.

s ees the c ommon u se o f i ron.

These a rtefacts bear a s trong r esembalnce t o C ontinental European types with which t hey i ndeed a ppear t o be c ontemporary. t igial e lements

There a re a lso ves-

i n the a rtefact t ypologies f rom earlier phases and t he

f irst c lear s igns of c ontact with t he c lassical world. f irst o ccur a s well a s ( 2)

s ome

T he Middle Iron Age '

This phase c lassical t rade

i tems

AU W ,

c irca 6 00 b .c.

g ives a n admirable be

t ime

t o c irca 4 00 b .c.

i s d efined by t he more g eneral a ppearance of

i n the s ettlements a s w ell a s a rtefacts

t o Continental European c ontemporary t ypes. during t his

G lass b eads

l ead during this phase.

The

s equence a nd c onstant d ates

t hat building a ctivities

s imilar

s tratigraphy a t Matge

f rom t his phase.

i n t he

I t i s

s ettlements a ppear t o

l imited t o the r enovation o f t he o riginal Talayotic ones. ( 3)

T he

L ate Iron Age

0719 ,

c irca 4 00 b .c t o c irca

This phase continues the d evelopments s ettlement s ites and other s tations, Colonisation.

1 23 B .C.

j ust r eferred t o i n the

a nd i s t erminated by the Roman

I t s ees a marked d ecline i n l ocal c eramic t echnology,

probably due t o t he g eneral availability o f c lassical i mported wares, which i s a lready present i n t he

2 .

The Geographic

f ormer phases.

l ocation of t he Research

I n s implified t erms,

the f ormation o f t he Balearic

brought about by various processes of c ontinental drift, i sland building f orces f loor)

I slands was

mountain a nd

( in t erms of t he movement of t he Mediterranean

and the r ise a nd f all o f the s ea l evels.

The most popular t heory

c oncerning t he g eological period when the o ne-time Valencian P eninsula began i ts

s eparation f rom t he

i n the P liocene This

eolom 1 960 )

I berian Mainland holds that t his o ccurred ( Figure 4 ).

f irst l and parting evidently i solated a l arge

l and mass,

which i ncorporated t he present-day i slands o f Mallorca a nd M inorca, a r educed Valencian P eninsula, The

t hird a nd f inal

f rom

c reating t he i sland o f I biza-Formentera.

s tage i n the breakup came with t he s eparation of

the c ombined Mallorcan-Minorcan l and mass,

which made up t he s eparate

i slands of Mallorca and Minorca more o r l ess a s we know them t oday. There a re two d ifferent g eological B alearic

I slands.

One

s ystems present i n t he

s ystem made o f F ormentera,

I biza a nd Mallorca

i s basically a c ontinuation of the mountain r anges o f t he P eninsula, whereas the

s econd s ystem c onsists o f M inorca which i s a ssociated w ith

orogenic movements northward a nd c orresponding t o t he mountains

f ound

i n Catalonia a nd part of t he Ampurian massif e xtending i nto s outhern Provence

2 .1

i n France.

T he I slands and D istances of I nterest Mallorca Minorca I biza Formentera

3 740 km 2 2 7 02 km 2 5 41

km 2

8 2 km

D istance t o t he Mainland

1 67 kms

D istance t o the Mainland

2 00 kms

D istance t o the Mainland

9 2 kms

D istance t o t he Mainland

1 02 kms

1 4

• •• •

1

P I i ocene

P I i ocene

Quaternary

V

i nferior

s uperior

i nfer ior

mounta in

T hree S tages i n t he F or mat ion o f t he B alearic

r anges

I s lands

fi g . 4

M inorca t o t he n earest point o f S ardinia

3 40 kms

Minorca t o t he n earest point o f F rance

3 70 kms

M inorca t o t he n earest point o f North Africa

3 20 kms

M inorca t o t he n earest point of Mallorca

4 8 kms

Mallorca t o t he n earest point o f

9 0 kms

I biza

M allorca

( 3)

The f our principal i slands t hat make up t he g roup s how g reat d iversity o f t opography.

Mallorca i s t he

f irst t o b e c onsidered a s

has b een t he c entre of most o f the c urrent r esearch, t he

l argest and most varied i n t errain.

f our g eographic r egions a s

f or d iscussion

i t

a long with b eing

Mallorca c an b e d ivided i nto

( see F igure J ).

The r egions a re

f ollows:

R egion 4 .

T he T he T he T he

R egion 1 .

T he N orthern S ierras

R egion

1 .

R egion 2 . R egion 3 .

3 .1

N orthern S ierras C entral P lain S outheastern Hills N ortheastern R ange

This r egion i s predominantly a massive J erassic l imestone c oast.

s pine-line r ange o f

( Miocene ) running s outhwest t o northeast a long t he

They r each a maximum h eight o f

1 445 meters i n Puig Major.

entire r ange r ises d irectly out of the s ea,

f orming s heer c liffs

ated by d eep water-cut gorges which plunge t o the s ea.

These chara-

c teristics cause r ainfall t o run off i nto the s ea a s s oon a s f allen,

c arrying with i t most of t he t op s oil,

f ically f rom d oing s o.

I f i t were n ot

( first c onstructed by the M oors),

The l acer-

i t has

unless prevented a rti-

f or the present-day t erraces

very l ittle agriculture would e xist

t oday.

The Pleistocene and Early H olocene e cology,

of man,

must have presented a d ifferent picture f rom that of t he pre-

s ent.

The r apid r un off o f water f rom the mountains was c ertainly

c ondusive t o t he f ormation of the many c aves The

before the a rrival

f ound i n t he l imestone.

l ack o f s oil d evelopment may a lso a ccount f or t he poverty of many

c ave d eposits.

I t i s

i n this r egion t hat the c ave o f Muleta a nd t he

r ock s helter of Matge are

l ocated a s well a s

s ome o f t he other s ites

s tudied. The n orthern c oast i n t his r egion o ffers v ery l ittle anchorage e xcept i n S oller a nd S ant V icenes areas,

s afe

a s the c liffs f orm

a f ormidable wall f acing t he north winds that s weep o ff t he Gulf o f L ions.

There a re s ome h igh valleys

i n t he a reas of L luch,

Cuber where t op s oil d evelopment d id t ake place, r ich i n mountain v egetation, ment s ite. s tandards,

3 .2

a nd c ontain many c aves a nd a f ew s ettle-

Although the mountains r each c onsiderable h eights by a ny t here a re no s igns of g lacial a ctivity i n t heir g eomorphology.

R egion 2 .

T he C entral P lain

This r egion d ivides t he Northern S ierras t he h ills o f the c entre

E scorca and

which a re a ccordinglly

j ust d escribed f rom

s outheast and t he mountains o f t he northeast.

i s the t own o f

I nca.

I ts

The plain i s made up o f a s hallow humus

1 7

washed d own by rainfall s tone

' mares'

f rom t he mountain,

a nd f rom which t he l ime-

s andstone periodically e merges.

I t i s t hroughout this

r egion that t he g reat majority of the numerous i n t he open-air are f ound,

prehistoric

s ettlements

i n areas best s uited t o a gricultural a cti-

vities a nd t he e rection o f buildings.

To t he n ortheast,

of Alcudia a nd P ollensa f ace t he i sland o f M inorca,

t he w ide bays

4 8 kms away.

B oth

were w idely populated i n prehistoric t imes a s well a s h istorical a nd have s andy b eaches

t hat would have made

A s izeable R oman port a nd t own, s ent-day t own of A lcudia i s o f P alma,

t he

l andings and a nchorage e asy.

P ollentia,

s ituated.

once e xisted where t he pre-

T o t he

s outhwest,

l ies the bay

s eat of t he modern B alearic C apital o f P alma,

which was

a lso once a Roman t own.

R egion 3 .

3 .3

T he S outheastern Hills

These h ills run a lmost parallel t o t he Northern S ierras a nd r ise a bove t he

l imestone platform o f t he

t erraced a bove the

s ea,

which offer s heltered c oves. f ormed many c aves

i sland.

H ere,

t he

l and i s

which has e roded t he r ock t o f orm many i nlets Marine erosion a long t he c oast h as a lso

i n this area t hat Dorothea Bate c ollected many o f h er

M yotragus specimens in 1 908.

I nland,

t o t he north,

s tone h ills a round L luchmayor r ise t o 5 49 meters.

the M iocene l imeThis a rea was a lso

an i mportant c entre o f prehistoric s ettlement s uch a s Capocorp V eil a nd Mitja Gran.

R egion 4 .

3 .4

T he N ortheastern R ange

This r ange r ises t o a maximum h eight of 5 62 meters a nd p lunges i nto t he i s

s ea i n vertical c liffs t hat f ace t he i sland o f Minorca.

i n these Miocene

I t

l imestone mountain areas that t he o ldest f ossil

evidence o f the M yotragus has been recently been found at the top of this r ange on Cap Farrutx

( P ons 1 977 ) . I t i s a lso the l ocation of

r ecent d iscoveries of other petrified r emains of M yotragus made by the author i n w ell c onsolidated s ediments

i n M iocene

caves n ear t he Colonia d e S an P edre.

The r egion i s r ich i n o pen-air

s ettlement s ites

S 'Illot,

s uch a s

S es P aisses,

s outheast c oast has well protected c oves,

l imestone o f s ea

S a Canova.

H ere,

t he

s imilar t o t hose i n M inorca

where g ood a nchorage e xists.

3 .5

T he W ater a nd M ineral R esources o f M allorca The water r esources of Mallorca a re s till

on natural s prings,

l argely d ependent

d espite the r ecent c onstruction o f a rtificial moun-

tain l akes a nd r eservoirs a s well a s modern w indmill wells on t he c ent ral plains a nd r ainwater c ollected f rom h ouse r oofs. t imes,

I n prehistoric

man a nd animal would have n ecessarily d epended on these n atural

s ources which f ortunately s till c ontinue t o s upply. there has b een very l ittle,

s ources

t hey might have been i n prehistoric t imes,

a s

i f a ny,

I n t he a uthor's

knowledge,

how t hey might a pply t o modern d ay n eeds. work has been d one by s uch g eologists a s G .

s tudy of t hese natural

I n this Colom,

F rom t he present t opography of mountainous z ones, cut by s teep t orrent c hannels,

a s opposed t o

l atter r espect s ome J .

Cuerda a nd others

which a r ,e s everely

i t c an b e a ssumed t hat t he drainage a nd

water s ources have been unchanged f or s ome t ime.

1 8

On a ll

s ides,

the

Geo logical

Map

o f

Mallorca

a nd

Reg ions

f ig . 5

mountains c ascade t he rainwater e ither i nto the s ea or onto t he plains. During the modern summers,

they a re d ry gulches,

p ly d epends wholly o n what i s t rapped i n t he t he

s urface by t he

s prings.

c lose a nd s ystematic

a nd s ummer water s up-

l imestone,

a nd c omes t o

I t would be worthwhile r esearch t o make a

s tudy of the more a ncient of these s prings i n r e-

l ation t o prehistoric

s ettlements a nd s helter s ites.

i s n ot one of the c urrent a ims h ere,

H owever,

though t he author has

c onsideration s ources o f water i n r elation t o the

t his

t aken i nto

l ocation o f h is r e-

s earch s ites. The mineral s ources of Mallorca a nd i ndeed t he r est o f the B alearic were

I slands a re e xtremely poor.

A f ew s ources of l ow g rade c oal

l ocated during the S panish C ivil War a nd e xploited during t he

S econd World War,

a nd a re s till b eing u sed t o manufacture butane g as.

S ome c opper i s e vidently present but was c ertainly n ot s ufficient t o s upply the n eeds of t he c ent e vidence

l ocal Bronze Age,

a lthough t here i s

s ome r e-

s uggesting l ocal s ources were exploited during t he Chal-

c olithic P eriod.

L imestone

i s

t he most widely a vailable c ommodity

which was a g reat a sset during the

l ocal P ost Talayotic

I ron Age.

The manufacture of quicklime i s a l ocal prehistoric phenomenon:

i t

was u sed f or burial purposes a s e arly a s t he 7 th o r 8 th C entury b .c., but the quicklime was not u sed f or c onstruction until present t imes when i t was one of the

l ocal i ndustries.

S ome

l ead has a lso b een

mined on Mallorca i n t he area of B inisalem both i n prehistoric t imes a nd until the

1 9th C entury of our epoch.

may a ccount f or the

l ead plaques

and 4 th Centuries b .c.

i n l ate

The presence o f this metal

s o f requently f ound c irca t he 3 rd

I ron Age c ontexts.

The poverty o f

l ocal mineral r esources c an be c ontrasted w ith t he a bundance of metal objects

i n the Balearics during the

l ocal prehistoric period,

i s a matter c onsidered i n s ome d etail i n various

M inorca

4 .

The

i sland of Minorca has none o f t he d iversity o f l andscape

which c haracterises Mallorca. t hat i s r ather monotonous, various d irection, the

a nd this

s ection o f t his t hesis.

i sland i s

meters.

The

t he basis

4 .1

particularly t he north.

f rom

The h ighest e levation o n M onte Torro,

3 58

i sland can b e d ivided i nto t wo broad r egions f or which

( s ee F igure 6 ).

R egion 1 .

T he N orthern S econdary F ormations

R egion 2 .

T he S outhern T ertiary F ormations

R egion 1 .

T he N orthern S econdary F ormations

s econdary f ormations a re principally l imestone of D evonian

I n t his r egion,

e rity of t he

the i sland i s c ompletely e xposed t o t he s ev-

f requent t empestuous winds blowing off the Gulf o f L ions.

I n bad weather, s ea f or

t he e ye meets a t errain

f ound i n the middle o f the i sland,

i s g eological

The origin.

On the whole,

being c ontinually e xposed t o winds

t he c oast of this r egion i s c ompletely i naccessible by

s everal days at a t ime.

are not a s numerous a s

The c oves a nd i nlets o f t his c oast

t hose of the

s outhern Tertiary r egion.

best a nchorage a long this c oast i s F ornelles,

2 1

but e ven t his,

The d espite

i ts protected nature can b e

s ealed off t o t raffic e ven i n s ummer by

north winds.

I t i s i n t he western part of t his c oastal r egion t hat

D orothea Bate

f ound f ossil r emains of a P leistocene t errestial t urtle,

T estudo g ymnesicus,

i n s edimentary d eposits

The two b est ports o n the C iudedala a nd Mahon.

i n f issures

i n l imestone.

i sland a re f ound a t e ither e nd o f t he i sland,

The port of Mahon d escribed by L ord Nelson a s t he

best harbour i n t he M editerranean, l ies a t t he e astern e nd o f t he i sland. I t was f ormed by a f ault between t he M ic 5cene a nd t he D evonian r ock a nd has a n e ntrance of only 5 00 meters a cross a t i ts narrowest point,

widening out i nside t o n early 6 kms a cross,

s everal s mall i slands.

C iudadela i s r eached by a narrow twisting channel, a re marine e roded,

a nd c ontaining

At t he western e nd o f Minorca,

t he port o f

t he walls o f which

f orming a k ind of platform f acing Mallorca's e ast

c oastline.

F rom h ere Mallorca's Northern S ierras c an be s een o n a

c lear day.

V ery f ew s ettlements a re l ocated i n t his Northern S econdary

F ormation r egion.

This

i s u ndoubtedly due t o t he very s parse s oil

c onditions a nd l ack of water a s well a s prevailing w inds

f rom the north.

t he e xposure t o t he

s trong

The i nland a reas o f t his r egion a re

t he i sland's bleakest with very l ittle vegetation due t o t he perpetual nature of these winds. portant prehistoric

Only o ne quadrant i n t he n orthwest has a n i m-

s ettlement,

f ound a s eries of c aves

a nd this i s Cala Morell.

T here c an b e

i n t his a rea t hat have been u sed b oth f or

l iving and burial which a re quite e laborate.

R egion 2 .

4 .2

H ere, a s

T he S outhern T ertiary F ormations

the l andscape i ncludes

t he i sland offers.

called Baranchas)

s uch s helter f rom the north winds

The s outh c oastline i s marked by a rroyos

which s lice t he t ertiary l imestone

beautiful c oves a nd i nlets with, f or s everal k ilometers.

a t t imes,

( Miocene)

( locally i nto

s andy b eaches which r un

These a rroyos c ontain c aves by t he s cores

which pox mark both s ides of t he barranchas,

a nd hardly any o f t hem

are w ithout s igns of prhistoric o ccupation.

R elatively l ittle

work has yet been c arried out i n t hese s ites, f ered pilferage by e xcursionists.

s erious

a lthough they h ave s uf-

S ome s ystematic e ffort w ith t hese

s ites has been done i n r ecent y ears by C .

V eny at Cala Covas.

Other

e fforts have b een at various t imes carried out i n other a reas o f t his s outhern r egion by prehistorians, t he author i ncluded ( e .g . M . M urray, M . S erra, G . P iedrabuena F lorit, G . R ossello B ordoy," L P lantalamor M assanet a nd M . F ernandez-Miranda a nd o thers ). The i sland t errain i s one of r olling h ills u sed mainly t o grow f eed c rops a nd g razing a nimals.

The predominate f loral covering i s t ough g rasses a nd c lus-

t ers of w ild o live. i s

The bush plagues a rchaeological e xcavations a s

i nevitably cropping up a round and over prehistoric monuments,

i t

a nd

often g etting between t he s tones of t hese a nd l iterally d isplacing the

s tones.

I ts r oot s ystem i s

s oild that t he author has

s o d eployed i n t he

s hallow hard,

d ry

s een i t g ive a g reat d eal o f d ifficulty t o

bulldozers c learing a f ield.

Within archaeological e xcavations,

i s a ll but i mpossible t o r emove.

I n a ll e vents,

i t

i t i s i n t his t er-

t iary l imestone r egion t hat a bout 9 0% of t he open-air s ettlements a s well a s c ave s ites e xist.

This d istribution s eems t o f ollow t he

of s eparation f ormed by t he two d ifferent f ormation o f r ock t he D evonian a nd Jurassic on one other.

l ine

( Figure 6 ),

s ide a nd t he M iocene r ock o n t he

The r olling h ills o f t his f ormation g ive t he only protection

f rom t he perpetual winds

f rom

t he north.

2 2

This w ind brings

i n s alty

Geo log ica l

Map

o f

M inorca

a nd R egions

f ig .6

a ir,

s o t hat moisture will c ollect on a ny i tem l eft out overnight.

For e xample,

c lothes w ill be s oaking wet i n t he mornings,

e ven i n t he

height o f s ummer.

4 .3

T he W ater a nd M ineral R esources o f M inorca The question of water s ources on M inorca during t he P leistocene

or H olocene b efore t he c oming of man i s one which appears n ever t o have been s tudied.

Apart f rom natural s prings or t rapped r ainwater,

only evidence we have of the way t he earliest s ettlers blem r ests

i n what a ppears t o be hand cut wells t hat d escend t o t he

present-day water t able.

Wells

and f urther e nlarged by man. a round

t he

f aced t his pro-

s ettlement s ites,

l ike t hese a re n atural t o b egin with

Many a rtificial c aves a re f ound i n a nd

and while t hese t oday o ften have burials or

have b een u sed f or what appears t o b e d isposal p its and f illed with a nimal r emains

i n r ecent t imes

( cases s uch a s t his have b een f ound i n

Torre d en Gaumes a nd a t Torralba den S alort ), these were originally cut f or the

t he author believes

s torage o f water.

t hat

At Torralba d en

S alort one s uch hand cut cave has been l ined w ith l ime during t he Middle Ages.

Sweet water c an be f ound i n t he

t he barranchas where t hey meet the

s ea,

s outhern e nd of many o f

and when l inked with t he a bun-

dant natural caves t hat pox mark t he s ides o f t he barranchas, be understood why these were popular places

i t c an

f or e arly man t o l ive.

D espite t he poor s oil c onditions and t he

f act t hat c ultivated

l and on Minorca i s mainly u sed f or t he production of animal f eed, animal husbandry i s t he main a ctivity o f t he present-day r ural p eople; the i sland being f amous

f or dairy products a nd horse breeding and

horsemanship a re f avourite r ural pastimes.

I t i s

s uggested t hat t he

i sland probably had more vegetation - e ven f orests during t he period of t he most e xtensive human a ctivity i n prehistoric t imes

Garcia 1 972 ). use a s

s upports

i n Talayotic monument s tructures can be f ound i n t he

Talayot of Augusti y ell.

H ere beams o f c onsiderable g irth were u sed

i n order t o r einforce t he the building. more years,

( Pericot

S ome e vidence f or the a vailibility o f l arge t imber f or

They a re

l aying of huge s tone

s till i ntact t oday,

s labs t o t he r oof o f

a fter t hree t housand o r

and s hould make g ood chronometric dating material,

this has not yet been a ttempted.

a lthough

I t would probably produce t he most

r eliable dating f or the c onstruction of a Talayot y et a vailable.

5 .

I biza a nd F ormentera , G eneral C omments The

i sland of I biza i s the n ext l argest o f t he g roup,

a nd

g eologically r epresents a c ontinuation o f Mallorca's Northern S ierras. For the purpose o f t his r ole,

thesis,

i n which i t p lays a r elatively minor

i t may be r egarded a s a s ingle r egion.

than M inorca,

While more mountainous

t he peak of Atalayas r ises 4 75 meters,

and i t has more

vegatation than M inorca with many more

s prings.

i ts c oastline

but has very f ew i nlets a nd

c oves

i s marked by s mall bays,

t han t he others

s o f ar a s anchorage

of t hese a re S anta Eulalia,

i s

L ike t he o ther i slands,

c oncerned.

S an Antonio a nd t he Capital

The better I biza.

i sland has only r ecently produced e vidence of prehistoric man unpublished).

Otherwise,

the Capital of

I biza t own which was

the main a rchaeological

2 5

The ( as y et

i nterests have b een

s ettled a s a Punic

t own i n 6 54 B .C.

at which t ime the Carthaginians traded s ome Minorca.

However,

arent until

this

circa the

Post Talayotic

i tems with Mallorca and

7 th Century trade does not become really app-

3 rd and 2 nd Century,

when the Late

s ettlements on Minorca and Minorca become

I ron Age s taurated by

c lassical pottery.

Formentera group does the of

i nclude

i s the

smallest of the major

smaller

i slands

i slands,

s outh east coast of Mallorca and Conejera off the I biza.

Formentera

beaches.

though the

s uch a s Cabrera l ocated j ust off s outhwest c oast

i s not much more than a sand-bar with dune

I ts principal town

i s San Francisco.

There

i s

amount of farming but most of the modern population a re

s ome

s mall

f ishermen,

s elling their catches

i n Ibiza.

on the Balearics,

i sland's population have been great travellers

the

As Chamberlin pointed out i n h is book

during historical record which gives ance

than the people of

l ithic origin

I biza

( Topp 1 977)

them a more

( Chamberlin 1 972).

show that even this

' cosmopolitan'

appear-

Recent f inds o f mega-

small

i sle has prehis-

t oric activity i n evidence.

G eneral C omments

6 .

The geographic f rom the

l ocation of the

I sland Group i s

i nteresting

standpoint of their r elationship to the Mainland,

the Valencian c oast. s eries of

The

individual

' stepping-stones',

a s

i slands a s

i t were,

s o that early navigators could

have easily s ailed f rom one to another without ever l osing l am a;

this a spect of the

i slands'

geography,

of the

but

s hort distance

i n fact i t may nothave been the case with the migration

earlier

I n this the various

f ossil

s pecies to be

l atter connection,

i slands are a lso

s tudied.

the d epths of the

i nteresting.

While

the present-day Valencian Peninsula and I biza, Mallorca are up to

5 00 meters,

f or the most part under

the depths

1 00 meters.

s ea-floor b etween

the depths between

and between

route of t he migration of the

e specially M yotragus,

on the

I biza and

f rom Mallorca to Minorca are

These

s ea depths would have no

effect on navigation but they r eflect factors which greatly the

s ight o f

one would expect t o have

applied a lso the migration of animals because of the i nvolved,

e specially

they are today f orm a

i slands'

i nfluenced

earliest prehistoric f auna,

s tudy of which our knowledge of much of

the Presettlement P eriod i s based.

7 .

H istory o f A rchaeological R esearch i n t he B alearic I slands The

f irst historical

r eference

Balearic

I slands was made by Diodurus

4 06 B .C.

c oncerning the

thiginians

to the prehistoric people of the i n a t ext r elated to the year

r ecruiting of Balearic Mercenaries by t he Car-

f or their campaign on Sicily.

made by early historicans and travellers The in

1 653

Other r eferences have been s uch a s

f irst mention of the monuments

by Binimelis who s poke of

to the works of giants

Strabo and P liny.

i n general histories o ccurs

their magnificense,

and d emons. 2 6

I n

1 752,

J .

attributing them

Armstrong published his

History o f t he I sland o f M inorca . appeared i n Druids;

The

1 818 by Ramis y Ramis,

1 844

saw the

f irst prehistoric

S panish s tudy

a ssociating the monuments with the

f ormation of the

f irst Archaeological Committee

f or the Balearics dedicated to the preservation and s tudy of The J .

f irst classic F ergusson

in

treatise on megalithic

1 872.

This was

the Luliana Archaeological

f ollowed in

1 880 by the

S ociety i n Palma.

Cartailhac drew together earlier

The

f ormation of

The French s cholar E .

s tudies on a s cientific basis

i n the publishing of his P rimitive M onuments o f t he

i nterests

s ites.

architecture was written by

i n

1 892

B alearic I slands.

f irst decade of this c entury began with an a cceleration of

i n the Balearics.

L .C.

chronology based on typology;

A .

Watelin published the

f irst r elative

Mayr put together his catalogue of

known r emains.

I n

1 920,

decisive

s teps were made

to

by creating the Archaeological Excavations of Bosch Gimpera. J .

s ystemise

Excavations under the direction of J .

Malverti went on f or

s ome years,

1 925

to

1 934 were years Hemp and Kessler,

problems of the Balearics. Minorca, in

1 932

i n which s everal became

in the Mediterranean.

foreign

and

Margaret Murray's Cambridge Mission to

suspended until I I.

1 950 because of the Spanish

I V Curso of Ampurias gave renewed impetus and i nterest to curstudies.

been active,

along with s everal

German and an

S ince then National Excavation S ervices have

I talian),

foreign missions

( two American,

e ction of D .

Woods, author,

Frey and the

I talian Mission directed by G .

the Deya Archaeological and Research Centre, the German Mission under the

Local archaeologists a s well have been brought t ogether during the

these years

The

Lilliu.

a s director of foreign missions l ast two decades under the dir-

l ist of i ndependent

i nclude excavations done by L .

Font Obrador and J .

can be added t o the

Mascaro Pasarius.

l ist of i nvestigators

S erra B elabre,

G .

c ot Garcia,

J .

Crusafont Pairo,

Miranda,

Tarradell and C .

M .

Bellido,

The author's in

J .

supervised by

l ocal workers during

Amoros,

B .

Ensenat E strany,

Many eminent Spanish s cholars such a s A .

Maluquer de Motes, L .

dir-

supervision of H .

ection and collaboration with the Museum of Mallorca, Rossello Bordoy.

a

the William Bryant Foundation under the dir-

ected by the

began

published

The direct result of a visit in that year

rent i nsular

B .

such

1 939.

Most work was

G .

s cholars

interested in the prehistoric

excavating at Trepuco and Torreta were exemplary;

Civil War and World War by the

Colominas and

during which t ime Bosch Gimpera

was at work defining chronology and relationships

a s Chamberlin,

i nvestigations

S ervice under the d irection

P .

Arribas, de Palol,

Plantalamor Massanet,

M .

M .L. L .

Pen-

Fernandez-

Veny.

involvement with Balearic prehistoric problems

1 960 with the discovery of the cave of S on Marroig and the

2 7

r ock s helter of Muertos Gallard.

At that t ime t he a uthor was e ncouraged

t o f ollow his

Malverti a nd L .

s ites were

i nvestigation by J .

P ericot Garcia.

f ollowed by t he d iscovery of t he c ave of Muleta i n

f inally the rock s helter of S on Matge excavational a ctivities

i n

1 968.

These

1 961,

a nd

S ince t hen h is o ther

i nclude t he current co-directorship w ith M .

F ernandez-Miranda of the Talayotic Taula o f T orralba d en S alort o n M inorca and d irectorship of t he Talayotic a nd P retalayotic S ettlement C omplex of F errandell-Oleza Mallorca.

During

the

l ast two d ecades a number of d ifferent c hronological

s chemes have been presented by i nvestigators, one proposed by the author. proposed s ince G .

L illiu

Apart

1 960 by i nvestigators

( 1962),

M .

i ncluding t he

l astest

T he most i mportant of t hese have b een s uch a s G .

F ernandez-Miranda

( 1979)

R ossello B ordoy

and C .

V eny

( 1973).

( 1968 ).

f rom c ertain points of nomenclature a nd chronological boundaries.

t hese r ecent f rameworks d o not d iffer radically f rom t hat s et d own by E .

Cartailhac and J .

i nto the

Colominas Roca,

who i ntroduced t he name

s cientific vocabulary f or the u se i n d escribing t he

Balearic culture.

For t he most part,

e aric cultural prehistory,

t he t ripartite d ivision o f B al-

consisting of P retalayotic,

P ost Talayotic P eriods has been g enerally a ccepted, d ecade has t ite

' Talayot' l ocal

Talayotic a nd

a lthough t he l ast

s een i nvestigators attempting t o b etter d efine t his

t ripar-

s ystem.

The main s timulus

f or change i n t hinking c oncerning B alearic

prehistoric chronology has b een the i ntroduction of t he u se o f r adiocarbon age d etermination i nto t he Balearic

I slands.

S ince t he a uthor

i ntroduced the u se of this method i nto t he i nterpretation of t he i n his s ites ( Waldren 1 965, 1 966 , 1 967 , 1 968 , 1 972 a nd 1 980 ) , the method has revised many views regarding Balearic prehistoric problems ( Pericot Garcia 1 973 , R ossello B ordoy a nd W aldren 1 973 a nd M . F ernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 976 a nd F ern andez -M iranda 1 979 ), and other recognition of the success of the s tratigraphical horizons

1 970,

method of age determination t o Balearic problems of prehistoric chronol ogy has been r ecently r eviewed a long with Mainland I berian c ontexts

'( F ernandez-Miranda 1 978 a nd A lmagro-Gorbea 1 978 ).

8 .

A S ummary o f t he C urrent C hronological S chemes

A s

t his

i ntroduction d eals with i nitiating t he r eader i n past

a s well a s present r esearch i n the Balearics,

a brief summary o f t he

various chronological

s chemes u sed t o d ivide the

s hould i llustrate the

i mmediate d ifferences between e ach of t he major

l ocal prehistory

f rameworks presently u sed i n i nterpreting l ocal prehistoric e vents. A ccordingly,

these may be compared i n the t ext with r egard t o t heir

d ivisional nomenclature with the author's chronological s cheme, l ined e arlier i n this that while t he s ponsible l ogical

out-

1 ) . It will be s een

i ntroductory u se o f radiocarbon dating has been r e-

f or the

s chemes

i ntroduction ) ( s ee s ection

f ormation of t he more r ecent of these n ew c hrono-

( which f rom t he point of v iew of a ctual chronology

d iffer f rom one another very l ittle),

2 8

they do l ittle t o c ompare,

s uggest parallels o r,

f or t hat matter a ttempt t o c orrelate t he B alearic

d ata a nd material e vidence w ith t he w ider perspective o f history,

o r w ith t he

I berian pre-

l arger Western European c ontext.

The main c riticism t he present a uthor has with t hese chronologies,

a s w ell a s t hose

i n t he past,

r egard t he B alearic problem a s a s trictly i nsular one. a s afe position t o t ake,

While t his

a nd while t here a re many o f t he

opments t hat c an b e c onsidered s olely i nsular, s igns o f

l ocal n ew

has been t heir t endency t o i s

l ocal d evel-

t here a re many material

i nfluence a nd e xterior r eflections o f events t hat a re t he pro-

duct o f o utside t rade a nd c ontact.

I t i s t he a uthor's hypothesis t hat

t hese a reas o f t rade a nd c ontact f orm a n

' arc o f

t he

e xtending f rom s outhwestern

l ocation of which i s mainly western,

t o e astern I beria i nfluence, most,

i mmediate

i nto t he P yrenees a nd P rovence;

i nfluence',

a g eographic a rea o f

t he d irection of which e xisted t o a l arge e xtent during

i f n ot a ll,

B alearic Prehsitory.

The chronological

s chemes o utlined b elow r epresent t he most

s erious o f t hose proposed i n t he

l ast twenty y ears.

f irst i s t he

The

r esult o f e xcavations a t t he f ortified s ettlement o f S es Paisses on Mallorca.

I t was e xcavated by G .

L illiu f rom 1 959 t o

1 962

hypothesis f or a c hronology i s based o n s tratigraphical and one r adiocarbon d ate,

obtained f rom a s eries o f

within t he village c ompound;

s tratigraphy o f two particular buildings

I • House H ouse

1 2

( House a s

1 4C d ate 9 50 b .c.

3

l iving quarters

t he c hronological plan being based o n t he

which he r ecognised three d istinct l ayers, Talayotic

1 2

a nd H ouse

( layer on bedrock )

c irca 7 00 b .c.

t o 4 00 b .c.

Talayotic

I II

c irca 4 00 b .c.

t o 2 00 b .c.

s econd of the new chronologies i s proposed by G . R ossello

( 1973)

i n which

this

i nvestigator bases a g ood part o f h is

chronological

f ramework on r ecent r adiocarbon d ating but,

portionately,

on his e xcavations a nd e xperience

f ramework a nd t he

f ollowing one,

i n t he

i n n omenclature and s ubdivisions.

c onsists o f f ive d ivisions,

a lso pro-

f ield.

This

e xcept f or chronological d etails,

a re quite d ifferent f rom t he author's f ramework; e nces

i n

+ 1 10 yrs.(layer on b edrock)

e arlier t han 8 00 b .c.

I I

The

3 )

f ollows:

Talayotic

B ordoy

and h is

i nterpretation

with l arge d iffer-

B ordoy's c hronological

s cheme

which a re a s f ollows:

P retalayotic P eriod

000 b .c. c irca 5

t o c irca

1 400 b .c.

Talayotic

I

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o c irca

1 000 b .c.

Talayotic

I I

c irca

1 000 b .c.

t o c irca

8 00 b .c.

Talayotic

I II

c irca

8 00 b .c.

t o c irca

5 00 b .c.

Talayotic

I V

c irca

5 00 b .c.

t o t he Roman C olonisation

The

t hird and latest of these new chronological s chemes i s

proposed by M .

F ernandez-Miranca

( 1979)

f ive periods:

2 9

a nd c onsists o f t he

f ollowing

Preceramic Man

c irca 5 000 b .c.

I ncised Pottery Horizons

c irca 2 000 b .c.

t o c irca

1 700 b .c.

Bronze

circa

1 700 b .c.

t o c irca

1 500 b .c.

P retalayotic

t o c irca 2 000 b .c.

Talayotic

I

c irca

1 200 b .c.

t o c irca

8 00 b .c.

Talayotic

I I

c irca

8 00 b .c.

t o c irca

1 00 b .c.

I n the cautious ones, though more

author's opinion,

these chronological

f rameworks are

which deal mainly with l ocal prehistoric

than ample

e vents,

chronometric data and materials are available

f or more detailed s chemes;

the proposal of such a more detailed s cheme

being one of the main objectives of this present thesis. it i s

the

author's contention that with the present

f or Balearic prehistory, and their materials other Balearic

Therefore,

1 00 absolute dates

and with the excellent existing s tratigraphies

f rom such s ites a s Muleta and Matge

s tations,

should be possible.

even

and the many

a more ambitious chronological

One which ventures

f ramework

t o examine and s uggest possible

e xternal parallels, correlations and relationships with Mainland sources of influence and contact and not, s ites

mainly,

with c omparative

about which a great deal has already been s aid.

homogeneous markable their

nature of the

i n themselves,

l ocal

s ites

and materials,

venture

f arther afield than

j ust the Balearic

the

though quite re-

a re equally rather monotonous,

lack of a wider perspective and c ontext.

i nternal

B esides,

by merit of

Therefore,

a n eed t o

I slands themselves

i s

quite imperative.

The

f ollowing t ext will be d ivided into chapters devoted t o

the description, s ites; Rock

s tratigraphies and chronology of the two main r esearch

beginning with the Cave of Muleta and f ollowed by that of the

S helter of S on Matge.

The

s equential order of these

natural one,

not only of their order of discovery,

l ogical one;

Muleta being not only the

covered but the

f irst

s tation with the oldest

s ites

i s a

but a lso a chrono-

s ite to have been d is-

s tratigraphical material evi-

dence.

However before the description of the Matge rock s helter and i ts

s tratigraphy and chronology,

there wal be a chapter

( II)

on the

period of presettlement d edicated to the new evidence available

f rom

the Muleta d eposit and a summary of the various r esearch s tudies pres ented

i n

g reater d etail

i n the

appendices

of this chapter at this particular point to present details on the s ettlement P eriod,

( Volume

i n the

I I).

The

t ext i s done

i nclusion i n order

important ecological evidence of the Pre-

which i s only f ound i n the Muleta d eposit and i n

none of the other r esearch s ites. i nformation r elates only to the

I n this way,

a s

this e cological

Presettlement P eriod a nd Muleta,

no

further d escription of this material and evidence n eed be made e lsewhere

i n the

g eneral t ext.

At the

same

t ime,

with environmental and e cological background

i t prepares the r eader i n the d escription of

the

evidence which f orms the

s tructure of the

and

i ts presence

Shelter of S on Matge;

i n the Rock

s tratigraphy and chronology of which i s the

3 0

Early S ettlement P eriod the d escription,

s ubject of Chapter I II.

f ig .

7

The minor

s ites of Muertos Gallard,

Marroig and Puig a re

i ncluded and d escribed briefly at the end of Chapter criptions

and s tratigraphies of these minor or

treated i n a cursory manner, graphies

mainly,

and chronological horizons

those of the primary or major smaller

The Chronological

l ess

s trati-

c omplicated than the

s econdary

s tratigraphical contexts a nd by

s ection

S cheme

( Chapter

I V )

chronological periods,

I t not only presents i n

s econdary s ites a re

amounts of artefact evidence.

cription of a ll the earlier

are by f ar

a lso

The d es-

because their physical

s ites of Muleta and Matge;

s ites c onsisting of only one or two f ar

I II.

f ollows with its d es-

their phases and e vidence.

a more detailed a ccounting than the

1 of this

i ntroduction,

s ummary f ound

but a lso g ives d etails of

the chronometric analyses results

available

phases,

i ndividual tables and where the

where

t he dates

appear

i n

f or each period a nd their

r eader can r efer back t o them at any t ime when r eading the g eneral t ext

( a complete

cone

Pine

dates are

i nventory along with tables of conversion f or B ristle-

calendar years and c onversion tables of Balearic radiocarbon f ound i n Appendix

1 A,

William H .

a long with other chronometric s tudies).

Waldren,

D .

Phil.

( Oxon)

The Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research Centre, University of Oxford, England 1 982

3 2

Oxford

P itt Rivers Museum,

CHAPTER

THE

I

S ITE: CAVE OF SON

MULETA

Chapter

1 .

I .

The

Site:

the

Cave

of

Son Muleta

( 1,A,SM )

I ntroduction

The Muleta cave deposit consists of an unbroken s tratigraphical s equence dating f or well over physical

s tratigraphies

the Balearics,

1 00,000 years.

l ike Muleta's a re

being rare by s tandards

pointed out earlier

i n the

table

' yardstick'

cultural

anywhere,

i ntroduction,

s tratigraphy of the Matge deposit,

At the

same

t ime,

' deep'

j ust not f requently f ound i n when

it f orms

and on this basis as

l inked up with the

' deep'

an i ntegral part of a veri-

of prehistoric events both of ecological a s well

importance.

Therefore,

a s

they s hould not be broken down and

categorised s olely because of the

s cientific disciplines

i nvolved or

the various kinds of data and i nformation such complicated s tratig raphical

s equences offer,

of events and materials

but only i n order t o describe

f ound i n such

' deep'

the

s uccession

s tratigraphies.

A division i nto strictly palaeontological and archaeological c ontexts

i s

s till

f act that this

l ess reconcilable when one

a long with i ts own a rchaeological contexts, equally important s tratigraphic cultural s helter.

I n s o doing,

a still more

the two

a lso

l inks

itself with the

s equence at the Matge rock

s ites together

important and detailed

Besides, their

further c onsiders the

e co-palaeontological nature of the Muleta s tratigraphy,

f orm an overlap,

' yardstick'

the Muleta P resettlement P eriod

c reating

f or Balearic prehistory.

( PS)

horizons with

M yotragus b alearicus materials contain a wealth of palaeonto-

l ogical data and i nformation a s well a s materials which become particularly relevant when we come t o ( ESP )

and the

a ctivities of the

E SP c ontexts do not

study the Early S ettlement P eriod i slands'

P SP s tratigraphy i n the Muleta deposit, their

early s ettlers.

As

these

occur before we r each the top-most layers of the we must f irst c onsider that

c ombined physical stratigraphy in terms of contents' chronology

( chronometric and r elative), and what we

l earn f rom it,

e cological c onditions the medium of

the physical evidence

they appear t o

such a spects

and i ts description

c oncerning their nature, i ndicate.

This

evolution and i s done through

a s osteological characteristics of t he

M yotragus b alearicus as their morphological peculiarities, function a long with s exual d imorphism.

However before we

s tudy Muleta's

stratigraphies,

i ts absolute

chronology and materials defining the Presettlement P eriod, examine f or

the g eographic

s ituation and g eological

we

s hall

s tructure of the

cave,

i t has been these physical characteristics above a ll that have

been r esponsible While

t he

f or the preservation of the deposit's materials.

l ocation of the

s ite

i s

f ound i n an a rea which has been well

protected over the many millennia before t he physical buting f actor

s tructure of the cave

f or that preservation.

3 5

i ts d iscovery,

i t has been

i tself which has been the contri-

Anyone

familiar with caves comes

t o know that t heir physical

s tructure varies a great deal and that each cave trolled by an i ndividual atmosphere and thermal highly i ndividual that the

i n that its

This

i s best

I n this

r espect,

i n r egard t o their the Muleta cave

s tructural characteristics were

The Muleta cave S oller

( pop.

S oller, l onger

i n the cave have r esulted i n maximum pre-

i llustrated in the

( pop.

i s

5 50)

f ollowing d escription.

1 5,000).

l ocated 5 kilometers and 5 kilometers

r oute to S oller,

r oads

Palma-Soller,

the easier of the two a ccess

g iven c omplete route

coast.

The other i s the

by way of the Coll d e

S oller with

The north coast r oad was

r oads even i n ancient t imes,

into the mountains,

S oller r oute.

c ertainly

though other

B esides being

the north coast road would have

a ccess to the coast between Valldemosa and S oller,

a long which the author has d iscovered s everal prehistoric

i ncluding the

s ettlement c omplex of Ferrandell-Oleza,

of Muertos Gallard and the and SMRG r espectively ) These

s mall mountain

Palma-Valldemosa-Deya-

t o this

traffic must have passed via the Coll d e the easiest route

f rom the

f rom the market t own of

The north coast road,

i s one of the two a ccess

i ts present-day 8 8 hairpin turns.

three

ential

s ites

l inks

s earch '

a re

cave of

which are

S on Marroig

the

s ites,

the rock s helter

( inventoried S FO,

s ubsequently discussed i n this

s ituated between Matge and Muleta,

in the chain of archaeological

AMG t hesis.

and a re e ss-

s tations used i n this r e-

I V igure 7 ).

The outcrop of Jurassic system l ies below and on the

l imestone containing the Muleta cave

s eaward s ide of the

coast road between D eya and Soller.

There

5 km road marker on

i s a small

s ide r oad

at this point which descends

to the urbanised part of the

D eya and Muleta Vignon.

a rea i s a promontory of l and known a s

Muleta Gran. the

i s

s uch

T he G eographic L ocation a nd G eological S tructure o f t he M uleta C ave

village of D eya

the

i s different a nd c on-

i nternal conditions

ambience.

ambient c onditions

s ervation.

2 .

s et of

s ea,

The

The outcrop i s

s ituated

r ising s teeply f rom the

promontory of this c oastline

s ection,

1 80 meters d irectly overlooking

f lat f armland which f orms part of the

apart f rom the valley of S oller.

east of S oller i s made up of

c ipitous c liff

s ection.

The

f lat area of Muleta would have been i n ancient t imes.

evidence of an old torrent bed immediately i n which i s now f illed i n and t erraced t o make These

original torrent's

As

s teep descent t o the

i n Miocene

one would expect i n regard to Made up a s systems

i t

i ts

There

available more

l and t o

exposing the

s ea directly below.

l imestone,

Muleta i s not what

s edimentary or f ossil a ccumulation.

i s of two horizontal,

r ight a ngled and two

l evelled

that are connected by a s ingle narrow vertical chimney,

system functioned a s

a natural

i s

f ront of the outcrop

t erraces end abruptly t o the north,

a s olution cave

The

s ome of Mallorca's most pre-

i deally suited f or both man and animal

agriculture.

c oast of

a nimal

trap whose

has been exceptionally constant during most of the Holocene.

3 6

the

i nternal environment This

i s

r eflected i n t he e xcellent preservation of materials a nd c an a lso b e d emonstrated f rom r esults obtained i n t he various a nalyses where c ons tant t emperatures a re e ither r equisites o r a dvantageous. k ept by t he a uthor o f t he

t emperatures

i n t he c ave

w eather c onditions o ver t he p eriod o f 5 y ears e rature o f

1 9.5 d egrees c entigrade,

R ecords

f or a ll s easons a nd

s how a y early mean t emp-

w ith s ummer t emperatures n ot e x-

c eeding 2 0 d egrees c entigrade a nd w inter one n ot f alling b elow 1 9 d eg rees c entigrade.

T here a re t wo openings t o t he c ave a re:

( a)

t he main e ntrance

( 48cms x 1 25cms) l ower c ave

1 E ).

s ystem

a nd

( b )

( 48cms

I t i s t heir s mall

i n t he

s ystem f rom outside,

f orm o f a k ey-hole

which

s haped mouth

t he i nner mouth o f a v ertical c himney t o t he

( Plates 1 :1,

i n d iameter)

2 :1 )

( P lan 1 A a nd

s ize which has b een r esponsible

s tate of preservation o f the c ave's c ontents a nd t he i n i ts ambient t emperatures.

f or t he g ood

l ack of variation

Their s ize a nd n ature a lso e xplain t he

s uccess o f the c ave a s an a nimal t rap.

The two c hambers c omposing t he c ave s ystem are a n upper one a ligned r oughly n orth-south a nd a l ower one, c hamber,

east-west.

The upper

r eached f rom t he outside by way o f t he k ey-hole e ntrance,

7 m l ong x 2 m

( approx.)

wide with varying h eights of

1 m t o

3 m

i s

( see P lan

1a nd 1 h ) , This l ower c ave l ies a t t he base o f t he narrow c himney a t t he r ear o f the upper chamber a nd s lopes a t a 4 5 d egree a ngle west).

This

i t i s t oday.

( east-

l ower c ave i s about 6 m l ong x 1 .5m wide x 5 .75m h igh a s These c aves were

f ormed i n a ' karst'

f ractured l imestone,

t he o riginal f racture z one being e nlarged by s olution a ction prior t o a ccumulation o f the

s ediments.

Over many m illennia,

the Muleta c ave b ecame

f illed by a g radual

build up o f f aunal r emains a nd c ave s ediments o f d ifferent k inds a nd o rigins a nd c ontinuing until the present.

The a mount o f bone material

( P late 5 :1 ); and the a ccumulation i n t he c ave of a pproximately 2 000 e xamples of eotragus b alearicus, innumerable microf auna of t he s ame period ( P lates 1 2:1 t o 1 3:2 ), s keletal r emains o f e arly human i nhabitants ( P lates 25:/ a nd 2 5:2 ) and f inally modern f auna

p resent i s r emarkable

i s u nprecedented i n the Balearics.

The c ave,

when d iscovered i n

1 962,

was blocked with brush,

which had b een placed i n the c ave's e ntrance t o prevent present-day g razing s heep f rom wandering i nto the c ave i n s earch of s helter. During t he period o f work a t t he

s ite t he l ocal

s hepherd has a lways

b een most c oncerned w ith r e-sealing t he c ave whenever operations a re not i n progress, Muleta c ave

a gainst a ccident t o his

i dea of what i t c ontains,

a s

t o c rawl t hrough h ead f irst. culty,

f lock.

e specially one

i t i s only

j ust l arge e nough f or a human

An a nimal however would have n o d iffi-

l ike eotragus b alearicus which stood only a s

h igh a s a medium s ized dog and weighed about t he

This e ntrance t o t he

f rom t he e xterior on f irst i mpression g ives very l ittle

s mall e ntrance of Muleta,

i n j eopardy a s

1 2 t o

1 4 k ilos.

O nce

s oon a s they passed b eyond t he p eriphery o f l ight,

t he c hamber e nds

i n

human o r a nimal visitors would have been

i n t he vertical c himney which g ives a ccess t o t he

3 7

a s

l ower chamber of the

The mainly

c ave

i n the

millennia. humans

f illing was

1 B a nd 1 C a nd P late 1 :1 ).

a ccordingly f ormed i n the above manner,

l ower part of the

s ystem,

The d eposit of bones

a lso,

I ndeed,

( P lan 1 A,

s ystem

s lowly building over t he

r epresents animals,

and i n due

c ourse

who evidently s ough shelter and a ccidently became t rapped.

the deposit must be c lassed a s

than an occupational mains a s well a s

s ite.

a natural animal

The rate of i ts

s ediments

i s

t rap r ather

a ccumulation of

f ossil r e

s tudied presently i n an appropriate

s ection.

2 .1

A D escription o f t he C ave S ectors i n M uleta

Before the d iscussion of the various it i s necessary t o

The r eader will no d oubt question why the

s ectors have co-ordinate names e ither of ' Z'

' AB'

s ector,

and

I n the beginning, A ,

B ,

with special zones which all

C ,

D ,

l ike

F ,

the

l etters

( Plan 1 A ).

l ike

f or the areas then under excavation ' X'

s ector was also s pecial i n

sub-chamber with a calcite column at i ts

At the t ime of the

i nitial excavation,

the cave area into

s ectors were no l arger than

. 5m x 2 m,

c entre divisional quadrants

tors, dual

i t

for example between

l etter name.

combined,

provenance.

eventually,

Therefore,

cavated areas ant ones

S o,

e specially f or the

' X',

' A'

' B'

s ec-

s eparate l etter name

s ectors were

sake of recording s pecimens and t heir

' 0'

s ector l etter names, and

' Z'

( this

apart f rom the i mport-

l ast l etter name

s ector was

s ectors i n

t he

l evels).

Furthermore, using a s ingle excavation eristics, tors

and

s uch a small area an i ndiv-

d iscovered during excavation much l ater than the other upper

l etter

s erved by

the c lassification and i nventory of the ex-

c ombined the

such a s

s ide of the

s ingle

and f or the purpose

s eemed hardly worthwhile t o g ive

which

s ome of the

found a s much on one

S ome of these original

f ar

i t s eemed nec-

small quadrants a s possible,

specimens of e otragus were

l imits of an area a s another. the

' EF',

s eparate

the area directly under the chimney i n

it turned out became more bother than i t was worth a s

eventual

' X',

such a s

s ectors were t reated a s

the materials had to enter.

e ssary to d ivide a s

E ,

' 0',

that it i s a r ight angle end

s ingle

while others have c ombined l etter names

' CD'.

l etter names,

s ector s tratigraphies

i nterject a f ew r emarks about the u se of the cave

s ector a lphabetical names. or

cave

excavation also makes

l etter name of the c ombined

showed each of these a s will be

in the

s een.

i t necessary t o r eturn to ' EF'

s ector areas

The original

s ector a s

t o have

l imits

eventual

s pecial charact-

t o the areas and s ec-

i llustration a long with the present-day borders

I t also became apparent that f or the

( P lan 1 A ).

s ake of biometric and

other osteological

s tudies

facilitate g eneral

r eference and origin of the

the

the

i ndividual

specimens when excavated were g iven a

l etter name

such a s E ,

F ,

same t ime,

s ingle

that c ombining t he

A ,

3 8

B ,

l etter

s ector names would

specimen.

However,

depending on where they came

at

f rom i n t he c ave.

An e xample of this c lassification a nd i nventory

s ystem s eems a ppropriate here. of a s kull would b e the

S uch a n e xample

f or the c lassification

f ollowing:

( Cranium number,

s ector a nd l evel= CR176-E350)

M ost of t he excavated s pecimens have t his c ode o n t hem, o nly r ecently ( ' EF'),

' A'

( since

a nd

' B'

1 973)

has i t been d ecided t o c ombine

( 'AB'),

' C'

a nd

' D'

( 'CD')

' E'

a nd

a nd

' F'

s pecimens f or b iometric

s tudies a s t here i s n o a pparent r eason f or s tudying them s eparately b ecause of t he f act t hat t hey appear o n one i mposed c entre

s ide or a nother o f a n

l ine on t he cave d eposit s urface.

i ent t o have c ombined the s ectors

f or t he

I t was a lso c onven-

s edimentological s tatistic

s tudy o f t he d eposit i n which l evel a s w ell a s

s ector o rigin a re b eing

s tudied a s t o t he d eposition;

and t he origin one

c entre l ine

whereas a l imit t o a n upward o r d own-

i s n ot i mportant,

ward t rend of a d eposited s lope might b e d ivider or f eature

s ide o r a nother o f a

i mportant a nd a c ultural

s uch a s a bridgestone o r a c alcite c olumn o r c himney

opening might b e a c lue t o t he d eposition a s well a s c ontrolling i t.

A s

i t t urned out,

c ombined c ave s ector's t ors

' AB'

a nd

' CD'

i t i s n ecessary t o s tudy only o ne o f t he

s tratigraphies

g raphical profiles.

I n f act,

t ion b etween t heir d eposition, r elationship t o t he s ector

s eparately

c an be c onsidered a s

' talus'

( 'E'

a nd

' F').

S ec-

s ingle c ombined s ector s trati-

i n s ection,

t hey s how n o g reat d istinc-

other t han t heir i ndividual i ncline a nd

s lope l eading e ast-west f rom t he c himney

( '0').

2 .2

A F ew O bservations o n t he A ccumulation o f t he M uleta D eposit

B ased o n t he s edimentological s tudy of Muleta's d eposit - a preliminary s tudy of which i s g iven i n Appendix a t otal of

1 B o f t his volume -

1 4,135 k ilos of cave earth has been washed s ince t he s ite's

hydraulic process

( see s ection 2 ,3 b elow )

was put i nto e ffect i n

I t a lso c overs a k nown period o f t ime o f a bout 3 2,000 years, c ated by e xtensive r adiocarbon analyses.

1 969.

a s i ndi-

The weight quoted excludes

t he o verwhelming majority o f s keletal c omponents which had a lready b een r emoved b efore t he a nd t his t he

B one weights F rom

a bove w eight of a ccumulation and t he c hronometric c hronology,

i s possible c ave

s ediment weights were r ecorded.

t otal volume would have g reatly i ncreased the f igures.

( earths,

per y ear. i tself,

i t

t o f ix a n a verage a ccumulation r ate o f s ediments i n t he g ravels,

This a verage

s ands a nd c ave wall d ebris) f igure

at a bout 2 .26 k ilos

i s probably n ot o f g reat i nterest i n

but s ome worth r ecording h ere f or c omparative purposes,

e s-

pecially b ecause a s imilar s edimentological s tudy i s b eing c arried out

i n a n adjacent c ave with a d eep c himney,

and i t w ill be

i nteresting

t o s ee i f i ts a ccumulation s tatistics a re s imilar t o Muleta c ave proper. s ediments

At t he

s ame t ime,

the rate o f a ccumulation a nd t he type o f

i nvolved a s well a s t he

s pecimen materials

g ive u s a n i dea o f the nature of t he d eposit, c haracteristics,

f ound i n t hem

a long with c ertain c ave

s uch a s Muleta's b eing a s low c ollecting a nimal t rap.

3 9

The r eader

s hould bear

i n mind that no cave

has been r esearched i n quite the t herefore any statistics where

t ion collected.

The

l ocal

i f t he course of the

f urther

t han

The this

one which

over the millennia,

During this

One can a ssume that

t ime,

1 6 years.

therefore,

going through i ts

e otragus etc.)

This

2 000

f illing.

f orm another a ccumulation

animals met their death i n Muleta a rate of collection of about

again i s

f or

1 60 years.

l ection could be misleading a s

an average rate and not a ran-

i nto account a s yet; years.

The i s

l ower

and when they are,

s imply to g ive

i nterested i n

this

they may a lter the above mean

e stimate could be

the r eader

and at the

s ome

same

rate of average c ol-

l evels have not been taken

f act that these rather obscure

Muleta cave collected,

d ix 1 E )

I n fact,

the

collection rate where a c loser

i s

t his

f irst

1 0 animals might have very l ikely met their d eath i n one

year and then none

at all

An example of

t ime t hat the c ave

a nd chemical makeup of t he a ir etc.

during a period of about 3 2,000 years, dom one:

i s

collection f rom these quarters would have b een more

i n that approximately

1 animal every

rate

being exposed t o g reater d eter-

l ater when the cave was

The animal r emains s tatistic

( if

undoubtedly

this

it was of g reater volume and,

ambient t emperature

a ccelerated than

the

but one where rates o f a ccumulation varied

i ts cave walls were of greater area, i oration by the

a cave of t his k ind)

f act that during t he

f orm i ts deposit,

i nfor-

a lso t o be developed

a s will be presently d iscussed.

can be considered i n the began t o

i s

2 .26 k ilos per year at Muleta

f actor.

c onstant,

s tatistical

f or f uture r eference

( C ollcutt 1 979 ).

c onsidered s low f or

i s

that t he more

s tudy of caves

a t present

i s caused by more than one not

f eels

s low a ccumulation of

r ate c an be

s ites have r eceived s imilar e xten-

a ccumulation a vailable

better,

i t has

and,

such s tatistics have been r ecorded and i nforma-

author a lso

mation concerning cave

I slands

or a s completely,

that have been c ollected will only be of

i nterest and use when other s ive excavation,

i n the Balearic

same manner,

1 animal

s tatistics

every 5 0

are mentioned

idea of the possible way

t ime t o direct the r eader who

such s tatistics to the appropriate appendices

where they are more meaningful,

( Appen-

a s well as to demonstrate s ome

of the methodology u sed and type of data and information collected f or possible

future use.

One of the

s pecial characteristics of the Muleta c ave,

r elevant to t he nature of i ts continuous a ccumulation, cular

s ize and placement of the

only a ccess

into the cave

two

s ystem;

and the chimney mouth at the

small entrances which gave the

that i s the main k ey-hole

end of the upper cave chamber.

s ize not only controlled the d imension of any animal i n and out of the t ions within of a ir, These a ctual a nt.

cave,

which did much t o c ontrol the

cave itself;

f or example,

maintaining constant t emperature

e ntrance Their

( man i ncluded) ambient condi-

they i nhibited the movement

f or

l ong periods of t ime.

factors would have had their e ffects on the bone r emains. l ocation of the

two openings

The k ey-hole opening i s

penetrates t erior

t he

h ighly

i s the parti-

i s

s o

f arther than a meter also

in the

small i nto

cave

itself i s

that very

t he cave;

l ittle

the

The i mport-

exterior

l ight

darkness of the

i ncreased by the existence of a s light

4 0

a lso

i n-

i nward turn of

t he c ave wall which t raps

s uch l ight t hat d oes

d irectly beyond t his t hreshold t he cave v isitor,

man o r a nimal,

r ear o f t he c ave,

( P lan 1 4 ),

s o t hat

I n s hort,

a ny

would have been u nable t o s ee a nything a t t he

e specially i f t hey e ntered r apidly with t heir e yes

a djusted t o t he l ight outside.

The c himney mouth o ccurs a s a g aping

hole a t t he e nd o f t he upper c hamber, opening o f t he c hamber, a nimal

e nter

i s p itch b lack.

a nd i t i s

t o f all t hrough.

a bout 7 meters

f rom t he main

j ust w ide e nough t o a llow a human o r

Once t his happened t here was n o g oing back,

t he t rap had b een s prung.

2 .3

A S ummary o f t he M ethodology U sed i n t he E xcavation a nd R esearch

'( i )

T he E xcavation a nd E arth R emoval

While t he e lements of the cave's

a rchitecture - s mall c hambers

and e ntrances - were t he c ontrolling f actors t he d eposit, t ion.

The c onfined working c onditions t hroughout the c ave

e xtremely c ramped.

s ystem were

I n order t o f acilitate t he r emoval o f t he e xcavated

earth a nd s pecimens, n ey,

i n t he a ccumulation o f

t hey a lso a re r esponsible f or t he methods u sed i n e xcava-

i n particular,

t heir r emoval up t he vertical c him-

t hrough i ts mouth a nd s ubsequently outside t he c ave v ia t he k ey-

hole entrance, s talled n ecks.

a s ystem of pulleys a nd t ransport c ables had t o b e i n-

( A ppendix 1 E )

t o c ope with t hese otherwise d ifficult bottle

L ight weight plastic buckets were u sed f or t he t ransport o f

earth a nd s pecimens on t he pulleys. were packaged i n plastic bags

The

s pecimens,

once e xcavated,

i n the c ave w ith i dentification c ards

f ollowing the c lassification s ystem outlined i n s ection 2 .1,

a nd were

t hen t ransported up t he c himney and t hrough t he c himney mouth.

H ere,

t he buckets were handed through the upper c hamber a nd a ttached t o a pulley on a s teel c able where g ravity c arried t hem t hrough the n arrow k ey-hole e ntrance,

d own t o t he work areas.

emptied o nto c lean plastic being e xcavated,

( i i )

H ere,

the buckets were

s heets a ssigned t o t he

s ector and l evel

t o a wait f urther processing.

T he H ydraulic W ashing S ystem

A n a rea i mmediately i n f ront of t he c ave e ntrance was e quipped with a s pecially d evised s oil washing s ystem c onsisting of a washstand, r acks a nd hoses

f or processing t he c ave e arth by washing i t t hrough 7

d ifferent s creens which t rapped t he most miniscule bone c omponents a nd at the

s ame t ime g raded t heir c ontaining matrix i nto s tone,

s ands a nd c lays. i s

t he

This hydraulic

g ravel,

s eparation s ystem f or t he c ave e arths

s ubject o f a more d etailed d escription i n t he a ppendices,

the d rawings a re g iven f or t he t he author

a nd

f ield e quipment which was d esigned by

( A ppendix 1 B ).

( i ii )

E arth S torage a nd W eighing

The e xcavated e arths were f irst weighed before washing, of the i ndifidual buckets o f e arth's weight being r ecorded.

each

The various

r esidues t hat were g raded i n s eparation were weighed a fter washing and

4 1

sun drying, s oil was

and the differences

s idue had been bags

i n weights of the unwashed and washed

r ecorded a s washed out c lays. s un d ried,

and l abelled a s

to origin,

t raction.

I n this way,

excavated,

washed,

well

i n preparation

( i v )

over 9 0% of the

While

e ntire deposit has been

the author personally collected most of the many have been collected by the

i n company with the author.

Yale University-Scripps f or RAA and

'( A ppendix 1 A ).

I n

s eries,

the

l atter

1 4C analyses 1 972 Minze

s eries,

For example, s ites.

three I n

special t eams

1 971

and

1 975,

( Bada a nd S chroeder 1 973 )

f rom Muleta

s amples,

part of

( A ppendix 1 A ).

important in dating of the i n one cave

I n r egard to one of

i n a s talag-stalactite f irst accumulated s edi-

s ector at Muleta.

R egarding A dditional R esearch C urrently i n P rogress

The research projects underway on t he Muleta materials numerous

and while

eral way, to this

a

Stuiver of the Quaternary Research Centre

the dating of carbonates

and M yotragus

( 7 ' , 9

u sed

f or radiocarbon analysis dating at Matge a s well as

column core has been ments

samples

Institute of Oceanography t eam collected bone

( Stuiver a nd W aldren 1 974 )

Muleta

r emoved,

s cientist c onducting t he

of the University of Washington at S eattle collected a large

s pecimen ex-

7 :1 a nd 7 :2 ).

have c ollected f rom both Muleta and Matge samples

s tout plastic

f or bone

T he C ollection o f S amples f or S pecial A nalyses

for t esting, analyses

s eparated g raded r e-

s tatistically r ecorded and had a ll remains

smallest f ragments ) ( P lates

even the

Once the

they were packaged i n double,

they cannot be more than mentioned here

they will certainly provide

thesis

i n

t he near future.

additional

i nformation r elated

A f ew highly s pecialised s tudies

are r eported on i n preliminary f orm in the appendices, apply t o c ertain a spects

are

i n a gen-

concerning man and his

where they

r elationship to M yo-

t ragus b alearicus, but others are still not advanced enough to be more than mentioned.

To g ive an example of the

l ised research l ies, of the

remains

view of the covered, oratory.

f rom all

the many presettlement l evels of M yotragus

sheer quantities

and because of the The

s tage at which this

s pecia-

i t i s a s yet not possible to g ive a full i nventory from Muleta,

and other bone

t ime r equired to process

specimens

them in the

in r e-

l ab-

c lassification of this material has however been pro-

c eeding steadily over the years,

and nearly e very bone has been

inventoried a ccording to t he appropriate Each animal originally had over 2 00 bones

system d escribed earlier. and we can s ay accordingly

that Muleta has yielded s cattered r emains of many thousands of animals. I t would hardly be desirable, a l ist of the bones the

end of this volume

( A ppendix 2 A ). and

S ome

1 E.

i ncorporating a f ull

c ontains

thesis.

However,

to incorporate

the appendices

at

a complete i nventory of human r emains

s elected M yotragus bones of particular interest

i mportance are a lso

cussed i n Appendix

even i f it were possible,

f ound in this

l isted; Other

and a spects of this material are d is-

s keletal

s tudies will be r eady

s hortly,

inventory i n due course.

Recently a new and s eparate chimney, a s ource of M yotragus b alearicus

remains

4 2

which i s

i ndependent a s

that should make

it possible

t o c orrelate t he

s edimentological a s well a s

f auna r emains w ith

l ower Muleta d eposit has b een f ound i n t he

t hat o f

s ame r ock o utcrop c on-

t aining the Muleta l ower s ystem i n which we are c oncerned h ere.

I t i s

s ituated a bove a nd s lightly t o t he west o f our Muleta c ave e ntrance a t no more than 5 meters, opening which g ives

a nd the e ntrance i s made up o f a v ery l arge

a ccess t o a l arge chimney i n i ts r ear.

d iscovery has b een producing Myotragus a rticulated i n the e arth's c ontexts. a re rare

i n l ower Muleta,

of s keletons.

O ccurrences o f a rticulated bones

a nd when t hey o ccurred,

The n ew f ind i s r emarkable; 1 0 meters,

i nvolved only parts

i t c onsists o f a wide c him-

n ey f illed with s tratified d eposit which has a d epth o f over

This n ew

r emains which a re c omplete a nd

s o f ar been e xcavated t o

a nd has a lready produced about 2 0 c omplete

s keletons o f eotragus b alearicus of various age groups,

r epresenting

t rapped animals t hat s ought s helter i n s ickness t o d ie.

A s ystematic

c ollection o f

s oil

s amples

f or f ossil pollen a nal-

y ses a nd TL dating have b een made which s hould c orrelate a t s ome s tage w ith t he Muleta l ower d eposit, i n s ome r espects.

a s well a s t o be perhaps more i nformative

Radiocarbon a nalysis r esults a re c urrently i n progress

a t t he B ritish Museum i n order t o date s everal k ey l evels t hus

f urther

o sits;

i n t he c himney,

f acilitating c orrelation between the two i ndependent d ep-

a c orrelation which i s badly n eeded when u sed i n c onjunction w ith

palynological a nd TL dating i n the P resettlement P eriod l evels,

i nterpretation o f l ower Muleta's

e specially r egarding the e cological a spects

o f t he period.

3 .

S tratigraphy a nd D ating o f t he M uleta D eposit:

( i )

T he P resettlement P eriod

I n t otality,

( Strata i nferior t o S tratum 7 )

the a bsolute dating o f the Muleta d eposits t hat

r epresent the P resettlement P eriod i n t he various E F,

CD,

AB,

X a nd Z s ectors,

f rom a bout 8 0,000 b .p., 7 000 b .c.

e ach s tudied below )

s tratigraphies

( 0,

c ombined c over a t ime

a ccording t o palaeomagnetic dating ) ( SM ,7? )

t o

by r adiocarbon and racemisation o f a spartic a cids analysis

( A ppendix 1 A ).

The r esults of t he

1 4C a nd RAA a ssays on i totragus bone

f rom t he presettlement l evels have provided a c hain of about 3 2,000 b .p.

t o a bout 7 000 b .p.,

years o f a ccumulation of t he c ave's various

S ummary

s ectors

a n a verage of

f illing.

i s g enerally very g ood.

1 6 d ates f rom

1 d ating per

1 550

Agreement b etween t he

I n r iost s ector s tratigraphies,

i t has b een possible t o a ssign e stimated dates t o c ertain s trata which a re

' sandwiched'

exist,

e .g.

between t wo l evels

a s has been d one i n t he

( s ection 4 .3 ).

f or which a ctual c hronometric d ates s tudy o f

' Z'

s ector c ave

which a ccumulation of t he d eposit i n t he various

s ectors t ook place,

c oncurrently i n s ome c ases a nd c onsecutively i n others, a nother type o f c hronological i nterpretation. tation of the e arly a s

s tratigraphy

I t has a lso been possible t o d emonstrate t he o rder i n

s ediments

s uggests that t hey began t o be d eposited a s

t he R iss G laciation,

perhaps

s ince c irca 2 30,000 b .p.,

t he main bone a ccumulations b egan a s e arly a s phase o f the Wurmian G laciation, northern Europe

t hus g iving u s

The g eochemical i nterpre-

3 2,000 b .p.

while

i n a middle

c ontinuing i nto what i s d ated i n

a s t he Atlantic P hase o f the P ost G lacial P eriod o r

H olocene. 4 3

( i i )

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod

The

evidence d irectly e stablishing

S ettlement Period at Muleta c onsists of r epresent s everal

individuals,

s keletal components, of bone needles). r ecently become s ee,

human

s keletal r emains

and

( b)

a f ew artefacts

the

l evel from which these originate

are well documented by

sufficient f or us

i t has

the existence of an E arly

( a)

i n spite of the absence of s ome of

t hat the

( flint f lakes a nd a number 1 4C,

to do more

s uch a period in the prehistoric

will

7 to 6 )

While

( 1 50cms t o 1 75cms ) of

( Strata

( S tratum

the evidence has only

than note the possibility

s equence

in the Balearics.

As we

taken the correlating evidence of the Matge r ock

and the consequently early radiocarbon dating to place

shelter

the e xistence of

the Early S ettlement P eriod beyond doubt.

Chronometric dating of the Early S ettlement P eriod comes only f rom Stratum 7 i n the Muleta d eposit, l ogical and palaeontological however,

the dates

which contained the anthropo-

s amples used i n the

e stablished at Matge.

The materials used i n the

analysis of human bone were chosen f rom a very t ent materials i nitial SM,59, bone

and 3 9.5

they gave

but as we

will

s ee

The results of these,

8 735 b .c.

s uch l arge

+ 3 517 yrs.

small amount of exis-

s amples were used i n t he

the r esults were not a t a ll

SM,58 , 6498 b .c.

+ 1 180 yrs.

qms of human bone respectively.

Naturally,

s pecimen's

dates with

except i n s o f ar a s

l ikely age.

I t was r ecom-

laboratory c oncerned that l arger t est materials

s ubmitted f or analysis; f rms

bone

s pecimens,

each were at once themselves

s hould

both human and animal,

submitted.

The results a re those

presently u sed f or the Early S ettlement P eriod: f or the human bones

s at-

and

were obtained f rom 8 6— gms of M yotragus

s ome rough idea of the

weighing 5 00

3 50 yrs.

f irst radiocarbon

s tatistical errors were not much use,

mended by the be

and hence only s mall t est

analysis,

i sfactory.

age determinations;

are remarkably i n a ccord with those more r ecently

a nd 5 185 b .c.

3 985 b .c.+

+ 8 0 yrs

1 09 yrs.

and 6 620 b .c.

+

f or the M yotragus remains associated with the evidence of

man's presence.

D epositional details and a d iscussion of these materials are f ound in the

s ections

( section 4 .1

etc.)

a re also

f ound i n the

( i i )

c oncerning the pertinent

of the various

P retalayotic Period a nd one s hort

a small

s ent f or both the c irca

1 960 b .c.

l evels

the Talayotic Period ),

spells of occupation of the cave,

s hepherds or

f amily unit.

+ 1 20 yrs.

( SM,47)

4 4

e tc)

and

probably a s

and 8 15 b .c.

( two f or the

r epresenting

a t ransient camp

P ottery evidence

Pretalayotic and Talayotic P eriods,

r especitively.

CD,

( A ppendix A ).

s ubsequent Talayotic

s eries of habitational f or

S tratum 7 , E F,

( Strata 6 t o 4 )

f or this period and t he

P eriod i s based on a small

f or

( 0,

inventory of the human r emans

T he P retalayotic P eriod

The evidence

l evel,

s tratigraphies

i s

a lso pre-

dating f rom

+ 1 20 yrs.

( SM,27)

D etails d iscussing these

l evels a nd materials a re f ound i n t he

t ext a nd i n the s ections d ealing w ith the d ifferent s tratigraphies below

( iv )

T he T alayotic a nd P ost T alayotic P eriods

The Talayotic a nd P ost Talayotic

l evels of t he Muleta c ave

d eposit l ike t hose o f t he P retalayotic P eriod, L ike t hose of t he P retalayotic P eriod,

( Strata 4 t o 0 )

a re n ot v ery e xtensive.

t hey r epresent s hort o ccupa-

t ional phases by a s mall number o f people, probably t ransient s heph erds;

a s we have s een t he

s mall

s ize of the Muleta c ave c ould n ot have

possibly s heltered more t han a very s mall number o f i ndividuals, probably only a s ingle s hepherd u sing the preceding l evel

i n bad w eather.

c irca

1 950 b .c.

i f t he r adiocarbon a nalyses a re t o b e b elieved, very l ong period o f a bandonment o f over i t may a ctually h ave b een s ealed off.

a nd The

( S tratum 5 ) we have s een t o

i n t he Muleta s equence

have b een i n process o f f ormation

s ite

W e w ill n ote t hat

t he c ave u nderwent a

1 000 y ears, At a ny r ate,

during which t ime t here

i s n o s ign

e ither o f a nimals t rapped i n the l ower s ystem n or human o ccupation i n t he upper a rea u ntil c irca 8 15 b .c.,

when t he c ave was a gain u sed a s

a t ransient c amp.

The P ost Talayotic P eriod i n Muleta human o ccupational

l evel,

( S trata 2 t o 0 )i s n ot a

but the period i s r epresented by a palaeon-

t ological l evel c ontaining g oat r emains o f a nimals which had f allen i nto the l ower c hamber a s M yotragus had done.

R adiocarbon a nalysis

r eadings on bones of these s pecimens were c irca 2 30 b .c.

+ 1 15 yrs.

( SM, 4 )

With the c ompletion o f this g raphy a nd chronology,

s ummary of t he g eneral s trati-

we c an n ow b egin t he d etailed d escription of

the i ndividual

l evels of the d ifferent s tratigraphies a t Muleta

' X',

' EF'

' 0',

' Z',

e tc.).

While t here

nature t o the Muleta d eposit t hat i s g raphies,

( e.g.

i s a c ertain homogeneous

s hared by t he various

s trati-

there a re d istinctly d ifferent c ontextual a nd s tratigraphical

s ituations a s w ell a s d eposit c haracteristics which must be i ndividually d escribed.

This i s the a uthor's r eason f or presenting t he

d ifferent s ector's s tratigraphic profiles and a more s chematic d escription and presentation. f actors

The a ccumulation and other d epositorial

i n these d ifferent s ectors a re v ery d etermining ones i n t he

f inal i nterpretation o f the d eposit,

e specially a s r egards t o t he

chronology of the d eepest a reas of t hese s ectors, e ither out of r ange o r i n the

4 .

P lan 1 D )

where dating i s

f ar r ange of r adiocarbon method.

T he M uleta S ector S tratigraphies i n D etail ) ( 'X VO

VEF' e tc .)

The f irst s ector s ection profile

s ector,

s tudied h ere

( 'X'

( F igure 8 ) was s elected a s a n e xcellent s tratigraphical c on-

t rol,

a nd has b een c hosen f or s pecial a ttention f or s everal r easons.

I t i s

l ocated i n a s ector of the c ave which i s

4 5

f urthest f rom t he

narrow c himney opening of c ave.

I t i s a lso a t the

' 0'

s ector which f ed t he d eposit i n t he

f ar end of t he

a ccumulation t hrough t he c himney. c olumn a nd t wo t ravertine f loors waters)

The

' talus'

l ower

s lope f ormed by t he

s ediments

i nvolved a c alcite

( formed by t he overflow o f percolating

which c eased g rowing s ome t ime prior t o t he a ccumulation o f

a nimal r emains,

most o f t he

s ediment a nd c ave d ebris.

Being t he most

d istant s ector f rom both t he c himney e ntrance a nd t herefore t he k eyh ole main e ntrance, d ity

i t has

( after t he c alcite

t he

s tablest t emperature,

f ormations b ecame i nactive)

t he

l owest humi-

a nd t he

l east a ir

( P lan 1 D ).

movement a long w ith the e venest r ate o f d eposition

I ts main f eatures r epresent e vents t hat a lso o ccurred i n o ther a reas o f t he c ave, ' AB',

t he

' CD',

a nd i t c an be c ompared t o t he profiles o f s ectors

parts of

' EF'

a nd

' 0'

s ectors,

but n ot

f irst c ave bone a ccumulation t ook place,

o lder t han t hat of the other a reas.

' Z'

s ector where

being a ccordingly much

I t was only a fter a l ong p eriod

of s poradic a nd s elective a ccumulation w ithin t he s pecific a reas of t he c ave,

f ormed by bridgestone i nto r ough c ompartments were f illed

up a nd a more uniform d istribution of t he c ave materials s ectors t ook place, this

e xcept f or a ' Z'

s ector.

I t w ill b e

s ector had c eased t o c ollect a fter a c ertain t ime,

c ompletely f rom a ccumulation f rom

t he c himney

t ors t hemselves.

This

s een t hat b eing

c ut off

' feed'.

There a re c learly d istinguishable s tages of s ome of the e arly l evels of t he

i n a ll t he

i n t he a ccumulation

c ave f illing i n t he d ifferent s ec-

i s d iscussed i n i ts a ppropraite place o f t his

s ection a nd where a ccumulation s tatistics a re c onsidered e lsewhere. ' X'

s ector,

f or e xample,

c ontained two a dditional d eposits a part f rom

( F igure 8 ).

t he f ormation of a c alcite pillar a nd t wo t ravertine f loors There were a d eep d eposit o f l aminated c lay, ' loess'

r ed oxide c oloured,

author t o r epresent the

a nd b eneath i t a d ense

w ind blown e arth which i s c onsidered by t he

s igns of a d ry c older c limatic period;

c on-

s idered by l ocal g eologists a s being c ollected during E urope's g lacial periods,

while being periglacial

c ter of these e arths s tages

i n the age a nd origin o f t he

s ector profile

4 .1

T he

This i s

The c hange

l evels i n t he d eposit i n t his

' X ' Sector S tratigraphy, I ts D escription a nd C hronology

( basic )

i s bedrock of M iocene

l imestone

t apering g radually t o only a f ew c entimeters, s ectors;

H ere,

of

s ub-chamber of

' X'

s ector.

A f is-

id

r unning approximately

the f lat s loping b edrock f loor o f

running a pproximately e ast-west,

mentioned a bove. '( Plan

i n t his

f ormed i n t he f loor by t he c onverging walls o f t he c ave,

n orth-south. t he

i n t he c hara-

s ection.

S tratum 2 2,

s ure

l ocally.

i s a n example of t he presence o f two s eparate

' X' This

s ector a nd t apers

t urns

' AB'

a nd

' CD'

a t r ight a ngles i nto

i nto t he

f issure t hat i s

s loping b edrock f orms a r amp o f a bout 4 02

on which a ny d eposited material would s lip t oward t he e nd

s ector.

The r amp without a doubt d ictated the d istribution o f

4 6

M ULETA

PROFILE

' X' SECTOR

N IYOTRAGUS

modern l eve l

• X • 7 7

b edrock

1 *14c

a na lys is i nventory n umber

f ig .8

t he a ccumulation i n t his c ave s ector,

e ven r esulting i n t he

s lope a ngle of the original s uperficial

' talus'

l evel.

S tratum 2 1 This

l evel has a ccumulated d irectly on t he b edrock a nd i n t he

f issure i n t he f loor o f the s ector. f ine r ed oxide

' loess'

wind b lown

I t c onsists of f rom 8 -50 c ms o f

( having the necessary properties o f

dust when dried out a nd e asily d isturbed when blown upon)

s ell 7 .5YR ,

4 /8,

moist.

E arth of t his nature

blown dust t hat can be a ccredited t o g lacial t imes;

t hough n o a ctual

g laciation t ook place o n Mallorca during t he P leistocene, s ituated i n a periglacial z one, t he s ame t ime.

e arth, M un-

i s t ypical o f t he w ind i t was

probably w ith c old weather but d ry a t

S amples o f t his dust a re c urrently undergoing T L

dating a t the University of Oxford i n a n a ttempt t o date t his d eposited dust by t hat method. Under microscopic e xamination i t c ontained n o microfaunal evidence,

a lthough s amples have b een preserved f or f uture s tudy a nd

e specially f or f ossil pollen a nalysis. f ragments of e otragus bone t his

As

i t d oes n ot c ontain e ven

s eems t o t estify e ither t hat i t was

a ccumulated well b efore the cave began t o f unction a s a n a nimal t rap, which i t l ater became,

o r e lse t he a nimal r emains only a ccumulated

i mmediately under t he c himney o f l ikely a s

' 0'

( Plan 1 C a nd F igure 9 ).

l ower c ave

s ector a nd This

' Z'

s ector,

i .e.

t he

l atter possibility s eems un-

i t s eems r easonable t o a ssume t hat not a ll t he a nimals

f alling i nto the outright,

l ower l evel of

' 0'

s ector would have b een k illed

a nd n ot a f ew would h ave been c apable of s urmounting t he

bridgestone c ompartment walls of barriers of

s crambling i nto r ed o xide

a nd

' EF'

' X'

' loess'

' CD'

' 0'

s ector.

a nd

' EF'

( Figure 9 )

s ectors

s ectors a s well a s t he and s liding d own o r

The a uthor a ccordingly s uggests t hat t he

h ere a re o f particularly o ld age,

a nd e vidently r e-

presents a period that i s c ontemporary with t he R iss G laciation s ome 2 30,000 or

1 87,000 y ears ago.

d ating of c ontexts where i ndications i nferior a bove

This a ssessment i s based o n c hronometric

f rom s ubsequent l evels t o be d iscussed s hortly s how dates of 8 0,000 years f orward,

l evels o f this

s till o lder age

i n t he

with i mmediately

f orm o f varved c lays

S tratum 2 1.

S tratum 2 0 This 5 /4,

d ry,

l evel c onsists o f g rey-ochre

approximately 6 0 c ms d eep,

d irect c ontact with t he miniscule f ile.

l aminated c lay, M unse11

which c overed a ll

s urface of S tratum 2 1.

This

c onsiderable

c lay d eposit i s c urrently the

I t i s made u p o f

l ength of t ime,

s ubject o f r esearch a s t o

The a ccumulation c learly r epresents a a nd a c ounting of the l aminations may

l ead t o dating of the duration s hown i n t his ments

1 0YR

s ector i n

l ayers of c lay a nd c alcite which a lter t hroughout t he pro-

i ts c ontents a nd l amination.

i t c an b e

' X'

s edimentary d eposit,

i f

s hown that t hey r epresent d istinct annual d eposits o f s edi-

i n t he manner of varves. P reliminary s tudy o f t his

c lay d eposit i ndicates t hat i t was

water l aid a nd may b e t he r esult of a periodic

4 8

f looding o f t his c ave

s ector.

P rocessing by washing s amples a nd s creening s olution o f t his

c lay material has

O strocods

s ucceeded i n e xtracting b oth brackish a nd f resh water

a nd Foraminifera(Rotalidae ).

( Elphidium )

The presence of

t hese might be due t o r eworking o f e arlier d eposition. o f t he brackish water s pecies

one t ime or a nother much c loser t o the a bove

s ea l evel).

c lay d eposition.

The

' X'

The age of this

l evel

a ssessment,

h owever,

by a bsolute dating. whole

t he c ave

1 32m

i s r elative f or t he moment,

l ast i nterglacial

s tage

f or the

l ast i nterglacial

s tage

1 87,000 t o 7 0,000 years).

n eeds t o be c onfirmed a nd i f possible

This

s upported

I f the c lay d id i ndeed r epresent t hat I nter-

and a lso t hat i t r epresents a s teady a ccumulation during the

i f i t,

years.

( it i s a pproximately

but i t may t urn out t o b elong t o t he

( Riss-Wurm i n t he Alpine t erminology,

g lacial,

s ea

s ector i s the only Muleta s ector w ith t his

but i t may t urn out t o b elong t o t he moment,

The presence

c ould i mply t hat t he c ave s ystem was a t

i t would have built up a t t he r ate o f only l cm p er

1 970

Not a r apid d eposition rate c ompared t o what t ook place i n l ater on.

S tratum 1 9 This

l evel i s a calcite f loor the c omposition o f which i ncor-

porates the upper 5 cms of the was

l aminated c lay of S tratum 2 0.

f ormed by the s ame percolating water which built up the

s talagmite c olumn at the north e nd of

' X'

The f loor s talactite-

( P lan 1 D a nd P late 6 ).

s ector

The s tructure o f t he c olumn s hows that i t o riginally s tarted a s t wo s eparate f ormations with t he j oining the c olumn.

f loor f orming prior t o the f ormations

This c olumn plays a very i mportant r ole i n the

i nterpretation of the r elative ages of t he various l evels o f e arth a nd bone d eposit i n t his

s ector.

I t has a lso b een t he s ubject o f c hrono-

metric dating a nd s o has the A s ample o f this Yale-Scripps

f loor of S tratum

1 9 i tself.

f loor was dated by palaeomagnetic means by a

I nstitute t eam i n 1 972 a s having t he age of 8 0,000 y ears.

A c ore extracted f rom the c olumn has

s ince been dated by M .

S tuiver of

the Quaternary R esearch C entre o f the University of Washington a t S eattle;

this g ave open-ended dates o f 5 8,000 years

i nterior part o f t he c ore and 4 8,000 years t erior.

( SM,75)

( SM,76)

f or the

f or t he c ore's ex-

These r eadings would i ndicate a n a ge of about

1 0,000 y ears

f or the d evelopment o f t he c olumn during t he early part of the l ast g laciation, Wurm ) .

with the

f loor belonging t o t he

l ast i nterglacial

( Riss-

The c ore dates themselves a re c ertainly i n r elative a ccord

with the d ate of the

f loor,

a nd a lso with the f ollowing l evels.

S tratum 1 8 a nd S tratum 1 7 These two l evels a re c ombined here a s t he c olumn began t o f orm a nother t ravertine s ition of S tratum

f loor which t erminated i ts g rowth during the d epo1 7,

thus

l eaving only a partial f loor which projected

out i nto the c ombined S tratum

1 8/17,

the a reas a s the previous c alcite partial c alcite

f loor i s

but d id not s ucceed i n c overing

f loor

( Stratum

1 9)

had done.

This

5 cms thick a nd was the product of p ercol-

ating water,

f lowing over f rom t he s urface o f t he c olumn,

i llustrated,

during t he

a s will be

l ast g laciation c irca 5 0,000 years B. P.

4 9

The r ed o xide earth of c ombined S tratum

1 8/17

d eep.

I t i s a lso made up o f f ine w ind b lown dust

7 .5YR,

5 /6

i dentical

a tic c onditions, p eriod,

f irst t ime

mains,

t his

a nd t hought t o be i ndicative o f a nother c old d ry i nstance,

This 6 cms

t he Wurm G laciation,

. 5

i n t his

l evel

t o

l arge).

s tratum i n

' X'

s ector.

i s

2 cms

a v ery thin d eposit,

t o 7 cms o f g ravel 5 c ms t o

By s craping t he c ave walls

l ike t hese c an be s eparated w ith e ase.

i s o ne o f the

As w ill b e s een,

t hree s imilar ones which a ppear i n t he d e-

i ntervals.

l evels t hat a re

a cting a s

3 cms

i n s ize with only t he o ccasional pieces

posit a t more or l ess a nd a re

Apart f rom t hese r e-

g ravel 1

t he pieces b eing s harp edged a ll a round. l evel

1 ,000

a ppear f or

I t i s the product of the weathering o f t he c ave walls,

t oday p ieces this

c irca 7 0,000 t o

l evel c ontained no other material.

S tratum 1 6,

( mainly

M unsell,

probably w ith v ery s imilar c lim-

S ome v ery f ragmentary r emains o f M yotragus b alearicus

B . P.

t he

i n t his

t o S tratum 2 1,

i s a bout 4 0cm

( loess),

s terile,

These g ravels a re a g rey l imestone l ying l oose over f ormer l evels a nd

s tratigraphical d ividers b etween s uccessive M yotragus

l evels.

S tratum 1 5 This

f irst l evel t o c ontain plentiful M yotragus b alear-

i s t he

i cus remains in this be d ated by bone

' X'

1 4C method,

( SM,69).

The

s ector.

I t i s a lso t he f irst l evel here t o

g iving a r eading o f

1 6,805 b .c.

+ 5 55 yrs.

on

t exture of t he e arth i s g ritty a nd damp w ith a h igh

calcium c arbonate c ontent; a t hickness of 2 0cms.

t he c olour i s M unsell

1 0YR 5 /6,

The date would c ertainly place this

moist,

w ith

s tratum's

age prior t o t he O ldest D ryas of the L ate G laciation P eriod o f Northern E urope,

c irca

c ept f or t he

1 3,000 B .C.

The d eposit f or t he most part i s bone,

e x-

g ritty earth with v ery s mall g ravel a nd h igh c alcium c ar-

bonate c ontent.

S tratum 1 4, T his

g ravel 2

i s another l evel made up o f g ravel which i s t he product

of weathering t he c ave walls

a nd r oof.

s maller i n g rain s ize

1 cm )

( .5

w ise v isually i dentical b etween S tratum

1 5

g ravel of S tratum

t o

i n nature.

a nd S tratum

I n t his

s tratum,

than t hat o f S tratum

1 3.

i t i s

1 6,

s lightly

but o ther-

I t a cts a s a 3 cms thick d ivider I n c olour,

i t i s t he

s ame a s the

1 6.

S tratum 1 3 This a bout 2 0cms

i s

a nother l evel c ontaining a bundant M yotragus

t hick, M unsell

1 0YR,

h igh c alcium c arbonate c ontent. by

1 4C

f rom t his

4 /3.

r emains,

The e arth i s g ritty w ith a

M yotragus remains have been dated

l evel a nd g ave a r eading o f

( SM,66).

5 0

1 4,900 b .c.

+ 2 00 yrs.

S tratum 1 2, g ravel 3 This

i s t he

l ast o f t he t hree g ravel

l evels.

5 cms t hick and a cts a s a d ivider b etween S tratum I t c an b e c ompared w ith S tratum 1 4 a nd S tratum

1 1

I t

i s

4 cms t o

a nd S tratum 1 3.

1 6 a nd c onsists o f

s imilar s harp edged f ragments t hat have b een d etached by s olution a ction f rom t he c ave walls a nd r oof. A s

i n t he other g ravel

l ayers,

The g rain s ize

t hey a re

upper a nd l ower s trata o ften protrude

s terile,

i s

1 cm t o

2 cms.

a lthough bones f rom

i nto t he g ravels.

S tratum 1 1 This

i s a nother l evel w ith a bundant Myotragus

2 4cms t o 2 6cms t hick. S tratum 5 /4,

1 3,

This

c orresponding ( 'CS'

SM,63).

r emains,

l evel has n ot b een d ated i n

s ectors s ector,

r eadings o f

SM,64)

or

' X'

1 3,935 b .c.

1 2,700 b .c.

This would place t his

a bout

s ame t exture a s S tratum 1 5 a nd

M unsell

a nd i ts c olour i s a r epitition o f S tratum 1 5,

moist.

t ained

The e arth i s t he

s ector,

+ 6 55 yrs.

+ 8 5d— yrs.

1 0YR,

but i n

( 'Z'

w ere obs ector,

l evel quite c lose t o t he b eginning of

t he North European O lder D ryas o f t he Late G laciation.

S tratum 1 0 a nd 8 These a re two f ine white bands, i vely a t this

1 cm t hick t hat a ppear e xclus-

l evel through most o f t he c ave.

They probably r epresent

t he d ecomposition or organic matter i n t he bones o f M yotragus, bones o f

a s t he

s ome of the r emains c lose t o these narrow bands w ere c oated

with t his chalk-like

s ubstance.

powdered c alcium carbonate.

Analysis

s hows that t he

s ubstance

i s

O ccasionally balls o f t his material o ccur

i n t he upper a nd l ower M yotragus

l evels.

S tratum 9 This 7 .5YR,

5 /6,

i s a l evel o f f ine powdery r ed oxide moist,

a bout 8 cms t o t ains

a nd o f the

1 0cms thick,

s ome Myotragus

t exture, c hange,

s ame n ature a s S trata

f ragments.

1 7.

f rom t he

I t c onf ine

s uggests a nother c limatic s ame duration a s e ither

s tratum would date

which would correspond t o t he Younger D ryas l evel

1 7 a nd 2 1,

An e stimate based on t he s uccession o f

with dates above and b elow this Northern Europe.

M Ansell

The r adical c olour c hange a nd t he

but c ertainly n ot a s c old or o f t he or S tratum

1 8,

e arth,

f ound between the two white bands.

l ike S tratum 3 2 and S tratum 1 7,

S tratum 2 1

' loess'

l evels

i t c irca 8 000 b .c.

( 8850 t o 8 300 B .C.)

This would a lso c orrelate w ith d ates f or t his

of s ame

l evels o f other s ectors.

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod H orizons o f

' X' S ector S tratigraphy

S tratum 7 This d eposit i s a v ery d eep d eposit r ich i n M yotragus 1 00cms t o

1 50cms thick

s ectors e xcept f or

' Z'

f rom t his

( Plate 5 :1) and exists throughout a ll t he c ave s ector.

A rchaeologically i t b elongs t o t he

5 1

Early S ettlement P eriod, r emains dated f or t he s amples originate a s t he

l evel

The d ate

a nd i t c ontained t he human a nd e otragus

f irst t ime

f rom

' 0'

i n

s ector,

1 962.

A lthough t he o riginal t est

t hey b elong precisely t o t his

l evel,

i s c ontinuous a nd t raceable over most o f t he s ectors.

c an a ccordingly b e u sed i n

t he c hronological

' X'

s ector

i n o rder t o c ontinue

s equence.

The r adiocarbon d ates

f or e otragus

f rom t his

l evel

i n

' 0'

s ector c onsists o f two r eadings o btained f rom d ifferent a reas o f t he s ector.

They a re 6 620 b .c.

( SM,56).

+ 3 50 yrs.

( SM,57)

way i n which t he c ave d eposit was built u p. c an be 2 000

a nd 5 285 b .c.

+ 8 0 y rs.

This a pparent d iscrepancy c an b e e xplained by t he r andom The r ate o f a ccumulation

s ummed up s imply by s aying t he c ave c ollected a pproximately a nimals over a period o f a t l east

t he mean c ollection r ate of c ollection m ight f or 5 00 years.

j ust a s w ell m ean

a t t he

s ame

s ame

a ge

i n

l evel.

1 4C years

i n

1 y ear a nd n othing

I n t he

i t unlikely t hat t est s amples would

i n d ifferent a reas o f t he s ame

For e xample,

t he c himney i nto the or wounded.

1 0 a nimals

A ccordingly,

but t he a ctual

The manner i n which the bones b ecame d istributed

throughout a ll the cave would make g ive t he

1 00,000 years.

1 a nimal per 5 0 y ears,

s ector

a n a nimal once having f allen t hrough

l ower c ave would have e ither been k illed o utright f irst c ase,

the o pening of t he c himney,

t he a nimal would r emain d irectly u nder

where t he c arcass would have r otted,

l eaving a rticulated s keletal r emains.

When another a nimal f ell t hrough

t he mouth of t he chimney s ome o f t hese

s keletal r emains would have b een

broken a nd d ispersed i nto other s ectors of t he c ave.

I n o ther c ases

where the a nimal might j ust have been wounded f rom i ts f all, probably have

s truggled a bout i n t he

d ied i n s ome c orner f rom wounds, persed by s ome t his way, was

l ower c ave until

where i n turn i t w ould have b een d is-

f uture v ictim t rapped i n t he

s ame manner.

t he d eposit would have built up i nto t he

f ound by t he author.

t on h ere a nd t here e rate o f bone

i t would

i t s tarved or Gradually i n

s tate i n which i t

With Muleta i t i s n ot a c ase o f a n odd s kele-

i n t he

s tratigraphy,

but l iterally a d ense c onglom-

i n d ifferent l evels a nd s ectors

( Plate

5 :1).

The human r emains a lso o ccur merely a s part o f t his g eneral a ccumulation. b .c.

The

f irst ones

+109 yrs. ( SM,54),

r emains whose d ate was t he d iscovery of t he mains w ere

f ound i n

' 0'

s ector g ave a d ate o f 3 984

a lthough d irectly under t hem w ere t he a nimal 5 185 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

f irst human e vidence,

( SM,56).

At t he t ime o f

t he author t hought t he r e-

s omething i ntrusive due t o a nimal burrowing.

H owever,

t his

i dea w as d iscarded when human r emains c ontinued t o a ppear f rom 1 50cms t o

1 75cms within t he t op o f t he h ighest e otragus

a nd a lso a t t he b one

f ragments o f a bout 4 o r p erhaps

Muleta's hydraulic f or b one l evel f ound,

i nventory)

( 150cms t o

a ll t he

l evels

s ame horizon t hroughout a ll t he c ave s oil

( 1969 t o

a ll o f w hich o riginated f rom t his

s ector Numerous

1 976)

( see t ext

s ame 2 5cms t hick

I t s hould be noted by t he r eader t hat n ot

s keletal c omponents

f or t hese 4 t o 5 i ndividuals have b een

even u sing t he hydraulic

s ystem.

The hypothesis c oncerning

t hese missing c omponents when over 9 0% of t he washed a nd a ll t he bone matter, painstakingly e xtracted,

' 0'

5 humans have b een f ound d uring

s eparation programme

1 75cms).

i n

s ectors.

d own t o t he

i s d iscussed l ater o n

5 2

c ave

s ediment h as been

s mallest l izard v ertebra, i n t he t ext.

T he P retalayotic P eriod H orizons o f

' X' S ector S tratigraphy

S tratum 6 This

l evel

i s

f rom 4 5cms to 6 0cms thick.

M unsell 2 .5Y,

dark brown earth,

comprise r emains of a s pecies

2 .5/4.

The

I t consists of a

l evel's

( as yet unidentified )

horned goat and M yotragus b alearicus.

The

f aunal of

l ower part of the

produced s corched and burnt bones of the two animals, s enting f ood d ebris most able.

c ollected f rom this

This

l evel

not

family unit.

s tratum,

c ontained a dozen or

At f irst, was

the

s o

importance of this

i mmediately r ecognised,

s helter of Son Matge

( Volume I I).

d ren a nd G raves 1 965),

Samples

f or

1 4C anal-

s herds of NECP typology. l evel

i n the Muleta d eposit

a lso

b alearicus

f ound at the rock

The presence at Muleta of a mixed

kitchen d ebris was r eported by the s een that the

probably r epre-

until abundant r emains of M .

s tratum with burnt bone of M yotragus

dence of

s tratum

but no r esults are yet avail-

mixed with domesticated animal r emains were

be

l ong

f rom an encampment of a small number of occupants,

l ikely s hepherds or a small

ysis were

r emains

small

and domesticated s pecies amongst

author i n

( Waldren 1 965;

1 965

well before the discovery at Matge.

W al-

I t will

two l evels at Muleta and Matge produced pottery evi-

s imilar typology,

and that a lthough this Muleta

l evel has

no

1 4C documentation it does have an absolute dating at Matge,

c irca 2 700

b .c.

a Neolithic

As this dated l evel at Matge distinguishes

Early C eramic Phase

( NECP),

one of the author's

phases of the Pretalayotic P eriod, materials

i t there a s three

s ubdivisional

this o ccurrence of

l ike pottery

i n the Muleta stratigraphy i s now i dentified a s

an NECP l evel.

S tratum 5

This

l evel

a long with the previous one of the

s equence

Muleta which r epresents t he NECP of the Pretalayotic Period, made up of blackish earth, bones,

i ncluding

complete pots Muleta

high i n charcoal

s ome M yotragus.

c ontent and burnt f ood

An excellent collection of

f orming an a ssemblage were

f ound in this

( Plates 3 6:1-2 a nd 3 7:1 a nd F igures 4 7 a nd 5 9).

are discussed and s tudied i n the t ext. 1 960 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

( SM,47)

comes

cattle a s

i t does

i n Matge kitchen f ire contexts, 1 5cms of the

of the

except

cave's

t op of this

c onsists of goat,

f rom the upper 8 cms to s ectors,

' z'

5 3

These pieces l evel.

The

pig and small

which originates

l evel and exists

s ector

s ix

l evel at

One radiocarbon date of

f rom the

domesticated animal kitchen d ebris

at

and i s

throughout a ll

( see P lan 1 C ).

T he T alayotic a nd P ost T alayotic H orizons o f ' X ' S ector S tratigraphy S tratum 4 This l evel, ( loess?), M unsell

9 cms t o 2 0cms d eep i s made u p o f a very f ine e arth

1 0YR,

6 /4,

t hrough being walked on; t his

l evel.

d ry,

compressed i n most a rea,

i t c overs the whole of t his

I t i s quite e vident f rom t he t exture a nd l ack o f a rte-

f acts o r microfauna r emains that human a ctivities

i n t he c ave d uring

i ts a ccumulation of t his e arth d eposit w ere n egligible,, a ll,

i f a ny a t

a nd t hat the d eposit must c onsist mainly o f w ind blown material

which c ollected over a l ong period o f t ime, t housand years.

I t may b e

perhaps a s much a s a

i ndicative of a t ime when t he mouth o f t he

c ave was blocked by r ock f all or vegetation. t he

probably

s ector's a rea a t

l evel c ounts a s

s terile,

From our point o f v iew

a nd i ts i mportance i s t hat i t i ndictes a

c lear g ap b etween t he P retalayotic and Late Talayotic o ccupations. the c ave mouth had i ndeed b ecome c overed,

I f

t he e arly a nd middle B ronze

Age populations of t he r egion probably n ever knew i t was t here.

S tratum 3 a nd S tratum 2 This

l evel a nd t he

f ollowing one

( 2)

a re only f ound i n

s ector but are added h ere i n t he d escritpion of t he g raphy i n order t o maintain c ontinuity o f the

' X'

s equence.

made up of 6 cms t o 9 cms of charcoal a nd k itchen d ebris, of g oat, i n t his

' 0'

s ector s tratiS tratum 3 i s i nc

ying bones

pig a nd s mall c attle a nd c overs a n a rea of a bout 2 m

.

I t i s

l evel t hat f ragments r epresenting 6 t o 8 pottery vessels

c learly of Talayotic Late Bronze Age t ype 8 00 b .c.)

were

f ound,

pottery k iln vessels,

( circa

1 000 b .c.

t o c irca

a nd t heir f olms a re t o be c ompared w ith t he Matge both i n profiles a nd c lay f abric '

Radiocarbon dating of c harcoal a nd burnt b one

i F igure 1 30 ).

f rom t his o ccupation

l evel has g iven a r eading o f 8 15 b .c + 1 20 yrs.

( SM,27).

The l evel

c ontained no other a rtefact evidence other than t he pottery u sed a nd broken during a n obviously s hort-lived human o ccupation of t he c ave. S tratum 2 a nd t he original

s urface of the c ave c an b e c onsid-

e red c ontemporary f or purposes h ere.

B oth l evels c ontained P ost Tala-

yotic a nd even r ecent f auna r emains of g oat a nd s heep. f rom l evel

2 nd a nd 4th c enturies, I n s ummary, the

' X'

2 30 b .c.

+ 1 15 yrs.

( SM,4).

s ector i s c ertainly t he most i mportant f rom

s tandpoint o f s tratigraphical

the P enultimate G laciation 4 000 b .c.

G oat r emains

2 w ere r adiocarbon dated a s b elonging t o a moment i n t he

Other s ector's

( Riss )

s equence which l asted probably f rom s ome

2 30,000 years a go u ntil a bout

s tratigraphies t o which we t urn n ext,

w ill

a dd i mportant d ata a nd a dditional dates c oncerning b oth M yotragus and man a s well a s d iverse g eological o ccurrences. t hese other s ectors b eing part o f t he t ainly overlap chronologically with ' X'

s ame g eneral

At t he

s ame t ime,

s tratigraphy,

c er-

s ector profile a nd c an b e u sed

t o c onfirm t he various c onclusions d rawn f rom i t a s well a s t o e xtend t he i nformation i t offers.

5 4

f ig . 9

T he ' 0', ' EF', a nd C hronology

5 .

These

' CD' a nd

s tratigraphical

' 2 13' S tratigraphies,

s ections

west profile provided

( Figure 9 ).

a s they appear

l ower cave plan

i n the

are

Here

The profile

s ection c learly s hows

nacle of the bedrock. tor,

s ectors are

( Plan 1 C ).

The

s ame t ime,

the

the

' bridgestone',

we have

The bedrock at the bottom of

just considered.

angle northward into

' X'

cave's

presence of the

s ector.

The

author believes

s ector can be

i nto

' AB'

s ec-

that this bed-

f or the direction and distribu-

f irst a ccumulations.

two deep compartments

1 and 2 r espectively on the

trolled the

i tself a pin-

' CD'

This ramp f inally turns at a r ight

rock ramp would have been r esponsible

shown a s

s pecific

compartments created by which i s

f orm a ramp which descends at about 4 02 angle

t ion of the

i n a lignment

f igure makes

i n each s ector.

the undulating bedrock and the s een to

s hown i n the g eneral east-

the

c lear the overall accumulation and at the collection

T heir D escription

Equally

i n

' 0'

important i s the

s ector and

s ection,

' EF'

s ector,

which would have c on-

a ccumulation and distribution i n the

s outh-north d irection

( Figure 9 ).

The

r eader

should a lways take

into a ccount this

f act t hat the

cave accumulation was very much c ontrolled by the original plan of the cave,

by the

they ran.

and different s ystem.

s ize of the chambers and by the direction

Despite being a small cave, I t

Muleta has

l evels a s one would expect to

i s

f ind i n a very l arge cave

these characteristics which have made possible the

correlation of the different areas of s edimentation, a lso of course

influenced the

providing the opportunities f ortunate that these

same

systematic

and they have

composition of the d eposit a s well a s

f or chronometric dating.

f eatures of the

excellent preservation of the their

i n which

j ust such turnings

We are very

c ave have permitted s uch

contents of the various deposits,

making

s tudy possible against the background of the known

s tratigraphy.

5 .1

T he

' 0' S ector S tratigraphy, I ts D escription a nd C hronology

T he L ower T ravertine S eries o f F loors

This deposition

i s grouped together

badly consolidated travertine, I t was very easy to excavate t imes buckled or e ctly under the

s imply a s

a s eries of

very much on the order of

and came

f olded i n a shuffled manner

( Figure 9 ).

t em ), n ess

' Z'

s ector

This

( directly beneath the upper chamber of the

( Figure 1 1) are the only moist areas in the cave, i s not

L ocated d ir-

chimney opening from the upper cave chamber,

was originally exposed to percolating water f rom above. tor and

s andstone.

away i n s labs which were s ome-

s pectacular by the

was considerably greater

s tandards of

i n the past a s

5 6

s ome

c aves.

these travertine

t he

s ector

' 0' c ave

s ecs ys-

and t heir dampHowever, f loors of

i t ' X'

s ector,

8 0,000 t o possibly

present,

1 87,000 years

( Strata 1 9 a nd 2 0 ).

e xcavation has been t erminated i n this

l ogical e vidence a ppears t o b e

f orthcoming,

though s ome

way c oncerning i ts d eposition a nd c omposition. known what depth may r emain i n

' 0'

F or t he

s ector a s no o steos tudy i s under-

I t i s t herefore not

s ector b efore b edrock i s r eached.

S tratum 1 7

This i n

' X'

l evel c orresponds

s ector,

a nd i f

Wurm G laciation. YR,

5 /6.

The M unsell

s ame number

c olour

i s t he s ame a s

i n

' X'

s ector,

i ts

l evel,

f loor dated i n

S tratum 1 6,

l ocation i s d irectly under t he mouth o f t he i n which c ase i t does c orrespond t o t he

' X'

g ravel 1

This g ravel bed c onsisting o f various i s

t ra-

s ector a t a bout 8 0,000 years.

s ize b its of s harply edged

pieces o f d eteriorated c ave wall a nd c eiling makes up t his i t

7 .5 which

a nd t herefore may well have been d eposited before t he c ave

began t o c ollect r emains; v ertine

i n profile t o that of t he

originates a bout 8 0,000 y ears ago during t he

No f ossil bone r emains w ere e ncountered i n this

i s r ather p eculiar a s c himney,

s o,

s imilar t o i ts c orresponding l evel

better d escription o f t his

l ayer,

i n

a lthough

' X'

s ector.

here

i n

' 0'

l evel,

There

a nd

i s no

s ector t here

c onsiderably more c alcium c arbonate c ontent i n the matrix,

i s

probably due

t o percolating g round water t o which i t has been exposed.

S tratum 1 5

This

l evel,

l ike

i ts c orrelate i n

mains of M yotragus b alearicus A s ample

years

of bone f rom this

C A69).

S tratum 1 4,

This o f

' X'

s ector

i n

' EF'

s ector o f

had p lentiful r e-

t his date i s

1 6,150 b .c.

1 6,805 + 5 55

i n a ccord with a

+ 6 00 yrs.

( S A 1 ,67 ).

g ravel 2

l ayer i s a nother g ravel

( .5cms t o 1 cu , )

l arger pieces here

s ector,

l evel g ave a r adiocarbon a ge o f

A s will be s een s hortly,

c orresponding l evel

' X'

i n a s imilar g ritty earth l ithologically.

i n

' 0'

s imilar t o but c oarser t han t hat

a nd 2 cms t o 4 cms a long t he o ccasional

s ector.

This g ravel was

s terile.

S tratum 1 3

This

l evel a lso c ontained a bundant

s ponds d irectly t o b .c.

+ 4 15 yrs.

i ts c ounterpart i n

( SM ,65 )

' X'

were e stablished.

s ector i tself a re available,

t here

5 7

a nimal r emains a nd c orres ector where,

dates of

Though n o dates

f or

1 4,285

' 0'

i s a c orrelation i n e quivalent

l evel

i n

s ector where a d ate of

' EF'

a ble. 4 /3,

The

1 4,900 b .c.

+ 2 00 yrs.

( SM,66)

i s a vail-

i s a bout 2 5cms thick a nd has a M unsell colour of

l evel

1 0YR,

d ry.

S tratum 1 2,

This

i s

g ravel 3

a nother s terile i n

l ayer of g ravel a lso s omewhat c oarser

t han i ts

c orresponding l evel

t o 2 cms)

t o t he g ravel o f S tratum

' X'

and 8 cms

t hick.

s ector,

1 4 h ere.

a nd s imilar i n s ize

( 1cms

The l ayer i s between 6 cms

S tratum 1 1

This i n this

l evel c ontained a v ery a bundant a ccumulation o f M yotragus

s ector mixed with e arth which i s i dentical t o S tratum 1 1

where i n the d eposit,

M unsell colour 1 0YR,

5 /4.

c ontinuation of this

l evel

+ 6 55 yrs. The

( SM,64)

l ayer i s

e lse-

a g ritty e arth h igh i n c alcium c arbonate c ontent. There a re two r adiocarbon dates f or t he

a nd i n

i n other s ectors, ' Z'

s ector

i n

' CD' s ection 1 3,935 b .c.

1 2,700 b .c.

+ 8 50 yrs.

( SM,63).

a bout 5 0cms t o 6 0cms thick.

S tratum 1 0 a nd S tratum 8

The c ontinuous white bands of c alcium carbonate s een i n t he other s ectors d o not e xist i n

' 0'

s ector,

but there w ere a t t he s ame

l evel numerous balls of c alcium c arbonate a nd a g eneral r eading o f t he s oil,

M unsell 7 .5YR,

5 /6 which c ontrasts w ith the r eading o f

of t he overlying l evel 7 .

S imilarly s o,

S tratum 9 appears w ith l ess emphasis h ere in ' X'

s ector;

S trata 8 ,

n evertheless,

9 a nd

1 0

there

5 /4

' 0'

s ector t han i t d oes

i n

i s e nough e vidence t o d istinguish

i n t his a ttenuated f orm.

s trata b elow S tratum 7 ,

1 0YR,

a part f rom t his c olour c hange,

A s

i n

' X'

s ector,

t he

b elong t o t he P resettlement P eriod.

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod H orizons o f

' 0' S ector S tratigraphy

S tratum 7 This

l evel

i s

t he most c opious

apart f rom being s eparated by t he l ar t o S tratum

1 1

i n c ontent,

o riginate f rom t his where t he

l evel

i n M yotragus b alearicus and

s trata d escribed a bove i s very s imi-

a nd s ome o f t he best preserved s pecimens

( P late 8 :1 ).

I t i s

a lso t he l evel a nd s ector

f irst human s keletal e vidence e merged i n

1 962,

the f irst radiocarbon d ates were obtained f or M yotragus b .c.

+ 1 09 yrs.,

6 620 b .c.

+ 3 50 yrs.

s uggest t hat t his would be

5 185 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

( SM,54,

l evel was

a nd,

5 6 a nd 5 7,

a lso a t t his

of t he A tlantic P eriod l evel t hat w e

r especitvely ).

r emains,

3 985

a d ate o f T hese dates

f ormed during what i n n orthwestern E urope

t he period f or t he L ate Boreal

l atter part

more r ecently,

a nd f rom which

( 7700 B .C.

( 5500 B .C.

s ee a n i mportant change

5 8

t o 5 500 B .C.

t o 3 000 B .C.).

t o t he

I t i s

i n t he pollen rain

'( s ee t ext ), brought out in the pollen analysis results. G eologically t he ' X'

s ector,

M unsell 1 0YR,

d escribed,

l evel belongs

b eing c omposed of the 5 /4 about

A rchaeologically t his a rtefacts,

1 00cms t o

i s the

c onsisting of two s mall

( F igure 9 A )

n eedles

t o i ts c orresponding s tratum i n

s ame g ritty c alcium carbonate matrix 1 50cms t hick.

l evel t hat produced t he f irst

f lint f lake t ools a nd

1 2 or s o bone

( W aldren 1 967 ).

T he Petalayotic P eriod H orizons o f

' 0' S ector S tratigraphy

S tratum 6 t o S tratum 4 These ' X'

s trata a nd t heir c ontents have been d iscussed i n t he

s ector s tratigraphy,

a nd their c ontinued mention i n this

would only l ead t o unnecessary r epetition. t hat t his

s ector o f the cave c ontained d ense c oncentrations o f c om-

pressed a sh and c harcoal, pottery,

with k itchen d ebris a nd s ome f ragments o f

which will be d iscussed i n a n appropriate s ection.

r eason f or this

l ocation of f ires

s moke t o l eave the

I t i s r ather a paradox that the c losed characteristic r estricted

a rea o f t he c ave s hould produce evidence o f f ires,

but t his was e x-

perimented with d uring e xcavation by building a s mall f ire s ector t o observe what happens.

A s

l ong a s

s moke.

Furthermore,

f or c ooking;

l ower c hamber f ree o f

the f ires were undoubtedly not f or warmth a s t he

ambient t emperature of the c ave i s 1 9.5 d egrees C .),

i n t his

t he f ire i s not l arge,

the cave has a s ufficient draught t o l eave t he

t o

The

i s quite a natural one i n t hat there

i s a natural d raught here which would a llow f ire c ave.

s equence

I t w ill s uffice t o s ay

i deal a ll year r ound

( 18 d egrees

s o t hat we c an a ssume t hat t hey were

s imply f ires

which i s s ubstantiated f rom t he a nimal r emains a nd pot-

t ery f ragments

f ound i n the

f ire d ebris.

T he T alayotic a nd P ost T alayotic H orizons o f ' 0' S ector S tratigraphy S tratum 4 t o S tratum 1 The yotic

s ame d escription a pplies

s trata i n t his

horizons above. t hose o f ' EF',

5 .2

' X'

' CD'

T he

' 0'

I n t urn,

s ector a s

s ector a s

f or the Talayotic and P ost Tala-

i t d oes h ere i n t he P retalayotic

the d escriptions c an b e c orrelated w ith

i t does

i n t he other r emaining c ave

' EF' S ector S tratigraphy, I ts D escription a nd C hronology

For s pecial r easons,

d ealing with t he nature o f t he d eposit's

a ccumulation a nd preservation of materials, this

i ncorporated

' EF'

the a uthor will d iscuss

s ector i n s eparate t erms,

This a s explained above i s due t o t he excavation,

s ectors,

e tc.

' E'

a nd

' F'

s ectors.

f act t hat a t t he beginning o f

t he natural boundaries t o be f ound l ater during excavation

d id not exist i n s ome areas,

and i t was apparent t hat l imits u sed

originally d ividing the s ectors were t o b e c omplicated a nd unnecessary.

5 9

But a lso d ifferent c onditions

i n e ach o f t he two

s ectors s eem t o d ic-

tate t hat s eparate t reatment was n ecessary.

5 .2.1

T he A s

' E' S ector S tratigraphy s hown i n the s tratigraphic profile

( F igure 1 0 ),

s ection

both t he c hronometric dates and t he nature a nd c ontents o f t he s trata t hemselves c orrelate c losely w ith t he d ata f rom s ector. d eep.

A lthough, A ctually,

t he a rea of the

t he

' E'

' 0'

s ector i s

s ector a nd

s mall,

' X'

t he d eposit i s

s ector i s a s mall chimney-like f issure a bout

cms wide which turns e ast,

a nd a t o ne t ime e mptied i nto

' Z'

1 00

s ector

( Plan 1 E ) . The area during the early excavation was partly covered by s even badly c onsolidated l imestone l ayers

( the

s eries of buckled,

a nd s huffled l ayers of d ifferent hardness a nd thickness f ound i n c ave.

' O'sector)

These

which j utted out f rom t he d irection o f

l ayers c onsisted of s andy,

' Z'

t hat of the

1 0YR,

5 /4.

s ector

g ritty c alcium c arbonate which

has n early c onsolidated i nto s labs which a re badly l aid d own. i s

warped

s imilar t o t hose

l ooser matrix i n which M yotragus occurred.

I ts c olour

M unsell colour

I t s eems r easonable t o a ssume t hat i t a lso i s due t o perco-

l ating g round water a nd i ts r eaction o n the c ave e arth.

I n t urn,

whole of

s ector by a

a nd

' E'

s ector

' F'

(iEF 9

( F igure 9 ),

bridgestone d ivider

i s

s eparated f rom

' 0'

t he

f orming t he t wo d ifferent c ompartments

i llustrated.

S tratum 1 7

This S tratum 7 .3YR,

1 7

l evel's c omposition i s very s imilar i n t exture t o t hat o f

e lsewhere i n t he c ave,

4 /4 which i s

o f M yotragus bone ( SM ,?/).

e xcept t hat t he M unsell rating i s

s lightly browner t han i n other s ectors.

i n

'E '

s ector gave a date o f 2 1,850 b .c.

Analysis + 4 80 yrs.

This d ate f alls w ithin the period o f the Wurm G laciation. I t i s

i n t his

s ector a nd a t this

l evel that t hree e xamples o f

M yotragus b alearicus l eft mandibles o f young a nimals were f ound which c ontained two i ncisors; e ristic

whereas t he s pecies normally has t he c haract-

s ingle c hisel-like i ncisor

( Plates 1 0:1,

1 0:2 a nd 1 1:1).

These

s pecimens a re particularly s ignificant a s t hey may r epresent a n e volut ionary s ub-stage

i n t he t ooth d evelopment o f c ertain young a nimals a t

a s pecific c hronological t ime.

Also a f ew i nvestigators t ake t his d e-

v elopment t o d istinguish a possible s ub-species t hese

s pecimens a nd t heir f ine

author t o t ake was b etween

1 4C

s amples h ere.

1 25cms and

( Cuerda 1 974).

I t was

s tate o f preservation t hat d ecided t he The d epth o f tne

l evel a t t his p oint

1 50cms.

S tratum 1 6 , g ravel 1

This

t hin

l ayer f rom 2 cms t o 3 cms t hick i s a bout i dentical t o

t he g ravels d escribed i n other

l evels

of t he d eposit,

s ignificantly vary o r warrant much a ttention, part o f t he

s equence of l evels

i n t his

6 0

s ector.

a nd d oes n ot

other t han mention a s

S tratum 1 5

This l evel c ontained well preserved eotragus r emains i n a n e arth i dentical t o that of the other a reas i n t he 1 0YR ,

5 /4.

R adiocarbon d ating of bone

1 4,900 b .c. s ame

+ 2 00 yrs.

l evel e lsewhere

S tratum 1 4,

This s ectors.

( SM,66).

s ame

l evel, M unsell

s pecimens here g ave a d ate o f

Again t his date i s c omparable t o the

i n t he d eposit.

g ravel 2

i s another gravel d eposit c omparable t o t hose of other

The only d ifference

t he e lements a re

f rom t he f ormer g ravel i s that on o ccasion

s lightly l arger a nd there a re

r anging f rom 2 cms t o a s

l arge a s

1 0cms

f ragment of c ave wall

f ound i n this g rave.

S tratum 1 3

This

l evel c ontained more r emains of M .

b alearicus in a matrix

t hat was i dentical t o that of other s ectors and l evel t o which t his s tratum c an be c orrected.

The matrix i s g ritty and a s i n o ther s ec-

t ors h igh i n c alcium carbonate c ontent,

with a M unsell colour,

1 0YR,

5 /4.

S tratum 1 2, g ravel 3

Whereas

i n other s ectors,

r elatively f ine pieces,

this l evel was thin a nd c onsisted of

i t was made up o f l arger cave wall d eteriora-

t ion much l arger than e lsewhere. mixed with t he

P ieces up t o

2 0cms a cross were f ound

s ame g ritty e arth f orming most of the matrix i n

' F'

s ector,

j ust a bout parallel w ith t his g ravel b ed c orresponding w ith

S tratum

1 1

i n

' F'

s ector

( see b elow), which would either date this

l evel or that of S tratum 1 1

h ere i n

' E'

s ector.

S tratum 1 1

This ' F'

l evel here i n

other s ectors; o f

'E '

s ector i s adjacent t o a s imilar one i n

s ector a nd was very thick a nd not a t a ll l ike the matrix o f the ' F'

s ector

i ts nature a nd c ontents a re d iscussed i n t he a ccount s tratigraphy.

R adiocarbon dated s pecimens

s ector a re l isted h ere a s w ell a s b ecause

i n

' F'

s ector i s o lder t han t hose of S tratum

I t i s probably t he c ase o f younger material having s lipped t o t he

l ower l evel

( Figure 1 0 ) ( '66')

s ample SM,67. b eds 1 1

' F'

s ome event u ndoubtedly o ccurred which c ould e xplain why the

s ample f rom S tratum 1 1 1 5.

f rom

i n t he c orresponding l evel t here

i n

Although,

i ntervening. ' F'

s ector

Nevertheless, i s

f rom s omewhere i n S tratum 1 1,

a bove

this i s hard t o r econcile with t he t wo g ravel the date of t he material f rom S tratum

1 6,150 b .c + 6 00 yrs.

6 1

( SM,67).

S tratum 1 0 a nd S tratum 8

These two white bands of c alcium carbonate a re s imilar t o t hose e lsewhere,

occasionally they b ecome d iscontinuous,

by balls of calcium c arbonate a s

f ound i n

' 0'

a nd a re r epresented

s ector.

S tratum 9

l evel g ave t he s ame M unsell colour rating as i n o ther

This s ectors,

7 .5yr,

f ine e arth.

5 /6,

a nd i t i s made up o f t he

The uniformity of t his

f ine

' loess'

r ed o xide

l evel t hroughout the d eposit would

s uggest a period when v ery l ittle d eposition o f a nimals t ook p lace f or s ome r eason or another.

P erhaps t he c ave's key-hole e ntrance may have

b een c losed by a t ree or bushes, persed,

l eaving the c ave open once more f or c ollection.

mate

i s e quivalent t o t he N .W.

t ion

( 8300 B .C.

l evel,

or even by r ocks which l ater d is-

E üropean

t o 7 700 B .C).

( Zone

No r emains were

which further s upports t he

when only f iltered a ir with t he

I II)

I ts a ge e sti-

Wurm Late G lacia-

s eparated f rom t his

i dea t hat t his may h ave b een a t ime

f inest w ind born d ust e ntered t he c ave.

S tratum 7

This

M .

l evel a s e lsewhere,

c ontains the d eposit's most a bundant

b alearicus remains, with l iterally hundreds of bones packed i nto

t he l evel,

very s imilar t o the a djacent

( Plate 5 :1).

As

will b e

7 s pills over i nto the t his

l evel,

w e

' F'

s ector f issure.

c an c onsult t he

1 4C

where there a re dates o f 6 620 b .c. ( SM,57

a nd 5 6,

mains

i n t he

5 .2.2

T he

' 0'

' F'

s ector,

dating o f bones f ound i n

' 0'

+ 3 50 yrs.

+ 8 0 yrs.

a nd 5 185 b .c.

s ector

1 0Y P ,

5 /4.

s ector l evel a s i t c ontained s ome human r e-

f orm of s everal human phalanges.

s ector c an b e d ivided i nto two a reas,

adjacent t o

' E'

s ector a nd

( B)

the

' F'

( a)

' F'

a reas can be

f ound i n P late

5 :1.

Here,

packed i nto t he unexcavated area. of matrix i n this

the bones c an b e

s ectors,

h owever,

the r emains

f rom

1 00 a nimals.

' F'

O f a ll t he c ave

s ector were t he worst p re-

s erved i n c ontrast t o t he g ood preservation in 'E'

l ying on t he

s een d ensely

s ector produced no l ess t han 2 00 h orn c ores r epre-

apart f rom t he other bones,

protected them.

( 'FF'). i n t hese

During e xcavation one c ubic mater

s enting,

b ecause t hey were

s ector pro-

s ector f issure

T he b est e xamples of a n a ccumulation o f Myotragus r emains

but the

S tratum

For r eference t o a ge of

' F' S ector S tratigraphy

This p er,

s ector c orresponding l evel

Again i ts M unsell colour i s

r espectively ).

I t a lso c orresponds t o

' F'

s een i n t he d iscussion of

s ector.

This was

s o d ensely packed that v ery l ittle e arth d eposit F or e xample,

during e xcavation bones c ould b e

s urface of t he narrowest s ection of

' F'

s een

s ector f issure,

l east handling of t hese r esulted i n t heir c omplete d isinter-

6 2

g ration.

Those that c ould be moved,

with g reat care,

hardening t reatment outside the cave

i mmediately;

had t o undergo

the r estricted

working conditions and atmospherical c ondition o f t he cave making i t i mpossible t o u se c hemical treatment.

i nside

The a ctual deteriora-

t ion o f the badly protected bones was probably due t o the c oncentration of c arbon d ioxide at one

i n the c ave a ir.

The base o f the

f issure s hows that

t ime i t was a ctively s hedding percolated water f rom the g round,

but that this had c ompletely c eased well b efore t he a nimal r emains were d eposited on t he t ravertine of the

f issure.

f looring c overing s ector,

where

' flowstone'

f looring f ormed at t he base

This was very much l ike the c ase of the t ravertine ' X'

s ector.

This

f lowstone f loor c ontinues

i t d isappears b eneath t he

' E '

i nto

' E '

( Figure 1 0) .

s ector d eposit

S tratum 1 1

Unlike the other s ectors the

s tratigraphy of

a nd of

' F'

i n

s ector had a lready been l aid down,

'E '

s ector proper begin with S tratum

1 1.

' F'

s ector f issure

The e arlier d eposit

a s i n the other a reas,

s o

that materials were c ollected d irectly on the t ravertine f loor on t he bottom of the f issure.

As a lready mentioned a bove,

the s tratum c on-

tained more bone than e arth a nd only the d eepest bone s pecimens were well preserved.

The c loser t o the

their c ondition of preservation. r eached

1 00 cms.

t om of this

l evel

a nalysis SM,66 which i s

The i s

f rom

1 6,150 b .c. s ector,

+ 6 00 yrs.

( SM,67).

S tratum 1 5 r eads

l ater than analysis SM,67

f rom

' F'

appears

' F'

s ector,

l ater d eposition of sample SM,66 may have f iltered down i nto

f orming S tratum 1 5,

case S tratum ( '0')

+ 2 00 yrs.

( Figure 1 0),

s ector

a lthough i t may be a c ase where SM,67 r emained

the chimney-like a rea of 1 6

l evel

The f act t hat

1 4,900 b .c.

i n place on the edge of the s lanting f loor at the bottom o f while the

the worse

the earth of this

s ingle radiocarbon date available f or t he bot-

' E '

t o be without l ogic,

s urface t hey were f ound, I n places,

' E '

s ector on t op o f the gravel of S tratum

which was t hen c overed by S trata 1 4-12.

I n t his

1 7 must have been d eposited while the whole chimney a rea

s ector a s well a s

' F'

s ector were c ompletely w ithout material.

The s ample SM,67 was d eposited, s ector i nto which bones i nto the a ir-pocket,

l eaving a k ind o f a ir-pocket i n

f rom h igher up i n S tratum 1 1

f orming S tratum 1 5.

' E '

e ventually s lipped

S uch a ir-pockets c ontained

perfectly preserved s pecimens which had r olled i nto the empty s pace f ormed by t he undercut of the cave walls.

I n f act,

' Z'

s ector c ave

when n early f illed up became s ealed off f rom t he r est of t he d eposit. When i t was d iscovered, s een on the

s urface.

perfectly preserved bone

s pecimens c ould b e

The M Unsell colour of the matrix i s

1 0YR,

5 /6,

s lightly d ifferent t han i ts equivalent c olour i n other s ectors.

S tratum 1 0 a nd S tratum 8

These narrow bands of c alcium carbonate e xist only i n the f orward a rea of

' F'

s ector.

I n

' F'

s ector f issure they a re r epresented

by the o ccurrence of balls of the material, d iameter. t he

a bout

. 5cms t o 2 cms

i n

T races of c alcium carbonate a re a lso f ound a dhering t o

s urface o f the bones

t hemselves.

6 3

S tratum 9

T his

l evel e xists

l ess c learly h ere t han e lsewhere.

p erhaps r epresented by r ather a g eneral change t op

of S tratum

bones

1 1.

a nd i n t he

I t i s

i n c olour t oward t he

The c olour i s Muns a/ 7 .5Y R ,

5 /6,

both o n t he

s mall quantity o f f ine e arth present o n t he t op o f

' F'

s ector f issure.

was

f elt t hat b ecause of t heir e xposure t o t he c arbon d ioxide o f t he

No

1 4:

a nalysis was a ttempted i n t his a rea a s

i t

a ir e rroneous dates would o ccur.

S tratum 7

Again,

t his

s ector proper,

l evel i s c learly s een i n t he

s pilling d own i nto

' F'

f orward a rea o f

s ector f issure.

' F'

I t was very

hard t o d etermine whether or not part of t he c ollected bone i n t he f issure belonged r eally t o S tratum 7 or S tratum f issure 7 .5Y R ,

1 1.

The whole of this

s ector i s a j umble of bones c overed with f ine d ust, M unsell 5 /6.

These materials

l ying very l oosely i n t he narrow r ecesses

o f t he f issure were among s ome of the worst preserved.

S tratum 6 t o S tratum 1

These l evels d o not e xist i n this

5 .2.3

s ector.

T he

' CD' S ector S tratigraphy a nd t he

T he

s trata of t hese

their c ounterparts posit.

There

S tratum

1 1,

i n t he

' 2 4 ,3" S ector S tratigraphy

s ector s tratigraphies d o not d iffer f rom s ectors

i n the other parts o f t he c ave d e-

i s o ne r adiocarbon d ate f or

s ample SM,64 which i s

' CD'

1 3,985 b .c.

s ector s tratigraphy, + 6 55 yrs.

( Figure 9 ).

The

s ample was r emoved j ust a bove t he l imestone ramp a t t he bottom o f

' D'

s ector s ide o f t he

5 .2.4

' CD'

c ombined s ector a rea.

T he S tratigraphical S equence o f t he

' Z' S ector C ave

This c ave s ector i s particularly i mportant i n t he Muleta cave a s

i t c ontains

t he o ldest d eposits o f M yotragus b alearicus

t he a ccumulation o f t he d eposit i n t his t he other a reas,

a s the

' Z'

s ector s eries o f r adiocarbon a nd r acemi-

s ation o f a spartic a cid a nalysis d ates

f or the

r emains.

s ector t ook p lace well before

s ector r un c irca

( RAA )

d emonstrates.

1 2,000 b .c.

The available

t o c irca 3 0,000 b .c.

I t s hould b e t aken i nto a ccount that the bottom of a ll t he

s ec-

t ors would have been c onsiderably l ower o riginally t han when t he d eposit had had t ime t o a ccumulate; w andered i nto the upper c ave and

thus any u nfortunate

a nimal which

f ell d own t he c himney opening before

6 4

f ig .10

s izeable a ccumulation o ccurred would have b een e ither k illed outright or s eriously hurt.

Those t hat were n ot k illed outright would c ertainly

not have been able t o s cramble o ver e ither of the natural barriers ( the bridgestone or t he bedrock ramp)

t o t he other s ectors of t he c ave.

I n f act a t t he present t ime w ith t he c ave n ow e xcavated, quite o bvious

d ifficult f or workers, we

s tudy the

other hand

t his b ecomes

i n that movement i n a nd out o f these c ave a reas i s very a s these barriers a re very d eep a nd s teep.

s ection o f

' Z'

s ector

( Figure 1 1),

I f

we c an s ee t hat o n t he

i t would n ot have t aken much e ffort f or e ven a badly i njured

a nimal t o have made i ts way i nto s ingly i nto t he

' Z'

l ower a reas t here.

s ector c ave,

mained on one of t he upper platforms o f matter a t the bottom o f d isplaced i nto t he i njured c ondition.

' 0'

probably f alling

The bones o f a ny a nimal t hat r e' Z'

s ector c himeny,

s ector c ave,

or f or t hat

would e ventually have b een

l ower l evels by other a nimals moving a round i n a n I n f act,

t he a uthor b elieves

movement o f the bones by i njured a nimals,

t hat t his k ind of

a s well a s t heir f all

c ase of t hose t hat were n ot k illed outright,

i n t he

d id much t o d etermine t he

way t hat the r emains were d istributed i n t he various c ave s ectors. a lready mentioned,

been t he c ontour of t he b edrock, c ave

a long with t he

s ystem has only one entrance,

c himney;

f act t hat t he l ower

which i s the mouth o f t he

' 0'

a ' talus'

thus eventually building

s lope c onsisting mainly o f bones with i ts h igh point h ere,

and t hat this d id i ndeed happen c an b e 1 962,

which d emonstrates the

c himney i nto the other c ave

s een f rom t he c ave's o riginal s lope running f rom

' 0'

s ector

s ectors.

S ome a lteration t o t he u sually observed s equence of t he must have o ccurred h ere, g ins a t about 2 50 cms

a s the u pper s urface of

f rom the o riginal

d epth which i f c ompared t o there.

s ector

we may predict t hat the most e xtensive a ccumulation w ould

have taken place d irectly under t he chimney,

l evel i n

A s

the c ontrolling f actors t o b egin w ith would have

I t will

' 0'

1 962

' Z'

s trata

s ector c ave b e-

l evel o f t he d eposit,

s ector would c orrespond t o S tratum

however be s een that this uppermost l evel o f t he

s ector cave b egins

i n

1 4:

age a t c irca

a 1 1 ' Z'

1 2,000 b .c a nd e nds with t he

d eposit's o ldest e otragus dates at a bout 3 0,000 b .c. The d iscovery of t his unexpected. a d epth of

s ubsidiary annex cave i n

I t was n ot until t he other s ectors had b een e xcavated t o 3 00cms that a narrow f issure was n oticed between t he c ave

wall which f ormed the n orth f ace o f t he adjacent s mall d eposit,

1 965 was quite

' pocket'

' 0'

s ector c himney a nd t he

c ave existed which had been n early f illed w ith

l eaving only a s mall

s pace between t heir s urfaces a nd t he

( Figure 1 1). F erfectly preserved e otragus bones could be s een l ying on the s urface o f the f illing. c eiling of t he pocket c ave

( Plan 1 B)

By c utting away t he s mall c alcite f ormation,

which i tself was a c on-

g lomerate i ncorporating a perfectly preserved s kull, other bones o f e otragus, s ector c ave.

we made i t possible t o c rawl i nto t his

s ubsequent e xcavation, emerged f rom this

but t he d ifficulty o f a ccess was a lso t o prove s pecimens t hat

s ector.

Ambient c onditions a nnex c ave

' Z'

This was t o be t he working posture f or s ome t ime d uring

well w orthwhile because o f the magnificent eotragus

those i n other

a pelvis a nd

s ectors.

i n t he

' Z'

s ector c ave w ere d ifferent f rom

This was mainly due t o t he f act t hat t his

i s d irectly b eneath t he upper d ave with i ts a ccess t o t he

outside and i t therefore r eceives most of t he percolating water.

b t

A s

fi g . 1 1

a result it is the wettest sector in the cave. However, this moisture is not excessive in absolute terms and usually occurs in the summer rather than the winter rainy season as it appears to take time for the precipitation of the winter to work its way through the rock into the cave. It is in fact the dampness that is responsible for the parti­ cularly fine preservation of all the specimens from this part of the cave, since the bones receive a thin covering of calcium carbonate which also penetrates the bone, leaving it very hard. It was also the dampness that was responsible for the nearly complete closure of the entrance from '0' sector, by the growth of the calcite formation at this point which formed a protective seal. The stratigraphy in 'Z' sector is, as mentioned before, differ­ ent from that found elsewhere in the cave. The earths of the levels here are more consolidated and contained higher quantities of calcium carbonate. The general stratigraphy can be described as an alternating series of hard and soft strata, the former one appearing as a badly consolidated travertine series of layers and the latter as softer gritty earth containing well preserved Myotragus remains (Figure 11). Up to the present, ten travertine floors have been excavated since its discovery, and the work is still in progress in the lower strata in 'Z' sector, so the nature of the basal part of the chamber filling is not yet known. As will be seen, the lowest level of 'Z' sector so far examined have given earlier dates than other sectors, and they require descrip­ tion in some detail. The sequence from the top downwards is as follows:

Stratum 1 This level clearly corresponds to Stratum 11 in the other sec­ tors. As in 'EF' and '0' sectors, it had a depth of from 50cms to 100cms. The layer is gritty with a relatively high calcium carbonate content and is a dark reddish colour, Munsell 10YR, 5/6. The surface of this level had a northward slope of about 18- into 'Z' sector cave, which clearly reflects the direction of the accumulation, just as the surface of the uppermost talus slope and the original angle of the bedrock ramp indicated the direction of the accumulations of the cave filling in the main chamber. The level contained many visible speci­ mens of well preserved Myotragus remains as well as others in the earth of the level. There are three chronometric dates available for this stratum, taken by two dating methods, using three different laboratory facil­ ities. They are in good agreement, leaving little doubt as to the general age of the stratum. The dates are: 12,050 b.c. � 850 yrs. (SM,61,RAA), 12,515 b.c. � 315 yrs. (SM,62,lLK::) and 12,700 b.c. � 850 yrs. (SM,63,14C). These three dates are close to what would in Europe correspond to the Older Dryas phase of the Late Glacial Period (circa 13,000 B.C. to 10,450 B.C.). Stratum 11 of 'CD' sector is not of a dissimilar age, according to its radiocarbon date of 13,934 b.c. � 655 yrs. This level is the only one which was deposited over the whole area of 'Z' sector cave, and the age estimates rapidly increase with depth. 68

S tratum 2

This f loors,

l evel

i s

the youngest of the badly consolidated t ravertine

and proved quite

pick.

L ike

mainly

f rom 4 cms

porated i n t he i t were

easy t o cut through even with a g eologist's

the other travertine

f loors,

i t was of variable

Often eotragus bone

to 7 cms.

travertine.

Undoubtedly,

this

s urface

l engths of

during which a hard crust

posit

t ime,

The M unsell

l ike

during which

l ay exposed t o the ambient a ir

immediately below.

i ncor-

l ayer and the others

formed during wetter periods than the present,

t he contemporary

thickness,

f ragments were

f or d ifferent

f ormed on top o f the d e-

color

i s

1 0Y R ,

5 /6.

S tratum 3

Another

l evel of about

eotragus specimens.

5 0cms of c ove

earth containing plentiful

The area d irectly against the wall a ll

t he c ircumference of the

chamber had a ir-pockets

complete

j aws with c ervical vertebrae

were

s kull

f ound,

and

one

l ower

s uperimposed over the other.

material gave a reading of d ing

1 7,030 b .c.

f airly well with Stratum

b .c.+

5 55 yrs.

and

1 6,150 b .c.

a ll c ertainly well within the

S tratum 4 ,

These

1 5

i n

' X'

correspon-

s ector,

( SM,69 and 6 7,

last Glaciation.

i n place

s ome of this

( SM,70),

s ector and

+ 6 00 yrs.

s till

Dating of

+ 2 00 yrs.

' EFT

around

i n which about a d ozen

1 6,805

r espectively),

The M unsell

colour i s

S tratum 6 a nd S tratum 8

l evels

are

s imilar in

s uch a manner that they can be

d iscussed t ogether.

They a ll

f loors,

l ike

S tratum 2 ,

porated

i n them and each represent the upper surface of the preceeding

that of

consist of badly consolidated t ravertine with f ragmentary faunal r emains

i ncor-

d eposit which has been hardened by percolating ground water bearing calcium carbonate over a substantial period of t ime. these

l evels

corresponds

which i s M unsell

1 0YR,

to their preceding

The

colour of

s trata of 5 ,

7 and 9 ,

5 /8.

S tratum 5

This

l evel,

calcium carbonate

M unsell 1 0Y R , l ike

About 6 well preserved a nd whole

and

the other

5 /8 contained a high percentage of l evels before and those to

s pecimens of complete

fragmentary bone materials

of

l esser quality,

which were u sed for chronometric dating purposes. r eading f rom this r ecall

that t he

o f 4 00cms

c tor cave , e irt ) 1- cavo t rom

l owest l evel

f rom the modern

That horizon

3 , 40

stratum was

i s a ' ; s

' E '

s ector

( Stratum

l evel gave a date of

The

f act that

' E'

a lready been men 4 -ioned , . tur

he accounted f p:

I n

4 H ( ,cms

i u

t his mann

u . 6 9

( SM,72). 1 7) cms

1 75cm . 3

1 4C

We may

at the d epth + 4 80 yrs.

r eached by

s ector empties

s o that

,2 1c ) -

j aws

s ome of

The r esulting

2 1,850 b .c.

7 5cms higher than the depth of 4 75

S tratum 5 . 1

2 5,050 b .c + 6 00 yrs. i n

f ollow.

s kulls with l ower

i nto the

' Z' ' Z'

s uch an i ncrease of there. 2 f l i ad

py 3sib ]y

S tratum 7

This

i s a nother l ayer w ith w ell preserved a nimal r emains

matrix s imilar t o S tratum 5 and o f t he

s ame c olour, M unsell

T est s amples were a lso c ollected o n t his H owever, below,

i t i s

s till possible,

l evel

i n a

1 0Y R ,

5 /8.

f or e conomy purposes.

u sing t he dates o f t he l evel a bove a nd

t o make a r easonable e stimate of the age o f S tratum 7 :

i t would

s eem l ikely t o date f rom about 2 6,000 b .c.

S tratum 9

T his

s till a nother d eposit of eotragus b alearicus remains

i s

i n a g ritty matrix,

o nly s lightly d ifferent i n c olour f rom S tratum 7 ,

i luns ai

H ere f ragmentary bone was c ollected f or

s is,

1 0Y R ,

4 /4.

which g ave a r esult of 2 6,650 b .c.

i n a ccord with t he age of S tratum 5 ,

+ 6 00 yrs.

1 4C

( SM,73).

a naly-

T his

i s

a nd was u sed t o d educe t he a ge

o f S tratum 7 .

S tratum 1 0,

S tratum 1 2 a nd S tratum 1 4

These s trata c ontinue a s badly c onsolidated c alcite f loors e very way s imilar t o t he f ormer ones. t hickness between one a nother,

i n

They vary only s lightly i n

a bout 3 cms

t o 6 cms.

S tratum 1 1

This

i s a e otragus

a f ew r emains

l evel a lso,

i n g ood preservation,

this d epth of the c ave walls.

e xcept that i t c ontained o nly

due basically t o the narrowing a t

I t was d ecided t o s kip the d ate o f t his

l evel a nd proceed to the d ating o f the f ollowing one, c an h owever make a r easonable age a ssessment 2 8,000 b .c.

H ere,

the e arth c olour i s M unsell

S tratum

f or t his 1 0YR,

1 3.

W e

l evel a t a bout

4 /4.

S tratum 1 3

This Muleta.

i s

t he o ldest l evel w ith animal r emains dated s o f ar a t

Continuing work has e stimated t hat a t l east 8 other

below t his one e xists,

l evels

but no proper s tudy o f them has yet been made.

I nferior l evels have produced f ragmentary r emains

i ncorporated i n c al-

c ite s labs which n eed particular t reatment t o r emove t he bones t hey c ontain. + 7 15 yrs.

B one f rom t his ( SM,74).

i n S trata 9 -11. 4 /4.

l evel

Again t his

( Strata 1 3)

has been dated a t 3 0,050 b .c.

c onforms t o t he chronological

The M unsell colour evaluation of Stratum

The e arth matrix i s

. 3

s equence i s

1 0Y R

s lightly l ess g ritty than f ormer l evels.

7 0

At t his point,

we can c onsider t he n ew e vidence a nd i ts r elat-

i onship within the c ontexts of t he

F resettlement P eriod,

a long w ith

a brief d escritpion of the e xtinct f ossil s pecies which d efine t he p eriod,

a s well a s

a f ew o f the more pertinent s tudies a nd a spects

having s ome b earing on the

E arly S ettlement P eriod.

7 1

Chapter

1 .

I I.

The

Presettlement

Period

B ackground t o t he N ew E vidence

P rehistorians,

a part f rom a f ew e xceptions , whether t hey d eal

w ith e arly l ife f orms ( palaeontologist/anthropologist ) c ultures

( anthropologist/archaeologist)

i nterest i n Balearic prehistoric problems. has been a nd t he

o r man a nd h is

have s hown a r ather mediocre One r eason f or t his probably

t heir a ssessment a s well a s under-estimation o f t he quality i mportance of s cientific e vidence a nd i nformation e merging

f rom t hem.

Another r eason n o doubt has b een the l ack of c ommunication

i n t he past on the part o f t hose workers c arrying out

( the author i ncluded )

t he r esearch i n t he Baleares r emaining,

a n e cological a nd cultura l ' backwater'

a ctually

until r ecently,

f rom which only a n arrow a nd

l imited p erspective o f prehistoric events

i n t his c orner o f t he W estern

M editerranean c ould be e xpected.

W ith the r ecent r ecognition o f the i mportance o f by a f ew c ontinental p rehistorians

i nsular

s tudies

( Evans 1 973 a nd S ondaar 1 973), there

has been a new awakening a nd s timulated g eneral i nterest i n t he probl ems of

i nsular prehistoric e cology a nd culture.

s pects,

i t must be

H owever i n a ll r e-

s aid t hat t here have been e xceptions

where

s ome

i nvestigators have

a reas

f or i nvestigation,

e .g.

i n t he past

l ooked t o t he B alearics a s u nsually r ich D orothea B ate a nd Margaret Murray were

t wo s uch r esearchers whose work and s cientific c ontributions f irst half o f this c entury have

i n t he

i n more t han o ne way i nspired t his

c urrent writing.

Dorothea Bate of t he British Museum d iscovered the mains of eotragus b alearicus

( Bate 1 909). e vidence o f man a ssociated w ith eotragus,

c ribe the peculiarities of this

' trilogy',

s he c an be s aid t o have been the

emplify l ocally the

s he d id s cientifically d es-

i ndigenous g enera a long with other

members o f the Balearic mammalian a nd h ence,

H ypnomys and N esiotites; f irst prehistorian t o e x-

f act t hat i slands c an be r are a nd valuable

h ouses o f palaeo-ecological data, t o r etain k een i nterest,

i nformation a nd materials.

1 946.

apart f rom the work of a s mall number o f l ocal g eologists

a nd palaeontologists, u ntil

s toreShe was

n ot only i n eotragus but a lso a w ide i nterest

i n other i nsular Mediterranean s pecies u ntil her d eath i n

H ere,

f irst r e-

Although s he d id n ot f ind

i nterests

i n the eotragus b alearicus

r emained

t he d iscovery o f the c ave of Muleta i n 1 962.

U ntil the d iscovery of Muleta,

t he o verwhelming majority of

r emains of M yotragus were encountered in well consolidated cave c ia'

s ediments of

s ome

4 0,000 t o

P leistocene o rigin,

2 0,000 years ago.

' brec-

g enerally a ccredited t o a p eriod

For the most part,

t hese e arlier r e-

mains c onsisted of h ighly f ragmentary bones which were d ifficult t o r emove

f rom these d eposits.

7 5

The d iscovery of Muleta cave with its

P leistocene and H olocene

deposits of extraordinary r ich and well preserved macro-microfauna, e specially the Myotragus

remains with their complete

ossious bone c omponents,

h as been not only i nstrumental

' mint condition' in re-awakening

Balearic prehistoric

e cological

the

it has also produced human r emains a ssociated with

area

i n g eneral,

M yotragus b alearicus, t ionship between the

interests and quaternary r esearch i n

thereby demonstrating a possible two and,

new dimension t o prehistoric

at the studies

s ame t ime, i n g eneral.

By c losely studying these Myotragus l ogical and morphological peculiarities, tooth d evelopment, animal,

to e stablish s ome hypotheses.

these

t o those

a spects would have had some,

i f not great,

S ome o f

Hypnomys.

they are,

c ompare

adaptations

subsequent s ections,

where

such i nsular adaptation a s dwarfism

and elephants),

dormouse,

i ts

herding or

the peculiarities and dramatic adaptation of

has been a lerted t o

in

For s urely

influence on man's

s ubsistence oriented activities.

species have been pointed out i n rhinos

conditions

r elationship with Myotragus.

treatment of the animal during such pursuits a s hunting, other

Hypotheses

of the t ime but also t o what de-

s uch evolutionary developments and adaptations

might have had c oncerning man's a ll

r emains with their o steo-

r eflected in such a spects a s

competitive behaviour and s exual d imorphism i n the

i t should be possible

not only about e cological conditions gree

symbiotic r ela-

adding a completely

and even g iantism a s

i nsular the r eader

( e.g.

i sland

i n the case of the Balearic

However none of these d evelopments,

a s dramatic a s

t o the odd and different e volutionary changes and

undergone

i n the body structure of M yotragus b alearicus

i nsularity.

O n t he O rigin o f t he S pecies

2 .

While we have a great deal of physical and chronometric e vii ts l ate s urvival and even the f inal e xtinction o f M yotragus b alearicus and although recent amplification of its early fossil record dence

has of

of

done much to g ive us i ts origin.

the eotragus of

a r elative

There are however f irst arrived on the

t hese various hypotheses

the

idea of

i ts age,

l ittle

i slands.

To

s implify the d iscussion

f ollowing l ist has been made,

they are brief accounts of these d ifferent hypotheses, the bases of the various f our hypotheses are

( 1)

a s

ideas

gues

a s to the origin of the Myotragus.

T he L ate M iocene t o E arly P liocene

P liocene had a major

The

( Colom 1 975)

that Mallorca during the Late M iocene t o c ontingency a nd variety of botas,

t hat M yotragus b alearicus

t o Minorca during the

and while

they contain

follows:

C . Colom believes E arly

i s known

s everal d ifferent opinions a s to when

P liocene,

r ather d isconcerting a s he does

and a r-

could have easily passed f rom Mallorca a long with other

s pecies

( which i s

not postulate what other animals).

7 6

However,

he d oes believe that the r eason the animal d id not migrate

f rom Mallorca-Minorca t o of

I biza and t he

I berian Mainland i s t he i sland

I biza was a lready s eparated f rom the Mallorca-Minorca l and mass.

( 2)

T he L ate P ontian, i .e. ( Cuerda 1 966)

J . Cuerda a rgues were s ome

t housand meters

t hat t he

m inimum o f 5 t o 6M illion Y ears A go

s ea l evels of the L ate

P ontian

E poch

l ower a nd therefore what i s n ow Mallorca a nd

M inorca would have b een i ncorporated i n t he Continental f ree a ccess t o a migrating M yotragus

ancestor c ould have

l and mass,

a nd

f ound i tself on

t he particular a rea which was t o b ecome Mallorca a nd M inorca.

( 3) T he E arly P leistocene, L ate V illafranchian, c irca 2 .5 M illion Y ears A go ( Crusafont P airo 1 966) M . Crusafont

P airo's a ssessment i s made on t he basis o f t he

M yotragus b atei which until recently was the oldest species of M yotragus f ound i n the f ossil r easonable on t he

r ecord.

This h ighly i ntelligent e stimate

e vidence o f

1 966.

s eems

We now know t here a re o ther s pecies

o f M yotragus which on evolutionary evidence alone are certainly older.

( 4) T he M indel G laciation, Y ears A go ( Alcover y T omas 1 976)

e stimated a t 6 000,000 t o 5 000,000

A lcover y Tomas a rgues this origin on the basis o f Continental f auna o f t his period a ncestors

s uch a s t he G allogoral ,stating that the M yotragus'

a rrived i n the B alearics

f rom

a ir-asia b efore t he P ontian

a nd probably a bout t he t ime of t he M indel G laciation;

E poch,

which i n t he present

a uthor's mind c overs a l arge postulation.

I n s eeking a n a ssessment a s t o when and f rom where t he f irst

M yotragus arrived in the Balearic I slands,

i t i s the a thor's hypothesis

t hat this event must have t aken place by t he Late 6 t o 8 million years ago.

P liocene o r Late

P ontian,

This a ssessment i s based on t he a uthor's c on-

s ideration o f t he e xisting f ossil evidence o f at l east three s pecies of

M yotragus involved to date. I t a lso takes i nto a ccount t he G allogoral m eneghinii of Western E urope a nd the A ntelope m eloni of Sardinia. I t i s an e stablished l andmark i n the f ossil r ecord of

a ir-asia t hat t he f irst

antelopes began their r adiation s outhward by the middle o f t he M iocene

( Römer 1 962), and had by that time developed into at l east a half a d ozen d ifferent s pecies by t he Late M iocene, f rom Eur-asia,

a lready i n t he move t o the s outh

i t i s n ot unreasonable t o postulate on e volutionary g rounds

s een t hrough the

s pecies M yotragus,

t hat t he e arliest t ype may well have

a rrived i n t he Balearic r egion by t he Late becoming i solated s hortly a fterwards.

P pntian o r Late

P liocene,

d ealing w ith a n i nsular g enus

i n M yotragus,

i nsular during i ts e volution,

r esulting i n the three o r more

know t o date. i s,

i n t he mind of t he author,

i nsularity,

which most a ssuredly r emained s pecies we

That w e will eventually f ind other s pecies o r s ub-species most probable.

t hat t he c ase of the A ntelope m eloni ( Dehaut g rows

thus

I t i s quite a pparent t hat we a re

I t i s a lso v ery e vident /9 / U is.another.result o f

though the a rgument f or c omparison w ith M yotragus a ntiquus

s tronger w ith e ach n ew d iscovery.

case t hat the A ntelope m eloni

i s

I f i t s hould prove t o be t he

t he c losest r elative t o M .

7 7

a ntiquus

or

s till

cations

earlier

species,

should be

then

f orthcoming,

s ome very extraordinary g eological

i mpli-

i n that r elationships between the once

i sland mass of Mallorca-Minorca with the

i sland of

S ardinia must have

taken place.

I n

1 977,

Holland were

the author and

P .

S ondaar of the University of Utrecht,

i nvited to collect additional bone-bearing rock f rom J .

1 2 bns' Cap Farrutx Mallorcan s ite. s ediments of very old appearance

The bone-bearing matrix consists of i n f issures of Miocene

l imestone,

f rom an e levation which i s one of the h ighest i n the region. i al has

s ince been

s ent to the University o f Utrecht i n Holland,

t reated there to extract the bone has

not y et been completed,

f uller and perhaps

Study of these

and

s pecimens

but preliminary examination s uggests

in s ome way modified d escription of M .

eventually be possible, knowledge

s pecimens.

taken

This mater-

that a

a ntiquus should

a long with substantial additions to the meager

currently available.

However,

the

emphasis of r easerach concerning the evolution of

eotragus in this thesis really falls on the b alearicus species of the Late

P leistocene and Holocene deposits

c oncerned with the animal's and

i ts ultimate extinction during the

r eference has been already made to the logical development of the and modifications

from Muleta and Matge.

f inal development,

animal,

that took place

i ts

I t i s

r elationship with man

F tetalayotic

P eriod.

As

s ome

r ole of i nsularity i n the morpho-

we can now turn to the d escription in the animal

and c ompare them to

other animals.

2 .1

M yotragus b alearicus

( Bate 1 909)(Figure 1 2)

The eotragus b alearicus was described at the beginning of this c entury by Dorothea Bate

( 1909)

and Charles Andrews

( 1914)

a s

a rather

peculiarly developed and highly modified N emorhaedine A ntelope, t o the Balearic

I slands of Mallorca and Minorca.

peculiarities and modifications

are

The

f ound i n i ts

e ndemic

animal's major

s kull,

j aws and f ore

and hind l imbs.

There are many other characteristics which are d es-

c ribed i n detail

i n the appendices

t oo numerous appendices

to include here

f or the

( A ppendix 1 D ).

in the

t ext,

i nterested r eader.

and are

However,

these are

s et d own i n t he

At the present,

we a re only

c onsidering the major osteological developments and the possible cteristics and c onditions

they s uggest i n the animal and i ts

One of the most notable of the

extreme

i ts d iagnostic

f rontal position of its orbits

chara-

s urroundings.

characteristics

( Figure 1 2).

i s

Such a d evel-

opment would have g iven the animal a l imited angle of vision of about 1 10

d egrees and s tereoscopic vision and,

at the

s ame t ime,

would have

( the M yot ragus had no known predators, apart from man, as we will eventually

made the animal s ee).

This

easy prey for a carnivore had there been one

characteristic

this modification was a particular

s uggests that a s

an adaptation t o

function or even

s et of

v ision would have been advantageous row c revices of rocks,

or

i n

i ts

i t d id not have predators s urroundings and one with

functions. i n the

j udging d istances

7 8

Such s tereoscopic

s earch of i n

f ood between nar-

j umping f rom crag to

f ig

1 2

t o c rag i n t he mountains;

both of which i t would have had t o d o t o

s ur-

v ive e ven i n t he g entler c onditions i n t he present-day mountainous r egions o f t he

i slands.

eotragus b alearicus

I ts

a nimal w ith s uch a handicap, presence o f predators, w ithout a larming i t. v iewed s hortly, would have t his

l imited a ngle o f v ision would have made

e asy prey f or e ither man o r other predators a s a n l iving u nder n ormal c onditions with t he

would have b een e asy t o a pproach f rom t he r ear Coupled w ith other o steological peculiarities,

would have made t he a nimal e asy t o hunt,

s haped man's t reatment of s uch a n a nimal.

a nd c ertainly

An a daptation o f

s ort would a lso have a ffected i ts performance a nd b ehaviour d uring

i ts mating r itual

The

s econd major modifications a re f ound i n i ts

j aws

By l arge a rtiodactyls have three pairs o f n ormal i ncisors

eotragus b alearicus

d ibles.

i n t heir man-

i n e volution l ost t wo pairs of i ncisors

a nd a s et o f premolars and the

i ncisors have b een r eplaced by a s ingle

r obust e vergrowing c hisel-like i ncisor, ( hence i ts name, e otragus,

a nd t eeth.

s imilar t o t hat of a r odent

mouse g oat ).

These t eeth a re the main

basis f or d istinguishing b etween t he d ifferent s pecies o f e otragus, a nd a t able f ormulas,

( Table

1 )

i s provided below w ith t he three d ifferent t ooth

c orresponding t o t he three

s pecies.

other c haracteristics of these t eeth t he e volution o f t he s pecies,

( Figure

The number, 1 8)

one t o t he other,

s hape a nd

have changed d uring a nd i n s o d oing,

s ug-

g est d ifferent f unctions a nd even e nvironments t hemselves.

The e vergrowing chisel-like i ncisor o f doubtedly a s pecialised adaptation; nature o f i ts f ood,

and might well

c limatic c onditions of the t ime. pecially e ffective

M . b alearicus

o ne which c ertainly r eflects

i ts

t he

s uggest t he t ypes of vegetation a nd An i ncisor of t his k ind would be e x-

i n e ither e xcavating f or r oots,

s craping bark o ff

t ough v egetation o r t rees and e ven t urning over r ocks l ichens.

i s u n-

i n s earch of

The possibility of s uch a ctivities a re f urther s upported by

s teep a ngled j aw

( Figure

1 2A).

I n t urn,

a j aw o f t his

s ort would

have t o b e

s upported by powerful n eck muscles a s well a s powerful

s houlders,

a ll of which e otragus had a s d emonstrated by t he o steo-

l ogical e vidence.

Again,

these c haracteristics a re a spects that man

would have t aken i nto a ccount i n s uch s ituations a s hunting, e tc.

I n s hort,

s pecific

herding,

t hese c ranial a nd post-cranial c haracteristics

f unctions

a s w ell a s

s uggest

c onduct a nd e nvironmental c onditions,

s uch a s g eographic a nd g eological habitat a nd e ven d ietary n eeds a nd s ources t hemselves.

The

t hird o f t he major modifciations a re f ound i n t he a nimal's

f ore a nd h ind l imbs,

e specially t he metapodials

t arsals).

There i s a g eneral

t he

t hough t his

l imbs,

bones'

i s particularly n oticeable with t he

o r metatarsals a nd metacarpals,

s tout when c ompared t o t hose of d eer, haps more t han a ny bone, f ound i n t he

( metacarpals a nd meta-

f oreshortening i n a ll of t he bones of

t hese

' cannon

which a ppear both s hort a nd s heep a nd g oat

( Figure

1 3).

s how t he g reat variability of bone

f ull g rown males a nd f emales,

( A ppendix 1 D ).

8 0

P ers izes

c haracteristic of the s pecies

f ig . 1 3

The metatarsals o f M . t he c annon bones

b alearicus are the most interesting of

i n t hat t he tarsal c omponents,

f ound a s

s eparate pieces

i n most other g enera i n o rder t o g ive a l ot of mobility i n the h ind l imb,

i n eotragus b alearicus

a re

s al c omponent.

This

t he c annon bone,

i n turn i s

f orming a tarso-metatarsal unit

o f t he eotragus b alearicus . i n t he

' slow l ocomotion'

c ourse'

f used t ogether t o f orm a s ingle t ar-

f requently f used t o t he proximal e nd o f ( Figure

( Sondaar 1 973), and an inability to

l ike other a nimals when pursued by predators.

a re more o r

l ess

Nevertheless,

s trong i ndications that t he b alearicus

a nd this

t hese modifications

i s a lso c onsistent w ith t he

i n t he h ind l imbs s pecies was a

l ack o f a wide a ngle

both of which would have b een advantageous i n a mountain

d welling c reature where t remely n ecessary.

j udgement o f d istance a nd g ood balance a re e x-

I t s eems r easonable t o

many i nterrelated e volutionary f actors p eculiar characteristics a nd that the a nimal's

i t i s n ot

f usion o f t he t arso-metatarsal c omponents t ook p lace

i n t hese others.

of v ision;

' veer o ff

a nd t his c ould

s pecies,

i n particular a re s low mover,

d iagnostic

B ien t hough we

s ure that e otragus had no predators,

have b een t rue a lso c oncerning the o ther e otragus c ertain t hat t his

1 4),

S uch a c haracteristic c ould only r esult

s ay t hat t here probably were

i nvolved i n e ach of t he a nimal's ' slow l ocomotion'

f eature o f t he

s hort a nd s tout c annon bones i s only one which would h ave

s tood i t i n g ood g race a s t o s tability; a nd j umping f rom mountain c rag

The metacarpals,

a nother advantage i n b oth c limbing

t o mountain c rag.

which a re s maller,

s horter a nd s touter t han

t he metatarsals,

have carpal units which a re i ndependent a s

s pecies a nd,

would have a ssured g ood mobility i n t he f ore l imbs.

s o,

As pointed out by C . this

f eature o f

s ent-day

Andrews

( 1914)

i n t he a ppendices

( Appendix 1 D )

s hort-stout metacarpals c an a lso b e f ound i n t he pre-

R ocky Mountain Goat o f North America,

a nd t hat i n t his s pecies

s uch f eatures are a r equisite t o i ts s urvival and habitat. gus,

t his

where

i n other

I n e otra-

f eature c ould have b een e qually a dvantageous i n i ts h abitat

j umping would a lso have e ntailed c atching i tself on i ts

f ore

l imbs a nd a bsorbing t he s hock of l anding prior t o i ts h ind l imbs c oming i nto p lay where

s tability became n ecessary.

There a re a number o f o bservations which c an b e made c oncerning t he o steological e vidence o f M .

b alearicus f rom t he Muleta d eposit

which a re not s keletal modifications but which a re physical c onditions present i n s ome o f t he r emains. been v ery a re

F or e xample,

l ittle visible s igns o f d isease

while t here a ppear t o have

' per s e'

i n t he a nimal,

s ome very g ood e xamples of pathological c onditions,

t rauma

( Figure

broken bones,

1 5C a nd 1 6B ).

There a re a n umber of e xamples o f h ealed

s ome t imes quite g rotesque a nd which had t here b een pre-

d ators would have n ever r eached t he a ge t hat t hey a pparently d id. e ver,

t here

s uch a s b one

H ow-

a ll these a re r are c onsidering t he number o f a nimals we a re d ealing

w ith i n t he Muleta d eposit a nd t he f act t hat s ick or d ying animals f requently s eek t he

s helter of c aves.

The presence o f a h igh p ercentage o f t ooth w ear

( Appendix 1 F )

i s a nother observable c ondition f rom t he Muleta materials.

The f act

t hat a l arge percentage of l oose t eeth a s well a s a rticulated o nes s hows a great d eal o f w ear c onsidering most a ge groups e ither l ongevity o r d ietary c onditions, 8 2

a nd i t i s

s eem t o s uggest

t he a uthor's o pinion

d egrees o f t arsa l f us ion

h oof c ores

a rticu lated f ore li mb

Metacarpa l

&

Metatarsa ls

f ig . 1 4

that

i t was probably both.

t ion of the

animals

There

i s

l ittle doubt that probably a por-

i nvolved i n the Muleta a ccumulation were

s ick,

( Appendix 1 E ) that used the cave for shelter At l east one palaeontologist ( Kurten 1 968 ) believes

i njured or dying animals and perished there.

Myotragus was a c ave dwelling d ence was

f ound i n caves.

a lmost any animal will but a lso g oats and

s ome

t raceable

t o

bones,

s ee

i n bad weather

the

( e.g.

s heep were

2 00 b .c.

( troglodite)

creature

a s most of i ts e vi-

The present author does not believe t his a s s helter of a c ave in

s ickness or i njury,

r emains of about 4 0 modern domesticated

f ound in the Muleta upper

f orward ).

B esides,

l evels which were

caves best preserve

a nimal

a s we know.

I n

s ummary,

i t

i s possible to

s uggest s everal pertinent f actors

from these various o steological characteristics and conditions: ( 1)

that a s

could have well ( 2)

that

wnich were never

the animal had no predators or competitors,

s uch specialised f eatures l ost i n

e ral thousand examples were n ew

l ife

a s the evergrowing i ncisors

( only one pathological

exist from Muleta) -,

s uccessfully c ope with its

s pecies was

and molars

a ' grubbing'

incisor remains

( Appendix 1 F ),

the animal

l ike

c ould

s urroundings;

that the general

animal's premolars

s pecimen i n s ev-

e ven when i ts other t eeth

l ost or badly worn i n old age and where this

( Figure 1 2 a nd P lates 3 3 a nd 3 4)

( 3)

i t

e xpected l ongevity;

l abial wear

i n a l arge percentage of t he

( Appendix 1 F )

s uggests

that the

b alearicus

animal and not a grazing or browsing one

( Guilday 1 970 , p ersonal c ommunication) and that this appears consistent with the possible u ses of a s ingle pair of evergrowing incisors: ( 4)

That its

a l ot of grit i n it,

food was probably of a very tough nature a nd w ith s uch a s roots

and l ichens,

even bark from t he base

of trees and other rough vegetation f ound between r ocks of r ocks

i n mountainous ( 5)

that coupled with the animal's other

i ties and modifications of and i ts overall ders,

the

and in c revices

t errain:

s tereoscopic vision,

r obust characteristics,

s uch a s

s tructure peculiar-

s low l ocomotion f eatures s trong neck and s houl-

M yotragus b alearicus was well equipped to survive until the

i ntervention of man i n the Balearic

I slands.

Thus we can conclude with s ome c ertainty that these i stics played a substantial j ust a s

and positive role

they r eflect c ertain details of As will be

s een further on

much t o

s upport what the o steological

a s well a s

s tudy of coprolite

Both of these

a s

i n the t ext,

l evels

l iving i n other

i nformation

palynological analyses of f our contexts

I I ).

i n the animal's

at the Matge

r ock

s tudy possibilities may help us

i t will

s uffice

t o

s ay

l ess

a rduous

s tudy a spects d o

s uggests,

i n the Muleta

more exact picture of the d ietary r equirements of I n the meantime,

s urvival,

i ts habitat and environment a s

being one of both mountain dwelling a s well areas.

character-

s uch a s

s tratigraphy, shelter

( Volume

i n determining a

M yotragus b alearicus . M yo-

i t i s quite e vident that

t ragus b alearicus ate either an extremely coarse type of vegetation or

8 1

b ate;

b alearicus

C p atho logica l Kn itted

F ractu r e

f ig . 1 5

f ig . 1 6

f ig . 1 7

f ig . 1 8

f ig . 1 9

T able 1 .

D entition F ormulas i n t he D ifferent M yotragus S pecies

M yotragus a ntiquus

( Pons 1 977 ) 2 3 4 P , P ,P

Tooth Formula: 11 , 12 , 13

R emarks:

All the t eeth a re f unctional,

1

2 3

M ,M ,M

P3 , P4

M1 , M2 , M3

h owever none of t he i ncisors

a re e vergrowing.

M yotragus b atei

( Crusafont a nd A ngel 1 966)

1 ' 2' 3

R emarks:

M1,M 2

P2 , P3 , E

T ooth F ormula:

P3 '

M

13 may well be a milk t ooth or a c anine, g rowing.

P ,

1 '1 42 '1 93

only II

appears t o b e non-functional.

i s e ver-

W itü only o ne

s ide o f the jr ight mandible a s a s tudy s pecimen, f icult t o s ay f or s ure

3, M

i t i s d if-

t hat t he s pecies had three pairs o f

i ncisors o r two pairs.

M yotragus b alearicus

( Bates 1 909) P3,P4

T ooth Formula: 1

R emarks:

I „)

1 ,2

are

2 3 M1,M ,M

P4

l ost i n e volution,

M

a long with

P .1

V

M

2M 3

II

has become

evergrowing i ncisor d iagnostic of t he b al-

e aricus species.

Addendum:

R ecent f inds

i ndicate t hat t here a re i ntermediate

i n t he evolutionary d evelopment of t he t eeth between the M . t he M .

s tages

b atei and

a ntiquus as well as other species or sub-species ancestors of

both t he a ntiquus and b alearicus . produced s till other variations

The

i sland of M inorca has r ecently

f or that i sland.

of t hese n ewly d iscovered materials a re

9 0

H owever d escriptions

s till pending publication.

a v ery s pecialised one which c onsisted of a number of d ifferent p lants o f s imilar make up a vailable t o t he animal during the varied a nd d iff erent s tages of the

P leistocene a nd H olocene,

would have probably changed with t he c limate; may have existed throughout l ong p eriods,

s ince these f ood s ources though s ome p lant s pecies

e specially i n the h igh s ierras

o f t he i sland.

2 .2

M yotragus b atei

( Crusafont P airo a nd A ngel 1 956)

The M yotragus b atei was

( Figure 1 2B )

f irst d escribed before t he i nternational

s ymposium d edicated t o M yotragus

s tudies,

o rganised by the a uthor

The major d ifferences between i t a nd the l ater b alearicus

1 965.

i n s pecies

a re f ound i n i ts t eeth ( Crusafont P airo a nd A ngel 1 965), where this b atei species has three pair of incisors in its madible, only one of which i s ever-growing i ts upper a nd l ower

( I1),.along

j aws

with an extra pair o f premolars i n

( Figure 1 9A)

( Plates 9 :1 a nd 9 :2).

There a re

o ther d ifferences between the two s pecies which a re d escribed i n

e ndix 1 D for the interested reader. t his

s ection i s cursory i ndeed,

s pecies below.

a s i s t he d escription o f t he a ntiquus

The t ooth f ormula o f each of the three

s pecies w ill

b est i llustrate t he d entition d ifferences between e ach M yotragus

( Table 1 )

( App-

The animal's d escription h ere i n

t ype.

( Figure 1 8).

From

t he d ifferences

i n the t eeth d escribed i n the a ppendices,

w e c an s uggest that s tructural d ifferences a s well a s number possibly point t o d ifferent e nvironmental c onditions a s well a s t hose

l ater present i n the e volution of the b alearicus

t hough under t he r ight c onditions change can be rapid,

f unction t han s pecies.

A l-

we must r emember

t hat s uch a r eduction o f t eeth a nd modifications o f s tructure i nto a s ingle

l arge chisel-like e vergrowing i ncisor d id not t ake place over

n ight,

and that the b alearicus type i s the r esult of f orces a pplied t o

t he e arlier b atei member of M yotragus during its ment.

I n

s ight.

s hort,

l ifetime and e nviron-

what we s ee i n e ither of the s pecies,

At the s ame t ime,

c an be c losed g ene p ools

we s ee

i n h ind

e volution i n i sland s ituations where t here a nd b iotas

( Boekshoten a nd S ondaar 1 972) can

o ccur f aster t han i n l ess r estricted a reas.

There i s no d oubt whatsoever that M yotragus b atei t or of M .

b alearicus,

a lthough there

i s a n a nces-

s till may be i ntermediate

s pecies

a nd e ven s ub-species i n t he f ossil r ecord which s how i nterim s tages o f e volutionary d evelopment of the g enera. f rom the

I n f act,

r ecent i ndications

s tudy o f the Muleta materials a s well a s other s ites

s uggests

t hat d ifferent M yotragus populations may have existed contemporaneously ( e.g.

a mountain c olony a nd one which l ived i n the g entler c limes o f

t he plains of Mallorca a nd Minorca ). d ifference between M . M inorca,

which h e d escribes a s

U nfortunately, a vailable

f or s tudy,

Andrews

( 1914)

r ecognised a l arge

b alearicus on Mallorca and that which l ived o n s maller on Mallorca.

t here a re very f ew M yotragus b atei

a nd even l ess f or t he a ntiquus

9 1

s pecimens

s pecies.

Until w e

have more

s tudy materials,

only the most t entative o f hypotheses a re

possible c oncerning their t ime a nd t he c onditions

2 .3

M yotragus a ntiquus

( Pons 1 977)

The M yotragus a ntiquus

i n which they l ived.

( Figure 1 8A)

i s a s d escribed by i ts

a s being the o ldest s pecies yet f ound of the g enera. greatest d ifferences c an be f ound i n the d entition, may be s ome other o steological d ifferences These a re d iscussed i n the appendices

f inder,

J .

P ons,

Once again,

t he

a lthough t here a lso

f rom those we a lready k now.

( Appendix 1 D ).

H owever,

a brief

mention c an b e made here t hat the i ncisors a re quite d istinctive, n on-evergrowing w ith hyposodotism other a rtiodactyls.

( high c rown character)

And a lthough i t i s t oo e arly t o project hypotheses,

i t c an be s uggested that,

o nce again,

t hese t eeth r egarding normalcy,

we a re

t eresting t o s ee w ith more

s eeing a t ruer nature o f

i f w e can u se the word,

u sed t o s eeing i n ruminants or antelopes o ther o steological

b eing

s imilar t o

i n g eneral.

t o what w e a re

I t will b e i n-

s tudy materials whether or not t he a nimal's

f eatures c omply.

o r whether t hese t oo d emonstrate

s uch i nsular peculiarities and s pecialisations or s imilarity t o t he

b alearicus f inal e volutionary product. v ery s parse

The present s tudy materials are

c onsisting of f ragmentary s pecimens f ound i n e xtremely

c onsolidated d eposits, Nevertheless,

which makes their r emoval e xceedingly d ifficult.

j udging f rom past e xperience a nd the past rate of e mer-

g ence of new i nformation and material over the l ast t wo d ecades,

we c an

e xpect ever n ewer and more abundant e vidence t o work f rom i n f illing i n the g aps,

both i n the f ossil r ecord a s well a s t he s tudy of materials

a lready available.

S ome of these s tudies which c oncern u s h ere a re a spects s uch a s

t ooth d evelopment,

c ompetitive b ehaviour a nd s exual d imorphism i n

t he M yotragus b alearicus, g round t o this

summaries of which a ppear below a s a back-

resettlement P eriod and the f ollowing E arly S ettlement

P eriod a nd while they a re treated here very briefly,

they are a spects

that s hould be l inked w ith the o steological c haracteristics a bove i n order t o s ynthesise existing data.

3 .

C ompetitive B ehaviour i n M yotragus b alearicus:

S ummary

A lthough t he main d etails c oncerning t his t opic c an b e f ound i n A ppendix F ,

a f ew of these c an be briefly d iscussed h ere.

a pparent f rom t he

s tudy of s cars

I t i s

l eft i n the bones o f the animal's

s kull which have b een originally i ncurred d uring i ntraspecific c ombat and o ther c ompetitive b ehaviour t hat c ertain d etails c oncerning i ts c onduct during t he rutting s eason c an b e d etermined.

For i nstance,

i t

has been observed t hat i n t he rutting conduct of other horned s pecies i ntentional harm t o one a nother i s not the purpose o f the c ompetitive r itual

( Schaffer a nd R eed 1 972),

w ith more primitive

s pecies

a lthough t his may not have b een t rue

s uch a s M yotragus.

r utting procedure c an be d escribed a s

9 2

f ollows:

I n s heep and g oats t he ( 1)

an emphasis o n

•

wound *

A a ngle o f

i mpact

E ) a ngle o f

i mpact

Two J ousting P ostures ( As) A ngles o f i mpact n ecessary t o i nflict a p arietal w ound ( A) ( CD) A ngles o f i mpact n ecessary t o i nflict a f rontal w ound

( C)

f ig . 20

h ead-to-head c ontact

( butting a nd ramming )

i s the major f orm o f i ntra-

s pecific c ompetition a s a prelude t o mating:

( 2)

t he

l ack of harem

f ormation but w ith t he exclusion of s exually c ompetent j uvenile a nd adolescent males

f rom t he r itual by threatening on part o f mature males,

e specially i n populations with high s urvival r ates; l arged horn s ize and t heir c ores

i n males;

a nd c omplexity of t he f rontal c orunal s epta w ithin t hese c avities;

( 5)

g reatly en-

s inuses and t he c omplexity o f the

And a ccording t o

( Oreamnus a mericanus)

i n i ts

R eed a nd S chaffer ,

i njurious

t he

s harp horns

t he

R pc icy

f ighting b etween males of

d isproportionate or e qual s ize have been s elected against, t he

s hape a nd

these c hanges b eing particularly

i n which f orce of i mpact i s g reat and d irected

t o t he base of the horns. Mountain g oat

( 3)

t he i ncrease i n s ize

t he g eneral change i n t he

r elative proportion o f the s kull, profound i n t hose s pecies

( 4)

because of

e ffects on b oth c ontestants produced by penetration o f i nto t he body.

o ther during rut,

The males d o n ot c ompete w ith e ach

n or d o t hey d elay their

b eyond the age a t which t hey become a ccording t o R eed a nd S chaffer,

f irst e ntry i nto t he r ut

s exually mature.

the male big-horn,

Furthermore,

o n t he other hand

b ecomes

s exually mature a t a bout t he

years),

but d elay their f irst entry i nto the rut until t heir s ixth or

e ighth year. male

This

s ame a ge a s the mountain g oat

( 2-3

f act i s a ssociated with the observation t hat t he

s heep will f ight w ith e ach other i n t he manner d escribed a bove.

The male C aprini are distinguished by curving horns,

t hus p er-

mitting head-to-head butting a nd ramming that will not r esult i n i njury t o the

s maller animal.

This d oes n ot appear t o have b een t he c ase w ith

the marked i njuries that c an b e

a nd 2 0:2).

H ere we

o f h ead-to-head c ontact t he wounds s kull. r itual.

b alearicus

( Plates 1 6:2

( Appendix 1 F ).

A s d iscussed i n t his a ppendix,

a ppear i n t he f rontal bones and i n the parietal z one o f the

I n s everal c ases,

t he s kull,

f ound on t he M .

s ee head wounds that have healed a nd a re t he r esult

t hese wounds have s ucceeded i n penetrating

thus d emonstrating considerable f orce i n t he c ompetitive

The present author believes t hat this was due t o the f rontal

position of the orbits which,

being s o placed,

would have made t he

a nimal n early blind t o i ts opponent upon h ead c ontact

F igure 7-8 ).

( Appendix 1 F a nd

H ere the a uthor has d emonstrated the a ngle a t which the

a nimal's head had t o be positioned i n order that s uch wounds b e s us-

( Figure 2 0).

t ained

The r eader s hould bear i n mind that M yotragus of all three s pecies had horns,

both males a nd f emales.

had i ts e ffect i n the r utting r itual g ree has not y et been d etermined.

This f actor may a lso have

i n g eneral,

a lthough t o what d e-

Although r ecent midsagittal s ect-

i oning o f a dditional M yotragus b alearicus

s kulls with s ome f orm o f

h ead wound s hows that only males a ppear t o have t he c lassical h ead wound s cars b elieves

( Appendix 1 F )

of i nflicting damage, t he

f rom t he i ntraspecific c ombat, • the a uthor

t hat the f act t hat t he f emale a lso had horns,

e qually c apable

a nd t hat t he f emales may have had s ome s ay i n

f inal r eproduction r itual.

The f act that both males a nd f emales

had h orns may have had c onsiderable e ffect i n t he t reatment o f the animal by man, h orns

a s will be d iscussed presently.

s hould n ot be t aken f or t he

' V'

This d amange t o t he

t rimming of t he a nimal's h orns

by men a s d iscussed below during the a ccount of the P eriod

( Chapter V I )

a nd a lso i n this

9 4

s ection

( 3).

E arly S ettlement The h ead wounds a nd

NOR MAL

ASPECT

2

3

2 3

5

CMS

S exing M yotragus b alearicus h orn cores b y l ongitudinal s ection. M ale h orn c ore ( left) a nd f emale h orn c ore i ndicate t he r egion o f s ection,

( right).

A rrows

w hich c orresponds w ith a v ertical

s ection b elow ( 1,2,3).

f ig .

2 1

horn damage r elated t o c ompetitive behaviour a re quite d istinct.

S uch

h ead wounds a s previously mentioned o ccur mainly i n t he f rontal a nd parietal r egions of the s kull where the b lows were f orceful e nough t o penetrate t he bone.

This c ould i ndicate that,

mal's

f orceful,

l ocomotion was

motion.

during c ombat,

t he a ni-

i f not n ecessarily i n a d irectly f orward

The quality of t he horn damage a nd breakage t estifies t o t he

f orce of t he i mpact.

I t a lso s hows an i nability on t he part o f t he

a nimal t o veer off c ourse during i ts charge,

a nd probably t he r igidity

of t he h ind-limbs which was c aused by t he f used t arsals t o t he metat arsals would have a lso l imited t he f lexibility of t he h ind-quarters of the a nimal.

S o,

l inking t his f actor w ith t he narrow f ield o f v ision,

i f not during i ts c harge,

c ertainly on head c ontact,

t his would have

r esulted i n f requent h ead damage during i ntraspecific c ombat. possibilities, Appendix.

among other d etails,

I t w ill

c an b e

These

f ound i n t he a ppropriate

s uffice f or t he moment t o s ay t hat t he a nimal's

v ision would have b een mainly r estricted t o t he ground d irectly a round i ts

f eet,

a nd i t would have had no proper v iew of i ts adversary.

This

would c ertainly have r esulted i n c onsiderable misjudgement a nd h ence i n more wounds and horn damage, body wounds.

The powerful

t o s ay the l east c oncerning possible

s houlders a nd n eck would have played a n i m-

portant r ole i n f ighting a s well.

4 .

S exual D imorphism i n M yotragus b alearicus:

S ummary

I t has a lready been r emarked that M yotragus

i s a g enus i n which

both the male and f emale have horns. f ication has proved d ifficult.

For this r eason,

s exual i denti-

To r esolve t his problem,

the a uthor

made a particular s tudy o f s ome of the bones,

e specially t he s kull,

r esults of which are s et out i n A ppendix 1 E .

This

the

i s t he f irst t ime

any s ubstantial e ffort has been made t o d emonstrate t he s exual d iffere nces t he

i n M yotragus.

s kull;

S o f ar,

this d etailed s tudy has b een l imited t o

a lthough s imilar s tudy o f the pelvis and s acrum might a s

well prove profitable i n s exing the a nimal. s kulls s kulls, t he

The

r esults of s exing the

s how t hat t here a re i mportant d ifferences

i n male a nd f emale

n ot only i n t he d ifferent bones of t he c ranium,

s tructure of t he horns.

g eneral thickening,

The male

but a lso i n

s kull bones a re r einforced by

a nd s ome of t he a ngles m easured a re c onsistently

d ifferent f rom the c orresponding a ngles i n t he f emale s kulls

( random,

but chosen f or their durability t o w ithstand t he n ecessary s ectioning ) a nd a lso on a bout

1 00 horn c ore

F or e xample,

s pecimens o f M .

b alearicus .

t he s upraoccipital bone i n the male M .

i s thicker on t he d istal and proximal e nds

t han t he f emale.

f ormed by the s upraoccipital a nd t he basioccipital bone l arger than t he f emale.

There

i s

b alearicus The a ngle

i n t he male i s

a lso a t endency f or t he parietal bone

a nd t he f rontal bone t o b e r einforced i n t he male

s kulls.

A ll t hese

characteristics one would normally e xpect t o f ind i n t he male p öpulat ion of horned a nimals.

There a re many other d etailed s tatistics

f ound i n A ppendix 1 E .

I n t he horns o f the M yotragus b alearicus,

9 6

t he horn c ores o f

t he a nimal d iffer between male a nd f emale i n that the male h orn o f e ither s mall o r l arge males

i s d enser i n c omposition;

c ore c ontaining many more capilliary c hannels. pected i n a nimals where both s exes have h orns

t he f emale h orn

This would a lso be e x-

( Figure 2 1).

There a re a f ew s urface characteristic which, t ioning s tudies,

s ince t he s ec-

have become c lear a nd which can o ften d etermine t he

s ex w ithout s ectioning;

a nd i t was only w ith this

s ectioning programme

t hat e nabled t hese f eatures t o be understood a nd i nterpreted. d etailed s tudy has

b ehaviour a re c learly r elated a s t he bones o f t he have h orns,

This

s hown c learly that s exual d imorphism and c ompetitive

s kull.

Also,

s hown by t he s tructural d ifferences o f

i n a s pecies where both male a nd f emale

the f emales t hemselves must h ave utilised their h orns t o

ward o ff unwanted attention f rom potential mates.

This may have b een

c ontributory i n c ontrolling t he population s election.

I t a lso c onveys

t he p icture that the c reature was not particularly docile

( an i mportant

f actor t o b e c onsidered when we s tudy t he question of i ts r elationship t o man).

H owever,

before we c onsider t he a rrival o f e arly man a nd h is

r elationship w ith M yotragus b alearicus, d iscuss the r emaining a nimal g enera ' trilogy',

w e

s hould briefly d escribe a nd

f orming the Balearic mammalian

t heHypnomys morpheus and N esiotites h idalgo, the dormouse

a nd s hrew r espectively.

5 .

H ypnomys m orpheus

( Bate 1 919)

( Figure 2 2)

E vidence of t his extinct r odent was c ribed by Dorothea Bate i n i n M iocene

1 910 f rom

f irst d iscovered a nd d es-

I leistocene o ssiferous d eposits

l imestone f issures throughout Mallorca a nd Minorca.

n oted i n h er paper that these r odents, o n Minorca than on Mallorca,

l ike M yotragus,

which s he r egarded a s

i ndication t hat

( Bate 1 919).

M inorca was t he f irst i sland t o s eparate f rom the mainland The s ize which,

a s dormice go,

n ose t o t he e nd of the t ail,

( Figure 2 2).

i s very l arge,

s tanding 7 .5 cms

up t o 2 7.5 c ms

P resent dormice a re a bout half this

( 1974)

s ize.

This

s ize

a ccording

does not appear l arger on e ither o f t he i slands.

c onsiders t he population homogeneous possibly t hat o f

l ong f rom

i n t he f ore l imb a rea

r ange o f H ypnomys m orpheus of Mallorca and that of Minorca, t o M ills

B ate

appeared l arger

s ector

' Z'.

H is

i n a ll t he Muleta material,

s tatistical table

H e e xcept

( Table 7 ) shows

t hat t he t ibias of H ypnomys m orpheus originating f rom the c ave's l ower l evel

i n

' Z'

r ather s mall

s ector a re very l arge. s ize humerus,

t he upper l evel of this

' Z'

I n M ills'

Graph 3 ,

he i ndicates a

t ibia and particularly t he f emur f ound i n s ector.

H e believes

t hat t he c ondition

i ndicates t hat there may have been an i ntermingling of t he t wo g roups o f H ypnomys m orpheus which by degrees differ in s ize. t o s tate t hat i t i s not c lear a s

He

a lso g oes on

t o whether t he two g roups r epresent

B ate's H ypnomys m ahoensis and H ypnomys m orpheus, due t o s exual d imorphism.

9 7

a nd may a fter a ll be

Furthermore,

i f we c an believe,

pointed o ut i n t he i ntroduction,

a s

t he present a uthor h as

t he s equence of t he B alearics'

t ion f rom the mainland a ccording t o most a uthorities o ne)

i s d ifferent f rom t hat s uggested by Bate.

s ize o f t he H ypnomys , m orpheus t he Muleta material.

s epara-

( Colom 1 957,

f or

The best data o n t he

i n Mallorca c omes

f rom M ills'

s tudies o f

The a uthor would l ike t o i nject t he possibility

t hat s ize d ifferences

( if a ny)

between t he i slands may a lso be a ccred-

i table t o the d ifferent f ood s ources a vailable t o H ypnomys .

The

s tratified d eposits a t Muleta have produced t housands o f

H ypnomys m orpheus specimens f rom which i t h as been possible t o r ealise s uch d efinitive s tudies a s t hose o f M ills', t o e xtract f urther c omparative data.

i n which i t i s a lso p ossible

One o f t hese s tudies

i s t hat of

M ills which provided a very c omprehensive a ccount o f H ypnomys m orpheus, i ncluding a l arge amount o f c omparative material on l ater s pecies o f i nsular a nd c ontinental r odents. f ully d escribes the

s pecies'

d iscussion o f t he a nimal

Mills'

i n this present t hesis

t hat t he majority o f M ills' c ollection )

Additionally,

d issertation

has g rown o ut o f t he Muleta

( a)

i ts r elationship with 4otragus ,

i n n early a ll the d eposits c ontaining M yotragus, i ts place

The

( it might be a dded h ere

i s a ccordingly o nly a brief s tudy which c oncentrates mainly

o n t he f ollowing: r eason f or,

publication

g eneral and s pecific c haracteristics.

( c)

( b)

i ts presence

t he manner o f and

s ame t ime a s l eotragus,

i ts e xtinction a bout the

a nd

( d )

i n t he f auna of Mallorca a s the s ingle r odent a nd s econd

l argest mammal o f the three s pecies known i n the Balearic

P leistocene

a nd H olocene.

I t i s an a ccepted t heory t hat i sland s pecies u sually d evelop t oward

' dwarfism'

i n macromammal e volution under i nsularity,

S ondaar 1 973).

The b est e xamples

of

' dwarfism'

while

( Boerkshoten a nd

micromammalian s pecies a re a pt t o i ncrease i n s ize

i n macromammal e volu-

t ion under i nsularity a re the Cretian h ippopotamus a nd e lephants f ossil r ecord,

t o the availability of f ood s ource. g ood c limbers

i n t he

which i s postulated a s d ue t o their s ize b eing r egulated These a nimals

a ppear t o have b een

( a s trange d evelopment i n h ippos when o ne c onsiders t he

l arge present-day s pecies

s pends most o f i ts

l ife

i n water),

t o be a ble t o r each a reas where f ood was a vailable

probably

i n h igher g round on

a ncient Crete.

Muleta, b irds,

g ive no e vidence o f H ypnomys m orpheus

a nd other s ites,

having had a predator

( but o ne must not rule out

t he possibility o f

t hough no r emains of these have b een f ound which a re l arge

e nough t o verify t his).

At the s ame t ime,

s ize i n t he f örm of g iantism

i n H ypnomys would decrease its chances of being preyed upon by any bird other t han a l arge one; on b irds,

a lthough t he H ypnomys

a nd s ome o f t hese quite

t heir s keletal r emains

l arge o nes,

i n t he Muleta d eposit.

i s c ertain t o have preyed a s

i s t estified t o f rom

After t he a rrival o f man

t he r odent k ingdom on Mallorca i ncreased w ith t he addition o f A podemus

s ylvaticus

( Linne) and E1iomys g ymnesicus

only a ppear i n the upper l evels

i n t he

( Thomas).

These t wo s pecies

s tratigraphy a t Muleta,

not f orm the part o f the f auna prior t o t he c oming of man.

a nd d o

They a re

mentioned here a s they may have had s ome bearing o n t he e xtinction o f

H ypnomys m orpheus,

the e cology being s uch t hat the f aunal

9 8

s ystem became

Ii 9.22

too complicated with three rodents, i s

indication at Muleta that the

one of which was very large.

arrival of man also i ntroduced

There the

G enetta s p ., a species more robust than the G enetta g enetta b alearicus, a long with O chotana which appears to have only recently disappeared in Western

E urope.

The exact reason for the extinction of H ypnomys at a ll.

l a bssibilities

t o prey by one of

the

range from changes imported carnivores

gested by the present author. d isappeared about the t estified t o by the

i s not c lear

in the c limate or f ood s ources s uch a s

the G enetta,

the M yotragus b alearicus;

s ame t ime a s

a s

s ug-

the H ypnomys

Whatever the case might be,

this

i s

fact that s ome remains of H ypnomys have been found

eotragus remains in the Matge coprolite beds, circa 5 000 b .c. i s the f act that the H ypnomys lived a longside M yotragus

with

What r emains and appears

t o be

i nevitably a ssociated

R ecent discovereies have s pecies of M yotragus

with i t in the cave deposits.

s hown that it a lso c oexisted with the other

( Föns 1 977).

P rior to this publication l ittle

said c oncerning the earlier varieties of H ypnomys,

other than t o

i nform the r eader that the aossiciation of the two g enera

( Hypnomys and

can be

M yotragus) t ime.

of animals

In fact,

l ived i n

indications are that the third companion,

N esiotites h idalgo,

vore,

symbiotic relationship f or a very l ong

a lso was present.

member of the Balearic mammalian

6 .

N esiotites h idalgo

' trilogy'

( Bate 1 944)

This mammalian i nsectivore s ent in the Balearics during the the briefest mention i s made of the

subject of r esearch by J .

land,

i s

i s

the

i nsecti-

l atter and smallest

d iscussed s ubsequently.

( Plate 1 3:1)

the

third animal of the trio pre-

P leistocene and Holocene epochs. it in this

thesis

a s

I ts

the point of view of observation a s

i nclusion here mainly i s

i t r elates

As the Muleta deposit will undoubtedly

the present author,

the creature's i cal

contexts

j udice

to the

dence of this

however,

existence and s ome passing r eference to the

in Muleta, s uggests than

l evels

of the cave

a ffected the M yotragus

that i t was

i n the upper

thinning out of population i nvolves

f indings.

where i t r emains

the

the

and the H ypnomys

s tratigraph-

found may be made without pre-

future of the other r esearch worker's

well preserved and abundant, l ower

s trati-

obviously cannot completely i gnore

i n which the N esiotites was insectivore

i n the

s upply

a good portion of the study material originating f rom the cave's graphy,

Holf rom

to the Muleta s trati-

t hough that relationship will a lso be disussed in detail

aforementioned thesis.

Only

it currently f orms

Reumer of the University of Utrecht,

f or a doctoral d isseratation.

graphy,

This

same

evi-

f ar more numerous

s trata.

causes

i n

Whether this

a s

i s not known,

nection can be a ssumed with e cological changes

The

are exceptionally

those that though s ome con-

such a s

c limate o r avail-

h ila lgo at Muleta appear to have been much more frequent in the deposits which f ormed c irca 3 0,000 to 1 6,000 b .c. ( SM,74-67, A ppendix 1 A) than able

i n

food.

those

I n chronometric

c irca

1 6,000 to

infer that this suggests

we

5 ,000 b .c.

can say that the N esiotites

( SM,67-56).

This

evidence d oes

s ituation of r educed population was due

and environmental I t a lso

t erms,

c onditions or

( b)

( a)

cave and depositional

to c limatic

c onditions.

that the extinction of the N esiotites may have been

e arlier than that of

the other two animals. 1 00

7 .

C oncerning t he O ther V ertebrate a nd I nvertebrate F auna

D iscussion i n t his

s ection c oncerning the r emainder of the

m icrofauna f ound i n t he s tratigraphy a t Muleta i s held t o t he barest o f d escription.

The r eason f or this

i s

s imply t hat t he a rduous t ask

o f s eparation of t he hundreds of thousands of m icrofaunal bone c ompone nts will be going on f or s everal years t o c ome. f auna i s d one

Mention of t hese micro-

i n o rder t o s how the methodological a pproach that has

b een c arried out up t o t he present a nd many of the s pecies a re a s yet u nidentified;

other than they have been c lassified a ccording t o t he

most rudimentary s eparation,

c onsisting of bone

c omponent s eparation

f rom t he c ave's various earths and t heir d assification a s t o c omponent. M ention i s made s imply because of t he potential c annot b e

i gnored,

r esearch a spects which

e ven though f ull j ustice c annot be d one t o t heir

d escription under t he present c ircumstances. b riefest mention of the s pecies does

Furthermore,

e ven t his

s how t hat the e cology a nd i ts

f el-

l ow f aunal members was more c omplex t han i s d emonstrated s imply by c onsidering the three major mammals, M yotragus,

H ypnomys and N esiotites .

The d eposit of Muleta has produced well preserved e xamples a t e very l evel.

The r emains o f a t l east t hree r eptiles

d istinguishably d ifferent), i dentified), mollusca

bats

a mphibians

( unidentified )

( unidentified ).

( unidentified,

( also unidentified ),

b irds

yet

( un-

a nd s everal varieties o f t errestial

S ediments

f rom s everal s ectors

( e.g.

t he c lay

C hapter I I , s ection 2 .2 .1) have shown t o c ontain F oraminifera and O strocods which warrant extensive study.

o f

l ower

' X'

s ector,

s ee t ext,

While the author i s quite a ware that this l ittle s cientific value,

i t s hould s ignal

v ing the above mentioned f aunal r emains; a f ew unknown s pecies may be i ncluded c riptive presentation.

s ection has very

s ome f uture r esearch i nvolpresent i ndications a re that

e ventually i n a f ar more d es-

Whatever i nformation may be f orthcoming will

be able t o be placed within t he f rame work of the s tratigraphy of the Muleta d eposit.

At a ll events,

no other a ction has been taken other

than t he above mentioned bone c omponent s eparation and t he briefest o f e xamination a nd i dentification.

Activities have c entred on t heir

c ollection and the a rrangement o f s tudy s pecimens i n order t o present a c omplete s et of materials

f or f uture r esearch workers.

Meanwhile,

t he c ollection of this material i s d eposited i n t he D eya Archaeological Museum a nd R esearch Centre,

D eya,

Mallorca,

Baleares,

S pain,

a waiting

r esearch by s pecialists.

8 .

S ome P reliminary I ndications o f t he P eriod's E cology

The s tratigraphical c ontexts r epresenting t he P eriod f rom the Muleta l evels

t ion 2 .1).

The g eneral e cology f or t he whole period,

t he pertinent l evels a t Muleta, l andscape grasses,

( A ppend ix 1 C )

P resettlement

s how a profile of g eneral e cology s uggests a s parse,

a s

r ough,

s teppe-like

i n which the a rea i s d ominated by l ow,

mainly ragweeds a nd s ome pines.

1 01

( sec-

i ndicated by t ough

The a uthor r ealises that

this profile i s Very g eneral,

but i t i s t he f irst b it of c oncrete evi-

d ence and i nformation t hat we have f or this period c oncerning t he f loral c overage of the area. r ently i n progress

More extensive f ossil pollen a nalyses a re c ur-

i n o rder t o s how possible o scillations

i n c limatic

c onditions and the i dentification of s ome s pecific f loral s urroundings at various

s tages

c overed during this precultural period.

At Muleta, e xcellent.

d ifferent methods a cids)

the c hronometric dates f or the various

l evels a re

M yotragus bone by two

They c onsist of a period dated f rom

( conventional r adiocarbon a nd r acemisation o f a mino

f rom 3 2,000 years

( SM,74)

up until 7 ,000 years a go

( SM,56),

a nd

t here i s a lso a s atisfactory s edimentological r ecord f or t he s ame peri od.

I t i s

l yses

f all within these dates.

i ndeed unfortunate t hat t o date only two palynological a na-

4 f rom l evels

3 00

These a re r epresented by S ample

c ms t o 2 50 c ms

( Appendix 1C)

1 a nd

a nd r espectively we

have three i ndividual dates c arried out on e otragus bone t o d etermine the pertinent l evel's age f rom t hree d ifferent l aboratories 6 3).

( SM,61

t o

This was a lso done i n order t o e valuate the various c ontrols

o f

the l aboratories a s well a s t o e valuate the 1 4,000 + 3 50 yrs.,

H owever,

1 4,465 + 3 15 yrs.

l evels.

The r esults are:

1 4,650 + 8 50 yrs.

r espectively.

the r eader w ill note that t he i nventory o f c hrono-

metric dating l isted i n Appendix g ories

a nd

r epresenting the

I A c an be s een t o f all i nto t wo cate-

P resettlement

P eriod.

a nalyses r esults which r epresent 7 5,000 years

( 1)

There a re 2 0

( SM,56-77),

however,

these i nclude other r esults o btained by d ifferent c hronological analyses methods a re the

( paleomagnetic

c ontaining Aeotragus. dates

i s

3 750 years,

Whereas,

I n the f irst c ase,

g roup

and

( 2)

t here

t ic and c arbonate dating

there a re

1 1

RAA a nd

1 4C).

u sing r adiocarbon and r acemisation o f

the most s atisfactory a s

d ating of Peotragus bone,

i nterval b etween

( PM , CD,

t here a re i ntervals of one date per i s

I n the

the average

i nvolving a ll f our methods

i n the other c ase,

a spartic a cids, l atter

and carbonate dating )

1 7 analyses mentioned above which a re s trictly f rom l evels

1 400 years.

This

i t i s based e ntirely on

while t he other group i ncludes paleomagne-

( Stuiver a nd W aldren 1974)

( Appendix 4 B ).

s tratigraphical profile of one cave a rea,

S ector

' X',

d istinctly d ifferent l evels r epresenting 1 1,650 years

a ccording t o t he

1 4C

e vidence

( SM,56-69),

a n average of

1 056 years

per s tratum,

though they a re naturally n ot uniform i n thickness,

d id n ot t ake

t he

s ame t ime t o a ccumulate.

a nd

The character o f t hese

c an be f ound i n t he s edimentological s tudy ( Appendix 1 B ) and in the chronometric dates concerning this particular strati-

d ifferent l evels

g raphical profile.

The c hronometric period o f

1 1,620 years d isplayed

i n t he c ave's

s ector s tratigraphical profile runs

years

t o

( SM,56)

1 6,805 b .c.

c limatic f luctuations r esults

f or t he

+ 5 55 years

( SM,69).

f rom 5 185 b .c.

s hould s how up i n t he pollen r ain when t est

s ame cave s trata are available.

We c an a lready point

t o s ubstantial pollen changes b etween t his currently d iscussed s ettlement P eriod

+ 8 0

H ypothetically these

P eriod and the

s ubsequently d iscussed

( Chapter / nwhich follows the levels in question.

1 02

E re-

E arly S ettlement

9 .

R emarks o n t he I nterpretation o f t he P resettlement P eriod .

As y et

there i s not a s much d etail a s would be wished c on-

c erning s pecific s tages within t he

e settlement

P eriod.

I ts

i nter-

pretation has been mainly based on the A totragus of all three species, but principally the b alearicus, t ents o f known ages.

a nd o n the c ave s trata and their c on-

We can s ay l ittle i n d etail about the natural

e nvironment of the caves during t he t hough t he e ndices,

P leistocene a nd e arliest H olocene,

i tems o f evidence g athered a re s et out i n the various App-

and the d etailed s tratigraphy o f the c aves

i s d escribed below.

B asically what has been s hown c oncerning t he i nterpretation o f t he P resettlement

P eriod and its

e cology has b een f ounded on morphological

changes and adaptations of I totragus general to its

s urroundings,

s ome other o steological evidence about t he b alearicus a re a lso t he palynological analyses, f inally,

s edimentological

chronological documentation o f t he period.

s pecies.

with

There

s tudies and These things

f orm

the basis on which the author r ests h is c onclusions about the period, a nd why h e r egards h is proposal o f a P resettlement

P eriod a s c onsti-

t uting a n important application of t he t raditional Balearic prehistoric c hronology.

I n the f ollowing chapter

( Chapter I II ),

the author e xamines

a nd d escribes h is chronological

s cheme i n much g reater d etail than the

outline s ummary i ncluded i n the

I ntroduction

( section 8 ).

I ncluded i n

this chapter on the c hronological s cheme a re t ables of r adiocarbon analysis r esults f or the various periods and their phases,

a great

many of which will be f ound i n their s tratigraphical c ontexts d eposit of the

i n the

R ock Shelter of S on Matge a nd others belonging t o other

r esearch s ites which are a lso i ncluded e ither i n s tratigraphical c ont exts o f the s econdary r esearch s ites or i n those u sed l ater on a s r eference or c orrelation. o f the c omplex c ultural

By preceding the d iscussion and description

s tratigraphy o f Matge

( Chapter I V ) and coming

a fter t he equally c omplex palaeontological s tratigraphy o f Muleta

( Chapter I ), the chronological information and data will thus facilit ate r eference t o pertinent chronometric dates d etailed i nventory f ound i n the Appendices

1 03

i n place o f u sing t he

( Appendix 1 A).

0e" . . . . 09 ' 0 a 0

Opti ma l c a l ibrat ion c urve-conve rs ion o f 1 4C d ates -5588 h a lf • l ife

CHAPTER

THE

a fter I Z IV I .C lark

I I

CHRONOLOGICAL SCHE ME

I

Chapter

1 .

I II.

The Chronological S cheme, Phases and Evidence

the P eriods,

T he P resettlement P eriod , t he P leistocene u ntil 5 000 b .c .

I n the i ntroduction, l ogical

a c ursory outline of the author's

chrono-

s cheme has b een g iven a s a preliminary t o t his more d etailed

e xplanation of the d ifferent periods a nd their p brief d escriptions o f t he chronological gators have been outlined there.

s es.

A lso,

equally

f rameworks o f other i nvesti-

One need o nly c onsult the t ext books

d edicated t o the s tudy o f prehistory t o be c onfronted by the f act t hat t hese n ew chronologies a s well a s t he o lder ones a re s ide the Balearic

I slands.

P art o f this

that these chronological s chemes

l ittle known out-

s hortcoming l ies i n the f act

i n g eneral a re s trictly l ocal ones,

c oncerned mainly with i nternal chronology,

with the r esult that Bal-

earic prehistory,

( P ricot G arcia 1 973), has

a part f rom very r ecently

been very much of a backwater where l ittle a ttention has been g iven t o i ts possible place i n W estern Mediterranean c ontexts, E uropean c ontexts

f or t hat matter.

or i n W estern

I t has a lso been mentioned that

the used of r adiocarbon age d etermination has now made i t possible t o correct this past s cholarly neglect,

a nd to present a c hronology that

i s f arther r eaching than any proposed s o f ar.

As a beginning,

the o ld t ripartite d ivision o f Balearic pre-

history made up of P retalayotic,

Talayotic and P ost Talayotic periods,

d esigned and u sed by t he many i nvestigators hac,

Colominas,

Bosch-Gimpera and others,

the author's opinion; e nclatures t o h is

a nd a s can be

s ystem here.

P resettlement P eriod

with

( b)

the i nto

s till employs t hese nom-

( a )

E Arly,

( pp ),

a nd the

Talayotic

( T)

b eing t hat the

the addition o f two new periods, E arly S ettlement

s ubdivisions of t he o ld t ripartite

P retalayotic

i n t he

( psp )

s till a s ound s ystem i n

he

The main d ifferences

a uthor's pentapartite d ivision has with

s een,

s ince the t ime o f Cartail-

i s

and

P eriod

( ESP )

cultural n omenclature o f

P ost Talayotic

( FT )

P eriods

M iddle a nd Late phases with a s light variation o f t hese

P retalayotic phases and,

f inally,

( c)

the u se of the t erms

Bronze a nd I ron Ages r elated t o the Talayotic a nd P ost Talayotic

P eriods.

The b eginning o f this period opens with t he e arliest evidence, s o f ar,

i n t he

f ossil r ecord of the a rtiodactyl, M potragus,

t hree currently identified species exist.

There a re

f indings which s uggest t hat there were more t ypes,

of which

s ome very r ecent

s pecies t han t hese three

but these n ew s pecies will have t o be excluded f rom t his t hesis

pending f uture publication.

H owever,

a t entative f amily t ree

i n t he

f orm of a l ist i s provided below t o g ive the r eader s ome i dea of t he g enealogy. ( b)

M .

The three currently a ccepted s pecies a re

( a)

M . A ntiquus

b atei and the M . b alearicus .

I n our s tudy o f t he i s r elated t o t he

P resettlement

P eriod most o f t he r esearch

s pecies M potragus b alearicus .

1 07

A brief d iscussion

of the M .

a ntiquus and M .

b atei species has been included here i n

order t o s how t he major evolutionary d evelopments s tructure o f M yotragus and, particular c hanges

more s pecifically,

i n i ts morphology possibly

l ogical c onditions.

i n the physical

that manner i n which point t o c hanging e co-

While these a spects a re yet n ot a s

f ully d ocu-

mented i n t he f ossil r ecord a s palaeontologists may wish, undoubtedly become available i n t he f uture,

t he

and a s w ill

s ubject i s a pproached

i n o rder t o d emonstrate the odd e volutionary path of o ne i nsular s pecies by means o f the f ossil r ecord. d evelopment,

I t will a lso i llustrate h ow

d iagnostic of i nsularity,

l imited number o f i ndigenous

s pecies,

may proceed when t here i s a a nd h ow e xtinction c an o ccur a s

a c ombined r esult of over-specialisation a nd c ontact with man.

The B alearic

I slands a re t ypical of o ther i slands i n t he Medi-

t erranean a s well a s e lsewhere i n t hat,

a s a g eneral r ule,

w ell known f or t heir r estricted i ndigenous f auna

i slands a re

( Sondaar 1 973).

The

s pecies that manage t o e xist u sually run t o h ighly-specialised t ypes of a l imited variety.

For example,

i n other a reas of the M editerran-

d warfing and g iantism at times as with the giant dormouse R ypnomys m orpheus ( Bate 1 918 a nd M ills 1 974) among the extinct insular fauna i s ean,

c ommon

( e.g.

dwarf e lephants and rhinos a re known f rom Crete a nd Cyprus)

( Boekschoten a nd S ondaar 1 973).

D eer a re a lso c ommon i n t he f ossil r e-

cord of most of the Mediterranean i slands; this

s pecies

i n i ts f ossil r ecord,

have had an antelope

i s

For the moment,

Sardinia

however,

the Balearics

l ack

and t he only other i sland k nown t o

( Dehaut 1 920)

the f urther s ubdivision of the P resettlement

P eriod must d epend on the r elative chronology of each of t he a bove three d ifferent M yotragus

s pecies.

Accordingly,

there f ollows

i n the

next c hapter a more d etailed d escription o f e ach o f t he three s pecies a nd t he t imes

i n which they l ived,

a s viewed by t he author a nd others

through s ome o f the dental and o steological a nd morphological a daptat ions undergone by the M yotragus and its evolution.

These e volutionary and morphological c hanges a ll come t ogether s pecies M yotragus b alearicus,

i n t he

c irca 2 200 b .c.

i n the H olocene epoch,

e nding

I t i s rare when one can d emonstrate s uch a l ong

e volutionary d evelopment a nd s eries o f morphological changes s pecies

( especially an i nsular one)

i ts extinction,

( Waldren,

a s

a nd t race them up t o t he t ime o f

i n the c ase of M yotragus

f orthcoming publication);

i nformation a nd materials,

i n Muleta a nd Matge

a n e ssential r equisite f or a ny

thesis on B alearic e cology and c ulture. data,

i n a

At t he s ame t ime,

s o t o s peak,

s ets t he

the present

s tage f or a

major s tudy i n t he processes of i nsular e volution a nd prehistoric e cology a nd culture,

a s well a s

rock s helter s tudies

i n g eneral,

s ets a c ourse f or f uture c ave a nd a long with perhaps

i ncreasing t he

possibility o f s till earlier d iscoveries o f man i n the Balearics by emphasising the t ype of materials and i nformation a vailable i n i nsular a reas.

The i mportance of s uch g eographically i solated a reas a s l ab-

o ratories a nd warehouses of materials bearing v ital data, a nd materials valuable t o many a spects o f prehistoric becoming apparent

( Evans 1 973).

1 08

i nformation

s tudies i s

F or t he moment,

however,

i t must b e r emembered that t he pre-

s ent picture g ives u s only a d iscontinuous and e nvironments,

s eries of g limpses o f events,

s een with a rather poor d egree of f ocus.

posits which s hould yield s ome of t he

l ower l evels of s ome of the r esearch s ites,

the

a re only r ecently d is-

c overed a nd e xcavation on t hem only j ust begun. data a nd materials a lready a vailable

The d e-

f uture d efinitive e vidence, Nevertheless,

t he

f rom t hem e nables u s t o make a

dynamic r eview o f c ertain f inds made much e arlier i n t his b e begin t o r ealise their i mplications.

c entury,

a nd

I t s eems well worthwhile,

a ccordingly t o present t he current working hypotheses a nd t entative c onclusions,

but t he r eader must n ot l ook f or t he k ind o f d etail a nd

precision t o which w e can a spire during the various t he prehistoric p eriods

A t the present,

i n t he B alearic

the c hronology of the

the Balearics b egins w ith the P leistocene,

l ater

e settlement

f ossil r ecord s ome t ime

a bout 5 t o 6 million years a go,

V illafranchian e poch of the L ower

s tages of

I slands.

a nd extends

P leistocene,

F eriod i n

i n t he Upper i nto t he

s ome 2 .5 m .y.a.

While

t he evidence and r emains d irectly pertinent t o our r esearch d o n ot g o back s o f ar, d escriptive

the t rue

f ossil

( petrified)

r emains a re offered h ere

i n

f orm a s a background t o t he f ossil r ecord a nd t he r elative

age of these

s pecies-types

s tudied h ere a s part of the p eriod.

f ollowing ages a re a ssigned t o M yotragus

The

f ossil t ypes.

( 1)

M .

a ntiquus

5 -6 m .y.a.

Upper

( 2)

M .

b atei

2 .5 m .y.a.

V illafranchian/Upper

P liocene

( Pons 1 977) P leistocene

( Angel a nd C rusafont 1 966) ( 3)

M .

b alearicus

1m .y.a.

t o

M iddle

c irca 2 200 b .c.

The other mammalian f ossil s pecies a re t he r odent

i ndigenous t o t he Balearics

H ypnomys, briefly mentioned above, ( shrew ), N esiotites . Together with t he M yotragus,

( giant dormouse),

a nd the i nsectivore they f orm t he

P leistocene/Holocene

( Bate 1 909)

' trilogy'

of mammalian f orms which d emonstrate t he

r estricted nature of i slands a nd their capacity t o s ustain only s mall f aunal populations. t he outself,

a nd t his

From this,

one c onclusion s eems a pparent f rom

i s t hat we c an b e r easonably s ure t hat the e co-

l ogical c onditions o f the i slands were n ever s uch that t hey c ould s upport more than t he

l imited number of a nimals present i n the f ossil

r ecord of any particular t ime.

I n turn, have f ossil

i t i s now known ( see below )

t hat each of these s pecies

s pecies-types r elated t o a M yotragus

c hronological d ivision of the

P resettlement

s pecies a nd t o a

P eriod.

I t i s a lso a pparent

that each of these had their i ndividual morphological characteristics

( Reumer 1 980 a nd M ills 1 974) which can be accredited to a broad but g iven t ime.

The

f ollowing ages a ssigned t he H ypnomys

1 09

a nd N esiotites

a re:

( 1)

4pnomys, S pecies:

( Rodentia ,

w aldrenii

( a )

( unpublished

( c ) m orpheus

( Bate 1 908)

( Insectivora ,

s hrew)

U pper

P liocene/Holocene

5 -6 m .y.a.

1m .y.a.

u ntil c irca 2 200 b .c.

P liocene/Holocene

Upper

( a )

( Reumer 1 980) 5 -6 m .y.a.

( b )

( unpublished )

( c)

There birds,

( Reamer 1 980)

( b )

( 2) N esiotites, S pecies:

a g iant d ormouse)

h idalgo

( Bate 1 909)

1m .y.a.

until c irca 2 200 b .c.

a re d ivers other n on-mammalian s pecies,

r eptiles a nd i nvertebrates,

c onsisting of

a ccompanying the mammalian f orms

which have b een extracted i n the hundreds by the u se of the hydraulic s ystem f rom t he Muleta d eposit

( App endix 1 B ).

All of t hese await

s tudy by e xperts having b een s eparated and broadly c lassified i n a preliminary way.

The c ollections of these various microfauna s pecies

f rom Muleta a re s tored i n t he D eya Archaeological Museum a nd R esearch Centre,

D eya,

Mallorca.

Future

s tudy of t hese materials will n o doubt

c ast n ew l ight on the question of t heir r ole i n t he c hronology a nd environment of the Upper

P liocene,

with i dentifying s ome n ew s pecies;

m uletensis d eposit,

the

P leistocene and H olocene,

a long

B aleafrensis

a n ew s pecies o f f rog,

( Adrover 1 977) has recently been identified from the Muleta

s hortly a fter t he t ermination o f t he hydraulic s oil s eparation

campaigns

t here.

I n summary,

it i s

the r elative chronology of the

f ossil r ecord

of earlier g eological p eriods a nd t heir materials which f orms t he main evidence y ears.

s upporting a l ong H owever,

a s will b e

e settlement

P eriod of n early 6 million

s een s hortly, more a ccurate c hronometric

c hronological data a nd materials a re a vailable which c overs a l arge part of t he e pochs.

I n t he previous c hapter we have r elated each of the chrono-

metric datings posit,

t o i ts proper s tratigraphic s tratum i n t he Muleta d e-

but a s eparate

c hronometric data f rom i n t urn a re t o be d ates f or the

l ist t he

( Table 2 ) i s o ffered b elow f or a ll a vailable s ite c oncerning t he period.

f ound i n t he a ppendices

a ppear i n t he g eneral

1 .1

f rom the Muleta d eposit

P leistocene and a ll of t he H olocene

( Appendix 1 ),

These dates where t hey

i nventory of radiocarbon a nd other c hronometric

Balearics.

T he C hronometric D ata f or t he P resettlement P eriod

The chronometric data a vailable f or t his period c onsists of dates:

3 of which a re on g eological materials,

misation of a spartic a cid dates on bone a nd

1 10

1 1

4 o f which a re

r ace-

radiocarbon dates on

1 8

T able 2 .

N o.

L ist o f A vailable C hronometric D ates f rom t he M uleta D eposit f or t he P resettlement P eriod

I nv. No.

Lab No.

L evel

Age

1 .

S M,60

S IO-1f

' Z'

1 75cms

2 .

S M,61

S I-654a

' Z'

3 50cms

pending 1 4,000 b .p. 1 2,050 b .c.

3 .

S M,62

S I-654b

' Z'

3 50cms

1 4,465 b .p 1 2,505 b .c.

4 .

S M,63

U 2LA-170b

' Z'

2 50cms

SM,64

S I-646

' D'

2 50cms

S M,65

S I-648

' X'

3 00 c ms

SM,66

U 2LA-1704b

' E '

3 50 c ms

S M,67

S I-649

' F'

3 00 c ms

S M,68

S IO

' Z'

4 00 c ms

1 0.

S M,69

S I-650

' X'

3 50cms

SM,70

U :LA-1704e

' Z'

4 00 c ms

1 8,735 b .p.

SM,71

S I-647

' E'

4 00 c ms

SM,72

S IO-1c

' Z'

4 75

c ms

SM,73

U CLA-1704a

' Z'

6 00 c ms

1 6.

1 7.

1 8.

SM,74

SM,75

SM,77

SM,78

S IO-1g

Q L-127

QL-128

Y-1f

' Z'

' X'

' X'

' X'

7 50 cms

base

base

base

+ 6 00 y rs.

3 2,000 b .p. 3 0,050 b .c.

+ 7 15 y rs.

4 8,000 b .p.

e xterior

4 8,000 b .p.

i nfinite

5 8,000 b .p.

i nterior

5 8,000 b .p.

i nfinite

8 0,000 b .p.

r efraction

8 0,000 b .p. 1 11

+ 6 00 y rs.

2 8,600 b .p. 2 6,650 b .c.

1 5.

+ 4 80 yrs.

2 6,000 b .p 2 5,050 b .c.

1 4.

+ 2 00 y rs.

2 3,800 b .p. 2 1,850 b .c.

1 3.

+ 5 55 y rs.

1 8,980 b .p. 1 7,030 b .c.

1 2.

+ 6 00 y rs.

pending

1 6,805 b .c. 1 1.

+ 2 00 y rs.

1 8,100 b .p. 1 6,150 b .c.

9 .

+ 4 15 y rs.

1 6,850 b .p. 1 4,900 b .c.

8 .

+ 6 55 yrs.

1 6,335 b .p. 1 4,385 b .c.

7 .

+ 8 50 y rs.

1 5,885 b .p. 1 3,985 b .c.

6 .

+ 3 15 y rs.

1 4,650 b .p. 1 2,700 b .c.

5 .

+ 3 50 y rs.

bone;

the c one

b alearicus .

i n the

The

c ase o f R AA a nd

1 4C

b eing that of eotragus

1 4 r eadings on organic material were t he r esults o f

a c ollaborated e ffort of three

American s cientific i nstitutions en-

g aged i n c ross c orrelating the materials f rom t he Muleta l evels u sing r adiocarbon a nalysis and r acemisation of a spartic a cid a nalysis.

The

r adiocarbon r esults w ere r un a t t he radiocarbon l aboratories a t t he S mithsonian I nstitute,

United S tates National Museum a nd t he U niver-

s ity of California a t L os Angeles a nd the S cripps

I nstitute o f Oceanography,

R AA dates processed a t t he

University of California a t La J olla.

The palaeomagnetic dating was c onducted by t he University o f Yale, b ody Museum a nd t he

P ea-

c alcite c olumn c ore dating a t t he Quaternary R e-

s earch L aboratory o f the University o f Washington a t S eattle.

Combined,

these

c hronometric datings

f orm a r emarkable s e-

quence which unfortunately has n o c omparative r eadings i n other Bale aric

s ite,

a s others

r ecently well i als

s imply d o not exist f or the moment;

f rom a c ave

a djacent t o t he Muleta c ave producing what i s f elt t o

b e c ontemporary d eposits a re under excavation. o f dates u nique

i n T able

s eries

various

a lthough

s tratified organic materials a nd other i norganic mater-

1 ( below )

have

t o b e

i n c ave deposit dating.

Therefore,

the g roup

t reated f or the present a s a Nevertheless,

they d o d ate t he

s tages of d evelopment of the d eposit and t he materials

i n the various i n Chapter

I ,

l evels.

From t he

s tratigraphical d escriptions

they f ollow a natural

plexity of cave d eposits we s hould question t he

s equence,

i n g eneral,

f ound f ound

c onsidering the c om-

a nd t here i s

a ccuracy o f the r eadings.

l ittle r eason t hat I n f act,

t he c or-

r elation b etween the r esults of two d ifferent l aboratories i n t he a nalyses r esults, a nd RAA )

2 .

s eems

a s well a s the u se of two d ifferent mentods

1 43

( 142

t o b e r emarkably g ood.

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod , c irca 5 000 b .c .

The proposal

t o c irca 3 000 b .c .

f or the f ormal i ntroduction t o t he Balearic pre-

historic s equence o f an

E arly S ettlement

P eriod i s based on t he d is-

c overy of e vidence of the e arliest human s ettlement a s yet f ound on i slands, Matge,

originating a t the two primary r esearch s ite o f Muleta a nd

exclusively.

These t wo s ites a re g eographically s eparated by

a bout 3 0 k ilometers a nd yet have produced s imilar evidence c hronol ogically f or man i n t he Balearics,

The c ombined e vidence

c irca t he 5 th a nd 4 th millennia.

f ound i n these

t wo

of d ifferent t ypes of evidence r elating t o man's the

i slands a nd h is a ctivities there over a bout

d iscoveries a re of c onsiderable i mportance, d ouble

the

s ites offers a variety f irst s ettlement o f 2 000 y ears.

These

s ince at one s troke t hey

f ormerly a ssumed duration o f the entire cultural prehistoric

r ecord f rom t he P ost Talayotic

s tart of the

P retalayotic

P eriod t o t he e nd o f t he

Priod.

The h istory of this d iscovery b egan i n

1 962

a t Muleta a nd

s tarted with the d iscovery o f the f irst human s keletal r emains d ire ctly a ssociated with M .

b alearicus, dated c irca 3 985 b .c. + 1 09 yrs. 1 12

I t c ontinued w ith the

f urther

B etween t he

l ined h ere s ites

i n 1 968 a t Matge,

where that

two s tations a c onsiderable a mount of physical e vi-

d ence has b een a massed, a ppropriate

f indings

a bundant e vidence of man a nd M yotragus circa 4 730 b .c.

s ite produced

s ections. a s

a ll of which i s t reated i n d etail H owever,

the t ypes of e vidence

a n i ntroduction.

i s of the

The e vidence

i n the

s hould b e out-

f ound i n the r esearch

f ollowing k inds:

( 1)

human s keletal r emains

( 2)

M yotragus coprolite beds f rom a probable c orral

( 3)

a rtifically t rimmed h orns of s everal M yotragus

( 4)

M yotragus bones that show traces either of burning or

s kulls

butchering ( 5)

d efinite h earth f ires which have y ielded c harcoal a nd a sh

( 6)

l imited a rtefacts

This e vidence i n Chapter VI,

i s d escribed i n d etail u nder t he

1 .1-1.5,

f irmly d escribe the period. of the 1 968,

f irst e vidence t he materials

s ame h eadings

and i s of s ufficient quality a nd variety t o However,

a t the t ime o f the d iscovery

a t Muleta a nd t he

s ubsequent Matge

f rom Muleta s tood a s the

f indings

s ole e vidence

i n

f or Balearic

early human s ettlement i n or a round the 4th Millennium b .c.

I t was

t o r emain s o until the author's d iscovery of the r ock s helter of S on Matge.

The original Muleta materials,

much earlier habitation of the s ubstantiation by s imilar

being unique a s e vidence

i slands than a ssumed,

f inds a t a nother

s ite,

were

f or

i n n eed of

o more a nd Matge was t

ntiThe d iscovery of human r emains of proven a

than f ill that r ole.

quity a t Muleta was well a nd g ood,

tself o ffer but i t d id n ot i n i

much c lue t o the r eason f or man's presence there o r,

f or that matter,

the extent of t he human presence on Mallorca.

The d iscovery of a s econd s ource o f e vidence of early man a t Matge,

n ot t oo f ar d istant f rom t he Muleta s ite,

l ar c hronology, date

f or man's presence

of d istribution a nd, s ettlement

i n t he i slands,

i n a s ense,

but a lso g ives u s a r ough i dea

preferred l ocales of early human

i n t he mountain r egions of Mallorca.

a v ery c lose

a nd w ith v ery s imi-

n ot only e stablishes without a d oubt a much earlier

I t a lso e stablishes

r elationship with the M yotragus b alearicus, whose pre-

f erred h abitat was a lso the mountains.

A s we will

s ee,

whereas,

the Muleta c ave e vidence g ives u s t he

f irst i ndications of this r elationship during t he c ontexts of the

P nesettlement

f ield human a ctivities S ettlement

P eriod.

P eriod,

s tratigraphical

the varied e vidence o f i ntensi-

a t Matge e stablishes

a s w ell a s d efines

a n

E arly

We can a lso b egin t o examine the extent a nd dura-

t ion of these r elationships

s uggested by the

Muleta a nd Matge.

1 13

c ombined e vidence a t

While the precise Balearics

s ource a rea f or t he

c an only b e guessed a t present a s

mainland(probably a c oastal r egion a nd, man a nd f amily ), this

f irst s ettlers of t he s ome part of t he

h ence,

I berian

l ikely c oastal f isher-

i t i s t oo early t o s peculate on population d uring

E arly S ettlement

P eriod,

a lthough i t d oes

a ppear probably f rom

t he d istribution a t present d emonstrated a t Muleta a nd Matge t hat the number was not t oo g reat, d ispersed s mall g roups. advantages,

but

most l ikely c onfined t o g eographically

E qually,

e ither s ite a rea w ould h ave h ad i ts

f rom d ifferent s tandpoints,

s ea a nd t he other

t o a mountain valley n ear the plains. t hat e vidence

a s one i s c lose t o t he

l ocated i n the mouth of a narrow g ap a t t he e ntrance One explanation i s t he f act

s o f ar has emerged f rom c ave and s helter

s ituations

where one might expect g ood preservation o f t he e vidence; s uch e vidence

whereas

f rom the plains might a lso b e e xpected t o b e s ubject t o

a number of d estructive a ctivities, c ultural pursuits.

s uch a s

s oil e rosion a nd a gri-

Another explanation may w ell i nvolve f auna, M yotragus,

that the major i ndigenous

t he

f act

was more prevalent i n t he

mountainous z ones of the i slands.

2 .1

T he C hronometric D ata f or t he E arly S ettlement P eriod

Fortunately, S ettlement

there

i s

a mple physical e vidence

f rom t he

E arly

P eriod f rom which we c an draw s ufficient a bsolute d ating

t o g ive u s a g ood i dea of the e xtent a nd duration of the period. i s possible w ith the r esults of 6 radiocarbon dates: 4 f rom Matge. Muleta,

There a re a lso another two a berrant

which were the

f irst two ( A nalyses t o b e

a nd M yotragus remains. t est s amples a ppendix;

The r easons

f irst s ubmitted

f or t his were the

P hase

A s w e

f rom

s ize of the

the author proposes a f irm d istinction b e-

( N ECP )

of the

P retalayotic

This c ould b e modified a t a l ater date s o.

dates

( Appendix l a) which are discussed in that

t he n ear end of the period and the

Ceramic

1 4C

c onducted on the human

h owever these do n ot a pply h ere.

At the s ame t ime, tween

This

2 f rom Muleta a nd

s hall

their i nterface

s ee,

f ollowing Neolithic E arly P eriod,

c irca 3 000 b .c.

i f f uture r esearch proves i t

the d istinction b etween these t wo periods i n

s tage a re n o d oubt t ransitional,

a s t hey a re b etween

a ll t he periods a nd phases.

Once again,

this

s eries of dates provided by radiocarbon a ge

d etermination have a bsolutely n o parallels or c orrelations B alearics a nd,

metric dating e xists. S ettlement

i n t he

s o a re unique until c omparative materials and c hrono-

P eriod a re

The

l ist of a vilable d ate

l isted i n the table b elow.

1 14

f or this

E arly

T able 3 .

No.

1 .

L ist o f A vailable C hronometric D ates f rom t he M uleta a nd M atge D eposit f or t he E arly S ettlement P eriod

I nv. No.

SM,56

Lab No.

K B 14-640c

Level

' 0'

Age

1 50 cms

7 135 yrs.

b .p.

5 185 b .c. _ + 2 .

3 .

4 .

5 .

6 .

ABSM,55

SM,54

ABSM,53

ABMS,52

ABSM,51

QL-29

Ka l-640d

3 5

' 0'

S 232-176

1 -5516

QL-988

1 75

cms

3 4

3 3

2 3

8 0 yrs.

6 680 yrs.

b .p.

4730 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

5 935 yrs.

b .p.

3 985 b .c.

+ 1 09 yrs.

5 820 yrs.

b .p.

3 870 b .c.

+ 3 60 yrs. _

5 750 yrs.

b .p.

3 800 b .c.

+ 1 15 yrs. . _

4 650 yrs.

b .p.

2 700 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

L ist o f T est M aterials f or t he E arly S ettlement P eriod a nd A ssociated C ontexts

No.

I nv. No.

Test Materials

1 .

SM,56

Myotragus bone

Myotragus

2 .

ABSM,56

Myotragus bone

Myotragus/Coprolites and

Association

and Man

Human Activities 3 .

SM,54

Human bone

Myotragus

4 .

ABSM,53

Myotragus copro-

Myotragus/Coprolites

l ites

Butchered Bones

Charcoal

Myotragus/Charcoal

5 .

ABSM,52

and Man and

and

Burnt Bones of Myotragus 6 .

ABSM,51

Myotragus/Fottery/Domesticated

Charcoal

Animals/Hearth and Charcoal

1 15

3 .

T he P retalayotic P eriod ,

The

P retalayotic

c irca 3 000 b .c.

P eriod was

other early i nvestigators a s the

1 400 b .c.

f irst d efined by Colominas a nd ' Culture of the Caves',

r emained the g enerally a ccepted d efinition. author a s a basically s ound d escription, i t t o be

t o

s omewhat over s implified.

a nd this has

I t i s a cceptable t o the

but r ecent k nowledge

Therefore,

s hows

f or the purpose of

this current r esearch a s lightly more e laborate d escription o f the period will b e u sed.

A l arge quantity of n ew i nformation i s n ow

available c oncerning the s cope

chronology of the p eriod,

a re b etter understood,

a nd i ts n ature a nd

f ollowing i ntensified e xcavation and r e-

s earch.

Whereas past i nvestigations were mainly l imited t o the c lassif ication a nd i nterpretation of a rtefacts, many of them f ound out of c ontext,

w e n ow have the

s urveys,

carefully s tudied a rchaeologically a nd e nvironmental

f rom s ites

f irst r esults of l ong t erm chronological

c ontaining d eep s tratigraphies,

of a rtefacts i n s itu,

s equences

the d iscovery of n ew g roups

with a ssociated material,

a nd o ther i nformation

which has g enerally enlarged the potential of our u nderstanding of the

E retalayotic problems.

and

E arly S ettlement

earic prehistory,

s o the

and can u sefully b e

Just a s the a ddition o f the

P eriods have

c larified the

P retalayotic

P resettlement

f irst s tages of Bal-

P eriod n ow s tands b etter d efined,

s ubdividied i nto phases.

The n ew i nformation on which these s ubdivisions a re based i s the r esult o f extensive a nd c arefully planned i nvestigations u sing a s many n ew d isciplines a s possible

f or i nterpretation,

f or t he

f irst

t ime addressing l ocal e cological problems a longside the purely a rcha eological ones.

I n the B ealearics,

a s e lsewhere,

the priceless oppor-

tunity t o s tudy l ong s tratigraphies with e xcellent c ultural s equences over the the

l ast d ecade a nd a half has been one of the basic r easons

g eneral r enewal o f i nterest

d evelopments

i n i nsular prehistoric problems,

i n various t echniques

f or s tudying palaeoenvironments

have k ept pace w ith the n ew d iscoveries. the c oncept of the

P retalayotic

on n ew meaning t o r esearchers

f or and

I t i s hardly s urprising that

P eriod has g enerally changed a nd taken

( the author i ncluded)

a s a r esult of t he

n ew f indings.

The

P retalayotic P eriod,

a s the t erm i s u sed i n this thesis,

i s most s trikingly s eparated f rom the preceding P eriod

( ESP )

g raphy.

by the

The t ransition f rom the

on the other hand, ' Talayotic'

F or the

P retalayotic

P eriod t o the T alayotic,

i s b est marked by the e stablishment of the

permanent open-air s ettlements l ithic

E arly S ettlement

f irst appearance of pottery i n the Matge s trati-

a nd c onstruction of t he

f irst

f irst mega-

buildings.

s ignificance of these events t o b e c lear,

we c an examine the various phases of the recapitulation of f eatures of the

P retalayotic

a nd b efore

P eriod,

s ome

E SP a nd a c ertain a mount of pre-

l iminary i nformation on the Talayotic

1 16

P eriod w ill have t o b e made.

Also,

the r eader s hould b ear i n mind that there

i s c onsiderable c hrono-

l ogical a nd other overlap f rom each p eriod t o the n ext,

rather than

r eally s harp breaks b etween t hem.

I n the a nd the the

c ase of t he overlap between the

P retalayotic

P eriod,

f irst t ime a lone which i s u sed by the

periods,

but a lso t he

Muleta a nd Matge

s tratigraphy,

s tratigraphy,

P eriod

author t o d efine the two

f irst a ppearance of d omesticated a nimals

should particularly n ote the i n t he Matge

E arly S ettlement

i t i s n ot the appearance of pottery f or

though,

l ate

emphasising the o verlap,

i n the w e

of eotragus b alearicus

s urvival

t o c irca 2 700 b .c.,

a nd by r ecent i ndica-

t ions a bout 2 200 . b .c.

The overlap b etween the i s

P retalayotic a nd the Talayotic P eriods

i n turn d efined not only by the open s ettlements

a ctivity, s ional) g oods,

but by two o ther f actors

u se of b ronze, a nd

( b)

a rea a nd i ts

( a )

i ncluding i ts

the c ommon

a nd a rchitectural

( as o pposed t o o cca-

f requent occurrence a mongst burial

the a bandonment of the Matge

s ite a s a hatitational

c onversion i nto a burial g round,

c irca

1 400 b .c.,

t ion which i s r etained t hroughout the Talayotic a nd

a f unc-

P ost Talayotic

P eriods.

To s tress the e ssential c ontinuity again, there

i s n ow a f air body of evidence

bronze metal objects

we may note t hat

f or the presence of occasional

i n the Balearic I slands a s early a s

1 800 b .c.,

though i t i s only r ecently that c onclusive proof has b een obtained that a ctual bronze metal working

( as opposed t o the

made a rtefacts),

t ook place c irca

1 979).

mechanism f or t he i nitial

the

H owever,

1 800 b .c.,

i ndigenous material culture of the

s till n ot w ell understood,

t o

' transitional phases'

( Waldren

i ntroduction o f bronze i nto

P retalayotic population a re

a nd the a uthor t entatively c onsiders t he

i nterfaces a t the b eginning a nd the e nd of the t o b e

i mporting of r eady

1 700 b .c.,

P retalayotic

P eriod

l iable t o r ethinking a t most a ny t ime,

t hough h e would g uess t hat any change i n them s hould a ffect their duration a nd chronological d efinition,

not their nature.

S ome

f lexi-

b ility i n the r eader's thinking i s a ccordingly n ecessary during the a ccount i n this c hapter of the phases of the

P retalayotic

P eriod a s

d efined i n this r esearch.

These phases have b een e stablished on t he

basis of the r esearch s ite

s tratigraphies with r eference both t o t he

a rchaeological material i n the r elevant l evels a nd the e xcellent s eries of chronometric dates.

The phases a re t hree

i n number a s

f ollows:

( 1)

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase

( 2)

T he E arly B eaker P hase

( ER F )

( 3)

T he L ate B eaker P hase

( LBP )

1 17

( N

P )

3 .1

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase,

This phase of the

P retalayotic

the Balearic c hronological

f ramework.

c irca 3 000 b .c. t o 2 000 b .c.

P eriod i s a r ecent a ddition t o The e vidence

of two d ifferent k inds and c an b e d escribed a s the

s upporting i t i s f ollowing:

f irst a ppearance of pottery i n the Matge

s tratigraphy,

a s uccession of k itchen f ires

( b)

( hearths),

these h earth z ones of d omesticated a nimals

the

( a )

t he

a ssociated w ith

f irst a ppearance

i n

s uch a s g oat, pig a nd a

s mall s pecies of c attle a nd ( c) the c ontinued s urvival of M yotragus b alearicus with these domesticated species in the hearth zones of t his phase.

These materials and t heir c ontexts have b een dated by r adioc arbon method,

s o t hat there s eems

l ogical age or the c ontexts

l ittle r eason t o d oubt their c hrono-

f rom which they originate.

S tratigraph-

i cally,

these c ontexts f orm a part of a v ery extensive

h earths

a nd f ire z ones which f orm a s uccession a nd s equence o f l evels

c overing the whole of the S ettlement c overs

P retalaytotic

a period of about

1 000 y ears

by two radiocarbon dates

E arly

Their c hronology

f or t his phase and i s

s upported

( see a ppropriate s ection a t the e nd of t he

period's d iscussion ),

one c lose

eating the preceeding

E SP and the

the

P eriod a s well a s the

( Plates 2 3:1 a nd 2 4:1).

P eriod c ontexts

s eries o f

t o each of the two i nterfaces d elinf ollowing l E SP of the

l atter marking the latest s urvival date

P retalayotic;

f or the M yotragus,

c irca

2 300 b .c.

3 .2

T he E arly B eaker P hase,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

t o

1 700 b .c.

The question of B ell B eaker c ontact with the Balearic b egan i ts d ebate

s ome

f ifty years Ago,

s everal r econstructable d els B ous

i n F elanitx

prisingly l ittle

f ragments of t ypical B eaker pottery i n Cova

( Figure 6 3).

This was

a unique f ind,

i mportance was a ttributed t o i t.

authorities r egarded the evidence a s

f aked or

t he s herds were r ecorded and photographed their d isappearance. y ears when i n

I slands

f ollowing t he d iscovery o f

The

I ndeed,

' planted'.

but s urs ome

Fortunately

( Castillo 1 928) before

f ind was a ll but f orgotten f or over t hirty

1 960 Mallorcan excavations again began t o produce mat-

e rial evidence which c learly s howed a B eaker presence i n t he Balearics. S ince

t hen,

f inds have b een made with i ncreasing f requencey

( Waldren

1 970 a nd 1 980).

There examples,

can b e n o d oubt c oncerning the authenticity of t he n ew

a nd ample

e vidence n ow exists

f or a s erious s tudy o f the

materials which would have b een i mpossible on the basis of t he s canty earlier evidence.

I n f act,

i nventories of the r ecent of the material,

( Waldren 1 970

there have a lready b een a f ew published d iscoveries which s how t he range a nd quality

and a lso d ocument t he i tems

and C anterelles

1 972)

1 18

i n chronological o rder

When the c ontinental and other i nsular d istribution of B eaker i nfluence a nd materials a re taken i nto view, that B eaker t rade a ctivities l ands.

Nevertheless,

i t i s n ot a t a ll

s urprising

s hould have extended t o the B alearic

i t i s o nly i n the

I s-

l ast d ecade that s erious c on-

s ideration has b een g iven t o t he E i roblems, motives a nd o rigin of B eaker t rade a nd c ontacts. The s pecific problems of B eaker c ultural c ontact i n t he Balearics a re extremely i mportant a nd the u nderstanding o f the c hronology,

origin,

d evelopment a nd s ignificance o f the l ocal

yotic a nd Talayotic

P eriods,

a nd t heir various

A programme of r esearch i nto s uch matters was a uthor i n

1 965,

a iming f irst t o e stablish the

l ocal B eaker material a nd t o d etermine i ts

s tarted by t he

a bsolute r ange of t he

s tratigraphic c ontexts i n

s ites yielding g ood a rchaeological s equences. s uccessful

P retala-

s ubdivision.

The r esults w ere very

i n t hat they provided a f irst nucleus of a bsolute dates,

a nd offered various

s tarting points

f or more e xtensive

i nvestigations.

They c learly s howed that Balearic B eaker c hronology was c ompatible with c ontinental dates a nd that the the known B eaker range

l ocal material was well w ithin

( Waldren 1 979).

The r esults of this r esearch programme have been varied. They have

( a )

c ompletely vindicated t he original f inds at Cova d els B ous

and a f ew other undocumented d iscoveries prior t o

1 960.

( b)

They

have emphasised the value of s uch a s ystematic s tudy a nd s hown the n eed f or a c ontinuing s tudy a nd t he B eaker e vidence

i s u sually f ound.

f urther s ubdivision of the a bsolute dating,

a nd

( d)

s ite c onditions i n which the ( c)

P retalayotic

They have made possible P eriod on a s ound basis of

they have g iven u s a very g ood i dea of the

i mmediate origin o f the Beäker i nfluences which r eached the B alearics, e arly n avigation a nd c ommerce a nd even, perhaps, t he

f ull Talayotic culture

i tself.

As a s ide benefit,

s timulated n ew i nterest amongst c ontinental which had not previously

s ome i nsight i nto

b een r egarded a s

t hey have a lso

s cholars i n a n i sland a rea l ying within the a spects

of Continental B eaker d istribution.

The bulk of the n ew i nformation n ow a vailable enables u s t o a ttempt more d efinitive c onclusions and i nterpretations r egarding s ome of the

s tratified s ites

example,

a nd s ome

i ndividual B eaker a rtefacts.

i t i s n otable that except i n rare

F or

c ases the Balearic B eaker

a rtefacts a re u sually a ssociated w ith occupation h orizons o r burials i n caves and s helters.

Only very r ecently have B eaker wares b een en-

c ountered in a ssociation with megalithic buildings; have b een of g reat potential offered poor

s ignificance,

s tratigraphical c onditions:

s uch i nstances

but until r ecently have

that i s t o s ay B eaker s herds

have merely b een f ound e ither d irectly on or c lose t o b edrock on which the megalithic buildings were c onstructed. l iar with a t

l east f our n ew s tations

this occurred.

I n each i nstance,

The

a uthor i s fami-

( two of which a re h is own)

where

the B eaker e vidence has b een a ssoc-

i ated with r elatively early f orms of a rchitecture.

These

s ites a re

( Rossello B ordoy 1 973) and Son Ferrandell-Oleza ( Waldren in preparation) on Mallorca a nd T orralba d en S alort on M inorca ( FernandezM iranda a nd W aldren 1 980) and Ca Na Costa on the i sland o f F ormentera ( Fernandez, P lantalamor a nd T opp 1 977).

Cotxera

1 19

The discovery of megalithic buildings

l ikeCa Na Costa a nd t he

others where B eaker wares a re a ssociated i n this way i s a n e xtremely n ew d evelopment.

Our chronological s urvey by radiocarbon has a ccord-

i ngly b een extended t o the i sland of M inorca where the s amples

f or

dating have b een r ecently c ollected f rom the i nterior of a v ery o ld building a djacent t o the Taula of Torralba d en Salort. w ere

These s amples

F retalayotic pottery f ound i mmediately b elow the f oundation wall

of t he building. a ppear

Any d evelopment of this n ew i nformation will h ave t o

i n the addendum of Appendix

1 A,

but the a ssociation of t he

P re-

talayotic pottery promises that the n ew dates will b e of vital i mporta nce

i n dating s ome of the earliest Balearic open-air s ettlements,

i t w ill b e t hose

a nd

i nteresting t o s ee h ow c ompatible these dates will b e w ith

f rom t he d eep s tratigraphies of s helters a nd c aves.

I t s hould b e emphasied that the Balearic megalithic s ites s how d ifferent c onstruction periods which may vary very widely i n a ge. H owever, t his,

u p u ntil n ow,

d espite the

our s urvey of dates d oes not c learly d emonstrate

f act that t he variious dates obtained f rom t he r e-

s earch s ites more than a mply c over the chronological period e volved. The o ldest r elevant date w e have s o f ar i s c irca i s based on the abandonment of the

P retalayotic

f or the purpose of burial i n Talayotic t imes,

1 400 b .c.,

a nd t his

l iving a reas a t Matge

a t which t ime t he popu-

l ation must have moved t o permanent open-air habitation.

E lsewhere,

t he oldest date d irectly a ssociated with a megalithic s tructure w ith a n open-air s ettlement i s a t

P ula where a date of c irca 1 310 b .c.

( Rossello B ordby 1 973) has been established. t o have dates placed w ell back i n the

3 .3

T he L ate B eaker P hase,

The evidence

c irca

We may n ow h ope s hortly

P retalayotic

1 700 b .c.

t o c irca

s upporting the B eaker phases

h istoric chronological f ramework c an b e

P eriod proper.

1 400 b .c.

i n t he Balearis pre-

s ummed up a s f ollows:

( a )

the

present-day i nventory of s everal hundred s herds of B eaker pottery t hat has emerged f rom Balearic s ites over the Mallorcan s ites,

l ast

1 8 years, mainly f rom

but r ecently on the other i slands of the g roup,

un-

d oubtedly warrants the r ecognition of a s ubstantial B eaker phase w ithin the

P re-talayotic

P eriod.

I t i s

i mmediately c lear f rom t he material

that i t s pans a l ong period of t ime and d emands

subdivision.

( b )

The

numerous s ites producing the pottery e vidence over t he years have u ndergone extensive c hronological dating s pecific t o the l evels f rom which t he evidence originates. g roups,

1 700 b .c. dates

a nd c irca

1 700 b .c.

f rom the Balearic s ites

e ach other dates

The dates f all naturally i nto t wo

e ach g roup c overing a bout

l ocally a nd a t the

3 00 years,

t o c irca

the Balearics

t o c irca ( c)

The

s ame t ime they c losely c ompare w ith f ound i n Continental excavations.

Various d ivisions of the B eaker period on the ( d)

( Table 3 ).

f or B eaker material a re i n a ccord w ith

f or s imilar a rtefact types

b een r ecognised.

c irca 2 000 b .c.

1 400 b .c.

The a rrival of the

c ontinent have

l ong

f irst B eaker i nfluences

i n

s ignal a n ew d evelopment f rom that o f t he i ntroduction

of a n ew pottery t echnology ) or a s will b e d iscussed, possibly t he o rganised i mporting of pottery t rade g oods), but a lso the i ntroduction

1 20

of metal w orking a nd a n ew i nterest i n t he c onstruction of open-air s ettlements.

These things n eed t o b e underlined by r ecognition of a

s pecific phase; d ivided

i t i s not s ufficient t o l eave t hem a s part of a n un-

F retalayotic

P eriod.

s tage of the Balearic

( e)

i nfluence,

I t will b e

s hown that the

f ollowed by a l ate B eaker phase that l asted until about This

s econd s tage

i nitial

which l asted a bout 3 00 y ears,

i s characterised by changes

i ncluding the way i n which the d ecorative

was

1 400 b .c.

i n pottery t echniques,

i ncisions were produced a nd

t he patterns made out of them. The

s tratigraphical c ontexts of t hese two phases a re well d e-

f ined i n t hat the c lear t echnological d istinction between t he wares and t hose of the LBP i s s uccessions obtained.

a t the This

c onfirmed both i n t he

l eading s ites

a nd a lso i n t he c hronometric dates

s tate of a ffairs has g iven b irth t o two d ifferent

t erminologies of t hese wares.

They a re r eferred t o i n l ocal

ture a s

however,

the

E BP

s tratigraphical

' type A '

a nd

' type B ';

c lear c ut t erminology of EBP and LBP wares.

f ormer nomenclature

l itera-

the present author prefers The u se of the

i s based on a l ocal g eneral t endency not t o a ccept

the Balearic Beaker ware a s

s uch,

yotic wares which happen t o b e

but t o t reat t hem a s

i ncised.

l ocal

P retala-

A main a im i n this current

r esearch has b een t o e stablish the t ruer d efinition of these wares.

The author c onsiders the upper i nterface of this phase, 1 500 b .c.

t o c irca

no doubt b e

i n t his

1 400 b .c.,

a s a

c irca

t ransitional time, because it will

chronological a rea that a djustments will have t o

be made when a lterations

i n the author's

s ystem b ecomes n ecessary.

I t i s a lways d ifficult to s ingle out exact moments of change o r d evelopments b etween two phases,

l et a lone two periods.

the author b elieves that many of the changes

At the

s ame t ime,

f rom this point i n t ime

on i n l ocal prehistoric events can b e t raced t o e vents on the Mainl and i n that they manifest themselves a s Mainland influences. b een n oted, i n the

As has

E BP that metal working t echnology a rrived

Balearics a s a ttested t o by the a ppearance of Beaker d ecorated

c rucible dren

i t i s during the

sherds,

1 979).

c irculation; B ronze Age,

a long with other a rticles o f B eaker a ssemblage

( Wal-

I t i s during this LB P that bronze b ecomes i n more c ommon a lthough the author does n ot c onsider this the Balearic a s will presently be d iscussed.

There exists a g ood s eries of radiocarbon a nalyses f or both the

E BP a nd LBP which d o much t o c onfirm t he perimeters o f the t wo

phases and the NECP dates.

F retalayotic

Furthermore,

P eriod i tself,

when c ombined with the

these dates will b e

s een t o c orrelate ex-

t remely w ell with I berian Mainland dates a s well a s r est of

B icope.

1 21

t hose i n t he

3 .4

T he C hronometric D ata f or t he Petalayotic P eriod a nd I ts P hases

R adiocarbon dating f or the dates f or i ts LBP .

The

i n the

3 phases:

P retalayotic

2 f or the NECP,

LBP a nd t he

a s pointed out a bove w ith t he upper i nterface of the

E arly Bronze Age of the Talayotic

s tand has t o b e made i n drawing a l ine t o the l owing table

No.

P eriod.

H owever,

s ubdivisions,

a s a

the f ol-

( Table 4 ) provides the reader with the dates available

E tetalayotic

T able 4 .

1 5

E BP and 6 f or t he

i nterfaces of these phases a re a reas where c hanges may o ccur

f uture,

f or the

P eriod c onsists of

7 f or t he

P eriod.

L ist o f A vailable C hronometric D ates f rom t he M uleta a nd M atge D eposits a s w ell a s O ther S ites w ith 1 4C D ates f or t he Petalayotic P eriod

I nv. No.

Lab No.

L evel

Age

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase 1 .

ABSM,51

QL-988

2 6

4 650 years b .p. 2 700 b .c.

2 .

ABSM,50a

BM-1408

2 6

+ 1 20 y ears

4 093 years b .p. 2 143 b .c.

+ 3 92 years

T he E arly B eaker P hase 3 .

ABSM,50

QL-23

2 4

4 020 years b .p. 2 070 b .c.

4 .

ABSM,49

CSIC-178

2 2

ABSM,48

QL-5b

2 0

SM,47

Y-2359

5

ABSM,46

Y-2359a

1 6

AMG,45

Y-1789

P A

CX,44

1 5515

+ 1 20 years

3 790 years b .p. 1 840 b .c.

9 .

+ 1 20 years

3 820 years b .p. 1 870 b .c.

8 .

+ 1 00 y ears

3 910 years b .p. 1 960 b .c.

7 .

+ 1 70 years

3 970 years b .p. 2 020 b .c.

6 .

5 0 years

3 980 years b .p. 2 030 b .c.

5 .

+

+

8 0 years

3 750 years b .p. 1 800 b .c.

1 22

+ 1 20 years

T he L ate B eaker P hase 1 0.

ABSM,43

QL-24

1 7

3 670 years b .p. 1 730 b .c.

1 1.

ABSM,42

C SIC-179

1 6

+ 1 00 y ears

3 620 y ears b .p. 1 620 b .c.

1 2.

ABSM,41

CSIC-180

1 4

+

3 480 years b .p. 1 530 b .c.

1 3.

S MEG,40

Y-1856

NB

+

ABSM,39

QL5a

1 2

+

ABSM,38

QL-5

1 1

+ 1 00 y ears

3 350 years b .p. 1 400 b .c.

Note:

The t est materials a re

l isted i n Appendix

The radiocarbon age d eterminations

+

l isted above

i nclude other Those that

i ncluded have produced r eliable s tratigraphies a s well a s c ompar-

a ble a rtefact typologies t o those of the Muleta and Matge the

6 0 years

1 A.

s ites a long with the Muleta a nd Matge r esearch s tations. a re

8 0 years

3 420 years b .p. 1 470 b .c.

1 5.

8 0 years

3 470 years b .p. 1 520 b .c.

1 4.

8 0 y ears

s ame t ime,

s ites.

At

a ll but one s ite has b een e xcavated by the author;

one exception being CaNaCotxera,

excavated by G .

There a re a lso s ome r ecent radiocarbon dates

the

R ossello Bordoy

f rom b oth the

( 1973)

S ettlement

Complex o f F errandell-Oleza a nd the S ettlement Compex of Torralba d en S alort which a re a nimal b ones, 1 5% younger a re

i nterfacial r eadings f rom those s ites t aken on

the dates of which a ppear t o b e younger i n age,

( Stuiver , personal correspondence).

i ncluded i n the Balearic i nventory i n the a ppendices

but perhaps

should be

i ncluded here

i n the t ext.

up t o

These three dates

( Appendix 1 A),

Both the F errandell-

Oleza a nd the Torralba d en S alort s ites have produced s tratigraphical c ontexts c ontaining nothing but pottery of

P retalayotic typology,

ex-

a ctly s imilar i n f orm and t echnique a s the Muleta-Matge Complex pottery, except h ere b ecause the t est s amples were on a ssociated a nimal r emains the dates a re outside the i nterface o f the dates 1 .

a re a s

P retalayotic

P eriod.

S ettlement Complex of F errandell-Oleza

( SFOS-OS-35a )

( BM-1698)

3 095 years b .p. 1 145 b .c. 2 .

These

f ollows:

S ettlement Complex of F errandell-Oleza

+

( SFOS-OS,34c)

7 0 years ( HA R -?)

3 070 b .c. 3 070 years b .p. 1 120 b .c.

1 23

+

5 0 y ears

3 .

S ettlement Complex of Torralba d en S alort

( TT,34a(

( Har-?)

3 020 years b .p. 1 070 b .c. 4 .

S ettlement Complex of Ferrandell-Oleza

+ 6 0 years

( SFO-OS,47a)

( BM-1843)

3 950 y ears b .p. 2 000 b .c. 5 .

S ettlement Complex of F errandell-Oleza

+ 6 5 years

( SFO-OS,70a)

( QL-1592)

3 700 y ears b .p. 1 750 b .c.

4 .

T he T alayotic P eriod ,

The Talayotic mous i n this t hesis.

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o c irca 8 00 b .c.

P eriod a nd the Balearic B ronze Age The

P eriod.

a re s ynomy-

s tart of the period c an b e d efinied by c er-

tain e vents that c onstitute c hanges which s eparate P retalayotic

+ 3 5 y ears

( a )

i t f rom t he

I t i s the period when most,

f ormer

i f n ot a ll,

the

megalithic or Talayotic a rchitecture of the Balearics w ere c onstructed, a nd i t predominantly marks the moment when man a bandoned l iving i n the caves a nd s helters a nd l ived i n the open-air s ettlements of f ree -standi ng dwellings.

( b)

I t i s the period i n which there f irst b egan t o b e

a c ommon u se of b ronze a nd extensive metal working a s t rade a nd c ontact with adjacent Continental a reas. was a d ramatic change

f rom

( c)

During t his period,

E tetalayotic t imes

t here

i n t he typology a nd

t echnology of the pottery a nd i ndeed of the a rtefact a ssemblage a s a whole.

( d)

Cremation burials r eplace the

P retalayotic t radition of

i nhumation during this period.

While the the

f ormer

f actors a bove s eparate the Talayotic

P retalayotic

the periods

P eriod f rom

P eriod s ome overlap can b e e xpected b etween

a nd their phases,

a s

i ndeed the name

Talayotic i n

part i mplies,

a nd a djustments w ill undoubtedly have t o be made i n the

chronological

f ramework a s more evidence becomes a vailable.

ample of this

i n r ecent e vidence that a ctual l ocal metal working occ-

u rred in the t o

1 700 b .c.

E BP a nd L BP of the

i nto the Balearics, ysis r esults

Rretalaytotic

This c ertainly s ignals the though there

i s

P eriod,

An e x-

c irca 1 800 b .c.

i ntroduction of b ronze working

s ome i ndication f rom r ecent a nal-

f rom s amples of the early metal a rtefacts that a t rue t in

( Waldren 1 979).

bronze was not i n u se u ntil

1 700 b .c.

the author's mind,

s till n ot e nough e vidence t o warrant d e-

f ining e ither the Bronze Age. Bronze Age, i n the

there

i s

E BP or LB P of the

I f a nything, the

Therefore,

P eriod a s a n

E ärly

i t a n I ntroductory

h e

c onsiders a data c irca 1 400 b .c.

f or the Balearic Bronze Age proper.

this a ssessment will b e the ments of the

P retalayotic

a uthor c onsiders

i n

l imits of which a re n ot y et s ufficiently d efined with-

E B I D or LBP .

a t entative date

the

However,

c hronological

s ubject of one of the

U ndoubtedly

f irst s uch a djust. ,

f ramework r eferred t o a bove;

1 24

a s

i ndeed n ew

i nformation i s a lready b eginning t o emerge a t the writing of this thesis.

I n this

i nterim,

the a uthor f eels h e must take a t entative

position c oncerning the Balearic chronological f ramework f or this preh istoric p eriod;

one based on the e vidence of t he c hanges a nd e vents

t hat have taken place b etween t he two periods d iscussed h ere.

We

s hall

s ee a t the end of the Talayotic c hapter that a s imi-

l ar t ransitional p eriod exists between the Late B ronze Age of the Talayotic

P eriod a nd the

c irca 8 00 b .c.

Again,

viding date b etween

E ärly I ron Age of the

the

l imits of the

the Talayotic a nd

P ost Talayotic

F eriod,

a ctual a ssessement of the d i-

P ost Talayotic

P eriods i s a

t entative one which w ill probably g o through a djustment i n the n ear f uture;

a nd once more the author has

f ramework based on this

f actor.

a nd i t n ever matters i f t hey a re n ot s o l ong ago that the

f ormulated his c hronological

' Working'

dates a re a lways n eeded,

l ater s hown t o b e

i ncorrect.

I t i s

E bropean Neolithic was h eld t o b egin a round

2 -3000 B .C.

4 .1

T he E arly B ronze A ge,

c irca 1 400 b .c.

t o c irca 1 300 b .c.

The evidence t o date i ndicates that the b eginning of the B ronze Age

( " , A )

i s c irca 1 400 b .c.,

E Arly

a lthough i t may e ventually be

s hown that the phase's beginning i s c loser t o

1 400 b .c.

The

MA i s

marked by a s eries of visible changes which have a lready been mentioned a s

i ndicating the t ransition f rom the LBP of the

Amongst these,

F retalayotic

t ery typology a nd i n the manufacturing t echniques s uch a s the f abrics

( Appendix 3 A).

i s the g reat i ncrease those

P eriod.

one of the most s triking i s the n otable c hange i n potc lay

Another visible change b etween the two periods i n the number of bronze a rtefacts,

f ound with burials,

e specially

which c ertainly t estifies t o t he

i n availability o f the metal a nd a n i ncreasing a ffluence.

i ncrease A third

i nnovation l ies i n the radical change of burial c ustom f rom earth burials while

s how a variety a nd quality of workmanship n ot present earlier

the

i ndividual

i tems

s howing s ome c orrelation with the Contin-

ental Bronze Age c ultures. r ock s helters a nd c ave l iving,

s ites

A f ourth c hange

a nd what a ppears t o b e the

f irst i mpetus i n the c onstruction

of proper s olidly built s ettlements. t he

i s the a bandonment of the

s uch a s Matge a nd Muertos Gallard f or The r eader s hould b ear i n mind

fact that t he earliest date we have

f or a n

a t the base of a s equence a t a building s ite H ere, t o

i s a t

P ula,

1 250 b .c.

l evel

c irca 1 310 b .c.

the pottery e vidence a s well a s radiocarbon dating i s

MA l evels a t Matge a nd Muertos Gallard;

c irca

E arly B ronze Age

i dentical

the Matge date b eing

I t i s n ecessary t o n ote that Margaret Murray encount-

e red i dentical pottery forms

i n her

the Naveta of Torreta i n Minorca.

1 938 excavations This g ives

s ome

( Murray 1 928)

i n

i dea n ot only of

j ust how s traongly e ntrenched the t raditions o f this pottery s tyle became,

but a lso o f h ow widely s pread i t was g eographically.

1 25

4 .2

T he M iddle B ronze A ge,

c irca 1 300 b .c.

t o c irca

1 000 b .c.

This phase of the Talayotic B ronze Age r epresents t he a pogee of the Talayotic culture.

The manifestation of this i ncludes e xtremely

r ich a rtefact evidence both i n objects of e veryday l ife a nd i n g rave g oods

( illustrated i n the a ppropriate s ection ).

the burials of the t ime

This abundance i n

s uggests a n u nsuaual a ffluence f or a n i nsular

s ituation where there i s nearly none of t he n ecessary raw materials n ecessary.

Furthermore,

a tion of the Matge

one n eed only c onsider the g eographical l oc-

s ite t o n ote t hat this a ffluence r eached e ven i nto

the mountainous z ones of Mallorca. s uch a s

S 'Illot,

S on Catlar,

S on Oms,

S es

Torre d en Gaumes,

During this phase the s ettlements

P aisses a nd S on

w ere c learly v ery a ctive c ommunities. t ery s tyles

P eal on Mallorca a nd

Torralba d en S alort a nd others on M inorca There

i s no g reat c hange

which r emain e ssentially the s ame.

s ome e vidence of a rchitectural r enovation i n the

There d oes

i n pot-

s eem t o b e

s ettlements c irca

1 000 b .c.

4 .3

T he L ate B ronze A ge,

c irca

1 000 b .c.

t o c irca 8 00 b .c.

A c hange i n pottery s tyle o ccurs during this final phase of the Talayotic

P eriod

( as i llustrated i n t he a ppropriate

i ndicated f rom a pottery k iln of this t ime a t Matge.

s ection )

The

a rtefacts a ppear i n l ower l evels a ssosiated with this k iln, 8 00 b .c.

I t i s a ccording t o

that t here a re ments,

P ossello B ordoy

i ndications of the

which i n the author's

( 1973)

a s

f irst i ron c irca

during this phase

f ortification of s ome of t he

s ettle-

opinion was probably i ntended a s a d e-

f ense against attack f rom the c lassical M editerranean world, the main d irection of cultural i nfluence was

a lthough

s till f rom the Mainland

a rea t o t he west a nd t o t he north of t he Balearics.

4 .4

T he C hronometric D ata f or t he T alayotic P eriod a nd I ts P hases

This Talayotic

P eriod a nd i ts phases a re

s upported by a n ex-

t ensive s eries of radiocarbon r eadings f rom a wide variety of s ites of Talayotic o rigin, of the period,

a nalyses r esults: The

mostly c oncerning c ontexts within the s ettlements

but a lso f rom c emeteries. 2 f or the

EM,

There a re at present 1 7

7 f or t he MBA a nd 8 f or the L BA.

l ist o f t hese dates can b e f ound i n the table b elow

1 26

( Table 5 ).

T able 5 .

No.

L ist o f A vailable C hronometric D ates f rom t he M uleta a nd M atge D eposits a s w ell a s O ther S ites w ith 1 4C D ates f or t he T alayotic P eriod I nv. No.

Lab No.

L evel

Age

T he E arly B ronze A ge 1 .

ABSM,38

QL 5

1 1

3 550 y ears b .p. 1 400 b .c.

2 .

S F,37

UP -1438

+

6 0 years

3 260 years b .p. 1 310 b .c.

+

6 0 y ears

T he M iddle B ronze A ge 3 .

ABSM,36

Y-2667

MM 3 3

3 200 y ears b .p. 1 250 b .c.

4 .

S ILL,35

HU1716

3 080 y ears b .p. 1 130 b .c.

5 .

TT,34a

HA R -?

3

S PF,34

Y-1857

TT,33a

HA P -2908

3

S ILL,33

HU1717

S PF,32

6 0 years

+ 1 20 years

+

7 0 years

2 960 years b .p. 1 010 b .c.

9 .

+

2 970 years b .p. 1 020 b .c.

8 .

7 5 years

3 000 y ears b .p. 1 050 b .c.

7 .

+

3 020 years b .p. 1 070 b .c.

6 .

+ 1 00 y ears

Y-1857

-

+ 1 10 years

2 960 y ears b .p. 1 010 b .c.

+ 1 20 years

T he L ate B ronze A ge 1 0.

S 0,31

QL-20

2 920 years b .p. 9 70 b .c.

1 1.

SMR,30a

HA R341/3

S SP ,30

G IF-1247

TT,29b

BM-1697

3

TT,29a

QL-1089

3

TT,29

QL-1164

3

+

+

3 0 years

2 830 years b .p. 8 80 b .c. _ +

1 27

4 5 years

2 840 years b .p. 8 90 b .c.

1 5.

+ 1 20 y ears

2 860 y ears b .p. 9 10 b .c.

1 4.

+ 1 00 y ears

2 900 years b .p. 9 50 b .c.

1 3.

6 0 years

2 910 years b .p. 9 60 b .c.

1 2.

+

4 0 years

1 6.

ABSM,28

QL-986

TK

2 820 years b .p. 8 60 b .c.

1 7.

SM,27

S I-552

GB

d ix

A l isting of a ll the

1 A of the

a ppendices,

5 0 years

2 765 years b .p. 8 15 b .c.

Note:

+

sample t est materials c an b e

+ 1 20 y ears f ound i n Appen-

a long with s ite a nd l aboratory a bbreviations.

The r eader should note that the a bove a ge d eterminations a lso i nclude

f indings on the i sland of Minorca:

a nalyses

f or the Taula d e T orralba den S alort a nd a nalysis of S on Morell.

5 ,7,13,14 a nd

1 2

f or the

1 5

Naviforme

These have b een i ncluded a s they produced s imilar

materials a nd a ctually c oncern phases

i n building c onstruction or

a ssoication with r enovations or other a ctivities r elated t o t he buildi ngs.

This

Mallorca,

i s t rue

f or the

l arge percentage of t he other datings f rom

a part f rom Mallorca s ample

yotic pottery k iln a nd s ample c ave

1 6 which originates

f rom a Tala-

1 7 which i s f rom charcoal c oming f rom a

l iving z one with Talayotic pottery.

I n a ll cases h owever the

dating s amples have b een a ssociated with pottery evidence which s hows s imilar pottery types

5 .

f or the phase c oncerned.

T he P ost T alayotic P eriod ,

The

P ost Talayotic

onymous i n this thesis. d efine the yotic

R bst Talayotic

P eriod and the Balearic

There a re P eriod,

P eriod a nd i ts Bronze Age

changes a re:

( a)

the

c irca 8 00 b .c.

a nd t echniques,

I ron Age a re s yn-

f our major c ultural changes which d ifferentiating i t f rom the Tala-

s ubdivisions.

Those major c ultural

i ntroduction a nd c ommon u se of i ron,

d istinct change of burial customs, the

t o c irca 1 00 b .c.

( c)

a s well a s typological changes

i n a rtefacts,

i ntroduction a nd u se of other metals a nd materials

g lass)

a nd

( d)

( b)

t he

t he changes i n pottery s tyles i ncluding

( e.g.

l ead a nd

the d ecline of t raditional Talayotic building.

A ll these c hanges a re undoubtedly i nterrelated a nd while,

a t

f irst g lance,

they might a ppear t o have occurred s imultaneously a nd

very rapidly,

d eriving f rom the

w ere

a c entury o r s o. t he l and

' parent'

Talayotic Culture,

a ctaually the r esult of g radual change, At the

P bst Talayotic ' Urnfieldf

s ame t ime,

i t i s the

a uthor's opinion t hat

I ron Age of the Balearics c oincides with t he Main-

i nvasions of Catalonia i n t he northeast,

which t ranspired i n that r egion c irca 8 00 b .c. on the Mainland a nd Continental i nfluences i ncreased t ernal a re

H irope,

a long with the

changes which d istinguish the

s uch a s the

These new eastern ex-

a cceleration of change

i n t he west,

f orces that brought a bout the Pst Talayotic

Talayotic one.

1 28

n ot only

but a lso they r efect the

t rade a nd c olonisation.

i n t he author's mind the

a nd e vents

t o 7 00 b .c.;

awakened a t this t ime i n the M editerranean, ' classical'

i nfluences,

t hey

l asting over a p eriod of

l isted

P eriod f rom the preceding

The I ron Age

f rame work chronologically d elineates the

a nd i ts

D est Talayotic

s ubdivisions a s c overing a period of a bout 7 00 y ears

a nd suggests a data c irca 7 80 b .c. o ccurring c lose t o or

f or the

f irst i ntroduction of i ron,

j ust a fter t he LBA of the Talayotic

P triod.

This

i mportant a ssessment i s based on the radiocarbon documented e vidence f rom the Matge

s tratigraphy,

with Mainland dates 7 50 b .c

( Savory 1 968),

5 .1

T he E arly I ron A ge,

This Early of t he Talayotic

a nd s uch a date

f or the Celtic Catalonia

c irca 8 00 b .c.

I ron Age phase

i s

c irca 7 50 b .c.

i s more a cceptable

t he Balearics,

a nd that this

with Continental a ccepted one

s ector,

( West

1 4C

E hclosure)

While this a lso marks the a pproxih e believes that a date of

f or the

i ntroduction of i ron i nto

l atter a ssessment i s dates.

i n more a greement

The evidence,

b oth 1 4C dating i n

a ssociated with quicklime burials,

t he non-quicklime c remation burials of two s ectors r espectively.

f rom the LBA

a t Matge i ndicates dates of c irca 6 90 b .c.

West Enclosures gave charcoal b .c.,

c irca

a uthor u ses the date of 8 00 b .c.

i ntroduction of i ron,

a nd s tratigraphical,

i nvasions,

t o c irca 6 00 b .c.

a t ransitional one

Priod a nd h ence t he

f or the

' Urnfield'

i n which i ron objects occur r egularly i n burials.

f or the d elineation of the period. mate date

c orrelates r emarkably well

1 4C

while

i n the East a nd

r eadings of c irca 7 80 b .c.

a nd 7 50

Other t est s amples have been c ollected during

work but have not a s yet b een processed.

Actually,

more t est r esults

a re n eeded t o r emove the ambiguity b etween the LBA a nd E BA phases;

a

s ituation which might b e thought s omewhat s imilar f or the H allstatt/ La T ene

t ransitional phase i n

B irope,

i n s ome

D espite what ambiguity t hat may exist, Est Talayotic t he

i ron objects

s uch a s a n i ron s hafted s pear,

a nd a ntennaed i ron s hort s words, t here

the

HA phase of t he

P ariod i s marked a t Matge and a t Muertos Gallard by

f irst a ppearance of

j ects

a reas a t l east.

i n those

s ites;

typical i ron ob-

i ron s ocketed s pearheads,

d aggers

a ll of Mainland s imilar t ypes r eported

( see t ext a nd a ppropriate c hapter ). The pottery types of this phase show l ittle change f rom t he

LAB wares, a nd the

other than i nnovations of the

' imitation'

a ppearance of t he l oop-eye or r ibbon handle

t ime on t radtional L BA f orms E IA wares

a re

( see t ext).

a lso very much the

s ame,

potter's f oot

f or the

f irst

The c lay f abric o f t he

being h eavily t empered a nd

s imilar i n f iring. The overall a rtefact a ssemblage of the varied a s t he

i t b ecomes

i mpression t hat this phase of the

t ransitional one,

E LA i s n ot a s s trikingly

i n the f ollowing MIA phase,

highlighted by t he

c hange of burial customs

thus g iving the author

l bst Talayotic

I ron Age

i s a

i ntroduction of i ron a nd t he

( the a ppearance of quicklime a s a burial medium)-

These two events which a re outstanding s uggests the possible

' invasion'

o f Mainland i nfluences or e ven people bringing with t hem n ew i nfluenc es a nd opening up n ew t rade a nd r outes of trade other than the t radi tional ones;

i n s hort the t rue I ron Age of the

1 29

' Urnfield'

c ulture.

Regarding the a rchitectural a ctivities of this t ime 8 00 b .c.)

t here

i s evidence,

a s outlined earlier,

vities had l ost most of their i mpetus by t his e xample,

r ecent evidence

orca were probably the a chievements

( circa

t hat building a cti-

E arly I ron phase.

F or

s uggests t hat the Taula s anctuaries of M in-

l ast of t he major Talayotic a rchitectural

i n the Balearic building s equence.

This evidence c omes

( Fernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 981, i n p ress) which has given us important radiocarbon f rom the Talayotic s ettlement of Torralba den S alort

dates

f or the

f irst t ime c oncerning the c onstruction of the Taula

s anctuary there. Taula

I t a ppears that a n older building a djacent t o t he

s anctuary was partly d estroyed c irca 9 00 b .c.

s truction of the Taula s anctuary. c irca 8 90 b .c.

and 8 80 b .c.

two w idely s paced a reas, i nside the building;

5 .2

t o e nable

c on-

w ere t aken f rom two d ifferent l evels i n

one c oinciding w ith the c onstruction l evel

s anctuary a nd a nother outside a nd under t he wall of the thus dating i ts c onstruction about 8 00 b .c.

T he M iddle I ron A ge,

I n the M IA of the

c irca 6 00 b .c.

I bst Talayotic

b een a rather prosperous material l ife

t o 9 80 b .c.

to c irca 4 00 b .c.

P eriod,

s tyle

there

i n the

s hown by the wide variety a nd quality of the

s eems t o have

s ettlements,

t hat a re a vailable a t l east f or burial purposes. a rtefact a ssemblages, c hanges a ppear here

s uch a s

i n the

While quicklime d uring a ll of the

l ead a nd g lass.

Toward t he end of

The

I LA/MIA wares i n t he

a nd r ibbon handles

a s

i ron a nd bronze g oods

t his phase other c lasses of i tems a ppear f or t he f irst t ime

l oop-eye

t he

Two i mportant radiocarbon dates o f

i n the

f irst i mportant

f orm of w ell executed

( see t ext).

i nhumation i s the principal mode of burial

I bst T alayotic

I ron Ages,

there a re other burial

methods which can b e d escribed, which may i ndicate the a rrival of s till other exotic

i nfluences i n one f orm or a nother.

This i s d emon-

s trated by the presence of more e laborate i ndividual custom of burial which takes place f ound i n the

i n e specially c onstructed s tone t ombs,

( Tarradell 1 964)

Mallorca

s uch a s t hose

s easide n ecropolis of S on R eal a nd I sla d el porros on

( also s ee t ext).

H ere individual s epulchers

were c onstructed t o r epresent t he d ifferent f orms of Talayotic a rchit ecture

i n miniature

of t he Talayotic s tructed,

A 1 4C

of plus or minus s ucceeds

f inely built burial navetas

a lthough these miniature t ombs a re well c on-

they d o not t o the a uthor c onstitute megalithic Talayotic

building.

g raves

( a f ar c ry f rom the

Friod );

date of c irca 4 80 b .c.

w ith a l arge

2 00 years exists f or this

i n t elling u s that i t i s

c ontain i ron a rtefacts.

i ron age;

H owever,

s tatistical e rror

i mportant s ite a nd s imply t hat and t he f act t hat t he

i t d oes not date t he

i ndivi-

dual t ombs t hemselves a s t he date c omes f rom a c ommunal burial c hamb er on the n earby i sland of I sla d el porros, part of the

same

c emetery.

which i s believed t o b e

The a uthor i s a t present working w ith M .

Tarradell of the University o f Barcelona i n a dating s urvey by radioc arbon on bone polis.

The

samples f rom t he various t ypes of t ombs

s ite

i n t he n ecro-

i s probably one o f the most i mportant s ites o f i ts

kind i n the Western Mediterranean a nd i ts c loser s tudy, l ated t o a n extensive

1 4C

s urvey,

would c ertainly b e

1 30

e specially r e-

i nformative f rom

the point o f view of many a spects. s ome of the t ombs

Trace

l ime has a lso b een f ound i n

( Tarradell 1 965) and the grave goods includes iron

a rtefacts o f the s ame typology a s those emerging f rom Matge a nd Muertos Gallard,

s o there

Also,

i s

l ittle d oubt of their r elative

c hronology.

a ccording t o radiocarbon e vidence a nd pottery t ypes,

w e c an attribute t o the MIA a f ew cave burials where wooden c offins have b een used i n burials.

R ecent B ritish Museum

4 50 b .c.

date these.

s imilar

a nd c irca 4 00 b .c.

1 4C dates o f c irca

I n s till a nother i nstance

s arcophagi have b een burnt i n the r ock s helter of S on Maimo

( L . A moros a nd R ossello B ordoy 1 973). The unburnt s arcophagi of S on B oronal, Mallorca ( Lopez i n p ress), were made of larch and spruce ( as i dentified b y Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanical Gardens) ( Cutler 1 980, w ritten c ommunication); the larch tree is not a local t ree

s pecies,

a nd h ence

s uggests

i mportation.

Although the Carthaginian c olony of I biza was f ounded i n 6 54 B .C .,

c lassical pottery d oes n ot a ppear i n the

this phase until the end of the M iddle

s ettlements during

I ron Age,

s ome excellent examples of c lassical bronze

c irca 4 00 b .c.,

( Rossello B ordoy 1 973); F ernandez -M iranda 1 979).

c irculation

but

s eems t o have b een i n F ernan-

d ez-Miranda has

i llustrated a bout a half a dozen Carthaginian bronzes

i n his thesis.

R ossello B ordoy r ecently excavated a s mall s tatue of

the

E gyptian

P haroah I mhotep,

S on of

P tah,

i n t he Taula S anctuary of

Torre d en Gaumes on Minorca, which he dates a t 6 63 b .c.

t o 5 25 b .c.

( Rossello B ordoy e t a l .

1 974).

excavated a bronze bull

i n a l ate c ontext a t the Taula of T orralba

d en Salort,

Minorca

The present author has r ecently a lso

( Fernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 981, i n p ress),

which i s believed t o belong t o the 4 th or 5 th c entury b .c.

These

i mportant a s well a s b eautiful f inds g ive a g ood i dea of the cal world c ontacts,

d emonstrating the wide

E LN and M IA period of the

5 .3

l ost Talayotic

c lassi-

s phere of c ontact of this

I ron Age.

T he L ate I ron A ge, circa 400 b .c. t o c irca 1 00 b .c.

This

i s t he

l ast phase of the Balearic prehistoric r ecord c on-

s idered i n this thesis,

d espite the c ontinuance of u rban l ife a nd t he

t raditional c ustoms of the onisation a nd The LIA o f the major changes

P ost Talayotic I ron Age i nto the

P ast Colonisation P pst Talayotic i n t he

' parent'

P eriod

Rman c ol-

( a s ubject of s eparate r esearch ).

P eriod s hows the a ccumulation of a ll the Talayotic Bronze Age outlined a nd d is-

cussed earlier i n this c hapter.

By

3 00 b .c.,

t races of change

the

i ndigenous pottery a ssemblage

i n the t raditional

s hows marked

s kills of pottery manufacture.

The pottery takes on the quality o f a very c rude pottery, t he

' poterie g rossiere'

t ery f abrics a re

o f Catalonia a nd s outhern France.

f ull of organic materials,

n ot unlike The pot-

having b een t empered with

what appears t o b e g rain which r esults i n a v ery porous product.

The

f orms t hemselves a re very c rude a nd i mitative of c lassical f orms

( see

1 31

t ext).

These

' crude'

wares a re f ound a longside c lassical i mports,

s uch a s Attica and Campanian wares a long w ith

P unic amphorae.

i s a l iteral saturation of c lassical wares i n the f rom this L IA phase

L ife

i n the

There

l ocal s ettlements

f orward.

s ettlements s eems t o b e a ccelerated,

perhaps a ided

by a r ising population, military ventures a nd new a reas of t rade e tc. Balearic mercenaries have b egun t o e stablish r eputations c al world i n the

4 th a nd 3 rd c enturies b .c.

i n t he c lassi-

I t i s a t t his point i n

t ime that a ll major building i n the Talayotic

' tradition'

has c om-

pletely c eased, probably partly due t o whatever work f orces a vailable f or l arge

s tone building b eing employed f or o ther v entures d ealing

with military i nvolvement, By

1 23 b .c..

trade a nd the n eeds of g rowing population.

the i slands a re c olonised by the R omans,

them f rom t he

having a cquired

u nic Wars a nd s ucceeding i n e stablishing the R oman

t owns of P alma a nd P ollentia on Mallorca,

Mahon a nd Alayor on Minorca;

a s ituation n ever a ccomplished by t he Carthaginians.

5 .4

T he C hronometric D ate f or t he P ost T alayotic P eriod a nd I ts P hase

There a re yotic the

3 5 radiocarbon age d eterminations f or the

Priod a nd i ts phases:

EA,

1 5

a l isting of which i s

f or the L IA,

1 3

P bst Tala-

f or the MIA a nd 7 f or

f ound i n the t able b elow

( Table 6 ).

The main r eason f or such a l arge number of i ron age dates i n partc ular i s due t o the nature of the

s ites

a nd materials,

a nd s econdly

t he d esire on the part of the author t o date these l ate c ontexts a s well a s t he Talayotic question i n g eneral. B ronze Age a s well a s a n I ron Age

The c oncept of a Balearic

i s a new one a nd u ntil the present

most i nvestigators have b een s atisfeid t o c onsider b oth periods withi n t he

contexts

of a number of Talayotic phases w ithout much r egard

f or Continental c ounterparts; I-IV a nd F ernandez-Miranda's

out i n t he i ntroduction a re

e .g.

-R ossello

B ordoy's Talayotic phases

Talayotic phases

I a nd I I.

A s pointed

( section 8 ), these chronological f rameworks

s ecure ones which f or t he present a uthor a re t oo g eneral,

prehistoric events s trictly f rom a n i nsular point of view. present author's s cheme o ne,

he

r egarding

While the

f or t hese two periods may b e a very a mbitious

f eels t hat with the very l arge number of well dated c ontexts

a nd s ites currently available a more c omplete chronological s cheme, which i ncorporates mainland n omenclature a nd parallels, possible,

s hould b e

even i n c onsiderable a lteration a nd a djustment s hould prove

n ecessary within the

s ubdividions.

The

l ist b elow a ctually s upplies

dates a t 2 0 t o 3 0 year i ntervals f or a 7 00 year period, c irca 8 0 b .c.

t o 7 80 b .c.

a re n ot i ncluded i n the

There a re a lso s everal A .D.

b etween r eadings which

l isting a s these a re a ssociated with c lassi-

c al c oins a nd pottery of k nown h istoric a ge a s well a s b eing outside the

l imits of the present s tudy.

1 32

T able 6 .

No.

L ist o f A vailable C hronomet4ic D ates f rom h e M uleta a nd M atge D eposits a s w ell a s O ther S ites w ith 1 4C D ates f or t he P ost T alayotic P eriod a nd I ts P hases

I nv. No.

Lab No.

L evel

Age

T he E arly I ron A ge 1 .

ABSM,26

QL-7

9 E E

2 730 years b .p. 7 80 b .c.

2 .

TT,25a

QL-1165

2

2 710 years b .p. 7 60 b .c.

3 .

ABSM,25

QL-11

9 F E

S ILL,24

HU-1718

ABSM,23

QL-27

8WE

TBC,22a

ABSM,22

8 0 years

+

6 0 years

+ 1 00 years

2 570 years b .p.

HAR-2891

6 20 b .c. 7 .

+

2 640 years b .p. 6 90 b .c.

6 .

5 0 years

2 690 years b .p. 7 40 b .c.

5 .

+

2 700 years b .p. 7 50 b .c.

4 .

+ 1 00 years

QL-20

+ 1 00 y ears

2 570 years b .p.

5

6 20 b .c.

+ 1 00 years

T he M iddle I ron A ge 8 .

ABSM,21

QL-4

8 FF

2 540 years b .p. 5 90 b .c.

9 .

ABSM,20

QL-24

6WE

+ 1 00 years

2 540 y ears b .p. 5 90 b .c. _ +

1 0.

S FO-YS,19a

HAR3548

4 T i

2 540 years b .p. 5 90 b .c. _ +

1 1.

ABSM,19

QL-6

5 ' H'

S 0,18

Y-2666

ABSM,17

QL-10

3 E T

S FO-YS,16a

HAR3459

3 T i

SRDC,16

QL-145

+

4 0 years

+

7 0 y ears

2 460 y ears b .p. 5 10 b .c.

1 5.

8 0 years

2 480 years b .p. 5 30 b .c.

1 4.

+

2 490 y ears b .p. 5 40 b .c.

1 3.

6 0 years

rock 2 520 y ears b .p. 5 70 b .c.

1 2.

8 0 y ears

+

8 0 years

2 450 years b .p. 5 00 b .c. + 4 0 years

1 33

1 6.

SRN ,15

1 -4584

2 430 years b .p. 4 80 b .c.

1 7.

ABSM,14

Y-2669

2E E

2 400 years b .p. 4 50 b .c.

1 8.

S FO-YS,13b

4 T 2

S B,13a

BM-1518

SMA R ,13

QL-144

S B,12b

+

6 0 y ears

+

4 5 y ears

2 370 y ears b .p. 4 20 b .c.

2 1.

8 0 y ears

2 390 years b .p. 4 40 b .c.

2 0.

+

2 400 y ears b .p. 4 50 b .c.

1 9.

+ 2 00 y ears

BM-1517

+

5 0 y ears

2 350 years b .p. 4 00 b .c.

+

3 5 y ears

T he L ate I ron A ge 2 2.

S 0,12a

2 290 years b .p.

BM-1662

3 40 b .c. 2 3.

ABSM,12

2 EE

QL,5c

SPA,11

ABSM,10

2 EE

QL-22

ABSM,9

2 E E

QL-1a

AMG,8

2

Y-2672

ABSM,7

1 E E

QL-9

SPG ,6

2

Y-2673

TT,5

3

CS1C-142

S M,4

2 -3

S I-651a

TT,3a

2

S CIC-

ABSM,3

+ 1 00 y ears

+ 1 00 y ears

+ 1 15 y ears

2 100 years b .p. 1 50 b .c.

3 3.

+ 1 00 y ears

2 180 years b .p. 2 30 b .c.

3 2.

+ 1 00 y ears

2 180 y ears b .p. 2 30 b .c.

3 1.

7 0 y ears

2 180 years b .p. 2 30 b .c.

3 0.

+

2 200 y ears b .p. 2 30 b .c.

2 9.

6 0 y ears

2 230 years b .p. 2 80 b .c.

2 8.

+

2 240 years b .p. 2 90 b .c.

2 7.

+ 1 10 y ears

2 260 years b .p. 3 10 b .c.

2 6.

+ 1 00 y ears

2 270 y ears b .p.

CS1C-

3 20 b .c. 2 5.

4 0 y ears

2 290 years b .p. 3 40 b .c.

2 4.

+

+

4 5 y ears

2 080 y ears b .p.

QL-8

1 30 b .c.

1 34

+

9 0 y ears

3 4.

ABSM,2

QL-7a

1

2 070 years b .p. 1 20 b .c.

3 5,

SRDC,1

QL-146

2 030 years b .p. 8 0 b .c.

Note:

The t est materials a re

With t ion of the

the

l isted i n Appendix

f inish of this

s econd of

s helter of S on A l qtge.

+ 1 20 years

+

4 0 y ears

1 A.

chapter we can n ow a pproach t he ques-

our primary r esearch s ites, I t will be a t this

that o f the r ock

s ite with i ts

f ive t housand

y ears of cultural s tratigraphy where a g reat part of the chronometric data d iscussed b elow will come i nto u se. s tratigraphies profile

The various chronological

a re approached i n chronological o rder a s well a s t he

s ections a nd their s equences a re d iscussed i n what i s b elieved

t o b e the most l ogical manner, S ettlement

P eriod,

where we

a rea by a rea.

We b egin with t he

a g eographical a nd c ursory g eological d escription of the Matge This way,

E arly

l eft off i n t he Muleta s tratigraphy,

a fter

s ite.

the present chapter can be u sed f or r eference t o e ither of

the two s ite

s tratigraphies

a s well a s

1 35

l ater on i n subsequent c hapters.

THE S ITE : ROCK SHELTER OF SON MATGE

Chapter

1 .

IV.

The S ite: ( 1,B,ABSM )

The R ock Shelter o f

S on Matge

I ntroduction

L ike t he Muleta c ave,

the Matge r ock s helter c ontains a n un-

precedented and unbroken s tratigraphical s equence.

The main d ifference

between the two s ites- a part f rom physical ones- a re the c hronological durations of the t wo d eposits;

while the Muleta d eposit c onsists of a

palaeontological s equence of l evels a nd materials y ears duration,

the Matge

s tratigraphy

of cultural a ccumulation. quences t ogether, the

' yardstick'

1 00,000

When we l ink the two s tratigraphical

the Matge

a lready l ong Muleta one,

chronometric

of s ome

i s made up of s ome 5 ,000 years

s equence n ot only f orms but t ogether

s e-

a n e xtension t o

f orms a s till more unusual

e specially s ince Matge a lso has had very

e xtensive radiocarbon d ocumentation of i ts many d ifferent cultural h orizons.

B lually i mportant i s the

f act that the Matge

s tratigraphy

s upplies u s with s upportive e vidence r elated t o the a ssociation o f man and M yotragus

f irst f ound i n the Muleta d eposit ( Waldren 1 968; R ossello B ordoy a nd W aldren 1 973; F ernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 976); s upportive e vidence which g reatly enlarges various a spects of that r elationship,

while a t the s ame t ime permitting u s t o d istinguish a n

E ärly S ettlement

P eriod,

c irca 5 000 b .c.-3000 b .c.

Furthermore,

whereas the Muleta c ave produced e vidence of man i n the F ourth Mill ennium b .c., the

the Matge

s ite extends that early presence of man i n

i slands t o a period s till earlier i n the F ifth M illennium,

b .c.

a long with g iving u s many more d etails of man's a ctivities a t that t ime.

As w e will

s ee b elow,

these a ctivities c an b e c learly d es-

c ribed f rom the s tratigraphical r emains and i nformation f or a c ont inuum of about 5 000 y ears, h istoric s equence.

t o e mbrace a ll the Balearic c ultural pre-

H ence Matge,

i ts s ituation,

a nd f unctions w ill o ccupy a nd c oncern the

s tratigraphy,

materials

s ubsequent chapters of this

t ext.

The physical d ifferences between those two h ighly i mportant s ites a re n eedless t o

s ay c onsierable;

Matge b eing huge

i n c omparison

t o Muleta and i n t urn having been used f or multiple purposes t hroughout t ime.

While the Muleta s tratigraphy was c omplicated i n i ts

quence of d eposition a s a natual d eposit, perhaps

s till more c omplicated,

s e-

t he Matge a ccumulation i s

a part f rom i ts s ize,

b ecause o f the

natual e rosion of the f ace of the r ock s helter a nd the a ccumulation of

man a nd the u ses t o which h e put the a rea.

Therefore a n a ccount

of the various u ses a nd c onditions f ound i n the s helter's various a reas must be c onsidered,

i f the r eader i s t o understand th2

s equence

o f events a s they occurred d uring the various prehistoric periods present i n the Matge d eposit.

1 39

2 .

T he G eographic L ocation a nd G eological S tructure o f t he M atge S helter

Matge

( see m ap , F igure 7 ) is located 1 3.5 k ilometers f rom t he

Balearic Capital of

P alma

( pop.

mountain village of Valldemosa the n orth c oast r oad known a s r oad b egins i ts

5 00,000) ( pop.

a nd 4 kilometers

8 50)

S ' Estret

f rom t he

i n t he narrowest s ection of

( the n arrow p lace)

s teep a scent i nto the mountains.

where t he

H ere t he n orth c oast

r oad s tarts t o w ind i tself through the c left i n the mountains, a s harp

' V '

which narrows t o a bout 2 0 meters.

pass there i s

s pace only f or the two l ane h ighway

s tream which makes

a nd a s teep s ided

i ts way d own i nto the p lains.

have b een a nancient water s ource,

f orming

At t his point i n t he This

s tream would

e ven a s i t i s a modern one.

I n

prehistoric t imes a nyone c ontrolling this n arrow pass would h ave b een a ble t o c ontrol a ll the t raffic r estated h ere that this a ccess the only f ew,

i n a nd out o f the a rea.

a nd c ertainly t he most d irect,

S oller r oute.

S o

f rom the

will be

a part f rom the Coll d e

s tandpoint of t rade this r oute would c er-

tainly have p layed a vital r ole t orical ones

I t s hould b e

i nto the Northern S ierras i s one o f

i n prehistoric t imes a s w ell a s h is-

s o far a s the mountain s ettlements a re c oncerned.

s hown when the

. recent f inds

i n the

f inds

f rom Matge a re d iscussed,

A s

a s w ell a s

S ettlement Complex of F errandell-Oleza,

t his a rea

was particularly rich both a griculturally a nd c ommercially.

The

s helter i s r eached by way of a n arrow path up the

the mountain t o the

s outh of the

S ' Estret pass.

s ide of

This narrow path

through a s hrub-oak f orest f or a bout 3 /4 of a kilometer before c limbing a s teep s lope u p the s ide of the mountain l eads t o the r ock s helter.

( Puig d e B oixes,

5 55m )

At s ome unknown date the s helter was

f ormed by a massive d isplacement of part of the n orth f ace o f t he P uig d e B oixes,

c reating a natural overhang f rom a bout

3 0 meters high i n s ome places d ebris,

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ).

probably caused by the original d isplacement and by s ubsequent

e rosion f rom the r ock f ace, the n ewly f ormed s helter.

built u p a n atural platform i n f ront of As will b e

e nlarged by the o ccupants of the wall

1 0 m eters t o

I t s eems that t ectonic

a long

s een,

s helter,

the edge of the platform,

t his platform was l ater

who c onstructed aretaining

thus e nlarging the a rea b eneath

the overhang a nd k eeping the platform f rom e roding away d ownhill. w ill b e

s een,

As

this was d one when the a rea was c onverted i nto a Tala-

yotic B ronze Age

c emetery.

H owever,

the e arlier f irst s ettlers u sed

the o riginal platform a s they f ound i t,

o r e lse

i ncreased i ts w idth

only rudimentarily.

Undoubtedly, p eople who

the

s ite was

f irst s ettled there,

s trategical

i nitially s elected by t he a ncient

c irca 5 000 b .c.

t o 4 000 b .c.,

s ituation w ithin a n a ttractive a rea a s

a panoramic view of the valley of Valldemosa; a ted t o the narrow pass, only a s mall

( b )

( a )

b eing c losely s itu-

i t would have b een quite e asy t o d efend w ith

f orce of men;

( c)

the

s tream which runs through t he pass

would have b een a c onvenient s ource of water during most t he y ear;

f or i ts

i t c ommanded

i f n ot a ll

( d)

e ven t oday,

the overhang g ives a mple protection f rom

d riving rain,

d espite the

f act that f urther e rosion of the r ock f ace

1 40

a nd other r ecent a nd more r ecent t ectonic d esplacement has d ecreased the overhang i n modern t imes; a rable

l and a vailable

( e)

At the

The d ifferent u ses t o which the t imes a s w ell There

e mployed;

there i s a mple

s helter was put i n prehistoric

a s h istorical ones have b een d emonstrated during t he

e xcavations undertaken s ince 1 968.

s ame t ime,

f or a gricultural and pastoral a ctivities.

a re

i t was

f irst d iscovered by t he a uthor

f ive d istinct purposes

n ot n ecessarily c ontinuous,

f or which the

between the

i n

s helter was

l imits i ndicated

i n a ny c ase:

( 1)

a n a nimal

between 5 000 b .c. ( 2)

( 3)

until c irca

a burial

1 400 b .c. ( 4)

s ite during the l ocal Bronze Age a nd I ron Age,

t o 5 9 A .D.

P eriod,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

B ronze Age of the Talayotic an f inally,

t imes a s an animal

2 .1

1 400 b .c.

a w orkshop a rea during the l ocal Beaker phase of the

P retalayotic

( 5)

f or M yotragus

i ncluding a c orral

a habitation f or s ome of Mallorca's e arliest s ettlers

f rom a bout 4 000 b .c.

c irca

s helter,

a nd 4 000 b .c.

P eriod,

t o

1 400 b .c.

c irca

a nd d uring the

1 000 b .c.

l ate

t o 8 00 b .c.

i t was again used i n h istorical a nd modern

s helter.

G eneral C onsiderations

I n this present c hapter we a re c oncerned only w ith the f irst and part of the r elated t o the

s econd u se of the P resettlement and

E SP r espectively ).

s helter l isted a bove, E arly S ettelement

As has been n oted earlier,

i .e.

P eriods

those

( PSP a nd

the Matge S trati-

g raphy i s particularly s trong i n e vidence c oncerning t he E arly S ettlement

P eriod.

s ection,

This evidence has n ot been the

c onsisting a s i t d oes of

( a )

i ated with e vidence of early man a t Matge chronometric dating of these a ctivity

not

l evels ,

f ound a t MUleta a nd

s ubject o f any preceding

mostly bones of M yotragus a ssoc-

( c)

a nd n ot a t Muleta,

( d) , therefore,

a s c ontemporary with l evels a t Muleta,

( b )

a rtefacts a nd t races of human c orrelative a s well

a nd c ertainly a lters the t radi-

t ional view of Balearic prehistory a nd i ts chronological f ramework, e specially when l inked w ith the

E arly S ettlement

P eriod d ata f rom the

Muleta d eposit.

As will b e

s hown,

the

E SP l evels c oncerned i n t he Matge

g raphy b egin with the c oprolite beds and M yotragus bones c irca 4 730 b .c. E SP,

a nd end c irca 2 700 b .c.

These a re the

l imits of the

which evidently e mbraces a ll of the Atlantic s tage of the

G lacial

P eriod,

a s

i t d oes a t Muleta.

1 41

s trati-

( Plate 2 2:1), P ost

I t i s this chronology a s w ell

a s the

s pecimen evidence

s upporting man's f irst occupation a nd a cti-

vities i n the Balearics that make i t possible to c orrelate the t wo s tations.

there i s very l ittle o ther than M unsell s oil

After a ll,

c olour that the a ctual d eposits a t the two s ites have i n c ommon. i s n o d oubt due t o the while Matge s imilar?

i s more or l ess a n open-air s ite,

s o why s hould t hey b e

They a re a bout 2 7 kilometers a part.

Then again,

t ional d epths that have been a ttained t o date a t Matge, the

E arly S ettlement

This

f act that Muleta i s a c losed cave s ituation,

P eriod they a re g reater.

c an b e taken a ny d eeper a t Matge,

the e xcep-

a lthough f or

Before the e xcavations

c onsiderable engineering w ill b e

r equired t o r emove the overburden a nd make the underlying d eposits a ccessible a nd s afe

f or

f urther e xcavation.

Fortunately,

o f o bstacle o ccurred only i n the e astern e nd of the

this t ype

s helter a nd n ot

i n the o ther a reas.

Actual naming of the d ifferent z ones of the by

s helter's 4 6 meters

1 0 meters a rea employed throughout i ts h istory d id n ot occur until

w ell after this

i mportant eastern part of the

vanced s tage of excavation,

a nd i t was

any f arther i n an easterly d irection. that t he and a s

l ength of the

i t turned out,

shelter r eached a n a d-

i mpossible t o advance the work At the

s ame t ime,

i t was f ound

shelter c ould b e d ivided i nto three main a reas; the u se of the

h is d ifferent u ses of the

s ite,

a nd d irection of u tilisation.

s helter by prehistoric man,

i n

f ollowed an eastern t o western s equence S o,

l ogically the

a reas of the s helter

e ventually t ook on names that were t o l ater prove t o be of h elp d esc riptively a s w ell Matge a re the

( 1 )

a s i n their s eparate

s tudy.

The three a reas o f

f ollowing:

T he E astern E nclosure, which measures an area covering 1 0 meters, b etween s urvey markers 2 6-46 ( Plan 2 A

a bout 2 0 meters by

a nd 2 B ). this

From the point of view of the e vidence

s ector i n prehistoric t imes,

this

c overing the u se o f

i s the most i mportant a rea,

a nd one which d eals d irectly a nd e xclusively with the P eriod, i n the

c urrently under d iscussion. P retalayotic

P eriod,

E arly S ettelement

I t a lso p lays a n i mportant r ole

Talayotic and

P ost Talayotic

P eriods.

having s upplied most of the vital c hronometric a nd a rtefact e vidence. ( 2) a bout

T he C entral E nclosure, which measures an area covering

1 5 meters by 1 0 meters,

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ). u nderstood until

The f ull

between s urvey meter markers

the present,

when the

s tudy of i ts materials a nd

f urther e xcavation has proved i t t o be a workshop a rea, b .c.

t o a bout ( 3)

a bout

1 1-26

i mportance of this a rea has n ot b een c irca 1 800

1 400 b .c.

T he W estern E nclosure, which measures an area covering between s urvey meter markers 0 -11 ( Plan

1 1 meters by 8 meters,

2 A a nd 2 B ).

This

i s the l ast a rea t o be u sed i n the

a lthough t oward the end of the

i s e vidence that he r eturned t o u sing the the t ime of the

s ector s equence,

s helter's u se by prehistoric man t here E astern

R oman Colonisation a nd afterwards

poses.

1 42

E nclosure a t a bout f or burial pur-

I n order t o d iscuss the

s tratigraphy i n d etail,

r egard t o e ach of the d ifferent enclosures, i n this

s ection on g eneral

overall

s tratigraphical

pass

c onsideration a c ursory d iscussion of t he

c onditions a nd the methodology u sed,

f or a moment b eyond the l imits of the

c ontexts. Matge

A lthough,

f or the most part,

c an b e c onsidered c onventional,

i n the various

e specially i n

i t i s n ecessary t o i nclude

E arly S ettlement

a nd t o P eriod

the methods of e xcavation a t

the nature of s ome of the matrix

s trata c an be c onsidered unusual a nd have n ecessitated

d ifferent thinking and s pecial t reatment.

Therefore a brief a nd a

f ew words of d iscussion a re r equired a s a n i ntroduction t o the various s trata a nd the

chronological periods they r epresent.

For this purpose,

the c omposition of the d ifferent s trata a nd the c ompositional c haract eristics of the d ifferent prehistoric p eriods i nto which they n aturally f all

can b e outlined i n the

f ollowing f our c lassifications,

i n r everse

o rder of a ge:

S trata 1 t o 6 .

( 1)

S lakelime

i nhumation c onglomerate,

i s an e xtremely hard and r esistant s ubstance, bones,

t o

i ron,

bronze,

l ead,

which

c ongested with human

g lass and pottery a rtefacts.

O rigin:

P ost Talayotic I ron Age

D eposit T ype:

Cemetery

( circa 8 00 b .c.

1 23 B .C).

S trata 7-9 .

( 2)

partly burnt human bones.

( Inhumation )

Charcoal and s corched f ine earth and No animal bones a re

w ell preserved g rave g oods are present,

f ound,

but a bundant

i ncluding bronze,

bone and

pottery a rtefacts.

O rigin:

Talayotic B ronze Age

D eposit T ype:

Cemetery

( circa

1 400 b .c.

t o 8 00 b .c.)

( 3)

S trata 9-2 8 .

with various h earthstones human b ones

D ense, i n the

i n t hese l evels,

There a re n o metal a rtefacts

E nclosure.

a nd a sh

There were n o

i n the l ower part o f the

i n t he

E ast

s eries.

E nclosure profiles

( though

e vidence of metal has been f ound i n P retalayotic c ontexts

other a reas), t ary,

thick l ayers of charcoal

E astern

but quantities o f burnt animal bones,

i ncluding M potragus b a1earicus s ome

( Cremation )

but

s ome

a long with a f ew f lints

( 4)

i n

s trata have pottery which i s mostly f ragmen( flakes).

O rigin:

P retalayotic ( circa 2 700 b .c.

D eposit T ype:

Occupational L evels and Food D ebris

S trata 2 8 -3 6 .

The matrix i s made up of l ayers of

c harcoal a nd a sh w ith h earthstones

t o

i n t he upper s trata 2 8-33

earth a nd s tones mixed with l eotragus

1 43

c oprolites and bones

1 400 b .c.)

a nd f ine

s howing

S igns of i ndustry

( rather s parse),

i n the f orm of t rimmed h orn c ores

a nd butchered marked M yotragus bones.

No metal or pottery a rtefacts

have been f ound.

O rigin:

E arly S ettlement

( circa 5 000 b .c.

t o

c irca 2 700 b .c.)

D eposit T ype

Occupational L evels

i ncluding Animal

Corral

While of

( 3),

the

i n this c hapter we a re c oncerned only w ith

f ollowing s ection d iscusses

s tratigraphical s helter.

s equence

D espite the

to d iscuss only the i n this

chapter,

g raphy a s

a nd part

f ound S i n the i ndividual enclosures o f the

f act that i t might have b een more c onvenient

s trata pertinent t o the

the

( 4)

a nd d escribes t he e ntire

E arly S ettlement P eriod

s tratigraphy a s a whole - i ncluding the

i t a ppears i n each of the enclosures-

s trati-

i s i ncluded h ere

order not t o break up i ts s equential order i nto

i n

subsequent c hapters.

The r eader will have t o r efer back t o this c hapter f or r eference t o the pertinent s tratigraphical H owever,

h ere

i nformation of the d ifferent periods.

s ome a dvanced i nformation s hould be g iven the r eader

a s t o the original

s urveying of the

s ite on which a ll the past a nd

present excavation and r ecording a re based. the

i nitial

The author d ecided during

s ite planning t o d esignate a c oordinate number f or e very

meter d istance a long the e ast-west l ength of the markers

s helter.

The meter

1 -48 w ere a ccordingly painted on the s helter o verhang wall.

These numbers

d elineate the north-south c oordinates a s narrow s trips

within which f inds were r ecorded a nd plotted by their d istance f rom the overhang wall a t the datum l evel. present-day g round l evel t ouched the same t ime

a l arge

A ll of the

f ication s uch a s plan was made

shelter wall

i n

1 968.

At the

s cale map was made u p on millimetric paper where

a ll existing f allen r ocks, were plotted.

f orward

P rior t o e xcavation the

' A',

present-day walls o r other g round f eatures f allen rocks were g iven a l etter c lassi-

' B',

( Plan 2 A).

e tc.

Once this l arge master

f inds c ould b e a ccurately r ecorded,

a nd n otation o f

r emoval of modern walls and f allen r ocks c ould be made.

I t s hould

a lso be n oted that the

s uch a s east,

s ite c ould be d ivided i nto a reas,

c entral a nd west z ones, l en r ocks.

As

based on l andmarks o f s ome of the

i t turned out l ater during excavation,

r ocks did a ctually d elineate man-made d ivision

t ion,

i ts

methodology a nd operational procedure,

l andmark

( see P lan of S ite).

I t s hould a lso be n oted h ere that t he a uthor has f ield experience that each s ite r equires

l arger f al-

these

f ound i n h is

s pecial type of excavaa nd that n o two s ites or

their s tratigraphical c ontexts can be excavated i n e xactly t he manner,

d espite their s imilarities.

vations have t o be made matrices; i .e. be

s ame

Often n ew t echniques a nd i nno-

s imply because of the nature of the d ifferent

n o two d ifferent matrix characteristics c ould p ossibly

f ound b etween those of the a sh a nd charcoal h earth z ones o f Matge's

E arly S ettlement a nd l ime

P retalayotic

c onglomerate of the

dust and c igarette a sh a nd the t ime,

P eriods'

P ost Talayotic

l evels a nd Matge's s lake-

I ron Ages,

the

f ormer l ike

l atter l ike s oft c oncrete.

the physical characteristics of the s ite

1 44

At t he

same

i tself often d ictate

the d ifferent methods; Matge

i .e.

the d imensions of the s lakelime r esidue a t

a nd the opportunity of using the d eposit a s

a r eservoir i n which

t o d etermine the duration of the quicklime i nhumations earic prehistory,

f ound i n Bal-

a most unique method of d ispositn of the d ead f or

the t imes.

I n the c ase of the quicklime

i nhumations a nd i ts excavation,

the method of i ts e xcavation was a nything but c onventional, most c ases r emoval of s pecimens

s imilar manner a s one would r emove a g eological matrix

( e.g.

with chisels

a nd d ental p icks).

s pecimen f rom r äck I n most c ases the c on-

g lomerated material had t o be r emoved i n l arge then t o b e worked on e ither i n the

whelming majority of cases very l ittle a s b ones

a ction of

s ubjects t o i nhumation i n the material a re

e rally a ll but u seless twisted a nd c racked.

f or measurement o r

l it-

s tudy a s they a re d eformed,

On t op of t he extreme c onsolidated nature of

l ime c onglomerate,

i n c ontact with the

l ab-

c ould b e a scertained f rom

s tandpoint of human biometrics on bone exposed t o the

quicklime,

the

s lab-like pieces,

f ield or t ransported t o the

( Plate 5 6A a nd B ), and in the over-

o ratory f or examination a nd s tudy the

a nd i n

or a rtefacts had t o b e made i n a

the d eposit a t Matge was

s oft,

unconsolidated

due t o the weight of the c onglomerate) a nd the c harcoal a nd earth of the

f ound d irectly on a nd

( though a t t imes

c ompressed

earth of the Talayotic burials

P retalayotic l evels,

i n which c ase

the problem of i ts r emoval without d isturbing the s ofter , under-levels r equired s pecial a ttention a nd t reatment.

movable This parti-

cular e xcavational problem i s d iscussed f urther i n the d iscussion of the

P ost Talayotic

P eriod c hapter,

where i t i s

i mportant a s

particularly pertinent t o s ome of the s tatistical Talayotic I ron Age. i ntroducing

I ts'

mention here i s

i t i s

s tudies of the

P ost

s imply i n preparation t o

the r eader t o the overall s tratigraphical c onditions of

the Matge d eposit which existed a nd had t o b e d ealt w ith b efore t he l ower-most a nd earliest s tratigraphical c ontexts c ould b e This

c ompleted,

w e

c an c onsider the particular e nclosure

s tudied. s ectors a nd

the d etailed s tratigraphes of each.

3 .

T he E ast E nclosure S tratigraphy: I ntroduction

This of t he

a rea of the Matge r ock s helter l ies

a t the eastern end

s helter o verhang a nd i ncludes a lmost half the e ntire a rea under

s tudy.

I t was u sed throughout a ll of t he prehistoric periods

a s h istoric ones The

( Plates 2 3:1 -2 4:1)

E ast

a s w ell

s erving a ll o f the purposes outlined i n s ection 2 .1.

E nclosure has a lso p roduced t he major part of the s trati-

g raphical i nformation, t est materials a nd a rtefacts s tudied i n this thesis, a nd i n a manner of s peaking the a rea has been the major s ource of c orrelation f or the t ral a nd W est

The

E ast

w een meter marker ker 4 6

s helter's other enclosure a reas

( e.g.

the Cen-

a lclosure).

E nclosure 2 7

( co?r

( coordinate N-S I I

( Plan 2 A a n

2 9 )

c overs

a bout 2 00m 2 , bet-

eate N-S K -K ) on the west a nd meter mar) on the east.

1 45

The

f ollowing s tratigraph-

i cal

i nformation a nd description d eals with s tratigraphy only i n this

s ection of the r ock s helter,

a nd w ill c over a ll of t he c hronological

periods encountered i n this z one of excavation.

I t s hould a lso b e

n oted h ere that this t reatment will b e a pplied t o the other e nclosure a reas,

where the

o r a s c omplex.

s tratigraphical I n most c ases,

s equences have n ot b een a s e xtensive

these other s traitgraphic s equences

c orrespond t o equivalent l evels a nd c ontexts g raphical

s equence of the

East

E nclosure.

i n the master s trati-

H owever,

o ther enclosures have particular r elationships a nd t herefore merit i ndividual

e ach of t hese

( mainly c hronological)

i nterpretation a nd d iscussion.

The d iscussion a nd d escription of t he various l evels w ill take p lace

a ccording t o c hronological o rder of age;

b eing the E arly S ettlement P eriod, e tc.

The Central

of the

E nclosure,

P retalayotic

while the West

P eriod,

E nclosure

3 .1

which i s

P retalayotic

Talayotic a nd P ost Talayotic

b oth enclosure

P eriod

c overs only a bout

3 /4

P eriods,

P ost Talayotic

s equences of which a ppear i n

s ections b elow.

T he E ast E nclosure E arly S ettlement S tratigraphy i n D etail

Until the present date, o sure, t reme

l ess d eep,

c ontains only Talayotic a nd

s tratigraphical c ontexts; s eparate

the o ldest i n this c ase

f ollowed by the

i n s o much a s the

the a rea excavated i n the

l ower l evels a re c oncerned,

f ar e nd of the enclosure,

c in

eting if 2 n a rea 3 5m

2 3B ), meter markers 3 8.5 t o 4 5, D -D The d epth of the

3 6

( Plan 2 B a nd 2 C )

of the c ontents of t hese l evels ( 1)

E ncl-

( Figure

, ( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B). f rom the

s urface.

The l evels which c oncern the S trata 2 8 t o

a nd I I

E SP l evels a re between 2 50cms t o 4 00cms

present-day g round l evel

E ast

l ies 2 a t the e x-

E arly S ettlement

P eriod a re

( Figures 2 3A a nd 2 3B ).

A s ummary

i s a s f ollows:

Three l evels of M yotragus b alearicus coprolites with the

animal's o steological r emains,

s howing

' V'

t rimmed h orn c ores and

numerous butchering marks c aused by f lint t ools on t he proximal a nd d istal ends o f l ong b ones,

where muscle

l ocated

( Plates 3 2:1 a nd 3 2:2).

Dating,

S tratum 3 5: ( 2)

a nd t endon a ttachements were

S trata 3 6,

3 5 a nd 3 4.

(R adiocarbon

c irca 4 730 b .c.).

S ix l evels o f a sh and charcoal r epresenting h earth z ones

t hat c ontained burnt and butchered M yotragus bones,

t he youngest o f

which a lso had pottery evidence and k itchen d ebris o f d omesticated animals.

H owever,

only those t hat were

' aceramic'

a nd without d omesti-

c ated animal e vidence a re d iscussed a nd d escribed i n t his of t he s tratigraphical

s equence.

1 46

E SP s ection

Ii g . 23A

EAST

W EST

PROFI LE

P r il ltf •

mare .",

c . er d .n.

PT

Lev•la

wiI h

c o •

/ • --

•

•

1 0 1- -

„

-

. . -

: .. >, : \

I.

)/

4 c

a, .

4 • \r /\ •,

/

X

X

e'

\ . „(

X

1

%

` 4 'r ` /

‘

2 1:\ / /I • ' , ( , A . .i i

/4 ,

tt

,'

1 3 /\ .0 , • C / \ ./ f • I / , z ,, „ . s„ *

.% \ r , /

X

/

‘

,

/

M g •• •, •/ , . , .. X

/ I C 3 •

I

w I

‘

/X

/

/V•

\

X I7 S . • / • 8 , , ,, c , / %

)/ \/

, V

z ^.. . ! /, /• •/ P c , // 4 1 , , . / • / 3 • / ly • • •( % -• •

2

••

• •

d ' . • •••

•

Z •

\

^

/

\

/ :

\

/

/

A

„ .

. 9 /.) \

sl / /

• , s / •. / \ / 2', , •, • / 1)/ \ , » . . ' ' . . z• z• z• / \ / • / • e , .‘ e . „ . ,

Y ,1 \ / ` ' .

/ , / . 5 /

i g .231 3

EAST

EN CLOSURE

NORT H

SOUTH

- M ATGE PROFILE

o ve rhang

* Show ing

E SP S trata

a nd

c

o f

s ho lt•r

14

Radiocarbon Dated

S trata

g .

24

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod H orizons of t he E ast E nclosure S tratum 3 6 This c losure.

i s

t he l owest

The e arth of t his

and o ldest l evel l evel

s oil m ixed w ith rather s mooth oval

s haped s tones,

s ome a gency t o have b een w eathered, i n d iameter.

The

a bout 4 0cms

f ace of t he

both of which a re M ‚ insell

t hick,

F ast

which a ppear by

ranging i n s ize 7 .5YR,

5 /4.

The

s tratum

w ith i ts top at 3 90cms below t he m odern d ay s ur-

E nclosure.

preserved i n s hape

The

f act t hat t he

( although they w ere

i s due t o t he presence of t he

s tones;

c oprolites w ere w ell

a nd a re d ry a nd f ragile

s tones f orming t he l ayer

t oday )

t he c oprolites having d ipped

d own a nd c ollected i n t he a ir-spaces b etween t hem. of t he

f rom 4 cms t o 6 cms

s oil part of the matrix i s made up o f a l arge quan-

t ity of c oprolites, i s

s o f ar r eached i n t he e n-

i s made up o f f ine c lay-like d ry

The e xact n ature

i s n ot y et understood.

They have a

s light c oating of calcium c arbonate on t hem which c ould have b een c aused by their being exposed t o percolating water during s ome p eriod b efore the d eposit o f t he c oprolites a nd e arth f illing. t he s tones

l ook l ike

' scree'

material,

I n s ome ways

b ecause of this uniform s ize,

a nd may well be the product of the o riginal d eterioration o f t he walls of the

s helter overhang. The

s tratum c ontained M yotragus bones among the earth,

s tones

and c oprolites which s howed d ismembering marks made by f lint t ools

( Plate 2 2:2) and a f ew ' V' trimmed horn c ores on t he r emains o f M yot ragus b alearicus s kulls ( similar t o P lates 3 2:1 t o 3 3:2). The h eavy d efleshing marks on a f ew bones,

s uch a s

t hose i llustrated w ith s harply

g rooved c ut marks where muscle a nd t endons have b een s evered.

I t i s

a lso i nteresting t o n ote that n one of the M yotragus remains yielded a c omplete a nimal bone i nventory; been t aken e lsewhere. f ound i n the

l evels

At the

a lthough j oints o f m eat had p resumably

s ame t ime

s ome l imb a ssociations w ere

( Plate 2 2:1 a nd P hoto V olume s ection f rontisepiece).

S tratum 3 5 This

i s t he

s econd c oprolite bed l evel which d istinguishes

s elf f rom t he preceding one only i n a c hange of c olour, M unsell 7 /4.

Otherwise i t i s

i dentical t o S tratum 3 6.

I t a lso c ontained

butchered M yotragus bones and broken s kulls w ith c ores

( Plates 3 2:1 t o 3 3:2). The l evel

s ame k ind o f s tone d ebris a s t he s oil

' V'

t rimmed h orn

B one s amples o f t he a nimal r emains w ere

dated by r adiocarbon method a s 4 730 b .c. s ee A ppendix 1 A).

i s

+ 1 20 yrs.

( ABSM,55 a nd a lso

a lso a bout 4 0cms t hick,

S tratum 3 6 a nd t he

c ontaining t he

c hange o f c olour o f

f illing a nd c oprolites may b e due t o age o f t he l evel,

w ill be i ndicated i n t he

i t-

1 0YR,

a s

f ollowing S tratum 3 4.

S tratum 3 4 This

i s

made up o f t he

the third c oprolite bed l evel with s imilar matrix, s ame

s ort of f ine

f ound i n t he preceding l ayers, at

s oil,

s tone a nd c oprolite materials

S trata 3 5 a nd 3 6.

3 10cms below t he present day s urface l evel,

i s a bout 4 0cm5 t hick.

Again,

This l evel

s tarts

a nd l ike the o thers

i t d iffers only i n c olour c hange,

1 50

which

i n this case i s M ünsell 7 .5YR,

6 /4.

Coprolites f rom the upper part

of this l evel were dated at 3 870 b .c. dates

( ABSM,55 a nd 5 3)

+ 3 60 yrs.

( ABSM,53).

a ppear t o i ndicate t hat t here

These

i s a bout a 9 00

year duration o f t hese l evels a s t o their use a s a c orral o r f or eotragus b alearicus .

s helter

I t was then a bandoned a s a n a nimal c orral

t o be utilised a s a s ettlement s ite c irca 3 800 b .c.

The r eader s hould bear

i n mind t hat a s of t he present t he

a uthor has f ound n o post h oles o r other e vidence t hus f ar i ndicating the

s ize,

f orm o r e xtent o f the c orral.

This has been d ue t o the

quantity and type o f d ebris that s till must be r emoved before

i ts

t rue area c an be d etermined a nd f urther f eatures be d iscerned; t hey do e xist.

i f

I t i s quite a pparent f rom the e xisting l evels and

t he area they c over t hat the original a rea they o ccupied i n the s helter was much more e xtensive than i t i s t oday, l evels can be

s een t o e xtend well under the

c overing them

( Figure 2 4).

From this,

of the original c orral a rea i s

a s the present-day

s urrounding h eavy d ebris

i t would a ppear l ikely that most

s till buried beneath t he d ebris,

a nd

any post holes would have been beyond the present-day e xcavated a rea. At the

s ame t ime,

i t i s possible that the a ctual p erimeters of the

c orral may have been made up of piled or bound t ogether brush or even f allen a nd s tacked s tones;

both of which a re n ow d estroyed by t ime

or we may eventually f ind a c onstructed wall

s imilar t o t he one t hat

has been built a s a c emetery r etaining wall under t he present-day a nimal

s helter wall

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ).

I n f act,

a nd piled brush c orral walls a re c ommon on the a nd the author has s een many of both types,

s uch s tone c onstructed i slands a t present,

e ither made o f

s tone o r

s tacked brush t o k eep s heep and goats and e ven pigs penned under t he protective overhang o f e ven very s mall r ock s helters.

S tratum 3 3 This l evels

i s t he f irst of the extensive

i n the

E ast E nclosure,

a s a s ettlement s ite. bones

s eries o f habitational

a nd mark t he f irst u se of t he

s helter

The l evel c ontained t he f irst burnt eotragus

( Plates 3 2:1 a nd 3 2:2).

The charcoal

l evel r an a long the l ength

of the bottom of t he excavated s ector between meter markers 4 2.5 t o 4 6.

( Plate 2 4:1 a nd F igures 2 3A a nd 2 4).

c ontained no a rtefacts, marker 4 4. b .c.

Carbon

+ 1 15 yrs.

Thus f ar t he s tratum has

a part f rom one f lint nucleus,

f ound at meter

1 4 dating of this charcoal gave a r eading o f 3 800

( ABSM,52).

I t i s i nteresting t o r ecall t he

o f the e arliest human r emains a t Muleta a nd to note that t he c entral

( 3985 b .c.

1 4C a ge

+ 1 09 yrs.,

f igures f all no more t han

S M,54)

1 85 years a part.

S tratum 3 2

This

l evel c onsists of d ensely c ompressed a sh f rom a l ong s uc-

c ession of f ires o f d omesticated origin, i n e levation a nd p lan s hows

a bout 1 0cms t hick.

c ontained only burnt a nd butchered d ebris of eotragus . s tone a rrangements f ined hearth at t he

( Figure 2 6, H earth 9 ), s ite.

The z one

s everal a rrangements o f hearth s tones t hat These hearth

are t he f irst c learly d e-

A s they appear d irectly over S tratum 3 3

1 51

which c ontained the charcoal of S tratum 3 2,

t hey c ould a ctually i n-

c lude t he f irst kindled f ires of H earth 9 h ere.

S tratum 3 1 This i s a narrow band of c harcoal w ithin t he compressed a sh of S tratum 3 2. f ire l ine well a s

I t has a t hickness o f

s equence.

l cms t o 2 cms a nd r epresents a

The r eader s hould a lso c onsult F igure 2 3A a s

P lates 2 3:1

and 2 4:1

i n o rder t o become aware of t he nature

o f t hese l evels when v iewed i n profile. l ayer by l ayer, e ral

t hese

s quare meters a t t imes,

of c entimeters, t he l ayers o ther,

when

When e xcavated d ownward,

f ire z ones were quite e xtensive,

c overing s ev-

whereas t heir t hickness was o nly a matter

s een i n vertical

s ection.

I t i s a lso a f act t hat

of a sh a nd l enses of c harcoal l ay one d irectly o ver t he

w ith n o c ollected e arth between t hem.

This f actor i s the major

r eason f or believing that they r epresent a s uccession of f ires with l ittle t ime between o ccurrences; l ayers

s how s ome

c ium carbonate, l evels,

a lthough s ome of t he a sh a nd c harcoal

s igns of weathering i n t he f orm of hardening by c alwhich may b e due t o percolating water onto t hese f ire

which e ncouraged their c onsolidation.

b elieves t hat these were

H owever,

s hort periods o f e xposure,

t he a uthor

a s n o other d ebris

o f a ccumulation has o ccured which would s eparate the a lternating l evels of a sh and charcoal, s equence.

thus n otably s eparating them i n profile

I t s hould a lso be noted t hat t he l evels f ound i n t he d iff-

e rent vertical c uts d id not a lways c ontain materials other t han kitchen d ebris; pebble

a nd when they d id t he a ctefacts u sually c onsisted of a f ew t ools or a t most a f ew f lint f lakes

( Figure 8 2).

S tratum 3 0 This l evel

i s a band of c harcoal which was f ound o ver t he

whole a rea o f the E ast E nclosure, with a t hickness o f The charcoal

l cms t o

2 cms.

f rom this l evel has b een c ollected f or a nalysis but has

not y et b een analysed.

Apart f rom t he o ccasional burnt Itotragus bone,

the l evel c ontained no a rtefacts d espite i ts w ide d istribution i n t he a rea.

A f ew s cattered h earth s tones were f ound,

appear t o f orm any r eal d iscernable pattern a s

but t hese d id not

i n other l evels.

S tratum 2 9 This l evel t o

1 0cms t hick.

i s

a nother d ensely c ompact l ayer of a sh,

s iderable l ength of t ime, c ompacted a sh.

l owing S tratum 2 8. l evel,

based on t he quantity and extent o f t he

On o ccasion the odd p iece o f pottery was f ound n ear

t he upper part of this i n t his

a bout 5 cms

I t r epresents t o t he a uthor a n a ccumulation o f a c on-

l evel,

but t hese probably belong t o t he f ol-

The poverty o f t he a rtefacts and other e vidence

a s well a s the preceding o ne,

i s probably due t o t he

f act t hat o nly a f ew people i nitially u sed t he

s ite f or l iving,

thus only a f ew broken a rtefacts w ere present t o begin with, t hough t he r esidue of the t inual u se o f t he a rea;

f ires

and

e ven

s eems t o t estify t o more o r l ess c on-

o r t hat the

s trata a re poor because o f t he

o bstacles presented by the g eneral d eterioration of the has prevented their r ecovery t o date.

1 52

s ite which

MAT GE

HABITATIONAL

HEARTH

ZONES

COMPLEX

\

M

r nyotragus

tl g . 25

HEARTHS P RETAL A YOT I C ENCLOSURE MATGE- EAST HEARTH

9 M *

00

. 1. 1

1• 1,

4

myotragus

C 14

r e mains

3800 b . c . 1 15yrs .

2m

1i g . 26

S tratum 2 8 This 1 cms

to 2 cms

S tratum 2 7. + 1 20 yrs. of t he

i s

( F igure 2 7, H earth 5 )

l evel '

I t i s probably the

i nitial

Dating of this l evel's charcoal gave a date of ( ABSM,51).

This

l evel marks

the

E arly Ceramic Phase

( NECP)

of the

i cal

it i s

t reated a s part of the

s equence,

where

it i s

Until

r ecently,

this

Because this l evel

that the

E arly S ettlement

P retalayotic

P eriod s tratigraph-

One other f act con-

s ubsequent excavation has

i n s till

s uperior l evels.

age of burnt M yotragus bone

NECP H earth 3 ),

found i n t his

f rom l evel,

shown that

has demonstrated

Stratum 2 6

+ 3 92 yrs.

( ABSM,83),

which i s

considered by

the author to mark the upper boundary of the NECP and the this

( Upper

analysed by the British Museum Radiocarbon Laboratory,

can be dated at 2 143 b .c. of the

l evel.

S till more r ecent

( aurleigh a nd C lutton-Brock 1 980 )

radiocarbon dating

i nfor-

a lso thought to represent the extinc-

however,

i s present

( see

the f irst appearance of domesticated

level was

t ion of the M yotragus;

P eriod

and other

a long with M yotragus kitchen debris

species

the M yotragus

it f rom the

s tudied i n detail.

s idered i n the next chapter i s animal

f ollowing

P retalayotic

f ollowing chapter and a lso the n ext s ection).

P eriod,

2 700 b .c.

j unction and upper date

the f irst to produce firmly oriented artefacts

mation and materials which s eparate

f rom

f ires of a sh l evel,

E arly S ettlement P eriod and the beginning of the

Neolithic the

i s another charcoal thick.

E arly B eaker

l evel will be

c ription of the

P hase of the

P retalayotic

P eriod.

the f irst to be d iscussed i n the

P retalayotic stratigraphic

l ower l imit

Therefore.

f ollowing des-

s equence i n the

F ast E n-

c losure below. Despite the i llustrating the

s omewhat unusual nature of the Matge

E arly S ettlement P eriod,

come under the general

category of human a ctivities;

which can be divided into two types; s hepherding M yotragus

and

I n the f irst instance, engaged in using the vities

suggest

( b)

( a)

in the form a s years,

E ast

sheltering of M yotragus in the corral.

E nclosure,

s ee

I n the

a lternating l evels of charcoal

( F igure 2 5 )

a lthough our interests

1 4),

where a ctit estified

horn trimming and s laughtering

s econd case,

we s ee man i nstalled

using the f orward areas of the

indicated by carbon

s tone arrangements

a corral,

in s ome quantity,

a l iving area f or a very l ong t ime a s

activity,

s helter and c ooking.

the early s ettlers

E nclosure at Matge a s

by the l arge quantities of c oprolites, of the animal

we

s een t o

human a ctivities

o ccupational

domestic activity,

c irca 4 730 b .c.

E ast

e vidence

i t can c learly be

( perhaps

shelter's plat-

a s much a s

2 400

t estified by the densely packed

and a sh, until

and e specially by the hearth

1 400 b .c.

+ 6 0 yrs.

f or t he present only include

( ABSM,38);

the hearths up

t o 2 700 b .c.

3 .2

T he E ast E nclosure P retalayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The excavated area representing the i n t he

E ast Enclosure

quite extensive.

In the

bit nen meter ma ke s D -D

( N-S)

and

a s well as

E ast Enclosure,

2 7.5,

Pretalayotic

i n the other enclosure f t i ncludes

coorindates K -K

I I z meter marker 4 4

1 56

( N-S),

s tratigraphy s ectors

C C

i s area

t t 1 ie 9ntire

( W-E )

( s ee P lan 2 A a nd F igure 2 3B )

t o

and c overing an a rea of a bout l evels a re

1 10m 2 .

The d epth of these

P retalayotic

f rom 1 20cms t o 2 00cms below t he present-day g round l evel,

d epending on their l ocation i n t he

E ast E nclosure s helter a rea.

The l evels c oncerning the P retalayotic P eriod a re d ependent on t he c hronological phase that they r epresent, r emember t hat t he P retalayotic P eriod i s ( 1)

t he Neolithic

b .c., a nd

( 2)

( 3)

the

E arly Ceramic P hase

E arly B eaker Phase

t he Late B eaker P hase

( NECP),

( EBP),

( LBP),

Five

c irca

1 700 b .c. i s a s

t o

t o

r emains,

a ll,

1 400 b .c.

f ollows:

o f S trata 2 8,27,26,25

domesticated a nimal b ones a long

s howing s igns o f being burnt or butchered.

These a re t he NECP l evels o f the a nd 2 4.

P retalayotic s equence a nd a re made up

B oth the upper a nd l ower i nterfaces o f

t his phase have r adiocarbon dating a s well a s S tratum 2 6. s equence i s + 3 92 yrs.

S tratum 2 8:

2 700 b .c.

and S tratum 2 4:

( 2)

1 20 yrs.,

2 070 b .c.

+

The d ating

S tratum 2 6:

2 143 b .c.

5 0 yrs.

S even l evels of charcoal a nd a sh r epresenting hearth

z ones with f requent pottery evidence,

eotragus.

t o 2 000

1 700 b .c.

l evels o f c harcoal a nd a sh r epresenting h earth

z ones with f requent pottery e vidence, w ith e otragus

c irca 3 000 b .c.

c irca 2 000 b .c.

A s ummary of t he c ontents of these l evels ( 1)

a s the r eader w ill

s ubdivided i nto t hree phases:

d omesticated animals but n o

These are the E BP l evels of t he P retalayotic

s equence,

c ontaining a bundant B eaker i ncised wares a s well a s undecorated B eaker wares S trata:

and c ommon wares.

2 3,22,21,20,19,18 and

t his phase. 1 4C

dating,

s equence of t he A chronometric

The dating s equence i s a s S tratum 2 2:

+ 1 00 yrs and S tratum b .c.

The 1 7.

2 030 b .c.

1 8:

f ollows:

+ 1 70 yrs.,

1 870 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

E BP i s made up o f

s eries exists

S trata 2 3:

S tratum 2 0:

2 020 b .c.

a nd S tratum 1 7:

1 720

+ 1 00 yrs. ( 3)

E ight l evels of charcoal a nd a sh r epresenting hearth

z ones w ith f requent pottery f inds, the LBP l evels o f the

domesticated a nimals.

P retalayotic s equence ,

c ontexts a re made up o f S trata m etric

s eries

a vailable

f or t his

1 620 b .c.

1 470 b .c.

e xists

s eries

+ 1 00 yrs.

The LBP

1 6,15,14,13,12,11,10 a nd 9 .

f or this phase.

+ 8 0 yrs.,

These a re

c ontaining a bundant

pottery f ragments o f Late B eaker type and c ommon wares.

1 6:

f or

without

A c hrono-

The dating s equence which i s

i s S tratum 1 7:

1 720 b .c.

+ 1 00 y rs.

S tratum

1 4:

1 530 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.,

and S tratum

1 1:

1 400 b .c.

+ 4 0 yrs.

S tratum

S tratum

1 2:

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase H orizons o f t he E ast E nc losure

This quence, with t he

s eries of l evels

i s

t he f irst i n t he P retalayotic

s e-

by merit o f having produced t he f irst pottery e vidence a long f irst domesticated animal

originating b efore of t he c onventional been n o o lder The

2 000 b .c.,

P retalayotic

t han 2 000 t o

r emains,

which can be dated a s

and on t his basis e xtends t he d uration P eriod,

f ormerly thought t o have

1 800 b .c.

i nferior l evel of t he

s eries,

S tratum 2 8,

a rea outside t he hearth zone s equence o f c harcoal

1 57

c onsists o f a n

a nd a sh s trata u sed

f or l iving.

This l iving z one area r ests d irectly o n t he t op o f the

ancient f loor of the

s helter a ssociated with hearth a reas

B oth the hearth a nd t he l iving z one a ria

e re

a rea bounded by meter markers

a nd J -J

a nd p rofile n os .

3 8-40,

D D

s een t o be

2 8 t o

2 6.

ed within t he

( see M atge p lan

2 A a nd 2 B )

H earth 5 ( figure 2 7 )

The l ayout of t he hearth s tones of be

l ?c

c an

s ituated f orward a nd e astward under t he overhang of t he

s helter i n t he r ear of t he o verhang.

As

t he e ntire l ength o f t he

s helter i s open t o the prevailing north w inds,

t his

s eparation on t he

part of the o ccupants of the k itchen z ones f rom t he l iving a reas i s both u nderstandable a nd l ogical,

a s

s moke f rom t he l iving a reas would

h ave d riven e nough t o t he e astward t o avoid c ontaminating t he i nnermost a reas of the f rom west

s helter.

The natural

i ncline of t he

s helter's

t o e ast f orms a d epression a t t he e astern e nd

p rofile P lan 2 B ),

f loor

( see s helter

thus a lso g iving s ome protection f rom t he w inds.

B ecause of t his natural

i ncline,

d eepest r ecessing of the

the

E ast

E nclosure provides t he

s helter's overhang e ven t oday,

a fter t he

l argest part of t he overhang has c ollapsed ; and t herefore, t o have been t he n atural t o u se this area of the t his i s t rue up t o

i t

s eems

r eaction o n the part of t he early i nhabitants s helter more t han others.

1 400 b .c.,

when the

W e will

s ee t hat

s helter was f inally a bandoned

. for l iving a nd turned i nto a burial ground f or

s ome r eason;

t hough

one c ould s peculate by believing that i t might have been a l arge c oll apse of t he overhang or a s eries o f f alling r ocks e roded f rom t he f ace of t he overhang which might have e ncouraged the o ccupants t o g ive up t he a rea f or l iving a fter

A s can be

s een i n the

2 A, 2 B a nd 2 C e tc , not v ery d eep,

s ections a nd p lans o f t he

V olume I V ),

but a re more

1 400 b .c.

the

s ite

s ignificant when we c onsider t he d istri-

bution o f t he pottery fragments

( Plan 2 A ).

H ere,

t hey can be s een

t o be d istributed a long the i nnermost areas of t he o verhang, t hey were d ispersed during P retalayotic t imes; yotic P eriod,

when the

( Plans

l evels r epresenting the NECP are

s helter was used a s a c emetery

t inued t o be until R oman t imes),

where

while during t he Tala( as

i t c on-

the f unerary wares o f t he Talayotic

P eriod were d istributed a long the base of t he c emetery e nclosure wall.

S tratum 2 8 This

l ayer,

1 cms t o 2 cms

H earth 5 ( Figure 2 7 ).

t hick charcoal

l evel,

Dating o f t he l evel o n c harcoal

c ontained a ssociated

w ith pottery and domesticated a nimal bones g ave a d ate o f

2 700 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs. ( ABSM 5 11 a nd t he perimeter of t his f ire z one, meter markers 3 8-40, D -D 2 a nd J -J 2 , has a lso produced s ix f lint f lakes

eotragus bones also appear in the hearth, amid the domesticated animal r emains ( Plates 3 2:1 a nd 3 2:2). a nd a s ingle nucleus.

S tratum 2 7 This thick.

I t i s

l evel

i s a d ensely packed l ayer o f a sh f rom 6 cms t o 8 cms

i ndistinguishable

f rom t he o thers

1 58

i n t he

s equence,

apart

f rom b eing s lightly harder. l evel o f 2 8,

S tratum 2 8,

As i t l ays d irectly o ver t he charcoal

i t may well r epresent a shes

f rom f ires o f l evel

a lthough i ts c ompact nature would a ppear t o have been caused by

having been walked on, a sh

l evels.

l evel,

S ome

a long w ith

thus being unusually more c ompact t han other

f ragments o f NECP wares were a lso f ound i n t his

( Myotragus included) which are

s ome a nimal bones

p art o f t he k itchen d ebris.

S tratum 26 This f ile I t

i s a nother charcoal

l evel which

s hows only i n t he pro-

( Plan 2 C ).

s ection at t he e xtreme e astern end o f the e nclosure

probably r epresents t he o riginal

a sh l evel o 5 o f a bout 2 m

S tratum 2 5. .

Dating

f ire that produced t he overlying 1 cms t hick,

c overing a n a rea

of t he burnt M potragus bone

I t i s a bout

( collagen by t he

B ritish M useum h as r ecently produced r esults of 2 143 b .c. ( SBSM,83),

which i s t aken t o mark the f inal

+ 3 92 yrs.)

l evel producing M potragus

materials.

S tratum 2 5 This

i s a nother d ensely packed l ayer o f a sh which e xists only

a t the e xtreme e nd of t he E ast E nclosure, 4 3

between meter markers 4 0 a nd

a nd may well be t he r emains o f f ires f rom S tratum 2 6.

1 0cms

t hickness c ontained only a f ew s herd o f NECP

I ts 8 cms

t o

t ypology.

S tratum 2 4 This

i s a charcoal l evel o f a bout

has g iven us a date o f 2 070 b .c. t he NECP s equence. B eaker

s herds.

f rom S tratum 2 6,

( Burleigh a nd C lutton -B rock 1 980 )

g ave a d ate o f c irca 2 143 b .c. t his

s tratum

B eaker

ERP

( 24)

i n t he NECP s equence,

s herds

l evel

i s admirably c om-

o btained f rom t he B ritish

on t he M potragus and which

The date o f

2 070 b .c.

a bove p laces

a lthough t he presence o f f our

s herds s uggest a date c loser t o 2 000 b .c.,

B eaker phase o f t he P retalayotic. t he

which

I t i s t he l ast o f

I t c ontained a ssorted animal bone d ebris and s ome

The dating o f t his c harcoal

p atible w ith t he r eadings M useum

l cms t o 3 cms t hick,

+ 5 0 yrs.(ABSM,50).

However,

o r t he e arly

t he presence o f t hese

i n t he l evel may w ell be d ue t o t heir having b een walked i nto

l ayer.

T he E arly B eaker P hase H orizons o f t he E ast E nclosure

This

s eries o f l evels

i s

s equence o f t he E ast E nclosure,

s till a part o f t he c harcoal and a sh e xcept t hat part o f t he s eries,

e quivalent of t he f irst E BP l evel,

c an be

t he

f ound t hroughout t he whole

e xtent o f the E ast E nclosure a nd a g ood part o f t he C entral E nclosure, where

i t becomes part o f a B eaker workshop a rea t here.

o f t he E BP a rea a re t hose s hown i n s ection 3 .2. a s

f ollows:

1 59

The perimeters

The E BP s equence i s

S tratum 2 3 This l evel

i s an a sh l ayer o f a bout

r epresents t he a shes value,

1 0cms d eep and probably

f rom f ires o f S tratum 2 4.

other t han a s equence l ayer i n the

I t has l ittle dating

s tratigraphical c ontinuity,

but i n v iew o f t he f ollowing dating o f S tratum 2 2, f airly well e stablished period o f t ime, l evel

i n t he overall

s equence.

i t r epresents a

a nd a lso a cts a s a marker

S ome f orty-seven i ndigenous c ommon

ware s herds were r emoved by s ifting t he a shes.

S tratum 2 2 This t hick.

i s another l evel o f c harcoal which i s

1 cms t o 4 cms

There were d omesticated a nimal r emains of goat a nd p ig,

n o 4 otragus, found in the kitchen debris of this stratum.

but

There was

a bout twenty E BP s herds and f orty-five r im s herds o f c ommon wares. Radiocarbon analysis of a c harcoal o f 2 030 b .c.

+ 1 70 yrs.

s ample f rom t his l evel gave a d ate

( ABSM,49).

S tratum 2 1 This

i s a l ayer o f compressed a sh a bout 5 cms t o

1 0cms t hick,

and probably r epresents t he r emains o f f ires f rom S tratum 2 2. will be s een f rom the charcoal a nalysis o f S tratum 2 0,

As

below,

the

p eriod of a ccumulation d oes not a ppear t o have been very l ong, i mately

1 0 y ears.

a pprox-

The a shes c ontained e ight E BP s herds a nd t hirty-

one r im s herds of c ommon ware.

S tratum 2 0 This i s a l evel of c harcoal a bout

1 cms t o 3 cms

t hick,

c on-

t aining more kitchen d ebris made up o f d omesticated animal bones ( goat, s herds

pig a nd s mall cattle) ( mostly r ims)

a nd a lso twelve E BP s herds a nd f ifty

of c ommon ware.

l evel gave a date o f 2 020 b .c.

t aken a bout 5 0cms west of s ample 4 9 a bove).

I t s hould be noted t hat t his

a s t hose t o f ollow,

Radiocarbon analysis o f this

+ 1 00 yrs.

( ABSM,48).

The s ample was

( see a ccount o f S tratum 2 2, s equence o f datings,

are a ll c losely s paced,

o ccupation over a f airly s hort t ime s cale

a s well

s uggesting c ontinuity o f

i n this a rea o f t he s helter.

S tratum 1 9 This l ayer i s a f airly d eep a sh l evel o f a bout t hick;

1 5cms

t o 3 5cms

d epending on the precise a rea o f o ccurrence a long t he profile

o f t he e xcavated s ection, a nd s tone.

This

of t he overhang i n t his twenty-five

i t i s u sually a kind o f c onglomerate o f a sh

i s probably d ue t o percolating water from t he r oof s ector.

This a sh l evel c ontained a bout

E BP s herds and f ifty-five r im s herds o f c ommon ware.

1 60

S tratum 1 8 This

i s a thick c harcoal l ayer a bout 3 cms t o 5 cms d eep with

p lentiful s herd e vidence t hroughout t he whole of the E ast E nclosure. While t he t otal

i nventory o f a ll t he P retalayotic s herd material i s

s till being s tudied,

an i nventory table

f or t his

i s

i ncluded i n t he

c hapter and s ection d edicated t o materials and a rtefacts. bution o f t he s herd material horizontal

2 B e tc ). o f

s cattering i n t he p lans o f t he E ast E nclosure A r eading by

1 870 b .c.

1 4C

+ 1 20 years.

A d istri-

a nd other c eramic e vidence i s g iven i n

on c harcoal ( ABSM,46).

( Plans 2 A .

f rom t his l evel g ave a d ate This c harcoal

d irectly a ssociated w ith B eaker wares o f the E BP

s ample was taken

( Plates 3 8:1 t o 3 9:2).

S tratum 1 7 This t hick,

i s

s till a nother l ayer o f c ompressed a sh a bout 3 5cm

with s ome c harcoal r unning through i t.

gave a r eading o f

1 720 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

D ating o f t he c harcoal

( ABSM,43).

This i s t he h ighest

nd marks the i nterface t o t he a nd youngest o f t he E BP l evels a t Matge a n ext s even s trata of LBP origin.

There were a bout 7 s herds o f E BP

rom this s ection o f t he pror im s herds of c ommon wares f

wares a nd 2 4 f ile c ut.

T he L ate B eaker P hase H orizons o f t he E ast E nclosure

There a re no precise perimeter c hanges between t he EBP a nd LBP horizons;

t he L BP horizons being a part o f t he

The d etermining f actor f or change i s i n t he which a fter

1 700 b .c.

s equential c ontinuity.

i ncised B eaker wares,

( Appendix 3 A )

change i n c haracter a nd t echnique

a long with other f actors discussed i n a s ubsequent part o f t his t hesis.

S tratum 1 6 This

i s t he f irst c harcoal l evel

t he Late B eaker Phase. c ommon wares was

i n the s equence r elating t o

A bundant pottery o f both LBP

f ound i n this l evel,

and t his

i ncised wares a nd

i s t he

the f irst c hange f rom EBP ware t o LBP ware o ccurs.

s tratum w here

This pottery i s o f

a much c oarser grade than t he EBP wares a nd t he quality a nd d esign of t he

i ncisions a re

l ess c omplicated and well e xecuted

( Cantarellas 1 972).

A bout f ifteen L BP s herds a long w ith about twenty-five r im s herds o f c ommon wares. a vailable

A radiocarbon d ate of

f or t his s tratum.

1 620 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

( ABSM,42)

i s

The l evel exists a ll o ver t he East En-

c losure t o a t hickness o f a bout 3 cms t o 5 cms.

I n t he East Enclosure

i t contained no other artefacts a part f rom pottery.

S tratum 1 5 This l ayer i s a h ighly c ompact a sh l evel a bout thick.

1 0cms t o

1 5cms

The compactness o f the l evel s uggests that t he a sh had been

t rodden on f or s ome t ime,

or e lse t hat i t had been weathered,

c omposition i s r ather c rystalline a nd s cale-like,

1 61

a s i ts

while t he f ormer a sh

was of a powdery nature. a long w ith a bout

About t welve good e xamples of LBP wares

1 00 body and r im s herds o f c ommon wares were f ound

i n t his l evel

S tratum 1 4 This material

i s a charcoal l evel a bout 2 cms t o 3 cms t hick.

S herd

s imilar i n t ypology t o f ormer LBP l evels were f ound,

c on-

s isting of an a ssorted mixture o f r im and body s herds of c ommon wares, but only t hree LBP gave a d ate o f

s herds.

1 530 b .c.

at t his point i n t he

Radiocarbon d ating o f t he l evel's c harcoal

+ 8 0 yrs.

( ABSM,41).

s tratigraphical

I t s hould be n oted t hat

s equence of c harcoal a nd a sh t hat

i t b ecomes very c ompact a nd c losely r elated

( see P lan 2 C ).

S tratum 1 3 a nd S tratum 1 0 These l evels a re c onsidered and d isussed t ogether a s t hey have a s omewhat s ingle nature a bout 2 0cms t o 9 5cms

adic a ppearances o f c harcoal, S tratum

i n t hat they f orm a very thick d eposit,

i n d epth,

a nd a re

i nterwoven with s hort a nd s por-

f orming S trata

1 2 a nd 1 1

( see P lan 2 C ).

1 0 i s t he l ast l evel o f a sh and e arth which marks t he a bandon-

ment of the ground.

s helter a s a l iving a rea a nd i ts c onversion i nto a burial

I t a ccordingly marks the e nd of t he P retalayotic o ccupation

a t Matge.

Abundant c ommon wares a nd a f ew L BP ware

s herds w ere f ound

i n t hese l evels.

S tratum 1 2 This c harcoal 3 cms

about

l evel w ithin t he

but o f a r ather s mall a rea

t hicI ,

1 m

1 3-10 c omplex i s a bout ( probably a h earth )

1 cms t o

c overing

R adiocarbon analysis of i ts c harcoal gave a r eading o f

1 470 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

( ABSM,39),

which may be r egarded a s a d ate t hat

i s c lose t o t he a bandonment o f t he a rea f or o ccupation. s herds a nd c ommon ware

s herds were

LBP B eaker

s cattered t hroughout t his a rea,

which i ncluded s even L BP B eaker f ragments a nd twelve r im f ragments f or c ommon wares.

S tratum 1 1 This o ccupational

i s t he l ast of t he c harcoal

t aken f rom a s mall a rea

( see P lan 20, 1 2,

l ayer3 r epresenting t he

s equence of t he E ast E nclosure. S tratum

Radiocarbon s amples were

j ust a bove a nd westward o f t hat o f S tratum 1 2 1 1

may a ctually be c ontemporary w ith S tratum

a nd i ndeed t he r adiocarbon dating s hows only a s eventy y ear d if-

f erence, t hick,

i n l arge c alculation.

The l evel measures a bout

o ccurring between meter markers

youngest of t he P retalayotic 1 400 b .c.

+ 4 0 yrs.

( ABSM,38)

s equence

3 9.5 a nd 4 0.5. i n t he

1 cms t o 3 cms

This

i s t he

s helter a nd a r eading o f

was o btained f rom the c harcoal

s ample.

The n ext s eries of l evels i s made up o f t he Talayotic a nd P ost Talayotic

s equences,

f or l iving purposes.

a nd they r epresent t he a bandonment o f t he s ite There n ow c ommences a n a pproximately

1 62

1 200 y ear

period i n which the

s helter was u sed a s a Talayotic and P ost Talayotic

c emetery i n the E ast E nclosure;

a lthough there i s e vidence a s we s hall

s ee of the Central and W est E nclosures having been u sed a s a workshop a rea i n P retalayotic a nd Talayotic t imes.

These a spects w ill be d is-

cussed and s tudied when we c onsider the s tratigraphies o f these s ectors of the

s helter. S ampling f or r adiocarbon a nalysis a long the

or

l ine o f

l evel

1 2

1 4 might perhaps have produced a d ate that was a bit more r ecent

( that i s c loser t o a d ate of ment of the 1 250 b .c.,

1 200 t o

1 300 b .c.)

f or t he f inal a bandon-

E ast E nclosure and i ts d ebut a s a Talayotic c emetery c irca a s we s hall

s ee below.

This

i s

s imply because i t i s hard

t o believe that t he c harcoal u sed f or analysis r epresents the very l ast o ccupancy o f t he s ite.

H owever,

t he author believes t hat f or practi-

c al purposes a s well a s s cientific ones we c an c onsider t he + 4 0 yrs.

ment o f the a rea by the Pretalayotic s hall

1 400 b .c.

date a s being a very good a ssessment f or t he a ctual a bandon-

s ee,

i nhabitants.

B esides,

a s we

there i s a very important and s ignificant c hange

i n t he

pottery t echnology between the LBP and the f ollowing T alayotic P eriod; changes which are not only t echnological but t ypological.

These c hanges

i n pottery t echnology a nd typology offer one of the c learest d iffere nces between the two periods

i n t he r esearch s tations,

pare the l ast of t he L BP a nd c ommon ware occupation l evel with those of the

3 .3

when we c om-

s herd material f ound i n t he

f ollowing burial pottery.

T he E ast E nclosure T alayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

I t i s a t this point i n our s equential a ccount t hat t he f unction of the Matge r ock s helter c an be s een t o have c hanged f rom a n o ccupat ional one

i nto a burial a rea.

i s not at a ll c ertain;

The exact c ause f or t his a brupt change

a lthough there

i s

s ome i ndication s een i n the

s tratigraphic and a rea position o f many of the very l arge f allen pieces of the o verhang,

s uch a s

' J'

r ock a nd

' U'

r ock e tc.,

that the Pretala-

yotic i nhabitants may well have c onsidered the s ite unsuitable f or l iving. f or

I n a ll events,

l iving a fter

the e ast enclosure was a bandoned completely

1 400 b .c.

The Matge Talayotic c emetery burial being w idely d istributed over a l arge a rea E ast a nd Central e nclosures,

a reas a re p ite e xtensive, ( about

1 38m

) i n both the

but being s hallow i n vertical profile,

c onsisting of only 5 l evels of a pproximately 5 0cms d epth. s een i n P lan 2 ,

c ompared t o the thick

A s c an be

l ater P ost Talayotic quicklime

burials which f ollowed a nd c overed the Talayotic c remations, Talayotic

l evels a re r eally very thin l ayers,

t hese

s andwiched between the

Pretalayotic habitational z ones a nd t he overlying P ost Talayotic quickl ime

i nhumations.

I t i s this r eason that the Talayotic s tratigraphies

c an be more profitably s tudied i n horizontal d istribution than i n a vertical one. The n ecessity f or s tudying the horizontal d istribution o f the Talayotic burials rather than their . vertical brought about by s everal c onditions.

s tratigraphy has been

I nitially,

the burials appear

t o have been l aid out i ndividually within t he c onfines of t he E ast

1 63

Enclosure c emetery r etaining wall, which were built t o c ontain t he c emetery

( Plan B ).

This

i s a scertained by t he f act that t he f ormer

P retalayotic l evels o f o ccupation pass beneath t he Talayotic r etaining wall o f t he c emetery. Excavation s hows t hat originally t hese T alayotic burials were quite orderly,

a s can b e

s een i n t he manner i n which t he

pottery a ccompanying t he d ead was c arefully p laced i n t he burials. The i ndividual burials were probably a rranged i n a l inear manner,

r ather

t han being buried one o ver t he other,

e ach c orpse being burned a nd t hen

covered by a s hallow l ayer of e arth.

No a ctual grave appears t o have

been d ug t o c ontain t he burial a s t he r emains r ested e ither d irectly on t he

s urface o f t he

habitational

s helter f loor o r d irectly on t he Pretalayotic

( Figure 2 3A ).

l evels

This a ccounts

g raphv f ound t hroughout the e ntire l ying quicklime

s helter.

f or t he

s hallow s trati-

The P ost Talayotic over-

i nhumations will be s een t o have l acked t his o rderly

a rrangement o f burial, a cteristic o f t hese

and i t appears

t o have been a n e ssential c har-

I ron Age burials t hat t he bodies were c overed i n

quicklime which was periodically d ug i nto i n o rder t o r ecycle a nd r ea ctivate the l ime after i t had s laked, made.

s o t hat n ew burials c ould be

This process not i nfrequently d isturbed a nd a t t imes

r edistri-

buted not merely the P ost Talayotic burials but a lso t he underlying Talayotic c remation. o r when i t d oes

Therefore,

vertical

i t i s quite c omplicated,

s tratigraphy does n ot e xist a nd more c an be gained by t he

s tudy o f the h orizontal d istributions of t hese two k inds of b urial; a lthough s ome c onsideration has been g iven t o t he vertical profiles, whenever t hey a re i mportant and good c onditions e xist, c oncerning t he l ater P ost Talayotic quicklime

e specially

i nhumations.

I t i s t he

author's experience that s imilar s tratigraphical and physical c ondit ions e xist i n most Talayotic and Post Talayotic c emeteries o f t his s ort on both Mallorca a nd M inorca, has

a nd that f ailure t o understand them

l ed i n t he past t o misinterpretation o f Talayotic and P ost T alayotic

burial

customs.

Accordingly,

emphasis w ill b e - placed on s tudy of the

horizontal d istribution o f t he burials a s well a s the c onditions,

s uch a s t he P ost Talayotic

a rea with s pecial

H owever,

s tratigraphical

l ime c onglomerates,

e mphasis on horizontal chronological

i n e ach

s urvey.

before the pertinent l evels a re d iscussed,

one f urther

general point may be made r egarding t he r esearch s ites of Matge a s w ell a s

l ater at Muertos G allard.

At these s ites n ot one bit of e vidence

exists t o s uggest t hat part o f t he offering a ccompanying the d ead i nc luded a ny f orm of meat.

On t he basis of t he otherwise a ccompaniments

of a bundant pottery and other grave g oods, t o t he d ead s eems

r ather s trange.

Talayotic burials at these s ites. l ater i n a s pecial

this l ack of animal o fferings

This a lso a pplies t o t he l ater P ost H owever,

t his

i s a s ubject c overed

s ection a nd only mentioned here r egarding t he s trati-

graphical c onditions.

The of t he Matge.

s tratigraphy of the

t hree a reas

E ast E nclosure i s

I t i s a lso t he best dated f or this p eriod a nd t he

Post Talayotic

I ron Age.

f act e vidence,

c onsisting of enormous

f ollowing

I t a lso c ontained t he best preserved a rte' caches'

of pottery

l iterally hundreds o f c omplete pots available f or i t was the a ngle of the overhang at t his well

t he most i mportant

c ontaining Talayotic e vidence of t he B ronze A ge a t

s ection of t he

a s the well c onstructed r etaining wall

1 64

s tudy ).

( Plan 2 B )

( there are U ndoubtedly

s helter a s

which g ave t his

enclosure

its

s pecial preservation of materials,

apart f rom the dis-

turbance a lready mentioned caused by the Post Talayotic quicklime humations

and

s ome minor rock

The area

fall

i nvolved in the Talayotic

during the early, K -K.

I n vertical

1 250 b .c. the

s ection the

to 8 00 b .c.

to 4 4,

areas

s tratigraphy covers

f rom

1 250 b .c.

mation was practised.

to 8 00 b .c.

but no

i ron

i tems,

typological

r on

I I

t o

a period of c irca l evel

i n

( below )

which s how

in which the method o f cre-

These c remation burials a s

Talayotic quicklime inhumations of a ' single'

e ast-west

f ollows:

Four l evels of various description

burials dating

bronze,

2 7.5

s equence

East Enclosure s

A s ummary of the contents of these

East Enclosure are a s ( 1)

s tratigraphical

middle and late phases of the

Aye 9 . re d efined by meter markers

i n-

f rom the overhang.

compared to Post

consist of burnt human bone and many

and enormous quantities of pottery e vidence

( Figure 1 01).

a ssemblage

T he E arly a nd M iddle B ronze A ge P hase H orizons o f t he E ast E nclosure

S tratum 1 0 This earth,

layer

i s made up of a mixture of very compact a sh and

varying i n thickness

t o well over 9 0cms at the s urvey meter marker 4 4. s enting the

r esidue of

f rom

1 0cms near

extreme eastern Oddly enough,

i ntense

f ires,

s urvey meter marker 2 7.5

end of the

this

thick

E ast E nclosure,

layer,

while r epre-

contained very f ew a rtefacts

and when it did they consisted of equal mixture of Pretalayotic common wares of the LBP and Talayotic Bronze Age wares of the early and middle phases.

The upper part of this

f requently trodden upon, there

level was very crustly a s

and may well represent a f loor.

are indications other than this that this

it had been I n f act,

i s the case;

t aining wall was constructed directly on top of this layer, vities

i nvolving

a sh and earth l ayer.

l evel would have been further compressed during the actual process

of preparing the Talayotic burials

themselves.

The area may have been

f irst c leared or even r itually purified by making zone before the

r e-

t he building of the cemetery r etaining wall would

c ertainly have r esulted in treading down this The

the

a nd a cti-

l evel

marks

the

the

a ctual Talayotic burials

represents

the

f irst Talayotic

the

c emetery area,

prior to

I n a ll

stratum at Matge

s ite's complete abandonment f or

creation of

f ires over the whole

took place. l iving.

its

e vents,

and a lso

I t r epresents

the

f irst u se f or burial.

S tratum 9 a nd S tratum 7 This unburnt bones

c omposite f rom

l evel

1 0cms

only t o diverge again,

t o

i s

a thick

2 0cms deep.

e ither being

layer of charcoal, At t imes

the

s eparated by the

burnt and

l evel f ine

appears

s corched

r ed earth of S tratum 8 or e lse having Stratum 8 underneath the burnt layer

( see P lan 2 C ,

s urvey m eter m arker 4 1 t o 3 1).

The double deposit

of burnt and unburnt bones and charcoal was probably f ormed by i nter-

1 65

mittent funerary f ires during the Talayotic P eriod. t ained a ll the Talayotic burials.

I t i s this

The l evel con-

l evel and the r ed earth

( Stratum 8 ) which contained many of the artefacts, although the pottery a ssociated with the cremations appears to have been p laced i n a special manner a long the base of the retaining wall of the

P lan 2 / 1).

The presence of occasional

the bodies were

cremated and buried while

j umbled appearance i s This

thick

' contact zone' of this

l evel

throughout the

indicated t hat

i n one piece;

a ctually due to P ost Talayotic

l evel of burnt and unburnt human bone

of Talayotic burials

i sland.

the mixed a nd

intervention.

i s very characteristic

Stratum 7 i s

for the Post Talayotic quicklime burials. i s

1 250 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

( see

E ast Enclosure

articulated bones

a lso the 1 4C

dating

( ABSM,36)

S tratum 8 This

i s

a 5 cms

to 7 cms

thick layer,

s corched and burnt earth which i s the

consisting of very f ine

the r esult of the i ntense heat of

funerary f ires on both the ground around and a lso the earth cover-

i ng them. oxide,

This

f ine earth has

A l unsell 7 .5YR,

to 8/7.

2 .5/4

t o

a wide range of colours 2 .5/2

Actually this earth was

a s a painting pigment.

s o f ine

used to produce good paint.

These

1 0YR,

8 /8

that it could even be used

S ome of the earth was

pose and when mixed with l inseed oil or bronze a s well

from deep r ed

to a bright yellow o chre

collected f or this pur-

s ome other medium could be

The l evel contained both pottery and

as bone artefacts. four strata are the only l evels

metric dating r epresenting the

at Matge that have chrono-

E arly and Middle Bronze Age.

yotic Late Bronze Age in the Matge shelter

i s

The Tala-

r epresented chronometri-

cally by the radiocarbon dating of a ceramic kiln in t he West Enclosure of the

s ite;

based on

otherwise,

the

s ubdivision of

the Talayotic P eriod i s

1 7 other analyses results carried out by the author and others

in various Talayotic and not only burial yotic c ontexts

s ites where c ontexts

distribution of the 1 4C

i nternal At the

more more

s o t han the

The main r eason for this has been the horizontal levels

again a s well

been f elt by the author that more those of

As will be s een the Post Tala-

at Matge are well r epresented;

Talayotic period.

c entrating the

s ettlement activities have taken place

involved.

a s priorities where

i t has

information could be gained by con-

surveys on external chronological problems stratigraphy from one

same

t ime,

than

s ite only.

the author believes

that it i s necessary t o

interrupt and chronologically backtrack i n our a ccount of the Matge stratigraphy to discuss i cal

s equence a s well

consider here

the Central

a s

Enclosure of the Matge s tratigraph-

that of the West Enclosure.

the Pretalayotic

This

i s

contexts present in the Cental

before we go on to the Talayotic ones

there.

West Enclosure which has no P retalayotic

The

s ame goes

contexts,

but

t o

s ay

Enclosure

f or

the

i s the l ocation

of a Talayotic pottery kiln that has been dated and which g ives us a date for the Late Bronze Age of c irca 8 40 b .c., Talayctic

thus

f alling

i nto the

t ime period.

However,

the main reason l ies

i n the

fact that Post Talayotic

l ime conglomerate burials physically cover the whole a rea of the t er;

and hence because of

their complicated nature,

1 66

s hel-

method of excava-

f i g . 28

tion and r ather unconventional

t reatment o f i nterpretation,

Talayotic s tratigraphy s hould come last i n d iscussion, l ogical a s well a s

4 .

l ogical r easons.

T he C entral E nclosure S tratigraphy:

I ntroduction

This a rea o f t he Matge rock s helter l ies s helter overhang.

the Post

both f or chrono-

I t s erved a s

( Plan 2 H )

i n t he c entre o f t he

a n e nclosed a rea f ormed by a r etaining

( Plan 2 1 1 ) which formed a small room or chamber, the purpose of

wall which

i s n ot quite understood;

a lthough t he f ind o f a n

i dol might s uggest ' t he f unction of a s mall

s hrine.

' anthropomorphic'

This s mall r oom o r

c hamber a nd i ts walls were built d irectly over an a rea u sed i n Pretalayotic t imes a s a B eaker workshop area

( Waldren 1 979).

The s tratigraphy

r epresenting this period a s well a s t he l ater Talayotic a nd P ost Talayotic a re n ot complicated, graphies

and are basically e xtensions o f t he s trati-

f ound i n t he East Enclosure,

( Plan 2 B )

( Figure 2 8A).

H owever,

e ssary i n t heir excavation, t he f inds i n the a rea;

a s well a s being much s hallower

e xtra s pecial attention has been n ec-

d ue t o t he varied a nd particular n ature o f

f inds which a re c onsidered i n d etail

i n a s ub-

s equent s ection c onerning t he artefacts.

4 .1

T he C entral E nclosure P retalayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The Central

E nilo rreg Pretalayotic ia r r i s bound by t he north-

s outh c oordinates of R -R on t he west and K -K i s an area between e ast-west meter markers

( see P lan 2 A a nd

2 B ).

The Pretalayotic

yotic wall o f the s mall chamber or

H ere i n t he Central

a nd

1 7.5 o f a bout 8 1m

a rea passes beneath t he Tala-

' shrine'

E nclosure,

on the e ast,

2 6 to

( figure 2 8B ).

t he pertinent l evels f or t he

P retalayotic P eriod a re S trata 1 2 t o 9 . T hese l evels i n a ge c orrespond t o t he whole E BP S trata 2 4 t o 1 7 and t he LBP S trata 1 6 t o 1 0 o f t he Fa s t E nclosure.

The d escription of t he pertinent l evels

i s a s f ollows:

S tratum 1 2

This f loor. were

i s a t hick a ccumulation of e arth on the t op o f t he s helter

I n quadrant m eter marker

f ound,

1 7,

a f ew M yotragus b alearicus bones

a long with a f ew E BP s herds and c ommon ware f ragments.

The A l unsell s oil 1 0mm t o 2 0mm,

c olour i s 5 YR 5 /8 and t he s oil c ontains

s tones a bout

probably t he r esult o f e rosion o f t he overhang f ace.

S tratum 1 1 This i s a l ayer of r ed earth and s ome charcoal which h as been c ollected but n ot y et processed.

I t i s a bout

1 68

1 0cms t o

1 5cms t hick,

and made up o f t ightly compressed l enses o f c harcoal and a sh. l ayers,

E BP i ncised c rucible

oxides a ttached t o t hem.

s herds were

( Plate 4 0:2 a nd F igure 7 1).

f irst appearance o f s uch s herds at Matge

I n t hese

f ound with g lobules of c opper This i s t he

i n E BP contexts.

A B eaker

comb and bronze f lat c ast s pearhead was a lso f ound i n a f orward s ector

( Figures 7 3 .1 t o 7 3 .2).

of t he e nclosure.

S tratum 1 0 This c ompressed,

i s a l ayer o f a shes and e arth w ith charcoal l enses t ightly s imilar t o S tratum

1 1

a bove.

I t a lso c ontained E BP s herds

and c ommon wares , .

The hoard o f bronze awls were f ound i n t he c ounter-

part o f this l evel

i n a f orward s ector of the enclosure.

S tratum 9 i s another brownish r ed earth, l A insell,

This l evel

and corresponds with l evel b .c.

Two unincised

1 7

7 .5YR 5 /4,

i n the East E nclosure d ated at c irca

1 730

c rucible s herds were f ound i n t his l evel with c op-

per r esidue on them.

The l evel was a bout 4 cms t o

1 0cms t hick.

This a rea and i ts l evels constitute the B eaker workshop z one mentioned e arlier

( Waldren 1 979)

and has produced a r emarkable variety

o f P retalayotic a rtefacts a nd other e vidence, d espite i t n ot being a d eep vertical

4 .2

s tratigraphy.

T he C entral E nclosure T alayotic S tra -b igraphy i n D etail

The Talayotic l evels of the Central Enclosure r est d irectly on

( Figure 2 8 ) between s urvey m eter ' P lan 2 A a id p), being bounded on the

t op o f t he P retalayotic horizons markers,

e ast-west 2 6.5 t o

1 7

15

w est by n orth-south s ection R -R

and by K -K

s ure

' shrine'

i n the

s hape o f a c hamber or

( Plan 2 H ).

yotic l evels o f t he B eaker w9rkshop i nterior a rea o f a bout 1 0.5m

.

on t he e ast.

An e nclo-

was built o ver t he P retala-

The Talayotic

The e nclosure has a n l evels a lso e xtended out

onto t he parapet a rea a nd were c ontained by a r etaining wall, was an e xtension o f t he one i n the E ast and West E nclsoures

2 A).

H owever,

which

( see P lan

t his r emaining wall has been d estroyed f or t he most part

by f alling debris e roded f rom t he

f ace of t he overhang i n t his a rea.

S tratum 8 This l evel

c ontains much human bone and charcoal,

the r emains o f Talayotic cremation burials. l evels i n the E ast E nclosure, burnt o r very l ittle burnt, f ound.

The l evel

i s f rom

L ikes

c omprising

i ts c ounterpart

the burial r emains may be e ither badly-

d epending on the a rea i n which t hey a re

1 0cms t o

2 0cms thick and f or t he most part

i s mixed with t he earth of S tratum 8 .

As i n t he E ast E nclosure,

f unerary pottery a ccompanying the d ead was

the

f ound up a gainst t he r e-

t aining walls f orming t he e nclosure, thus l eaving t he i nterior a rea of t he enclosure f or t he burials. Unfortunately the P ost Talayotic

1 69

quicklime

i nhumations,

l ike i n a ll the other a reas o f t he s helter,

c overed t he Talayotic burials,

making them very d ifficult t o s tudy

properly a s t hey often mixed with t he P ost Talayotic materials.

S tratum 8 a This l evel

i s made up of a deep r ed o xidised f ine e arth l ike

t hat d escribed i n t he Talayotic l evels o f t he East E nclosure. f ine earth Munse n,

T his

7 .5YR 2 .5/4 t o . 2.5/2 was doubtlessly c reated by

the i ntensity o f the f unerary f ires on t he e arth of t he s helter f loor and a round t he bodies.

Usually t he pottery,

which was

s tacked a round

t he p erimeter and a gainst t he retaining walls of the e nclosures, up half o r f ully buried i n this layer.

I n t he C entral

e nd

E nclosures,

t his l evel a lso c ontained a f ew minor Talayotic bronze artefacts, the most i mportant f ind i n the l evel i s a n i dol

' anthropomorphic'

but

t erracota

( Figt i re 1 11 a nd P lates 4 6:2 a nd 4 7:1 a nd 2 ). L evels a bove this

and i nhumations

s tratum pertain t o t he P ost Talayotic P eriod

i n quicklime,

and a re d iscussed presently with t he

Post Talayotic l evels f rom t he other e nclosures.

5 .

T he W est E nclosure S tratigraphy: a nd 2 9B )

This

I ntroduction

( Figures 2 9A

s ector o f the r ock s helter was e vidently l ittle u sed i n

P retalayoitc t imes a s no s tratigraphical r emains appear a bove t he c ave f loor.

I t i s not until Talayotic t imes that t his area o f t he

s helter became u sed mainly f or work purposes, Ninth Century b .c. a nd s ome

a r etaining wall

a lthough t oward t he

( Plans 2 A a nd 2 B )

l ate Talayotic burials made.

was c onstructed

This was probably d one when

t he c emetery of the E ast E nclosure was c omplete a nd f illed. be s een,

A s will

t he a rea was a lso t he last t o be u sed i n P ost Talayotic t imes.

At t he s ame t ime t he area i s t he most e xposed t o t he prevailing w inds and r ain,

having l ess of a n overhang t hat t he other areas o f t he

s helter.

The merits of t he West E nclosure r est i n t he f act t hat i t

contained s ome very important e vidence i n t he f orm o f a Talayotic pott ery manufacturing a rea c irca 8 60 b .c. burials a nd,

a s will be

s een,

and a n umber of ' cist'

l ike

a lso produced s ome o f the f irst i ron

a rtefacts and e arliest dates f or t he l ocal i ron age.

5 .1

T he W est E nclosure T alayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The Talayotic s tratigraphy o f t he W est E nclosure i n an a rea between meter ma ke s and e ast-west c oordinates M -M c ontains

a s tratigraphical

9 a nd S tratum 8 .

2 .5 and

1 1,

i s d efi ed

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B; a lso F igure 2 9).

s equence o f two Talayotic l evels,

1 70

I t

S tratum

The r emaining l evels belong t o t he P ost T alayotic

s tratigraphical s equence.

2

west coordinates AA AA

M ATG E, W E S T

EN C LOSUR E, NORT H- SOU TH

PROF ILE

A

T a layo t ic R eta in ing Wa ll

ROC K

SHE LTER

OF

SO N

MATG E

-

EAST W EST

PROFI LE

T AI A

• W E ST

ENC LOSU R E

•

P os t T a layot ic

/ i

/ f 7

. . ...

d o r amm . . . . . .. . , . . ,„ ,

'/ "•• • • • . • • ----

. ..? . •: • • ,•• ••••41.0 "-

•

a m ee

7 /7 , t h i

P

se

A

wl '

/ ge •

r etaining

wall

. . . ,, . . . . . . , i . . .. „ . . _ . , . \ _1 . . 11 ,

. . . 4 . . . :ex e ; ? . : • A re d ig ews t 4 1 . . . . . . A te ww.—f ligAPANYVVY WO W /4 /

K IL N

ARE AS

. 9

•

f ig . 29

S tratum 9 This I t

i s

l evel

composed of

r epresents

the top-most l evel of the

a bly e roded originally from the rating i s

7 .5YR 6/6

i n t he kiln area.

to I t

5 /8, i s

+ 1 00 yrs.

l ected f rom charcoal

f or a sample

prob-

I ts M unsell

face of the overhang.

d irectly under the c harcoal

a lso S tratum 9 which contained t he e arly i ron

artefacts mentioned above at 7 80 b .c.

s helter f loor.

s lightly consolidated earth and stone debris,

a nd which date

( ABSM,26)

f rom charcoal of this

and 7 50 b .c.

f ound on the

+ 8 0 yrs.

s urface of this

l evel

( ABSM,25)

col-

l evel.

S tratum 8 This

l evel

i s made up of dense charcoal,

i n t he a rea of the kiln and f rom 6 cms kiln a reas,

t o 8 cms

( ABSM,28).

I t i s

coal which has been dated at circa 7 50 b .c.

a s

' cist'

I n t he

+ 4 0 yrs. i ron

f ound a long with char-

However,

these

i tems are

they in any way r elated to the pottery kiln,

s e they are related to the

the

1 5cms thick

in the proximity of this kiln area that an i ron s ocketed spearheads were

not Talayotic nor are well

t o

radiocarbon analysis gave a date of 8 70 b .c.

s hafted spear and

a s we will

1 0cms

in other areas.

f irst quicklime

l ike burials mentioned above.

i s mainly to familiarise

W ith the description of this the

t hree enclosure

I ron Ages. l ime

6 .

areas of the

l evel

and their materials.

in the West E nclosure,

stratigraphic

shelter,

s equences

we

f ound i n

up to the Post Talayotic

We are now prepared to approach the problems of the quick-

i nhumation deposit and its

s tratigraphy.

T he P ost T alayotic S tratigraphic S equence:

I t

Their

the r eader with the extremely

s hallow and horizontal nature of these l evels

have now completed the chronological

a s

These will be dis-

cussed i n the contexts of the Post Talayotic P eriod presently. mention here

but

i nhumations

i s

impossible

with any detail

the

to d iscuss or describe

stratigraphic

conditions of

I ntroduction

logically or a ccount inhumations

i n quick-

l ime without f irst equipping the r eader with s ome historical background and i nformation a s well as pointing out s ome o f in the excavation of such cemeteries found in their

inhumation i n quicklime has no prehistoric

a lthough the use of l ime can be traced t o the

who l ined water cisterns with l ime

W aldren 1 974)

i nvolved

conditions

stratigraphies.

The burial method of parallels,

the problems

and the many s pecial

in t he

( also s ee A ppendix l a ,

speaking a Balearic phenomenon,

E arly

s ection 2 .1).

and at the

same

e xtensively u sed both on Mallorca and Minorca. thought by prehistorians

to be

s equence of the

known from extensive chronometric

a s

Post Talayotic s urveys

1 72

Phoenicians,

( Stuiver a nd

I ts use

i s

s trictly

t ime the method was Until recently i t was

a s hort l ived phenomenon,

l asted only a century or at most two a s well the chronological

I ron Age

whose duration

appearing very late P eriod.

at Matge

I t i s now

and e lsewhere on

in

Mallorca and Minorca t hat t he method l asted f or up t o e ight c enturies

( Appendix 1 A ).

The s ource material

f or the

s urvey a t Matge has been

the s tratigraphical profiles and m ethods used i n s ampling below.

I t i s best t o begin our c onsideration of t he quicklime i nhumat ion s tratigraphy by s aying t hat d espite the c onsiderable d estruction by t he quicklime o f t he bones and a rtefacts

i n t he i nhumations,

s till d etermine with s ome c ertainty various

i mportant a spects o f t he

we c an

method o f burial a nd t he preparation n ecessary t o c arry o ut s uch burials. For i nstance,

t he many a rticulated bone s pecimens n oted i n t he w ell

( Plates 5 6:1 a nd 2 a nd F rontispiece): P os* T alayotic s ection o f t he p hotographic v olume ) indicate that the

preserved l ime c onglomerate s amples

bodies were buried when t he f lesh was t he water o f

s till on t he bones.

o f t he quicklime a nd would have a ided t he whole process. t ime,

At t he s ame

i t r emains possible that t he bodies may have been d ismembered

before burial;

t his would help a ccount f or t he c ondition o f t he o sseous

r emains,

a nd at t he

f rom t he

f lesh o f t he bodies.

s ame t ime,

a lso would n ot r emove t he water c ontent D ismemberment of t he bodies would a ccord

with t he d eliberate d estruction o f t he grave goods a s c ase.

I n f act,

t he bodies would be an e ssential f actor i n t he a ctivation

Nevertheless,

bones was due

s eem t o be t he

i t i s c ertain t hat much of t he d isarray o f t he

t o t he f requent d isturbance o f e arlier burials by n ewer

ones throughout t he l ong h istory of t he c emetery.

I t would s eem t hat,

a t l east i n the beginning,

t he quicklime

used f or t he burials would have had t o be s pecially prepared f or s uch o ccasion,

e ither made i n p lace o r made e lsewhere a nd t ransported t o t he

s ite before or with t he bodies.

I t i s very d ifficult t o s tore quick-

l ime under the best o f c ircumstances, i s hydroscopic and begins

t o s lake.

c ess o f manufacturing quicklime, f acture

even f or a s hort t ime because I f one knows

the problems

i t

s omething o f t he pro-

c oncerned with i ts manu-

c an well b e a ppreciated a s a r ather c omplicated a ffair a s well

a s a t echnical one.

The

H owever,

this

i s briefly c onsidered below.

i nterpretation o f t he various l evels o r h orizons

i n t he

l ime c onglomerate a t Matge has not been a s imple vertical t ranslation o f t he d ifferent s trata, s ense;

f or s tratum e xisted only i n t he broadest o f

the s tratigraphy being s tudied i n the horizontal p lain r ather

than vertical. conditions

For t his purpose,

the a uthor c onsidered c ategories a nd

f ound i n t he s ections a nd a reas o f t he overall d eposit.

These a re d escribed a nd outlined below.

H owever,

before we e nter i nto t he d iscussion o f the various

and different c ategories o f l ime c onglomerate graphies o f t he r esearch s tation,

beneficial to t he r eader i f s ome basic process o f making quicklime,

( CaO)

i nformation i s g iven f or t he

and t herefore t he r eader may i n a s ense

better understand t he d escriptive

Quicklime

f ound i n t he s trati-

t he a uthor f eels t hat i t would be

categories presented i n t his

i s o btained by burning l imestone,

c onstituent of which i s calcium carbonate.

1 73

s ection.

t he principal

U nder modern c onditions,

heat i s

s upplied by rapid combustion of gases,

in s ophisticated ovens.

I n ancient t imes

l iquids and s olid fuels

the fuel

s ource was wood

burned off in crudely constructed s tone l ined pit kilns. l iterally hundred of l ime

on the

was until ents,

i slands until about

that t ime

p lasters,

l imestone t ion f or

s uch kilns were

1 0 years ago.

an important local

mortars

Quicklime manufacture

i ndustry,

and white wash.

S o,

producing l ocal

of

l ocal popula-

I ts prehistoric application,

for burial purposes and not construction a s early a s Centuries B .C.

i s discussed in Appendix

s trictly

the 8th and 7 th

( section 2 .1).

1 A

c em-

the process of burning

i s well known on Mallorca and Minorca i n the c onstructional purposes.

I n f act,

s till used f or manufacturing quick-

The

s urvival

the method of manufacture i s believed by the author to be an e xample

of vestigial knowledge

from ancient t imes,

even though t he use o f

t he

end product has changed.

The

f actors affecting the quality of quicklime are:

t emperature r eached during its

f ormation,

( b)

of the parent carbonate rock and

( c)

the rock.

and c lays will

The presence of

the manufacture of Mallorca's l ime made plains.

s ands

the l ime.

( a )

the

the precise composition

the degree of the compactness of affect properties of

For i nstance, quicklime produced from

Jurassic mountain l imestone would be d ifferent f rom quickf rom the arenaceous l imestone

Local

( sandstone)

of

the Mallorcan

i nhabitants who have been i nvolved i n the process of

l ime making have pointed out the necessity of the

choice of the r ight

type of s tone f or the best quicklime.

The t emperature necessary for l imestone 650°

t o

8 982C.

This

range

conversion varies

f rom

i s easily obtainable with wood fueled i n a

rudimentary kiln designed for the purpose.

The resulting quicklime a ctivated with water.

This

i s

duces

s lakelime,

4902C

a re o btained during the

( CaO) the

during which t ime

r eacts vigorously when i t

i s

s laking process which f inally pori nternal

t emperatures of up t o

i ntense period of

s laking.

F ormula: Calcium oxide plus dihydrogen oxide ( CaO + H2O Reversal Hydroxide, 4 502C,

of the process

( Ca(OH )

2

2

)

i s possible with the r esulting Calcium

, by reheating the

after which the quicklime

= Ca(OH)

- Calcium Hydroxide

s lakelime

t o a t emperature of

i s once again r eady for r eapplication.

When s lakelime produced f rom a ctivated quicklime a l ong period of t ime,

it i s

the air and rainwater,

and

i tself

( this

it c omes

i s one

i s

l eft over

further a cted on by the carbon dioxide of

i t i s capable of becoming a s hard a s

of the main difficulties pointed out

t o excavating the deposit).

E xamples of this hardening and

crystallisation has been noted t o o ccur i n where quicklime has been used.

1 74

( CaCO 3 )

earlier when

s ome o ld Roman pavements,

MATG E

•. .

, „ "• • •. . . •I., • . * • ` . . . .: k, :• .•„•' • • . 2 . _, . . . . , • h . . ,_ ,. _ •f •4 9 ("" •11 . • 9 . ' 1 '••••"•-• • • . • • ""-* • •" ' • •• r •-• r• r- - . : g r . -T - •K a n e . . ". . .* ' •• • . : . - , i • :. r . '• • • , •. . • ._ _ _ • •i • T e • • ' ' ' • . , -w . , . / b. 11 1. i t ; I . f 2 4,•:• . . . . e r f • .h . ... :J o . • : S. • . •. . .: •

f

‘

• • •• • • . * • .• r : ;.. . : ', • • • :. / . 1 • • . .a"....2., .....••., •• . • .•- 4. • i •: . ' % . "• rx i . i • , . . • , . i r ''. ' • .

A

- .14 P

' • a •

J r . •. . . , ''..

9

• • ' . ' . . /.

•

• . e r.

, • Xj " .' - t

" :‘ . .

i r. ./ .

•: -. 1 .;

•• • •0• • I t ig,% a •

•4 -- , .j

• ••

• • , „ ,. • e •• •

es. . . ' d

ö:

. • . ,

•. - ..

. • •.* j . .i • .L .T — •• : 1 ' • -' * ' t J . :-

.le a "

p

%.

•" "

. • .. ..id i

.

-

: •7. « . „ , . . I

• 4 .e s e

. . .• „ A •

.

I

•

. . 1 .... . .

. .i . . • . . . A>

•

— e •JL .

•

._ _, . — . , 1 . . . .

d r

1

a . • * •

25%

4. .4

e •• z . 7 , 0.. . . . ... .ä .-0 . .1 * . .. ! ....

.

•

r . . .

•' 1

. . . . . . . a t. • . . 2 . • • . . . . .. . . i f . . —" J .;

. . .

d i

•

4 . :* . .. C • •• •

. . .. • .. . . ..

% M. .

.

.•

i Z; d e•

d B -- •• 4 ...4.

1, .. ,

4 >

. .. Jr,

_1

. d . ..i •

TS ..

• • grl i .‘.

.. . . . .. ...

t

• ': •t . Ze 7 22 . . . . 7 •

14. 7--, ;e : . . -. : :. .: . , • • , . I .z .r . :. . ,. t . . . . . . .%;. .. . ,_• . . „ ,_•d !• . „ ., .j . , .,

J• 1 . .-- 4 •• . , • .• 1 ' . • J . 0

-

d i

1

. "

•

.43

. 1 .! Z.

.. . . . . • •• .••

; ,'

. : •• •• • • •1•0 :7'41 : ,di .,.. „ ....• .1. • 1 . 4 .-5 T

*. i"

.. ;"

.. , - ,.

. * : • $z.-• •_ • . '•. • > . i t• •8 r 1 . -» -

" • • • .. . ...

I

5% . ,2 .

_

4 0

. 4 • • • • • • • .2 .

, . .31 6 . >• • • 1

P r

i o • r • i ir • 4 4 , rr . _ _ .

.— ..

•• N _ _ d i

•

Z .. .

• I F . . ..

' ' ' '

. •

a .% . . ,r

4 o P. * •

. •

.•

• -4 0 ••

-

•

•

e u ega

4 1

.

•

h;

' L 1 1

.

.. . .» I V"

m

BONE RE MA INS

Alb .

.

7 .0

o d er

:1 1 1 'I

l ip

.4, „ • . -. .. ,. . .. . . ,. -r - a . d o P o w • III d l e i l l ' im .. . • • •• w

a ,

II P

. «. -

c

= f

4 0 g = = fu ß o

NOR MAL

. 04, . . .... . . .!. . . •• 1 ) ,, , , ../ .

f li iii. a p

,I l e

I MP

YI P'

. ..es top

.

d i/ P

. • • • • • " ' " w

l r •= .

8 = 0 2 1= 1 C D g

( 2)

D

i lb

.

i „ , _ , . . ,

'

P P

25%

M

1 1 1 1>

•e _g __ .. 4 .

dir .I n d

l i g9 ;at

« I lk

r

. ----" " I le

Al p . . .e a )

at r a mmO .

• d o> .

2 5%

C:, 0

° 1 , 21 c: = :7 3 C)(D o 0 C) i O C Z,

OF

e

• j p•••• 1 10

, . « ' « . . . ...

ip . . .41 1 1 1 1

ow * • • • •••

_ ° _. C ) 0

= dop

l e imis•••• • ' . ' . ..

. . . .. .•••• ••

D ISTRIBUTION

-

e

_ . . . . _ m a r • 4 0 1." " "" . . .. .. . .•

s om i im M II .

: d e . 4 "m i lk . . i r . .4 s > 9 d i e

j o i sm i

a

. . . . .

e.r a e , . •a le b f • , . . 7 ,• ■ • • :-. . •mrd e . . . . . .d i .d o> . " . . . . . .

•

d r e

.4 1b

i '

• u re

. • •• •

I . ,

.

• 4

gz=0= 3to

L I ME

c ooC

)

c c o = 4 : a ) 0

I NHU MATION S '

STRATIGRAPHY •

ti s .

3 0

A s mentioned earlier,

at f irst g lance the general appearance

o f a ll Post Talayotic quicklime i nhumations I t i s a very d ense, once s een,

white,

i s

s uperficially s imilar.

pop-corn o r c inder-like c onglomerate which,

c an n ever be f orgotten.

I n f act,

i t i s t hese very c haracter-

i stics which f acilitate t he d iscovery o f s uch a s ite,

a nd where v ery

l ittle vegetation w ill grow over t he s urface of t he s lakelime o f t hese c emeteries;

t hus

l eaving the white weathered s urface e asy t o f ind a nd

i dentify.

The

1 0 principal v ertical

s ection profile c ategories a re a s

f ollows:

C ategory 1 . This r epresents c onditions where t he f irst u se o f t he quicklime o ccurred d irectly over f ormer Talayotic B ronze Age c remations. s ome i nstances,

( Plate 8 3 a nd 8 4).

burials

a ' contact z one'

This l evel i s c onsidered by t he a uthor a s

o f t he Late B ronze Age a nd the E arly I ron Age,

pending o n t he c onditions and t he a rea of the c emetery. d efined by a v ery d ense l ayer o f charcoal, ' attempts'

a uthor u ses t he word

s oil,

s corched and

at c remation o f the Talayotic burials

' attempts'

a nd not c remation Artefacts,

( the

a t c remation because i t may well be

t hat the f ires u sed i n Talayotic burials may be t hose o f f ires

d e-

I t i s c learly

powdered c harcoal a nd burn

bones which d irectly overlies a t hick b ed of f ine c reated by t he

I n

the quicklime burials have become mixed w ith e arlier

' purification'

' per s e').

i ncluding metal o bjects

( only bronze i n most c ases,

t hough a very f ew e xamples o f i ron o bjects i n e very e arly I ron Age c ont exts,

s uch a s the antennaed s hort swords o r i ron daggers a nd c ast,

s ocketed i ron s pearheads i dentical t o bronze LBA ones;

s ee t ext),

pottery,

their o rigin

g lass and bone a re o ften f ound i n t his

l evel,

being mainly Talayotic but i t can a lso be P ost Talayotic t ransitional. The l A insell colour of the 4 /6.

3 /2,

5 YR,

5 /8 and

s corched f ine e arth i s varied: M unsell 2 .5YR,

1OR 3 /3,

4 /6.

These c olour variations i n the s oil are t he r esult o f r epeated f ires o f t he Bronze Age burial r ite and t heir e ffect on t he e arth o f t he burials.

This i s particularly noticeable i n t he walled a rea o f

Matge 's E ast E nclosure ( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ),

between meter markers 2 6-44.

C ategory 2 I n t his c ategory the c onditions r esult f rom t he c reation o f c avities which were e xcavated i n P ost Talayotic t imes t he or c onglomerate o f a f ormer l evel of burials, t hem

i n t he s oil o f

o ccasionally mixing

( Figure 2 , d iagrams o f l ime s tratigraphical s ections ).

being other kinds of

' contact z ones',

e xcavation a nd c ollection of d ating

These,

r eceived s pecial a ttention i n

s amples.

I t was noted t hat t hese

s igns o f i ntrusions a nd t he r elated c ontact z ones were o ften marked by charcoal l enses which e xtended widely i n s ome burial areas. The c harc oal l enses a re probably the r esult o f f ires u sed t o r eactivate s ome of the

s laked l ime.

The l evels making up this c ategory c ontained i ron

1 76

L I ME

ST RATI GRAPHIES

_

.

•

• - •• .

. • • . „ '• .. • -• . . . .A .• > , . '•''r e •K . .. . . :r li .4 0: `2 . I ' d ;•'' •.. „ " . " •. . , •a k e .• . ,

, ' •' .

' .u :- •

_ ..

7 . •-:

. .— • f e . . . • . .—I P

4 .g ar - • . " • .•

0°1 -. 1 c p . -f c p a. " : : 1 c== = 1 . r ,5 , t • ., 0 ., • - c" c ? 0 T '0 1 10 4

0

t : = • . C 1 7 pe rr i c : . c p , •

r : =1 a c . a

0

.

•. .

. * :,

b -;• • .••.• .' .. ' • • • • • . ••

. , • , . .e . • . . I . . . . . . , . • • . . • • • . ; . . . , • • _ . • „ , . • :. • .. , ab

.• , • . •

.°

•

•

•. 1 . ..•I

— .. .

•

•

› ._ z

1 .... 1 11

40

. :9 "1

. I I I .

d i

°

• -• :1• - ' . • -'

e

r

-J

A

e

."1 "

-7.-.

. $

. .

•

P .''

Y

s

.

"

• ••

I LD C.

CD

r== =2 i l .1 2 CD a • g, r .- =

•

N .« ,

.g

.

•

/ NE.

/ • 1.

1 1". " 1 1

1 11 ' .

;

1 1 ',

•

• . •

.

•

•

•

'

-•

• .

• • • , .

/•

•

. .

I . • •. , .e r_ .

• ••

• " ‘ •

•• , •

•_

.

o r•• .. -" • •4 .--

_ * 2 A 7

. ."

« , `

I .. go •

_ . - tr• — • .•

%

3

« I»

2

. • •

.

I i

••

•

•

= 1 1 C.

Cb

t=a g

. .. 11

1

•••■

• • • : Z3

l e -

1

. -• .

• •

C: )

' -

4.

ill

• •

e .,•

:1 1 :• 1 1

•• •

• — . •— •

0

,. .i t

'

.

_ - • • .

• •

C. .•:1 b .* :•

e

4 1

. • •'

. - 1 -• " .

.— . .

- s ow

•

•• •2 .. 1 •

. . " .. • l i. ' •• - . . -s o

. ..

•"••. . •: • -

I P . . .

,; ... .. ....

.

..

11

1 = I

Ce a

•

•I

•

t

•

. •

1 ,

i : : = ==

1 ( : : .

" . r . . . . •.

•

•

CI

-

a '

7

g•

o :=ri

42

2 c o T "-- --

I C I I,

i -

umm i t

4 t o

.. . . .01 11 •

d• gab

• i .'• " .1 2 1• ' •

•

••••

d o • • •• ' • •I ' ir f l Oh •4 -• J '3 1 • • i i ,‘' , , .•• i

4

3

• •• • « .. .

•

9.• • •••

• .« .

•• ••••• • • •• •• 4 0

« .'. .• .;• . • • • •

• 0

. ...

1

0

•

•

•

••• a •

• • ••

'. .. .

0

• • • • •• . . .

• •

•

.

. . .. . .. .

. .. .. ...

• • ••

• . . ..

" ." .. ... • •

. . .. • • ••

•• •••• •

l i p

c •

•

. .•

••

• •

• •• • •

, . .. . •

9

..• .

• • • ••

•

•

. .

,

.

__

• •— • -2 •

.

• •

• / •

•

•

.

•

• • ••• . ..

.

. . . P t

.

•••

•

• • • ••

Cm c= 2

0

0

c)

4$

1= ==:1

i n

s

t .• ••

•

'.. C

e % .• • •• .4

1 . " a

re

Z

=Y 1""

..• •

"

e— :.. •. • -.

. . L .. 72 _ .. _ _L Ö: _ . _. :p .

C > c »

011 1 / Ma d eit

• •. • • • • •

. . . _, .

.• •. •

C.

I P •CZ1

=

l

i " •-•' 4

4. •

P"Z.

;

,

• • •

•

•

_

1 ... •

_ . . . _ ." ..

r .a .C1 0

•

•• . . . .. . .. •• .- . .- - . . , • •-• . . .. . -.. • . , . .. . •• . .. .. -.. .— •• • • — _ __ . . . . . _ , — .. . •• • • —• • II I AP ----—• • / 1 .• • . . .•• • . .• . . . . . .. . . -. .. 1 0 . « . . .• I 4 . • • • ••• • • . .• . * • • •• • • • . ' -' . . . 9 ' . -.3 .

am

=. .

Wa m .r

a l.

«•

. «

"Mi f li n

. 1 (

• • • ‚ ;

• . 1-

6

5 •

* or

11 9 .

3 1

21 1 1 1F • 1 :

•f• •

. .

...

•

..

..

. . .* . • M l le ‘ . % -2.•7 : . : e i l lP • ••. : . _ . " * .

d i /7 " : •

, -

• CY

•

— -

.

: .- 1 7 _ . — . _ __ — . -7 7 . . . —. . -i r .. 4-

: 3

c D ,

1 =. . .

. •

i ,= 3

C: $

• • «' •1 ;:" ."' 14 1 : 7• • •• . :3 t

LC Z .

0

j r : == = z•• • « . »

T h O•

r= . 3. 4ä

-

•

i l P

am m on t « u m

i i

.— .— ..

a

••• • .-. 44. . -• , ••

wait •

.•.

•

dab

4 1 1 13

' • C

8

7

• •

. •

C 13

•

. -•• •

. •

" 1 ' j•

« C3 I

. c y

• ■••

c = :

c

1

Cf

.13

•

9

1 0 •

•

•

I

B

A

P ost T oloyotic#

, , .. . ,

( 26 , =.e l 0 . , , . . .r.. =

0 0

c ` . . . •1 ==2

j . •

• ;==1

T olayotic

•

:

j u n w

i m. ... ...« I"

» . ; .. : , ;;r . . :

e

g. , . . . . .. mal . . . ..4 •

8 1/

pm . .

. : • ';‘; ! • _.f -: y

:

• =2,

J

I "

j o ammo w .. . »

« C 3 i t

'

o

•

t

— s z . w in if l o.. . .4 . ,

1 ..... . ./ 19

•

•

40

•

p o... f l.. . . .."„r nd . ...ad lo

«P . .. g o

14 0 ' : ;

Pr •t al ay ot i c

•

CO NTA CT

ZONES

f ig . 3 2

and bronze a rtefacts o f a ll three I ron Age phases d epending o n t he d epth of the object i n t he c onglomerate;

a c ondition which e xisted

i n

a ll but a f ew c ategories.

C ategory 3 I n this c ategory t he l evels a re s imilar, t ies,

t o t hose

j ust c ited,

much more c harcoal, t he

f uel

f or

apart f rom t he cavi-

but where the l ime c onglomerate c ontained

and a t t imes e ven charred wood,

f ires probably l it t o r eactivate

which w as e vidently

s lakelime f or r euse,

a nd would s uggest t hat t he process a nd chemistry o f l ime r eactions was w ell understood at t his e arly period.

S amples o f t his c harred

wood have been c ollected a nd s tored f or i dentification o f t he t ype o f wood u sed f or f uel.

S ome i ron a nd bronze M IA a nd E IA a rtefacts

a re f ound i n t hese l evels, f rom i nhumations.

a long w ith occasional human bone c omponents

The l evels a s

i n a ll t he c ategories c an vary f rom

( see P lan 2 B a nd F igure 3 o f t he s tratigraphical s ection p rofiles). 1 0cms o r l ess t o 3 0cms

i n d epth

C ategory 4 I n t his c ategory the l evels are e longated d eposits o f s lakel ime matrix of varying d epths 2 0cms.

a nd of d iffering

f rom s everal c ma t hick t o a bout

c onsistencies.

1 5 t o

The l atter a re undoubtedly d ue

t o conditions l ike s hort or l onger periods o f weathering s urface e xposure o r i ntervention by other l ater burials,

and i n s ome c ases,

t he e ffectiveness of the preparation o f t he quicklime Charcoal a nd c avities are a bsent, c hips of bone.

w ith only t he

( Figure

t o

4 ).

s urvival o f s mall

I n extreme cases l ike this a rtefacts w ere c ompletely

a bsent or evidence of their presence was t estified t o only by r usty o r blue

s tains

i n the deposit,

s howing where a rtefacts o nce e xisted

but were c ompletely d estroyed by t he caustic a ction o f t he l ime.

C ategory 5 I n this c ategory r aw l imestone i s present i n t he I f t his was deliberate,

s laked l ime.

i t may have been added f or a s pecific r eason

s uch a s t he preparation o f t he

s tone f or f uture d ecomposition,

r e-

f raction o f i nternal heat c reated by the s laking process o r e xtrae ffectiveness.

The exact r eason i s not understood.

o f raw s tone material - a ccidental or purposeful

This

i nclusion

- was however r e-

s ponsible f or t he better preservation of a rtefacts a nd human bone which o ccasionally were protected. not i nfrequent

( Figure 5 ).

Thankfully,

The basic

t his c ondition was

s tructure o f t he d eposit i s

s imilar t o t he previous d escriptions,

except t hat t he s laked l imes

c ould b e powdery and unconsolidated.

The best preserved a rtefacts

were o f L IA origin with o ccasional M IA o bjects

s uch a s

o ccasional

i tems.

l ead'pectorals'

a nd i ron and bronze

' faience'

beads,

C ategory 6 I n t his c ategory t he quicklime has been e specially e ffective l eaving only f ragmentary t races o f metal 1 79

o bjects

i n t he f orm o f o xi-

dised

s tains of i ron and bronze.

equally destructive

The action of the quicklime has been

to the human r emains,

r educing them t o a highly

f ragmentary state in which most of the remains nisable.

S everal degrees of this

a re

j ust visibly r ecog-

c ondition exist t hroughout the de-

( Figure 6 ).

posit

C ategory 7 I n this variations

category the l evels

in the

in the profile are affected by

s tate of the topmost s lakelime which c an come a bout

in different ways,

the main one being where

t o th3 overhang of the

s helter.

it i s

For example,

l ocated i n r elation

the areas of the

s helter

t hat are most fully overhung are those best protected f rom t he weather, while

those

farther out on the parapet have naturally suffered the

most weathering.

I n the

f irst i nstance,

ate would be l ess

consolidated;

the conglomerate would be t imes

e ven powdery,

s urface of the conglomer-

in areas where

this

condition

less consolidated amd quite

whereas where

exposed to the weather,

the

the

the

underlying strata existed.

s ome

a s hard as

l imestone;

a

independent of whether or not d eep

I n fact the whole of the West E nclosure

area was

capped over by this weathered variety of s lakelime.

l ike the

i nner protected areas

g lomerate was

e xisted,

being

s urface of the conglomerate was

lime matrix was

condition of weathering which s eems

s oft,

of the

easier to excavate.

East Enclosure,

At the same t ime,

profiles

l ime was hard beneath a s oft l evel,

the

lowermost l evel probably lay exposed to weather for a period of before

the areas was

imported wares l evels

of the

i n Category 4 .,

i n which

t he

t ime,

a s

I n areas

the l ime c on-

reused for i nhumation.

of Roman origin

s how that

S ome very late LIA

( Plates 1 02 a nd 1 03)in the uppermost

E ast Enclosure where this dry powdery condition e xisted,

and bone preservation could be good,

except for a c ertain dryness,

s ituations

l ike this dry one.

i tems were

a lso found i n these protected d ry areas of the

i n

Occasional other L IA i ron and bronze s helter.

C ategory 8 I n this where at

s ome

quicklime was l ime was

category the profile

s tage or s tages

a destructive agent,

of moisture or mixture with too much s oil

( Figure 8 )conditions

thinly applied to the human r emains,

i neffective a s

can increase

s odium in the

represents

i n the build up of the deposit the

the

earth).

l ack

( though proper amount of

effectiveness of the quicklime, Conditions where this

quicklime probably took place i nner areas of the

s oil

s o that the quick-

probably due to the

because of the

over-mixture of s oil

and

s eem to have occurred in parts of the

East E nclosure.

Well preserved i ron and bronze

artefacts of both MIA and LIA typology originated f rom zones with these

conditions,

with occasionally better preserved bones.

C ategories 9 a nd 1 0 I n these last categories the profiles tained only burials belonging to the cemetery's use. of charcoal

I n category 9 ( Figure

s eparates

the quicklime

1 80

s how l evels

that c on-

later phase of the P ost Talayotic

9 ),

only a very powdery l ayer

i nhumations

f rom the

l ower earlier

burials;

o r a s

i n c ategory

1 0

( Figure 1 0), where perimeter areas con-

t ained P ost Talayotic quicklime i nhumations a lone,

having n o f ormer

burials below t hem.

i n c ategory 8 ,

I n this l ast c ategory

( 1),

a s

t hese areas o ften produced well preserved a rtefacts.

I n f act a reas

o f t he c emetery where these c onditions e xisted produced s ome f ine e xa mples o f c lassical wares o f c ategory 8 ,

t hus

s imilar t o pieces f rom t he l evel

( uppermost)

a lso d emonstrating t he l ate p eriod o f q uicklime

c ontexts a t Matge.

A lthough t here a re many other m inor variations

i n t he vertical

profiles o f t he l ime c onglomerate, most r emain s imilar i n a ll major r espects t o one o r o ther o f t he h ere.

1 0 c ategories

The c onditons r epresented here a re

i llustrated a nd d escribed

i mportant i n r egard t o t he

p articular way i n which various parts o f t he w hole l ime d eposit f ormed o ver t he c enturies a s

t he burials were a dded t o t he c emetery.

conditions d emonstrated are G allard - but,

nevertheless,

the a uthor h as n o doubt whatsoever t hat

t hey w ill prove a lso t o r epresent c onditons f ound Talayotic w ill

The

f rom o nly t wo s ites - Matge a nd M uertos i n any other P ost

I ron Age quicklime i nhumation c emeteries,

a nd t hey hopefully

s erve a s a check l ist i n a ny f uture e xcavations o f P ost Talayotic

c emeteries where q uicklime burials a re present.

S uch r eference would

a lso help t o a dd a ny n ew s eries of c onditons present i n t hese n ew excavations

At

t o t his basic l ist.

t he present t ime t he author i s e ngaged i n e xperimental r e-

s earch u sing a nimal bones and quicklime,

i n o rder t o t ry a nd r eproduce

t he c onditions which have been observed a nd which a re l isted a nd d esc ribed h ere.

The author f eels that i n only t his manner c an our know-

l edge o f t he m ethod be extended. which a ccurate l lels

I t i s a lso probably t he only way i n

i nformation can be gained because o f t he l ack o f para-

i n t he prehistoric o r e thnographic r ecord which s how a s imilar

t reatment o f t he d ead;

a lthough s ome valuable i nformation might be

g otten f rom h istorical

s ources,

human pest victims a s well c uted a nd d isposed o f p resent c entury.

where quicklime was used t o d ispose o f

a s c riminals

i n prisons who had been e xe-

i n quicklime pits until t he early part o f t he

I n a ll events,

the l ack o f c ontemporary o r earlier

parallels l eaves much t o conjecture a s t o f rom where t he custom o f quicklime i nhamations

f irst originated.

might a lso i nform our e fforts which underlay t his burial e vidence

6 .1

The e xperimental

r esults

t o understand t he r eligious beliefs

r ite,

t hough one c an hardly e xpect d efinite

i n t hat d irection f rom any purely a rchaeological

s ource.

C oncerning t he L ime C onglomerate C ategories a nd S tratigraphy

Apart f rom t he various w eathering c onditions t hat t he l ime d eposits underwent a fter d eposition, variations

there a lso appear t o have b een

i n t he quality o f t he quicklime u sed i n t he i nhumations.

This was probably d ue t o the rather r udimentary c ontrols t echnology o f

i ts manufacturing process.

o f making quicklime are

Modern kilns

s ophisticated d evices,

i n t he s imple

f or the p urpose

f ed by g as or other

f uel which i s capable of producing c ontrolled t emperatures,

1 81

a nd hence

better quality quicklime. ovens,

The ancient kilns w ere c rude,

c onsisting o f a s tone

uncomplicated

l ined p it w ith a s imple draught.

For a

c lue t o t he d esign o f t he a ncient k ilns, we can u se t hose which until a bout

1 0 years a go were s till u sed l ocally by t he i slanders.

t ioned earlier,

s econdary i ndustries, I n f act, t he

A s men-

quicklime manufacture has l ong been one o f t he

i slands'

s haring i mportance with c harcoal manufacture.

these two i ndustries w ere u sually c arried out s ide by s ide i n

f orested mountainous

a reas of Mallorca where whole colonies

e xisted

on t he basis o f t hese t wo i ndustries,

until butane gas a s

a go a s

i ndustry r edundant a nd a t t he

1 0 y ears a go made t he charcoal

s ame t ime

s hort t ime

i mported c ements a nd p laster r eplaced t he l ocally made l ime.

One c an s till

f ind hundreds o f t he k ilns u sed i n t he l ocal

production o f quicklime

s cattered t hroughout t he mountains.

c onsist of s tone l ined pits a bout 5 meters d imension of u p t o 3 m eters,

s ince

T hey

i n d iameter with a vertical

t he walls o f t he k ilns

s ometimes

s tand about 2 m eters a bove the ground, with a door at ground l evel a d raught a s w ell

f or

a s f or f eeding the f ires d uring t he l imestone burning.

These kilns a re very s imple

i n construction a nd the a uthor c an s ee

nothing which would have prevented the building o f very s imilar k ilns by prehistoric man i n manufacturing t he q uicklime yotic

i nhumations;

f or t he P ost Tala-

a fter a ll t he manufacturing process

i nvolves nothing

• but burning l imestone i n a pit by wood f ires which a re c apable o f r eaching t emperatures o f 6 502 t o 8 982C.

The quality o f t he quicklime a s

i n ancient t imes probably varied

i t d id w ith t he r ecent l ocal product,

due t o t he d iffering l imestone

u sed and t he uneven t emperatures produced w ith t his primitive k iln. I n t urn,

the variable quicklime quality i s c ertainly a f actor i n t he

variation we have o bserved i n t he vertical profile s ections t rated a nd d iscussed a bove.

At t he

s ame t ime,

the quality o f t he quicklime was not a lways very h igh,

a s

i t i s,

having i rreparably damaged a v ery h igh per-

c entage of t he g rave g oods. erate

t hat

or w e would

have had no preservation o f t he artefacts o r bones at a ll; i t was only t oo e ffective,

i llus-

w e c an be g rateful

On the other hand,

t he quicklime c onglom-

i s probably r esponsible f or protecting a g reat d eal o f t he e arlier

Talayotic material by f orming a protective l ayer over t hese underlying l evels.

For t he

s ake o f c ontinuity,

we will r eturn t o t he d iscussion

o f t he various d istinguishable l evels glomerate

s tratigraphies,

i n t he P ost Talayotic l ime c on-

beginning w ith t he W est E nclosure,

l eft o ff a nd r eturning t o t he C entral

E nclosures,

where we

and e nding with t hat

of t he E ast E nclosure.

6 .2

T he W est E nclosure P ost T alayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The post Talayotic l imc c losure begin w ith c oordinates,

c onglomerate

l ivel9 o f t he W ust E n-

north-south 2 AA AA

on t he e ast by north-south coordinates R -R ,

1 82

. on t hc

west a n9

a n a rea of a bout

1 10m

.

Most o f t his area was c ompletely c overed over with a t hick hard l ayer o f w ell weathered l ime conglomerate.

I n s ome p laces i t c ompletely

i ncorporated t he r etaining wall o f t he e nclosure.

There

was

s ome

e vidence o f a part o f t he l ime c onglomerate d eposit having b een d ist urbed i n modern t imes.

The s tratigraphy i s made u p o f

t he d escritpion o f which i s a s

s even l evels.

f ollows:

S tratum 7 ( Category 1 ) This l evel

i s

2 0cms t o 4 0cms t hick,

c onglomerated l ime r esidue

i n most z ones,

c onsisting o f l oose a nd

but i n a f ew a reas,

w ere c remated c arbonised bones belonging t o f ragmented burials.

The author c onsiders

T alayotic

E IA c ontact z one.

f acts w ere

f ound i n t his l evel.

t his l evel

' cist'

t here l ike

t o be a T alayotic L BA/Post

A f ew f ragments o f i ron a nd bronze a rteFragmentary pottery b elonging t o the

L BA/EAI were a lso s cattered t hroughout t he area of t his

s tratum,

a long with samples o f g lass beads.

S tratum 6 ( Category 4 ) This l evel s lakelime

f rom

a nd bronze

i s one which i s made up of f airly w ell c onsolidated

1 5cms t o 4 0cms thick with many bone f ragments.

s mall

I ron

f ragments a nd s tains a ppear i n t he l ime c onglomerate,

t hus t estifying t o a l arge quantity o f metal a rtefacts o nce present. S everal badly c orroded i ron hair r etaining r ings, points a nd i ron knives were f ound i n t his l evel, i n Figure

i ron a nd bronze s imilar t o t hose

s een

1 41.

S tratum 5 ( Category 3 ) This l evel

i s a dense c harcoal l ayer a bout 3 cms t o 5 cms t hick,

probably the r esult o f wood f ires having been u sed t o r eactivate t he s lake l ime.

A r adiocarbon a nalysis of t his c harcoal

l onging t o badly preserved b .c.

1 00 yrs.

' cist'

i n o ne a rea,

be-

l ike burial g ave a r eading o f 6 20

( ABSM,22).

S tratum 4 ( Category 4 ) This l evel a bout

i s another c onsolidated l ime c onglomerate l ayer

1 5cm to 2 0cms t hick,

o f artefacts

i s

r are.

very s imilar t o S tratum 6 , but preservation

One would have t o c lassify t his l evel a s a n

extreme c ase o f Category 4 .

Bone

r emains

ments a long w ith metal o bjects r educed t o The material

i s,

h owever,

a re r educed t o s mall f rags tains

i n t he c onglomerate.

t oo badly damaged f or d etailed i dentifi-

c ation o r a ssessments of quantity t o be possible.

S tratum 3 ( Category 2 ) This t o

l evel

i s r epresented by another charcoal l ense a bout

3 cms t hick, which a lso r epresents the

r eactivate

t he

s laked l ime.

Charcoal

not a s y et processed. 1 83

2 cms

l ighting of w ood f ires t o

s amples have been c ollected, but

S tratum This

2 ( Category 7 )

l ayer i s a very hard and weathered layer o f l ime c on-

g lomerate a bout 2 5cms t o 4 0cms t hick, c orporated t he

which covered t he a rea a nd i n-

s tones o f t he r etaining wall.

Small bone c hips a re

e xposed by s evere weathering i n t he upper-most s urface o f t his l ayer w here

i t i s

e xposed t hrough t he thin t opsoil.

s herds o f c lassical late R oman wares,

Apart f rom o ccasional

t his l evel c ontained very l ittle

o f i mportance.

S tratum 1 This i n p laces

i s t he

s urface l evel o f t he present-day,

a s a thin windblown t op-soil,

t o a t hickness of 2 cms t o 3 cms.

which a ppears

where i t c ollects

i n pockets

S ome l ate c lassical Roman wares w ere

f ound i n t hese pockets which may have been weathered out o f S tratum 2 .

Other profile s ections e xists

f or t he Matge P ost Talayotic

a nd Talayotic l evels of the West E nclosure;

however,

t o present t hese

would only e nlarge t he d iscussion and would s erve n o r eal e xtra detail t han a ppears

i n t he

s ections a nd profiles

e ntational o f t he West E nclosure

s o f ar presented and r epres-

s tratigraphy.

These other profiles

have a lready been s ufficiently d escribed i n i nterim e xcavational ports

6 .3

r e-

( Waldren a nd R ossello B ordoy 1 973).

T he C entral E nclosure P ost T alayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The c omplete a rea o f t his e nclosure, 2 6 a nd

1 8,

between meter markers

has been utilised f or P ost Talayotic quicklime

a lthough a very large part o f t he f orward a rea,

i nhumations

i ncluding much o f t he

earlier Talayotic r etaining wall o f t his f orward a rea was c ompletely destroyed by e roded r ock f all f rom t he o verhang f ace of t he s helter

( see P lans 2 A a nd 2 E-F ). a fter t he quicklime portion of t he of t he s helter,

This r ock f all w hich o ccurred s ometime

i nhumations had been m ade has d estroyed a g ood

s helf or parapet which originally e xisted i n t his part c arrying t he Talayotic r etaining wall and e ven most

of t he l ater l ime c onglomerate d own h ill.

A s mall portion o f t he

Talayotic r etaining wall - t hough d amaged - s till e xists i ts

e xistence a long the western part of t he parapet,

Western E nclosure

( Plan 2 A),

t o t estify t o

l eading i nto t he

a nd t his preserved s ection o f t he wall

s hows t hat t he c omplete a rea was originally c overed w ith t he l ime conglomerate b efore a rea.

t he d estruction caused by t he r ock fall

this a rea of t he Central workshop a reas

i n

E nclosure t hat comprised part o f t he B eaker

i n P retalayotic

Furthermore, l evels

i n t his

The r eader s hould a lso n ote t hat i t i s t he l ower l evels t imes.

another good portion o f t he l ime c onglomerate

i n t his Central Enclosure were a lso badly destroyed i n modern

t imes by smugglers who dug p its

i nto t he c onglomerate,

d iscovered e arly i n t he d ig was

s till

1 84

' shored up'

one which was

w ith wood,

a nd

a nother which s hows e vidence o f having c ollapsed another Central I n a ll

( Plan 2 B ).

S till

i ncident t hat a lso d isturbed t he upper most l evels o f the E nclosure was a s ingle probably e vents,

' palaeochristian'

t hough d estructive t hese

t erpretation o f t he P ost Talayotic

burial.

i ntrusions have made t he i n-

I ron Age l evels

i n t his a rea r e-

l atively e asy and have a lso c ontributed s ome well preserved materials. However,

it

is

t o t he l ime conglomerate d eposits o f t he E ast E nclosure

w e must t urn f or t he most complete and r eliable d ence,

where t he r etaining walls a re

e vident d isruption of t he d eposits. o f l evels

t hat can g ive u s

c onsists of S trata 7 t o

1 ,

i nformation a nd e vi-

i ntact a nd t here has been n o Nevertheless,

i nformation

( Figure 3 1).

there i s a s equence This

s equence

below.

S tratum 7 ( Category 1 ) This

l evel

i s

f rom

1 5cms

t o 2 5cms t hick and i s made up o f c on-

g lomerated human bone with s ome l oose l ime r esidue and l oose carboni sed bones.

I t r epresents the

' contact'

z one between t he T alayotic

e nd P ost Talayotic l evels.

S tratum 6 ( Category 5 ) This l evel c ontained s ome r aw and i ncompletely d ecombusted l imestone i n a l ime r esidue of i nconsistent t exture a bout 2 0cms t o 2 5cms

thick.

S ome s herd material was present;

s herd material of

Talayotic typology which must have been drawn up f rom Talayotic l evels d uring t he preparation of P ost Talayotic burials

i n t his a rea.

S tratum 5 ( Category 6 ) This l evel

i s one i n which t he quicklime has been e specially

e ffective a nd t he bone content i s very badly fragmented. have been r educed t o f ragments a nd s tains. t hrough t he middle o f t his t hick, 5 0cms.

A c harcoal

d eep l evel o f between 4 0cms and

Charcoal approximately t he counterpart of t his

on t he outside of

' H'

8 0 yrs.

f or t his l evel.

( ABSM,19)

Artefacts

l ense r uns c harcoal

l ense

r ock produced a radiocarbon date o f 5 70 b .c.

+

S tratum 4 ( Category 5 ) This l imestone

i s another l evel made up o f r aw a nd partly d ecombusted

f rom 2 0cms t o 4 0cms t hick.

w ell preserved i ron a nd bronze i tems

O ccasionally i t c ontained a f ew s uch a s bronze r ings a nd i ron

hair r etaining r ings and one well preserved bronze

( Figures 1 42 a nd 1 44). l oose l imestone

The

i tems were

' disc a nd baton'

f ound i n c avities among t he

f ill.

S tratum 3 ( Category 7 ) This l evel s ervation o f bone,

i s another t hick

l ime c onglomerate with s ome pre-

brought a bout n o d oubt by the protection f rom

1 85

weathering by the f ace of t he overhang.

H owever,

unkind t o t he f ew artefacts the l evel c ontained, There

i s a lso a c harcoal

l ayer. l evel,

t he quicklime was badly c orroding t hem.

l ense r unning t hrough t he middle o f t his

I t i s only a f ew c entimeters t hick

i n t he l ime c onglomerate

which i s a bout 2 0cms d eep.

S tratum 2 ( Category 7 ) This i s a weathered l evel much harder t han t he preceding o ne. I t v aries greatly i n t hickness

f rom a bout 4 cms t o 2 5cms t hick.

I t i s

made up o f v ery f ragmentary bone f ragments a nd no a rtefacts.

S tratum 1 This

i s a l evel made up of d ebris and s crap which i s t he r e-

s ult o f d isturbed l evels r emoved f rom t he s muggler's p its m entioned e arlier.

Among the d ebris w as a ll manner o f pottery f ragments o f

Talayotic o rigin and e ven s ome

6 .4

P retalayotic

s herds.

T he E ast E nclosure P ost T alayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

The E ast E nclosure c ontained t he d eepest and most c omplex d eposit o f l ime 1 75cms thick,

c onglomerate which i n s ome s ectors r eached 1 60cms t o

and never f ell below

e rate c overed the entire markers wall

2 7 and 4 6,

1 00cms d eep.

E ast E nclosure o f t he

r unning f rom t he i nside o f t he base o f t he overhang

r ight out t o t he Talayotic r etaining w all of t he e nclosure

2 A t o 2 D ).

I n p laces,

t he

' P'

r ock)

( Plan

l ime c onglomerate c ompletely e ngulfed t he

Talayotic r etaining wall a s well a s a nd

The l ime c ongloms helter between meter

s everal boulders

( e.g.

' J'

which h ad f allen on t op o f t he r etaining wall

f erent areas o f t he e nclosure,

r ock

i n d if-

a fter i ts c ompletion by the T alayotic

i nhabitants a nd prior t o t he c onversion o f t he E ast E nclosure t o u se a s a quicklime

i nhumation c emetery.

h as g iven u s the c ategoric t he vertical i s here

I t i s t his

E ast E nclosure which

s tudy of t he various c onditions present i n

s ections of t he l ime c onglomerate

s tratigraphies a nd i t

t hat we have the best a nd c learest s ection.

I n t hese profiles t he various c harcoal various burial

s trata c an be

d ifferent r ecycled master l evels S tratum 6 t o S tratum 2 .

l enses

s eparating t he

s een t o be e nclosed of at l east t hree

I t was

( Plan 2C) between meter markers 3 7-42, i n t he

E ast E nclosure t hat i ts f irst

u se a s a P ost T alayotic quicklime i nhumation c emetery t ook p lace. This

i s d emonstrated by t he a rea producing t he o ldest

t he c onglomerate o f 6 90 b .c.

+ 1 00 y rs.

c losure which produced most o f

t he i ron,

( ABSM,23).

1 4C

d ate

f or

I t i s a lso t he e n-

bronze,

a nd other P ost T ala-

only one

s tratigraphical pro-

yotic a rtefacts.

For t he

s ake o f t ime a nd s pace,

f ile w ill b e d escribed,

t hat mentioned a bove

1 86

( meter markers

3 7

t o 4 2 ,

a s t here have been more than a s core o f p rofiles, but this b est e xemplifies t hem ).

We have a lso s pent s ufficient t ime a nd s pace

i n t he

d escription and d iscussion o f the many c ategories f ound i n t he l ime c onglomerate.

This has been n ecessary a s r eference material f or

f uture e xcavations of l ike

s tratigraphies

i n t he Balearics.

B esides,

a g reat d eal of c areless excavations i n t hese quarters have a lready been d one,

a nd there i s a n eed f or t heir c areful d escription.

The

s tratigraphic

S tratum 6

s equence i s a s f ollows:

( Various categories d epending on quadrant and s ector)

This l ayer i s a thick layer f rom e xtends a long the whole profile c arbon d ate o f c irca 6 90 b .c. 3 5.

A s noted a bove t he

s ection

originates

1 0cms t o 6 0cms t hick which

( Plan 2 ).

The o ldest r adio-

f rom t his l evel,

meter marker

l ength o f t his l ayer c ontained many c onditions

d escribed i n t he

c ategories d iscussed i n s ection 6 ,

t he main f eature

l ies i n the f act that i t i s t his l ayer t hat c ontains

t he better preserved bone i n t he population s tudy

a bove.

s amples a nd f rom which materials

( App endix 3 8 ) were collected.

H owever, i ncluded

I t i s a lso t he

l ayer which has g iven u s the best e xamples o f the l ime c onglomerate s amples preserved f or f uture

s tudy.

Most o f t he well preserved i ron

a nd bronze a rtefacts a lso c ome f rom this l evel. t his

l evel a re:

MM,37:

5 90 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.,

Other

MM,33:

1 4C

d ates f or

5 30 b .c.

+ 7 0 yrs.

S tratum 5 This t o 7 cms

i s

t hick.

a t hick c harcoal S everal

l ense i n the c onglomerate a bout 2 cms

d ates by r adiocarbon c ome f rom t his l evel,

d epending o n the meter marker quadrant; MM,22:

5 70 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

( CE)

MM,33:

4 50 b .c.

( also s ee A ppendix 1 A,

+ 8 0 yrs.,

2 .2).

The

l evel c ontained no a rtefacts.

S tratum 4 ( Various c ategories d epending on quadrant a nd s ector) This

i s another very thick l ayer o f l ime c onglomerate a bout

2 0cms t o 6 0cms thick.

I t a lso c ontained i ron,

bronze,

a nd bone a rtefacts that a re well preserved.

This

g enerally dated by bracket dates o f c harcoal

i n other a reas.

e xample:

MM,8

a nd MM,36: e rial

( WE )

2 50 b .c.

i s

3 40 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

+ 1 00 yrs.,

MM,35:

g lass

c an be

2 90 b .c.

For

+ 8 0 yrs.

For t he most part t he h uman bone mat-

i s very badly preserved i n t his l ayer.

i n s ome

l evel

l ead,

The upper crust which

s ectors and quadrants becomes t he t op s urface c an a lso be

m ixed with r aw and s emi-combusted l imestone.

There a re p laces where

i t has become very hard when e xposed t o weathering.

S tratum 3 This

l evel appears

i n pocket o r c ircular p atches o f c harcoal

i n many a reas o f t he E ast E nclosure a s well a s s ures.

I t i s the c harcoal of the

i n t he other e nclo-

l ast f ires l it t o r eactivate a reas

1 87

o f t he i s

l ime conglomerate

t his charcoal

T alayotic c emetery. + 9 0 yrs.

and

f rom

t o

1 cms

( e.g.

Meter markers

For e xample

1 20 b .c. 1 cms

i n this

+ 1 20 yrs.

P lan 2 C ).

3 9 t o 4 2,

that has produced t he youngest dates

s ector t he d ate

i n t he C entral

I t

i n t he P ost i s

1 30 b .c.

E nclosure.

I t i s

t hick.

S tratum 2 ( Various c ategories d epending on quadrant a nd s ector) This l ayer f orms t he pockets o f l ime c onglomerate d escribed a bove a nd usually c onsists o f weathered l ime c onglomerate, c an be made up o f l oose l ime r esidue h ang.

but i t a lso

i f l ocated d eep under t he o ver-

They are pits dug i nto e xisting l ime c onglomerate a nd p robably

r epresent r eactivated l ime t hat h as n ot b een u sed, been f ound

i n t hem.

a s n o burials have

This a lso s uggests t hat preparation o f t he a lready

u sed l ime c onglomerate may have been d one periodically,

a s a matter

o f c ourse.

S tratum 1

This

i s a l ayer o f modern-day d ebris and w ind-blown e arth

a ccumulated over t he a rea i n places where t he l ime c onglomerate c ont exts have been protected f rom weather. t ween meter markers was

f ound on t he

3 6 t o 4 4,

s urface

I n s ome a reas,

s uch a s be-

a g ood quantity of c lassical pottery

( Plate

6 2).

The l evel

i s f rom 3 cms t o 6 cms

t hick.

7

T he M atge S tratigraphy i n S ummary

B efore this c hapter on t he s tratigraphy o f t he r ock o f

S on Matge i s brought t o a c onclusion,

s tratigraphies of t he various e nclosures Needless

t o

graphical

a nd c omplex. t ions a re t o s ector, c ates

Naturally,

i n a perpetual

the i ndividual

i n s uch a s ite,

t he

i ndividual profile s ec-

s tate o f c hange f rom a rea t o a rea a nd s ector

quite apart f rom c hronological

s ections

s trati-

s equences i n g eneral have been c omplicated

l evels which f urther c ompli-

the i nterpretation of t he profile s ections.

been e ssential f ile

s hould be i ncluded h ere.

s ay on t he basis o f t he a bove,

s equences a nd t he

s helter

a f ew s tatements o n t he

Therefore,

i t h as

t o s elect t he best areas a nd s ectors a s well a s prof or s tudy.

t he dating s urveys'

This has

f ollowed a long more o r l ess w ith

s ample c ollection.

have been a s y et processed,

Not a ll

d ue t o priorities.

t he c ollected s amples The l ists o f d ates by

chronological period i ncluded i n t he l ast c hapter o n t he c hronological s cheme

( Chapter I I )

c onsists o f t hose a bsolute dates which h ave been

s elected f or processing a nd have met t he r equirements o f priority and are on t his basis u sed i n t he s tratigraphical d escriptions a bove.

The r e , Lder s urvey o f

t he Matge

s hould bear

i n m ind t hat t he e xtensive c hronometric

l ime c onglomerate z ones,

principally d esigned t o

d ate t he duration o f t he c ustom i n B alearic prehistory,

1 88

d oes d ate

t he

v ertical u se.

e xtent o f t he d eposit a s well a s t he horizontal

H owever,

a s i n c onventional marker 3 6 ( e.g.

s tratigraphy,

a t Matge's

2 50 b .c.

E ast

+ 1 00 y rs.

a lthough i n a f ew a reas

ABSM,7 a nd 2 90 b .c.

a ttempting t o date a s imple

' blanket'

dating

S o,

+ 7 0 yrs.

i ndividual

i ndividual

i n c onventional

l ated t o t he particular a reas, a nything e lse.

s ectors of t he d eposit.

Once

I n t his

d ealing w ith t he g eneral

r espect,

l ayers

i n t he

apart f rom i mportant ones r e-

a nd f or t he c lues t o t he process

a ctivities

i tself,

more t han

l evels d id n ot s trictly mean c hrono-

l ogical o rder o f one e vent o ver a nother, h orizon;

s trat-

s pread out o ver t he whole d eposit w as a ccomplished,

s ections t o i nterpret e vents,

d uring t he burials,

s howing

l evels were dated t o

o ne d id not have t o be t oo c oncerned with t he horizontal v ertical

( ABSM,9),

i t has n ot been a matter o f

s equence o f l evels a s

a lthough whenever possible

a scertain t he s pecific a ge o f t he

s uch a s meter

E nclosure s equential date have b een o btained

a 4 0 year d ifference b etween l evels. i graphy,

s equence o f

i t was n ot d esigned t o d ate l evels one over t he other

but a n e vent i n t he overall

t hat o f t he horizontally d istribution o f d ates r ather t han

t he vertical

c hronology a lone.

1 89

V il l age o f Deye

CHAPTER

THE SECONDARY

V

S ITES

Chapter V .

1 .

The

S econdary S ites

I ntroduction

The l ogical

s econdary

s ites used in this research consist of a rchaeo-

stations with which the author has had f irst hand i nvolvement

but that do not have e ither complicated s tratigraphies or d eposits o f l ong duration. prehistoric The

Only one

context,

s econdary s ites

s ite has a s tratigraphy with more than one

while the other have only one prehistoric horizon. a re

R ock

a s

f ollows:

( 1)

The

Shelter of Muertos Gallard

( 2)

The Cave of Son Marroig

( 3)

The Cave of S on Puig

s ites

which are

( 1,A,SMRG )

( 1,A,SPG )

The main r eason f or their t hey are

inclusion in this thesis

comparable to

e xtensive.

I n two o f

briefly due

t o

s ite

i s

quence has

those of the primary s ites,

the three

s ites,

the

a lthough the Muertos Gal-

treated i n a bit more detail a s things

in common with the

emerging f rom these

and which l ike t he

though naturally not as

s tratigraphy i s treated

their uncomplicated nataure,

some

The artefacts

i s because

in which pottery and other materials have been f ound

primary ones have radiocarbon documentation,

l ard

( 1,B. AMG )

its

R ock

s tratigraphical

s e-

Shelter of S on Matge.

s tations are a lso of

small number,

t hough excellent a s comparative materials.

2 .

T he R ock S helter o f M uertos G allard .

The Muertos Gallard rock

( Waldren 1 969)

above

are both

Valldemosa and an equal Mallorca

( see F igure

s helter and the S on Marroig cave

l ocated about

distance

7 ).

Both the

i n a s ection of ancient s ea c liff

4 11 1)

at an altitude of about

meters

Palma and the

Like Matge, and i t i s oriented it

i s a much

Soller.

and

j ust

Only 5 0 meters

the Muertos Gallard s ite

smaller

s ite

s ituated

4 2.1 a nd F rontispiece P late s ea

s ome

a s well s eparate

as the Capital of the

i s a c lassic

two

r ock

same east to west direction.

than Matge,

3 0C

3 0 meters below this

being about

1 2.5 meters

s ites.

s helter However, l ong and

creating a s heltered area o f about

( Plan 3 1)

This were

r oad,

i n a bout the

with 2 a 2 0 meter high overhang, 1 42m

s helter and the cave are (Kate

which connects the two villages town of

f rom the village o f

1 50 meters overlooking the

to the northeast of the

r oad itself,

5 kms

from the mountain village of Deya,

the

rock

f irst two

s helter and the a djacent burial

cave of S on Marroig

s ites excavated by the author on Mallorca between 19

1 960 and 1 965. s eries of the

I n turn,

these two

radiocarbon dates

f irst basis

s ites were

the

f or the Balearics

of the absolute chronometric

f irst to produce a

and were

l ater t o f orm

f ramework

f or

Balearic

( Appendix 1 A).

prehistory

T he S tratigraphy i n G eneral

The archaeological Muertos Gallard

s ite

( F igure 3 3)

s equence and general

r esembles

that of Matge

s tratigraphy of the

i n that t he chronology

and d eposit i tself covers much of the three cultural periods o f the P retalayotic,

Talayotic and P ost Talayotic.

As at Matge,

employed as a P retalayotic l iving area f or burials, continuing through the Talayotic until

the

the area was

l atter was

P ost Talayotic

P eriod

Roman Colonisation.

The Matge,

P eriod and the

the

s tratigraphical

s equence was

not as well preserved a s at

s ince the deposit i s nowhere near a s d eep.

the areas used i n

P retalayoitc

A large part of

t imes was disturbed and the materials

r edistributed when the Talayotic and P ost Talayotic people decided t o employ the areas

a s a cemetery.

P retalayotic l iving areas

Most of the damage was done

while carrying out their quicklime the d3posit containing Talayotic s oil

inhumations,

digging deeply i nto

cremation burials and throwing the

f rom inside a r etaining wall out onto a parapet zone

very much

l ike

i n the

and burials by the P ost Talayotic people

they did in the

R ock

S helter of S on Matge.

yotic people themselves had removed or d isturbed

( Plan 3 A), The Tala-

P retalyotic burials

when they built the r etaining wall and buried cremated r emains under the c liff overhang.

I t

i s

these three different periods of burials,

each with its own customs, domesticated horizons ance,

quite

apart

together with the presence of Pretalayotic

that makes Muertos Gallard of particular

f rom i ts relationship to the burials

i mport-

i n the adjacent

Marroig cave.

At Muertos Gallard,

( see P lan 3 A):(1) ( 1 )

the

T he I nner S helter .

and P ost Talayotic burials, yotic burial,

are two pertinent zones of e xcavation

This

coordinates 2 D -D

the

Parapet Area ,

area contains a ll the Talayotic

s herds

a ssoii

ed with i t

on the ior p and Z -Z

on the west and A -A

on the

on the

e ast,

( Grave 1 ).

s outh between

an area of approx-

.

T he P arapet A rea .

( 2) hearth zones,

a s well

by both Talayotic talayotic burial EBP a ssociations

as

This area

" Y

c ontained the

and P ost Talayotic people. of which parts

( Grave 2 ) between

P retalayotic

intrusive material excavated onto the parapet still

( Plan 13 , 4.

north by east i we9t coordinates W -W coordinates

( 2)

p lus one only s lightly disturbed Pretala-

which has 1 E BP B eaker

The area exteids 2 from Y -Y 2 imately 40m

there

I nner S helter and

There

i s a lso one P re-

r emained i ntact, and on t he

s a

e 1 9y easI-w5st

north-south coordinates A -A

1 94

a gain with the

The area i s bordered on the t o D -D

The two E BP graves demonstrate

the use of the parapet area

( Plates 4 3 .2 a nd 4 4.1 a nd 4 4 .2), hearths and indigenous pottery show that it was also used for burial, for

while the presence of Beaker wares

l iving purposes.

in this

The two

important r espect,

adjacent Marroig cave s ite ) burial

customs

s ites of Muertos Gallard and Matge d iffer

namely that Muertos Gallard gives us

i n the E BP and LBP;

( as well

s helter.

As can be s een f rom the plan o f Muertos Gallard f or

1 4C

dating have been collected,

only one has been processed

the

at Matge there was no c lue to the

funerary customs of the P retalayotic people using the

great many s amples

a s

s ome good i nformation r egarding

( see b elow ).

( Plan 3 A),

a

but a s yet

The r emainder of the col-

lected samples have been s tored and are currently being prepared f or analysis.

T he M uertos G allard P retalayotic S tratigraphy i n D etail

4 .

The cribed a s

s tratigraphy of the Muertos Gallard s ite can be best des-

incorporating a number of distinct Pretalayotic occurrences

in which both burials What the longs

and l iving areas are

author means by this

i s

to a s ingle chronological period,

of l evels

a s appears at Matge;

not exist f or the P retalayotic

lard,

s hall deal

mentioned,

4 .1

s ome e xtent a ' horizontal

than a vertical one. we

s ense does

at either the Muertos Gallard s ite or What does exist i s a s eries of

areas which were each used only f or a brief period of t ime,

s o that to rather

and i s not part of a s equence

s tratigraphy i n this vertical

in the Marroig cave described below. s eparate

the most s alient f eatures.

that the P retalayotic occupation be-

the

s tratigraphy ' can be distinguished

I n describihq

the

f inds at Muertos Gal-

s eparately with the two zones of a ctivity a lready

I nner Shelter Area and the Parapet Area.

T he P retalayotic S tratigraphy o f t he I nner S helter A rea .

The Beaker

Pretalayotic material

P hase burial,

was preserved, being used a s

i n this

z one

described below a s G rave

consists of one 1 ,

having been partly destroyed when the general a T alayotic

E arly

only half of which area was

c emetery.

G rave 1 The burial was present-day animal

east-west meter markers s kull

( a male,

l ocated in the f ar northeastern quadrant of the

s helter

( outlined by an oval

1 0-11).

a ge approximately

in P lan

The

surviving r emains

3 5,

cephalic

3 A, between i nclude the

i ndex 8 5.5,

hyperbrachy-

cephalic) ( G .G . G oodwin, N ew Y ork M etropolitan M useum o f N atural H istory, p ersonal c orrespondence 1 965) ( Plate 4 3 .1), resting partly on its

r ight s ide,

f acing s outh.

The

cranium and l ower

a long with part of the c ervical vertebrae,

1 95

j aws were

i ntact

part o f the trunk and arms.

The rest of the body and the

remainder of the r ough s tone

Ic ist-like'

tomb had been destroyed i n the digging of the Talayotic graves or in Post Talayotic t imes, l ime

inhumations,

f ound

3 0cms

in this

area.

The

s keletal

The remains were and below t he

P ost

r emains were a ssociated and E BP p lain wares.

T he Petalayotic S tratigraphy o f t he P arapet A rea

The area consists of the zone of

s helter.

( Plates 4 3.2 a nd 4 3 .1 a nd 2 )

i ncised E BP wares

4 .2

in the Matge rock

to 4 0cms beneath the modern-day s urface,

Talayotic contexts with

when this area was used extensively for quick-

s uch a s

t he modern-day animal

shelter.

e xcavated

At the

same

j ust outside the walls l evel and depth a s

G rave 1 , a layer of charcoal a long with EBP s herds and plain wares was found,

and a sample of charcoal

+ 8 0 yrs.

( AMG,45).

from this grave was dated at

area was made because of its proximity t o G rave

i n this

had no datable materials, with the

E BP f ragments

c lose by,

a lso at the

1 840 b .c.

The choice of this a rea f or collecting the s ample but was

located at t he

a ssociated

G rave 2 was found shortly afterwards,

and s kull. s ame

1 , which itself

s ame l evel

l evel;

to the author i t

s eemed r easonably

c ertain that the charcoal would date both burials.

G rave 2 This burial was

l ocated with its

s kull under

' Q'

f orms part of the Talayotic cemetery r etaining wall. of

the

s urviving bone components of G rave

for the tons to

f eet should have been s everal

the

thus

Pretalayotic age of the burial.

Enough

2 in itself is good evidence Approximately where the

E BP s herds were f ound,

same pot f ound with the charcoal dated at

confirming the contemporaneous s tone

indicate

rock which

This placement

1 840 b .c.

character of the

s kel-

a ll belonging + yrs.,

three contexts.

s labs were found in the immediate area of the bones

that this burial,

rough

stone-lined tomb.

s elves

i s due

l ike that of G rave

t o

1 , had been placed in a

The badly preserved s tate of the bones

t o the disturbance

in Talayotic t imes,

a badly broken s kull and c ervical vertebrae,

them-

and consisted of

odd r ibs and part of

the

arms.

I t

i s

c lear that the Muertos Gallard s ite contains other

talayotic evidence besides

the burials

j ust described,

cise nature will not become c lear until taken.

P re-

but their pre-

further excavation i s under-

The d iscoveries described here were made e arly i n the whole

campaign,

and i t became

successions

important to examine the deep s tratified

at Muleta and Matge

the prehistoric

s equence before

to get the general understanding of following up t he detailed information

that Muertos Gallard had t o offer.

A f ew s herds of LBP origin have been noted f rom the these are rare,

and for a better knowledge of this phase

we have to consider the pottery evidence nearby.

s ite,

f rom t he Marroig cave,

Most of the Late Beaker Phase wares

but

i n the area found

f rom Muertos Gallard are

Ii g.

3 3

attributable

to

i ndigenous wares

that are known to be contemporary

with LBP occupations of other s ites, carbon dating.

notably Matge where there i s radio-

The small amounts of the Muertos Gallard LBP pottery

are d iscussed and generally described in a f ollowing chapter.

No doubt

this phase at Muertos Gallard will be better understood when other zones

in the parapet area are examined further,

and the hearths

t hat

they are known to contain are dated.

T he T alayotic S tratigraphy o f t he I nner S helter A rea

4 .3

The Talayotic

l evels at the Muertos Gallard cemetery s ite

f ound i n the r ear of the protective overhany,

I nner Shelter Area against the face o f the

etween s urvey meter m2rkers

west coordinates B -B

a re

on the west and A -A

9 -11

and the east-

( Plan 3 A).

on the east

The quantity of pottery i s not great when c ompared with the prolific Matge f inds.

At the

same t ime,

s ome unexcavated areas

r emain,

a good proportion of these have been destroyed by vandals as occurred with the

P uig s ite,

material and information i s detailed c onsideration:

as we shall available

s ee presently.

However enough

from Muertos Gallard to be worth

comparison with the Matge

s ite

s hows that the

f inds are typical enough of the Talayotic Middle Bronze Age, 1 300 b .c.

t o

1 000 b .c.

t he bronze f inds

( Plate 5 1. a nd 5 1.2).

Unlike those

from Muertos Gallard are very poor and badly preserved

need of r estoration.

Fortunately,

preserved r epresenting the s hall be

c irca

from Matge,

and the main artefact evidence consists of pottery f ragments

a s

a lthough

i t a lso

P ost Talayotic

s een in due course.

s till

in

more plentiful evidence has been I ron Age at Muertos Gallard,

I ndeed f ew s ites

in the Balearic

I slands

can compare with Matge for wealth of stratigraphic and a rchaeo-

l ogical

evidence,

and most other

s ites with Talayotic

artefact e vidence

have been more or l ess on the order of Muertos Gallard from this pointof view;

which i s probably why our knowledge of the true chronological

order of Talayotic

The l evels are

S trata

with the

a rtefacts has hitherto been so poor.

at Muertos Gallard representing the Talayotic P eriod

5 and 4 ,

f inds

and their contents

f rom Matge,

compare very c losely i n nature

while l acking the r ichness of the l atter.

S tratum 5 This

l evel

i s made up of a f ine,

s corched and burnt e arth,

( I t t insell 7 .5R, 2/4 to 2 .5/2 to 1 0YR, 8 /8 t o 8 /7, the result of overlying funerary f ires) ( Plate 5 6:2). This l evel contained most o f the fragmentary pottery evidence, s ents earth,

under,

are of E BA and MBA origin. very comparable

( Appendix 3A).

i t did at Matge,

Although very s mall

to the large areas of the

The pottery fragments mentioned above,

a s

and

and probably r epre-

around and covering the cremations

are unmistakeably of t his diagnosis

S amples of

the

i s

themselves and

in area the l evel

ERA and MBA origin,

1 98

a s

s upported by thin s ectioning

earth have been collected,

have not been processed.

i s

same d escription at Matge.

but a s yet

S tratum 4 This

l evel

i s made up o f d ense charcoal and burnt human bones

( Plate 5 6:1), in character exactly with its counterpart at Matge. This o f

l evel

i s

s herds.

f rom

1 0cms t o 2 0cms thick.

I t a lso c ontained a number

Charcoal s amples a re a lso a vailable

f or a nalysis,

but have

not y et been processed a s a matter o f priority.

T he P ost T alayotic S tratigraphy o f t he I nner S helter A rea

4 .4

The P ost Talayotic l ime c onglomerate a t Muertos G allard o ccurs t hroughout t he i nside o f the modern-day animal markers

2 and

1 0

( Plan

3 A).

As at Matge,

t exts vary greatly i n t hickness much a s 1 0.

1 50cms

s helter,

f rom a s l ittle a s 4 cms t o 5 cms t o a s

t hick i n a p it i n one zone between meter markers

The l ime conglomerate deposit o f Muertos Gallard,

point o f s ize,

f rom the

c annot bear c omparison with that o f M atge.

f ar a s a rtefacts a re c oncerned, For example

b etween meter

t he l ime conglomerate con-

the

9 and s tand-

However,

s o

s ite has been e xtremely helpful.

i t provides us with a ' cache'

of 2 8 MIA/LIA pots

( Plates

6 2 .1 t o 6 2 .3 a nd 6 3 .1 a nd 6 3.2) which act as reliable comparative mate rial

f or the much more f ragmentary Post Talayotic wares o f the

period i n Matge M IA/LIA l evels o f t he • E ast E nclosure; preserved Talayotic wares o f t hat s ite. profiles o f

s ame

d espite the well

The nature o f t he s ection

l ime c onglomerate and their c ategories a lso provides u s

with a comparative s ituation;

a lthough the Muertos G allard d eposit

was not s tudied with a nywhere n ear t he s ame d etail method was not devised until t he Matge

s ince t he c ategory

s ite e xcavations.

Therefore,

t he categories can only b e rudimentarily c ompared with t hose d escribed i n the l ime deposit a t Matge.

They c an be generally c ompared t o t he

normal d istribution o f l ime c onglomerate l evels

( Figure 3 0 , p age

a s f ollows:

S tratum 3 This l evel a bout

1 5cms t o

i s made up o f a l ayer o f c alcified bone c onglomerate

3 5cms thick,

which r epresents the P ost Talayotic c ontact

z one and i n which s ome badly c orroded i ron a rtefacts were f ound; r etaining r ings,

6 2 .2)

i ron knives,

points and a s hort a ntennae

and a bronze baton a nd d isc

( Plate 6 2 .1).

Matge have produced d ates o f c irca 6 80-450

s word

hair ( Plate

E quivalent l evels a t

f or this

s tratum.

S tratum 2 This

l evel

i s made up of a t hick l ayer o f l ime c onglomerate

made up of very f ragmentary c one r emains 1 meter i n d epth.

f rom a bout 2 5cms t o well over

The a rtefact e vidence i n t his

l ayer was mostly c on-

f ined t o very badly preserved i ron and bronze a rtefacts o ften r educed t o s tains

i n the

l ime c onglomerate mass.

O ccasionally well preserved

and better preserved a rtefacts were f ound where t he l ime s laking proc ess was not a s d estructive o r where r ocks were e ither a dded o r t he l ime making process was n ot c omplete.

1 99

S ome o f these a rticles c onsist

of well preserved bronze batons

( Plates 5 7 .2,

ornaments this

l evel

2 80 b .c.

i s one

area of

+ 1 00 yrs.

and discs,

l ead f ibulae

5 8 .1 a nd 5 9 .1 a nd 2 ).

' pectoral'

Radiocarbon dating o f

the Muertos Gallard shelter gave a date of

( AMG,8).

S tratum 1 This l ayer of

l evel

i s

the

surface

s heep droppings where

l evel which c onsisted of e ither a

it had been used by the

l ocal

a s helter or a more weathered l ayer of l ime conglomerate, t he

Matge

found

s ite.

i n this

s heep a s

much l ike

Some c lassical wares of the First Century,

l evel, , s imilar i n every r espect t o the Matge

B .C.

were

s ite

( Plate 6 4 .2)

4 .5

T he P ost T alayotic S tratigraphy o f t he P arapet A rea

The l ord r ock

P ost Talayotic contexts of this area of the Muertos Gal-

s helter consist of

s cattered artefact debris which i s

p roduct of a ctivities during not only the P ost Talayotic the others a s well. t he

forward a rea,

f rom the

s ame

A few l ead f ibulae a nd g lass beads were

exactly l ike

s tone mould.

a very poor vertical

those of P lates

The

5 7

t o

5 9,

the

P eriod,

but

f ound i n

a ctually cast

a rea can only be described a s having

s tratigraphy,

being made up mainly of a s ingle

l evel of debris mixed and disturbed,

apart f rom the

two early P re-

talayotic partly i ntact burials mentioned above.

This at

ends

t he

s tratigraphies of the d ifferent excavated zones

t he M uertos Gallard rock on

5 .

t o

the Cave of

s helter,

and i n natural order we can now

Son Marroig burial

T he C ave of S on M arroig

The Cave of the Muertos

S on Marroig i s

G allard rock

running i nto

t he

s helter.

located a bout

i s about 8 meters

its widest.

This wide area occurs where

the westward

s ide of the

cave

( which

i s

its present entrance

P etalayotic

but the

about

The Marroig cave and was

i n

a s ingle chamber,

a northeast t o

l ong a f id 4 meters wide a t t here

i s

a kind of annex

( Plans 4 A a nd 4 B ).

At one

t ime,

t o the

now only accessible by climbing up d isplaced rocks)

considerably larger,

t imes

chamber

5 0 meters east of

I t i s made up of

face of the ancient s ea-cliff

southwest d irection and

was

c ave.

cave's

3 meters

s erved a s

r oof has

a bove

a burial

c ave

u sed briefly only during the Late

P eriod.

2 00

c ollapsed,

i solating

t he modern day ground l evel.

i n

P retalayotic

B eaker

Phase o f

t he

The Marroig c ave

s tratigraphy i s h omogeneous a nd c onsisted o f

a group o f 8 s econdary burials, where t he heads of t he i ndividuals were placed i n the w estern s ide o f t he burial a rea a nd t he l ong b ones

( Plan 4 A a nd 4 B ).

c arefully s tacked i n the c entral a rea of the c ave

These were a ssociated with a s ingle pottery a ssemblage o f c onsistent t ypology a nd a ge.

I t i s t his homogeneity o f the material and i ts

c hronology which makes t he Marroig c ave o f particular i nterest a nd i mportance t o the s tudy o f t his phase o f t he

P retalayotic P eriod.

The burials a lso g ive u s a c lear p icture a s t o t he LBP burial c ustoms, which s eem t o d iffer f rom the E BP ones we f ind i n t he adjacent Muertos a rea;

i n t urn s howing t he d ifference

Post Talayotic

5 .1

T he S tratigraphy i n G eneral

The

i n cave s ediments,

which

c onsisting o f a f ine powdery c ave e arth

principally wind-blown dust Münse U

e asy t o e xcavate.

1 0YR 7 /8,

which was very

I t i s a pproximately 4 0cms t o 6 0cms d eep a nd l ies

d irectly on bedrock. ondary'

( Plans 4 A a nd 4 B )

s tratigraphy c omprised burials

was l imited t o one l evel, ( loess),

f rom t hose o f t he Talayotic and

P eriods.

The r emains i t c ontained c onsist o f t he 8 ' sec-

burials mentioned a bove a nd a re

s econdary i n t he s ense t hat

t he bodies were probably l eft e xposed outside t he cave t o be c leaned by birds,

i nsects and a nimals before they were r emoved t o t he c ave a nd

a ctually buried.

This

i s

a ttested by t he f act that t he

s kulls w ere

s tacked a long with t he major l ong bones i n an orderly f ashion,

a long

one wall of the

a n

c ave a nd i n the middle.

Near the grave g oods,

a ssemblage of 4 c omplete L ate B eaker pots w ere buried

( Plates 3 7 .2,

4 5 .1 a nd 2 ).

S ubstantiation of t he burial's LBP chronology, pottery t ypology,

i s o ffered by 1 4C

one o f t he bodies f rom which a date o f has been o btained.

U nfortunately the

t ant L BP burial have been l ost s ince

1 520 b .c. s keletal

1 960,

a long w ith 9 o f

the

1 1

l ished as c oming f rom a nother s ite ( Mascaro P asarius

1 967).

( SMRG,40)

a fter being t urned o ver t o

( Graves 1 a nd 2 )

B eaker s herds,

+ 8 0 yrs.

r emains o f t his i mpor-

t he l ocal d elegate o f e xcavations of the t ime. c ase with t he t wo E BP s kulls

a part f rom t he

analysis of the human bone f rom

This has a lso been t he f rom Muertos Gallard,

a nd which have been l ocally pub-

i n the E scorca r egion o f Mallorca

Fortunately t he a uthor was a ble t o r e-open

t he Muertos G allard e xcavations under h is own d irectorship i n 1 968.

6 .

T he C ave o f S on P Uig

The

S on

P uig c ave,

n orth coast r oad, i t begins

s ite,

i s

s ituated a long t he

( Figure 7 ), where

i ts a scent i nto t he Northern Jurassic S ierras.

t he l ast s ite mountains.

l ike t he Matge

P alma-Valldemosa-Deya and S oller

I ts

The c ave

i n a s eries which s tretches out a long the r oute e xact l ocation

t he narrow Estret pass,

( see F igure

7 kilometers

2 01

i s

i nto t he

7 ) i s 3 kilometers below

f rom t he mountain village o f

V alldemosa and

1 0.6 kilometers f rom the i slands'

c apital of P alma.

At t his point i n t he r oad the cave's e ntrance c an be h ighway a s

s een f rom t he

i t c omes d own out o f the E stret pass.

The c ave has had a peculiar and unfortunate h istory f rom t he t ime o f

i ts d iscovery a s well

a s d uring i ts e xcavation.

I t w as a cci-

d ently d iscovered by t he author i n 1 963 while d riving a long t he h ighw ay.

Construction workers w ere e ngaged i n e nlarging a r oad r unning t o

a quarry,

l ocated t o t he n orth o f t he c ave a nd parallel t o t he h ighway,

a nd i n t he process t hey had j ust d ynamited a s ection o f t he r oad. One o f t he charges had blown a l arge t ree t erraces,

s ection out o f one of t he o live

r evealing a previously h idden c ave e ntrance.

By t he t ime t he author arrived on t he s cene of the c ave e nt rance t he c onstruction workers were a t work w ith picks a nd s hovels d igging i nside the c ave w ith l ittle r egard t o s cientific procedure.

The author managed t o r each t he work f oreman a n hour l ater t o s top t he d estruction by t he workers, t he proper a uthorities

s ome

but was

s till u nable t o c ontact

f ive or s ix hours l ater.

g reat d eal of d amage had been done,

R egardless,

a

r esulting i n a s hambles b eing made

of t he u pper l evels of well over half the c ave.

E ven a fter t he author

was g iven permission t o mount a n e mergency operation,

t he c ave w as

periodically d isturbed.

H owever,

d espite t he d estruction o f a g ood portion of t he P uig

c ave's c ontexts,

i t has been possible t o

s alvage

mation f rom t he r emaining c ontexts which w ere f ore c ould be properly e xcavated.

s uccessive periods,

t urbed by t he l ater ones,

6 .1

s ince i t may have been

a nd f ormer burials c an b e d is-

thus making e vents d ifficult t o i nterpret.

T he P uig C ave S tratigraphy a nd S tructure

I n

s tructure,

yotic burial

c ave;

t he

P uig c ave

i s a t ypical example of a P retala-

originally a n atural f ormation

walls have been r eworked and e nlarged by man. c ave wall's perimeter i s pocketlike a rea

Puig),

t here a re

i n which t he h eads of t he d ead u sually r est, f ound i n or n ear t hese n iches. w ith t he

( Plan 5 A), whose

The l imestone o f t he

s haped i nto a number of n iches,

( in t he case of

gated t oward t he c entre o f t he c ave.

e ver,

i ntact a nd t here-

U sually t he e vidence offered i n this

s ort of burial c ave c an be quite c omplicated, u sed f or s everal

s ome i mportant i nfor-

s till

w ith t heir bodies e nlon-

The g rave g oods a re u sually

One o r t wo b odies w ere

5 n iches of the P uig Cave.

f ound a ssociated

I n t he majority o f

t he bodies were a massed i n t he middle o f the c ave,

b ones being

s tacked i n piles

t he M arroig c ave. n ot known,

benches or

5 o f these n iches)

i n t he middle o f the a rea,

Whether or n ot these d ifferences

i nstances,

h ow-

t he major n ot t oo unlike

i n t he position i s

a nd i t may be t hat s ome of t hese r epresent s econdary burials.

2 02

On t he whole,

the grave goods w ere made u p o f P retalayotic

pottery of a s imple u nrestricted r ound bottom t ype i s of a v ery primitive f orm. s andstone bone

( Figure

6 2)

( Figure 4 8),

which

Only one c opper d agger and a badly u sed

c onstituted t he r emaining f inds.

A f ew

pieces of c lassical p ottery were a lso f ound i n t he uppermost l evel, and one r adiocarbon d ate s ubstantiates the

f rom this upper l evel

l ater date o f the

i s a vailable,

s trates the u se of t he c ave over a very l ong period. i s

( 230 b .c.

+ 1 00 y rs.)

been c ollected,

( SPG,6).

which

P uig's s uperior l evel a nd d emonWhile other

This

1 4C d ate

s amples f or d ating have

t hey a re n otas y et available.

The f orm of t he

P uig cave i s horse-shoe

e st r ecess t o t he n orth a nd i ts e ntrance t o a scertain t he

s haped,

w ith i ts d eep-

f acing s outh.

I t i s d ifficult

s hape a nd s ize of the c ave's o riginal

e ntrance,

a s t he

d ynamiting outside the entrance d estroyed part of t he f ormation. e ntrance,

prior t o d ynamiting,

t erracing,

The

was c ompletely s ealed off by t he modern

s o that t here may even have b een s ome r emodelling o f t he

c ave e ntrance prior t o the c onstruction e ntrance.

o f t he t errace that c losed the

The e ntrance a s i t s tands t oday i s

mately 2 .5m w ide.

1 .75m high and approxi-

The c ave i tself i s a pproximately 6 m wide east t o

w est and 8 m l ong n orth t o

s outh with a h eight of a bout 2 m.

Apart f rom a minor R oman horizon i n the u ppermost l evel o f t he c ave,

a nd s igns of perhaps two types o f burial

( primary a nd s econdary ),

only one c hronological period was r epresented with a ny c ertainty a t P uig,

namely the

P retalayotic.

Burial c aves of this

s ort c an have this

c haracteristic a s w ell a s being u sed over l ong periods, s eems

t o

though P uig

s hare having a s ingle period o ccupation w ith t he c ave o f S on

Marroig.

H owever,

a ppear i n the

s tratigraphy i n t he c onventional

s ense d oes n ot

P uig c ave.

B efore excavation the c ave was d ivided i nto f our main quadrants ( Plan 5 A),

d esignated by a l etter:

f or t he n ortheast quadrant, the

s outheast one.

' C'

Q uadrants

' A'

f or the n orthwest quadrant,

f or the

' C'

and

s outhwest quadrant a nd

' D'

' D'

were e xcavated f irst,

f inally l eading i nto a e astwest s tratigraphical profile.

The

' B' f or

and

t ask o f

maintaining t his profile a s the excavations progressed i nto quadrants ' A'

and

' B'

was a d ifficult one,

a s i t presented a f ace

5 meters l ong,

open.to t he v iew of a nyone l ooking i nside the c ave f rom the r oad outs ide and o bviously f ull of a rchaeological material,

making i t a n o b-

vious and easy target f or both vandals a nd the c urious a fter the e xcavators l eft

f or the n ight.

I n s pite o f r emains belonging t o pots,

1 bronze

U nfortunately,

s uch d ifficulties during the e xcavation, s ome

3 0 i ndividuals,

' laurel l eaf'

human

a ccompanied a bout 2 0

f unerary

d agger a nd a s andstone hone were r ecovered.

a ll e xcept f our h eads were d eposited w ith t he l ocal

l and-

owner a nd mysteriously these d isappeared a long w ith s everal of t he pots which were r emoved f rom t he c ave between the t ime o f i ts d iscovery a nd the mounting o f t he e mergency excavation.

One one r adiocarbon d ate i s

a vailable

i s

f or t he t op-most l evel and t his

2 03

2 30 b .c.

+ 1 00

yrs

( SPG,6)

f or a burial bone

c onnected with

R oman ware of the third c entury B .B.

At this point, r eaearch

s ite

with the c ompletion of the d escription of the

s tratigraphies,

we can begin the

ation of the various types of evidence periods. f rom the Chapter

We have already examined the available and we

evidence.

P retalayotic,

f ollowing f our chapters

Talayotic and P ost Talayotic

the evidence f or the Presettlement P eriod has a lready been

discussed i n Chapter

i n

This examination and d iscussion of the artefacts

E arly S ettlement,

P eriods;

chronometric data

can therefore turn t o the examination of the

and other physical evidence will occupy the the

discussion and examin-

s upporting the chronological

s tratigraphies and r epresenting the chronological periods I II,

material on

Other

s amples f or analysis have been c ollected but not yet processed.

I I:

2 04

CHAPTER

THE

EARLY

V I

SETTLE MENT

PER IOD

Chapter VI.

1 .

The Early

S ettlement

Period

B ackground t o t he N ew E vidence

The proposal f or the E arly S ettlement P eriod and t he c hronometric e vidence I II,

where t he

s upporting t he period have been presented i n Chapter chronological

b een g iven i n d etail. s upporting t he a s w ell l ogy.

s cheme used i n t his t hesis has a lready

Furthermore,

the d ifferent types o f e vidence

E arly S ettlement P eriod have a lso been outlined t here,

a s having been briefly d iscussed i n r elation t o a bsolute c hronoI n t his chapter,

d edicated t o a thorough e xamination o f t he

i ndividual t ypes of e vidence,

i t i s n ecessary t o r ecapitulate briefly

s ome o f t he d etail outlined e arlier.

F irst we must outline once more

t he various types of e vidence d efining t he period; b e d iscussed and e xamined i n d etail, t itle.

The evidence i s a s

e ach o f these will

under t he a ppropriate

s ubject

f ollows:

( 1)

human s keletal r emains

( 2)

M yotragus coprolite beds from a probable corral

( 3)

a rtificially t rimmed horns of s everal M yotragus

( 4)

M yotragus bones that show traces either of burning or

s kulls

butchering or both ( 5)

d efinite hearth f ires which have y eilded c harcoal f or d ating and ash l evels c ontaining M yotragus b alearicus but no d omesticated a nimals

( 6)

l imited a rtefacts

A ll but t he t op e vidence originates t er.

f rom the Matge

The human r emains which come f rom Muleta cave a re

r ock s hel-

i ncluded h ere

because of their chronological r elationship.

I t s hould a lso be r emembered t hat t his e vidence has n o paral lels ment

i n the Balearics a nd t hat t he d efinition of the E arly S ettleP eriod i s based e ntirely on this material.

S ome o f t his e vidence

i s undoubtedly d ebatable on t he basis of i ts n ature, a s p lentiful a s one w ould wish.

H owever,

a nd i s n ot a lways

a ll of i t has undergone

e xtensive chronometric dating with r esults which f it t he r elative c hronological

s equence

more

i nterpretation o f t he physical evidence

f rom t he

i n which they were

t he materials.

2 07

f ound.

P roblems

may a rise

t han t he a ge of

1 .1

T he H uman S keletal R emains

The human s keletal r emains f irst d iscovered a t Muleta i n c onsisted o f a l arge part of a l ower metatarsal and part o f a r adius. mains were f ound a t t he

Late

s ame l evel,

s ectors t hroughout S tratum 7 ( see c onsisted of 6 more t eeth, t ibia. a nd

8 molars,

i n

1 966,

t hat t ime,

1 962 1

other f ragmentary r e-

C hapter I , p age 2 8 -2 9).

These

f inds

5 more phalanges a nd the proximal e nd o f a

( Waldren a nd K opper 1 968;

t he human r emains

i ncreased a nd they c an be

5 phalanges,

but s pread out i nto other c ave

Additionally among the r emains t here were

1 1 bone n eedles

S ince

j aw,

f rom t his

2 s mall

f lint t ools

W aldren 1 967 a nd 1 968). s ame

l evel have b een

s een t o r epresent n ot one i ndividual a s was

originally t hought , but a t l east 4 ,

i f not 5 ,

( Table 7 ,

i ndividuals

t he I nventory of t he H uman R emains ).

A lso, a very f ragmentary s kull has been r econstructed ( Plates 2 2:3 -2 2:4) which originated from a very small cave adjacent to Muleta This

s kull,

a lthough n ot f ound i n the Muleta d eposit i tself,

buried i n a l arge pot and may possibly belong t o one o f the uals whose people

s kull was buried a fter i ts r emoval

i nhabiting t he c ave c irca 2 000 b .c.

n ot confuse

t his

d ence proper,

s kull o r t he pot i t was

was i ndivid-

f rom M uleta proper by t he

H owever,

t he r eader s hould

f ound i n with the Muleta evi-

t hough the pot f or e xample belongs t o t he

s ame t ypö-

l ogical group a s pottery f ound i n the Muleta habitational

l evels.

T ests on t he human s kull a re currently being c arried out t o d etermine i ts possible r elationship t o the Muleta human bone

I n a ll s kull material t he d eposit, t ion s ystem

e vents,

i t s hould be borne

i n mind t hat very l ittle

f rom t he Muleta i ndividuals has been r ecovered f rom

d espite the f act that t he Muleta hydraulic

s epara-

f rom t he Muleta d epo-

one becomes aware o f the fact that most of the major l imb bones

a s well

a s c raniums a re missing f rom t he i nventory.

t he r eason f or t his, ( 1)

s oil

( App endix 1 B ) has washed about 9 0% of the d eposit's e arth.

By consulting t he l ist o f human bone c omponents s it,

i nventory.

Thus,

one a sks

and a number o f possible answers can be

f ound.

The r emains may have been r emoved by e ither c ontemporary i ndivi-

d uals a fter a period during which the c ave was used a s a n o ssuary where t he body was a llowed t o d ecompose; r emoved eventually f or r eburial above).

( 2)

( e.g.

the major bones having b een

i n t he adjacent c ave mentioned

The bones were r emoved because t he cave was u sed f or

l iving a t a l ater date by i ndividuals who d id n ot c are t o have human r emains present i n a l iving s ite.

( 3)

c omponents were r emoved by wild a nimals

The major quantity of bone ( a possibility which i s t ot-

a lly unlikely a s t he i sland a s we have s een had no l arge t ors).

( 4)

The bones underwent d ecomposition

because o f t he d emonstratably g ood preservational the c ave). t ion

( 5)

s ize preda-

( another unlikely e vent, c onditions present

i n

The missing bone c omponents were l ost during e xcava-

( another unlikely e xplanation s imply because of the excavation

t echniques used f or t he r emoval of Muleta's f aunal r emains d eposit).

We c an e limate possibilities

3 ,

4 a nd 5 and a ssume

have been e ither of the f irst t wo s olutions. human agency f or t heir r emoval,

f rom t he i t must

B oth e xplanations e ntail

a nd i t i s m erely a c ase o f t iming a s

t o at what period i t was c arried out.

2 08

P erhaps t he

r esults of t ests

T able 7 .

I nventory o f H uman B ones: t he C ave o f M ületa , ' 0', ' EF', ' CD', ' AB' a nd ' X', 1 50 175cms

V arious S ectors

I nv.

I nv. Bone

No.

Bone

No.

0 01.

Patella

( R )

0 49.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( R)

0 02.

Patella

( R )

0 50.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( R)

0 03.

Metacarpal

I II

( L)

0 51.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( R )

0 04.

Metacarpal

I II

( L)

0 52.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( R )

0 05.

Metacarpal

I II

( L)

0 53.

Phalange,

Manua,

I I

( R )

0 06.

Metacarpal V ( R )

0 54.

Phalange I

0 07.

Metacarpal

IV

( R )

0 55.

Phalange,

Manus,

0 08.

Metacarpal

I I

( R )

0 56.

Phalange,

Manus,

I

0 09.

Metacarpal

I ( R )

0 57.

Phalange,

Manus,

I

0 10.

Metacarpal

I V

( L )

0 58.

Phalange,

Manus,

I

0 11.

Metacarpal

I ( L?)

0 59.

Phalange,

Manus,

I

0 12.

Phalange,

0 13.

Phalange,

0 14.

Capitate

0 15 . 0 16.

Manus,

Y ,

I ( L)

0 60.

Phalange,

P es,

Manus,

Y ,

I ( R)

I

0 61.

Phalange,

Pes,

I

( R )

0 62.

Phalange,

Pes,

I

Capitate

( L)

0 63.

Phalange,

Pes,

I

S caphoid

( R )

064.

Phalange,

P es,

I

0 65.

Phalange,

P es,

I

0 66.

Phalange,

Pes,

I

0 17.

Lunate

0 18.

Trapezoid

0 19.

Metatarsal V ( R )

0 67.

Phalange,

P es,

Y ,

0 20.

Tibia

( L )

0 68.

Phalange,

Pes,

I I

0 21.

Tibia

( R )

069.

Phalange,

Pes,

I I

0 22.

Cuneiforme

0 70.

Phalange,

P es,

I II

0 23.

Tibia

( L)

0 71.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

0 24.

Tibia

( R)

0 72.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

0 25.

Radius

0 73.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

0 26.

Metatarsal

0 74.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

0 27.

Trapezoid

0 75.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

0 76.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

( R )

0 77.

Phalange,

Manus,

Distal

( L)

0 78.

Metatarsal,

I ( R)

Throacic

0 79.

Metatarsal,

I I

Atals

0 80.

Phalange,

Manus,

I ,

C ervical

0 81.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( L)

0 82.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( L)

0 83.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( L)

0 84.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( L)

085.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

( L)

Vertebrae,

0 28. 0 29.

Tibia

( L)

Calcaneum Calcaneum Vertebrae,

0 34. 0 35. 0 36. 0 37.

( L)

I ( L ) ( L )

( L)

0 31. 0 33.

I I

( R )

0 30. 0 32.

( L)

Vertebrae, Vertegrae, Phalange, Phalange, Phalange, Phalange,

P es,

Y ,

Manus, P es,

I I I

( R)

I

Manus,

I I

( R )

0 38.

Metatarsal,

I I

( R)

0 86.

0 39.

Metacarpal,

I V

( R)

087.

Molar

( L)

0 88.

Molar

( L)

089.

Molar

( R )

0 90.

Molar

I ( L)

091.

Molar

I ( L)

0 92.

Molar

0 93.

Molar

0 94.

Molar

095.

Premolar

096,

Premolar

0 40. 0 41. 0 42. 0 43. 0 44.

Metacarpal, Metatarsal, Metatarsal, Metacarpal, Metacarpal,

0 45.

Hamate,

0 46.

Vertebrae,

I V IV I V

( R ) Cervical

0 47.

Metatarsal,

0 48.

Phalange,

I ,

Y ,

Manus,

( R ) I I

( L)

2 09

I

( R )

Lumbar

Distal

T able 7 .

( continued )

0 99.

Canine

1 50.

1 00.

I ncisor

1 51.

I ncisor

1 01.

Canine

1 52.

Radius

1 02.

Premolar

1 53.

I ncisor

1 03.

Premolar

( ?)

1 54.

I ncisor

1 04.

Premolar

( ?)

1 55.

Coccyx

Molar ( L )

1 05.

Canine

1 56.

S kull,

1 06.

Molar

1 57.

Vertebrae,

1 07.

Molar

1 58.

S kull,

Fragment Lumbar

Fragment

1 08.

Canine

1 59.

Phalange,

1 09.

Canine

1 60.

Cuneiforme,

1 10.

I ncisor

1 61.

Phalange,

Manus,

1 11.

I ncisor

1 62.

Phalange,

Pes,

1 12.

I ncisor

1 63.

Mandible

1 13.

I ncisor

1 14.

I ncisor

1 15.

I ncisor

1 16.

Premolar

1 17.

Phalange,

1 18.

Lunate

( L) ( R )

Manus,

1 19.

Fibula

1 20.

Metatarsal

I I

1 21.

Metatarsal

IV

( L)

1 22.

Metatarsal

I I

( R)

( L)

1 23.

Metatarsal V ( R)

1 24.

Metacarpal V ( L9

1 25.

Phalange,

1 26.

Metacarpal,

I I

Pes,

( L9

I ( L)

1 27.

Phalange,

Pes,

I ( L)

1 28.

Phalange,

Pes,

I ( R )

1 29.

Phalange,

Manus,

Y ,

I I

( R )

1 30.

Phalange,

Manus,

Y ,

I I

( L)

1 31.

Phalange,

Pes,

I ,

1 32.

Phalange,

Pes,

I I

1 33.

Phalange,

Manus,

1 34.

Phalange,

P es,

I II

( ?)

1 35.

Phalange,

Pes,

I II

( ?)

1 36.

Rib

1 37.

Tibia

1 38.

Molar

1 39.

I ncisor

1 40.

Phalange,

Manus,

1 41.

Phalange,

Pes,

1 42.

Metatarsal,

1 43.

Phalange,

1 44.

Vertebrae,

V

( L ) ( ?) I II

( ?)

I ( R )

I ( L ) ( R )

Manus,

I I

( R )

Cervical

1 45.

Humerus

1 46.

Phalange,

Manus,

1 47.

Phalange,

Pes,

I ( L)

1 48.

Phalange,

Pes,

I ( R )

1 49.

Phalange,

Manus,

I I

I II

( R)

( ?)

2 10

Pes,

I ,

I II

( L )

( L ) I I

I ( ?) ( ?)

a nd a nalysis on t he

s kull d escribed a bove will produce a more a cceptable

c hoice between t he t wo r emaining explanations a s t o why t he major c omponents of the t he d eposit.

s keletons of t he Muleta human r emains a re missing f rom The a uthor

f avours t he e xplanation t hat t he human r e-

mains d eposited a round 3 985 b .c. a nalysis o f the human bone,

+ 1 05 yrs,

a s

i ndicated by t he

1 4C

w ere r emoved by much l ater o ccupants o f

t he c ave when they w ere u sing i t a s a t ransient c amp c irca 2 700 b .c. o r s lightly l ater. f rom t he

The pottery t ype i n which t he r econstructed s kull

s mall c ave a djacent t o M uleta was buried i s c omparable t o

s amples f ound a t t he Matge t o 2 000 b .c., s elf,

a s w ell a s

c irca 2 000 b .c.

m ost unlikely;

s ite,

dating f rom t he NECP,

f rom pottery a ssemblage

( Figures 3 5 t o 3 8 ).

c irca 3 000 b .c.

f ound i n M uleta i t-

Any o ther e xplanation i s

unless o ne c an a ccept t he notion t hat s till

l ater i nhabi-

t ants o f t he c ave u sed a n o ld pot t o bury s till o lder human r emains o utside t he

c ave.

The

i nventory of t he human bones a lso r ules o ut

t here being burials m ade i n t he Myotragus d eposit. ( 150 c ms

t o

1 75cms)

over t he c ave,

i n S tratum 7 ,

T his d eposition d eep

a nd t hroughout t his

s ame l evel a ll

a long with t he a bsence o f t he major c omponents o f t he

s keleton rules out burial.

As

has been briefly mentioned e arlier,

were t o r emain a s t he

t hese human r emains

s ole a nthropological evidence f or man's presence

i n t he Balearics a s early a s the Fourth Millennium, o f t he M atge r ock s helter, o ccupation o f t he i slands

until t he d iscovery

with i ts e xtension of e vidence o f man's a t t hat t ime and e ven earlier,

a s we s hall

presently e xamine.

The physical e vidence o f t he human bone c omponents has r isen t o a t otal o f / ),

1 63 e lements belonging t o f rom 4 t o 5 i ndividuals

part o f which appear i n

t his material

P lates

2 5.1

a nd 2 5.2.

i s n ecessary by a s pecialist,

A s pecific

( Table

s tudy o f

a s well a s analysis of t he

bones t hemselves.

1 .2

T he eotragus b alearicus C Oprolite B eds

The d iscovery of these

i nteresting materials f rom S trata 3 4

t o 3 6 a t t he Matge r ock s helter has provided us with various d ifferent kinds of

i nterpretations:

( 1)

t he c oprolites t hemselves g ive u s t he

o pportunity f orestablishing the d iet o f M . l ogical e vidence of t he t imes; o f t hese

2 2.1)

' scat'

which run t o about

+ 1 20 yrs.

( ABSM,55)

d irectly a ssociated evidence

i ndicate t hat t he t he c orral d ence t here,

b alearicus and hence eco-

t he d istribution a nd the d ensity 1 25cms d eep i n p lace

( Plate

( Plan 2 B ), s uggests a c orral s ituation t hat was e xtensively u sed,

c irca 4 730 b .c. ( 3)

beds,

( 2)

a nimal was

and 3 870 b .c.

+ 3 60 y rs.

( ABSM,53);

i n the f orm of bone s pecimens would

s laughtered a s well a s being t ended i n

( Plates 2 6 t o 3 3).

8 4)

S till other d irectly r elated e vi-

s uggests t hat e arly man t rimmed t he horns of t he animals c orraled c irca 4 730 b .c.

H ence we a re g iven c lues t o s everal o f man's

a ctivities a t Matge during the M illennium b .c.

E arly S ettlement

t o t he Third M illennium b .c.

2 11

P eriod f rom t he F ifth

The coprolite beds at Matge,

apart f rom the

very l ittle d oubt as to their a uthenticity or age,

fact that there i s a s

s een f rom the

radiocarbon dates of the eotragus bones a long with the coprolites themselves,

have not as yet been properly

has been begun to

s eek

s tudied.

t races of vegetable

f ibre,

However,

analysis

s eeds or pollen that

might identify the plants which made up the d iet of Myotragus.

P relim-

i nary analysis by e lectron microscope of a f ew coprolites has that,

i n the

t ested s amples,

have been l eached out,

most of the organic

probably by a cids

great quantities of

s uch specimens are available

an extensive

there

s cale,

r emains or pollen t ests.

This

i s

t o

appears

H owever,

t o

as

f urther t esting on

s till a very g ood possibility that plant

s amples have

subject

substance

i n the earth.

s hown

s urvived and will be

f ound i n f uture

i s one of a continuing programme.

The argument that the area i n question was a corral

i s based

not only on the materials found within the beds proper and the a rea they covered at the bottom of the

s tratigraphy of the East E nclosure,

but a lso on other consideration of a l ogical nature. f or the author t o believe that the s pread over E nclosure

s everal

r eader has

s quare meters e xcavated t o date

i n Matge's

as

s uggested by one observer.

s ect .

2 .1 t o 4 ).

I t i s d ifficult

animal would have

s ingle locality f or

such a l ong t ime as to have cause

l ation of coprolites 8 70 years,

was a k ind of the

c irca 4 730 b .c.

' grubber'

Granted,

However,

i t appears

i t

s uch a n accumu-

t o

3 800 b .c.),

being that the animal s earching

l ogical also that i t might happen based on i ndicates

that the animal was

millennia

i n the

i n that area

c ase of the Muleta

i s particularly odd that i t i s only one area of the

s helter that s uch use has occurred a nd not i n any of the other

wall protected areas.

I n the Matge

a bruptly end at meter marker 4 1, perimeter t o the accumulation, of a c orral.

Unfortunately,

E ast

which

E nclosure

the coprolite beds

s trongly s uggests

and therefore

a definitive

s uch a s one might expect with one

the c oprolite beds

s ide

extend back u nder f al-

l en debris and the Talayotic c emetery retaining wall

P lan 2 A ) be

f or example

s trongly a particular

more or l ess continually on the move

f act that Muleta cave

area.

f avoured s o

( radiocarbon s uggest a period of a ccumulation of

f or a considerably longer t ime; Matge

The

i n the M .

f eeding habits and other behaviour patterns

( Chapter I I ,

t o believe that the

f ood.

E ast

t o consider what has been e stablished and s uggested c on-

c erning the

s ome

I t i s hard

( Figures 2 3A a nd 2 3B a nd P lans 2 A a nd 2 B ) were the result

of casual accumulation or i llness,

b alearicus

( 1)

1 25cms of c oprolite accumulation

( Figure 2 3A a nd

the other perimeters of the c oprolites

c annot

a scertained f or the moment.

Under normal

c ircumstances one would expect t o

or other s igns of c orral barriers.

f ind post hole

None have been f ound t o d ate,

but

then easily dispersed

s tones and brush which i s very i mpermanent may

well have been u sed.

Any evidence of e ither a s tone or brush barrier

might have a lso been destroyed c irca 3 800 b .c. s trated t o have beds

o ccupied the r ock

( Plan 2 B a nd P lates 2 3 a nd 2 4).

r ealtively s mall

i n area,

r ecovered a lready well Fifth Millennium b .c.

which man can be d emon-

s helter d irectly over the

but even s o

c oprolite

Currently the excavated area the

i s

l arge quantity of e vidence

e stablishes man's presence during parts of the and Fourth Millennium b .c.

2 12

The possibility t hat the coprolites a re d roppings other than t hose of M yotragus b alearicus

i s very r emote.

At the s ame t ime,

i s no evidence whatsoever that any domesticated s pecies etc.)

( goat,

arrived i n t he Balearics earlier t han c irca 3 000 b .c.

there

s heep

a nd r adio-

carbon has d emonstrated t hat t he origin of these c oprolite beds

i s

c loser t o 4 700 b .c. One must a lso n ot r ule out t he possibility o f s ickness, that s ick M yotragus would not l ikely produce s uch d roppings,

e xcept

e specially

o ver s uch a l ong period of t ime a s well a s quantities t o a d epth of 1 25cms.

I t i s a lso i nteresting t o c onsider that w ith a ll

s pecimens o f M yotragus, s ervation,

1 .3

with a ll

not one c oprolite was

t he Muleta

the cave's i deal c onditions o f pref ound.

T he A rtificially T rimmed H orns

MacNally

( 1968)

and S utcliffe

( 1973)

have published papers

g iving e xcellent e vidence i n t he

s upport of

horn by non-carnivorous animals,

s uch a s d eer and goat,

s ulting

' artefact c onfiguration' ( Kuss

mistaken f or man

made products.

' gnawing'

o f antler a nd

This , i s

i rrefutable e vidence t hat

various animals do gnaw bone a nd a ntler of d ead a nimals s upply dietary n eeds o f

a nd t he r e-

1 969) which can occur and be

s uch minerals a s phosphorous,

The best r esults o f t his gnawing has e xamples

i n order t o

c alcium e tc.

i n t he f orked products

of d eer antler a nd other bone by the r ed d eer which i s r eported by L .

MacNally

i n S cotland.

H owever, and horn,

and S utcliffe,

' V'

s uch c onfigurations f ound on a ntler

s haped o r

' forked'

f orms c ited by MacNally

a re t he r esult of a nimal gnawing would be t o a dopt an

extreme position, are

t o a rgue t hat a ll

s uch a s t he

e specially i f we take i nto c onsideration t hat t here

l iving e xamples o f horn c lipping i n herd management e xists

2 7 -2 8).

This

( Plates

i s e thnological e vidence o f a practise c arried out at

present i n t he author's area of r esearch by l ocal pastors.

One l ocal

pastor when querried a s t o why he d id t his t o his goat r eplied t hat h is animal

f requently became e ntangled i n briar patches and i n t he

f encing of

i ts c orral,

f or i ts h igh s pirits,

a nd that this breed o f l ocal g oat was known a nd was a gressive when penned w ith other a nimals.

The ' V' t rimming a s carried out on the h orns o f M yotragus b alearicus are interpreted as the results of man's having cut the h orns o f the a nimal i n i ts l ifetime ( Plates 3 0 .1 a nd 3 0 .2) and not the r esults o f g nawing by a nother animal o f t he r ed d eer. the r eader's

a fter d eath a s

i n t he c ase

The d etailed description can b e outlined h ere f or

i mmediate c onsideration.

I t i s the a uthor's opinion t hat

t he animal's horns w ere t rimmed i n order t o prevent c orralled numbers of these animals

f rom damaging one another while penned i n t he e nclo-

s ure.

The r eader s hould a lso r emember that both male a nd f emale had

horns,

s o t hat both s exes were capable of d oing c onsiderable damage

with them. male

The e xtent o f damage

i ncurred during t he r utting s eason by

competitive behaviour i s a s ubject o f c onsiderable

2 13

s tudy i n

the f emale had a c onsiderable

s ay i n t he r utting r itual,

and t hat the

f act that t he f emale a lso had horns might have been i nstrumental a s a k ind of

' selection'

a ll events,

d evice

i n c ontrolling t he animal population.

I n

i t would be very dangerous t o i nterpret a ll e xamples o f

marks or d isfiguration on bone or horn c ores a s being t hat matter of natural agency,

and emphasis

' worked'

o r f or

s hould b e made on a c lose

s tudy of a s many d oubtful pieces a s possible i n order t o d ispel d oubts. This has t aken place with the t he Matge

s tratigraphy,

' V'

t rimmed horns of M yotragus found i n

and a c omparison has been made with r elated

horn c ore f eatures f rom t he a bundant Muleta c ave; t hat t he horn c ores were, The evidence

i s a s

( 1)

The

t rimmed a t t he mately 2 .5cms

i n the c ase o f Matge,

f ollows:

s kulls and horn c ores f ound a t Matge were a ll

s ame d istance a bove t he base o f the h orn c ore,

( Plates 3 0 t o 3 1).

This

i ncludes 6 s kulls,

h ave been broken f or brain extraction a nd S tratum 2 6,

i t emerges c learly

i ntentionally t rimmed.

' V' a pproxi-

3 of which

1 s kull which i s burnt f rom

where r adiocarbon dates o f 2 143 b .c.

+ 3 92 yrs.

( Burleigh

a nd C lutton -B rock 1 980) have been reported. ( 2) a ched t o t he

I n a ll o f the cases where t he h orn c ores a re

s till a tt-

s kull, both horn c ores have r eceived i dentical t rimming.

I t i s h ighly unlikely that s uch t reatment would have o ccurred n aturally

( Plates 3 0 .1 a nd 3 0 .2; ( 3) a re

3 1.1 a nd 3 1 .2) .

I n e very e xample where t rimming has t aken place,

t here

s igns o f t his having been d one prior t o t he animal's d eath,

t here a re varying d egrees of r egrowth o f t he h orn c ore

a nd 3 1.2). c ave,

This h ealing process

i s

i .e.

( Plates 3 1.1

i dentical t o e xamples f rom Muleta

where a ccidental horn c ore damage has t aken place d uring l ife

a nd the wounded horns have

s tarted healing o r have c ompletely h ealed

( Plates 2 0 .1 a nd 2 8 .1) . ( 4)

I n the

i nstance of miscellaneous horn damage among the

thousands o f horn c ores and a bundant whole s kulls Muleta s ite, a matter o f s hows

n ot one

s hows

s igns of

' V'

a lthough i t i s

s tatistics that a bout 2 0% of t hat c ollection of materials

s ome f orm and d egree o f horn c ore d amage.

manner o f h orn breaks,

ably o ccurred i n i nterspecific c ombat s ame t ime n o

This i ncludes a ll

s tunting a nd other i njury s ustained i n l ife,

with t he d ifferent types and d egrees of h ealing, the

s tudied f rom t he

c onfiguration;

much of which prob-

( Appendix 1 E ).

i nstances of what one might c all

There a re a t

' gnawing'

c onfigura-

t ions.

Unless we c an c ome t o t erms w ith t he

f act t hat M yotragus while

a live a llowed h is or her horns t o be gnawed d own, d oes not o ccur,

which one c an a ssume

i t i s r easonable t o c onsider t hat t he M yotragus

c onfigurations of the horn c ores a re o f human agency.

I t a lso

' V' s eems

r easonable t o a rgue that man would have been e xperienced with t he nature of M yotragus

( e.g.

his

i nability t o move f ast,

his narrow

f ield of vision, h is g pwerfully built n eck a nd s houlders etc.)

and

man's t reatment of the a nimal would have been c arried out a ccordingly. H e may well have become aware of t he f act t hat M yotragus, a nd f emale,

w ere

c apable of i nflicting s evere

with their horns during the n ormal r utting s eason,

2 14

both male

i njury on one a nother a nd even more

s o

when s uch horned c reatures were penned up i n a r estricted a rea.

A l-

though there a re d efinite s igns that the M yotragus was a s low moving a nimal,

there

c ontrary, powerful

i s n o i ndication that t he a nimal was d ocile.

On t he

the h eavy, powerful n eck and s houlders a nd s hort broad, l imbs attest t o an animal that was c apable of a s tubborn a nd

perhaps e ven a gressive behaviour.

I n themselves,

this e vidence a nd a ctivities

t hat man had an i nterest i n M .

s upport the f act

b alearicus and possessed the equipment

and s kill that was n ecessary f or horn cutting.

We may a lso call upon

t he example of the burnt s kull f rom kitchen f ires dates a t 2 143 b .c. i n S tratum 2 6,

which was broken f or brain e xtraction,

that had both

horn c ores with t rimming and which c ertainly o ccurred before d eath, a pparently l ong a fter the

s helter was u sed a s a c orral.

Another r elated d iscovery, parallel

a s well

a s precedent,

and one which c an be u sed a s a

i s one where a l arge number o f d etached

horn c ores of M yotragus been found in a cave on the adjacent i sland of M inorca t hat were d irectly a ssociated with pottery of P retalayotic o rigin

( Piedrabuena F lorit 1 962; P ericot G arcia 1 972).

This d iscovery

i ncluded n o other bone e lements except the h orn c ores themselves, which s howed s igns o f having been cut f rom the s eem t o i ndicate that t he horns were put t o

s kulls.

This would

s ome u se i n t his c ase.

The bone-like part o f t he horns would be a ll t hat would be preserved, the horn matter i tself having quickly d eteriorated, material l ike f inger-nails. c ollected f rom M yotragus

being a perishable

Whether or n ot these horn c ores were

s kulls of animals which d ied i n t he c ave

much earlier and t hen r eshaped f or the use

i s n ot known.

H owever i n

t he l ight of what we know c oncerning the very l ate date of s urvival o f t he M yotragus

a t Matge on Mallorca

( i.e.,

c irca 2 000 b .c.)

t here

i s n o d oubt i n the author's mind that a ssoüiation of M yotragus with t he early s ettlers of M inorca,

a s i n Mallorca,

This e vidence of M yotragus and man on Minorca

probably d id o ccur.

( Pericot G arcia 1 972)

has been s een by t he author a nd he has had the opportunity t o visit t he c ore

s ite

f rom which the e vidence was c ollected and t o e xamine t he h orn

s pecimens.

A lthough they d efinitely d emonstrate s igns of t rimming,

s ome e ven with w edge

s haped cut e nds which would match t he

f igured n otches on t he Matge

s pecimens,

a s r efined a s the Matge s amples.

of cut horns

c on-

S ome of t he M inorcan c ut horn c ores

a lso have more c onventional vertical cuts; a ny s igns of healing.

' V'

the M inorcan s amples a re n ot a nd o f c ourse n one

s how

The i mportant a spect of t hese Minorcan e xamples

i s that f ound by themselves,

a ssoicated only w ith pottery,

t hey d emonstrate that man was c apable of carrying out s uch a t ask a nd t hat he must have had s ome i nstance;

s pecific u se

f or the product i n the M inorc _an

whereas w ith the Mallorca occurence man's r easons f or horn

t rimming was a pparently one of more practical practice d ealing w ith managing the a nimal.

I n a ll f rom S tratum 3 5 beds

events,

the date f or the t immed h orn c ore

s pecimens

i n t he Matge d eposit and f ound among the c oprolite

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B )

have been dated at 4 730 b .c.

t hus providing u s with the o ldest date management of the M yotragus,

+ 1 20 yrs.

man's earliest presence

2 15

( ABSM,55);

f or man's a ctivity i n t he e arly i n t he Balearics

a s well a s g iving u s s ome i deas of t he early e conomy a nd way o f l ife d uring the Fifth M illennium b .c.

1 .4

T he M yotragus b alearicus B ones w ith B utchering M arks: U nburnt a nd B urnt

D istinction between t hese two t ypes of evidence

i s made be-

cause t hey o riginate

f rom d ifferent c hronological horizons i n t he

Matge

( 1)

s tratigraphy.

The unburnt butchered s carred bones a re

M yotragus remains found along with the t o t he East

s kulls,

i n the c oprolite beds

E nclosure,

' v'

t rimmed h orn c ores,

( Strata 3 4,

c orral

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ).

were f ound i n t he kitchen f ires of S trata 3 3 t he c oprolite beds

The r eader l evels

physical

a ttached

o f t he

where t he s helter's earliest i nhabitants used t he

z one a s a n a nimal

various

3 5 a nd 3 6)

( 2) t o

The burnt e xamples 2 6,

s tratified a bove

( Plates 2 3 .1 a nd 2 4 .1)

s hould r efer t o the d etailed d escription o f t he

i n the Matge

s tratigraphy

e vidence o riginates.

There,

( Chapter I V )

t he i ndividual

t o e ach of t he periods a re thoroughly e xamined, of t he e vidence and l evel

i s g iven.

f rom which t he l evels pertinent

a nd a brief s ummary

An i nventory

( Table 8 ) of the

M yotragus bones described i s f ound below. ( 1)

The butchered s carred bones f rom the c oprolite beds c om-

prise r emains o f approximately a half d ozen a nimals that man had o ccasionaly s laughtered i n the c orral a rea.

The i nventory of t he

bone c omponents a re n ever c omplete and c onsist mainly of t he l imbs a nd s kulls with a ssorted s mall bones.

None of t hese parts a re burnt a s

t hey a re i n s uperior l evels of the habitational l evels of t he s tratigraphy,

a nd a re occasionally a rticulated when f ound

with s igns of h aving been d ismembered

( Plate 2 2.2)

( Plate 2 2.1)

a long

a s well a s d efleshed.

The

s car marks are a lways l ocated on t he d istal and proximal e nds of

the

l ong bones or other a reas,

s uch a s t he p elvis units,

muscular a nd l igament attachments

where t ough

would have occcurred.

These a re

c lassical butchering s cars quite d ifferent f rom that d one by r odent gnawing or by other animals,

being

' V'

s haped i ncisions or h eavily

s craped marks made by s harp t ools a nd not a nimal t eeth. e ring bones

These butch-

s cars have been c ompared t o hundreds o f s amples of butchered f rom a r ecent

s ite where offerings were made c onsisting o f

butchered portions of goat, Talayotic

s heep, pig a nd c attle a t t he Megalithic

S anctuary of Torralba d en S alort.

of butchering mark imaginable,

M yotragus bones at Matge.

H ere,

there

On the other h and,

t hese a long w ith

Matge e xamples c an be c ompared t o most a ny a rchaeological s laughtering has taken place. ( 2)

s ite where

( e .g . G uilday 1 971)

The burnt butchered marked bones originate

of h earth z ones,

i s e very k ind

most of which can be c ompared t o t he

f rom a s eries

where kitchen d ebris has produced M yotragus r emains

s ometimes a lone and s ometimes a ssociated with t he bone r emains o f d omesticated a nimals.

S uch evidence

i s,

i n a ll c ases,

l ater t han t hat a ssociated w ith the c oprolite beds. c hronology or the h earths a re d iscussed i n Chapter

2 16

s tratigraphically

The a bsolute

I II.

There a re

s ome very f ine examples of Myotragus bones, c arbonisation,

which originate

i n d ifferent s tages of

f rom the h earths,

a s well a s

s amples

f rom other a reas ° Kates 3 2.1 a nd 3 2.2).

E xamination of this material

s hows

whole bones a nd

that i t c onsists of two types,

( a)

( b)

many,

f ragmentary e xamples that s how the bones t o have been broken while they were i s the

s till

f resh,

undoubtedly f or the e xtraction of marrow.

I t

l atter o f t hese t wo types of bone which r ecently were r adio-

c arbon dated a nd g ave

i nteresting chronometric dates,

one o f which

( Stratum 2 6)is t he l atest date f or the s urvival of Myotragus m entioned

( Burleigh a nd C lutton -B rock 1 980 ).

earlier

t his l ast c ontext of burnt M yotragus remains a lready

H owever,

c oncerns the n ext chronological period t o be d iscussed a nd e xamined; that of t he P retalayotic P eriod.

I ts i nclusion h ere i s briefly pre-

s ented i n o rder to c omplete the p erspective of t he r ole of M yotragus i n the Early S ettlement P eriod,

a nd a t the

s ame t ime because

s ome of

the burnt Myotragus b one e vidence overlaps

i nto this Neolithic

Ceramic

The t rue upper l imit of the

P hase of t he Pretalayotic

P eriod.

Early S ettlement P eriod i s c irca 3 000 b .c., Myotragus r emains a re

E arly

until which t ime only

( Chapter I V )

f ound i n the h earth z ones

( also

C hapter V III ).

I t becomes quite e vident f rom t he e vidence of t he l ate of M yotragus,

until

c irca 2 100 b .c.,

2 600 years with the a nimal,

s urvival

t hat man s hared a period o f

s ome

i n which t ime a g ood portion of i t was

based on a s ubsistence e conomy i nvolving the Myotragus a lone a s one of man's major f ood s ources a s well a s part of h is way of l ife.

1 .5

T he C harcoal f rom t he E arly S ettlement H earths

I n t he l evels at Matge that yielded t he charcoal u sed f or d ating of these

f irst t races o f human a ctivity a t the

s ite,

present no s ure evidence of c eramic t echnology. that this was due n ot s o much a s no c eramic which case t he

t echnology e xisted

s tratigraphy a t this point of t he

but due t o t he poverty of the a rea of the

s ite

which case h e r efers t o these

l evels,

After

a nd a sh l evels

3 000 b .c.,

the charcoal

f irst chronological phase of the

The a ceramic l evels

until

2 8)

( in

s equence i s preceramic)

s o f ar e xcavated,

3 000 b .c.,

P retalayotic

( Strata 3 6 t o

t here i s f or the

The a uthor believes

a s

i n

' aceramic'.

s equence belongs t o the P eriod.

a re the e arliest r epre-

s enting c ontinuous o ccupation of Matge by man f rom c irca 5 000 b .c. 3 000 b .c. be

I n

P late 2 4.1

( Volume I I ) ,

the various c harcoal

s een s andwiched between c ompact bands of a sh,

f ar end of the piate points

E ast E nclosure.

Charcoal

i n t he various charcoal

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ), been a nalysed.

t o

l evels c an

a s e xcavated i n t he

s amples were taken a t a ppro-

l evels d escribed i n Chapter I V

though a ll the c ollected s amples have n ot a s y et

The r eader s hould a lso bear i n mind that the d ensity

a nd way i n which these charcoal and a sh l ayers have been built up over t ime

i s quite c omplicated,

and that i n their d istribution throughout

2 17

T able 8 .

I nventory o f M potragus B ones: t he R ock S helter o f S on M atge

I nv. Bone

No.

Sector/Level

Description

001.

Horn Core,

L or R

44-42,

4 75cms

Fragment,

Tip

0 02.

Horn Core,

R

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Fragment,

Base

0 03.

Vertebrae,

Lumbar

44-42,

4 75cms

Damaged

0 04.

Vertebrae,

Lumbar

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Damaged

0 05.

Femur,

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Damaged Damaged

R .

0 06.

Humerus,

0 07.

Mandible,

R ,

0 08.

Femur,

0 09.

Rib,

0 10.

Ulna,

0 11.

Humerus,

L

0 12.

Scapula,

R ,

Proximal

R .

R .

Proximal End R . Proximal

0 13

Femur,

0 14.

Ulna, Radius,

L

0 15.

Metacarpal,

0 16.

Vertebrae,

1 07.

Molar,

0 18.

Femur,

0 19.

S capula,

4 4-42,

4 75cms

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Burned

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Fragment,

44-42,

475cms

Butcher S carred

44-42,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

4 2,

3 50cms

Complete

4 2,

3 50cms

Butcher S carred

4 2,

3 50cms

Burned

4 2,

3 50cms

Burned

4 2,

3 50cms

Burned

44-43,

4 75cms

Damaged

Maxilla

4 4-43,

4 75cms

Compete

R ,

R L

Thoracic

Scarred

4 4-43,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

L

4 4-43,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

L

Distal

0 20.

S capula,

4 4-43,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

0 21.

Pelvis,

R

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

0 22.

Pelvis,

R

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

0 23.

Pelvis

R

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Butcher

0 24.

Pelvis,

L

44-42,

4 75cms

Butcher S carred

0 25.

Pelvis,

L

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Butcher Scarred

0 26.

Pelvis,

L

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Butcher Scarred

0 27.

Humerus, , L

3 0-26,

1 60cms

Damaged

0 28.

Metacarpal,

3 0-26,

1 60cms

Complete

0 29.

Maxilla,

L

30-26,

1 60cms

Fragment

0 30.

Maxilla,

R

3 0-26,

1 60cms

Broken

0 31.

Mandible,

L

3 0-26,

1 60cms

Broken

0 32.

Mandible,

R

3 0-26,

1 60cms

Broken

L

S carred

0 33.

Radius/Ulna,

R

4 2,

3 50cms

Complete

0 34.

Radius/Ulna,

L

4 2,

3 50cms

Complete

0 35.

Radius/Ulna,

R

4 2,

3 50cms

Butcher Scarred

0 36.

Rib,

L ,

Distal

4 2,

3 50cms

Damaged

0 37.

Rib,

L ,

D istal

4 2,

3 50cms

Damaged

0 38.

Rib,

R ,

Distal

4 2,

3 50cms

Butcher S carred

0 39.

Rib,

L

4 2,

3 50cms

Damaged

040.

Rib,

R ,

Distal

4 2,

3 50cms

Damaged

0 41.

Rib,

R ,

Distal

4 2,

3 50cms

Butcher

0 42.

Rib,

L ,

Distal

4 2,

3 50cms

Burnt

0 43.

Tibia,

4 2,

3 50cms

Pathological

0 44.

Cranium

4 2,

1 90cms

Broken Right Horn Core

0 45.

Cranium

4 2,

3 50cms

Burnt,

0 46.

Cranium

4 2,

3 50cms

Broken for Brain Extraction Both V Trimmed Horn Cores

L ,

D istal

S carred

V Trimmed Horn Core

0 47.

Cranium

4 2,

3 50cms

0 48.

Cranium

4 2,

3 50cms

Both V Trimmed Horn Cores

0 49.

Horn Core

44-42,

3 50cms

V Trimmed

0 50.

Horn Core

4 4-42,

4 75cms

V Trimmed

2 18

A

T able 8 .

( c ontinued )

0 51.

Horn Core

4 4-42,

4 75cms

V trimmed

0 52.

Horn Core

4 4-42,

4 75cms

V t rimmed

0 53.

Humerus

4 4-42,

4 75cms

H eavy defleshing marks

0 54.

Mandible,

L

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Mature

0 55.

Mandible,

R

4 4-42,

4 75cms

Mature

0 56.

Maxilla,

R

4 2,

3 50cms

Near Mature

0 57

Maxilla,

R

4 2,

3 50cms

Young

0 58.

Cranium

4 2,

4 25cms

New Born

0 59.

Mandible,

R

4 2,

3 00cms

New Born

0 60.

Mandible,

R

4 2,

3 00cms

Mature

0 61.

Tibia,

L

4 2,

3 00cms

Young

0 62.

Femur,

L ,

4 2,

3 00cms

Mature

0 63.

Metacarpal,

4 2,

3 00cms

Burnt

Priximal R

2 19

the E ast

E nclosure they r epresent s ome 2 400 y ears of o ccupancy,

a part

f rom t he period of a bout 9 00 y ears during which t ime they were u sed a s a c orral.

The c harcoal t his

f rom S tratum 3 3 has produced t he o ldest d ate

E arly S ettlement P eriod charcoal-ash s equence,

R adiocarbon dating of the c oprolite l evel t his

f irst c harcoal

f or

c irca 3 800 b .c.

( Stratum 3 4)

d irectly b elow

l evel has a lso g iven u s a d ate o f c irca 3 870 b .c.,

d emonstrating t he t ransition of the s helter f rom i ts u se a s a c orral t o a n a rea u sed f or l iving. l ower l evels, s equence, a ble

i t i s

R egardless of t he

c ertain t hat S tratum 3 3,

s ignals the use o f the

i nterpretation o f t he

the

f irst of t he c harcoal

s helter by man.

t hat this r adiocarbon date of 3 800 b .c.

I t i s quite r emark-

+ 1 15 yrs.

( ABSM,52)

i n a ccord w ith t he Muleta chronometric data o f 3 985 b .c. ( SM,54),

c hronologically s eparating the two s ites by only

f irmly e stablishing a Fourth M illennium b .c. i n the Balearics, s ence a s

d ate

i s

+ 1 09 y rs. 1 85 y ears;

f or man's presence

r egardless or n ot i f we c an a ccept a n earlier pre-

i ndicated i n the l ower s tratigraphic l evels where a date of

4 730 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

i s a vailable

f or l eotragus with s igns of human

management.

1 .6

T he A rtefact E vidence o f t he E arly S ettlement P eriod

Unfortunately the artefact e vidence s upporting t he ment P eriod i s very s parse,

c onsisting of only

1 1

E arly S ettle-

bone n eedles a nd 2

f lint f lakes

( Figure 3 4), and this material comes f rom the Muleta d e-

posit.

l ack of artefact e vidence i s t he one

This

material a ssemblage

f rom t he

s ites.

s hortcoming i n t he

Nor has t he Matge r ock

s helter

been a ble t o provide a f urther s ource of a rtefact e vidence. perhaps

s everal r easons

f or this:

( 1)

a ctually been u sed f or l iving before t he P retalayotic 2 000 b .c.

( 2)

T here a re

the M uleta s ite may n ot h ave P eriod,

c irca

The z one excavated t o d ate a t Matge r epresenting t he

E SP i s a t the present a very s mall a rea a nd may j ust be naturally poor.

One t hing i s

( 3)

the

l evels t hemselves

s ure a nd t hat i s t he e xcava-

t ional m ethods u sed s hould have produced a ny a rtefacts t hat d id e xist i n the e xcavated a reas at the w e

i n both s ites.

Fortunately,

t he l ater l evels

s ites provide u s u s with a great d eal of a rtefact evidence a s

s hall

s ee i n t he

Actually,

f ollowing chapters.

i t i s

t his

l ack of a rtefact e vidence which has moti-

vated t he author i n not i ncluding these Neolithic

E arly Ceramic P hase of the

l evels a s part of the f ollowing

P retalayotic

events s ignal the opening of the P retalayotic of pottery of a rchaic f orm a nd the animals.

Certainly,

c arbon dating,

with more a rtefact-rich s ites,

back f urther t o i nclude more of the S ettlement P eriod,

e .g.

where s everal t he presence

f irst a ppearance of d omesticated

i t s hould be possible

t he a uthor believes

P eriod,

P eriod,

a long w ith r adio-

t o extend t he P retalayotic E arly S ettlement

P eriod.

P eriod

H owever,

t hat t here w ill a lways be t he n eed f or a n E arly a s h e believes t hat i t i s only a matter of t ime

before earlier e vidence than the F ifth M illennium i s f ound f or man i n t he Balearic I slands.

2 20

T he A vailable E cological D ata f or t he E arly S ettlement P eriod

2 .

Although a lso v ery l imited f or the moment,

t here

i s

s ome e co-

l ogical d ata a vailable f or t he Early S ettlement P eriod f rom t he Muleta s ite,

a nd i t i s

f rom here that we

n ological a nalyses

t ion c an only be made pollen r ain c harts e cological

f ind s ome d irect evidence

( Tables 9-1 0).

The

s ee A ppendix 1 C )

where a c hange

s urroundings r egarding the f lora c overage

a fter 5 000 b .c.,

From the r adiocarbon d ates o f

a d ramatic change appears t o have o ccurred

which c oincides with the a rrival of man;

i n t he P resettlement

P eriod more analyses a re n eeded,

g et a c learer picture o f the c ontemporary f lora. r easonable t o

i n t he

i n t he vicinity

F or more d etailed i nformation the

s hould c onsult the appendices.

the d ifferent l evels,

i nforma-

i n the broadest of t erms by e xamination o f t he

( for d etails

of Muleta s eems t o have o ccurred. r eader

f rom paly-

i nterpretation of the

s ay that a griculture of s ome

a lthough a s

i f we a re t o

H owever,

i t

s eems

s ort must h ave taken place

i n t he Muleta a rea a t a bout t his t ime a s there a re c ereal pollen g rains present

i n the pollen r ain charts.

have been c overed by g rasses i n the a rchaeological

( Gottesfeld , M artin a nd W aldren 1 966 ),

t o c irca 4 000 b .c.

The Matge l ogical

t he a rea a ppears t o

The presence of grass f lorets

l evels a t Muleta c ould i ndicate that grass may

have been brought i nto the c ave c irca 5 000 b .c.

Otherwise,

( sedges).

s ite,

a s we w ill

s ee presently,

a lso g ives u s e co-

i nformation both i n a d irect and i ndirect way c oncerning man's

r elationship w ith eotragus b alearicus.

The question o f t his r elation-

s hip i s preferably a s ubject a pproached i n the P retalayotic d iscussion i n the

f ollowing c hapter,

because of the a rtefact e vidence a s well a s the t icated s pecies,

P eriod

where a c learer view i s possible i mportation of d omes-

a nd a precise and d efinite change i n the e conomy a nd

a ctivities of the early s ettlers of that t ime.

The e vidence s ubdivisions a re the

s upporting the

P retalayotic P eriod a nd i ts three

s ubject of the next chapter.

H ere,

w e will e xa-

m ine the abundant artefact e vidence a longside of the chronometric d ataa s w ell a s the

3 .

s tratigraphical c ontexts.

R emarks o n t he I nterpretation o f t he E arly S ettlement P eriod

Fortunately,

the

s pan of t ime c overing the Early S ettlement

P eriod i s appreciably s horter than the P resettlement P eriod, f ore more manageable. v aried,

A lso,

and there-

the kinds of available evidence a re more

which offers a greater opportunity f or c omparing t he r elated

d ata and i nformation f rom the two principal r esearch s ites with other s ites f arther a field.

At the

s ame t ime,

an overwhelming proportion

o f this data once again c oncerns the M yotragus b alearicus , a nd by i mplication l ikes

i tself with the

g ical c onditions a s well a s on the

i slands.

t hus d irectly

i nterpretation of the e colo-

s upplying d etails a s t o man's e arly e conomy

While the chronometric documentation only c onsists of

2 21

5 r adiocarbon d ates, w ill undoubtedly b e i ally s ince t here

i s n o

I n summary, f ocus

the a verage of

1 date per 4 80 years,

the

E arly S ettlement P eriod has b een the c entre of

i nitial o ccupation of the the M .

e spec-

l ack of a vailable t est materials.

f or a f und o f new areas of r esearch possibilities,

f auna,

a t present

i mproved with additional analyses r esults;

b alearicus,

i slands,

s uch a s man's

h is r elationship w ith the i ndigenous

which s urvived much l onger t han a ssumed and

which c ertainly c ounted a s a g ood part of man's e arly s ubsistence e conomy.

As t o t he origin of the

i sland'

author's hypothesis that they came l owing a ' land f all' s imple,

a s the

f irst i nhabitants,

f rom the

i t i s the

I berian P eninsula,

f ol-

marine r oute which would have been r elatively

i slands

c ontact c ould be made.

f orm a s et of s tepping s tones by which s uch I n f act,

i t will be d emonstrated that this

most probably was the r oute and d irection of i mmediate t hroughout most of the prehistoric periods t o f ollow.

2 22

i nfluence

T able 9 .

P ollen C ount T able f rom t he C ave o f

l eta

Human Occupation

Gramineae

1 .

2 .

3 .

1 8

5 1

5 4

Cyperaceae

4

Triticum type

2

Typha

1

Lillinceae

2

Asphodelus

1 3 1

2

Taraxacum

1

Ligalifloreae

1

High s pine compos.

1

Low s pine

4 .

compos.

3

4 3

7

5 8

1

Artemisia

1

2

Plantago

5

5

1

1

Caryophytaceae Leguminoseae Chenopodiaceae cf.

Plumbaganaceae

cf.

Salicighia

1

1 1 1

2

Umbelliferae

2

1

1

cf.

Cruciferae

2

1

cf.

Lepidium

3

Jasione Pinus

5

1

Cupressaceae

1

Fraxinus

4

2

cf.

3

2

Tamarix

Quercux

1

cf.

2

Juglans

1

No.

1 = S ector Z ,

3 00 cms

No.

2 = S ector Z ,

1 50 cms

No.

3 = S ector X ,

No.

4 = S ector Z ,

2 1

Corylus

1

Betulaceae

1

Alnus

1 1

Acer EAP

1 3

8

7

Filcoles monolete type A monolete

type B

1 1

polypodium trilete

type A

trilete

type B

t etrad type A 4

Unknown

1 00

Microns

Analyses:

1

1

1

1

1 00

1 00

Geochronological Laboratory, Tucson,

Arizona

2 23

University of Arizona,

5 0 cms 2 50

cms

T able 1 0

P ollen S ample L evels a nd C orrelated 1 4C D ates

O rigin

1 4C D ates

P ollen S ample 1 .

' Z'

s ector 3 00cms

1 2,515 b .c. 1 2,050 b .c.

73 50

+3 15 y rs. y rs.

( 'Z' ( 'Z'

3 50cms )* 3 50cms )*

P ollen S ample 4 .

' Z '

s ector 2 50cms

1 2,700 b .c.

+8 50 y rs.

( 'Z'

2 50cms )*

( * t hree c hronometric d ates f or t he P resettlement P eriod ) P ollen S ample 2 .

' F'

s ector 1 50cms

5 ,185 b .c. + 8 0 y rs. 6 ,620 b .c. 3 50 y rs.

( '0' ( '0'

1 50cms ) 1 50cms)

P ollen S ample 3 .

' X '

s ector

1 ,960 b .c.

( '0'

5 0cms )

5 0cms

+ 1 20 y rs.

( * t hree c hronometric d ates f or t he E arly S ettlement a nd P re t alayotic P eriods)

* * A s l imited a s t he i nformation o ffered u s b y t hese f irst p alyn ological a nalyses a ppears, i t d oes s upport a h ypothesis s uggesting t wo d ifferent c hronological p eriods, e specially w hen c orrelated w ith o ther s upportive d ata a nd i nformation f rom t he r esearch s ite. U nfort unately, s uch p reliminary i nformation w ill b e f urther e nlarged w hen t he r esults o f m ore e xtensive p ollen t ests a re a vailable. M eanwhile, t he a uthor b elieves t hat a s l imited a s t he r esults a re, s o f ar, t hey d o g ive u s s ome e ncouraging b asis f or f uture i nvestigation a long s imilar a venues o f r esearch a nd, i n t his w ay, w e s hould b e a ble t o a rrive a t am ore d etailed i nsight i nto m an 's e arly a gricultural a ctiv ities i n t he B alearics, a long w ith d etermining m ore p recisely t o w hat e xtent m an h ad a ltered h is s urrounding b y t hese a gricultural a ctivities a s w ell a s h is t reatment a nd a ttitude t oward t he e ndemic f auna.

2 24

Chapter VII.

1 .

Pretalayotic Period

B ackground t o t he N ew E vidence

The t er

The

I II,

P retalayotic

s ection 3 ,

c ultural periods.

P eriod has been generally d escribed i n Chap-

a s one of the c onventional Balearic prehistoric I t has been s tudied n early exclusively by l ocal

i nvestigators ( e.g . R össello B ordoy, 1 958, 1 960, 1 961, 1 962, 1 964; C antarellas C amps 1 972; E nsenat E strany 1 963; F ernandez-Miranda 1 978; F ernandez-Miranda a nd W aldren 1 976 , 1 979; V eny 1 947 , 1 961, 1 968 a nd W aldren 1 967 , 1 968 , 1 969, 1 973 , 1 979 , 1 981). The r elative c hronology o f t he period has been g enerally accepted a s beginning c irca 2 000 b .c. a nd l asting until c irca 1 400 b .c. r adiocarbon analysis h as

H owever,

i t i s only r ecently t hat

s uggested a n o lder a bsolute c hronological

d ate f or t he period, beginning a t c irca 3 000 b .c.

This n ew i nformation a nd data, a t ripartite chronological y otic

P eriod, P hase

s ubdivision of the

presented h ere f or the f irst t ime,

E arly Ceramic B eaker

a long with t he proposition of

s cheme f or the

P hase ( LBP ),

( NECP),

a n

P retala-

i nto a Neolithic

E arly B eaker P hase

( EBP )

originates mainly f rom t he Matge

a nd a Late

s tratigraphy,

but a lso f rom other r esearch s ites.

I n t he previous chapters

( Chapters I II a nd I V ), we have re-

viewed i n d etail the proposed c hronometric perimeters o f a ll the peri ods and t heir phases,

a long with the

t ing and d escribing the

P retalayotic

s tratigraphic

s equences

P eriod g enerally,

s uppor-

a nd i t i s a t

t his point t hat we c an examine a nd d iscuss the r elated physical e vie nce.

Once a gain i n o rder t o d o this,

we must briefly r ecapitulate

t o s ome d egree by r eviewing a nd l isting that evidence which s upports and d efines the period and i ts phases.

The evidence d istinguishing

t he period i s of d ifferent kinds a nd c an best be outlined by s aying t hat s ome of the e vidence points t o the occurence o f s pecific events i n t ime,

while

the more physical type of evidence a ppears a s manis-

f estations o f the period a nd i ts phases;

both types of e vidence o f

which can be a ssigned t o s pecific chronological moments.

Much of the n ew e vidence c onsists of a spects of s tudy which a re,

again,

the d irect r esults of very r ecent r esearch,

a ny l ocal parallels,

e ither f rom the

e rials or absolute d ating.

( 1)

having f ew i f

s tandpoint of c omparative mat-

The n ew e vidence

i s a s

f ollows:

T he I ntroduction o f P ottery T echnology: the Matge s trati-

graphy provides the e arliest r ecorded date f or pottery i n t he Balearic I slands,

c irca 2 700 b .c.

( 2)

T he I ntroduction o f D omesticated A nimal S pecies: the Matge

s tratigraphy provides t he e arliest r ecords d ate i n t he Balearic

I slands,

c irca 2 700 b .c.

2 27

f or domesticated a nimals

( 3 )

T he A rrival o f B eaker I nfluences:

a lthough not t he f irst

r ecorded d iscovery of this d istinctive pottery i ndicative of the B eaker culture

i n t he Balearics,

i t i s the r esearch s ites which have provided

r emarkable quantities of these characteristic wares, g one e xtensive chronometric dating;

which h ave under-

c onsequently the typology a nd the

t imespan of the B eaker wares i n the B alearics can be 2 000 b .c.

t o

( 4 )

1 700 b .c.

T he

( EBP )

and c irca

s hown t o be c irca

t o c irca

1 400 b .c.(LBP ).

f ate S urvival a nd E xtinction o f M yotragus b alearicus:

the Muleta a nd Matge

s tratigraphies provide u s with chronometric a nd

physical e vidence of the very late d ate of the M yotragus, y sis,

1 700 b .c.

c .

s urvival a nd a pproximate e xtinction

2 200-2100 b .c.

a s s hown by r adiocarbon a nal-

d emonstrating man's l ong a ssociation w ith the a nimal a nd i nfer-

r ing c ertain a spects ' of that e arly e conomy a s well a s possible

c auses

f or t he e xtinction of Myotragus

( 5 )

T he I ntroduction o f M etal W orking T echnology: the Matge

s tratigraphy provides us with t he earliest l ocal evidence of t his event,

a long with a s eries of r ich,

s tratified,

precisely d ated a rte-

f acts t hat a re u sable f or c omparison a nd c orrelation and a re d atable t o c irca

1 800 b .c.

( 6) s ite,

t o

1 700 b .c.

T he E arliest O pen -A ir S ettlements:

t hough .not a n open-air s ite p er s e,

the Matge r ock

has given u s well

s helter

s tratified

and precisely orientated a nd d ated a rtefacts t hat a re usable

f or c om-

parative a nd c orrelative purposes with at l east one r ecently d iscovered open-air

s ettlement of the

( Waldren 1 981).

s ame d ate at F errandell-Oleza

A lthough n ot d irectly i ncluded i n t his t hesis,

s ome r eference a nd d es-

c ription of t his i mportant s ite i s t o be f ound a t t he end of t his thesis because of i ts d irect r elationship t o r esearch on

P retalayotic

s ettlements i n g eneral and t o the present r esearch i n particular.

A s mentioned earlier,

e ach o f t hese e vents a nd their s upporting

material e vidence c an be a ssigned t o a s pecific

c hronological phase

within t he

P retalayotic f ramework, between c irca 2 700 b .c.

1 400 b .c.;

a cultural period that l asted s ome

of the a bove e vents

a nd c irca

1 300 y ears o r more.

E ach

i s examined i n d etail a long with the a rtefact and

c hronometric e vidence which f or a t l east two of the chronological phases

i s c onsiderable;

thus providing t he physical and other e vidence

with c hronometric dates within t he period a nd preparing the way f or their f inal

c orrelation i n the c onclusions of this t hesis.

I t s hould be added t hat n ot e very piece of t he physical e vid ence

f rom t he r esearch s ites i s d escribed h ere i n d etail,

s pace d oes n ot permit.

The a rtefacts t hat a re

a re t hose which are the most c omplete, plify t he a rguments and,

at t he

a s t ime a nd

i ncluded f or d escription

being the ones that best exem-

s ame t ime,

t hose that c ould b e pre-

c isely d ated because of their proximity t o r eliable a ssociated t est materials r elated t o the z ones a nd l evels f rom which the a rtefacts originated.

This may i n s ome w ays

s eem biased,

i llustrated but i t would

be t o pad an a lready l arge work i n presently d etailed d escriptive i nventories of a ll the For e xample,

s ites'

a rtefacts a nd other physical e vidence.

why s hould i t be n ecessary t o d escribe

pots a long with

s everal hundred r econstructed ones,

2 28

s ome

2 80 c omplete

a ll of the s ame

The

Balearic I s lands

i n t he ir

Western European

Context 3000 bc

a rc

THE

o f

2000 b c

i m mediate

i nfluence

PRE TA L AYOTI C

PE RI O D

Hg . 34

g eneral t ypology and f rom t he s ame g eneral chronological period,

when

e ither the g reater part of t hese h ave a lready been d escribed i n i nterim e xcavational r eports of t he of b eing s tudied.

s ites,

or which a re

s till

i n t he process

I nstead of l engthy a rtefact d escription,

will b e provided with i nventory t ables

l isting t he

t he r eader

s tudy materials

appropriate f or each period at t he end of each chapter or i n s ome other pertinent s ection.

I t s hould be understood t hat t hese

most c ompletely c ompiled a nd published s o f ar, f rom t he more t entative

tables

a re t he

a nd t herefore may d iffer

l ists which a lready a ppear i n i nterim publi-

c ations a nd s ite r eports.

S ome

c orrelations a nd parallels a re

i ncluded i n t he d iscussion

a nd d escription of the a rtefacts a nd the r eader w ill

f ind s ets o f per-

t inent tables providing c omparative chronometric d ata f or t he a reas r eferred t o and u sed i n t he t ext f or e stablishing parallels a nd c omparisons.

D rawings a re a lso i ncluded t o i llustrate parallels a nd

c omparisons.

H owever before we a pproach the questions of t he a rtefacts

and t heir various a spects,

i t i s n ecessary t o briefly d iscuss t he

author's g eneral hypothesis a s t o t he r egions h iajor c ultural

1 .1

f rom which t he i slands'

i nfluences a re believed t o e manate.

T he B alearic G eographic

' Arc o f I mmediate I nfluence'

The hypothesis presented h ere by t he author i s one a g eographical a nd cultural

( Figure 3 4) c ommercial

i n which w e c an l ocate most of t he c ontacts

g eographical

a rea which i s other than t he

t erranean s ources

i n t he

i nfluence'

i n which

c an be f ormed

i mportant c ultural a nd

t hroughout t he B alearic prehistoric r ecord; ' classical'

i nfluence

R ossello B ordoy 1 973 a nd o thers). i s

f ound mainly on t he

s outheastern r egion o f A lmeria,

a

E astern M edi-

s ponsored by many prehistorians i n t he past

P ericot G arcia 1 972, immediate

' arc o f i mmediate

( e. g.

This a rc o f

I berian Mainland,

s tarting

moving through t he Valencian

c oastal r egions and s weeping n ortheastward i nto Catalonia a nd i nto t he

P yrenees a nd t he Languedoc a nd

While

P rovence r egions of s outhern France.

t he a uthor believes that t his hypothesis

f or a ll the prehistorical s equence,

a s i slands

a lso t he r ecipients of what might be c alled f luences

f rom d ifferent d irections;

i s a pplicable

t he Balearics have been

' flotsam a nd j etsam'

e specially during t he

i n-

P resettlement

P eriod when t he i slands underwent their f irst population by a ncient f auna a nd i n h istorical

t imes by E astern a nd Central M editerranean i n-

f luences a nd f inally c olonisation of t he

The basis of this hypothesis, s earch f or parallels,

i s

I slands.

a s w ith the c omparisons a nd

f ound i n the typology o f the e xisting a rte-

f acts and other physical evidence made a vailable f rom t he n ew deep s tratigraphies a nd the n ew chronometric dating of these various mate rials.

I t

i s within t his g eographic a rc of i mmediate

i nfluence

t hat both chronometric dating and t he a rtefact t ypology c an b est be c ompared.

2 30

1 .2

T he S cheme a nd N omenclature f or t he D escription o f P ottery F orms

The d escriptive c ategories o f the

P retalayoitc NECP ,

E BP a nd

LBP wares a long with t he pottery of the other periods a nd phases a re f ully outlined i n A ppendix 3 A, f ication i s u sed,

o f t hree main c ategories: ( 2)

Table

1 ,

where an uncomplicated i denti-

d esigned f or thin s ectioning r esearch a nd c onsisting

B eaker wares

( BW ),

( 1)

i ndigenous wares

( ID ),

d ecorated f ine wares and

undecorated f ine wares

( 3)

c ommon wares; B eaker ware,

( UD ).

I t i s the author's opinion that the n omenclature u sed i n the d escription of pottery i s often unhelpful a nd c onfusing t o the r eader. F or e xample,

the t erms u sed f or c ertain l ocal

b itroncoconic ,

t roncoconic ,

professionals who a re a ccustomed t o them, l ing and quite meaningless. f or the on the

f orms of pottery

( e.g.

e tc .), may s erve when u sed l ocally a mong Therefore,

but t o others may b e

s tart-

t he a uthor w ill u se a method

i dentification a nd d escription of B alearic pottery f orms based s cheme of A .O.

( Shepard 1 965).

S hepard

t erminology based on s uch t erms a s the s tricted,

s imple,

A s will be

s een,

c omposite,

c omplex,

This

f ollowing:

s cheme u ses a

r estricted,

u nre-

d ependent a nd i ndependent v essels.

t his method of i dentification and d escription i s

r emarkably s imple,

being based on uncomplicated principles a nd i t i s

perfectly adaptable t o s imple a s well a s c omplex f orms i n e ither ancient or modern pottery.

T o begin with,

S hepard employs an a nalysis o f c ontour based

on the d escription o f B irkhoff

( Birkhoff 1 933) who considers the points

o f the vessels on which the eye r ests.

H e c alls these point

' char-

e nd p oints of the c urve a t the base and l ip, ( 2) p oints o f v ertical t angent where the t angent i s vertical, ( 3) p oints o f i nflection where the curvature of

a cteristic points',

and they a re of 4 k inds:

( 1)

t he c ontour changes f rom being c onvex t o c oncave or vice versa,

a nd

c orner p oints where the direction of the tangent changes abruptly ( a s harp c hange i n c ontour) ( Figure 3 5). ( 4)

All of these point of c haracter a re quite e asily e stablished with the e xception of the i nflection p oint which i s more

w ith the eye, d ifficult. a nd the

The

r eader

f inal d efinition of the f orm d epends upon t his point, s hould be a ble t o

t o understand the point c an be

s ystem,

l ocate this

i nflection point i f h e

a s i t f ixes the d ivision of a v essel.

i s

The

f ound by moving a s traight edge a s tangent a long t he c on-

t our of the vessel profile. t o f ollow a c oncave ( see below ).

When t he edge

f ollows a c onvex s ection i t

a nd when i t r eaches the i nflection p oint and s tarts

r otates one way, The

s ection,

the d irection of r otation i s r eversed

s tronger the curvature the e asier

i t i s t o r ecognise

w ith the eye.

I t t he

l egs,

i s

a re

i nteresting t o n ote that c ertain f eatures,

f or e xample

f ound throughout a ll the phases of t he P retalayotic

P eriod and even

i nto the Talayotic and P ost Talayotic t imes,

2 31

a lthough

A Vessel

Can Either be

Unrestricted or Restricted Depending

Angle

of

the Vertical Tangent

on the

The d escription of pottery c ontour i s g rouped,

a nd can b e

l ogical e nough t o b e

i llustrated a s f ollows:

( 1) A s imple contoured vessel would be one consisting of a s ingle part or contour consisting of a curved line or a straight line. ( 2)

A c omposite c ontoured vessel would be one c onsisting o f

t wo parts c onsisting of a c ombination o f c onvex,

c oncave c urves o r

curve a nd s traight l ine. ( 3) A c omplex contoured vessel would be one consisting of m ore t han t wo parts consisting of any combination of curves and s traight l ines.

1 7 / 1 ( 1)

4 1

». •

A SIMPLE c ontoured v essel would be

t 2 /

( 2)

A COMPOSITE c ontoured v essel would be

( 3)

A COMPLEX v essel would b e

fi g . 3 6

fi g , 3 7

fi g ,

3 8

they vary i n points of d etail and the variation c an i n f act be preted a s changes through t ime;

i t i s

i nter-

s uch f eataures that made t he

pottery c orrelations f rom l ocal

s ite to l ocal

s ite a r elatively easy

matter.

f orms

f or a r emarkably l ong

S ome of t he

i ndigenous

period - f or e xample,

s urvive

the c orner pointed c omposite,

unrestricted r ound

( Figure 3 8:3 ), and the simple, unrestricted, end pointed f lat bottom f orm ( Figure 3 8:1) which continue in essentially the

bottom f orm

s ame f orms i nto Talayotic t imes. s tricted r ound bottom,

S mall a nd medium s ized s imple unre-

h emispherical,

' cup'

or

' bowls'

throughout the NECP and other P retalayotic phases. are c onsidered by the author t o be a lthough c ertain extra them a s

f ine wares.

the NECP of t he

P retälayotic

Continental t ypes;

i ndigenous f or the most part,

f inely made e xamples of these

R egardless,

a re a lso f ound

A ll t hese f orms

these

i ndigenous

f orms may c lass

f orms with r oots i n

P eriod must have originally d erived f rom

a f actor which i n s ome r espects

s implifies t heir

Mainland c orrelative.

As will be

s een,

by the end of t he NECP

( circa 2 000 b .c.),

n ew f orms and pottery t echnology begins t o a ppear s ide by s ide w ith the i ndigenous wares. e lements

I t i s t he

l ieve that s ome of t hese arrival

s udden a ppearance of these n ew

i n both f orms a nd t echnology which l eads the a uthor t o be( around 2 000 b .c.

the Balearics,

l ater vessels a re or

They s ignal t he

s pecifically those of the B eaker c ulture.

Thus equipped with the of the r esearch s ites, of g reatest

i ntrusive.

s omewhat e arlier) : of n ew i nfluences i nto

s tratigraphical and c hronometric data

the author's hypothesis c oncerning t he a reas

i nfluences a nd n omenclature of c lassification a nd typo-

l ogical c ategories of the pottery,

the r eader s hould n ow be prepared

t o e xamine the artefact and other evidence of e ach of the period and their phases.

2 .

B alearic P ottery T echnology: t he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase ( NECT)

For

t he most part there has been very l ittle,

i f a ny,

r egional

d evelopment of pottery s tyles i n the Balearic wares throughout most of the

P retalayotic

i slands l ike

P eriod.

This a ppears t o be c ontrary t o other

S ardinia where L illiu

ment i n pottery s tyles d uring the

( 1972)

n otes much r egional d evelop-

s econd millennium,

s uch a s t he

n orthern Monte Claro pottery a nd t he plain s outhwestern B onnanaro wares where there appears t o have been s ome exchange r elationship o ccurring b etween the two groups,

a s rare f inds of B onnanaro have

been f ound i n t he n orth and c entral r egions of S ardinia which s trongly s uggests exchange.

H owever,

the more one

s tudies

P retalayotic

blages f rom the period of c irca 3 000 b .c. aware one becomes of the f rom s ite t o

s ite or,

' homogeneous'

f or that matter,

2 36

t o c irca

s ite pottery a ssem1 400 b .c.,

t he more

c haracter of the pottery f orms f rom i sland t o i sland.

Apart

f rom c ertain natural c lay f abric d ifferences, M inorcan g rey ware

M allorca and Minorca a re hardly d iscernible, a s will be

s een,

s uch a s

t his widely s pread

e ven t o the e xpert;

' homogeneity'

pottery f orms a lso e xisted during t he Talayotic o f the

i n the c ase o f

( Appendix 3 A ), other differences in the wares of

P ost Talayotic a s well.

whenever an external cultural

P eriod and i n phases

From the evidence i nfluence was

a f irm f oothold during a ny of the periods

a nd,

i n the B alearic i t would s eem t hat

s trong enough t o e stablish

i n the

i slands,

i t was

d isseminated a lmost a s quickly a s i t a rrived.

Contrary to the nanaro pottery,

S ardinian example with Monte C laro and B on-

where a n e xchange

r elationship can be d emonstrated;

t he l ack of r egional d evelopment i n the

P retalayotic pottery s tyles

makes the task of d etermining a ny c lear pattern of exchange of pottery b etween the Balearic s ettlements on t he basis of visual means a d iff icult one. perhaps,

Although by other methods d escribed i n Appendix 3 A,

this may n ot be an i mpossible task.

With an i sland a s d iversified i n g eology and a s l arge i n l and a rea,

f or example,

a s Mallorca,

which i s over 3 000

s quare kilometers,

o ne would expect at l east one or t wo i solated groups,

p erhaps i n one

o f the more mountainous r egions, to have d eveloped s ome i ndividual c haracteristics,

i f not s trong r egional d ifferences

At the

i t i s n ot a t a ll unreasonable t o a ssume on the basis

s ame t ime

of this c lose

s trong homogeneity i n the

i n pottery f orms.

P retalayotic pottery a ssemblage t hat

i nter-settlement t rade and other exchange s ystems d id exist

t hroughout a ll the d ifferent prehistoric periods.

I n f act,

the homo-

g eneous character of the pottery keeps pointing t o t he e asy a nd quick s pread of i deas once they had been i ntroduced.

Then,

e xpect s uch a uniformity i n the pottery a ssemblage,

t oo,

one c ould

a nd e ven explain

i t i f the populations o f the i slands were a s

l arge a s appears t o have

been the case

s ettlements on Mallorca

j udging by the

numerous l arge

a nd Minorca during those periods.

On the other hand,

the homogeneous c haracter of the

P retala-

yotic pottery c ould have been d ue t o c ompletely d ifferent c ircumstances t han those

f ound i n other periods;

s uch a s a s mall population t hat had

v ery s trong traditional pottery t echniques. t his was the case w ith the Neolithic ( EBP )

P retalayotic wares not only during t he

E arly Ceramic Phase

and Late B eaker

The author believes t hat

( LBP )

( NECP )

but,

a lso,

Another notable characteristic of the their a ssemblage,

a part f rom their homogeneity,

c urrency,

which a ppears t o have persisted

3 000 b .c.

t o c irca

1 400 b .c.

i n t he

E arly B eaker

P hases.

f or

P retalayotic

f orms and

i s their duration of s ome

1 600 years,

c irca

This i s a duration of c urrency t hat,

l ike the homogeneous c haracter of the pottery f orms and a ssemblages, f inds

s trong parallels a nd c orrelations

the Mainland

2 37

i n the Neolithic cultures of

I n s ome ways this l ong duration of c urrency i n a s trong t radit ional pottery a ssemblage, s imple

f orms that

c onsisting of a l imited number of r ather

show n o r eal r egional d ifferences, makes t heir c or-

r elation n ot only between l ocal helpful

s ites r elatively easy,

but,

i t i s a lso

i n l ocating possible Continental Neolithic parallels,

e specially

when t hese c omparisons can be f urther s ubstantiated by radiocarbon dating,

a s

i n the case of the Balearic Neolithic wares.

P arallels

f or the Balearic

P retalayotic wares c an be f ound

i n a wide g eographic a rea of Continental P eriod.

While

E urope during the Neolithic

these parallels i n the wide perspective of t he

E uropean

Neolithic a re g eneral and c omparisons c an be f ound f ar afield i n the pottery assemblages öf the Cortaillod, Chassey and Lagozza groups with their chronology and typology, c orrelation with the Balearic i llustrated

t he main a rchaeological

' arc of i mmediate i nfluence'

areas a l arge number of Neolithic and a ssemblages a re

s tations f or

s ites are t o be f ound within the a uthor's d escribed a bove.

E neolithic

W ithin these

s ites with p ottery

f ound that c an be f avourably c ompared t o Balearic

talayotic wares datable f rom c irca 3 000 b .c.

t o c irca

c omparisons a re not only typological but c an be

1 400 b .c.;

P res uch

s upported by radio-

carbon analysis.

P rovided below a re a s eries of Tables

1 1-17 c onsisting of

s elected 1 4C d ates f or the r elated I berian and

E uropean Neolithic,

E neolithic,

Bronze and I ron Age

f ollowing Chapters. i s a lso

s ites f or dating r eferences

i n t he

A c ondensed l ist of P retalayotic dates

( Table

i ncluded and i s r epeated h ere

t er i nventory f ound i n Appendix

f rom Chapters

1 8

I II and t he mas-

1 A i n order t o facilitate r eference.

The o ldest Balearic Neolithic pottery f or c omparison w ith Mainland Late Neolithic cultures c omes f rom S tratum 2 8, meter marker 3 8 t o 4 0

( Plan 2 A a nd 2 B ).

2 75cms t o 3 00cms l evel marks the and the NECP

The vessels w ere f ound at a d epth o f

i n the Matge r ock

( Stratum 2 8)

of the

i ated charcoal at 2 700 b .c.

1 974 a nd 1 979 ). E ast

E ast

+ 1 20 yrs.

even,

E SP l evels

P eriod,

( Fernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren giving d ates a s f ar

earlier d ates of c irca 4 730 b .c.

i t i s only S trata 2 8 t o 2 6 that a re the most

( Stratum

s ignificant i n t he

understanding and i nterpretation of the Balearic NECP ,

( 1 )

( 36-29)

dated by a ssoc-

l iving and working z ones i n this

E nclosure have a lso been dated by 1 4C method, and,

E nclosure where the

s ite's i nferior

P retalayotic

While other earlier

back a s 3 800 b .c. 3 5),

s helter's

j unction between the

a s l isted below:

S tratum 2 8 , with its radiocarbon date of circa 2 700 b .c.

e stablishes the

l ower l imit of the NECP s equence and,

a t the

s ame t ime,

f ixes the oldest date f or pottery s o f ar e ncountered i n the Balearic I slands.

S tratum 2 7 ,

( 2) date we have

a long w ith S tratum 2 8 g ives u s the o ldest

s o far f or domesticated animals

s mall c attle).

These

( sheep,

g oat,

pig a nd

l evels a lso d emonstrate t he c ontinued c oexistence

of the 4otragus b alearicus with these domesticated species.

2 38

( 3)

S tratum 2 6, with its radiocarbon date of c irca 2 143 b .c.

f orms the upper l imit of the NECP and e stablishes t he l atest date f ar r ecorded f or the

The NECP wares s imple

s o

b alearicus .

s urvival o f t he eotragus

f rom the Matge r ock s helter s ite with t heir

s ack and g ourd-like

s uspension a nd l ifting lugs

s hapes,

vertical and h orizontal perforated

V -gures 3 7 a nd 3 8 )

c an be c ompared on

typological g rounds t o those of t he M iddle and Late Neolithic Contine ntal

s ites f rom s outheastern I beria,

( Almeria)

a nd the Abrigo d e Ambrosio

s uch a s t he ( Almeria)

( Alicante) . and the n ortheastern f orms a s s ite of Arene Candide.

s ite o f Tabernas

a nd the Cueva d e

f ar a s the

I n f act, parallels c an be made,

pottery f orms of t his l atter s ite and M atge,

At the

s ame t ime,

not only i n the

but the Arene Candide

s ite a lso has c omparable r adiocarbon d ocumentation,

( Sauter 1 955)

g iven a date of c irca 3 050 b .c.

l 'Or

I talian Ligurian

where

l evel 2 8 has

( Figure 3 9 ).

the B alearic NECP f orms can a lso be f avor-

a bly c ompared t o w idely d ispersed other a reas t o the north s uch a s t he A lsacian r egion of ( 1972),

E astern France, where excavators l ike

i n s uch s ites a s t he G rotte d e l a Tuilerie

a nd the Grotte d e l a Baume d e Vonvillars, l ithic

R ossen wares with s ome

P etrequin

( Gondenan-les Montby )

have produced M iddle Neo-

s imilarities

i n pot f orms.

E qually,

the

pottery a ssemblages of Central and M iddle France w ith t heir Chasseen f orms o f the

P aris Basin

the G rotte d e Nermont, Mousell

( Eure et-Loire)

their s triking

( Figures 4 0 a nd 4 1)

S aint More

( Yonne)

e xcavated i n s ites l ike

or Fort Harrouard,

S orrel

( 5 : ' ,NRS / 974)deserve mention i n c omparison f or

s imilarities t o Balearic

P retalayoitc NECP a ssemblage,

a s well a s t o later E BP and LBP f orms.

R adiocarbon a nalyses g ive us r eading f or the Chassey Culture of France a s r eported by Courtin 2 860 b .c.

( 1962)

a t the L 'Eglisse

and two d ates of c irca 2 800 b .c.

d e Chateauneuf.

and 2 900 b .c.

All of these parallels and 1 4C d ates c orrelate w ell

with the pottery a ssemblage and chronological

f ramework of the Matge

NECP l evels with i ts a bsolute date of c irca 2 700 b .c. b .c.

a s well

phases of the

s ite a t c irca at the Abrigo

t o c irca 2 143

a s providing other c omparative i nformation f or l ater P retalayotic.

On the other hand,

f urther e ast i n t he S wiss

E gozwil 3 and i n S aint L eonard,

S auter

( 1976)

r adiocarbon dates f rom l evels at these s ites.

s ites of

h as r eported c omparable Furthermore,

they both

c ontained pottery with f eatures l ike perforated and unperforated l ugs on s ack-like and g ourd-like pottery s hapes,

which on t ypological

g rounds bear c ertain s imilarities t o t he NECP pottery t ypes of the Balearics

( Figure 4 2).

with c omparable

Among other I talian Neolithic Lagozza s ites

1 4C a nalyses and g eneral pottery types a re

Asciano and Lagozza d i Besnate d ates of c irca 3 000 b .c.

H owever, d istant parallels

R omita d i

( S auter 1 955) with their radiocarbon

a nd c irca 2 840 b .c.,

r espectively.

r egardless of these g eneral c omparison and s omewhat f ound i n a ll the a forementioned s ites,

2 39

the author

believes that t he c losest c omparative materials with t he Balearic NECP wares can be

f ound within a s hortened

i llustrated f or the Balearic to s ay,

the areas

with the

' arc of i mmediate i nfluence'

P retalayotic

( F igure 3 4 ).

P eriod

This

i s

f rom the Almerian c oast i nto the Catalonian r egion,

s trongest parallels emanating e specially f rom the Catalan

Neolithic culture,

r epresented i n the c aves and

though,

s een,

a s we have

' fosa'

g raves.

A l-

s ome of the Balearic NECP pottery e lements

d o have c ertain s imilarities c ommon t o a ll these r egions.

The pottery a ssemblages of the Neolithic Catalan c emeteries a nd c aves, homogeneous group,

l ike the Balearic

P retalayotic

' fosa'

s ites,

graves,

f orm a

which i n the author's mind not only s how a g reat

emphasis on t radition,

but i n the case of the Balearic

a ssemblage i n g eneral,

a lso s hoWs s trong i ndications a s t o t he r oots

of the i nfluences present i n the Balearic wares. s een i n the Neolithic a nd in t he materials excavated up t o

This h omogeneity

E neolithic Catalonian pottery c an be f ound

f rom over 1 965

P retalayotic

1 20

( l l td ioz

' fosa'

1 965).

graves,

c aves a nd c emeteries

These materials a re t o be

in the c ollections of a number of provincial museums,

f ound

i ncluding the

Museum of Barcelona.

The exploration and s tudy of Neolithic Catalan has a l ong history, beginning a s early a s and c ontinuing with others until

1 913.

I n that year,

presented the f irst modern analysis of the r ecognised i ts

' individualism'

' fosa'

graves

1 879 with the work of Mortell ' fosa'

Bosch G impera

grave culture.

H e

and was therefore of the opinion t hat

i t c ould be placed i n the period between the Late Neolithic and t he beginning of the

E neolithic

P eriods.

I n

1 919,

B osch Gimpera went on

t o present another theory - one which was t o s urvive until the and one which i s

s till a ccepted by a f ew - that the

' fosa'

1 940s

graves

were the r esults of the expansion and penetration i nto Catalonia by the A lmerian culture.

Between

1 941

c oncerning the age

and 1 945,

of the

papers was written by M . J .

A lmagro

Maluquer d e Motes a nd P .

t ed t he age of the

' fosa'

f rom the

' fosa'

s epulchers. ( 1941)

The

and the

Bosch Gimpera

( 1945)

f irst of t hese

s econd j oint paper by i n which t hey e stima-

g raves at c irca 2 700 b .c.

r ecently has been s ubstantiated, yrs.

two i mportant papers were published

' fosa'

( MuF toz

1 965)

This age e stimate

by r adiocarbon a nalysis

graves of Sabassona with a date of 2 435 b .c.

+ 1 40

( 1-1518).

I n tween the

1 949,

' fosa'

J .

Maluquer d e Motes

Chassey-Lagozza group.

c uadrado'

s uggested a r elationship be-

g raves and the Western Neolithic culture of the H e r ecognised the i mportance of the

( square mouthed )

pottery often f ound i n the

' fosa'

' boca burials

and r elated i t t o the L igurian Neolithic s ite of Arene Candide, this pottery i s known i n l evels

2 4-14.

i n both the Catalan a nd Chassey-Lagozza pottery a ssemblages, d e Motes r eached the c onclusion that the end of the Culture

E neolithic

P eriod,

where

On t his basis of s imilarity ' fosa'

Maluquer

t ombs belonged t o t he

just prior t o the a rrival of the B eaker

i n t he area.

2 40

T able 1 1 .

A S election o f I berian N eolithic 1 4C D ates f or D omesticated F auna

1 .

6 000 b .c.

+ 1 50 yrs.

Verdelpino

( Cuenca)

( CSIC-153b)

C attle

2 .

3 320 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

V erdelpino

( Cuenca)

( CSIC-150b)

S heep,

G oat,

P ig

3 .

3 170 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

Verdelpino

( Cuenca)

( CSIC-152b)

S heep,

G oat,

P ig

4 .

2 700 b .c.

+ 1 50 y rs.

Tabernas

( Almeria)

C attle, Goat,

5 .

2 680 b .c.

1 ,2,3,5:

T able 1 2 .

+ 1 30 yrs.

M .

Verdelpino

F ernandez-Miranda

( Cuenca)

4 :

Wm.

( CSIC-151b)

Walker,

F .

S heep,

P ig

S heep

Gusi

A S election o f I berian N eolithic 1 4C D ates f or G rain a nd C ereals

1 .

4 560 b .c.

+ 1 60 yrs.

Cova d e

l 'Or

( Alicante)

( H-1754)

2 .

4 315 b .c.

+

C ova d e

l 'Or

( Alicante)

( KN51)

3 .

4 240 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

7 5 yrs.

Murcielagos, Zuheros

( Cordoba)

Wheat Wheat

( CSIC-55)

Carbon-

i sed Wheat 4 .

4 420 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

Z uheros

( Cordoba)

( CSIC-55)

Carbonised Wheat a nd C ereal

5 .

4 200 b .c.

+

4 5 yrs.

Zuheros

( Cordoba)

( GRN-6169)

6 .

4 040 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

Z uheros

( Cordoba)

( CSIC-57)

1 ,2:

V .

Pascual,

H .

S chubart,

B .

2 41

Marti 3 ,4,5,6:

C arbonised C ereal C arbonised C ereal

A Muf loz.

A .

Vicent

T able 1 3 .

1 .

A S election o f I berian a nd E uropean N eolithic 1 4C D ates a nd S ites f or C omparison

2 530 b .c.

+ 2 50 yrs.

Encantada d e Martis

( Gerona)

( M-1022)

H uman B ones

2 .

2 430 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

L os M illares

3 .

2 360 b .c.

+ 1 40 yrs.

Sabasona

( Almeria)

( Barcelona)

( KN72)

( 1-1518)

Charcoal,

Tomb 1 9

Human B ones, Level V I

4 .

2 345 b .c.

+

8 5 yrs.

L os Millares

5 .

2 120 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

Sabasona

6 .

2 100 b .c.

+

L a C enuela

7 .

3 050 b .c.

Arene Candide,

7 0 yrs.

( Almeria)

( Barcelona)

I taly

( Murica)

( H-204/247)

C harcoal,Wall

) CSIC-31/1AB2) ( CSIC-140)

( Lagozza Culture)

Human B ones

Charcoal

Level

1 8

( Sauter 1 955)

8 .

3 000 b .c.

Romita d i Asceano,

9 .

2 840 b .c.

Lagozza d i Basnati,

1 0.

2 860 b .c.

L 'Eglisse,

1 1.

2 800 b .c.

Abrigo d e Chateauneuf,

yrance,

I taly

( Lagozza Culture)

I taly

( Lagozza Culture)

( Chassey Culture) F rance,

( Sauter

1 955)

( Sauter

( Courtin

1 955)

1 962)

( Chassey Culture)

( Courtin 1 962)

1 2.

2 600 b .c.

Abrigo d e Chateauneuf,

France,

( Chassey Culture)

( Courtin 1 962)

1 3.

2 800 b .c.

Egolzwill

3 ,

Switzerland,

( Cortaillod Culture)

( Sauter 1 976)

1 4.

2 800 b .c.

S aint L eonard,

Switzerland

( Cortaillod Culture

( Sauter 1 976)

1 :

J .

Colominas

6 :

A .

Z amora

2 ,4:

A .

Arribas,

2 42

J .

A lmagro-Gorbea

3,5:

A .

Muf loz

fi g . 3 9

f9 , 40

fi 9, 4 1

fi 9 ,42

fi i ,

43

fi g , 44

P ara lle ls

1

2

3

4

Spa in- Cata lon ia g :

=2 m u mb . •

t =

=mo n sm i cms 5

fi g , 45

fi g,

46

A further a lignment with Western Neolithic c ultures and the Catalonian

' fosa'

1 962).

f urther enlarged on the possibilites of Lagozza-Chassey-

H e

s epulchres was

Cortaillod c onnections,

g raves

Tarradell

( 1960 and

but he a lso a rgues that B osch G imperas1 - ( 1919)

A lmerian expansion t heory, merian i nfluences,

s uggested by M .

l inking the Catalan

' fosa'

graves with A l.

l acked evidence because of a c omplete l ack of s uch

i n both t he Murcian d istrict or i n the Valencian P eninsula.

H is main a rgument being that had the A lmerian i nfluences a nd expansion r eally penetrated Catalonia,

they would have c ertainly l eft t races

throughout the r egions they would have had t o pass through i n order t o r each Catalonia.

R ecently, Catalan

' fosa'

l ithic cultural s hould be

A .M.

Muhoz

( 1 ,965)

presented her theory that the

g raves belong t o a c ultural g roup with particular Neo' homogeneity'.

S he believes that b ecause of this t hey

s tudied a s a n i ndividual g roup,

f rom the Neolithic with i ts familiar l ithic or I berian I ,

which i s c ompletely s eparated

' cardinal'

pottery a nd the

adding that the c ulture o f the

' fosa'

E neo-

g raves r e-

presents a n advance Neolithic with r elationships t o other W estern Neol ithic groups,

The

but with i ts own personality.

s imilarities between the Balearic NECP wares and those of

the Catalan Neolithic

' fosa'

of the Fabrica Cinzano r egat

( Barcelona)

a re

( Figures 4 3 t o 4 5),

graves

( Barcelona),

P ont y ell,

s uch a s those

or H ospitalet d e L lob-

f ar c loser than with other a reas,

a nd therefore

i n the author's mind s how many points of c omparison i n their typology, and a s this r egion has been the main s ource of c omparison a nd i nformation f or these NECP pottery f orms,

s o i t i s a lso t he a rea which

s upplies us with t he basis f or c omparison and correlations f or the l ater Balearic

E BP wares;

c omparisons which are e ven more i mportant

than these of the NECP.

As will b e parallels originate a ppear t o b e

s een,

the evidence f or the

f rom the Catalan

l ater than the

' fosa'

the B eaker P eriod s uggested by J . i mmediately f ollowed the

' fosa'

E BP c orrelations and

' Megalithic

P assage Graves'

which

s epulchres a nd probably r epresent Maluquer d e M otes

( 1949),

which

cultures i n the Catalan r egions.

The

Catalan Megalithic t ombs have produced a g reat d eal of artefact evid ence,

apart f rom pottery,

which not only belongs t o the B eaker

kit ' but which also c ompares t o the Balearic f inds

( W21dren 1 980,

' tool

1 981).

There i s a lso the presence of c opper a nd bronze i tems which a re n ot f ound i n the with

' V'

' fosa'

g raves,

i tems l ike bracelets a nd points a long

perforated bone buttons and a rcher's wrist guards.

This Mainland chronological ture t o a Megalithic

s uccession f orm the

r eflected chronologically i n the Matge NECP s tratigraphical s equence quence.

The

' fosa'

cul-

P assage Grave culture a ppears t o the a uthor t o be i s

s tratigraphy where the Balearic

i mmediately f ollowed by the

1 4C d ate of the upper l imit of the NECP

a lso marks the l ower l imit of the

E BP

2 51

i n

E BP s e-

( circa 2 143 b .c.)

the Matge s tratigraphy.

Other pottery characteristics f ound i n the Balearic NECP wares and which s urvive throughout a ll of the B alearic

P retalayotic phases,

s uch a s r elief border-collars a round t he r ims of the t roncoconic pot f orms

( Figure 3 8:1 a nd 4 7:1)

and which c an often be f ound w ith this

r elief border-collar either s culpted,

c arved or i ncised

( F igures 4 8:1 ( Figure

t o 4 8:2) 4 9A:1).

or o ccasionally f ormed i nto perforated l ug handles

geneity'

i n t he B alearic

I t i s

f eatures l ike these that f orm t he basis f or t he P retalayotic pottery a ssemblage,

' homo-

a s well a s

the c omparisons with t he Mainland Late Neolithic wares.

While

this

' homogeneity',

Balearics i n the Matge every one of the

the r oots of which appear i n t he

s tratigraphy c irca 2 700 b .c.,

l ater phases of the

E BP a nd LBP,

s een i n

i t d oes l ittle t o h elp u s i n

t ion s tudies o f the pottery f orms,

s eria-

a nd any n oted f requence o f the

f orms until n ow i s based on observation a lone, s ite a ids u s t o

c an b e

P retalayotic c bntexts of the r esearch s ites during

a nd a lthough the Matge

s ome extent i n the r elative date of the

( Chapter V I , s ection 6 ) with its pottery f orms

P uig burials

( Figure 5 0), we have

t o l ook t o the pottery a ssemblages of other s ites t o better understand the

P uig pottery a ssemblage

pare the

( Figure 5 0).

P uig g lobular f orms,

Gallard and Matge,

w e c an s ee the

f rom S pain a nd France

c irca 3 000 b .c.,

s uch f orms a re present a nd have been w ell d ocumented l ocally

f rom c irca 2 700 b .c.

t o c irca

1 400 b .c.;

a p eriod of s ome

S uch l ong d urations and s urvival of l ocal pottery f orms s trong t raditions i n pottery making, l ocal

i f w e c omMuertos

c omparative characteristics i n Main-

l and types o f Late Neolithic age while

At t he s ame t ime,

a long w ith t hose of Marroig,

P retalayotic

s ite c ontexts.

1 300 y ears.

s peaks f or

a s w ell a s r elatively d ating

I n turn,

i t a lso provides u s with

a better i dea of the i nitial g eographical a reas of i nfluence a nd c ontact during the whole of the

P retalayotic

P eriod,

and i n this c ase

e specially t he earliest phase.

There would be very l ittle d isagreement among l ocal a s t o the a ge or p lacement within the g eneral c hronological of the various Balearic pottery f orms, s earch s ites a nd,

therefore,

i t

s cholars f ramework

s o f ar examined f rom t he r e-

s eems pointless here t o make c ompari-

s ons between other l ocal a rchaeological

s ites,

which have a lready b een

( e .g . R ossello B ord oy a nd W aldren 1 973 , W aldren a nd P lantalamor M assanet 1 976 , F ernandezM iranda a nd W aldren 1 976 a nd 1 979) in order to show their homogeneity. made by the a uthor a nd others in l ocal

Unfortunately, f or the Neolithic

t here

s ite r eports

i s hardly a ny o ther a rtefact e vidence

E arly Ceramic

P hase of t he

P retalayotic

a part f rom a f lint nucleus a nd a f ew f lint f lakes, r ich a rtefact evidence of the next

P eriod,

a nd i t i s t o t he

P retalayotic phases that w e must

t urn f or i nformation.

2 52

2 .1

T he O ther E vidence C oncerning t he M atge N ECP C ontexts

I n the previous

s ection,

we have examined the e xisting a rte-

f act evidence a nd i ts a bsolute dating a nd c omparison, t he chronological b oundaries of this phase of the

a nd we have

s een

P retalayotic a nd how

i t marks what a ppears t o be the i ntroduction of pottery t echnology i nto the Balearics.

The next point of c onsideration will be what a lso

a ppears t o be a more or l ess

s imultaneous

phase of i ntroduction of

d omesticated animal s pecies i nto t he Balearics,

c irca 2 700 b .c.

I f we c onsider other a reas where the d ating o f e arly d omest icated s pecies has ,t aken place on the t hat the dates, Mainland dates.

F or e xample,

the

( Mzble11).

c irca 6 000 b .c. the

s ite a re

3 320 b .c.

s ite o f T abernas

a re

f or cattle,

s heep,

and 3 170 b .c + 1 30 yrs.

i n Almeria g ives u s dates + 1 50 yrs;

( Cuenca)

g oat a nd pig

Although more c omparative d ates

+ 1 30 yrs.

g oat and pig at 2 700 b .c.

we will s ee

i n p erfect a ccord w ith

I berian s ite of V erdelpino

has produced a s eries o f early dates s ame

I berian Mainland,

a s they a ppear a t Matge,

f or cattle,

f rom that Whereas, s heep,

an exact s ame date a s that of

the Matge NECP contexts with domesticated s pecies ( v on d er D riesch a nd M orales 1 979 ); a date that appears quite consistently circa 3 000 b .c.

t o 2 500 b .c.

' importation'

i n the Middle and L ate Neolithic

P eriod f or t he

( M orales 1 978 ).

of d omesticated s pecies on t he Mainland

The Matge d omesticated animal bone r emains a long with those f rom o ther s ites a re presently being

s tudied by J .

Clutton-Brock o f t he British

Museum.

R ecent radiocarbon a nalysis o f the A eotragus b alearicus bones f rom the Matge hearths of the NECP contexts have produced the date of 2 143 b .c.

+ 3 92 yrs.

( P urleigh a nd C lutton -B rock 1 980); thus est a blish( 1) the l ate s urvival o fM . b alearicus and

i ng two i mportant e vents: ( 2)

i ts

further at the

f inal extinction c irca 2 100 t o 2 500 b .c.

B oth these events

s how that man utilised A eotragus b alearicus as a food source s ame t ime that he

i mported and u sed d omesticated s pecies,

which i n t urn s uggests a n i ncreasing population or t he a rrival o f n ew s ettlers c irca 2 700 b .c.

The f ollowing s ection will d eal with t he a rrival of what t he a uthor believes t o be s till other n ew i nfluences and even s ettlers themselves,

c irca 2 000 b .c.,

s ettlements were

d uring the t ime,

the f irst open-air

f ounded at s uch newly d iscovered s ites a s the S ettle-

ment Complex of F errandell-Oleza,

Valldemosa,

Mallorca

( W aldren 1 981).

This e vent d oes n ot a ppear t o have greatly i nfluenced t he e arlier e stablished pottery making t radition a s

s een by the

of the basic f orms until the end of the

P retalayotic

At the

s urvival of most P eriod i tself.

s ame t ime a s the a ppearance of these new i nfluences,

other n ew e lements a nd a rtefact e vidence appears

i n the

s tratigraphy,

which further s upports t he a rrival of n ew t echnology a long with whatever n ew s ettlers;

i n this

i nstance the

pottery f orms and t echniques,

i ntroduction of n ot only n ew

but also the t echnology o f metal working

a long with open-air a rchitectural a ctivities, which may even have paved the way t o the Talayotic B ronze Age culture 2 53

i tself.

The i nability t o date any of t he B ronze Age Talayotic building s tructures earlier t han f rom the Talayotic

1 400 b .c.,

a lthough at l east t wo s core of dates

s ettlements exist,

makes

i t i mperative t hat earlier

s ettlements be s ought and when f ound extensively s tudied,

whether or n ot

they a re open-air s ettlements or the more f requent situations

f ound i n

r ock s helters a nd c aves.

i s a per-

i od of t ime between t he

The f act r emains that t o date t here

f irst s ettlement with i ts l ife i n t he r ock

s helters a nd c aves a nd the f ounding of t he f irst open-air s ettlements of s ome

1 300 y ears,

e ars t o be the

c irca 2 700 b .c.

and

1 400 b .c.,

i n which t here a pp-

s ome gap between the r ock s helter a nd c ave

s ettlements a nd

f ounding of the well organised Bronze a nd I ron Age open-air s ettle-

ments.

Only r ecently has i t been possible

this g ap that appears between the

to f ill i n s ome d etail

P retalayotic a nd Talayotic

i n

P eriods;

part of these d etails a re the data and i nformation i n t he f ollowing s ections,

where n ew materials a nd chronometric dates have made t he

s earch of parallels possible.

3 .

B alearic B eaker I nfluences: t he E arly B eaker P hase

The most notable

' event'

i n the otherwise h omogeneous

yotic pottery a ssemblage of the Balearic I slands end of the NECP a nd the beginning of t he B eaker ware,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

chronometric analyses

The Matge

E BP )

P retala-

(one which marks the

i s t he i ntroduction of

s tratigraphical e vidence a nd

s how that t he B eaker

e lement which a ppeared quite

( E LT )

E BP wares a re an

' intrusive'

s uddenly within what c an be c onsidered a

t raditional NECP pottery a ssemblage with a duration o f a bout 7 00 years, c irca 2 700 b .c. ' distinct'

t o c irca 2 000 b .c.

I n s hort,

Balearic B eakers a re a

and particular pottery a ppearing within a l ocally e stab-

l ished pottery a ssemblage.

R ecent thin-sectioning s tudies BP wares,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

to c irca

f abric a nd t echnique of manufacture. i ndicate that t he s ome

* MP wares were

C ependix 3 A )

1 700 b .c.

c learly s hows

t o be d ifferent i n c lay

Whether or not,

these d ifferences

imported o r l ocally manufactured i n

s pecial c entre of manufacture a nd d istribution i s not known.

ever,

i t d oes

s uggest n ewly a rrived potters,

How-

bring w ith t hem new t ech-

nology.

Furthermore, data and s herds

i n the

l ight of r ecent data,

f rom Matge

s pectrographic

( W aldren 1 980 ), there is every indication that some

metal working was being d one i n the Balearics by i t i s not unreasonable t o a ssume that the c ited ware,

b oth,

1 4C analysis on Balearic B eaker c rucible a nd non-crucible

whether or not l ocally manufactured,

1 800 b .c. ' intrusive'

Therefore, B eaker

and the e vidence o f l ocal

metal working,

both of which emerge

the

were the r esult of newly a rrived i nfluences c irca 2 000 b .c.

s ame t ime,

Meanwhile,

i n the Balearic I slands a t a bout

the Balearic B eaker

by r adiocarbon analysis

Waldren 1 980)

s ites are very well d ocumented and,

a s c an be

s een,

t hey a re

i n remarkable a ccord with existing Mainland B eaker s ite dates

2 54

( T ables

1 4,17 , 1 8), e specially i n s ites l ike E l Cerro d e l a V irgin ( Orce, G ranada) ( Schule a nd P ellicer 1 944 -4 8), an important s ite where a l arge number of radiocarbon dates a re a vailable B eaker

s equence ) C able

f or an e xtraordinary

1 4 a nd A lmagro G orbea 1 979).

2 55

T able 1 4 .

1 .

A S election o f I berian B eaker 1 4C D ates

2 780 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

S omaen,

L evel D .

I ncised Pottery, Charcoal

2 .

2 670 b .c.

+ 1 30 yrs.

S omaen,

L evel D 3,

( CSIC 68)

I ncised Pottery, Charcoal

3 .

.c. 2 075 b

+

9 5 yrs.

Z ambujal I Vb,

4 .

.c. 2 045 b

+

3 5 yrs.

Z ambujal I IIb,

5 .

.c. 2 000 b

+

6 5 yrs.

Z ambujal

6 .

.c. 1 970 b

00 yrs. + 1

7 .

.c. 1 970 b

+

6 0 yrs.

Virgen d e Orce,

8 .

.c. 1 890 b

+

3 5 yrs.

Montefrio,

9 .

.c. 1 887 b

+

3 5 yrs.

Virgen d e Orce,

I Vb,

Los Husos,

( CSIC-69)

Charcoal

( GRN-6669)

Charcoal

( GRN-7004)

Charcoal

( GRN-7007)

I ncised Pottery,

Wood

Early Beaker,

Phase V ,

Wood

I ncised Pottery

1 850 b .c.

+

3 5 yrs.

Virgen d e Orce,

1 700 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

1 4C y Prehistoria d e

Praia das Macas,

I ncised Pottery,

T able 1 5 .

Madrid,

( GRN 5764) ( KN-?)

W ood

l a P eninsula I berica,

Juan March,

( GRN-7287)

( GRN 5598)

Burnt P lants 1 1.

( GRN-5587)

I ncised Pottery, W ood

1 0.

( 1-385)

Reunion

1 978,

F undacion

S eries U niversitaria

A S election o f I berian Valencian B ronze A ge 1 4C D ates f or C omparison

1 .

1 980 b .c.

+ 2 50 yrs.

E reta d el P edregal

( M-753)

2 .

1 865 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

S erra Grossa

( BIN-947)

3 .

1 850 b .c.

+ 1 15 yrs.

Terlinques

( 1-4525)

4 .

1 600 b .c.

+

5 5 yrs.

Cabezo Redondo

( H-2277)

5 .

1 581 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

Pic d els C orbs

( Q-7)

6 .

1 552 b .c.

+

5 0 yrs.

Cati Forada

( BIRM-199)

7 .

1 460 b .c.

+

9 0 yrs.

Mas d 'Abad

( 1-8936)

8 .

1 350 b .c.

+

5 5 yrs.

Cabezo R edondo

( GRN-?)

2 56

T able 1 6 . M atge P retalayotic P ottery ,

C hronometric a nd S tratigraphical S equence

1 4C Date

S tratum

2 700 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

2 8

2 143 b .c.

+ 3 92 yrs.

2 6

2 070 b .c. _ +

Pottery

P eriod/Phase

Neolithic C oarse Ware

NECP

5 0 yrs.

2 4

I ncised B eaker Ware,

2 030 b .c. _ + 1 70 yrs.

2 2

Unincised B eaker Ware,

2 020 h .c. _ + 1 00 yrs.

2 0

Common Coarse Ware

1 870 b .c. _ + 1 20 yrs.

1 8

1 720 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

1 7

1 620 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

1 6

I ncised B eaker Ware,

1 530 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

1 4

Unincised B eaker Ware,

1 470 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

1 2

Common Coarse Ware

1 400 b .c.

+ _

1 1

4 0 yrs.

Type A Type A

E BP

Type . B Type B

LBP

T able 1 7 . B alearic P retalayotic E BP a nd L BP R adiocarbon D ates f or O ther B eaker S ites P eriod/ 1 4C Date

S ite 6 5 yrs.

Pottery

Phase

2 000 b .c.

+

1 960 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

1 840 b .c.

+

1 800 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

Cotxera I ncised B eaker,

1 520 b .c.

+

Marroig Unincised B eaker Ware,

8 0 yrs.

8 0 yrs.

F errandell-Oleza I ncised B eaker Ware,

Type A

Muleta Unincised B eaker Ware, Muertos Gallard I ncised Beaker Ware, Ware,

Type B

2 57

E BP EBP E BP EBP

L BP

T able 1 8 .

T he E arly B eaker S trata i n t he E ast E nclosure o f t he M atge R ock S helter , T heir A ge i n 1 4C A nalyses R esults a nd P relimi nary I nventory o f E BP a nd O ther I ndigenous W ares EBP L evel

.

S tratum 2 4

.

S tratum 2 3

.

S tratum 2 2

.

S tratum 2 1

.

Stratum 2 0

.

Stratum 1 9

.

S tratum 1 8

A e

2 070 b .c. -

+ -

**

5 0 yrs.

2 020 b .c. 1 870 b .c.

-

4

I ndigenous

6 r ims 6

( CSIC-178)

2 0

-

8

+ 1 00 yrs. -

( QL-23)

-

2 030 b .c- . + 1 70 yrs. . _ -

S herds

( QL-5b)

-

+ 1 20 yrs.

( Y-2359)

4 5 r ims 2 1

1 2

5 0

2 5

5 5

r ims _

* s everal hundred

.

S tratum 1 7

* **

1 720 b .c.

1 00 yrs.

( QL-24)

7

Distribution s tudies of this pottery a re s till Radiocarbon l aboratory i nventory numbers. numbers a re f ound i n Appendix

2 58

1 A.

2 4

i n progress.

Balearic i nventory

fi g , 47

fi 9 , 48

d

_

I I i rk

t ic ] .

50

fi g , 5 1

3 .1

T he E BP a nd L BP P retalayotic P ottery F orms: a n A nalysis

As with the NECP ware, and LBP i ndigenous wares can be phic

areas of the

c ompared.

Apart

different vessel

I n

wares

the

uch as general

E BP

same geogra-

r efinement of the

f orms and pot f eatures through t ime

s hort,

s light changes

changes,

However,

i n

the various

i ndigenous

( e.g.

t hinning

l ugs or d ecoration,

there are no

f or the most descriptive purposes the period.

basically,

I berian Mainland t o which earlier NECP wares were

c ompositional

shapes.

f ound in,

f rom minor changes,

of the vessel's walls or fabric

parallels and correlatons f or the

or c lay

a lterations t o the g eneral P retalayotic pot f orms are

same through

this homogeneity of the NECP;

the whole of the

E BP and LBP i ndigenous

s hould not d iscourage their further analysis a s t o the minor

a lterations of characteristic that are the different chronological phases. to the

r eader here,

pot f orms

s ame f orms

in

i t i s necessary to pause and d escribe the basic

along with the modifications and other characteristics

through t ime. more.

apparent i n the

I n order that this be made c lear

This becomes a matter of descriptive n omenclature once

Each of the

f ive basic

1

( Figure 5 2,

f orms

in the author's nomenclature terms

2

b elow ) are described

i n the following ways:

3

4

5

f ig . 52 1 .

T he C omposite, Form:

appears more

this

i n the NECP i s

C orner-pointed , R estricted o r U nrestricted

s hape i s the most c omplicated. l ess restricted.

restricted than the above, in this

l ipped rim. by the the

i nstance,

it has

can be very f ine.

corner-point angle E BP,

the

The

: HA/MBA a ss-

a very restricted mouth with a ' S' By observation,

increases through t ime,

NECP and gradually i ncreasing until During the

among the Talayotic

The NECP types are thick walled and rather unstable,

E BP,the wall

i t

i t becomes even

and can often have a f lat bottom.

form has also been f ound in one case emblage;

By the LBP,

The f orm as

but

i t appears that

being l ess a cute i n the

the LBP and beyond

( F igure 5 7 ).

s urfaces of the pottery can be highly burnished

( see A ppendix 3 A for clay compositional and thin-sectioning information)

T he S imple,

2 .

E nd-pointed ,

U nrestricted F orm : this shape

i s a lso present throughout the whole of the I t appears

to be replaced i n Talayotic

pointed form s els

can be quite

through t ime, LBP ,

( carinated ). l arge,

I n the NECP, up t o 3 5cms

P retlalayotic

P eriod .

t imes by a c omposite,

c orner

i t i s very c rude and the ves-

in diameter.

As they progress

these vessels a lso become more refined.

I n the

E BP and

quite a lot of detail and care can be r endered t o the border-

collar running around the pot under the carved,

l ip.

incised with a t ool or f ingernail '

2 64

This can be

s culpted,

i P igures 4 9B:1 a nd 4 9B .2).

In

s ome of the l arger NECP c rude examples perforated or unperforated

l ug handles a re i ncorporated in the r elief border-collar or j ust bel ow i t,

which were u sed f or l ifting.

The r elief border-collar i n the

f irst place was probably an i nnovation which would a llow a c ord t o be t ied a round t he pot f or s uspension or l ifting.

Another e xplanation

was probably t o a id i n t he s tacking of the pots i n port

( F igure 5 8)

posite,

unrestricted f orm ) ( 1 a bove)

c orner-pointed, 3 .

s torage or t rans-

a f unctional i nnovation a lso possible with the c om-

T he S imple,

R estricted F orm : this

a lso present throughout a ll

the

( F igure 5 9).

' gourd -l ike

P retalayotic P eriod.

I t

s hape i s u sually haS

perforated or unperforated l ugs

s paced a t i ntervals a round the upper

part of the pot,

l ip,

j ust below the

pension or l ifting.

which were e ither u sed f or s us-

The perforated l ugs have e ither been made verti-

c ally or horizontally through the l ug; o f the pot t o s core

i ts walls

s ometimes

s o c lose t o the body

( F igures 4 9A:1 a nd 3 a nd 6 0A:1 a nd 6 0B :3).

This basic f orm a lso l eads t o the

' spherical'

E BP a nd L BP types w ith

v ery r estricted mouths with perforated horizontal a nd vertical

( F igures 5 1:1 a nd 2 ).

There

l ugs

i s a lso a n a pparent d evelopment i n t he

s tructure of these l ugs a nd their d evelopment i nto t rue handles

( F igure

6 1), which appears to be chronological. 1 .

T he S imple,

U nrestricted F orm : this steep -s ided bowl i s

a nother NBCP basic f orm much l ike type 3 above, i n of t he mouth.

a part f rom the t urning

I t a lso goes through r efinement,

L BP where's' l ips a re added

( Figure 5 1:1).

I n t he

e specially i n the E BP ,

this f orm i s

f requent a mong the B eaker i ncised wares a s i n t he i nfrequent c omposite c orner-pointed,

unrestricted f orm

breast4 Ake knobs a re j ust below the r im

( s ee n ext s ection).

f requently f ound a round the

( F igure 6 2:2).

And i n t he LBP,

A s eries of

s houlder of t he pot this f orm c an a lso

have a f lat bottom. 5 .

T he S imple,

U nrestricted ,

S hallow F orm : this low profiled

bowl or cup i s a lso f requent t hroughout t he much more

s o in t he

E BP and LBP .

I n t he

P retalayotic P eriod,

E BP,

but

i t i s the most f requent

f orm with i ncisions and i s the main f orm i n t he Balearic Beaker ware a ssemblage,

a lthough r ecently the c omposite,

c orner-pointed,

unrest-

i cted f orm with i ncised B eaker patterns has a lso begun t o emerge f rom e xcavation.

This s imple and basic f orm r eceives s pecial c onsideration

below.

This c ompletes t he d escriptive analysis o f the basic

P retala-

yotic pot f orms and a part f rom a f ew minor variations they a re t he e ntirely of the early Balearic pottery a ssemblage.

4 .

B alearic B eaker W are f rom t he E BP P ottery A ssemblage

The occurrences of this d istinctive pottery i s becoming e ver more

f requent i n t he Balearics,

s ince the d iscovery o f the f irst Fel-

( F igure 6 3A ). There a re at present f ive radiocarbon documented s ites ( F igure 6 1B ). The l atest i s an o pen-air P retalayotic a ntix s herds

s ettlement on Mallorca,

the Ferrandell-Oleza S ettlement Complex

2 65

( W aldren 1 981), which has recently produced carbon 1 4 dates o f 2 000 b .c.

+ 6 5 yrs.

with charcoal Wall.

( BM,1843:

ABSM,47a)

f or charcoal d irectly a ssociated

f ound at the base o f the

The a spect o f s uch a l ow date

Balearic

E ast

P retalayotic o rigin i s of prime i nterest a nd i mportance not

only l ocally,

but t o t he question a nd problems of B eaker s ettlements

i n particular. f acts

s ite's O ld S ettlement

f or a n open-air s ettlement of

The quantity of B eaker pottery a s well a s other a rte-

i s most r emarkable,

of Balearic B eaker wares

a lready having d oubled t he entire i n a matter o f o ne s eason's work

i nventory

( see a dden-

dum at the e nd of t his t hesis).

S uch f ine B eaker a rtefacts g reatly amplifies t he possibilit ies

f or c omparative s tudies.

Megalithic passage graves,

The pottery a ssemblages of t he Catalan

c aves a nd r ock s helters a nd other s ettle-

ments of the Mainland become t he best s ources f or c omparative materi als;

e specially i n the motifs,

patterns a nd i ncision t echniques.

An

outstanding e xample f or comparison with Balearic c ounterparts o f E BP

( F igure 5 3:4 t o 5 3:7)

B eaker wares

P assage Grave of Puig-ses-Lloses where

c an be f ound f rom t he M egalithic

( Gerona )

( C olominas a nd F icart 1 923),

s triking parallels c an be f ound f or the Balearic B eakers

Matge a nd Catalan B eakers,

( F igure 5 4).

I n f act,

f rom

both i n pot f orm a nd i ncised patterns

there are a number of s ites

f rom this s ame

( F igures ( C astello 1 928).

Catalan a rea with c omparable pot types a nd i ncised patterns

5 5 a nd 5 6),

f ound i n t he Cova del Fondo d e S alamo

Until very r ecently,

the B alearic B eaker ware a ssemblage i t-

s elf c onsisted of only t he s imple, c omposite,

c orner-pointed,

'( l aidren 1 981) pean'

unrestricted bowl

f orm,

but t he

s lightly r estricted f orm c an now be added

( F igure 6 4 ).

H owever,

a s yet,

there a re n o

B eaker f roms t hat have c ome f rom any o f t he

I n t he f ollowing i llustrations , F igure 6 5 B ell Beaker d istribution throughout Western r elationship o f t he a uthor's Balearic

' Pan E uro-

s ites.

s hows t he g eneral

E urope a nd t he g eographic

' arc o f i mmediate i nfluence'

a long with t he g eographic boundaries o f t he various g roups of I berian B eakers. motifs

Table 8 i s a s chematic chart o f basic B ell beaker i ncised

f rom the d ifferent W estern E uropean a reas c ompared t o a s elec-

t ion of those

f rom the Balearics.

B eaker s hallow bowls with s imilar

c hequerboard a nd chevron patterns a re f ound n ot only i n the r egions demonstrated by t he a rc of i mmediate

i nfluence,

but c an a lso be

f avourably c ompared with n early a ny of the s hapes a nd motifs r egions r epresented i n Table

As will be

s een,

the i ncised wares of the L BP a re n ot very

d ifferent f rom those of the s evles, annears

t o be s ome

during the LBP,

H owever,

e xcept i n t he i ncised patterns them-

i t i s

' imitation'

( the L BP i ncisions a re

i nterestinn t o n ote t hat t here

of B eaker motifs on i ndigenous pottery

a s will be d iscussed and i llustrated i n a s ubsequent

s ection of t his Chapter, erate

E RP,

a nd the way i n which t hey a re executed

s omewhat c oarser).

f rom the

1 8.

a nd these c opied motifs

s ubsequently d egen-

i nto f ragmentary a bbreviations on pottery of t he f ollowing

Talayotic Bronze Age,

c irca

1 400 b .c.

2 66

t o

1 000 b .c.;

presumably a s

n l l

-11 . 1 e l l 1 /e rW mMI W l . % N MV _ e•% )n ‘ .y • AM N I' • I '. , 'M I . I ND a i l •e

S e e

1 / 4 , 7

( 19 . 53

• P arallel s

1

V I

R W Wi W I IA N 1 VAMARAV NV .1 .W • • • .. .. . an g: «O

M » 1W .•• . 1 M •, . . M MM I MI m• . mem...o ..no l•-. • . .. ›-. .

e

rY

i r

' '

2

3

4

‘ l

a su logeno tag u .K . I RI ,0 , s . .. . . , , , .ta m . . . . , i m r i raw l . , „ . . . , . .. . . . . ,

L i

J

VIT VVIr r r. r.

I

o .

e

_

5

S pai n- Cat al o nia

C M S

5

f9 , 54

P ara llels Decorat i ve

Motif & F or m

A

F onda

d e

Sa la mö

Matge

Cata lon ia

Ma l l o rca

CR IS , d 141 .0

3

f1 9 ,5 5

11

»

,C7

,

•

_

_

Z 'w

m

e

w

•

wt m

w

w

IM

W

1 11 1111 .

h 1

A k

WS 14 2 )f

f l

e d1 r 4

11I

m r « Mr -

6 1 11

V VA

M

M A

M

MI N

IM

W

L I F r . 11 1 3 11 . 11 11 0 1 • • •

fi a . 5 6

C hrono log ica l

D eve lop ment

T , EBA

LBP

EBP

C orner -Po inted 1 04.0

F or m C MS

f ig .

5 8

f ig . 59

F errande II O leza

1

2

A

T or r a lba d en Sa lo rt

1

B

3 *OW

. 5

f ig .

60

4 4 1 1 K

A -B, P retalayotic

NEC P t o LBP ,

D -E, Talayotic MBA t o LBA, T alayot ic,

C -D

T alayot ic

E -G T alayot ic

LBA

EBA t o MBA, GH

P ost

I-J P retalayotIc « IOW

C MS

f ig . 6 1

f ig .

82

4 ;-

c

e. ek

• 3, i t

• ••

1 .4. 1 1 1...i •

• : m e• . •

...-••• • •

:

•rr •

e•

• reelee...

• : .. •,

CHART

OF

BEAKER P ATTERNS DES IGNS

& I NCISED

3

6

H i f i l i i i 6 i / A % \e veammuk s . : . M e t i ; s s . O r aw . ,: i i in i er • V eee leg el i l i i i i i i i i i i i i ii l . 4a ` •• • . io il i git i : 4 .i. i l Ai l e lz ' i l -' 1 1 a i n "u. x esza & . A N 4 4 40 I n, , ‘ 4w m n t em age r e ek : See >1 ' ' • ' ' ' . ' ' . . / . e . . . . . 4 .v4 . . : , . — 4 . I , v . 1 " . . -% r\ 47» . ,/ i N . if « i i " er i 7'''Z -0" -4- -«e V i i" z i . . 1 . . , , -

1 1 01 FA Iv e ! i i • ! ! t i l i T e l . . . . . . . , . . . . , . . ,• 7 * Y7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o w n i t i m m i L I M M ' 1 ' 1mi n / i d% ) W I I I IN I I II I I SM

' wi t' , : , • " p u tu t o u i l tu i tmq w " . / . . . . . . . • . •. mom I

I I'

' I I N 1

i l

! M I

1 ;

I d algtt le a ll f ' 1 1

' 1

1 . 1

M I I ;.. II

w ee ep U MME

Uh u . ' 1 1 .7 . u . ` L

18 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 WW OR M 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 16 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 L _LL! J I I1f 11

‚ , § ( 1 . N . i l lAAS4

•• \ # *7

V b .

•t II t III

' Settle

e ArP

\

I t I l l

f l f 1 1 1 1 1 131 1 12

• bit a liti

Nk lif .e i ll

u s smo r • s I L1 1 1 . 1t *

f r e tA l t u f te i : t' u n an an inu t i i i i : v A l i

V A

ye: ve

I I f I I IW I I I I I -

L ;

. l i b

l lll lllf llllllllll tf lll ll lld

r• -"N/\ ./.\/• •,

er r y e I n t li l l f l It U

i r . . A t 1 1U M »

d i Ze W e 'Ve g i e Wie :q M Se e .,• • • • •• •• •e 'efe •y e w . . . . t h e *• ' r e . s i lh o . • •. • i

. ' Sj '

I L A

r

tI

v

y :

11 • i f

,.

Zgee2 2 7 2 222M 2 1*

• o f , s - •

NW '

m r n it ur n1 1 7w

,44 ri

• 1/ l / 2 , 1 2 7 1

/ t ai l

1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 110 1U 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 11

/A i

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 1 1 1 1 1 1

r j,

am -

1 1 1 1 . 1 11 1

X :.

" v met e

\ ‘7 • -7 / 7

> i z e z ee e e e e .

=

KM Ib le

Kl% IOr

f f /

w 1 1 0. )

gg Eg fe e e r g Egg e " ig h i i i kw i i ; ; ; 5 1 . 1ähr

7 2 /0 / 1 /R A ,

cm S

f i g . 6 6

K ey t o B eaker S chematic P atterns

( 1)

( Figure 6 6)

T he D iagram's H orizontal L ines

( A )

The Balearic

I sland Region

( Balearics)

( B)

The Catalan Region

( Salamo )

( C)

The Pyrenees Region

( Languedoc)

( d )

The Central and Southern Iberian Region

( Ciempozuela)

( E)

The Portugal Region

( Palmela)

( F)

The

( Provence)

( G)

The Germanic Region

( H )

The Danubian Region

Southern French Region

The nomenclautre of the geographical author in his

r esearch on the

( VNSP)

r egions are a s used by

archaeology of the Balearic

I slands.

I n parentheses are the equivalents according to the recent work of others

( BAR , s upplements s eries 2 6,

( 2)

1 977 ; H arrison 1 974;

C larke 1 970).

T he D iagram's V ertical L ines

( 1)

Narrow banded decorations with stab marks

( 2)

Chequerboard Patterns

( 3)

Equilateral Triangulated Patterns

( 4)

S ingle Chevron Patterns

( 5)

Herringbone Patterns

( 6)

Multiple Chevron Patterns. The diagram c learly

and motifs of Beaker designs

shows

the

from the

2 81

i n s ingle or double rows

similarities l isted areas.

i n the composition

e v e l e g , t u r b ine u . " i f n u r a i l l eme t e L o g u m e _ , j 3 i .,

1 1 1

..1 M I M IZ I1 ,M I II .I Z7 • 1 1 1( 7 1 8 1 = 1 1 1‚ 1 1 1 117 1 0 e l l M .1 1 1 1 11 / 1 14 1. . •, 3 » . -- B o• dm - m •An .» . •s o -Am - . a , -a l l -. 1 11 1 1 . 1 .1 . 1.— I m, _ . m e 4 11 1-4 ».. . .. .. • — • 1 1 , —.. 1 . , » . 7-1 .1 . 1 1. — J ii

I

I

I . re . ,: : ,»Z ; :, l e eakev ,. . '17 ,4 i re . . e e,

: Z a lwary .:er . .d . . .

I I A lk 2( A I Lt a VA .

. a .e .' o de -

» I07 ,ÄA W . i l f Z e Al i' . A L' A •.

I N C I PP

* 4 : • : : • • : : :4 › . : e .e . : : :V . . .» .e . y r . sP e n»

. . . e x e s r a m4 t e i a .4 4 . k e e b» , '

. r e

A : ) . :-t iV • t ; . , . . , . & I ,

V i, 7 1

1 . . . , , 1 . , N. „ . ,

, 1 4

1 3

\

\\ \

\

l '

"

; •:i.

'

‘

; ';X/1? :

• ‘ 4

\ 7 , . et . .c >

' " . . . *4 • : ' ; ! ‘ . s . ' ' ' / ' e . . .k. ,

i .

' t r ., , : At i l . % ,

1 5

e t i v e ye sete mee me m s > , , P e xemm emeN we .e :Ye ee wv e • A me se ive . e .m .,, ve\mm ee eN, ,e

WO W

f T 1 S

4

COPPER

LAUREL

LEAF

DAGGER

& SANDSTONE

HONE

f ig . 7 1

M AT GE - PORTI O N

OF

BRONZE

A WL

HOAR D

b one h and le

wa f t)

ABS M

1

C MS

f ig . 7 2

M ATGE -BRON Z E

AWLS - YOUNG

GOAT

BONE HANDLES

metacarpa ls/ metata rsa ls

b ronze

d i s ta l e nd

p rox ima t e nd o f b one

f ig . 7 3

MATGE

' BEAKER W ORKSHOP' CRUCIBLE SHERDS

p ure c opper e ncrustations

* copper

g lobu les

f ig . 7 4

f ig .

75

f ig .

7 6

S tone

Hones

( archer w r istguards?)

f ig . 7 7

A

S election -• \ /'

P erforated

Bone

d i S tone

Buttons

f ig .

7 8

f ig . 7 9

their origin became l ess and l ess remembered on Mallorca; t he case

a lthough

s eems t o be the c ontrary on Minorca, where i ncised d esigns

a re quite c ommon on P ost Talayotic pottery c irca 5 00 b .c.

The r eader i s provided with a d iagramatic a nd s chematic i n1 976 ) 1 0 " igures

ventory of the Balearic B eaker f ragments available until

6 7 t o 7 0 ).

This

i nventory i s by no means complete a nd i s only part

o f t he t otal B alearic material excavated s ince ventory of the Balearic B eaker materials by the author

( W aldren 1 981,

1 976.

A c omplete i n-

i s presently being c ompiled

i n p ress) of which the present examples

have been s elected to d emonstrate the rich and i mportant B eaker pottery coming out of t he Balearics.

I t

i s a lso s uggested that the r eader consult the t hin s ect-

i oning s tudy f ound i n t he appendices t he

( A ppendix 3 A )

f or d escription of

E BP and LBP Beaker ware and i ndigenous plain or c ommon wares,

c oncerning the c lay f abrics of the vessels.

The Catalonian areas of i nfluence f or the Balearic E BP B eaker wares s eem t o be on the basis of pottery typology t he s trongest r egion f or parallels and c orrelations.

Not only does the pottery

a ssemblage of both these a reas r emarkably c orrelate, but e xisting 1 4C dating a lso corresponds.

Furthermore other grave goods f rom the

Catalan passage graves of s ites l ike P uig-Rodo a lso e xcavated i n the well a

P la del Boix,

P la d e T rullas,

1 920s by Colominas a nd P icart a s

the Fondo d e S alamo cave are very s imilar i n t ypology t o the

B alearic

E BP a rtefacts;

ated bone buttons,

i tems a part f rom pottery,

hones a nd

s uch a s

' archers wrist guards'

' V'

perfor-

a s well a s

c op-

per points.

At the

same t ime,

f arther s outh in the Granada r egion,

( Orce) ( Schule a nd P ellic er 1 963) has produced very similar 1 4C r esults a s well a s a bundant B eaker ware e vidence ) C able 1 4 ). Other s ettlements i n t he Catalan s ettlement s ites

l ike

E l Cerro de la Virgen

a rea are a lso currently being excavated at s ites

i n t he

E bro Valley

( Harrison 1 981).

5 .

B alearic M etal W orking T echnology

E vidence of metal working i n the Balearics has been, very r ecently, Talayotic

until

l imited t o artefacts and a f ew s tone moulds f rom t he

B ronze Age

( C hapter I .

There has been n o doubt a s t o

t he presence of s ome c opper and bronze objects belonging t o the P ret alayotic

P eriod,

but f or the most part t hese were believed t o have

been imported i nto t he Balearic mainly of copper awls and c opper however very rare,

I slands. ' laurel

These l eaf'

u sually being f ound a long with P retalayotic pot-

t ery a s part of the grave goods f rom burials ' laurel-leaf'

i tems c onsisting points o r daggers a re

( F igure 7 1 shows a

point o r dagger f rom the P uig burials).

2 95

H owever,

d irect

e vidence o f metal working a s part o f t he a ctivities o f t he P retalayotic population h as only r ecently a ppeared a t t he Matge s ite, where t he r emains o f a B eaker workshop has b een f ound i n t he l ower l evels o f t he s helter's Central E nclosure.

H ere,

i n

1 976 a bronze h oard c onsisting o f s ome 6 0 bronze

a wls, most o f which were i n d ifferent s tages o f being f inished,

a cc-

( Plate 4 2A:1 a nd F igures 7 2 a nd 7 3) was f ound i n a n u ndistrubed LBP c ontext ( S tratum 1 1) of the enclosure. ompanied by f ragments o f others

They c an be r elated t o previous d iscoveries i n t he i mmediate a rea o f E BP a nd L BP o bjects,

d ated c irca 1 800 b .c.

t o 1 500 b .c.

These n ew

d iscoveries g ive a c ompletely d ifferent p erspective t o o ur p revious i nterpretations o f t he n ature o f t he o ccupation o f t he a rea i n q uestion.

I t i s now quite c lear t hat t he a rea was a ctually u sed a s a workshop n ot o nly i n LBP t imes but a lso i n E BP t imes, f acture o f s everal d ifferent a rtefacts. 1 .

I n 1 973 a number o f f ragments o f a c eramic c rucible

( plain ware)

w ere f ound w ith c opper o xides r esidue a ttached t o t he

i nside o f t he pieces meter marker

1 9-21,

V igure 7 4:3 a nd 7 4:1)

n Stratum 1 1, b etween

c lose t o c oordinate L L

i n t he s outhwestern

quadrant o f t he Central E nclosure 2 .

f or t he manu-

S alient points a re a s f ollows:

( P lan 2 H ).

S everal f ragments o f i ncised B eaker ware

f ound i n 1 973,

i n t he s ame i mmediate a rea,

( EBP )

i n S tratum 1 2,

o f a f ew c entimeters b elow t he c rucible f ragments

w ere a lso

a matter

V igure 7 4).

O ther

f ragments o f t he s ame pot were f ound a t t he s ame l evel but s everal g rids a way. 3 . 1 1

O ther f ragments o f i ncised E BP wares were f ound i n S tratum

a nd S tratum 1 2 d uring s ifting o f e ach o f t hese l evels i n 1 973

( Plate 4 0:2 a nd F igures 7 4:1 a nd 7 4:2).

R ecently

w ere c leaned i n t he l aboratory a nd a ssembled.

( 1976)

t hese s herds

On e xamination,

t he

i nside o f t hese i ncised f ragments c ould b e s een t o c ontain c opper o xides r esidue,

e xactly l ike t he c rucible s herds f ound e arlier i n

1 973 a nd would s uggest t hat s ome r itual o r c eremony i nvolving c ised c rucibles may have e xisted.

i n-

This i s a nother s ignificant a ddi-

t ion t o o ur i nformation c oncerning t he a rea, a s t he s herds w ere i nc ised w ith c hequerboard patterns t ypical o f t he Catalan B eaker pottery, a s w ell a s l ocal motifs.

Other s herds w ith t he s ame motif h ave b een

f ound i n l arge quantities within t he c onfines o f t he E ast E nclosure a nd have b een dated a t 1 870 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

( ABSM,46)

( Waldren 1 972),

while f ragments with s imilar c lay f abric a nd s imilar i ncised d esigns were f ound s ome y ears a go i n t he R ock S helter o f Muertos Gallard a nd were d ated t here a t 1 840 b .c. 4 .

+ 8 0 yrs.

( AMG,45)

Waldren 1 967 ).

T he e xcavations i n 1 974 l ocated a s ubstantial n umber o f

c owrie s hell n ecklace beads,

a l arge number o f very s mall d isc-like

bone beads a nd many t riangular s haped c entre perforated bone b eads, a long w ith

' V'

p erforated bone buttons,

t o t he a wl h oard.

u nder

' J'

r ock a nd a djacent

These i tems w ere f ound a t t he e dge o f S tratum 1 2

but a re i nterpreted a s being a ssociated w ith S tratum 1 1 f ound j ust below t he wood a sh a nd c harcoal where

2 96

a s t hey w ere

i t t hinned o ut i nto

t he earth.

E lsewhere,

a t Matge s uch p ieces a re f ound both i n Tala-

yotic and P retalayotic c ontexts,

a nd t hey a re i tems probably of l ong

t erm c urrency. 5 .

The h oard o f bronze a wls i tself was a ctually d iscovered

d uring c lean-up a ctivities i n t he e astern p erimeter o f t he C entral E nclosure i n 1 976,

a t t he n orth e nd o f

' J'

r ock,

u nder s ome f allen

r ocks which a lso r epresent a d isplacement o f e roded d ebris f rom t he o verhang f ace a nd h ad f allen prior t o n oted t hat

' J'

' J'

r ock i tself.

I t s hould be

r ock m ust have f allen a fter t he c onstruction o f t he

Talayotic d ividing wall between t he E ast E nclosure a nd t he Central E nclosure because i ts f all had a ctually c rushed t his d ividing wall. T he awl hoard was d isturbed i n i ts d eposit o f e arth f illing t he c rev ices between r ocks t hat had f allen e arlier i n t his a rea,

c orrespon-

d ing t o t he earth i n which t he s hell a nd bone o rnaments were f ound

( 5 .1-t ratum 1 1).

The a wls, a s mentioned a bove, w ere i n various s tages o ne a wl ( F igure 7 5) i s s till i n i ts mould, a nother a wl

o f c ompletion; i s made o f bone 6 . moved,

( an a nimal u lna, F igure

A fter t he awls a nd t heir c ontaining d eposit had been r e-

an e arlier e arth f illing o f t he c revices,

1 2, was n oted. t he h and,

e quivalent t o S tratum

I n a irpockets within i t, which c ould b e r eached with

a bone w eaving c omb with i ncised B eaker motifs o n both s ides

( F igure 7 6:2)

a nd a n unused f lat c ast,

h ead with a f lat s haft t ypical

7 9 ).

t riangular b laded bronze s pear-

( F igure 7 6:1) were found.

T hese t wo h ighly

E BP i tems c losely r esemble p ieces f ound o f the M ainland a nd

a date o f c irca 2 000 b .c. 7 .

t o 1 700 b .c.

would f it t hem a dmirably.

Amongst f urther a rtefacts f rom t he Central E nclosure,

t wo other i tems ) ( F igure

7 7 a nd P late 4 1:2) were f ound t o h ave a

s tratigraphical provenance precisely e quivalent t o t he l ast t wo pieces d escribed,

a lthough t hey were f ound b etween m eter markers 2 2-23,

a pproximately 7 meters f rom t he

f ace o f t he o verhang.

B oth t hese

i tems a ppear t o be h ones f rom t he wear patterns f ound o n t heir e dges, a nd a re d rilled a t o ne e nd;

o ne has t hree h oles which a re c ountersunk .

a nd t he other h as only o ne h ole.

This l atter p iece was e vidently

m eant t o b e hung a round t he n eck l ike an a mulet, was t hat o f a hone.

T he other h one,

a lthough i ts purpose

o f which o nly t he u pper half i s

p reserved s ince i t was broken t hrough t he c entre o f t hese holes h oriz ontally may have a lso s erved a nother purpose, s uch a s a t ype o f wire d ie f or d rawing wire, a lthough we know t hese p ieces a ll t hroughout E urope during t he B eaker t imes a s

' archers'

wrist guards'.

T he hard-

n ess o f t his particular p iece i s more t han 6 .5 a nd i s p erfectly c apa ble o f s coring p late g lass.

The broken p iece with t hree c ountersunk

h oles i n i t i s s trikingly s imilar t o p resent d ay hard s teel p laques w ith various s ilver.

s ized h oles u sed by metalsmiths t o d raw w ire s uch a s

T hese modern-day p laques h ave very s imilar h oles d rilled i n

t hem t hrough which wire whose e nd has been t apered c an be d rawn. U nfortunately,

t he p iece i n question c annot b e t ested e xperimentally

a s a wire d ie because t he a rtefact i tself i s b roken a cross t he h oles, but t he s tone i s c ertainly hard e nough t o draw c opper w ire.

The encrusted c rucible s herds, b ronze a wls,

i ncised a nd uninäised

t he c ast s pear-point a nd t he other

E BP a nd LBP i tems a re

s ignificant c lues t hat i ndicate t he a rea's f unction.

2 97

Many o f t he a wls

were f ound mounted i n their handles which were made f rom metatarsals a nd metacarpals of young goats.

There d oes not s eem t o be a ny c onsis-

t ency r egarding which e nd of the bone had the non-functional e nd o f t he awl d riven i nto

i t:

e xamples s howing t he u se of both d istal a nd proxi-

mal end are i llustrated

( Figure 7 9 ).

are of d ifferent l engths a nd S hapes

( F igure 7 2).

d egrees of c ompletion pointed at both e nds,

The u nmounted awls

i n t he hoard

( Table 20), ' most s howing varying S ome a re r ound i n s ection a nd

others r ectangular i n s ection,

pointed a t one

end and blunted on the other or hammered f lat on the other, t o

s uit the

s hape of the bone handle

i t was driven i nto.

probably

A f lattened

end c ould be driven i nto f resh bone t o f orm a well f itting handle, s ome hafted examples

s how.

a s

Metrical a nd s tatistical d etails o f t he

awls a long with e lectron microscopic a nalysis r esults have been publ ished r egarding the . awl hoard

( W aldren 1 979 )

a nd t he i nterested

r eader s hould c onsult this r eport.

The two most i mportant c lues t o t he use of the a rea i n P retalayotic t imes a re the c opper oxide e ncrusted i nteriors of t he c rucible f ragments,

which when a nalysed by Dr.

ment of M etallurgy,

P .

Northover of t he D epart-

University of Oxford were s hown t o be mainly c opper

oxides a nd c opper c orrosion products which s eem t o be the n ormal o ccurence with B eaker c rucibles,

and the unfinished s tate of

The presence of s ome bone handles without awls mounted,

and t he f act

that the points of s ome of the awls s how u se and e ven breakage, c ate that

i ndi-

s ome may have been c ollected e ither f or r emounting or e lse

f or r ecycling the bronze.

These c onsiderations c ertaily s upport the

i dea of a workshop area f or at l east the manufacture of awls,

a s d oes

the o ccurrence of one awl i n what a ppears t o be i ts c asting s heath. I t i s

i mportant t o note that the c owrie s hells and the d ifferent k inds

( F igure 7 8 )

of bone pieces

t he bronze awl hoard,

have the s ame

s tratigraphical c ontext a s

while the bone c omb,

t he triangular s pear-head

and the B eaker i ncised s herds c an be l inked with a s lightly e arlier part of the known age-range of the B eaker f ire l evels i n the E nclosure. E nclosure,

There

i s a c omplete l ack of k itchen d ebris

E ast

i n the Central

a lthough i t i s v ery f requent i n t he E ast E nclosure with i ts

hearth areas,

and this a lso s uggests that t he area of the Central

E nclosure was not employed f or l iving.

I t s eems very l ikely t hat the

two areas c omprised a c ontemporary s ettlement i n which the l iving a rea ( East

E nclosure)

a nd the working s pace

c arefully s eparated.

( Central

E nclosure)

were k ept

The available radiocarbon dates s trongly s uggest

t hat their o ccupation was i ndeed c ontemporary.

As r egards the precise age of t he a rtefacts f rom the workshop a rea,

w e must d epend on the e vidence of both typology a nd the r adio-

carbon analyses.

Although both the

t o the pottery evidence, bronze awl hoard,

E BP a nd L BP a re i nvolved,

i t i s c lear f rom t he

a ccording

s tratigraphy t hat the

the bone a nd s hell necklace units and the L BP pot-

t ery f ragments belong t o a s lightly younger l evel than that which yielded the i ncised bone c omb and unused c ast s pearhead

a nd 4 0:1 r eepectivelu). t han t hat of the t o

1 500 b .c.;

I f their d ate i s therefore

l atter two i tems,

( t lates 4 1:1

s lightly l ater

we may e stimate i t c irca

1 00 b .c.

this would mean that they w ere made during the c entury

or two before t he a bandonment of the a rea a nd i ts c onversion i nto f irst a Talayotic c emetery and a fterwards a P ost Talayotic one.

2 98

This poses n o problems f or the overall s equence at the other hand the

i ncised bone c omb,

c ontemporary B eaker

the f lat bronze

s ite.

On t he

s pearhead a nd t he

s herds both with or without c opper r emains a re

o lder on the grounds of both typology a nd s tratigraphy.

Their h orizon

c orresponds t o an earlier part of t he B eaker f ire

l evels of t he

E nclosure.

t o

These

c over both the metric range, 1 800 b .c. t he

t o

s ame a ge

s pan the p eriod c irca 2 000 b .c.

E BP and LBP o f t he

P retalayotic.

1 400 b .c.

E ast a nd

Within t his c hrono-

we may a ssess t he a ge of t he c omb and s pearhead a t c irca 1 700 b .c.

As we have s een,

( on s tratigraphic g rounds)

the bones were

i n a l evel of

a s the c omb a nd s pearhead.

The f ollowing c onclusions c an b e l isted r egarding the u se of t he Central

E nclosure at the Matge

s ite i n the

P retalayotic t imes,

c hronology and c lassification of t he a rtefacts, c ations of t he 1 . t he

E astern

f inds:

The Central E nclosure,

E nclosure was n ot a habitätional z one a s was

but a n a rea a part, used a s a workshop f rom

a pproximately 2 000 b .c.

to i ts a bandonments and r econversion i nto a

prehistoric c emetery a bout 2 .

t he

a nd the wider i mpli-

The

1 400 b .c.

i tems d escribed a nd i llustrated c orrespond chrono-

l ogically a nd typologically t o material f rom s ites on the Mainland mentioned e arlier.

For i nstance,

a ny number of s uch pieces f rom the 3 .

the

s tone hones can be c ompared t o

E l Argar or Catalan r egions.

L inked with f indings i n t he

E ast E nclosure,

i t i s

s ug-

g ested that two r easonably well d efined B eaker phases a re present a t

( W aldren 1 970; B ordoy a nd W aldren 1 973; C antarelias C amps

t he s ite

1 972)

i n the period of c irca 2 000 b .c.

c an be d istinguished s tratigraphically, i cally and a re a s outlined,

t o

1 400 b .c.

At Matge t hese

c hronologically a nd typolog-

as s een i n the Balearic B eaker dates

( T able 6 ). 4 . p lace

I t c an be c oncluded that s ome metal working d id t ake

i n t he Balearics a s early a s

1 800 b .c.

The

i llustrated bronze

p ieces i nclude at l east a f ew i tems t hat were c ast l ocally, l essly u sing i ngots i mported f rom abroad, n o

i ngots have been f ound.

S trata

1 1

a nd 1 2

e xist

d espite the f act t hat a s y et

The c opper e ncrusted c rucible

s herds f rom

c learly i ndicate that metal was available t o b e

melted d own f or casting. c ord,

d oubt-

The

l ack of i ngots i n t he

P retalayotic r e-

a lthough s ome i ngots of Talayotic and P ost Talayotic origin

( S ee C hapter I ) 0,

s o

f ar might s uggest t hat metal

s crap a nd

u sed i mplements were melted d own t o provide n ew bronze i tems,

a nd n o

d oubt s ome of the originals were f irst i mported a s f inished i tems. S uch a s ituation might help t o explain why s o f ew metal f ound i n

P retalayotic

s ites,

v iew of t he a lmost c omplete s uch a c ase metal a ny date.

The

i tems a re

and would be e ntirely predictable i n

l ack of natural l ocal ore s ources.

I n

s crap would be h ighly valued a s the main s upply a t

s aMe s tate of a ffairs might a ccount f or ' indigenous'

f eatures i n the typology of any of the metal a rtefacts. s tyles t end t o occur not i nfrequently s ituations.

2 99

D istinct

f or t his r eason i n i nsular

FERRANDELL OLEZA

FLINT

S ICKLE & BLADE

f ig . 80

f ig . 8 1

f ig

.

82

f ig .

8 3

f ig .

84

f ig . 85

f ig . 86

W e must n ote,

however t hat one of the f eatures which distin-

guishes the Talayotic Bronze Age proper f rom the presence of r ich bronze g rave g oods, y otic e poch;

P retalayotic i s t he

buried with the d ead o f the T ala-

a c ondition that c ertainly s ignals a good s upply of bronze

a rtefacts which permitted their being expendable f or burials, 1 400 b .c.:

( C hapter I X ).

t er

6 .

T he P retalayotic S tone A rtefacts

E vidence of the Muleta,

Matge,

i slands.

Nor i s

l ithic

Muertos Gallard,

t o be d esired. t he

a fter

a t opic which i s d iscussed i n d etail i n the f ollowing c hap-

i ndustry i n the r esearch s ites o f Marroig a nd

P uig l eave a g reat d eal

This poor l ithic evidence a lso applies t o t he r est of This i s not t o

s ay t hat n o f lint e xists on the

i t t o mean that there a re n o f lint or other

i slands.

s tone t ools,

but

s imply that those t hat have a ppeared i n the r esearch s ites a s well a s other l ocal

s ites

i n the past h ave j ust not been very d istinguished

I t may be that there a re n o r eal s ources of good f lint and that, t hough present,

where on the i slands; At

the

s ame t ime,

e specially i n t he quantities

f ound e lsewhere.

t o the author's knowledge no s tudy has been made of

t he problem of f lint s ources on t he t ailed s tudy of the w orthwhile,

a l-

the f lint that d oes e xist i s not very plentiful a ny-

i slands,

f lints that d o e xist;

and can perhaps be

nor f or t hat matter a d e-

a project t hat would be

i ncorporated i n our f uture r esearch.

S o f ar a s the present t hesis i s c oncerned the f lints r ecovered f rom the

s mall amount of worked

s ites has a s y et made i t a matter of high

priority.

H owever,

r ecent d evelopment may d o much t o change this or t o

s how that c ertain f lint t ools were i mported i nto t he Balearics f rom abroad.

While

i t i s not t he objective t o

s tudy the r ecently n ew evi-

d ence of a s ource of worked f lints f rom the author's newly d iscovered O ld S ettlement a t the

S ettlement Complex of F errandell-Oleza,

where

r emarkable amounts of B eaker pottery and radiocarbon analysis have d ated t he a bove

s ettlement l evels at c irca 2 000 b .c.,

s ome adjustment t o the

s tatements of poor l ithic e vidence will have t o be made.

g reat d eal of f lint t ool evidence i s beginning t o emerge

A

f rom this n ew

s ite d iscovered only r ecently, where the Balearics f irst quality f lint t ools a re beginning t o emerge. here '

F igure 8 0 a nd 8 1)

r esearch s ites These

A f ew of these pieces a re i llustrated

a long with t he f ew f lint e xamples t hat t he

i ncluded i n this t hesis have produced

F igure 8 2).

l atter pieces a re hardly worth d etailed d escription c onsisting

a s they d o of no more than

1 0 f lake t ools.

c overed pieces f rom the F errandell-Oleza E BP s plendid examples o f and knives)

s killed,

However the n ewly d isP retalayotic c ontexts a re

f inely made tabular f lint blades ( sickles

with pressure f laked s errated edges.

However,

the

s tudy

of t hese will have t o wait c ompletion of this thesis.

Apart f rom the t en Matge,

s mall f lint f lakes

f ound at Muleta a nd

the main s ource of s tone t ools f rom these

s ites a re water worn

beachstones brought onto the s ites f or purposes of grinding a nd

3 07

polishing grain and other everyday s taples.

These beachstone t ools

( F igure 8 4)

c an be f ound i n c onsiderable number a nd of the s ame general s hape i n a ll the r esearch s ites a long with s lab-like plaques of s ands tone used a s grinding pads f or grain or other i tems of f ood or e ven i n the preparation of animal s kins a s one building i n t he n ew Ferrand ell-Oleza s ite variety,

i ndicates.

The number o f t hese beachstones a nd t heir

currently available f or s tudy,

are c onsiderable,

a nd a pro-

gramme dedicated t o t heir s tudy a lone s hould be made.

H owever,

attempt i s carried out in this r esearch t o s tudy t hese

i nteresting

s tone a rtefacts, a re

other than t o present e xamples o f t hem.

n o

A lso a s t hey

f ound i n all of t he prehistoric chronological c ontexts a s well a s

being f ound in s till older h istorical ones, , they a re mentioned h ere only once i n order not t o s ion a nd descriptiön.

s well the t ext with a more detailed d iscus-

I t s hould a lso be briefly n oted here that there a re s everal other kinds of s tone t ools, i mplements,

a part f rom ordinary l imestone a nd f lint

which c onsist of e xtremely hard s tone t ools with abrasive

characteristics a s well a s s ome and s andstone.

s ofter s tone implements made of pumice

These a re a lso f ound in e ach of t he d ifferent chrono-

l ogical periods.

7 .

T he P retalayotic B one a nd S hell A rtefacts

The bone t ools f ound i n the

P retalayotic

P eriod d o n ot g reatly

d iffer throughout t he l ater periods and c onsist mainly oI s patulas, needles and bone awls made of a nimal bones, and bone handles attached t o metal points has a lready been d escribed.

s uch a s u lnas

F igure 7 8F-I ).

the c ase of the pyramdial a nd t riangular and oval u sually

' V'

a s

The other main use of bone i s i n t he

making of bone buttons or necklace units

parts,

( F igure 7 9A ),

( bronze and l ater i ron)

perforated i n the

These

i n

s haped pieces are

same manner a s their E uropean c ounter-

a ssociated with B eaker a nd other c ontexts.

They have been

f ound i n c onsiderable number a t Matge, ' and a s has been s uggested, t hey may have been manufactured t here a lso ,triangular, have been made

i n which t hey were P eriod; s ites

8 .

f ound,

There,

Based on the number a nd t he l evels

t hese bone buttons and necklace units have

e xtending i nto the Middle Bronze Age of t he Talayotic

( Table 9 shows the number found at Matge and other research

i n P retalayotic and Talayotic c ontexts).

T he F irst B alearic O pen -A ir S ettlements

The n ew i nformation a nd data offered below, of t he r esearch s ites

s tudied i n detail i n this t ext,

. here as they are d irectly , of the

E nclosure.

° F igure 7 8D ), along with a great many circular or disc,

c entre perforated n ecklace units. a l ong currency;

i n the Central

c entre perforated bone n ecklace units a ppear t o

P retalayotic

while n ot a part a re i ncluded

r elated t o t he i nterpretation and e vidence

P eriod, particularly the

3 08

E BP a nd LBP.

I t i s a lso

T ab le 1 9 MALLORCAN

. V "

a t

I

PERFORATED

3 7

7

,

,

BUTTONS

OLE ZA 4

FERRANDELL

I ,

i 1 02

BONE

TYPES

COVA DEN PEP RAVA I

MARRO IG

CON 1ETA DES MORTS

GALLAR D MUERTOS

MAT GE

WITH

1

I

g m m i l um ,

S ITES

I

PRI NC I PAL

25

5

3

2

, d

e

1 t

2

, G D P ig ir

1

1

r

. .

I l igr

1 20

4

1 9

65

e

1 5

.

4 7

, . V

C

D

1

2 ,

0

e

1

2 4

2

, 1 40

1

1 ,

, 0

1

5 _ -

. -

1

C M S

3 09

T able 2 0 .

B ronze A wl H oard F requencies

1 5

1 2

f o

1

8 7

7

5

5

, r, r

3 2 1 . /mm

5 2 0

F r i

2 2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4

5 0

5 5

6 0

6 5

7 0

7 5

8 0

8 5

p lus 1a t1 23 mm

A N o . 1 4

1 4

1 2

2

9

8

8 7

5 3

X mm 5 x Y 5

5

5 3

3

5 x 4 .5

5 x 4

4 .5 x 3

4 x 4

4 x 3 .5

3 10

4 3 .5 x x 3 3 .5

3 .5 x 3

3 .5 x 2 .5

3 x 3

3 x 2 .5

3 x 2

2 .5 x 2 .5

A

i 8

I

.• e t

ri l

' PO . -

NI P . 1 >o efr t r .r e 4 f‘ a 1 A le e d d i ke ° A e Pt e r e .• • _ , . , z f e L y myg e d ie t . g i a b .s e .

eel

.0 ; -1

e

r e l re d g al l

e* 4b

— m rs . n a l m en e d-, 4K W i s e1 m i " t . 4I , 2 , V A ,1

a

w r i t

0

. 1

1

pe , g m i p e r 4s eie i b ._ 4 4 % 1 . 4 e s p .

e . 8 ,

• it i• ‘PP • e rg >

wit s e

I

0

i l i e N,

Ca

Na Costa Mega l ith ic Chamber T o mb

1

1 1 1 S

f ig . 8 7

f i g . 8 8

FERRANDELL- OLEZA,

PRETALAYOT IC

SON FERRANDELL -OLEZA ,

OLD SETTLE MENT

OLD

SETTLE MENT

fi g . 89

f ig 9 2

f ig . 94

e specially pertinent t o s ubsequent Talayotic

the understanding a nd i nterpretation of t he

P eriod

c hapter,

where B ronze Age

s ettlements are

c onsidered a s part of t he n ecessary background r egarding t he a rtefact evidence of t he period.

I t i s a lso i ncluded h ere a s i t i s i n t his

that the f irst e vidence of B alearic open-air s ettlements o ccur;

E BP

s ettle-

ments which a re the parents of the Talayotic ones.

The question of open-air s ettlements prior t o t he Talayotic B ronze Age e stablishments i s a r elatively n ew d evelopment, a s has been briefly mentioned e arlier. E vidence of P retalayotic l iving s ites, up until very r ecently, s uch a s Muleta,

h as been confined t o c ave a nd r ock s helter s ites,

Matge a nd Muertos Gallard.

mation c omes f rom s everal yotic

c ontexts w ith

Talayotic

H ere

The n ew e vidence a nd i nfor-

The f irst a ppearance of P retala-

E BP wares a ssociated with t he

s ettlement c omes

B ordoy 1 973 ). or hut ',

s tations.

l owest l evels of a

R ossello B ordoy r ecognised what he c alled a ' cabana

the f loor of which produced a quantity o f

( F igures 6 9 a nd 7 0 ). 1 800 b .c.

+ 1 20 y rs.

Charcoal

E BP B eaker wares

f rom this c ontext has been dated a t

( CX,44).

building a ctivity c omes

The

s econd e vidence of P retalayotic

f rom Ca Na Costa on t he

s mall i sland of For-

( F ernandez , P lantalamor , M assanet a nd T opp 1 975),

mentera

( Rossello

f rom Ca Na Cotxera on Mallorca

where

E BP

B eaker s herds ) V igure l ithic t omb

6 3B :1) were f ound i n t he l ower l evel of a mega( Figure 8 7 ). The third i nstance i s t he Old S ettlement of

C omplex

the Ferrandell-Oleza S ettlement

( W aldren 1 981)

where r adio-

c arbon dating o f a n E BP l evel with a bundant B eaker pottery '

9 0 t o

9 3 )

has g iven a date of 2 000 b .c.

While the a bove

which on the basis of chronometric and

artefact e vidence a ppear t o be as o ld a s ( e.g.

I V iaures

( SFO-OS,47A ).

s ites d efinitely e stablish e arly open-air

s ettlements i n t he Balearics, land s ites

+ 6 5 yrs.

s ites i n the

s ome r ecently excavated Main-

E bro Valley i n n ortheastern S pain;

H arrison 1 981), only one, the Old S ettlement of t he F errandell-Oleza c omplex ( Waldren 1 981) gives us s ome i dea o f t he s ize and urban d evelopment of t he s till are

P retalayotic

s ettlements.

s till not f ully d etermined,

s hows

A lthough t his one s ite i s

i n i t preliminary s tages of e xcavation a nd i ts e ntire perimeters the Ferrandell-Oleza O ld S ettlement

i t t o have b een a village of c onsiderable s ize

( F igure 8 8 ) made

up of a walled i n c ompound with i ncorporated t ower-like

' F igure 8 9A) with other circular out buildings.

s tructures

There i s no d oubt of

the age of the F errandell-Oleza O ld S ettlement and the f act t hat i s

i s

only one part of t he larger Ferrandell-Oleza S ettlement Complex.

The FOS Complex i n i ts e ntirely i s what t he author c alls a ' linear'

s ettlement or village which has occupied d ifferent areas at

d ifferent c hronological periods.

That i s t o s ay,

i nstead o f being a

mono-settlements where occupation existed i n o ne area at a t ime d uring s everal chronological periods, n ature,

l eaving s tratigraphy of a vertical

one o ccupation d irectly over a f ormer one,

zones moved i n t ime and s pace, of a horizontal nature.

the o ccupation

l eaving a ' low profile'

s tratigraphy

I n the c ase of t he FOS Complex s pread hori-

z ontally i n a r oughly north t o

s outh

3 19

d irection f or n early

1 000 meters.

R ecent radiocarbon analyses o ccupied f rom a t l east 2 000 b .c.

s hows t hat t he O ld S ettlement was

t o c irca

1 400 b .c., when i t was c om-

pletely a bandoned a nd s ettlement a nd building was taken up s everal hundred meters t o the ment ),

s outh e ast.

r adiocarbon a nalyses

c onstructed c irca

I n t hat a rea

( the Younger S ettle-

s hows t hat t he f irst of s even Talayots was

1 000 b .c.

d uring t he Talayotic P eriods,

which i n t urn

was a bandoned c irca 5 50 b .c.

While t his n ew i nformation i s e ssential a s i t has g iven u s t he f irst c hronometric and a rtefact e vidence n ecessary i n b eing a ble t o d efinitely s tate t hat open-air s ites d id e xist i n t he P eriod

f indings)

w ell

i n advance of the T alayotic e stablishments of t he

B ronze a nd I ron Ages, s ame period,

at a t ime comparable t o Mainland s ites of t he

i t g ives u s only a r udimentary i dea of t he

ment a nd e xtent o f these t ime,

a s mentioned i n t he beginning,

l arge,

9 .

s ite's d evelop-

s ettlements through t he i slands.

and understanding of t he Talayotic i ts

P retalayotic

( a d evelopment which has only b een d emonstrated with t he a bove

At t he

s ame

i t f orms a basis f or o ur s tudy

P eriod a nd h ence t he Bronze Age with

c omplex open-air t owns and villages.

T he E vidence:

t he L ate B eaker P hase

I n Chapter I II,

s ection 3 .3,

( LW )

we have examined the c hronolo-

g ical duration of t he LBP a s being c irca 1 700 b .c. a phase l asting s ome

3 00 years.

Also,

t o c irca

1 400 b .c.;

the upper t ime perimeter of the

LBP has been mentioned a s being a t ransitional one,

which may n eed

adjustment a s n ew e vidence and i nformation c ome t o l ight.

Apart f rom

the n ew chronometric and s tratigraphic e vidence s upporting t he phase i n t he r esearch s ites, ( 1)

t he evidence d efining t he phase i s two t ypes:

typological e vidence a nd

( 2)

t echnological e vidence.

One of t he main typological a s well a s t echnological d iffe rences between the phases;

E RP and the LBP l ies i n t he pottery o f t he t wo

particularly i n t he d ifferences t hat a re f ound i n t he

and patterns o f the i ncised d esigns on t he pottery. have been n oted by s everal

1 973 ,

l ocal i nvestigators

( e .g . R ossello B ordoy

C antarellas C amps 1 972 a nd W aldren 1 970 ).

R ossello B ordoy and

Cantarellas Camps have proposed the n omenclaure of t ype ' B'

f or t he two kinds of

' incised wares'

' A'

a s they c all them

and t ype ( the u se

of t he t erm B eaker ware i s not c ompletely a ccepted l ocally). present a uthor prefers the chronological t erm of wares a s both types a re s equence i n t he Matge

a nd W aldren 1 973 ).

s tratigraphic

f ollows:

T he I ncision T echniques o f t he E BP W ares: the designs

a re f inely e tched o r ( rubbery)

a s

( W aldren 1 970 a nd R ossello B ordoy

The t echnological d ifferences i n the pottery i n-

c ision t echniques a re a s

( 1 )

The

E BP and LBP B eaker

f ound i n c hronometric a s well

s tratigraphy

i ncisions

These d ifferences

c lay,

i nscribed i ncisions made on d ry or s emi-dry

e xecuted with very f ine points

l ike t ool and both bone a s well f ound on B eaker c ontexts).

( certainly a n eedle-

a s bronze a wls or n eedles have been

The patterns a nd d esigns of the

3 20

E BP motifs

a re c omplicated a nd c over t he e ntire pot. s tab marks

( punctates)

A variation of kinds o f

i nto moist or s emi-moist

( rubbery c lay ),

c arried

out i n double r ows or opposed r ows or bands a re a lso i ncluded i n t his phase.

T he I ncision T echniques o f t he L BP W ares: the designs

( 2) a re be

i ncised i nto wet c lay, s een.

where t he dragging o f t he

t hus producing a b roader l ine. a re f ar

i ncising t ool can

The points of t he t ools u sed a lso s eems t o have been broader, The d esigns and patterns of t he motifs

l ess c omplicated a nd well executed.

I n t he L BP,

the i ncised motifs and patterns a re quite d iff-

( F igure 9 )

e rent i n f lavour

a nd a re u sually

e xecuted on pot f orms of

more i ndigenous c haracter t hat are unlike the

s hallow,

s tricted bowls of t he

a nother t echnological

d ifference

l ies

E BP .

At t he

s ame t ime,

s imple u nre-

i n t he c lay c omposition of the LBP wares,

both i ncised

a nd unincised.

At this point,

t he r eader s hould be g iven a f ew comments c on-

c erning t he pottery c lay composition o f the wares of t he d ifferent periods a s well a s s ome of t he phase.

The

s tudy of the c lays

f rom

which t he B alearic prehistoric pots have been made during the d iffe rent c hronological p eriods a nd phases has u ndergone c onsiderable r es earch by t he author.

P art of t his r esearch h as been done by t hin-

s ectioning a nd chemical a nalysis,

the r esults of which c an be f ound

( A ppendix 3 A).

i n the a ppendices

There,

the r eader can f ind d etailed

d escriptions of t he c lay c ompositions of t he pottery of a ny particular period o r phase.

I t w ill

s uffice

t o g ive a brief d escription o f s ome

o f the i nformation p ertinent t o t he d ifferences between t he

E BP a nd

LBP c lay c omposition and t o add t hat t here a re meaningful d ifferences i n the c omposition o f the c lays used i n t he B alearic prehistoric pott ery o f t he d ifferent chronological p eriods t o be a ble

t o u se a s i n-

t erpretive t ools.

I n thin s ectioning, e nces

i ndigenous wares, between, more

there can be s een c onsiderable d iffer-

i n the c lay f abrics of t he

E BP B eaker wares a nd t hose o f t he

E BP

d ifferences which a re n ot t hose one would e xpect

l et u s s ay,

s pecial wares.

a c oarse

' utilitarian'

For example,

the

c ommon ware a nd a f ine

E BP Beaker ware a ppear t o h ave

been prepared f rom a s pecial c lay a nd f ired i n a manner quite d ifferently f rom t hose o f t he common wares. the c ase, n one

the a pparent d ifferences

t he l ess appparent.

t he meaning of t his, s tandpoint,

While t his may well have been

i n c omposition a nd manufacture a re

I t i s n ot t he point a t present t o i nterpret

e ither f rom a s ocialist or c ommercial or a rtistic

but s imply a s a n i ndication of chronological i mportance

when c ompared with t he wares of t he LBP. s how t hat there i s, t he

c lays of t he

f or i nstance,

Thin s ectioning r esults

a d ifference i n t he c omposition of

i ndigenous wares o f t he

E BP a nd LBP and t hat d iff-

e rence can be e xtended t o both t he c ommon a s well a s f ine wares. s uch a c omparison,

t he

E BP B eaker wares

i n t echnique of c omposition and t echnology o f f iring; e ither

i ntrusive o r prepared i n

d istribution.

I n a ll events,

I n

s tand out a s very d ifferent a s i f t hey were

s pecial c entres o f manufacture a nd

t he LBP B eaker pottery i s quite d ifferent

3 21

than the t ion.

E BP,

not only,

For e xample,

i n i ncision t echniques but,

at s ome moment i n t he LBP,

a lso,

i n c omposi-

l imestone t emper which

was e specially prepared was added t o t he c lays o f both t he c ommon a nd f ine wares;

an i nclusion material not u sed a s a n a rtificial i ngredient

i n c lay preparation during t he f act,

E BP i n e ither c ommon or f ine wares.

t his c ompositional c haracteristic o f prepared l imestone

I n

t emper,

becomes particularly d iagnostic of t he pottery o f t he Talayotic

P eriod,

when l imestone t emper was u sed very e xtensively a nd n early e xclusively a s a n a rtificial

i ngredient i n t he c lays o f potters of t he t ime.

amples of c ompositional d ifferences a s s tudy i n t he

O ppendix 3 A ).

a ppendices '

H ere,

photographs d isplay t he

i nterior c omposition o f pottery s ections f rom a ll t he periods. ence t o t his and

E x-

s een i n t he t hin s ectioning R efer-

s tudy will b e made r egarding t he pottery of t he Talayotic

P ost Talayotic

P eriods,

where other d ramatic c hanges i n pottery

t echnology a lso has t aken place and can be d emonstrated t o have o ccurred at s pecific t imes;

therefore being of e ssential value i n the i nterpre-

t ation of t he period.

There a re a lso s ome a lterations t o t he

i ndigenous

the LBP and while t hey a re not r adical c hanges o f f orm, tween t he e nd of the Talayotic and t he author believes t imes;

P eriod,

5 0 ),

i n this case the Late B eaker

( F igure 6 2).

P hase.

There i s a t endency f or a n

s uch a s i n the Marroig c ave pottery

I n t he r ound bottom,

t here i s a f requency i ncrease

and t he

f orms become more r estricted. c orner-pointed f orms

' S'

This i s a lso t rue

( F igure 5 9 ).

( F igure

g lobular types

i n t he addition of

posite,

end-pointed f orm,

t he a lterations a re n oticeable

s igns of change t hat c an be t raced t o s pecific

i ncrease i n f lat bottomed f orms, a ssemblage

f orms i n

a s e xists be-

s haped l ips f or t he c om-

I n t he s imple unrestricted,

s uch a s t he Marroig s ample

( F igure 6 2:1),

t humb-nail

i ncisions h ave been made on t he r elief c ollar of t he pot a nd t here i s a g eneral t hinning of the walls o f the pots, which h ave been r emarked upon by other i nvestigators than j ust t he a uthor

( Pericot 1 972).

this cave,

r adiocarbon a nalysis has g iven a date o f

( SMRG,

while t he Matge date of

4 0)

pottery o f s imilar typology.

1 530 b .c.

1 520 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

I n

+ 8 0 yrs.

( ABSM,41)

dates

This g eneral r efinement and a lteration

o f f orm o ccurs t hroughout the pottery a ssemblages of other s ites bes ide t he r esearch s tations,

d espite a ny c hanges i n t he c omposition of

the c lays or the c omparatively c rude nature of t he i ncised d ecorations which a ppear on the LBP ware.

Whether or n ot these c hanges of t he

i n t he t reatment a nd execution

i ncised d esigns and the u se of c oarser t empers i n t he LBP B eaker

f ine wares are h ighly s ignificant - s uch a s s igns of a n i ncrease i n populations,

s upply a nd d emand - i s n ot i mmediately known;

these possibilities open up n ew a venues o f thought, the case.

I n a ll e vents,

a lthough

a nd i t may w ell b e

i t d oes s how c hange a nd h ence

i s c hronologi-

cally i nterpretative a s a s equence of characteristics which c an be r el ated t o t ime; yotic

P eriod,

i n t his i nstance,

the Late B eaker P hase of t he

a nd which preludes very o bvious f orm changes

tery a ssemblage of t he Talayotic

P eriod;

One other s ignificant t ime ance of t in bronze a nd t he g eneral

P retala-

i n t he pot-

t he t opic of the n ext c hapter.

i ndicator of t he

E BP i s

t he a ppear-

i ncrease a nd f requency o f i ts u se

3 22

and d istribution.

1 979) by Dr. lurgy,

R ecent a nalyses r esults of metal

c arried out on the point o f a bronze awl,

radiocarbon at c irca c ontexts,

1 700 b .c.

t o c irca

i ndicates an a pproximately

i mpurities, unincised

( W aldren

d ated by a ssociated

1 500 b .c.

f rom t he Matge L BP

1 0% t in bronze with l ow l evel o f

while analyses of t he encrustrations on t he i ncised a nd

E BP c rucible

products.

s amples

P . Northover of Oxford University's D epartment of M etal-

I n t his

s herds

s hows c opper oxides with c opper corrosion

s et of a nalyses,

f rom the Talayotic and

s everal other s amples of bronze

P ost Talayotic

P eriods have a lso been t ested

a nd they i ndicate d ifferent l evels o f t in c ontent,

which i n t urn c an

be i nterpreted a s t ime

c hange

preparation,

i ndicators o f t echnological

a s a ll t he c ontexts f rom which t he

been t ested by radiocarbon dating. s eries of metal a nalyses c an be

1 0 .

i n metal

s amples o riginate have

The r esults of this f irst Balearic

f ound i n t he a ppendices '

O ppendix 3 C ).

R emarks C oncerning t he B urial C ustoms o f t he P retalayotic P eriod

S ome preliminary r emarks c an be i ncluded h ere concerning t he burial c ustoms o bserved a t the r esearch s ites can be made f or the P ret alayotic

P eriod a s a whole.

I n t he r esearch s ites,

we have

s een t wo

f orms o f burial custom:

( 1 )

P rimary B urials: in the author's terms, where the bodies

have been buried,

s ingly or multiply i n e arth i n c aves o r t ombs, but

where the bodies have been put away i ntact, 1 and G rave

2 at Muertos Gallard,

s uch a s the c ases of Grave

a s well a s c ertain contexts of S on

P uig. ( 2)

S econdary B urials: in the author's terms, where the

bodies h ave been buried,

s ingly o r multiply i n e arth i n c aves or t ombs.

I n s uch burials the bodies have been put away,

o bviously, where t he

r emains h ave been e ither i ntentionally d ismembered or l eft outside or i nside f or animals and the e lements t o c lean o ff the f lesh and t hen placed i n t ombs o r buried i n c aves with s ome attention t o o rdering o f the bones,

s uch a s s tacking of the major bones a nd s kulls a s i n Mar-

roig a nd s ome context of S on Puig.

B ased on the e vidence of the r esearch s ites and e lsewhere i n other s tations w ith c omparable a rtefacts,

t hese t wo burial customs

O moros A moros / 955),Cova Cometa d els Morts ( Veny / 968),Corral d el P orc a nd S on Maiol ( R ossello B ordoy 1 967 a nd 1 973 ). H owever, it i s only a t e xist during t he P retalayotic

P eriod;

i n s ites l ike S a Canova

t he present that we can s uggest a chronological order t o t hese t wo r ather universal burial c ustoms on t he basis of radiocarbon dating i n the current r esearch s ites.

The e vidence s o f ar points t o the

dary burials a s being rather

l ate

P retalayotic.

primary burials w ith dates of c irca E BP B eaker c ontexts, date t o c irca

1 800 b .c.

while the LBP burials

1 500 b .c.

This

i s t o

s econ-

s ay t hat

belong t o t he proposed

( e.g.

the Marroig burials)

i s not t o s ay that at s ome point i n t he

L BP both practices may n ot have c oexisted, ever,

This

a s t hey probably d id.

once again, we will s ee t hat by t he Talayotic P eriod burial

3 23

H ow-

customs change r adically once again, yotic

P eriod.

Although,

a t the

and s till again i n t he

s ame t ime,

burial practices a lso occurred i n t hese periods. Talayotic

P eriod,

we will

P ost Tala-

we will s ee t hat c oexistent I n f act by t he

P ost

s ee t hat t here i s e vidence of s everal burial

practices being c arried o n a t the

s ame period;

a s i f s everal d ifferent

c ultural g roups o ccupied t he i sland i n t hat period o f t he I ron Age.

I n a ll e vents, burials of the on t he

current r esearch i ndicates t hat t he

P retalayotic

P eriod a re

l ater t han t he

1 4C data a nd pottery t ypology a s w ell a s

mation.

I n f act,

burials

t here

i s

s econdary

E BP ones,

s tratigraphic

based

i nform-

s ome e vidence i n t he LBP c ontexts o f t he

i n S on P uig that s ome of t he s econdary burials t here w ere

partly burned a nd may e ven s ignal the u shering i n o f c remation pract ises

that later appear quite c ommonly i n Talayotic burials a t Matge

and e lsewhere i n t he i slands.

I n summary,

the

s tudy of B alearic prehistoric burial c ustoms

i s both a varied a nd i nteresting s ubject which merits a more e xtensive s tudy than i s put f orth here.

1 1 .

R emarks o n t he I nterpretation o f t he P retalayotic P eriod

There i s n o P retalayotic

s hortage of evidence s upporting a nd d efining the

P eriod and i ts phases.

The project s o f ar i s a mply out-

l ined and a ccentuated by radiocarbon documentation a s well a s by a rtef act evidence and,

n eedless t o s ay,

quences and c onditions. metric

i nformation,

n early i deal

D espite t his

there a re

s tratigraphical s e-

f und of n ew materials a nd chrono-

s everal a reas i n the s equential order

where d efinition i s n ecessary.

While the a uthor i s well aware that h e

s ometimes presents a n over s implified e xplanation a nd i nterpretation, this i s mostly based on the a vailable evidence.

I t s hould be

s tressed

once again that a brupt l ines of d elineation d o not i n r eality e xist between any of t he periods or their phases, but c hanges o ccur by a s eries of events t hat a re not a lways a s c lear i n t hemselves a s one would wish.

At the

s ame t ime,

a s there a re h istorical ones change became rapid. e xample,

there probably are prehistoric moments

i n which events moved quickly a nd h ence

I n s hort,

there had t o be one moment when,

prior t o a moment when i t was unheard of. i onal moments, r apidly,

f or

metal t echnology was a vailable t o t he early i sland i nhabitants, t he a uthor believes,

I t i s during s uch t ransit-

that c hange c an t ake place very

a nd which c an be c hronologically e stimated with r easonable

a ccuracy.

S everal evidence

s uch prehistoric moments s eem t o be r eflected i n the

s o f ar presented;

l ineate the phases of t he

moments which t he a uthor has used t o d eP retalayotic

P eriod.

Also i t s eems c ertain

that s ome adjustment t o these will be . necessary a s more d etail and new i nformation a nd material becomes available;

s ome n ew detail a nd i nfor-

mation of which has a lready become a vailable i n t he l ast f ew years,

3 24

s ince t he beginning of this thesis; age of what a ppear t o be,

s o f ar,

e specially c oncerning the date and

the o ldest open-air s ettlements and

the advance o f metal t echnology i n the Balearics a s well a s B eaker culture i nvolvements,

a long with the e arlier f irst u se of pottery,

i mp-

ortation o f domesticated s pecies a nd f inal e xtinction of e ndemic ones. A ll of these a spects have been the pretation of the

P retalayotic

' milestones'

of the author's

P eriod a nd i ts phases;

2 600 years during three phases

i nter-

a period o f s ome

i n which these various e vents t ook place

and e stablished themselves a s part of the Balearic prehistoric r ecord. F rom the physical encountered,

s tratigraphies

a long w ith t heir materials,

s o f ar

i t would be very d ifficult t o wrongly i nterpret their

s equence a s they t ranspired within t he d ifferent r esearch s ites.

The

ample chronometric e vidence g ives u s a nother basis f or i nterpreting the period and i ts phases

i n broad t erms a nd undoubtedly data f rom n ew

s ites will again add t o t he f uture

a ssessments of t he period and i ts

subdivisions.

j ust s uch a d evelopment has a lready

As mentioned a bove,

o ccurred w ith the question of open-air s ettlements a nd Beaker i nvolvements f ound i n t hem;

a spects which concern t he later e stablishment of

the Bronze Age Talayotic s ettlement,

which may well have g rown out of

these early s ettlements.

I t i s then without f urther d elay or s peculation t hat we can pass on t o the question of t he Talayotic

P eriod a s

s een through t he

a rtefact and other physical evidence of the pertinent r esearch s ites. I t s hould be added h ere that t he physical evidence a s i t a ppears

i n

the r esearch s ites of Matge and Muertos Gallard will probably g ive a one s ided view t o the period which i n i ts entirety c onsists o f materials and s ite

l oci which a re t oo numerous f or s tudy here.

B esides,

the Talayotic e stablishments have undergone c onsiderable i nvestigaors a s well a s ( 1973)

G .

Lilliu

f oreign missions,

( 1962),

H .

Frey

( 1968)

s uch a G .

and M .

many o f

s tudy by l ocal

B ossello Bordoy

Fernandez-Miranda

( 1978).

That which i s presented i n this thesis c oncerning t he a rtefact evidence i s made up of artefacts a nd other physical material f rom t he

s ites u sed .

i n this work with a very l imited amount o f other c omparative l ocal items,

a nd these only where r eliable chronometric or s tratigraphic i n-

f ormation i s a vailable. r esearch s ites will be

At the

same t ime,

the a rtefacts u sed f rom the

l imited because o f the overwhelming quantity o f

a rtefact e vidence f rom the Talayotic contexts,

but a re chosen on the

basis of t heir being typical and well d ocumented by chronometric data.

3 25

CHAPTER

THE

V III

TALAYOT IC

PER IOD

Chapter VIII.

1 .

The Talayotic

Period

B ackground t o t he N ew E vidence

The d istinguishing f eatures of the Talayotic early middle a nd l ate phases,

P eriod and i ts

a long with their i ndividual chronologies,

have been briefly d iscussed i n Chapter

I II,

S ection 4 a nd,

once a gain,

s ome r ecapitulation a long w ith a mplification of the period's d efinition i s n ecessary.

The

s alient f eatures which d efine the T alayotic

phases f rom that of the preceding P retalayotic

P eriod a nd i ts

P eriod c onsist of a

s eries of o bservable changes.

( 1)

e vidence of changes i n s ettlement patterns f rom those of

the previous period, ( 2)

s uch a s i ncreasing population a nd e conomy e tc.

evidence of changes i n artefact t echnology a nd typology,

mainly i n pottery c omposition a nd s tyle, but a lso l ike bronze

i n other artefacts

i tems.

( 3)

e vidence of changes i n burial c ustoms

f rom primary a nd

s econdary earth burials t o c remation practices.

The manifestation of this e vidence artefact r esearch f rom t he principal ( a)

the

i s based on the

f ollowing

s ites a nd c onsisting of:

s tudy of a r emarkable c ollection of s everal hundred

vessels f rom LBA burials f rom Talayotic c ontexts a t Matge f or which s ome r eference a nd i nterpretation can b e offered and the a ge of which can be demonstrated a s belonging t o . the the Talayotic ( b) s els

P eriod,

c irca

1 400 b .c.

E arly a nd Middle B ronze Age of

t o c irca

1 000 b .c.;

the s tudy of a n equally exceptional c ollection of v es-

f rom a LBA k iln at Matge,

which has been r adiocarbon dated a t

c irca 8 60 b .c.; ( c) l ection

the s tudy of a n extensive pottery t hin-sectioning c ol-

( A ppendix 3 A ) of the E BA, MBA and LBA pottery f rom Matge a nd

other s tations. ( d )

t he s tudy of pottery markings f ound on t he

E BA and MBA

pots f rom the Matge burials and their possible meaning i n r egard t o population e stimates.

3 29

.

1 .1

A N ote o n t he M aterial I ncluded i n t he R esearch

The a uthor has

s et a c ertain l imitation on t he

s pace h e h as

a llotted t o t he d iscussion of t he Talayotic a rchitecture a s w ell a s t he

s ettlements t hemselves.

l ack of s pace t o d o f ull

H e has done t his f or a number of r easons:

j ustice t o t he s ubject;

the

f act t hat h is own

work has been f ar more c oncerned with c ave a nd r ock s helter s ites u p t o

1 976;

e rmo

a nd,

e specially b ecause a r ecently published thesis by Guill-

R ossello Bordoy

y otic Culture,

( 1973)

amply c overs t he many a spects of t he Tala-

e specially i ts megalithic a rchitecture,

and t heir a rchitectural typology a nd c hronology. agrees

with t he main part of

the

s ettlements

As t he present author

R ossello B ordoy's hypothesis,

c ertain r eservations over h is , conclusions on c hronology,

a part f rom

i t w ould hardly

c onsitute original work by the a uthor t o i nclude h ere a d etailed r eview of R ossello B ordoy's hypothesis,

a nd the

l ist s hould r efer d irectly t o h is work.

i nterested r eader o r s peciaI n addition,

there i s a s ub-

s tantial a mount of other l iterature d edicated t o d etailed d escription of t he i nnumerable Talayotic ( see B ibliography ). Talayotic

S o,

s tations both on Mallorca and Minorca

a ccordingly,

the r esearch c oncerning t he

P eriod i s particularly c oncerned with t he t wo principal r e-

s earch s ites of Matge and Muertos Gallard.

H owever,

i t would be mis-

l eading t o base an a ccount of the period s olely on t hese t wo s tations, s o a dditional material i s i ncluded f rom s ettlement s ites excavated by t he author h imself,

or c o-directed e xcavations

s uch a s Torralba d en

S alort on M inorca or t he r ecently d iscovered F errandell-Oleza S ettlem ent Complex,

or other

s ites where h e has worked a nd which a re a ll c on-

t emporary w ith the Talayotic and P ost Talayotic occupation at t he r es earch s ites.

At the

same t ime,

s ome d escriptive background,

t he type and c hronology of the various Talayotic buildings,

r egarding

i s n eces-

s ary i n order t o equip the r eader with the Talayotic nomenclature. Therefore,

t he f ollowing s ection i s provided t o familiarise t he r eader

with the a rchitectural f orms, a lthough no a ttempt i s made t o d escribe a ll the d ifferent variations that e xist with e ach of t he basic f orms.

1 .2

A B rief D escription a nd G eneral C hronology o f t he T alayotic B uildings

There a re three principal t ypes of buildings i n t he Talayotic architectural a ssemblage,

a nd l ike other characteristic

t he period s uch a s burial customs,

f eatures o f

a rtefact typology etc.,

they have

a c ertain d egree of c hronological s ignificance a nd f ollow a d iscernable pattern t hrough t ime i n their d evelopment.

The g enerally a ccepted

chronological order of the three d ifference s tructures

( 1 )

N avetas .

i s a s f ollows:

This type of megalithic chamber tomb,

s hape r esembles an o verturned boat,

t inctive o f Talayotic a rchitectural f orms. c lass the navetas a s chamber t ombs

whose

i s perhaps one of the most d isMost e xisting r eferences

( C hilde 1 957 , D aniel 1 962 a nd B ray

a nd T rump 1 970 ), but this is only one function that this form of building s erved i n prehistory.

They a re u sually a ccredited t o t he

i sland of M inorca where t he best e xamples a re i ndeed known, the

but over

l ast d ecade or s o we have d iscovered e xamples on t he i sland o f

3 30

Naveta - P lan & P rof il e

Sect ions

fi g . 9 5

A Round T a layot - P lan & P rofile Sections

f ig . 9 6

MAL LORCA —MI NORCA

1 8.0 0 1 10 11 1 1 i m`mar ie w • / " ‘

1 ,\ ,. , w . , . . •A _ A 7 . ‘e i •• 4 1

e

x v . en . : , , e ,o , • , e . e

»

11 . 1 ‘

. § ‘ ,. 1 % ,‘ ,g

. e . •

s

. 4A a—

•

t

.

P ; \ t b% '

i .‘

, , . , i t &

: ‘

• • . j ‘N

Z s ei

\

• 1 1 1 li

• ß

• 0 ,•

ems & . e,, , • mW.04 Ä\ \ ` . . . . .%

› e Z

‘3 , • .t‘e1oN t

•• ' / N 0 % W g\. ,m d

I i i i t i ora i l , r» Ro m 1

A

& 4 / 1

k

ee1 4. / ; ' `• ` '. • % . \U

r N

.&

N

.

N

WA\ ‘ .0

,

\4 \

. ‘

I ,

%

\ Ne ••

A Square

• • •

•• \%.

Talayot- Plan & P rof ile Sections

fi g . 97

A Taula

P lan

& P rof i le S ections

Mallorca a s well.

I t was a t f irst c oncluded that whereas t hey were

u sed f or burial on M inorca,

on Mallorca they were dwellings f or l iving;

we now know that not only d o they exist on both i slands but that on each they were u sed both f or l iving and burial. whereas the c lassical

number of variations: with two f loors, bodies, t he

t o r id t hem of f lesh,

s tructure

a fter which process t hey were buried i n

( secondary burials),

( usually u sed f or l iving )

U -shaped,

t he f orm has a

the upper of which was u sed a s a d rying s hed f or t he

l ower chamber

naveta

Also,

f orm i s a s ingle

there a lso e xists t he multiple

i n which two or more of t he t ypical

e longated f orms ) ( F igure

9 2) have been j oined s ide by s ide

t o f orm a W -shaped p lan or, where t hree o r more a re i nvolved, o f c onjoined W -shaped p lans.

a s eries

They have until r ecently been c onsidered

the o ldest f orm o f Balearic a rchitecture,

a part f rom t he D olmens and

r ock cut t ombs themselves.

T alayots .

( 2)

mon o f the Talayotic s hape.

There are

o f which s ome a ge

These

t ower-like s tructures a re t he most c om-

s tructures a s well a s being very variable i n

s quare,

r ound,

oval a nd s tepped Talayots,

the s hape

i nvestigators believe t o be a s ign of their chronological

C arradell 1 967 a nd B ordoy 1 973); the round Talayot being the

o ldest,

the

s quare Talayot the next o ldest a nd the

being t he youngest.

h ave r anged f rom burial c hambers

( for which there i s no proof)

popular c oncept t hat they were watchtowers, no proof. purposes,

t hey could have housed only a f ew people i n t he s mall

that the s tructure,

t egral f eatures a nd r eligious

i n the

I t i s t he author's hypo-

a s Colominas pointed out i n

s ettlements which must have

f unction,

1 916,

a re i n-

s erved s ome s ocial

s uch a s a meeting place o f e lders o r t ribe

The d istribution o f these

i s r emarkably extensive,

d oy 1 967 )

t o the

i s a lso

I t has been s uggested t hat they were u sed f or d efensive

f ortifications a s

h eads.

f or which t here

but they c ould not have been a very practical proportion a s

chamber i n t he middle o f t hese s tructures. t hesis

s tepped Talayot

Suggestions a s t o the purpose o f t hese buildings

s tructures t hroughout both i slands

a s an i nventory of them s hows ) e ossello B or-

( a lso s ee F igures 9 6 ,

9 9 a nd 1 00).

Their s ize varies f rom

1 2 meters a cross i n the s maller ones t o 2 0 meters a cross i n the l arge o nes a nd they s how i ncredible architectural s kill

i n t he

s tone blocks used a nd t he perfection with which t he The roofs

i n most c ases were

or s ometimes more

s ize o f t he

s tones were cut.

s upported by a n i mmense c entre column

t han one c olumn l ike that of the Navetas,

l atter c an be roofed by c orbelling a lone a s E s Tudons on Minorca '

( F igure 9 2).

though the

i n t he case o f the Naveta

Their ' chronological a ge i s s till

a

matter of r elative a ssessment, but i ndications a re that s ome possibly can be dated at c irca

1 400 b .c.

and younger ones a s i ndicated i n t he

Younger S ettlement of the Ferrandell-Oleza S ettlement Complex a s l ate a s * 1,

1 000 b .c.,

a s

s hown by r adiocarbon analysis at that s ite i n Talayot

a s well a s by r elated a rtefact typology. ( 3)

T aulas .

These i mpressive

of the Talayotic culture, r emains

s anctuaries

f ound i n e xcavations of the Taula s anctuaries t hat a re i nter-

pretable a s word f or

s tructures a re the

a f act attested t o by t he a bundant a nimal

s acrifices a nd offerings made to s ome diety.

' table'

Taula i s the

i n Mallorcan a nd the s ites gets their name

f rom t he

g iant centre pillar made up of a beautifully s haped upright s lab o f s tone with a c apstone equally well cut a nd s haped ' a re

s urrounded by a s eries o f capstone pillars

a rrangement,

i n t urn s urrounded by the

3 35

( F igure 9 8); these

s et i n a horse s hoe

s tone walls of t he s anctuary,

which was a lso e horsesha a explain how t he

s haped plan. There are

s tructure was r oofed over,

s everal t heories t o

t he most popular view being

that the Taula pillar s tone was t he main s upport with t he g radual c orbelled roof of great f lat s labs, of t his corbelling.

a lthough t here i s n o e xisting e vidence

There are a lso various a ssessments a s t o t he age

of the Taula s anctuaries.

Like the other monuments,

t hey probably

have been built a t d ifferent t imes a nd therefore s pread over s everal hundred years. are

There

l ater than the

i s however s ome

i ndication t hat these

c onstruction of t he

s anctuaries

s tructures a lready mentioned,

and they may w ell be the youngest of t he a rchitectural a ssemblage a s well a s the most s ophisticated, excavations o f t hese

s ites

s tarting a t c irca 8 00 b .c.

I n f act,

( the Taula of T orralba d en S alort on Minorca:

F ernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 979 i s one o f them )

h as produced an

a ssociated pottery which i s n o , o lder t han the 5 th c entury B .C. r eader s hould a lso note that t he T aula s anctuaries a re

Minorca and n o e vidence of them appears on Mallorca a t a ll. 1 4C a nalysis r esults a t Torralba d en S alort s upports this 8 00 b .c.

( circulos),

s everal other f orms of c onstruction s uch a s s quare arrangements

well a s variations of a ll the principal

( cuadrados) f orms.

d oy 1 973)

( F igures 9 9 a nd 1 00 )

W e c an a sssume

building must have

which a lso a ccounts f or t he variations w ithin t he

typological a ssemblage.

At the

s ame t ime,

i t i s a lmost c ertain that

r enovations must have changed many o f the buildings' a t opic d iscussed s hortly.

To d ate,

H owever,

a lthough currently there are

( C hapter .I II , S ection 4 .4 ,

1 7 r adiocarbon dates available

f or Talayotic horizons

original f eatures,

very l ittle a bsolute dating of

the buildings t hemselves has been d one,

4 )

very f ew of t he d ates,

f actor i s very d isappointing,

t hat are a vailable f or the Talayotic a nd this

a lthough a f airly a ccurate a ssessment

of the g eneral chronology of the Talayotic

s ettlements can be made.

a l ot more dates a re urgently ' n eeded i f the Talayotic

i s t o be properly understood. be d iscussed s hortly,

T able

i n e ither open-air s ites, c aves or s helters.

P eriod c an be u sed a ctually t o date the buildings themselves,

However,

f rom

( Rossello B or-

that the i ndividual types of building

i nclude e xamples at d ifferent s tages of c ompletion; been c ontinuous,

s tone

a nd a lignments a s

the prodigious number of s ites on Mallorca and Minorca

a bout

R ecent

l ater t han

construction date.

There a re c ircles

The

f ound only on

The available

P eriod

1 4C r eadings w ill a lso

but on a preliminary c omment here i t c an be

s tated that no d ate r elated d irectly t o the c onstruction of Talayotic s ettlements or t heir buildings predates n ot t o i nclude

P retalayotic

1 400 b .c.

s ettlements,

Of c ourse,

t his

i s

where we have very r ecent '

i nformation f rom the Ferrandell-Oleza S ettlement Complex which d ates a c ontext i n a P retalayotic village i n the s ite's O ld S ettlement a t c irca 2 000 b .c.

The r easons

f or t he l ack of i nformation t o d ate i s

probably due t o a number of f actors,

among them being;

the c ontinual

building a ctivities within the s ettlements during t heir occupation a s well a s agricultural a ctivities

i n a ncient and modern t imes.

poor t op-soil i tself i s a lso r esponsible s tratigraphical

The

f or the poor preservation o f

s equences a nd i t has a lso b een d emonstrated r ecently

a t the Ferrandell-Oleza O ld S ettlement s ite that the

P retalayotic

s ettlements a nd early Talayotic ones probably s uffered badly f rom a c ombination of a ll of these a rchaeologists'

f actors.

choice of e xcavational

One other f actor may be the s ites i n the

s ettlements a s i t

has been a n ormal practice t o s elect the best preserved buildings f or

3 36

archaeological

s urvey;

s uch well preserved s ites may n ot be the o ldest,

nor do they n ecessarily c ontain very old materials,

a s they have been

c leaned out by t he ancient o ccupants periodically.

I n s hort,

s uch

buildings u sually only c ontain the s tory of their l ast o ccupancy or moment of a bandonment.

1 .3

S ome o f t he P roblems R egarding t he T alayotic S ettlements

There a re two broad chronological of the Talayotic

B ordoy 1 973 ); walls

( 1)

s urrounding t hem a nd

( 2)

S es

P aisses

( Arta )

S a Canova d e Morrel

S on O liver

( Felanitx),

would be Torralba d en S alort Gaumes

f ortified s ites,_ Capocorp

and S 'Illot ( Arta),

( Manacor)

a nd a s unfort-

S on F errandell-Oleza

( Vallde-

while c omparative e xamples on Minorca

( unfortified )

and S on Catlar or T orre d en

i n the r egions of Alayor and Ciudadella

As pointed out by G .

s uch a s

Typical examples of these Talayotic

s ettlements on Mallorca would i nclude a s

mosa ),

( Rossello

a phase when the s ettlements w ere

often by very c omplex s ystems of walls,

those of S on Catlar on M inorca.

i fied s ites,

i n the c onstruction

i nvestigators

a phase when the s ettlements w ere w ithout d efensive

s trongly f ortified,

( Lluchmayor),

s tages

s ettlements a ccording t o s ome

R ossello B ordoy

( strongly f ortified ).

( 1973),

there have been

many excavations on both i slands whose main objectives have been s peci fic buildings i n the

s ettlements, but no f ull

s ettlement p er s e has been attempted to date. r ecently s ubmitted a proposal

( now a ccepted )

s cale e xcavation of a H owever,

the author has

which would r ectify this

s hortcoming by c onducting an e xcavational programme,

( started i n

i n the B ronze Age Talayotic Complex of Ferrandell-Oleza, will continue f or

1 979)

and e ich

1 0 y ears throughout the a pproximate 8 0,000m

area

c ontaining 7 r ecorded Talayots.

Meanwhile, walls

whether or n ot the presence or a bsence of f ortified

i s a valid i ndication of age f or these

s ettlements o s mpt c ertain.

I t i s c ertain however that a g reat d eal of t rade between t he Talayotic population and c lassical t raders t ook place f rom about 8 00 b .c. R oman t imes.

of this period f ound on e very Talayotic l ocated i n the h igh Northern S ierras, R egardless of this g oods, b .c.

' saturation'

n one of these t rade E qually,

until

This f act i s attested t o by the a bundant c lassical wares

there

s ettlements w ere

s ettlement s ite,

of the

s ettlements by i mported t rade

i tems appear i n c ontexts e arlier than 4 00

i s no e vidence of the d ate i n which the walled

f ortified.

I t i s however the author's opinion that

this t rade with t he Talayotic populace f rom about 8 00 b .c. i nitially peaceful,

e ven those

s uch a s S on F errandell-Oleza.

t o 2 00 b .c.

may have d eveloped i nto a threat of i nvasion a nd

c onquest by the t rading nations,

the counter-measures t o which were

the c onstruction o f d efensive walls,

a t s ettlements which until then

were unfortified.

One n eed merely c onsult a d istribution map of Talayotic s ettlement s ites

( F igures 9 9 a nd 1 00), either fortified or unfortified,

3 37

o n Mallorca a nd Minorca, c ommunities a re

t o become aware of t he extent to which these

s pread over the two i slands.

ture i s v ery s imilar on both i slands, f ortunately,

While the Talayotic c ul-

t here a re

s ome differences.

U n-

t he d ifferences are mainly d ue t o the various g eographical

a nd geological c onditions i n each of the i slands a s well a s t o i ndividual d evelopments within the s ocieties dwelling i n t he t hemselves.

l ies i n t he g eneral

s tate of preservation of the

g enerally s aid t hat the

s ites.

s erved than t hose on Mallorca.

This

i s due t o s everal c auses,

s ubsequent

t he c onstruction of the t erraces i n Moorish t imes,

which the prehistoric

s ettlements a nd monuments offered a vailable

s ources which c ould be u sed f or building t he t erraces). the Minorcan t op-soil t op-soil

the

s ubject of a g reat d eal more

a gricultural a ctivity a nd building a ctivities over t he ( e.g.

I t c an b e

s ettlements on M inorca a re much better pre-

main one being that Mallorca has been the millennia

s ettlements

One of t he most obvious d ifferences between the i slands

f or s tone

Furthermore,

i s much poorer than t hat of Mallorc ,

where r ich

f rom t he mountain washes d own onto t he p lains a nd valleys,

t hus e ncouraging a gricultural a ctivity; c eptionally s hallow,

S ome

t he M inorcan t op-soil i s e x-

often only a f oot or two thick.

s uggestion has been made that the t echnological s kills

s hown i n t he workmanship of the

s tone i n t he various buildings might

be s usceptible t o chronological

i nterpretation.

this

s uggestion i s f or the most part unreliable,

I n t he author's mind, a s the g eological

f actors have a d irect bearing on the c haracter of t he i n t he buildings d ing-planes

l imestone u sed

i n that s ome g eographic a reas have more r egular bed-

i n t he

l imestone, making i t e asier t o c ut and giving what

may be only a n a ppearance of s uperior s kill. noted that t he l imestone

( mainly Jurassic)

F or i nstance,

i t c an be

of t he mountainous a reas

i s not e asily c ut and the r esults a re n ecessarily i rregular, varying s ized pieces, which,

when they are a ssembled g ive a more primitive

l ook t o the buildings. Talayots.

An e xample of this i s t he S on Ferrandell-Oleza

On the other hand,

l imestone a nd s andstone of the plains

can be r emoved f rom the mass a long the bedding-planes which a re e ven, producing

s killed a ppearing

s trikingly r egular.

H owever,

pieces that when a ssembled c an l ook this

i s n ot t o mean that there i s n o

chronological d ifferences a t a ll t o be d etected i n the manship i n the

s kill and work-

l imestone of the buildings, but i t i s n ot n ecessarily

a c riterion of a ge of the

s tructures.

As pointed out earlier,

the g enerally poor t op-soil c onditions

i n a nd a round the s ettlement s ites both i n Mallorca a nd M inorca c reate problems

i n t he dating of s tratigraphical c ontexts a s well a s the

i nterpretation of the e ver,

s equence of events having o ccurred i n t hem.

t he work d one s o

f ar has a lso been r ewarding,

H ow-

and a s i n a ll ex-

c avation chance f actors i n the preservation o f materials have a g reat bearing on r esults.

At the s ame t ime,

the a uthor has been s poiled by

d eep s tratigraphies with their unambiguous vertical d istribution of the

f inds;

whereas i n the

s ettlements

a nd the e viddnce they c ontain, e xcavational area a nd must be cally.

s ites t he a rchaeological l evels,

a re f ound thinly d istributed over the s tudied a s much h orizontally a s v erti-

S o f ar a s the horizontal d istribution i s c oncerned,

i t c an be

s aid that i n t he Balearics the plough s hare has been the a rchaeolog ist's g reatest enemy i n the open-air

3 38

s ites.

H owever,

by careful ex-

c avation a nd s election of

s amples

from intact Talayotic

l evels

that

have e scaped r edistribution by the plough i n modern and early histori cal t imes,

it has been possible t o assemble

radiocarbon dates y otic

P eriod,

f or the Talayotic

which i s the

i nventory of these

subject of the

a bsolute dates

are a lso

cuss

1 5

t o

the

f or the Talayotic and

l isted i n Chapter

l isted t ogether

IV and V .

available dates f or the Talayotic

s ites

1 .4

r elevant

i n the

However before we d isP eriod,

i t i s necessary

t o

r e-

this period.

T he D istribution o f t he R esearch S ites a nd O ther R eference S ites: M allorca a nd M inorca

Generally, s ettlements

one might expect that,

s ites

their contents, the

The

P ost Talayotic

s ay s omething c oncerning the geographical d istribution of the

s earch

of

P ost Tala-

( L i ppendix 1 A) but for convenience s eparate t ables

appendices

of dates

s eries of

f or t he

s ubsequent chapter.

occupations of both Mallorca and Minorca a re g eneral

a f ormidable

P eriod and a lso

the

available

f ar

t o emerge,

grammes of excavation s hould r emember that a nd Minorca.

r elatively easy.

t oo many s ites

g eneral picture

and f ar t oo

the

the observers

i n the Fi gures

i n

i nterpreting

i s by no means

f ew a rchaeologists

s o.

f or any

and we can only operate by l ong t erm proimportant s ites.

The reader

s ettlement problem encompasses both Mallorca

E ach of these

mains on many points,

i nvolved

This

i n a f ew of the more i slands has

t he chronology of the open-air

and Minorca

because of t he great number

i nvestigation and the r ichness of

s olution of the problems

s ettlements would be

There are

f or

i ts own problems

s ettlements.

there are

certain a spects One of these

s till

r e-

that may a lready s trike

g eographic distribution of the

9 9 a nd 1 00 ).

c oncerning

Although d oubt

s ites on Mallorca

a spects

i s

that the

s ettlements on Mallorca are widely spread out over the whole of the i sland, i n

the

while on Minorca they are d ensely c oncentrated a lmost entirely s outh half of the

i sland.

Mallorca g enerally enjoys valleys, Lions

but on Minorca,

The

f ertile

r easons

s oils

in i ts plains and mountainous

s evere north winds blow i n off the Gulf of

and even villages and t owns of t oday a re mainly l ocated away

the northern c oasts. s ettlements

shows

As

a r esult,

the prehistoric

f rom

the distribution of the Minorcan towns and villages

c losely grouped

t ogether and a very c lose n etwork of c ommunities existed '

P i ‚gure 9 9;

the r eader

i ncluded

here do not

s hould bear

i n mind that the distribution maps

i nclude every

f ind-spot of the Talayotic material,

but only

the main s ettlement s ites).

The Talayotic the

f ortified t owns

are

the better preserved of

s ites of this period both on Mallorca and Minorca.

l ieves ments

the

r eason f or this

to be occupied,

t ended t o protect them

apart f rom

i s

fact that the wall

s ubsequent agricultural

probably s ome have n ot e scaped destruction. f rom the

number of There

i s

s ettle-

the

a lthough

i mpression

s ettlements on Minorca that the prehistoric popul-

ation may have been even greater than the t oday.

l atest

s ystems have

a ctivity,

One gets

a ll

The author be-

that they are probably the

f rom the

a l ocal

s aying that one

5 0,000

3 39

i nhabitants

cannot walk

d irection on Minorca without c oming across

,

f or this are g eographical:

i t has

5 00 meters

s ome prehistoric

i n any

s tructure.

•

MA LLORCA

• 11 ' 4

v"I l z • • • < 1 '4

st Talayotic Ieriod. In this way, the conclusions pertinent to each period and phase can be viewed separately. However before doing this, it is necessary to make some remarks regarding the conclusions as a whole. The insularity of the Balearic Islands has no doubt been the controlling factor in the dissemination and absorption of the life forms and cultural influences arriving on them- from abroad; a mechanism or process of sorts that could take place quite rapidly. At the same time, this insular mechanism or process is seen by the author as being stimulated, in the case of the Balearics, by a succession of major arrivals and series of events which occurred at various intervals throughout the prehistory of the islands. Each of the arrivals in the sequence differed somewhat from the first accidental landings in that the people concerned after the initial arrivals, brought with them important new technological or cultural contributions to be added to the cumulative indigenous heritage; contributions such as domesticated animals, c·eramic technology, metal working and even architectural skills. For the sake of metaphor and not at all an inappropriate one, one might refer to these arrivals as 'waves' reaching the shores of the Balearics from the Mainland. The sequence of these 'waves' can be outlined as follows: (1) The First Wave, circa 5000 b.c. or earlier, marks the start of our Early Settlement Period. A small number of individuals (perhaps fishermen) arrived probably by accident, carrying very little equipment other than what would have been considered necessary for an off-shore fishing expedition by raft or boat, except that they seemed to have possessed some knowledge of farming and animal managements. They may also have found that hunting Myotragus was an easy" matter, and yielded a sufficient meat supply and clohting to support their number at first, though not necessarily sufficient as their population grew. It is possible that the lack of ceramic technology may have been due to this arrival of the islands' first settlers having taken place much earlier than our present working date of 5000 b.c.; if so, what we see at Matge, where the earliest evidence is found, is a late phase in these first arrivals, one which still maintained an aceramic status. (2) The Second Wave, circa 3000 b.c. This is the NECP of the Pretalayotic Period. The people were settlers who arrived having a knowledge of animal husbandry and ceramic technology, and who came bringing stock animals with them. ·This second arrival suggests higher navigational skills, and a firm intention on the part of the settlers to discover and occupy new land, whether they know of the Balearic Islands specifically or not.

( 3) t o the

T he T hird W ave,

c irca 2 000 b .c.

S ettlers and t raders c ame

i slands bearing with them n ewer a nd m ore advanced pottery t ech-

nology,

advanced navigational s kills,

c ommercial c onnections,

a know-

l edge of metal working and even a rchitectural s kills which w ere t o bring the t ers.

i ndigenous earlier s ettlers out o f t he caves a nd r ock s hel-

This t hird wave i s the s ubject of t he E BP of the Pretalayotic.

Dwelling s eem t o have been mainly i n c aves a nd s helters, i s

though t here

s trong r ecent i nformation and data t hat i ndicates t hat i t was

a round this t ime that the f irst open-air s ettlements began.

One of

the main motives of t his wave may have been t he prospection o f metal s ources,

s uggested by the

originates

( 4) t rade,

f act t hat s o f ar most of t he B eaker evidence

i n t he mountain r egions.

T he F ourth W ave,

c irca

1 700 b .c.

C ommercial c ontacts a nd

navigation and c ommunication with t he mainland a reas

mark this phase until

1 400 b .c.

culation of bronze had i ncreased c onsiderably over t he phase of the EBP,

i ntroductory

a nd while i t does a ppear t o be a s ingle

i nfluence a s i n the e arlier arrivals,

s urge o f n ew

t here a ppears t o be a much

s teadier f low of c ontact with t he mainland, with the Argaric culture.

s eems t o

I t s eems t o b e a t ime when t he c ir-

e specially t oward

Such minor waves o f i nfluence

t inue throughout the l ocal Talayotic Bronze Age,

1 400 b .c.

s eem t o c on-

a lthough l ess d istinc-

t ive than preceding ones. ( 5)

T he F ifth W ave,

c irca

1 000 b .c.

c reased a ctivity during this phase t oward

There a ppears t o be

c onstruction

yotic open-air s ettlements which up t o this t ime unfortified.

The

i n-

of t he Tala-

s eem t o have been

f ortification of t he s ettlements b eing perhaps

s timu-

l ated by l ater c ontacts with t he c lassical w orld a fter 8 00 b .c.

Hall

s tatt i nvluenc s a ppear i n the bronze a rtefacts of t his phase. ( 6)

T he S ixth W ave,

i ntroduced by this t ime.

c irca 8 00 b .c.

The f irst i ron has b een

Hallstattt C and D i nfluences can b e r ecog-

n ised i n t he artefacts of this phase we w ell a s f irst c lassical trade ward 4 00 b .c.,

i tems

l ater La Tene.

The

s uch a s wheel t urned pottery appears t o-

probably due t o c ontact with I biza which was f ounded

a s a Carthaginian c olony i n 6 54 B .C.

I nfluences a nd changes c ontinue

at i ncreasing i ntervals until the Roman C olonisation.

These

i nfluences

eventually brought a bout the c limax a nd s eeds of d ecline a nd u ltimate c ollapse of t he Talayotic culture; i n t he

i ndigenous P ost Talayotic

a lthough evidence s hows t hat l ife

s ettlements w ent on until t he Visi-

g othic a rrivals.

T he P resettlements P eriod :

2 .

With t he evidence a s part of t his posit

i s

C onclusions

i t s tands

l ikely t o c over approximately

s pan of the a nimal That the

1 00,000 y ears,

while t he

f ull

f ossil r ecord t hat we have c onsidered a pproaches

a n e stimated 5 t o 6 million years(i.e. c ene).

i t c an b e c oncluded t hat the

l ong phase which c an be d ocumented f rom the Muleta d e-

l ocal

t he l ate Pontian of t he P lio-

i sland e cology underwent g reater change than

we c an d emonstrate f rom the f aunal or f loral evidence must be r egarded a s a c ertainty.

s o f ar a vailable

The evolutionary c hanges w e can

4 56

M yotragus are

observe through t ime within the g enus ( ii )

environmental

c ensus a nd c hange,

( iii )

( i)

i nsularity,

l imitations a lso i n t he t opographic and e cological

s tresses r esulting f rom s uch things a s c limatic

which called f or r elatively r apid adaptations a nd s peciali-

s ation i n

i ts evolution.

Thanks t o t he e xistence of the

f ield s equences of s ome of the r esearch s ites, t o observe

s uch evolutionary changes

l ong s trati-

we have the opportunity

i n t he order i n which t hey t ook

p lace.

At the near e nd of the what b etter f ocus,

l ong t ime

s cale we can a chieve s ome-

e specially a s r egards our picture of

M . b alearicus .

With t he data currently available f rom Muleta,

we have been a ble t o

a ffirm that t he animal's

l ife was,

a h ealthy one;

adapted very well to

s urroundings,

i ts

i n g eneral,

l imited a s they were,

t hat i t i t was

a ble t o s urvive and i ndeed t o f lourish until the e nd of the P res ettlement P eriod,

that i s t o

t han f ormerly a ssumed.

s ay t ens of thousands o f years

I n f act,

s ection a s well a s the f ollowing ones

( the E arly S ettlement P eriod

a nd the Pretalayotic P eriod r espectively ), c irca 5 000 b .c.

l ater

a s will be d emonstrated i n the n ext

a t both Muleta a nd,

the a nimal

s urvived t o

a s has b een r ecently e stablished

a t Matge,

until approximately 2 200 b .c.

emerging

pattern of the a nimal's l ife

We a ttain f rom Muleta a n s tyle a nd behaviour a s w ell a s

d etailed i nformation of an a natomical nature r elating, t o l ocomotion or

s exual dimorphism

i ons t hat i t had

' built-in'

( Appendix 1 E ).

f or e xample,

There a re

s uggest-

psychological a nd behavioural patterns

t hat would have helped t o r egulate proliferation i n the s pecies, m ost s triking evidence c oming f rom a natomical t o c ompetitive behaviour.

We can s uggest i ts t ype of f ood,

precise t erms of plant s pecies, o f i ts f are,

t he

s pecialisation r elated i f n ot i n

t hen a t l east a s r egards the c haracter

a nd we c an g ive a g eneral picture o f i ts hard e xistence

i n a periglacial z one with s lightly c older periods during the P leist ocene

( Appendix 1 A, s ection 1 .6).

During the Holocene when e colo-

g ical c onditions undoubtedly changed,

c irca 7 000 b .c.

a s t estified i n

t he f loral c hanges that o ccur i n the f irst palynological a nalyses

( Appendix 1 C ),

c onditions which t he a uthor believes t o be s imilar t o

t hose of t oday,

and a fter man had i ntroduced b oth n ew plants a nd d om-

e sticated a nimals, l ised c reature. d id not

t he

This

M yotragushaddeveloped into a highly speciaM . b alearicus, predictably,

s pecialisation i n

f it i t to c ope with the a rrival of a major predator i n t he

s hape o f man,

or with the competition offered by i mported d omesticated

s pecies o f a nimal.

A s r egards d irect and d efinitive e cological evidence,

a t t his

s tage of the r esearch we can make only the most preliminary o f r eports,

s o f ar a s the Presettlement

i s c oncerned,

though a s t he d eeper

l evels of the d eposit are explored s ystematically and s amples o f the d eposits a re taken a s w ell a s a c loser s tudy o f the materials made, much more data and i nformation i s emerging. l iminary r esults

f rom palynological

At present we have pre-

a nalyses land 4 ,

t o a d ated horizon w ith the Muleta s tratigraphy,

which a re r elated

c irca

1 4,000 B .P.;

t hey s uggest a l andscape with s ome pine but d ominated by n on-aboreal plants,

notably t ough,

s hort g rasses

s imilar t o ragweeds.

We have

a lready observed that the d evelopment a nd physical c ondition o f t he t eeth o f

M . b alearicus from the Muleta deposit indicates that a very

4 57

r ough d iet was c onsumed by the animal, i ts f ood.

t ime would give austere

which evidently had t o grub f or

The l imited number of mammalian s pecies present a t t his

f lora,

f urther s upport t o our i nterpretation of a s omewhat which a ppears t o have been c apable of s ustaining more

than one major mammal,

even though t here was n o c arnivore t o k eep t he

a nimal population i n balance.

S everal hypotheses have been proposed

c oncerning the d evelopment of c ertain morphological c haracteristics, a s w ell a s behaviour i n c oping with i ts environment.

S uch t hen,

the brief g limpses which w e c an a t present obtain of t he ment P eriod i n the Balearic

I slands,

a re

l ong P resettle-

ending d ramatically with t he

c oming of man.

T he E arly S ettlement P eriod :

3 .

C onclusions

The current r esearch has o ffered a wider perspective o f prehistoric events

i n t his a rea of the Western M editerranean.

What i t

has e stablished r egarding the Early S ettlement Period i s entirely n ew. I t presents a v ery different view f rom that f ormerly taken a bout Balearic prehistory.

( Renfrew 1 973;

One need only c onsult t he r eference books

C larke 1 970) to s ee t hat l ittle,

been made t o the Balearic

W estern Europe and the Mediterranean. t o r ectify these a ssessments. ( 1) the

The Balearic

5 th Millennium, ( 2)

s ome

i f a ny,

I slands and t heir r ole

The present r esearch d oes much

We can d emonstrate that:

I slands w ere occupied a t l east a s e arly a s 3 000 years e arlier than previously a ssumed.

Living i n c aves a nd r ock s helters a t f irst,

exploited the

a ccount has

i n t he prehistory of

early man

i ndigenous f auna f or s omething l ike 2 000 years;

h e was

undoubtedly r esponsible f or the e xtinction of the major mammals. M eanwhile, s heep,

he had i mported d omesticated a nimals

s mall cattle, ( 3)

r abbit,

s uch a s pig,

g enet a nd r odents a s e arly a s

Man's e arly e conomy c irca 5 000 b .c.

t o

g oat,

3 000 b .c.

3 000 b .c.

was

based on agriculture a nd a nimal husbandry. ( 4)

I t i s apparent f rom a nalytical r esults t hat man's a rrival

c oincided with and w as r esponsible f or l ogical

s urrounding.

would b e his

i mportant c hanges

The m ost s triking s ingle c hange

i ntroduction of f ood c rops

i n t he e co-

i n this r espect

c irca 5 000 b .c.

t o 4 000 b .c.

At the present t he author proposes a f irm d istinction b etween this Early S ettlement P eriod a nd t he of the Pretalayotic P eriod, a fter f urther w ork,

( Neolithic)

a bout 2 700 b .c.

E arly C eramic P hase

This c ould be modified

i f l evels which a re a t present a ceramic

s hould

eventually produce earlier pottery evidence.

The precise

s ource a rea f or the f irst s ettlers of t he B al-

e arics c an only be postulated a s c oming f rom one of t he c oastal r egions of the

I berian Mainland.

At the

s ame t ime,

i t i s t oo e arly t o

s peculate on the population during this Early S ettlement P eriod.

4 58

I t

d oes,

h owever,

a ppear c ertain f rom the number of currently known s ites

with s ufficiently earlier evidence t he number was n ot great, s mall g roups Matge a re

( limited t o Muleta a nd Matge)

( the r eader s hould a lso c onsider t he

s ituated about 2 2 kms a part).

had i ts a dvantages, a ccessible,

b eing

s ea.

i s

M atge

E ither

f act t hat Muleta a nd

s ite a rea w ould have

but f rom d ifferent s tandpoints.

Muleta i s e asily

l ocated on a f lat promontory of l and overlooking t he

s ituated i n a valley whose a ccess

through a n arrow pass f ew e asy r outes

that

probably c onfined t o g eographically d ispersed

l ocated c lose t o t he

f rom t he plains i s

s helter,

i nto t he Northern S ierrras.

b eing one of t he

That these s ites

c ated i n the m ountains i s of n o particular s ignificance, only r easonable t o a ssume t hat s ome

a re

l o-

but i t s eems

s mall or even l arger s ites w ould

have been s ituated n ear the C entral P lains,

where r icher

s oils washed

from t he mountains would have enhanced t he opportunities f or a griculture a nd a nimal husbandry.

The probable r eason why n o

s uch l owland

s ite has yet b een f ound i s t he e xtensive c ultivation over t he millennia which have d estroyed the e vidence.

The evidence

f rom Muleta and Matge points

symbiotic r elationship between man a nd Myotragus,

t o

a bsence of i mported d omesticated s pecies,

over

d icated by

3 000 b .c.

1 4C d ating,

c irca

5 000 b .c.

t o

s ome f orm of

a pparently i n t he

s ome

2 000 years, I t

a s

i n-

i s n ot known

whether or n ot man originally hunted the a nimal prior t o making a ttempts a t management a s d oubt,

s uggested by the M atge c orrals.

Without a

f uture excavation will d etermine w hether there was a hunting

e conomy s tage,

or whether the e arliest s ettlers a rrived w ith prior

k nowledge of h erding t echniques.

The a uthor has a lready expressed h is

opinion that i t s hould b e possible t o a ssociated with Myotragus

f ind e arlier e vidence of m an

i n the Balearic I slands,

and t hat w hen i t

i s man's e conomy will have been based on the a nimal.

One of the r easons w hy e vidence of man having hunted Myotragus i s

l acking may b e due t o the fact t hat t he a nimal b eing a s low moving

c reature a s

s hown by t he a nimal's o steological c haracteristics was

s uch e asy prey f or man that s hort, v ision,

l ong r ange w eapons w ere n ot n ecessry.

the c haracteristics of the a nimal,

I n

with i ts narrow f ield of

s hort a nd tightly a rticulated l imbs w ould have permitted man

t o e asily a pproach t he a nimal a nd s o make a k ill r elatively e asy.

Also,

there

i s n o evidence of d og,

S ettlement l evels or f or that matter

e ither i n t hese Early

i n h igher P retalayotic ones;

f actor that a ppears odd w hen one would e xpect b een i mported a long with t he present by 3 000 b .c.

f irst d omesticated s pecies,

which a re

I t becomes even m ore odd when w e c onsider t hat

t he d og i s present

i n a rchaeological d eposits d ating f rom the

6 th M illennia b .c.

i n most Mainland a reas

a nean. l ithic

N evertheless, s ites

( i.e.

a

s uch a n a nimal t o have

t his

7 th t o

s urrounding t he M editerr-

l ack of d og has b een n oted i n other N eo-

t he M iddle N eolithic l evels o f E gozwil

3 i n Swit-

z erland ) .

I t c omes a s n o

s urprise t hat man c an b e d emonstrated a s

h aving a rrived i n the B alearic

I slands a s e arly a s

4 59

5 000 b .c.

I n the

l ast d ecade, anean

e vidence has

s hown t hat man r eached most of t he Mediterr-

i slands a t:dates a s e arly a s t he

t ypical

e xamples being t he

i sland of Melos,

7 th and 8th Millennia b .c.;

( Guilaine 1 974) and t he

i sland of Sardinia

w here obsidian had been brought back t o t he Greek

Mainland a s e arly a s t he 8 th Millennium b .c. t hat produced t his l ast e vidence c ontaining l arge f ish bones,

The

s ame c ave d eposit

( the Franchthi c ave)

has a l evel

r emains o f prehistoric man's d eep s ea

( Jacobsen 1 976).

fishing a s e arly a s

7 ,250 b .c.

Balearic s ettlement

s hould c ome a s no r evelation t o us.

However,

t here are

t he origin of t hese

S o t hat,

s till many problems t o be s olved r egarding

f irst s ettlers and t heir s ubsistence patterns,

we must c onsider t hat w hat w e a re d ealing with i n

f avour of t his possibility a re c onsiderable.

t he presence of man 5 000 b .c. period

t o

( ESP)

i n t he Balearic

3 000 b .c.

a nd

i n t he s ettlers of

Muleta and Matge may not be t he f irst s ettlers at a ll; odds

e arly

i n f act t he I n a ll

events,

I slands a t Muleta a nd Matge d uring

i s d efinite and t hat his e conomy during t hat

was based partly on t he e xploitation of eotragus b alear-

i cus .

I n t urn, l ight,

t hese f indings place B alearic prehistory i n a new

a nd i n t hemselves are o f c onsiderable value

of t he movement o f t he e arly peoples t erranean,

i n t he knowledge

i n t his e nd of t he Western Medi-

a s w ell a s being of additional proof a s t o t he d egree a nd

e arly s tage at which m an w as c apable o f movement by s ea.

We w ill

s hortly s ee how these f irst e xpeditions w ere t o be f ollowed by many other arrivals,

i n t urn,

t hat w ere t o l eave t heir prehistoric r ecord

i n s ubsequent periods.

T he P retalayo ic _Period :

4 .

C onclusions

I t i s d uring t he P retalayotic P eriod t hat t he prehistoric s ocial,

r eligious a nd e conomical a spects o f t he B alearics become m ore

c omplex and yet much c learer. b .c.

t o

1 400 b .c.,

I t i s d uring t his period,

t he period i nto phases of N ECP, d ates available

EBP and LBP.

f or t he period have made

working d ates f or t he p eriod, b .c.,

t he period's a pproximately

E xtensive r adiocarabon

i t possible t o f ix

at present.

At t he

1 600 y ear duration,

s ame t ime,

pig and a s mall

c an give w orking d ates f or t he

( 2)

i ntroduction o f pottery s pecies

( goat,

c irca 3 000 b .c.

We c an d emonstrate t he l ate

s urvival o f t he eotragus

b alearicus as well as the animal's date of e xtinction,

4 60

which c an

F or e xample:

i ntroduction o f domesticated animal

s pecies of c attle),

d uring

t hus a llowing us t o e nlarge

c onsiderably details o f Balearic prehistoric l ife.

We

2 000

we have been a ble t o

f ix c hronometric d ates t o a number of prehistoric events, be c ompared i n t urn with Mainland area;

( 1)

s olid

f ormerly s et a s beginning c irca

e xtending i t t o 3 000 b .c.

t echnology and t he

c irca 3 000

t hat n ew evidence has permitted us t o s ubdivide

c irca 2 200 b .c.

( 3)

We

can

s how that Bell Beaker

i sland circa 2 000 b .c.

the Balearic Beaker c omplex; t o circa

1 700 b .c.

i nfluences arrived on the

and give working dates

f or two phases within

the Early Beaker Phase,

and a Late Beaker Phase,

c irca

c irca

1 700 b .c.

2 000 b .c. to circa

1 400 b .c. ( 4) working

We can g ive working dates f or t he

i n t he Balearics at circa ( 5)

We

s ettlements,

i ntroduction of metal

1 800 b .c.

c an give working dates

f or Pretalayotic open-air

c irca 2 000 b .c.

The

i nterface between the Early Settlement Period and the

Pretalayotic Period i s the NECP and this c ommon ground between the two periods d efines t he As s uch, a s well f uture

l owest chronological boundary of the Pretalayotic.

we must c onclude that this a s a f lexible one,

i nvestigation,

4 .1

i nterface

one which,

i s a transitional phase

undoubtedly,

will

c hange with

data and materials.

T he N eolithic E arly C eramic P hase

The

i ntroduction

i nto the Balearic I slands of both pottery

t echnology and domesticated animal analyses at circa 2 700 b .c.

s pecies a s

s hown by radiocarbon

i s not particularly s urprising.

Mainland s tations d emonstrate very

s imilar dates ,

i .e.

Many

Verdelpino

( Cuenca) ( Morales , i n p ress) and Tabernas ( Almeria ( Von d er D riesch a nd M orales , i n p ress) where dates of circa 3000 b .c. have been rec orded for pig, 3 000 b .c.

goat,

s heep and small

f or domesticated species

cattle.

s eems

Middle and Late Neolithic Periods,

I n fact,

t o be wide

t his date of

s pread f or the

according t o r adiocarbon method.

The gourd and s ack-like NECP wares of t he Balearics also c ompare very f avourably with Mainland c ounterparts S outh France a s well a s e lsewhere chronology,

i n Europe,

and can be assumed t o bear

n earest to the

f irst two of those

s uggested by s ome Early Pretalayotic

i nvestigators.

both

f rom Catalonia and i n typology and

i nfluence f rom the r egions

r egions and not eastern areas a s So we can c onclude that Balearic

i ndigenous wares

are of Neolithic age a nd compar-

able to those r egions o f the Mainland.

Of

c ourse,

these a spects

i n

their own r ight open up new thought concerning t he early movement of peoples at this anean;

t ime

i n this particular part of t he Western Mediterr-

a movement that

i s part of a general one t hat was taking place

throughout most of Euorpe

a t this

t ime,

pottery artefact evidence as well as

and i s

r eflected i n the NECP

i n t he new c hronological dating

f ramework.

l ate s urvival of M yotragus b alearicus, which ( Burleigh a nd C lutton-Brock 1 980) has shown to have sur-

Concerning t he 1 4C dating vived until

c irca 2 200 b .c.,

outside of the Balearics, made,

a lthough

this aspect has n o

immediate parallels

and therefore c omparison

s imply c annot be

i t does open up new avenues of t hought concerning 4 61

s uch

matters as

late

i sland animal

will be toward a ' closer early

s ettlers and the

animal,

exact r elationship and t he I slands.

4 .2

extinctions.

s tudy of

the

H owever,

i ts u ltimate value

i nteraction between the

i slands'

a long with r esearch c oncerning t he

s earch f or

s till

e arlier man

i n the Balearic

The Early Beaker Phase

We have

s een f rom the Balearic Bell Beaker evidence

artefacts as well

a s

t he

with that of adjacent c oastal Mainland r egions. s ome

detail

We have examined i n

the ample radiocarbon documentation available

Balearic Beaker c omplex. Beaker

that t he

c hronometric dating c ompares r emarkably well

Unfortunately,

s ites does not exist on the

their extensive radiocarbon

f rom t he

1 4C documentation of Mainland

s cale with Balearic Beaker c ontexts;

s equence

f or the

i slands

i s one of t he

major contributions of t his dissertation.

Whereas s ist

t he

i ndigenous NECP pottery f orms,

i n t he EBP and LBP pottery assemblages,

s how a wide variety of c omparative groups

s uch as the Chassey,

Pretalayotic Beaker ware

i ndigenous i s

a n

which s till per-

can be d emonstrated t o

i nfluences with s uch widely

Lagozza and Cortaillod c omplex,

f orms

s how quite

s pread

the l ater

c learly that the Balearic

i ntrusive pottery which a ppears

l ocally quite

s ud-

d enly circa 2 000 b .c.

However,

i n the author's mind,

graphic a rea of greatest

a s being mainly the Catalan r egion r egion

( Languedoc and Provence)

Almerian s outhwest

( Salamo)

with

( Ciempozuelos).

Beaker artefact a ssemblage

We which

i s no doubt of

f ound

can l ikewise give

s ome

arrival of the Beaker

s o far a lso s upport this

s olid working dates

i nfluences

i n the

I slands,

i nto

the

f or the

1 975)

that have

Matge

s herds

crucible

where

i ntroduction t o

1 800

s hortly a fter t he

i slands.

The Matge metal

l east one parallel on the Mainland at El Ventorro, ( Harrison et al

i n t he

l inkage.

c irca 2 000 b .c.

f orm of the Beaker c rucible

crucible

i nfluences

i n the Balearic

s eems t o have c ome hand i n hand with or

working evidence

t he g eo-

a nd the Southern French

s econdary

The other i tems

of metal working i nto the Balearic b .c.,

there

i nfluence reflected i n t he pottery typology

s herds has

a t

near Madrid

traces of copper oxide have been f ound on

i ncised Beaker patterns

s imilar to the

s herds.

Recent radiocarbon a nd Bell beaker pottery evidence with a 1 4C

date of

2 000 b .c.

of Ferrandell-Oleza

+ 6 5 yrs.

( Waidren

( BM,1843)

1 981)

f rom t he S ettlement Complex

has given new a nd

important

mation c oncerning Balearic Beaker open-air

s ettlement;

that has hitherto been r estricted t o

and r ock

Matge

and Muertos Gallard.

perspective on Balearic

caves

This new discovery

s ettlement a s well

4 62

a s

s ite

i nfor-

evidence

s helters,

l ike

s hould open up a f resh s ignificantly add t o

our g eneral knowledge o f B ell Mediterranean. i n

Furthermore,

S outhern French s ites

bouisse

l ike L ebous,

L a Couronne and F ont-

T he L ate B eaker P hase

With t he metal working by

i mportation of c opper a long with a knowledge of 1 800 b .c.,

( Waldren 1 979),

pecially

and c ertainly u sing a t in

bronze by

i t s eems only l ikely a nd l ogical t o

i n view o f a ll t he other a rtefact evidence)

would have originated f rom s ources

i n r egions where

w orking t raditions a lready e xisted. of t hese would have b een a rea,

Argelliers,

( Gallia P rehistoire 1 978)

4 .3

b .c.

beaker movement i n t his a rea of the s triking parallels t o t his n ew s ite e xist

( es-

t hat t hese m etals s trong metal

The c losest a nd most i nfluential

i n t he Argaric r egion a s w ell a s t he Valencia

f rom which direction t he e asiest a nd m ost d irect r oute of

ping e ither ore

1 700

s uggest

i ngots o r f inished metal products

L BP pottery f orms a nd metal

a rtefacts

s hows

i s

l ocated.

s hipThe

s trong Argaric i nfinities

( Pericot 1 973) as well as with northeastern Iberia in s ites l ike t he Cueva B onica

( Barcelona ).

I t i s t oward t he upper i nterface of this

phase with t hat of t he e arly Bronze Age of t he Talayotic P eriods t hat w e n ote t he beginnings of f urther c hange a rtefact types,

but i t

i s a t the

i s a transitional one a nd, a lteration.

I n

s ettlement s ite

f act,

hence,

a s Matge

1 300 b .c.

t han t o

1 400 b .c.

This may

l evels with L BP wares dated c irca

i n d irect c ontact with an i ntermediate

1 250 b .c.,

l ocally,

s ubject t o eventual

s uggest t hat t he boundaries marking one period f rom

i ndeed be the c ase, a re

will probably b e

r ecent f indings a t t he new F errandell-Oleza

t he other may w ell b e c loser t o b .c.,

i n pottery s tyles a nd metal

s ame t ime a n i nterface which,

where we g et a v ery d efinite change

1 400

l evel d ated a t c irca

i n pottery f orm,

which

d elineates t he b eginning of the Talayotic P eriod a nd t he Early B ronze Age,

a ccording t o t he a uthor's working hypothesis.

The LBP phase

s ees the

bronze and u se of bronze e xtent a s we will I n f act

i ncreased f requence

i n g eneral;

s ee during the EBA a nd MBA of t he Talayotic P eriod.

i n material t erms,

the LBP

i s marked mainly by t he t echnolo-

g ical c hanges r eflected i n the pottery t he g eneral c hanges

( LBP B eakers

i n c lay c omposition,

prepared l imestone t emper ment of the

i n the use of t in

a lthough by n o means t o the s ame

where t he

i n particular ), i ntroduction of

i s f irst u sed i n the vessels a nd t he r efine-

i ndigenous pot f orms,

s uch a s an i ncrease

of f lat b ottom vessels a nd t he addition of

' S'

i n t he number

c urved r ims

i n the LBP

pottery a ssemblage.

All of these d evelopments c an be c hange n ot only i n l ife

s tyle,

i nterpreted a s

s igns o f

.

where t here was n o d oubt a s hift away

f rom a nd i ncreased a bandonment of caves a nd r ock s helters f or dwellings i nto t he c onstruction of an use of open-air d ell-Oleza's Old S ettlement, population i tself,

a nd a t t he

s ettlements

s ame t ime,

l eading up t o t he m ore c omplex

Talayotic B ronze Age.

4 63

l ike Ferran-

a n i ncrease

i n t he

s ocieties of t he

These Balearic events a lso f ind t heir c ounterparts n earby r egions o f t he Mainland f rom c irca a reas

l ike the E l Argar,

pointed pottery v essel

f or example,

( Figure 5 7,

e lsewhere within t he g eographic Catalan Region where d eeply

1 700 b .c.

where t he

LBP)

' arc of

t o

s teeply a ngled,

i s v ery c ommon, i mmediate

' furrow i ncised'

l ike t he

v essels a re f ound i n t he s imilar t o Bal-

( Figure 5 5).

I n a ll events, t alayotic P eriod,

i n c orner

a s w ell a s

i nfluence'

Cave of F ondo d e S alamo w ith pot i ncisions which a re e aric L BP B eakers

i n t he

1 400 b .c.

i t i s during t he L ate B eaker P hase o f t he Pre-

c irca

1 400-1300 b .c.

t hat t he

s tage

f ull emergence of t he Talayotic B ronze Age w ith s pecialised s ocieties with l arger populations;

i s

s et f or t he

i ts m ore a ffluent a nd t he

s ubject of o ur n ext

s et o f c onclusions.

5 .

The Talayotic P eriod:

C onclusions

Based on the g reat number of Talayotic Bronze Age both Mallorca a nd Minorca, Mallorca and 4 4 on Minorca, orca a nd

1 2 on Minorca ),

s ites o n

e specially the u nfortified ones a s c ompared t o 4 0

( 112 on

f ortified ones on Mal-

we c an a ssume t hat t he great building a cti-

vities of t he EBA and MBA w ent on with peaceful r elationships b etween s ettlements,

and t hat t he mechanism/process o f i nsularity was

e ffective against i nterference

s till

f rom a broad.

Pacific e xchange b etween s ettlements a nd even c ollaborated c onstructional e fforts a s w ell a s a tive on t he basis t hat d istributed i ndividual

i ntersettlement t rade a re c onfirm-

s uch a rapid emergence of t he number of w idely s ettlements on both i slands would n ot have b een

possible with a war-like a ttitude having e xisted between s ettlements. This

s eems particularly pertinent c onsidering t hat a ll t he

a re made up of e xtremely l arge

s ettlements

s tone buildings a ll of which w ould have

n eeded s pecialised work f orces,

i f n ot l arge c ommunal ones t o c on-

s truct.

This profuse number of

s ettlements a lso t estifies t o a s ub-

s tantial

i ncrease

i n population and material d emand,

a s the t echnological

m etal working production.

Once a gain t his

events on the M ainland and r est of Europe,

I n

s hort,

i n t he

s ame w ay

c hange a nd d emand f ounded i n t he pottery a nd i s t he g eneral pattern of c irca

1 400 t o 8 00 b .c.

the d ense d istribution o f t he Mallorca a nd M inorca

s ettlements and i solated megalithic

s tructures

s uggests t hat t here was

a n ample population well organised i nto c ommunities w ith h ighly o rgani sed s ocial a nd r eligious a rchitectural

f rameworks,

l arge c onstruction projects. t ion c omplex, s ystem o f

with perhaps

l arge c ommunal

a nd s pecial work f orces maintained i n order t o t ake on Apart

f rom s uggesting a n a mple popula-

s ocial organisation a nd a s urplus e conomy,

' chiefdoms'

prehistoric Malta

i s a lso

s uggested which was

( Renfrew 1 973)

a s w ell a s o ther

a political

s imilar t o t hat of i sland c ultures

s uch a s t he Torreanos or Nuraghi of C orsica a nd S ardinia.

A lthough

t he author d oes n ot believe any of t hem a re t he origin of t he Tala-

4 64

yotic c ulture or even c losely r elated t o those of Malta, S ardinia, g eneral

' megalithic

i dea'

o f t he t imes.

That which t he Balearic Talayotic culture peaceful t arian'

C orsica or

but a re r ather t he r esponse of an i sland c ulture t o t he

' nonaggressive c ompetition',

s uggests

i s a

different f rom a s tate or

order f ound i n most N eolithic c ommunities or t ribes,

s uggested Matge.

i n the earlier N ECP Pretalayotic

I n f act,

t his hypothesis m ent c omplex,

s helter s ettlements

the a uthor has f ound v ery s trong e vidence

' egli-

a nd a lso l ike

s upporting

i n h is n ew e xcavations a t t he F errandell-Oleza

s ettle-

which d ramatically d emonstrates t he d ifferences b etween

t he e arly Pretalayotic F errandell-Oleza Old S ettlement a nd t hat o f t he s ite's Younger Talayotic S ettlement,

f rom those of t he

s till e arlier

s helters and caves.

The Talayotic P eriod,

c irca

1 400 b .c.

t o 8 00 b .c,

here r epresents a period of t ime of a bout 6 00 years. w e c an a ssign a s eries o f

t he d irect outcome of t his r esearch.

( 1)

s hown

1 7 r adiocarbon dates t o d escribe t he early,

middle and l ate phases of the Talayotic Bronze Age, s eries of c onclusions,

a s

For t his period, m ost o f w hich a re

Toward the e nd,

w e c an d efine a

t he principal ones of which a re a s f ollows:

On the basis o f the r ich pottery evidence

EBA a nd MBA

' cache'

pottery d ated a t c irca

w ell a s the

l ater L BA k iln wares,

1 400 b .c.

f rom b oth t he

t o

1 000 b .c.

dated a t c irca 9 00 b .c.

w e c an c hronometrically a s w ell a s

a s

t o 8 00 b .c.,

s tratigraphically d emonstrate the

a ge of these wares a nd c orrelate their types with l ocal pottery a ssemblages a s w ell a s ( 2)

s uggest parallels t o

s ome d egrees f arther a field.

On the basis o f the e qually r ich bronze a rtefacts w e c an

f urther s ubstantiate o ther f inds a s well a s c hronological tations,

and i n

l and a reas,

c irca

( 3) l and a reas of ( 4 )

i nterpre-

s ome c ases make c omparisons and c ite parallels

i n Main-

1 400 b .c.

The c ustom o f c remation burial r ites a lso s uggests Maini nfluence r egarding Balearic Talayotic c ultural origins. Both t he rich pottery a nd bronze a rtefact f inds c learly

d emonstrate the e xtent a nd nature of t echnological c hanges a s w ell a s s ocial a nd e conomic c onditions which distinguish the Talayotic P eriod and t he

f ormer Pretalayotic P eriod. ( 5)

A n umber of

additional r esearch a nd s tatistical

s uch a s thin-sectioning a nd pottery markings, r esearch,

can help u s t o

while

s tudies,

s till open-ended

s ubstantiate the t echnological,

s ocial a nd

e conomic c onditions o f t he period t hat have been e stablished more d irectly by t he a rtefact a nd other evidence.

The t emporary a s w ell a s t he

t ransitional n ature o f the upper

i nterface of the Late B eaker Phase of the P retalayotic P eriod a nd t hat of the

l ower one o f t he Early B ronze Age of the Talayotic P eriod has

a lready been s tressed,

and a t this point we c an r elate and d raw more

s pecific c onclusions on t he P eriod's phases.

4 65

T he E arly B ronze A ge

5 .1

While we

can c onclude that there a re distinct visible

c hanges

i n the pottery typology between the LBP of the Pretalayotic Period and that of the Early Bronze Age, traces of the LBP

circa

1 400 b .c.,

there are

s till vestigial

f orms which appear a ll through the period

percentage of the Talayotic wares.

However by

1 300 b .c.,

i n a small

we can c on-

c lude that the majority of the EBA vessels have taken on the characteri stics of what we know a s different i s to

f rom the

s ay by

the MBA wares,

which by then are completely

former LBP types of the Pretalayotic Period,

1 300 b .c.,

the EBA and MBA c eramic

that

s tyles emerge t o f orm

a new c eramic tradition which c ompletely dominates any l ingering older e lements.

The

s tylistic

s ide of this process i s accompanied by c hanges

i n the manufacturing techniques of the vessels, fabric. f orms

There

i n firing and i n c lay

i s also a remarkable reduction i n the range of different

( Figures 1 05 t o 1 12) with a predominance of flat bottomed pots

and the addition of

strongly curling l ips,

f eatures which f irst a ppear

i n the Pretalayotic LBP but played only a minor r ole then. fabric becomes charged with l imestone t emper - an manufacturing process which processes a lso can

s ignals new f iring methods;

that not only bring about change i ncrease

more

i n the products,

deserves

However,

the advantage of the

s uch r einforced c lays and their ability t o

further mention here

trade between the

i n r egard t o

s ettlements,

other pottery characteristics, pottery;

s ettlements.

s ections we have a lready discussed the advantages

of the highly l imestone tempered c lays. s trength of

not only do

as material

that certainly called f or a

s tratified s ociety than earlier Pretalayotic

I n previous

but which

From these we

i n population as well

demand f or a l arger variety of products,

i n the

technological

s uggests n ew economical and community a ctivities. c onclude an appreciable

The pottery

innovation

such

they were probably better

travel b etter

i ndications of possible

a s well a s population demand. s uch as t he preference

s hapes

f or

i ncrease the vessels'

suited f or use

As

f or

f lat bottomed

s tability,

i n the open-air

but

s ettlement,

where there were different work c onditions f rom those of the

c aves and

s helters with their uneven and rocky f loors.

One might i s

s uppose that

s o abundant at Matge,

l lels f or the Balearic talayotic pots. s uch c orrelates as we will

s ee

n ot easy t o

s ince the EBA and MBA pottery evidence

i t would be a n easy task t o

c eramic types,

Oddly enough,

a s

f ind c lose para-

i t was with particular Pre-

c ompared t o t he r elative ease

f or the Post Talayotic wares,

even,

c onvincing parallels a re

find f or the Talayotic wares and once again these a re

I berian Catalan and c ertain French types of the Bronze Age as well a s g eneral

r esemblances to Hallstatt types.

the pottery c orrelations that

i n f inding

f or the pottery of the Pretalayotic Period and,

are not nearly s o

( Figure 1 13),

I n all events,

s atisfactory as comparisons

c an be made between the metal objects of the Continent and their

counterparts best c onclude

i n the Talayotic Bronze Age. that the

external

I t

i s

from these we

c an

c onnections during the early and

4 66

middle phases of the Talayotic were mainly a reas within the geographic arc of

immediate . influence.

From this evidence, tradition,

apart

the

author c oncludes that the pottery

f rom s ome parallels

f arther afield i n France as well a s

s tongly l ocalised and l arge

c oncludes that the principal f act of

insularity;

i sland cultures.

i n the Mainland regions

and

a s c ertain Hallstatt characteristics,

i ndependent.

r eason f or

Furthermore the author

i ts development was the

s heer

other examples could be r eadily quoted f or other

Be that a s

i tion cannot be denied;

i t may,

the

s trength of the Balearic trad-

s trong l ocal parallels exist,

f or example,

between the EBA/MBA pottery forms a s well a s c lay f abrics themselves of the

i sland of Mallorca and the Nun i pottery f orms of Minorca,

c ribed by M .

Murray f rom her expeditions there

( Murray 1 938).

paring the Mallorcan EBA/MBA wares with those of Minorca, rities,

amounting a lmost to exact counterparts

d es-

In com-

t he

s imila-

i n the pottery f orms

are r emarkable

( Figures 9 8 a nd 9 9), and literally no noticeable diff-

erences exist;

thus demonstrating how widely

tradition of the time.

This

s ame

s pread was

the pottery

s ort of c lose c orrelation

i s possible

with the metal objects a s well.

Another can be made bear great

i nteresting i nnovation about which s ome conclusions

i s that of the pottery markings on the EBA/MBA wares which s imilarity to Cantabrian abstract

s igns

and which are

well distributed i n various parts of the Mediterranean, s een.

While we can c onclude that these mirror general

f luences moment;

f or the Talayotic pottery, although the

that can be made.

i llustrated parallel

the Talayotic wares of the EBA/MBA a re but

i t

f ormative

they are heard to define

I t i s quite c lear that

f rom France

i n-

f or the

i s the best

i n t erms of general

' typical'

f ound

as we have

Bronze Age'

' feel' pottery,

i s hard to translate this assertation i nto c lear demonstration

based on quantitative evidence. conclusions can be made

However better c orrelations and

for the EBA/MBA bronze artefacts which are

discussed a s part of the Middle Bronze Age c onclusions below.

These

are discussed there a s most of the

f rom

the MBA horizons

5 .2

important bronze

f inds

c ome

at Matge and not the EBA.

T he M iddle B ronze A ge

From the Matge

stratigaraphy,

i t i s the MBA bronze

i tems

which can be used i n more precisely l ocating

s ome of the

the Bronze Age populations.

the best c ontribution

made by the

For the moment,

contacts of

s tudy of the pottery has been t o e stablish the different

phases of the Talayotic Period and their chronology.

I n these terms .

the author must conclude

l imited at pre-

that the Early Bronze Age

s ent t o a 1 00 years period of time,

c irca

1 400 b .c.

and r equires a l ot more research f or definition, earlier,

i t i s a brief transitional phase.

change over

f rom a habitational

This horizon at Matge, origin as well

a s Talayotic EBA wares,

4 67

to circa

and a s

At Matge

s ite to a c emetery,

produced pottery

i s

1 300 b .c.,

r emarked

we circa

s aw the 1 400 b .c.

s herds of LBP Pretalayotic which a lready r esemble MBA

s hapes

f ound i n the

I n the MBA,

' cache'

areas radiocarbon dated a t c irca

they belong to the

the present,

i t

' apogee'

1 250 b .c.

of the Talayotic culture.

For

i s equally difficult to differentiate c learly between

the metal work of the EBA and MBA,

and i t

i s necessary to e stablish

c onnections through the -metal work of the MBA.

We

can argue

f or the existence of Mainland c ontacts on the

bases of the bronze artefacts. s ite and e lsewhere on the

From the evidence both at the Matge

i sland s ome metal working was done,

though there was no known mining of c opper and t in. the

a spects of metal working at Matge during the Pretalayotic P eriod

and a lso

s een evidence of

but at present it ever,

i t

i t a lso existing

On the other hand,

i t

For example, 1 4C circa

i s possible t o draw s ome parallels and make

the author c oncludes

1 250 b .c.

s ome

that there are

axe-like weapon

s trong c om-

f ound at Matge

a nd

( Figure 1 21; P late 4 9:2) and the Contin-

ental Early Bronze Age hafted,

wide-spayed axe,

portrayed on the

s tone

( Figure 1 24) The Matge MBA bronze axe blades and razor ( Figure 1 22:2)

cist cover f rom Defesa S .

( Savory 1 968).

s imilar to examples

de Arriba

how-

i tself must have been imported.

concerning particular pieces.

parisons between the wide-bladed, dated by

l ocal bronze

i tems arriving from abroad or l ocally made;

i s certain that the metal

c omparisons

i n the Talayotic P eriod,

i s not known what percentage of the

artefacts are trade

are

even

We have discussed

( Savory 1 968)

the East Enclosure a lso

Tiago d o Cacem,

Portugal

i n the Burgos EBA and MBA

( Figure 1 23).

' hoard '

The Matge bronze

f rom Huerta

' treasure'

of

i ndicates a late Middle Bronze Age origin,

c irca 1 000 b .c.; the bronze sword of the treasure ( Figure 1 18 a nd P late 4 8:2) with its heavy cast hilt and pommel can be compared to various bronze Ponga,

swords of Northern Spain f ound i n s ites

Asturias

( Savory 1 968),

as well

l ike S obrefoz,

as others of Central European

origin.

From these artefact parallels,

the author c oncludes that t he

Balearic bronzes of the Talayotic EBA/MBA s how the great f rom Mainland areas those g eographic

i nfluence

and once again are the product of trade f rom

regions a long the

c oastal a reas of the

I berian penin-

s ula.

Other a rtefacts

l ike the

' anthropomorphic'

s imilar to earlier Mainland i dol-plaques s emblances than Argaric), i dols

f ound

e l Argar a s well

circa

i tems

l ike the many pyramidal

i n s ites

' V '

c lose parallels

as the Catalan r egion,

buted i n those areas to

a lthough a lso reminiscent of

f rom EBA/MBA l evels a lso have

those areas,

i dol a re

' mother g oddess'

i n the Eastern Mediterrean.

Still other buttons

c lay

( with more Los Millaran r e-

l ike Puig Roig.

4 68

l ike the

where they are widely distriI n the Balearics a s

they are known f or a very l ong currency,

1 200 b .c.

perforated bone i n a reas

i n

c irca 2 000 b .c.

I t

i s

i nteresting to note on the other hand that the EBA/MBA

and LBA burial customs of the Talayotic Period i n the Balearics out

s tand

i n vivid contrast t o the Argaric cist and j ar-burials on the Main-

l and,

despite other possible

However cremation

connections between these two areas.

s eems to be the order of the t ime during the Bronze

Age in general throughout the At the

s ame time,

Iberian Peninsula a s well

a s

the Balearics.

the c remation burials that distinguish the Talayotic

Period are n ever

very

s uccessful

i n disposing

of the bones and the

author has concluded that the cremation burial rites a re only f ication'

f ires.

I t

s eems

t o

the

' puri-

author that we can regard the

made at the time of the Matge and Muertos Gallard burials

fires

i n Talayotic

t imes as being purification fires more than s erious attempts at full c remation. burial

A .

chambers

Arribas that

( 1963)

i t

i s

points out concerning earlier c ommunal

the rite of c ommunal burial which

i s dis-

tinctive during the Megalithic Period and the rite

i tself c onsists

of

i n one area.

successive burial of

i ndividuals of a c ommunity

As

r eported i n cases of many communal burial chambers on the Mainland, there

i s

burial,

evidence that

' purification'

f ires were

l it at the time of

which has given vents to r eports by s ome

c remation burials.

In a ll events,

the

i nvestigators of

cremation or f ire

' purification '

rites at Matge and e lsewhere can be concluded t o have been practiced a ll through the early,

middle and late phase of the Talayotic Period

up to 8 00 b .c.

T he L ate B ronze A ge

5 .3

The LBA of the Talayotic Period i s best distinguished by the Matge pottery kiln materials,

dated at c irca 8 60 b .c.

c onclude that the LBA pottery typology differs t o composition of

i ts

c lay fabric

s tricted mouths and curling lips a lly toward the end of the LBA, Mas Clami and

The

inflected i n c ontour with more re-

( Figures 1 28 a nd 1 29) circa 8 00 b .c.

' button'

i n the Barcelona area

' horned '

i n the

from that of the earlier phases.

pot f orms themselves become more

the EIA of the Post Talayotic

i n which we can

s ome extent

handles

and occasion-

and s till

later during

s imilar t o those f rom

( Archaeological M useum o f B arcelona)

Appennine vase handles,

s imilar t o

I talian Punto del

Tonno pottery appear on the Balearic LBA wares.

The bronze objects Age phase with

a nd 3 ; P late 4 9:1) b .c.

These

from Matge a lso reflect this Late

its _ numerous

s ocketed bronze

s imilar to

i nnumerable examples on the Mainland

s equence of the Post Talayotic

World i nfluences and t rade until

I t will f ollowing

c irca

ensuing 7 50 b .c

duce the

All of which f ollows quite c losely I ron Age with

i ncreasing Classical

the Roman Colonisation.

a lso be c oncluded by being amply demonstrated

s ection on the conclusions of the Post Talayotic

that the Balearics by the

d id not go unaffected because of their

' Urnfield' I n

Bronze

( Figures 1 20:2

and are associated with l evels a t Matge dating 8 00

are very

and even reflect Hallstatt B types. the

s pearheads

f act,

i t

Celtic

i nvasions of the northest

i n the

I ron Ages i nsularity ( Catalonia )

i s the LBA/EIA l evels at Matge which pro-

f irst i ron artefacts

at the 469

s ite.

Like the LBP/EBA i nterfaces their chronometric perimeters ,

i n the Matge

transitional ones which no doubt will Ahtough,

a s we have

s een,

s ions

s ome

f uture

a lteration.

i s distinctly visible

from which we c an draw s pecific

c oncerning not only the

periods

r equire

the evidence of c hange

within the LBP/EBA c ontexts,

s tratigraphy and

the LBP/EIA i nterface c ontexts are

i nterfaces

themselves,

c onclu-

but a lso t he

t oo.

We can c onclude that the trade and c ontact that did exist between the Mainland and the Balearics must have had s ome beneficial return t o the various people trading with the Balearic just as

s ettlements.

Exactly what the

lished,

other than

s alt or

just water f or passing

trade,

s ettlements,

i t must have had f or the Beaker traders prior t o the Talayotic i slands

s uggesting that

i t might have been animals,

s hips.

s timulated i t was a s we will

exported i s a s yet not e stabWhatever may have

s ee

hides,

s timulated

i n f urther c onclusions of the

I ron Ages of the Post Talayotic Period.

T he P ost T alayotic P eriod :

6 .

C onclusions

As with the Talayotic Bronze Age, c oncerning the Post Talayotic

I ron Age

on a variety of types of evidence; summarised below.

s ary to make

s ome general

s ubdivisions are based

the main c onclusions c oncerning

artefacts and chronometric dating of the s ions are

the conclusions arrived at

and i ts

s tratigraphy.

However before we do this,

The

c onclu-

i t i s neces-

s tatements and c onclusions r egarding the

period as a whole.

I t must certainly be did a rrive

i n the Balearics

a cknowledged t hat s ome minor

f rom Greek,

Tarshish,

aginian and f inally Roman maritime trade and c olonisation, a ctively present during part of the Talayotic Talayotic times, many

though a s

i nvestigators,

i nfluences

Phoenician,

Carth-

which was

a nd a ll of the Post

s tated earlier the author believes,

that the

contribution of these

s ources,

unlike

other

than an agent of trade goods during the Late Post Talayotic Period, was a minor one. do not appear

That i s t o

i n the

and then mainly take the s tatuary,

s ay,

actual trade goods f rom these agents

s ettlements until the

probably brought back a s

by mercenaries.

5 th and 4 th Centuries B .C.

f orm of c lassical pottery a nd s ome bronze ' spoils of war'

to the Balearics

Other t rade goods probably made their way i nto the

i slands partly by l and r outes rather than maritime ones, by

l and f rom areas

a s

f ar away a s

Pyrenean f oothills of Catalonia to the Barcelona area or to

the Valencian c oast,

Balearics;

before making the

s ilia, the

s hort

or the trade goods could have been

Spanish c oast or f rom the t o the Balearic

s outhern coastal

I slands.

traveling

s outhern France over the

eastern

further s outh

s ea crossing to the

s hipped directly f rom the

r egions via ports

l ike Mas-

Whoever c arried them or by what route.

fact remains that the typology of the artefacts of the Bronze and

I ron Age of the Balearics to objects

i ncludes many that are

f ound i n the a reas

s trikingly s imilar

s uggested i n this r esearch;

only examine the artefact evidence to

4 70

s ee this.

one need

Another i mportant c onsideration i n c onclusion a nd one with m ore b earing on the Talayotic

I ron Age

s ubject of i nfluence a nd trade during t he P ost i s t hat the f ounding of the Carthaginian c olony o f

I biza which t ook place i n 6 54 B .C.,

r elatively

o f Carthage

f act t hat n o c olonisation o f

i tself

i n 8 15 B .C.

The

s oon a fter the

f ounding

Mallorca and Minorca t ook place l eads the author t o c onclude t hat t he i ndigenous population was cular s ort of

s trong e nough t o have maintained a parti-

i ndependence which c ould benefit f rom t he g eneral

c reased Mediterranean t rade, having t o undergo

with i ts material advantages,

c onquest i n order t o d o

our r esearch s ites

s hows t hat many o f the

s o.

i n-

w ithout

Although e vidence

i ndigenous

s ettlements

f rom l ike

S 'Illot a nd S es Paisses on Mallorca a nd S on Catlar a nd Torre d en Gaumes on Minorca became f ortification of the

f ortified

s ometime a fter 8 00 b .c.,

ever-growing i ncrease o f e xterior material

i nterests i n the

a r esponse which was more precautionary than d efensive

From the a rtefact, there

t his

s ettlements was probably mainly a r esponse t o t he i slands;

a t f irst.

c hronometric a nd s tratigraphical evidence,

i s very l ittle d oubt that a great many different outside c ul-

tural i nfluences r eached t he Balearics

f rom about 5 00 b .c.

partly due t o the much a ccelerated a nd e xpanded

onward,

' classical w orld'

i n-

volvements with this a rea of the Western M editerranean,

but m ore d ir-

e ctly due t o t he a rrival of Mainland Celtic

which c on-

t inued t o be

i nfluences,

important r ight up t o the Roman C olonisation.

o f t hese a rguements,

w e c an s ummarise the

c erning the P ost Talayotic P eriod f rom 8 00 b .c. s ation

i n

t o t he R oman Coloni-

1 23 B .C. ( 1)

On the basis of a rtefacts , stratigraphy a nd over 3 6 r adio-

c arbon dates f rom the Matge

s ite a nd other r esearch s tations,

a ssign a s olid working date f or t he Balearics, t he

I n s upport

f ollowing c onclusions c on-

c irca 7 50 b .c.;

i ntroduction of

a lso d emonstrates

i ntroduction of

i ron

w e c an

i nto t he

a date which i s g enerally a cceptable f or

i ron i nto the I berian Mainland.

I nformation which

i ts r apid s pread a nd c ontinued s upply i nto t he

i slands a ll through the P ost Talayotic P eriod. ( 2)

On t he

m etric dating,

mation and evidence e lsewhere

s ame basis o f a rtefacts, f rom r egions o f the

Again,

o n t he

s ame basis,

s uch i nfor-

I berian Mainland a s w ell a s

i n t he r est o f Europe during the ( 3)

s tratigraphy a nd c hrono-

we c an c onclude t hat these c losely r esemble I ron Ages.

we can d elineate the

l ong

d uration of t he custom of quicklime burials a s c irca 6 80 b .c. l ate a s 8 0 a .d.

both on Mallorca a nd Minorca,

t he c ontemporary u se o f other burial t echniques a nd c ustoms, s trongly s uggest widely d iffering c ultural

t o a s

and a lso d emonstrate

i nfluences.

which

Furthermore,

t he g rave g oods a ssociated with t hese various kinds o f burials a s w ell a s radiocarbon dating a re c ontemporary ( 4)

On t he basis of the

of working dates

s ame evidence,

f or particular c hanges

w e c an f ix a number

i n pottery t echnology a nd

t ypology during the I ron Ages of t he Balearics a nd,

a t the

propose causes f or t hese changes a s well a s origins f or t he which were r esponsible f or bringing them a bout.

4 71

s ame t ime, i nfluences

( 5)

On the basis of t he evidence,

g eneral d ecline

w e c an better d efine t he

i n Talayotic Bronze Age a rchitectural t raditions;

once

again s uggesting the c auses and s ources o f i nfluence.

With this g eneral

s ummary of c onclusions,

e xamining each of these more

s pecifically,

we c an proceed t o

i n t erms o f t he c hronolo-

gical phases t o which they are pertinent.

T he E arly I ron A ge

6 .1

As

with the LBA of the Talayotic P eriod,

of t his E IA phase

i s a transitional one.

t he l ower i nterface

H owever,

i t appears t o b e

c ertain that f rom the chronometric data t hat two of the main events which d ifferentiate the Talayotic P eriod f rom the Post Talayotic t ook place during this E IA phase: 7 50 b .c.

that of the i ntroduction of i ron c irca

and t he u se o f quicklime f or burial purposes by c irca 6 80 b .c.

We c an postulate t hat t he u se a nd manufacture of quicklime was l earned f rom the Carthaginians,

who made l ime t o u se i n mortar t o l ine t he

i nside of water c isterns.

The a pplication o f quicklime a s a burial

medium was n ot practised e lsewhere

i n the c lassical world,

only b e an i nnovation of the l ocal population. l ime manufacturing was,

perhaps,

brought back by a merchant or mer-

c enary s oldier a nd quickly disseminated t hroughout t he the other hand, w orld,

and may

The knowledge o f quick i slands.

On

the manufacture of l ime was a lso known t o the C eltic

where t hey used i t i s

s ome a reas r itualistically i n the hair.

S o that i t may a lso have a rrived i n t he Balearics by a nother r oute f rom the Mainland.

The radiocarbon dates o f c irca 7 80 b .c. i ntroduction of

we c an a ccept t he premise of the

i slands

and 7 50 b .c.

f or t he

i ron i nto t he Balearics w as n ot s urprising a t a ll,

i n the Late Bronze Age Talayotic P eriod.

r adiocarbon r eadings a re

i n

i f

s teady Mainland t rading a nd c ontact w ith Of c ourse,

t hese

perfect a ccord w ith Mainland a nd E uropean

I ron Age dates a nd admirably c orrelate with our knowledge of t he C eltic U rnfield I nvasions of Catalonia.

Such i ron a rtefacts a s t he a nd d aggers

' antenna'

( Figures 1 35 -1 37 a nd P late 5 9A:2),

s ome Mainland e xamples

handled s hort

s words

i ron hafted s pears,

s howing s igns of b eing k illed l ike t heir

( Figures 1 38 a nd 1 59; P late 5 9B :1) and i ron ( Figures 1 38 a nd 1 41; P late 5 9), all, have Main-

Balearic c ounterparts, s ickle

s haped knives

l and c ounterparts of outstanding s imilarity.

Pottery e lements LBA/EIA,

c irca 8 00 b .c.

' classical'

t o

s uch a s t he t rue h andle a ppear during t he 7 00 b .c.,

and a lthough a part f rom a g eneral

l ook i n the pottery f orms,

t he v essels of the E IA d o n ot

g reatly differ f rom the L BA until t he M IA.

This g eneral

b etween the pottery of the two phases a lso a pplies c lay f abrics,

s imilarity

f or t he pottery

which a ppear t o adhere t o t raditional c omposition.

4 72

The r adical c hange r itual c remation to

i n burial customs c irca 6 80 b .c.,

i nhumation i n quicklime,

a long with the duration of the c ustom i n t he r esearch s ites. p ossible t o c onclude t hat the u se o f

f rom

i s d efinitely e stablished I t i s

s uch a n unusual mode of burial

i s

e ither the r esult of c ontact with the Punic world or t hat o f t he C elt ic w orld;

the author f avours t he l ater c onnection on the basis o f

a rtefact evidence.

At the

s ame t ime,

t he f act that a t l east two other

burial practices were c arried out i n t he c remations a nd earth burials) a rrivals;

i slands

during this phase

( i.e.

purification

s trongly s uggests n ew

a lthough one must c onsider s tatus oriented burials where

two or even more burial practices c an be c ulturally homogeneous, a s c hieftains or other

' elite'

g roups.

f urther d iscussed presently a s a n a lternative t o burial during the Middle

s uch

This l atter possibility i s s till other t ypes of

I ron A ge phase.

Recent evidence which has emerged s ince the f irst writing o f this t hesis g ives u s r eason t o believe t hat t hat the

i t

i s d uring this phase

l ast of the Talayotic t raditional a rchitectural

t ook place.

c onstruction

Radiocarbon dating o f what i s believed t o be the c onstruc-

t ion d ates o f the Taula S anctuary o f Torralba den S alort on Minorca ( Fernandez-Miranda a nd W aldren 1 981, t hat these

i n press)leads us t o c onclude

s tructures have n o e arlier date of c onstruction t han c irca

8 00 b .c.,

a nd that they r epresent t he l ast and most s ophisticated of

the l arge

s tone

c onstructions.

n ot e xist on Mallorca,

These Minorcan r eligious c entres d o

n or d oes a ny a rchitectural e quivalent,

a ll t he other architectural f orms markably exact c ounterparts,

( Talayots,

Navetas e tc.)

whereas

have r e-

a s d oes the entire a rtefact a ssemblages

during the I ron Ages.

The c olonisation o f the nearby i sland of

I biza

while n ot d irectly a ffecting Mallorca o r Minorca i n t he I biza,

i n

can be c oncluded a s having opened up a n ew e poch of

t rade with the

I berian Mainland,

a rrival of n ew i nfluences i ations, 6 00 b .c.,

c irca 7 00 b .c.,

6 54 B .C.,

s ame way a s s timulated

we w ell a s being i nstrumental

f rom this quarter. were probably m odest,

i n the

At f irst t hese a ssoci ntensifying t oward

a t the e nd o f the Early I ron Age a nd the b eginning of t he

M iddle I ron A ge.

Radiocarbon dates c orrelated with pottery typology f rom Talay otic

s ettlements

l ike S 'Illot c irca

o f F errandell-Oleza c irca 5 90 b .c. c irca

7 60 b .c.,

g ive u s t he two

6 .2

7 40 b .c.,

the Younger S ettlement

on Mallorca a nd Torralba d en S alort

and t he Talayot of B inicalf c irca 6 20 b .c.

on M inorca

i nterfaces of the E IA i n absolute dates.

T he M iddle I ron A ge

F rom the point of view of material c ulture, of the MIA a nd the L IA,

t here

e specially that

i s a n ew d egree of variety i n t he a rte-

f act a ssemblage during these l atter phases of the Post Talayotic P eri od.

During t he Middle

I ron Age,

c irca 6 00 b .c.

4 73

t o 4 00 b .c.,

t he

a bundant bronze

i tems t hat a re

i n c irculation i n the L BA/EIA a re r e-

placed a nd augmented by plentiful a s the

' pectorals and f ibulae',

1 46 t o

1 49 and 1 60).

i n the M IA and L IA,

This

i ron objects,

l ead ornaments

g lass a nd g lass paste b eads

i ncrease

i n material wealth,

particularly

s uggests t o t he a uthor a n a cceleration i n t rade

t o a l arger d egree than during the E IA:

an a cceleration o f t rade,

only w ith r egions a broad but i nter-island a s w ell, s ettlements t hemselves on e ach i sland.

l ocally m anufactured

a nd c irculated f rom c entres of d istribution i s n ot yet k nown; s tone moulds

n ot

a nd b etween t he

What percentage o f t hese t rade

c ommodities was imported and what percentage was tion w hich e xists

s uch

( Figures

i n r egard t o the Bronze Age a s well.

s uch a s t he B ronze Age e xample

phase of the Talayotic P eriod s how t hat s ome

( Figure

a s itua-

From e xisting

1 25)

f rom t he LBA

l ocal c asting a nd t raffic

i n bronze a s well a s l ead objects d uring this M IA phase d id t ake place. At t he

s ame time,

t he g rave

the f requency of i ron a nd o ther material

f urnishings,

f inds among

a nd t he f act that s uch r ich objects w ere a vail-

a ble a s well a s e xpendible

f or s uch u se,

most c ertainly i ndicates a

s upply a t hand a long with the a bility t o obtain ever n ew ones.

The ornate a nd e laborate c haracter of many of the n ewly i nt roduced i ron a nd l ead objects and 1 40,

l ead

( i.e.

hair r etaining r ings:

' pectorals a nd f ibulae':

f or a ffleunce a s well

a s

Figures

s uggest Celtic

1 46 t o

i nfluences.

1 48)

F igures

1 39

a lso s peak

N owhere e lse

during the prehistoric periods a re s uch d ecorative personal possessi ons f ound.

While we c an d emonstrate a 7 00 year period f or t he u se of quicklime

i nhumations a s t he principal means of burial d uring t he

Post Talayotic P eriod,

w e a lso

s ee the

l ized burials f rom a bout 4 50 b .c. Necropolis of S on Real on Mallorca t ombs w ere ( 1-3)

i ntroduction o f more persona-

i n t he f orm of the t ombs of t he ( Figure

1 33).

These w ell built

i n most c ases u sed only f or a l imited number of burials

t o e ach t omb.

While the grave g oods of these a re poor,

typology i s t ypically E IA a nd M IA

( Figure

1 35:2B)

t heir

and one o f t he

l ater c ollective t ombs on the n earby I sla d el P orros has a r adiocarbon date of c irca 4 80 b .c.

The c onstruction of s pecial t ombs o f t his s ort,

with their small n umber of bodies,

c ertainly s trongly s uggests a n

' elite'

On t he other hand,

i n this type of c emetery.

i n the burial

cave of S on B oronat a lso on Mallorca we f ind c ave burials where t he b odies have been placed i n wooden s arcophagi made of t ree n o known i n the Balearics).

The

c irca 4 50 b .c a nd the pottery v essels w ith the chronometric d ating.

1 4C d ates

' larch w ood'

( a

f or t his w ood a re

f ound with these a lso c orrelate

Chronometric r eadings f rom Matge a lso

c orrespond with the dates of both t hese

s ites,

a nd c ombined r epresent

three d ifferent methods of burial t hat were c ontemporary.

S o w e c an

c onclude that during this phase of t he P ost Talyaotic P eriod t hat t he h omogeneous nature of the t raditional Talayotic c ulture was r eplaced ' by various d ifferent c ultures r esulting f rom n ew a rrivals. t he d ifferences

i n the basic t reatment of t he d ead,

where l ittle care was t aken i n burying t he b odies r ied out a t Muertos Gallard a nd Matge, prepared t ombs

s uch a s S on Real

C ertainly,

f rom one e xtreme

i n quicklime a s c ar-

t o the other w ith c arefully

a nd a t S on Oms,

a s w e w ill

s ee l ater,

d emonstrates d ifferent c ultural a nd r eligious practices a nd b eliefs, w ell a s t he a rrival or d evelopment of a n s ociety. 4 74

' elite'

s tratum of l ocal

a s

T he L ate I ron A ge

6 .3

By the L IA o f the P ost Talayotic P eriod,

c irca 4 00 b .c.,

o f t he t raditional a spects of t he Talayotic c ulture a s we have d uring the Bronze A ges had undergone r adical c hanges:

c hanges w hich

w ere the d irect r esult of the e scalating i nfluences of the t ime, on t he c ontinent a s w ell a s

i n the M editerranean i tself.

L IA phase of the P ost Talayotic,

both

From t his

we have t he f irst c lassical written

r eferences r elated t o the Balearics. B .C.

most

s een i t

Diodorus r elates that i n 4 06

the Carthaginians r ecruited Balearic m ercenaries f or their cam-

paign a gainst S icily.

Hamilcar Barca a lso u sed Balearic mercenaries

t o s uppress t he r evolt of 2 40 B .C.

a t t he e nd o f t he f irst Punic War.

S uch i nvolvements undoubtedly had a g reat e ffect on the t ions,

being r esponsible f or e ver

r eligious practices a nd g eneral

Circa 4 00 b .c.

i ncreasing c hange

s ocial

onward,

we

l ocal f ields

s tructure.

s ee the

g oods mainly i n the f orm of pottery,

f lood of c lassical t rade

the r emains of which c over the

i n and a round the Talayotic monuments.

t his t ime that we

l ocal t radi-

i n t he e conomy,

I t i s a lso a t

s ee other i nfluences a rriving f rom t he Mainland,

which i s manifested mostly i n the radical c hange of P ost Talayotic p ottery typology a nd t echnology. g rossiere'

c irca 4 50 b .c. Furthermore

' poterie

onward and b elonging t o the M IA/LIA t ransitional phase.

i n l ocal

' crude ware'

s ettlements a s w ell a s c emeteries t his Balearic

i s a ssoicated with c lassical pottery s uch a s Punic a nd

R oman a mphorae a s w ell a s i ndigenous

The l ocal c ounterpart of

c an be d ated f rom r adiocarbon and s tratigraphy a s being

' crude ware'

f ine wares.

The

s udden a ppearnace of this

s trongly s uggests other n ew a rrival f rom

Mainland a reas.

Other b e s een i n the

i tems w hich were undoubtedly i mported f rom a broad can l ocal f inds of bronze

f inds of pieces

l ike t he bronze

s tatuary,

' Imhotep'

s uch a s the r ecent

f rom the Taula S anctuary

o f Torre d en Gaumes ( Rossello B ordoy, S anchez -C uenca a nd d e M ontaner A lonso 1 974) or the bronze bull from the Taula de Torralba den Salort F ernandez -M iranda a nd W aldren 1 981, i n p ress)as well as other bronze pieces, l ogy,

a ll o f which c an be dated r elatively a s being l ate

i n c hrono-

b elonging t o the M IA and L IA of the Post Talayotic P eriod.

S uch

i mported objects of f oreign manufacture do much t o s peak f or the w ide variety of c ontacts d uring these phases. c ult

i tems

l ike t hese a re

f ound,

they a re

I n the

s anctuaries where

i nevitably a ccompanied by

a bundant c lassical pottery.

Radiocarbon d ocumentation c ontinues t o d emonstrate the u se of quicklime t eries

i nhumations during a ll of t his phase a nd undoubtedly c eme-

l ike S on Real a nd I sla d e P orros c ontinued t o be u sed t hroughout

t his l ate phase.

At t he

s ame time,

w e

f ind other s orts of c emeteries

l ike that of S on Oms w here a c hildren's c emetery has b een r eported i n which the b odies w ere buried i n s andstone s arcophagi

1 973);

( Rossello B ordoy

t hus adding a nother type of P ost Talayotic burial custom,

w here the b odies of c hildren w ere buried apart f rom adults. t he L IA c ontexts,

t he a rtefact,

c hronometric a nd o ther r elative

4 75

one

I n a ll

chronology correlate r emarkably well a nd s upport t he view of a g reatly c hanged s ociety and e conomy f rom that o f t he f ormer Talayotic B ronze Ages;

one

i n which t he very i nsularity of t he

i slands was undergoing

a lteration.

With t he f inish o f t he Post Talayotic

I ron Ages,

w e bring t o

a c lose the l ong a nd i nteresting Balearic prehistoric r ecord. t he c ourse of i ts

l ong a ccount i n this t hesis

gaps and rough s pots,

W hile

c ontains a number o f

which t ime and f urther work i n t he i slands w ill

no doubt f ill a nd r ectify,

a multitude of n ew a spect a nd s tudy p oten-

t ials have c ome t o l ight a s a d irect r esult o f t he present f indings and r esearch. One o f t he main c ontributions of t he c urrent r esearch i s t he extensive a nd s uccessful u se o f radiocarbon m ethod, a n ew and more precise Balearic c hronological t o d efine

l ocal prehistoric events,

not only,

f ramework but,

t o f orm e qually,

a s well a s c ompile n ew data a nd

i nformation which c an b e c orrelated a nd u sed within t he wider perspect ive of European h istory. Because of t he bulk of t he n ew materials, and the r esulting

t hesis which'has grown out o f t he s tudy o f t hese,

c omparisons between l ocal a minimum.

These

a rchaeological publications,

data a nd i nformation,

s ites and their a rtefacts have b een h eld t o

l engthly comparisons a nd c orrelations b etween l ocal

s tations have been l eft t o i nterim s ite r eports a nd where t hey a re f ound i n proper perspective a nd i n a mply

d etailed description.

I n s hort a nd perhaps a t t he price o f s ome p oten-

t ial c riticism of t his t hesis,

t he great bulk o f available l ocal a rte-

f acts has not been drawn upon f or c omparative purposes. r espect,

i n the author's mind,

tuted original work,

I n another

t o have done s o would have not c onsti-

a s well a s being l argely r epetitive.

C ertainly the Muleta,

Matge and other r esearch s ite

graphies are i n t hemselves t he most e xtensive,

t o t he present t o have c ome out o f the Balearics. i n which the two principal

s trati-

c omplete a nd productive W e have

s een t he way

s tations o f Muleta a nd Matge have produced

c omplex s tratigraphies o f e xceptionally l ong a nd r evealing chronology, a long with i nteresting a nd i mportant materials which i n many c ases have no precendent;

h ence,

they r equire a c onsiderable period o f d igestion

a s well a s c ontinued s tudy.

I n other a spects r esearch a nd f inding

have a lready g one b eyond t he c hronometric proposed i n this thesis a nd t he

s ites

a nd c hronological boundaries

s tudied h ere.

A t ypical e xample

being the way i n which r ecent events have a ltered c ertain s tudy a spects; events

s uch a s

s ite which i s

t he d iscovery by t he author o f a P retalayotic

s ettlement

s ignificantly amplifying a nd c hanging t he c hronological

s tructure of t he P retalayotic P eriod i n particular,

producing a f und ,

of n ew physical evidence a s w ell a s c hronometric d ata c oncerning e arly Balearic open-air s ettlements.

Along t hese

l ines,

t he O ld S ettlement

of F ernandell-Oleza n ear the Muleta a nd Matge r esearch s ites has r ec ently g iven u s r adiocarbon dates o f 2 000 b .c.

t o

1 700 b .c.

f or o ccu-

pation c ontexts a ssociated w ith B ell B eaker m aterials a nd a lso g iven u s

a rchitectural

i nformation o f great i mportance;

i n

s o d oing e nlarging

our knowledge o f both e arly open-air s ettlements a s w ell a s Balearic B ell B eaker c ontexts

i n particular.

4 76

At t he

s ame t ime,

t hese a nd o ther

additions t o t he

l ocal r adiocarbon s urvey have a lso amplified d etails

i n s everal other ' areas o f r esearch d ealing with Talayotic c onstruction.

I n f inal c onclusion and a s r ent r esearch a nd the

s tated f rom the b eginning,

t he cur-

f orm i n which i t has b een presented i n t his

thesis a re part o f a n on-going programme of s tudy a nd i nvestigation; one which has a lready g one w ell beyond i ts original t entions.

4 77

f ramework a nd i n-

APPEND I CES

' Knowledge

i s o f two k inds:

we know a s ubject ourselves or w e k now where we can g et i nformation u pon i t.'

S amuel J ohnson 1 709-1784

4 80

A PPE NDI X 1A

APPENDIX

1A:

AN

INVENTORY

RESULTS

1 .

USED

OF

RADIOCARBON

IN

THE

AND

RESEARCH

OTHER

ANALYSES

SITES

T he B ackground t o t he I nventory a nd t he N eed f or a C atalogue o f C hronometric A nalyses i n t he B alearic I slands .

A l ong-term programme of dating i mportant s ites u sing r adioc arbon a nd other dating methods has b een underway i n the Balearics s ince

1 962.

l ogical

The present l ist o f d ates a nd h ence the c urrent c hrono-

f ramework o f Balearic prehistory c entres mainly on t he i sland

o f Mallorca,

but during the

s ister i sland of Minorca. b een made r ecently on the l ithic

l ast t hree years has b een e xtended t o t he Although s ome i nteresting d iscoveries have

s mall

i sland o f Formentera,

( Fernandez ,

s tructure has been e xcavated

a nd T opp 1 976),

where a m ega-

P lantalamor , M ässanet

n o material other than pottery has been f ound which c an

b e u sed f or dating this

i mportant s ite.

However,

t he a uthor b elieves

t hat i t i s only a matter o f t ime until r eliable materials f or r adioc arbon d ating will be

M eanwhile, s ites a s

i t i s

f ound a nd t he Balearic s urvey a ccordingly e nlarged.

the c urrent i nventory n aturally f avours Mallorca

i n these

s tations where t he a uthor

f irst began h is pro-

g ramme o f absolute dating which f orms t he present chronological work f or Balearic prehistory. most c omplete y et published.

The

i nventory a s

f rame-

i t a ppears h ere i s t he

D espite the f act that various

i nterim

( Waldren 1 967 , 1 968 a nd 1 972; R ossello B ordoy, K opper a nd W aldren 1 969; R ossello B ordoy a nd W aldren 1 973; F ernandez-Miranda a nd W aldren 1 974), the exl istings have been available

i n published f orm f or s ome t ime

t ent of the current i nventory i s much l arger, up t o the date of c ompletion of t his thesis

The t he basis

a nd i ncludes a ll r eadings

i n

1 981.

s ystem outlined h ere by t he author i s t hus extended t o f orm

f or a permanent c atalogue o f datings

i n t he Balearic I slands.

S uch a s ystem would greatly s implify t he addition o f n ew r eadings a s i nformation i s r eceived, f or f uture u se

a nd would permanently f ix c atalogue numbers

i n quoting dates.

The s ystem a s u sed i n t his

c onsists of a s eries of a bbreviations which d esignate where the dated s ample o riginates,

( b)

t he

s ite,

( c)

( a) t he

c onducting the analysis and t he r eadings official number, o f t he

s ample,

d ates B .P.

( e)

chronological period a nd

a nd b .c.

( uncalibrated).

( f)

i nventory

t he

i sland

l aboratory ( d)

t he n ature

f ollowed by t he a ctual

Dates added l ater would t ake o n t he

i nventory number t hat i s c losest t o t he c hronological o rder a lready a rranged at present, i cal

l etters t o the

but would i nclude a dditional i nventory number

( e.g.

4 6,

l ower case a lphabet-

4 6a,

manner a c ontinuing catalogue c an b e maintained,

4 6b e tc.).

a s data

I n t his

i s r eceived

s ite by s ite.

Along with this present i nventory, a re provided f or t he

a s et o f t ables a nd c harts

i nterested r eader a t the e nd o f this a ppendix,

r epresenting the optimal c alibration curve v entional r adiocarbon dates,

f or the c onversion o f c on-

u sing 5 568 y ear half-life

( Clark 1 975).

a ) + N

+ •

(0

iP

•

•

••

( 1 . 2

MA LLORCA

o

l z

•

4 A 0

• r •N i ' ;

4 ,4 1 1 ••• •

z

•

0

f ig . 1

f ig .

2

L ist o f t he G eneral D istribution o f S ettlement S ites i n M allorCa a nd M inorca a nd t hose w ith 1 4C D ocumentation MAPS Mallorca

Minorca

1 .

S on Barbassa

5 1.

Gabelli

1 .

2 .

S o's S astre

5 2.

Biniatro

2 .

Cudia Cremada

3 .

Pugols Grans

5 3.

Les Casotes

3 .

Binissafullet

4 .

S es Paisses

5 4.

Coma d e

4 .

Curnia

5 .

C ol d en P etro

5 5.

Ariant

5 .

Talati

6 .

S on Morel

5 6.

S itges

6 .

Binicalf

7 .

Can Pamboli

5 7.

Can Daniel

7 .

Torrebenc

8 .

S a Canova

5 8.

Escorca

8 .

Torre L lisa

9 .

P la de s a F iguera

5 9.

Cuber

9 .

Torre d en G aumes

l a Vinya

Trepuco

1 0.

Pinar S on S erra

6 0.

Alaro

1 0.

S t.

1 1.

S on Marinet

6 1.

Can Cabrit

1 1.

Torralba d en S alort

1 2.

S on Mari

6 2.

E s Puig

1 2.

B iniac

1 3.

E s Castellots

6 3.

E s Vilar

1 3.

Sa Torreta

1 4.

B inicaubell

6 4.

Lisa

1 4.

Alcotx S on tremol

V incent

1 5.

S on Dublons

6 5.

Son Company

1 5.

1 6.

S es Cabanasses

6 6.

S on Calussa

1 6.

S t.

1 7.

E s Bosc Veil

6 7.

Son Vispo

1 7.

B inicodrell N ou Binicalsitx

Augusti

1 8.

S auma Veil

6 8.

Binifat

1 8.

1 9.

Pula

6 9.

S on G elabert

1 9.

S on Guillem

2 0.

Llucamar

7 0.

Es Rossells

2 0.

Bella V entura

2 1.

S a Ponta

7 1.

Es Talaies

2 1.

Torre Llufuda

2 2.

Na Gatera

7 2.

S on Danus

2 2.

Ferragut N ou

2 3.

S 'Illot

7 3.

Son Cusina

2 3.

S anitja

2 4.

S a Marineta

7 4.

Es Antigors

2 4.

S erraseca

2 5.

5. S inia Nova B elver Ric 7

Na Nora

2 5.

S on B ernadi

2 6.

S on Nivorra

7 6.

Grossa

2 6.

Torre Nova

2 7.

Calderitx

7 7.

E s Torrent

2 7.

S on Angulado

2 8.

E s V elar

7 8.

Mitja Gran

2 8.

Torre V ella

2 9.

Rotana

7 9.

Danus

2

2 9.

S anta Rosa

3 0.

E s B oc

8 0.

Danus

3

3 0.

S on Catlar

3 1.

Vista Alegre

8 1.

S es Tancasses

3 2.

S ' Hospitalet

8 2.

Es Cap S ol

3 3.

S on H erevet

8 3.

S on Catlar

3 4.

S on Colom

8 4.

S on Vinynola

3 5.

S on F erragut

8 5.

Son Vinynola 2

1

3 6.

S on Vanrell

8 6.

S es S itjoles

3 7.

S on Creikell

8 7.

S a Talaia

1 01.

L lucan

3 8.

S on Possinyol

8 8.

Mayola

1 02.

Na Pau

3 9.

S on Mas

8 9.

S on S ervereta

1 03.

Na Pau 2

4 0.

E s Tatliu

9 0.

Capocorb V eil

04. 1 1

Na Pau 3

4 1.

S on S astre

9 1.

Cala P i

1 05.

4 2. . Son Parera

9 2.

Jagueto

1 06.

S on Jordi

4 3.

S on S erra

9 3.

Cas F rares

1

1 07.

S on Oms S on Mir

1

errer S on F

4 4.

S on Alba

9 4.

Cas Frares 2

1 08.

4 5.

S on S ant Joan

9 5.

Cas F rares

3

1 09.

4 6.

Puig d en F ont

9 6.

Cas Frares 4

1 10.

erralta S on S

elat on P

4 7.

C restatx

9 7.

S on Mut

1 11.

S on P uig

4 8.

Griolet

9 8.

Puig d e Ros

1 12.

S arria

4 9.

B iniatria

9 9.

Las Toro

1 13.

S es P lanes

5 0.

S on S imo

Cas Caseta

1 14.

S on F errandell

1 00.

These

s implified t ables

a nd charts a re presented i n place o f t he u sual

S uess Bristle-cone P ine calibrations

( Renfrew 1 973) because they show

a c onversion curve without t he d ramatic o scillations charts.

I n u sing t he C lark c harts a nd t ables,

f ound i n o ther

the r eader c an e asily

i n c alendar y ears ( Bristle -c one P ine). L ike ( Renfrew 1 973 a nd R enfrew a nd C lark 1 974), the pre-

a djust t he Balearic d ates many i nvestigators

s ent a uthor believes t hat s ooner o r l ater a universal c onversion o f e xisting r adiocarbon d ates w ill b e n ecessary.

1 .1

T he T est M aterials U sed i n t he C urrent S urvey .

A w ide variety of t est materials have been u sed i n t he d iffe rent t ypes of a nalyses which have yielded t he dates i nventory.

For the most part,

material was available,

but where more t han one material

These d ifferent materials w ere t ested s eparately, methods were used on a s ingle

s ample

This will b e d iscussed s hortly. d escribed i n the

l isted i n t his

i t was a matter of u sing whatever t est c ould b e u sed.

o r e lse d ifferent

i n o rder to c ompare r esults.

M eanwhile,

the materials u sed a re

f ollowing l ist:

1 .

Animal a nd human bone

2 .

Wood charcoal

3 .

Charcoal powder

( burnt a nd unburnt)

4 .

Carbonates

i n o rganic materials

5 .

Carbonates

i n calcite

6 .

Animal c oprolites

7 .

A spartic a cids

8 .

Travertine a nd c lays

( e.g.

bone

i n bone

( racemisation )

( paleomagnetics)

The a nalysis o f more t han one material g raphical horizon was c arried out,

f rom a s ingle

whenever possible,

( also s ection 2 h ere).

f acilities

( such a s Yale,

I n addition,

the S mithsonian,

a t S eattle a nd the B ritish Museum ) c ould b e c ompared.

s trati-

i n o rder t o

( Stuiver a nd W al-

check the m ethod's r esults against those o f a nother

d ren 1 974)

whether s imilar or not,

i n quicklime)

f ormations

a variety o f l aboratory

the University of Washington

w ere u sed f or t esting t he materials,

s o that possible d ifferences

I n other i nstances,

i n t echnique

t he particular l aboratory may

have been the only one equipped t o c onduct a s pecial a nalysis. t ype o f c ross-checking of dating r esults c an best b e gramme c arried out i n Muleta c ave

i n which M yotragus bone

l evels were dated by c onventional

1 4C method while other s amples

t he

s ame

method

This

s hown i n a prof rom various f rom

l evels were b eing t ested by t he r acemisation o f a spartic a cid

( Bada 1 975).

The r esults o f t hese t ests

a re

i ncluded i n t he

i nventory a long with s ome d escription of t he t echnique and a mple r ef erence t o the publication which u ses t he Muleta c ave. particular paper i s n ot c o-authored, i n the

s amples'

A lthough t his

t he author was d irectly e ngaged

c ollection a nd part o f t he r esearch t eam i n c urrent

a ctivities c oncerning the Muleta s urveys.

I n many c ases,

the t est s amples w ere c ollected by both t he

s cientist c onducting the a nalysis a nd t he a uthor.

4 87

I n other i nstances,

t hey w ere c ollected by t he a uthor a lone, r ecommended by

t he

u sing t he

c ollection m ethods

s cientist c onducting t he a nalysis.

have b een c ollected w ith t he utmost c are,

A ll t he s amples

a nd t he t ime g ap b etween

t heir c ollection a nd t he a nalysis has b een a s s hort a s possible t o e ns ure the minimum o f possible c ontamination,

a nd t hus t he b est possible

r esults.

S ome o f t he c luded originate

i nventory i s c omprehensive,

s ome o f t he d ates

i n-

f rom s ites e xcavated by s omeone o ther t han t he a uthor,

though a l arge percentage o f t hese have been a rranged by t he a uthor i n c ollaboration with the e xcavating s cientist

d ren 1 967 , R ossello B ordoy 1 973). o f

The

( Rossello B ordoy a nd W al-

l ist a lso

i ncludes t he r esults

i ndependent datings which have b een published f rom s till other e xca-

( Rossello B ordoy a nd F rey 1 964; R ossello B ordoy a nd L illiu 1 963; T arradell a nd W oods 1 967). A lthough t hese dates f orm a v ery

vations

small percentage of t he overall

i nventory,

they g ive v ery i mportant

data and h elp t o c onfirm many o f t he c onclusions r eached a t Muleta a nd Matge and the g eneral f ramework c reated by the

I n t he and there a re

i nventory,

t he dates a re

l isted i n c hronological o rder,

s ufficient t o provide a very s olid f ramework t o which

f uture additions c an b e made.

The l ist i s a lso d esigned t o a id t he

r eading and g eneral presentation o f t his e ral r emarks

i nventory i tself.

thesis,

documenting t he g en-

i n the t ext about t he c hronology of t he principal s ites,

a nd d rawing t ogether t his a spect o f t he author's work a nd t hat o f o thers working i n t he area.

1 .2

T he R esearch S ites U sed i n t he I nventory

The

s ites

f rom which t he t est materials originate a re n early

a s varied a s t he materials a nd d ating methods u sed. phasis on

' blanket c overage'

maintained,

a lthough i n s ome

d oes n ot t ake place, date.

The

I n addition,

o f d ates within i ndividual i nstances a s

e m-

s ites h as b een

i n i ndependent d atings t his

r esulting i n a s ite having only o ne r adiocarbon

s ites u sed c an b e d ivided i nto t hree types:

1 . N atural C aves containing animal and human r emains o r t races o f human a ctivities,

s uch a s burials a nd habitation over

s hort or l ong periods. 2 .

R ock S helters used by man and animals for s helter o r burial. These u sually s how e vidence o f

l onger human u se t han n atural

c aves. 3 .

O pen -a ir S ettlement S ites i n which people l ived i n l arge numbers, yots,

c arrying out building a ctivities,

Navetas,

The g eographic

l ocaction o f t hese

mostly throughout Mallorca

e recting Tala-

Taulas a nd other a rchitectural f orms.

s ites a re w idely d ispersed,

( see F igures 1-2 i n t his a ppendix).

4 88

They

r epresent a g ood c ross-section o f d ifferent s tratigraphical The most r eliable c onditions

( in t he

c onditions.

s ense o f y ielding t he b est s tratigraphical

i n v ertical s ection) a re t he c aves a nd s helters,

a s t hey

n ormally c ontain the b est preserved materials a nd s equences

i n the

l east d isturbed l evels,

Open-air

s ettlements,

e specially i n the e arlier periods.

on the other hand,

f or t he r easons o utlined previously i n

t he t ext a re n ot a s g ood f or d ating, v ities and natural

s oil e rosion.

mainly due t o a gricultural a cti-

H owever,

i n l ocales where t he a rch-

a eological horizons a nd t heir c ontents have i cal o r horizontal s tratigraphy,

s urvived i n e ither a v ert-

r elatively i ntact,

i nvariably c orrelate r emarkably well w ith t hose two k inds,

providing due c are has been t aken i n c ollection o f

F ew a reas

a s

s mall a s the Balearics have b een t he

varied a nd extensive a chronometric c ampaign, i dual

s ites

t he d ates obtained

f rom s ites o f t he o ther

i s r elatively small.

s amples.

s ubject o f a s

a nd t he number o f i ndiv-

The r esults however s eem t o f orm a

v ery c oherent pattern o f dates which c an be r elied on a s a p ermanent s ource of r eference.

They a lso e ncourage c onfidence

o f t he collection methods;

i n t he r eliability

a nd i n a ll c ases e xcept two have

l arge

s tat-

i stical margins of e rror

i n t he r adiocarbon d ates o ccurred.

s een w ith t hese

t he r esults were due t o i nsufficient t est

s amples,

A s will b e

materials.

T he M ethods o f A nalyses E mployed

1 .3

As mentioned e arlier,

a n umber o f d ifferent d ating m ethods a nd

o ther a nalyses have b een u sed i n t he r esearch s ites. a re n ew,

t ation and w ere u sed i n t he a nd t he

s tability o f t he c limatic ambience

f or e xperiment.

i nterpre-

s ites because t he n ature of the d eposition

r acemisation o f a spartic a cid a nalysis) t he

S ome o f t hese

a nd s ome a re c onventional methods o f c hronological ( such a s

i n the c ase of

s eemed t o have

i deal c onditions

The methods which w ill be f ound i n t he

i nventory a re

f ollowing: 1 .

Conventional

2 .

1 4C carbonate dating o f

1 4C dating o f o rganic materials

3 .

1 4C d ating o f c ave c alcite f ormation

4 .

Racemisation o f a spartic a cids

l ime a nd quicklime burials ( cores)

i n bone

5 .

Paleomagnetic dating o f t ravertine c ave f loors

6 .

Palynological a nalysis

7 .

S edimentological analysis a nd s tandard e xcavational pro-

i n t he c ave d eposit l evels

c edures.

The c omparison and c orrelation o f t he r esults f rom t he various methods o f dating have been discussed a lready i n t he a ppropriate t ions o f t he t ext o f t his thesis, t his Appendix.

s ec-

a nd the d etailed d ata i s g iven i n

I t i s worth r epeating h ere a c ouple o f e xamples o f t he

k ind of c orrelation which emerged,

f or e xample,

m ent b etween f our widely d ispersed s ites l ard a nd Cotxera,

n os.

4 7,

4 6,

t he r emarkable a gree-

( Nbleta,

M atge,

4 5 and 4 4 r espectively)

l evels with a lmost i dentical pottery a ssemblages.

4 89

Muertos G al-

which c ontained

The material u sed

i n d ating these c eramics.

s ites was a ll c harcoal

The dating r esults were

1 20 yrs.,

1 840 b .c.

+ 8 0 yrs.

f rom l evels a ssociated w ith t he

1 960 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.,

a nd 1 800 b .c.

Another i nstance of g ood c orrelation,

+

1 20 yrs.

1 4C d ating o f t he s ame bone

c an b e

1 4,900 b .c.

+ 2 00 yrs.

( SM,66)

a nd

1 4,385 b .c.

I n both t he e xamples c ited a bove,

s een i n t he

f rom Muleta.

a nalyses w ere c arried out by different l aboratories, of

The

a nd g ave r eadings

+ 4 15 yrs.

i nterpretation;

( SM,65).

r emarkable r esults w ere ob-

t ained which r ecommend t he various methods a s e xcellent t ools c hronological

+

this t ime with two d ifferent

methods u sed o n a s ingle material A r yotragus bone) r esults of RAA a nd

1 870 b .c.

r espectively.

i n t he a uthor's e xperience,

comings are by f ar outnumbered by t he advantages.

f or

a ny s hort-

Other d isciplines

f or dating will undoubtedly be d eveloped i n t he n ear f uture which w ill undoubtedly b e d eveloped i n t he n ear f uture which w ill

f urther e xtend

our c hronological knowledge a nd h elp t o e nlarge t his c urrent i nventory. They may a lso r eveal a nd a id i n t he a djustment o f d iscrepancies o f which w e a re a t present unaware, on the

a s was the c ase when adjustments based

s tudy o f Bristle-cone pines f irst had t heir i mpact on a ccepted

i deas of c hronology based on c onventional currently up-dating t his

i nventory s ince

1 4C dating. 1 976,

Furthermore,

many more

i n

s uch c lose

c orrelations b etween t he r adiocarbon d eterminations o n d ifferent mate rials

( e.g.

bone,

c harcoal a nd c arbonised g rain)

f rom t he

s ame s ite

c ontexts u sing d ifferent l aboratory f acilities have b ecome a pparent, f urther d emonstrating t he advantages o f s ite

' blanket d atings'.

S uess B irstle-cone P ine C alibrations a nd C lark O ptimal C alib ration C urves f or t he C onversion o f C onventional R adiocarbon D ates i nto C alendar Y ears

1 .4

The c onversion o f c onventional r adiocarbon d ates i nto c alendar y ears

i s

s till viewed with s ome c ontroversy a t t he up-dating o f t his

i nventory i n

1 980.

S ince Suess

f irst presented h is c alibration c hart

( Suess 1970) ‚there have been s everal other modified 1 4C date c onversion curves

( e.g.

1 975),

e ach o f which present different variations o f c urve patterns f or

c onverting

Ralph e t a l c onventional

prefers t o u se R . M.

1 973,

1 4C d ates

C lark's

c orrect the d ifferences

Damon e t a l

Switzur

i n most o f t he c urves

data i n the plotting o f t he c urve, a nd l ast b ecause

1 973

i nto BRCP c alendar years.

c onversion c urve b ecause

s ent i n othe other c onversion c harts endar y ears,

1 972,

a nd C lark T he a uthor

i t proposes t o

( kinks a nd w iggles)

pre-

s o f ar published a nd u ses more

r egarding r adiocarbon a ge a nd c al-

i t e liminates t he problems which a rise

of having t o make d elicate d ecisions a s t o where a 1 4C d ate may s trike the many

' kinks a nd w iggles'

i n c onsiderable d ifferences

i n o ther charts,

d eterminations w ere o nly s eparated by a s t he C lark f ore,

( 1975)

conversion c urve

d espite whatever

which would o ften r esult

i n c onverted c alendar year dates whose l ittle a s

1 0 years.

i s e asier t o u se e ffectively.

t repidations

t hat i t may c ause

by t he c onversion r esults of r ecent r adiocarbon d ates c alendar years a nd t he Pretalayotic, f or f uture

1 4C

I n s hort There-

s ome c olleagues i nto c alibrated

f orm t he n ew f ramework t akes w ithin t he B alearic

Talayotic a nd Post Talayotic P eriods,

c onsideration by t he more

4 90

t hey a re presented

i nquisitive a nd a dventurous m inds.

f rom providing the a djustments that become possible f or

Apart

i ndividual Balearic 1 00 b .c.

1 4C datings

back t o 4 000 b .c.,

i nto BRCP c alendar years

f rom c irca

the c alibrations a lso enable u s t o c onsider

g roups o f dates within the various B alearic prehistoric periods. has been d one by g rouping two or more dates

i nto a g roup u nit

1 -39)

a s they a ppear i n Table

part)

but e xtending c onsiderably l onger i n t he

Table

1 s hows g roups of

c alibrations,

1 ( at i ntervals o f

1 4C dates

i n

1 00 years

This

( groups

f or t he most

l ast group unit

( 47).

1 4C y ears with their c alendar y ear

a nd f rom i t we can g et s ome

i dea o f the e ffect t hat s uch

adjustments have on the various d ates o f t he Balearic prehistoric c ult ural periods .

However,

n o a ttempt has b een made t o make a ccurate e val-

uations o f i ndividual dates within t heir s tatistical e rrors, s hould be c alculated f or each plus and m inus f actor. d one

i n a s eparate

s tudy,

t his g eneral c onversion of group d ates, ( 1975),

i s i nteresting a s

i ods,

which

s hould b e

c onsidering t he v ery l arge number of r adio-

c arbon d etermination i nvolved i n t he Balearic

t he a lterations

This

i nventory.

Nonetheless,

u sing C lark's t ables a nd c urve

i t g ives a g ood n otion o f the magnitude o f

i n the datings t hat

i nvolve

t he various B alearic per-

e specially where c omparison w ith Continental European c alibrated

d ates may one day be n ecessary.

C oncerning t he S uper G roups U sed i n T his A ppendix

1 .5

The s erial

f ollowing t able

numbers on the

dual groups c an b e made i n the t able

i n the

( Table / )lists the various groups with

s eparate a nalyses u sed i n t hem.

These

i nto t hree d istinct S uper G roups

f orm of b oxes:

f orm S uper G roup I ,

g roup units 0 -7

f orm S uper G roup I II and group unit 3 1 f orms S uper G roup I V . Each o f the S uper G roups corresponds with one of the Balearic Prehistoric Cultural g roup units 8 -13

P eriods

i n t he

f orm ' S uper G roup I I ,

i ndivi-

a s outlined

3

1 4-30

f ollowing manner:

1 . S uper G roup I 2 .

g roup units

S uper G roup I I

-S uper G roup I II

The Post Talayotic P eriod The Talayotic P eriod

( Iron Age)

( Bronze Age)

The Pretalayotic P eriod

( Eneolithic-

Neolithic) 4 .

S uper G roup I V

The E arly S ettlement P eriod

These S uper G roups are l ogical

f ramework u sed i n the

i mportant i n t he

s tructure o f the c hrono-

t ext o f this t hesis.

They a lso d efine

t he uncalibrated a nd c alibrated l imits o f t he Balearic Age,

( Neolithic)

I ron Age,

B ronze

Eneolithic and N eolithic phases.

I n t he

s econd t able

( Table 2 ), the l imiting dates i n 1 4C y ears

w ith t he c orresponding BRCP calendar year d ates a re g iven f or e ach

S uper G roup, based on the various charts and tables. i sions o f t he various periods b een

i nto l ate,

Further s ub-div-

middle a nd early phases have

s uggested i n the t ext a nd their d ates c an b e

c alculated within

t he known s pan of each o f t he S uper G roups whether in calibrated or

4 91

uncalibrated t erms. of the

I ndeed s ome o f t he best

s upport f or t he r eality

s cheme of d ivisions a nd s ubdivisions u sed by t he a uthor i s f orth-

c oming f rom the r adiocarbon evidence,

and addition o f t he dating e vid-

ence greatly s trengthens the proposals t hat might otherwise r ely o n t ypological consideration a lone.

For t he B alearic r egion,

t his

i s the

f irst attempt t o u se t he chronometric evidence t o draw g eneral c onclus ions r ather than t o help i n t he

i nterpretation o f i ndividual

s ites.

I t i s a lso t ime t o u se t he dating evidence amassed over t he past years t o attempt c orrelation b etween the Balearic quences

i n other parts o f E uorpe a nd t he Mediterranean.

e ffort may not be a ble t o b e t aken v ery f ar yet a s available t ation,

i nformation i s

s till

but a t l east s ome

even i f they l ater prove

I n f act,

the

This

s o much o f t he

i n t he preliminary s tages o f i nterpre-

f irst hypotheses c an be put f orward h ere,

s ystem outlined here d oes not obviously present e ither l ocally or a field.

At t he

t here appears t o be n o g reat d iscrepancies amongst t he

s ite c orrelations,

or i n t he

i ndividual

i n the chronological c omparisons or Europe.

s ite

s tratigraphies,

s ame

i ntero r e ven

s uggested with a reas o f t he Mainland

On the c ontrary the d ata a nd i nformation i s on t he whole

c omplimentary and s upportive. evidence

s e-

l atter

i n need o f s evere r evision.

major problems of c orrelation t ime,

1 9

s equence a nd t he

I t i s rather a c ase t hat more d etailed

i s provided f or c ertain a reas,

previously no i nformation,

and others,

where there was

a re n ow able t o b e brought i nto t he w ider

perspective and picture with European and M editerranean a reas.

4 92

T able 1 .

G rouped 1 4C D ates i n 1 4C Y ears w ith G rouped C alibrations i n 1 00 Y ear I ntervals i nto B RCP C alendar Y ears ( 5568 H alf-Life) T otal a nd

G roup

1 4C-14C

C alendar Y ears

I nventory o f A nalyses

b .p.

b .c.

B .C.

B .P.

0 -1

0 -1

1 950-2050

0 -100

1

2 -3a

2 050-2150

1 00-200

9 5-205

2 05-2155

2

4 -9

2 150-2250

2 00-300

2 05-400

2 155-2400

3

1 0-12a

2 250-2350

3 00-400

4 00-450

2 400-2440

4

1 2b-15

2 350-2450

4 00-500

4 50-600

2 440-2550

5

1 6-21

2 450-2550

5 00-600

6 00-800

2 550-2750

6

2 2-23

2 550-2650

6 00-700

8 00-880

2 750-2830

7

2 4-26

2 650-2750

7 00-800

8 80-975

2 830-2925

2 7-29a

2 750-2850

8 00-900

9 75-1100

2 925-3050

2 850-2950

9 00-1000

1 100-1250

3 050-3200

8 9

2 9b-31

1 0

3 2-34b

2 950-3050

1 000-1100

1 250-1385

3 200-3335

1 1

3 4c-35a

3 050-3150

1 100-1200

1 385-1495

3 335-3445

1 2

3 6

3 150-3250

1 200-1300

1 495-1595

3 445-3545

1 3

3 7

3 250-3350

1 300-1400

1 595-1710

3 545-3660

3 350-3450

1 400-1500

1 710-1835

3 660-3785

3 450-3550

1 500-1600

1 835-1975

3 785-3925

4 2

3 550-3650

1 600-1700

1 975-2095

3 925-4045

1 7

4 3

3 650-3750

1 700-1800

2 095-2230

4 045-4180

1 8

4 4-46

3 750-3850

1 800-1900

2 230-2385

4 180-4335

4 7

3 850-3950

1 900-2000

2 385-2520

4 335-4470

4 8-50

3 950-4050

2 000-2100

2 520-2670

4 470-4610

5 0a

4 050-4150

2 100-2200

2 570-2850

4 610-4800

2 2

4 150-4250

2 200-2300

2 850-2970

4 800-4920

2 3

4 250-4350

2 300-2400

2 970-3095

4 920-5045

2 4

4 350-4450

2 400-2500

3 095-3245

5 045-5195

2 5

4 450-4550

2 500-2600

3 245-3370

5 195-5320

2 6

4 560-4650

2 600-2700

3 370-3485

5 320-5435

4 650-4750

2 700-2800

3 485-3580

5 435-5530

2 8

4 750-4850

2 800-2900

3 580-3685

5 530-5635

2 9

4 850-4950

2 900-3000

3 685-3785

5 635-5735

3 785-3885

5 735-5825 5 835-5940

1 6

1 9 2 0 2 1

2 7

IN ) IN )

3 8-39 4 0-41

1 5

1 , 1 (,) 1, . 1w

1 4

1

5 1

3 0

4 850-5050

3 000-3100

3 1

5 050-5150

3 100-3200

3 885-3990

3 200-3300

3 990-4095

5 940-6045 6 045-6200

5 150-5250

3 2 3 3

5 250-5350

3 300-3400

4 095-4250

3 4

5 350-5450

3 400-3500

4 250-4375

6 200-6325

3 500-3600

4 375-4450

6 325-6400

3 600-3700 _

4 450-4520

6 400-6470

5 650-5750

3 700-3800

4 520-4590

6 470-6540

5 750-5850

3 800-3900

4 590-4680

6 540-6630

5 850-5950

3 900-4000

4 680-4845

6 630-6795

6 650-6750

4 700-4800

5 450-5550

3 5

5 550-5650

3 6 3 7 3 8

2

5 2-53

3 9 4 7

1

5 4

* O ut o f d ating r ange o f B RCP

( estimated d ate)

4 93

c irca

7 500

T able 2 .

T he S uper G roups F ormed b y I ndividual G roups o f A nalyses a nd T heir R elationship t o t he D ivisions o f B alearic P reh istory i n T erms o f 1 4C D ates a nd B RCP D ates

Group Nos.

No.

o f Dates

1 4C-14C

B CRP Calendar Y ears

The P ost Talayotic P eriod - I ron Age Super Group I

3 5

0 -7

0 -800 b .c.

0 -975 B .C.

1 950 A .D.-2750 b .p.

1 950 A .D.-2925 B . P.

The Talayotic P eriod - B ronze Age S uper G roup I I

1 9

8 -13

8 00 b .c.-1400 b .c.

9 75 B .C.-1710 B . C.

2 750 b .p.-3350 b .p.

2 925 B .P.-3660 B. P.

The P retalayotic P eriod - E neolithic/Neolithic Super Group I II

1 5

1 4-30

1 400 b .c.-3000 b .c.

1 710 B .C.-3885 B .C.

3 350 b .p.-5050 b .p.

3 660 B .P.-5835 B . P.

The Early S ettlement P eriod - N eolithic Super Group IV

3

3 1-47

3 000 b .c.-4800 b .c. . 5050 b .p.-6750 b .p.

*Estimation

a s date

i n

1 4C b .c.

3 885 B .C.-4845 B .C. 5 535 B .P.-7500 B. P.*

i s out o f r ange o f BRCP c alibrated

dating

Each of t he a bove S uper G roups a nd t he g roup units a s w ell a s i ndividual dates of which they a re made up a re plotted o n e nlarged charts

( Figures 4-7 ) to give a better idea of their relationship to

the C lark i s

( 1975)

c onversion c urve.

s hown i n a s eparate chart

The

c omplete C lark c onversion curve

( Figure 3 ).

c onversion c urve a long with t hat o f Switzur be

s een i n s till a nother c hart

( Figure 2 )

c omparative purposes.

4 94

The f irst S uess calibrated ( 1973) a nd a re

a nd D amon

( 1972)

i ncluded h ere

f or

c an

A spartic A cid R acemisation i n F ossil B ones o f t he M yotragus b alearicus f rom t he M uleta D eposit i n R egard t o G lacial a nd P ost G lacial T emperature D ifferences

1 .6

I n

1 971,

metric dating,

a s part o f t he a uthor's c ontinuing programme o f c hrono-

an additional

s urvey,

a s ource of d ata and i nformation,

u sing t he Muleta s tratigraphy a s

was

P eabody Museum of Natural H istory,

s uggested by Dr.

Y ale University,

r ecently undertaken method o f dating f ossil bone, D r.

J effrey Bada o f t he S cripps

o f California a t La Jolla.

I n

1 972,

O strom a nd K .

under d evelopment by

I nstitute o f O ceanography,

The author,

with J .

t he c ollection of a s eries of s pecimen s amples

J .

John O strom o f

i nvolving t he then

O strom,

University

a rranged f or

f or a nalysis

a r esearch t eam c onsisting o f Drs.

J .

f rom Muleta.

Bada,

S .

C lark,

Turekian a nd t he a uthor c ollected s amples f or t he

e xpress purpose of radiocarbon dating a nd c orresponding r acemisation o f a spartic a cid analyses o f t his

( RAA ),

the r esults of which a re t he

s ubject

( Bada a nd S chroeder

s ection a nd have been s eparately published

1 973).

1 .7

S ummary o f t he T echnique a nd P reliminary R esults

The f ollowing s ection i s a d irect s ummary o f the paper j ust quoted,

a nd i t i s worth i ncluding h ere a s t he method i s r elatively n ew

a nd there i s

s till n ot much l iterature published on i t.

I t i s a lso

i ncluded here because the method was a pplied t o the Muleta c ave

s trati-

g raphy and i ts materials a nd t herefore a part o f the chronometric data f rom t he d eposit. quoted paper,

While the author i s n ot a c o-author o f t he a bove

he was and s till

i s d irectly r elated t o t he c ontinued

s urvey utilising the method being c urrently c arried out i n h is r esearch s tation.

Another i mportant r eason f or i ts

a ppendix i s t hat one of i ts

s ide a ims

i nclusion i n this t hesis

i s t o g roup t ogether a s much o f

a vailable d ata and a spects c oncerning t he r esearch s ites a s possible under one c over.

At the

understood o r a ccepted, l ation w ith

t he method i s not t oo g enerally

1 4C a nalyses u sing materials

a bly s uccessful, t herefore,

s ame t ime,

a lthough a s will b e

s een,

i ts u se and c orre-

f rom Muleta have been r emark-

e specially i n r egard t o the

s ite's

l ower s tratigraphy;

s ome d escriptive d iscussion s eems merited.

I t i s r easoned by the authors

( Bada a nd S chroeder)

t hat i t i s

possible t o d etermine t he magnitude of t emperature i ncrease o ccurring i n c ontinental r egions during t he e nd o f t he

l ast g laciation by e stab-

l ishing t he d egree of racemisation o f a spartic a cids known age. s how a n

The r esults

i n f ossil b ones of

t hat have b een a rrived at by Bada a nd S chroeder

i ncrease of 4 2C f or t he Mediterranean c oast a nd 5 2C t o 6 2C f or

E ast Africa.

These e stimates a re b elieved t o b e r eliable within

1 °C.

The basis of d etermining and e stimating c limatic c hanges t hat o ccurred on t he earth during g lacial c ycles

4 95

i s d one

i n two ways:

( 1)

t o d etermine the

1 8 o /

1 6 r atios

i n calcareous

analysis of pollen and f aunal d istributions.

f ossils a nd

Naturally,

t ation of these a re based on a number o f f actors,

( 2)

t he

t he i nterpre-

t he a bsolute magni-

t ude of t emperature d ifferences during t he P leistocene a nd i nterglacial c ycles c annot be uigvoiglly d etermined i n t he majority o f c ases. which affects the t emperature

0/

0 r atios

f ound i n c alcareous

f luctuations a nd i sotopic c hanges

s ults of the

s torage of g reater amounts of

i n the c ontinental

i ce

f ossils

i n s ea water,

which r e-

' isotopically l ight'

s heets during e xtensive g laciation.

a re not f ully understood.

While pollen a nd f aunal

w eather,

water

The c o -

bin a tion of f actors a ffecting t he production of t he r atios o f g eneral k inds of v egetation,

That

i s t he

1 8

0 /m i 6 0

s tudies r eflect t he

a nd i n turn s omething o f t he g eneral

these cannot offer a ccurate e stimates of t he prevailing t emp-

e ratures,

except t hat i t was warmer o r c older.

A ccording t o Bada and S chroeder i n their paper e stimations of paleotemperatures c an b e made by measuring the racemisation o f a mino a cids.

For example,

only L-amino a cids undergo s low r acemisation,

producing the non-protein a cids, ture.

S o that i s one o f t hese variables

i s known,

t he r eaction o f the

other s hould possibly be a ble t o be u sed t o d etermine t he other. f ore,

hypothetically,

s ituations

the

thus

a nd d epends on both t ime a nd t emperaThere-

f ossil materials f ound i n g ood e nvironmental

( similar t o t hose f ound i n Muleta)

t he age o f a l evel a nd the

can b e u sed t o e stimate

f ossil e vidence by the e xtent o f t he r ace-

misation of amino a cids a nd paleotemperatures evaluated by u sing other i nformation.

By d ating t he f ossil evidence by C 14 a nalysis,

t he r ace-

misation r eaction c an b e a method i n which t o e stimate t he a verage t empe rature that a s ample has undergone

s ince

i ts d eposition.

For e xample,

Bada a nd S chroeder m easured the r acemisation amount o f a 1 4C d ated h ippopotamus bone,

and w ere a ble t o s how t hat t he a verage o f a warm

s pring

i n S outh Africa was n early c onstant f or t he past

( Florisbad )

4 0,000 y ears. s hell

They a lso w ere a ble t o d emonstrate t hat a 1 4C d ated

d eposit f rom t he S outheastern United S tates possibly have a

s evere t emperature d ecrease

i n t he a verage t emperature d uring t he

g laciation i n this a rea of a bout

l ast

1 52C.

The a uthors c onclude t hat the most u seful a mino a cid f or making e stimates of paleotemperatures of the

i s a spartic a cid a s i t has one

f astest r acemisation r ates of t he

s table amino a cids.

half l ife of a spartic r acemisation of bone i f the

a mbient t emperature

i s

t emperature of Muleta c ave has o f Muleta cave has t o b e

1 92C t o

2 09C.

i s

The

1 5,000 t o 2 0,000 y ears,

The r eader s hould note t hat t he

s hown the a verage y early t emperature

s hown the average yearly t emperature i n t he c ave

1 9.59C,

s o t hat t he c ave d eposit was

i nitially s uited

f or this r esearch programme.

Table a nd S chroeder

3 s hows t he

1 4C a ges of t he

f ossil bone u sed by B ada

( based on c ollegen f raction),

a nd average racemisation r ate c onstant

D /L a spartic a cid r atios

( Kasp).

The porous bones s uch

a s v ertebrae have a g reater s urface a rea a nd more porous, l ikely t o c ontamination by g round waters e tc. w ere

I ndeed,

t hus more

D /L r atios

f ound by Bada a nd S chroeder t o be g enerally l ower i n porous b one

c omponents.

4 96

T able 3 .

T he S ites S amples, A ges a nd O ther I nformation , t he D /L A spartic A cid R atios ( D/LAA) a nd A verage R acemisation R ate ( Kasp).

, Location

Sample

D/L

Date

Kasp

, Muleta Cave, Mallorca,

UCLA

1 704C

0 .222

8 ,570-

3 50

1 .72

Spain. 0 .206

Lukenya Hill,

UCLA

1 704D

0 .273

1 6,850-

2 00

1 .25

UCLA

1 704E

0 .293

1 8,980-

2 00

1 .22

UCLA

1 709C

0 .154

2 ,120-

6 0

4 .02

UCLA

1 709B

0 .500

1 7,700-

7 60

2 .71

UCLA

1 695

0 .316

1 7,550-1000

1 .48

Kenya.

Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

Notes:

The Authors

( Bada and S chroeder)

i nformation t o the be

s ites.

gave no

However,

s tratigraphically l ocated i nthis

s tratigraphical

the Muleta s amples

can

i nventory.

The underlined r eading means that this rate constant r epres ents

the

average value obtained f rom analyses or two dif-

f erent pieces of bone. ,

The research of Bada and S chroeder i ndicates an average erature

i ncrease of 4 2C

following the

the Western Mediterranean. i sotopic ratios of marine

l ast Glaciation's

Other research by Emiliani who used oxygen shells

( food debris)

Mediterranean coast e stimated an

i ncrease of

f ound i n caves

average yearly t emperature.

Still another i nvestigator s talagmite

e stimates

a g lacial and

Further r esearch combining a spartic f rom the conventional

carried out

i n the Muleta cave and the Matge rock

available.

f rom the deepest

Especially l evels

radiocarbon method i s being currently

Here,

s helter.

added to the g eneral

i nteresting

s hould be

i n Matge proper a s well a s

r ecently discovered adjacent to the rock outcrop.

e stimates.

a cid age determination

with others

become

i n s outhern

t emperature change of 4 2C.

The Muleta s amples agree very well with both these

this on-going programme will be

( Duplessy 1 974)

f ound i n a cave

i nterglacial

a long the

f rom 5 2C to 6 2C i n the

used i sotopic composition of France

t emp-

t ermination i n

l ower

sample datings from a new chimney

s ystem but part of the

articulated A l yotragus b alearicus

4 97

Results of

i nventory a s they

s ame

s keletons have

been f ound.

When l inked with the r esults o f

1 4C datings presently i n

process at the British Museum r adiocarbon l aboratory, o f these n ew presettlement eotragus

t hese RAA a nalyses

l evels s hould prove quite i mportant.

1 4C C arbonate D ating a nd t he A ge o f t he P ost T alayotic Q uickL ime B urials i n M allorca: I ntroduction t o t he C urrent R esearch

2 .

This

i nvestigation was

b egan a s early a s s till

s upported by t he United S tates N ational

( Stuiver a nd W aldren 1 975).

S cience Foundation

1 965,

i n progress.

The i nitial

but has been i ntensified s ince

The principal

s ampling

1 969 a nd i s

s ites u sed have b een t he r ock s hel-

t ers of S on Matge a nd Muertos Gallard because o f t he c haracter o f t heir r eservoirs.

The f requency of s uch r eservoirs throughout Mallorca a nd

Minorca has probably r esulted i n t heir being t aken f or g ranted by most l ocal

i nvestigators a s w ell a s their having b een p lundered by numerous

non-professionals.

At t he

s ame t ime,

t here has been a g eneral o pinion

t hat quicklime burials w ere a s hort-lived phenomenon,

t he c ontrary o f

which i s now known t o e xist.

The purpose o f the c urrent r esearch has b een t o e stablish ( a)

the duration o f t he c ustom,

l ogical

f ramework a nd

t o the t imes. i s

( c)

( b)

possible

i ts r ole i n the B alearic c hronoi nfluences a ffecting a nd r elated

A f urther aim has b een t o date a material r esource which

a bundant a nd has been h iL l ielbo h eylected by c omparing a nalyses r e-

s ults with t hose o f conventional

The a nalyses r esults

1 4C charcoal dating.

i ndicate t hat t he quicklim z _ b urial r ite

o riginated a t l east by t he 6 th Century B .C., a ccording t o r ecent i ndications

perhaps e ven e arlier

( circa 7 80 b .c.).

There

i s a lso c on-

c lusive evidence t hat t he l ime burials c ontinued w ell a fter t he Roman C olonisation of Mallorca

( circa 8 0 b .c.).

s iderable duration o f 6 00 years or more

This would s uggest a c on-

i n which t he

s ubstance was

employed f or i nhumation.

2 .1

T he C ustom o f Q uicklime B urials, I ts P ossible O rigin

I nhumations g raphies,

i n quicklime,

t he B alearic P henomenon a nd

t heir s ite

d iscussed i n d etail

i n t he t ext

( Chapter V ).

s tressed that origin o f t he custom r emains menon.

l ocalities a nd s trati-

e specially t hose o f Matge a nd Muertos Gallard,

However,

a s pointed out,

have b een

I t c annot be t oo h eavily

s trictly a B alearic pheno-

i ts u se of burial o ccurred during t he

period when h istorical M editerranean navigation a nd t rade w ere i n f ull progress.

I n the

l ast centuries of t he Talayotic c oncept,

Greek a nd Roman i nfluences b ecome s ettlements

a nd t rade

i tems.

P hoenician,

i ncreasingly e vident i n t he

At t he

s ame t ime,

f orm o f

o ther i ndications o f

t rade a nd c ontact w ith western a nd n orthern c ontemporary c ultures e xits.

4 98

The u se o f quicklime

a s a burial medium i n place o f earlier

methods a s d iscussed i n Chapter V i s one o f the r emarkable e vents which d elineates

t he Post Talayotic P eriod.

a s t o the origin o f t he

i dea,

Nearly nothing i s known

but i t can be a ssumed t hat e xposure t o

quicklime manufacture o ccurred due t o c ontact with t he C lassical W orld. At the beginning of the Early I ron Age,

t he Phoenicians

i n t he Canaanite

east had d eveloped a n ew method o f l ining water s torage c isterns with i mpermeable

l ime plaster f or l ong t erm s torage o f r ainwater.

c ement was d eveloped, the

Later t rue

and many c isterns w ith s uch l inings e xist f rom

l ater years of t he Punic City o f Carthage.

I t i s a matter of historical r ecord that t he Balearic o f I biza was

s ettled by the Carthaginians

r ics were a lso

i n 6 54-653 B .C.

i nvolved i n wars b etween Carthage a nd Rome between t he

5 th a nd 2 nd C enturies B .C.,

an i nvolvement which c ulminated i n t he

c onquest of Mallorca by Caecilius M etellus.

There i s however no evi-

d ence that the Phoenicians u sed quicklime f or burials. be postulated

( a)

I t c an only

t hat t he t echnical knowledge may have b een brought

back by t ravellers or mercenary s oldiers f rom a n a rea where f acture was being c arried out, i n d isposing

i sland

The B alea-

a nd

( b)

l ime manu-

that i ts practical a pplication

of the d ead was t herefore l ocalised.

I t a lso s eems quite

e vident that the method must have taken on s ome r eligious a s well a s practical burial the

f ollowing

Balearic I biza)

( 1)

s ignificance. the

The

l ogic o f this a ssessment r ests

i n

f requency o f quicklime c emeteries t hroughout t he

i slands o f Mallorca and Minorca

( none a re a s yet known on

s hows a widely a ccepted u se o f t he method,

o f t he l ime i tself i n l arge quantities

v ery d efinite r egard f or a f orm o f c eremony, a tory c ollection o f f uel

( 2)

the manufacture

f or burial u se d emonstrates a a nd t he n ecessary prepar-

f or the f ires t o make the l ime a long with t he

quicklime a ctivation and a pplication,

( 3)

based on the

s upposition t hat

the e ffects of quicklime were observed f or c onstructional purposes, was not utilised o ther t han f or burial

l ocally.

Balearic phenomenon s o f ar unknown e lsewhere

T he R esearch M ethod ,

2 .2

i n the Prehistoric World.

t he R esults a nd G eneral I nformation

Examination has been made o f

l ime c arbonates a nd i ncorporated

charcoals t o d etermine t he f easibility o f l ime dating f or t his

l ocal

e nvironment.

c ame

The majority o f the c ollected s amples

f rom the S on Matge burial

Four charcoal

s ite

s amples

i n Mallorca

f rom s everal e xcavated s ection. t hese QL-11,

s amples are QL-10, 2 ,700 b .p.

( 570 b .c.) or minus

The

2 5'E,

( yrs.

( 530 b .c.)

plus or minus QL-27,

r espectively.

4 99

1 969-73

3 92

3 5'N ).

c remation e poch

s trata were c ollected .

l aboratory n umbers

a nd the d ates

plus or minus 8 0 yrs.,

5 0 yrs.

l ime burial

2 ,480 b .p.

( 750 b .c.)

( 62

i n

f rom t he Late Talayotic

t aken f rom directly underneath the n ary I sotopic Laboratory)

i t

The custom r emains a

b .p.

( QL - Quater-

a nd yrs.

b .c.)

plus or minus

8 0 yrs.,

2 ,640 b .p.

QL-26,

o f

7 0 yrs.,

2 ,520 b .p.

( 690 b .c.)

p lus

r egular grave techniques to

This places t he t ransition f rom l ime burials a pprbximately 2 ,500 b .p. c alendar years to 5 10-660 B .C.,

The l ime

The

1 4C a ge

i s e quivalent i n

a ccording t o Masca calibrated t ables.

s trata i n t he Matge burial grounds have a t hickness

o f up t o one meter i n t he C entral Enclsoure a nd up t o a reas.

A multitude of bone r emnants

i s

l eft f or

the h igh t emperatures a chieved during l ime s amples were t he

l ime

s laking.

i n s ome

I solated c harcoal

f ound i n two s ections a t a d epth o f 7 5

l ayer,

1 50 cms.

1 4C dating b ecause o f cms.

a nd 9 0 cms.

i n

c lose t o the c ontact z one o f t he Late Talayotic phases.

The ages o f these

s amples:

QL-6,

2 ,520 b .p.

( 570 b .c.)

p lus

or minus 8 0 yrs., and QL-4, 2 ,540 b .p. ( 590 b .c.) p lus o r minus 1 10 yrs. c onfirm that the t ransition o f l ime burials t ook place a bout 2 ,500 years a go.

Charcoal b .p.

( 130 b .c.)

f rom s hallower s ections plus o r minus

9 0 yrs.,

( 45cms)

QL-8.

gave an a ge o f 2 ,080

To this c an b e a dded

two bone charcoal dates f rom l ime r elated burials a t Muertos G allard with a ges of ( Y-1859),

( Y-1791),

2 ,230 b .p.

2 ,180 b .p.

( 280 b .c.)

( 230 b .c.)

plus o r minus

plus or minus

8 0 yrs.

I n t hese cases Y = Yale University Radiocarbon Laboratory, s amples dated before t he l aboratory was I sotopic Laboratory,

Evidently,

1 00 yrs.,

r espectively. a nd t he

t ransferred t o t he Quaternary

University o f Washington a t S eattle.

l ime burials

l asted g enerally until a bout 2 ,100

years before the present e poch which i s e quivalent t o a c alendar a ge o f 8 0-110 B .C. a round 5 0 A .D.

I n other a reas,

i t was possible t o date t he c ustom t o

with Roman pottery of known chronology.

Talayotic e pisode c ould not have

l asted much l onger,

a rtefacts o ccur d irectly over t he more d ense phenomenon of l ime

l ime

l evels.

Two pairs of l ime carbonate-charcoal

l ime

s amples

f orward.

( QL-8/9 a nd 1 4C dates f rom

The ages o f t hese pairs a gree w ith e ach other within t he

( Table 4 ).

l imitations of s tatistical e rror c arbonate t he

1 23 B .C.

w ere available f or a t est of t he r eliability o f

c arbonate.

The c urious

i nhumation was probably practised f or f ive or s ix

c enturies at l east before t he Roman Colonisation i n

QL-6/7)

This Post

a s t he Roman

s amples

( Y-2669,

The ages o f t hree o ther

Y -2672 and QL-22 a lso f ell

creamtion b etween 2 ,500 and 2 ,100 yrs.

b .p.

i n t he p eriod o f ( 550 b .c.

a nd

1 10 b .c.),

Two o f t he carbonate f ound c lose

s amples which g ive o lder d ates,

t o t he c ontact z ones,

l evels o f Pretalayotic origin. t he

l imestone

f ires.

The

c arbonate. which i s

originate

t hough

f rom o lder habitational

This o lder c arbonate was

f ormed when

f loor of t he c ave was d ecomposed by Pretalayotic k itchen

s ample QL-24 I ts a ge

i s

i s a c lear

3 ,670 b .p.

s ample o f

( 1,720 b .c.)

s uch

' habitationall

plus o r minus

i n e xcellent a greement w ith t he age o f charcoal

i ated f ires a nd pottery e vidence o f t he

5 00

s ame c hronology.

l ime

7 0 yrs.

f rom a ssocThe o ther

two o lder c arbonate

s amples are a lso f rom a ssociated c harcoal a nd

k itchen f ires o f.Pretalayotic origin a nd a re n ot part o f t he burial d eposit. QL-5,

QL-23,

3 ,970 b .p.

T hese

4 ,020 b .p.

( 2,020 b .c;)

( 2,070 b .c.)

plus o r minus

l atter s amples o f a ccidental manufacture o f l ime by t he i n a ccord with c harcoal

a nalyses o f l ayers a bove a nd below t he a bove ( 1,870 b .c.)

b .c.)

p lus o r minus

plus o r minus

o r minus

3 92 yrs.

1 20 yrs.,

and QL-988,

s amples,

BM-1408,

Y -2682,

3 ,280

4 ,093 b .p.

4 ,650 b .p.

( 2,143

( 2,700 b .c.)

plus

1 20 yrs.

The o f t he

5 0 yrs.,

1 00 yrs.

f iring o f k itchen h earths have proven t o be b .p.

l ime

plus or minus

1 3C values

s ample

l isted i n Table 4 r epresent t he d eviation o/oo

1 3C/12C ratio f rom the PDB s tandard.

t he c arbonate

s ample or n ormal

The values

1 4C a ge a verage - 1 6.1o/oo.

a t S on Matge has probably been made f rom l imestone of t he w hich has a value - 1 3C of 1.4 o/oo.

1 3C o f

The l ime s helter wall

I f t he o lder s amples or c ar-

b onates a lready mentioned have been caused by i ncomplete d egassing of t he l imestone during l ime

f abrication,

the e xpected

1 3C values would

b e higher.

Age d ifferences of

9 00 t o

1 500 years c ould be c aused by the

a ddition o f up t o 2 0% of bedrock l imestone, maximum i n t he l ime

1 3C r atio of

3 0 /00.

s amples average 19.4 0/00;

f or t he c arbonate

r esulting i n a n i ncrease

B ut t he

1 3C values o f t he o lder

3 .3 0 /00 below t he 16.1

s amples with the proper

1 4C a ge.

o/oo f ound

This means t hat

i ncomplete outgassing i s unlikely t o be t he cause o f the o lder c arb onate a ges.

This a nalysis

i ndicates that 1 4C dating of carbonate a ssoc-

i ated with l ime burials and habitational f ires, U nfortunately,

the range of

t he r esult of k inetic e ffects. a lways u sing

1 3C ratios.

Thus,

I nhumation l ime d ating,

d istinguishes n ormal material

o/oo i s l argely

a nomalous a ges c annot be d etected

much b etter r esults than mortar dating,

The a ccurate

yields r eliable a ges.

1 3C values f rom 12 t o 21

on a verage,

y ields

but a c riterion that a lways

f rom a nomalous

i s n ot yet available.

1 4C dating of mortar d epends on the e xtent o f

c ontamination by a ncient carbon r esulting f rom t he u se of calcareous s ands a nd/or i ncompletely kilned l imestone d epend o n g eographic

l ocation,

( 6-8).

As t hese f actors

a f ew Mallorcan s amples were measured.

S tucco f rom Pollentia R oman Republican building at Alcudia,

dating

f rom a bout 3 0 B .C.

has a very a nomalous a ge o f 8 000 B .P.

( Y-2668).

On the o ther hand,

s tucco f rom S anta Catalina d e S ena e xcavation,

d ated t hrough i ts a ssociation with Moorish pottery a t a bout 1 200 A .D. Evidently,

has a n a ge of t he

1 4C,

9 50 B .P.

plus o r minus

1 00 yrs.

1 000 t o ( Y-2671).

l ime making t echniques o f these two cultures a re quite

d ifferent.

5 01

The

1 4C a ge of l ime c arbonate at t he Talayotic S on Ums

was a lso i nvestigated.

I t was f ormed a fter t he

r ock was d ecomposed by overlaying f ires o f Talayoitc origin. a c ompletely a nomalous a ge o f 2 0,750 years was obtained i n that i nstance t he

s ite

l ocal l imestone bedThere,

( QL-19)

but

1 3C r atio of 5 0/00 c learly s howed t hat i ncom-

plete d egassing o f t he original bedrock l imestone c aused t he d iscrepa ncy.

D iscussion

2 .3

The duration o f the P ost Talayotic P eriod b ecomes c lear i n the

l ight of t his n ew i nformation s upplied by absolute dating methods

when applied t o t he the present t ime,

s tratigraphies of Matge and Muertos Gallard.

At

s everal other s ites a re undergoing s tudy while f ur-

ther i nformation i s being s ought i n both t he f ormer s tations.

There

i s no r eason t o b elieve t hat n ew datings w ill n ot f all within t he current f ramework.

The most i nteresting f eature o f t he f ramwork o f C 14 dates t he evidence

i t presents

Post Talayotic

f or the

I ron Age P eriod,

a nd Late phases.

s ub-division of t he

the period i nto I nitial ,

I t a lso offers vital

t o 8 50 b .c.

f or t his

Early,

M iddle

i nformation a s t o t he t ransit-

i onal period of t he Late Talayotic Bronze Age, date of 8 00

i s

7 00 t o 8 00 year

e stablishing a t entative

s tage.

I t s hould b e pointed out t hat t he c ollection of t est s amples was designed to g ive maximum i nformation a bout c ritical about the c onditions present i n the

s tratigraphies.

or l evel c ould b e t ested f or practical purposes, s amples have been c ollected f or f uture u se. a s

s ectors a nd

N ot e very a rea

a lthough numerous

These w ill b e a nalysed

the n eed arises.

At the possible

s ame t ime s ample s election was c arried out a s o ften a s

i n l evels a nd s ections where artefacts or r ecognisable t ypes

were present. both c ritical

I n t his way,

t he

i nformation was twofold i n d ating

s trata a nd a rtefacts.

Of the best preserved a rtefacts t he most u seful have b een those of i n a ny quantity, t eries,

i ron.

f rom t he quicklime c ontext, Where pottery has

i t has d one s o i n t he peripheral

though t he o ccasional piece

s urvived

a reas o f the c eme-

i s present i n t he l ime b eds.

I t

a ppears t hat the custom of burying t he pottery a part d uring most of the Post Talayotic I ron Age e xisted.

E ither t hat o r t he pottery t hat

s hould have been present i n the quicklime has b een mostly d estroyed by the

s laking s ection of t he l imes,

a nd t hat present on t he peri-

meters of the beds e scaped d estruction by c hance.

5 02

Evidence

s upporting this c ould b e d rawn f rom t he f act that the

o ccasional piece found preserved i n the l ime b eds on the edges o f the c emeteries.

f ound i n t he Necropolis o f S on Real where t he t ombs,

i s

i dentical t o t hose

Equal e vidence t o the c ontrary c an be

yet i ron g rave g oods w ere

l ittle pottery was

i ncluded i n burial.

most of the c eramic e vidence a ppears outside t he t ombs. t his

s ubject a re n ot a t a ll c lear a t t he present.

f ound i n

H ere a gain D etails on

The c ustom o f t he

burial of pottery with t he d ead o f f ormer Talayotic a nd P retalayotic t imes

i s t he n ormal procedure.

nature of the quicklime,

H owever,

c onsidering t he d estructive

d ecompositon of the pottery would c ertainly

have occurred.

Apart f rom t he a rtefacts, the

most o f t he

s tratigraphy of the d eposits t hemselves,

t o t he d etailed plans a nd s ections

i nformation c omes

f rom

a nd t he r eader i s r eferred

f or a f ull d ocumentation o f t his

i nformation.

This

i nformation a s a whole has g iven u s a n e xcellent oppor-

t unity to understand t he Post Talayotic

I ron Age better,

t o e stablish parallels with C ontinental

I ron Age c ultures.

f or the moment,

i t i s

i s

The objective

s imply t o offer an up-to-date a ccount which s upports the pro-

posed s ub-division of t he P ost Talayotic t he r esults a s o ffered a re t ime,

However,

s till not possible t o present a s c omprehensive

a n i nterpretation o f the period a s would be d esired. h ere

a s well a s

they

I ron Age.

I n t his

f ragmentary a nd i ncomplete.

s ense,

At t he

s ame

i llustrate the c omplexity o f t he problems r egarding t he

period l ocally a nd s ome of those pertaining t o i nsular s tudies

i n

g eneral.

I n the preceding c hapterwehave e xamined a f ew o f t he problems presented by the change-over f rom the parent Talayotic B ronze A ge c ulture t o t he P ost Talayotic c hanging t echnology.

I ron Age,

c hiefly t hrough t he

We have s een s ome o f the

a bout by those changes,

s tudy o f

i mplications brought

a nd a l ittle o f the r ange o f r esearch a nd

s tudy c arried out t owards their s olution d uring t he l ast d ecade. ever,

there a re

s till other possibilities o ffered u s

i n t he

graphies t hemselves which c an f urther e nlarge o ur understanding o f the period.

5 03

H ow-

s trati-

T able 4 .

Lab No.

R esults. o f A nalyses: 1 4C C arbonate D ating A ge o f P ost T alayotic Q uicklime B urials i n M allorca

Material

Quadrant

D epth

1 3C

( o/oo)

1 4C a ges

P ost T alayotic l ime b urial s trata i n c hronological o rder

QL-8

c h.

M .M.

3 6

4 5 cms

23.0

2 ,080 yrs. 1 30 b .c.

Y -1791

QL-9

Y -1859

ch.b

c a.

ch.b

M .M.

M .M.

M .M.

C

3 6

W

3 5 cms

3 0

c ms

2 ,180 yrs.

16.8

2 0 cms

+

7 -

9 0 9 0 yrs.

+ 1 00

2 30 b .c.

7 100

2 ,200 yrs. 2 50 b .c.

7 100

2 .230 yrs.

+

yrs.

+ 1 00

2 80 b .c.

yrs.

8 0 8 0 yrs.

Y -2672

c a.

M .M.

3 5

8 0 cms

13.6

2 ,240 yrs. 2 90 b .c.

7 -

QL-22

ca.

M .M.

4 4

2 0 cms

11.7

2 ,260 yrs. 3 10 b .c.

7 -

QL-5C

ch.

M .M.

8

6 0 cms

2 ,290 yrs. 3 40 b .c.

+ 1 00 ± 1 00 yrs.

Y -2669

c a.

M .M.

3 3

4 0 cms

2 ,400 yrs. 4 50 b .c.

7

QL-10

ch.

M .M.

3 3

9 0 cms

QL-6

c h.

M . M.

3 3

7 5

cms

QL-26

c h.

M .M.

2 2

5 5 cms

QL-4

ch.

M .M.

3 7

9 0 cms

QL-27

c h.

M .M.

3 5

QL-11

ch.

M .M.

3 5

QL-7

ca.

M . M.

3 3

18.3

23.4

22.5

9 0 cms

1 00 cms

7 5

c ms

5 04

19.9

+

8 0 8 0 yrs.

+

6 0 6 0 yrs.

+

8 0 8 0 yrs.

2 ,480 yrs. 5 30 b .c.

+

7 0 7 0 yrs.

2 ,520 yrs.

+

8 0

5 70 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

2 ,520 yrs. 5 70 b .c.

+ ±

8 0 8 0 yrs.

2 ,540 yrs. 5 90 b .c.

7 100

2 ,640 yrs. 6 90 b .c.

7 100

2 ,700 yrs. 7 50 b .c.

+ +

2 ,730 yrs. 7 80 b .c.

+ 1 00 1 00 yrs-

+ 1 00 y rs.

+ 1 00

yrs * .

8 0 8 0 yrs.

Lab No.

Material

Quadrant

Depth

1 3C

( o/oo)

1 4C Ages

P retalayotic f ire l evels f orming l ime c arbonate i n c hronological o rder

QL-5

c a.k.h.

QL-5a

ca.k.h.

QL-24

c a.k.h.

QL-5b

c a.k.h.

QL-23

ca.k.h.

1 3C =

M .M .

M .M.

M .M.

M .M.

M .M.

3 7

3 7

4 4

3 7

4 3

9 5

cms

1 15 cms

2 00 cms

2 50 cms

2 85 cms

( 13C/12C s ample

20.9

19.9

21.4

19.0

17.7

3 ,350 yrs.

+

6 0

1 ,400 b .c.

±

6 0 yrs.

3 ,420 yrs.

+ 1 00

1 ,470 b .c.

7 - 100

3 ,670 yrs.

+

7 0

1 ,720 b .c.

±

7 0 yrs.

3 ,970 yrs.

+ 1 00

2 ,020 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

4 ,020 yrs.

+

5 0

2 ,070 b .c.

+

5 0 yrs.

- 1 3C/12C s tandard )

x 1 000

1 3C/12C s tandard

L egend o f a bbreviations: Q L

= Quaternary I sotopic Laboratory University o f Washington a t S eattle,

Washington

= Yale University Radiocarbon Laboratory, New H aven,

C onnecticut

ca.= carbonate ch.= charcoal b .

= bones

•

5 05

yrs.

2 .4

I nventory o f R adiocarbon A nalyses R esults I ncluding R acemisation o f A sparti ,c A cids A nalyses R esults i n C hronological O rder o f A ge

No.

L .

S ite

Lab No.

1 .

Mi

SRDC

QL-146

M .

Ca.

L evel

PT

Age

2 030 yrs. 8 0 b .c.

2 .

Ma

ABSM

QL-7a

Ca.

PT

2 070 yrs. 1 20 b .c.

3 .

Ma

ABSM

QL-8

Ch.

PT

2 080 yrs. 1 30 b .c.

3a.

Mi

TT

CSIC-?

Ch.

PT

2 100 yrs. 1 50 b .c.

4 .

Ma

SM

S I-651a

Ch.

PT

2 180 yrs. 2 30 b .c.

5 .

Mi

TT

SCIC-142

Ab.

PT

2 180 yrs. 2 30 b .c.

6 .

Ma

S PG

Y -2673

Hb.

PT

2 180 yrs. 2 30 b .c.

7 .

Ma

ABSM

QL-9

Ca.

PT

2 200 yrs. 2 50 b .c.

8 .

Ma

AMG

Y-2672

Ch.

PT

2 230 yrs. 2 80 b .c.

9 .

Ma

ABSM

QL-1a

Ca.

PT

2 240 yrs. 2 90 b .c.

1 0.

Ma

ABSM

QL-22

Ca.

PT

2 260 yrs. 3 10 b .c.

°

1 1.

Ma

SPA

CSIC-?

Ch.

PT

2 270 yrs. 3 20 b .c.

1 2

Ma

ABSM

QL-5c

Ch

PT

2 290 yrs. 3 40 b .c.

1 2a.

Ma

SO

BM-1692

Cg.

PT

2 290 yrs. 3 40 b .c.

1 2b.

Ma

SB

BM-1517

w d .

PT

2 350 yrs. 4 00 b .c.

1 3.

Ma

SMAR

QL-144

Ch.

PT

2 370 yrs. 4 20 b .c.

5 06

b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

b .p. + 1 20 yrs. b .p. +

9 0 yrs.

b .p. +

4 5 yrs.

b .p. + 1 15 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. +

7 0 yrs.

b .p. +

6 0 yrs.

b .p. + 1 10 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

b .p. +

3 5 yrs.

b .p. +

5 0 yrs.

1 3a.

Ma

SB

BM-1518

Wd.

PT

2 390 yrs. .4 40 b .c.

1 3b.

Ma

SFO-YS

I -?

Ch.

PT T2

2 400 yrs. 4 50 b .c.

1 4.

Ma

ABSM

Y -2669

Ca.

PT

2 400 yrs. 4 50 b .c.

1 5.

Ma

SRN

1 -4584

Ch.

PT

2 430 yrs. 4 80 b .c.

1 6.

Ma

SRDC

QL-145

Ch.

PT

2 450 yrs. 5 00 b .c.

1 6a.

Ma

SFO-YS

HAR3459

Ch.

PT T 2

2 460 yrs. 5 10 b-c-

1 7.

Ma

ABSM

QL-10

Ch.

PT

2 480 yrs. 5 30 b .c.

1 8.

Ma

SO

Y -2666

Ch.

PT

2 490 yrs. 5 40 b .c.

b .p. +

4 5 yrs.

b .p. +

6 0 yrs.

b .p. +

8 0 yrs.

b .p. + 2 00 yrs. b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

b .p. +

8 0 yrs.

b .p. +

7 0 yrs.

b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

1 8a.

Ma

SFO-YS

QL-1533

Ca.

PT T i

2 500 yrs. 5 50 b .c.

b .p. + 4 0 yrs.

1 9.

Ma

ABSM

QL-6

Ch.

PT

2 520 yrs.

b .p.

5 70 b .c. 1 9a.

Ma

SF)-YS

HAR3458

Ch.

PT T2

2 540 yrs. 5 90 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

b .p. +

6 0 yrs.

1 9b.

Ma

SFO-OS

QL-1534

Ch.

PT T i

2 540 yrs. 5 90 b .c.

b .p. + 4 0 yrs.

2 0.

Ma

ABSM

QL-24

Ch.

PT

2 540 yrs.

b .p.

5 90 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

2 1.

Ma

ABSM

QL-4

Ch.

PT

2 540 yrs. 5 90 b .c.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

2 2.

Ma

ABSM

QL-20

Ch.

PT

2 570 yrs. 6 20 b .c.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

2 2a.

Mi

TBC

HAR 2891

Ch.

PT

2 570 yrs. 6 20 b .c.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

2 3.

Ma

ABSM

QL-27

Ch.

PT

2 640 yrs. 6 90 b .c.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

2 4.

Ma

S ILL

HU1718

Ch.

PT

2 690 yrs. 7 40 b .c.

b .p. + 6 0 yrs.

2 5.

Ma

ABSM

QL-11

Ch.

PT

2 700 yrs. 7 50 b .c.

b .p. + 8 0 yrs.

5 07

2 5a.

Mi

TT

QL-1165

Ch.

P T

2 710 yrs. 7 60 b .c.

2 6.

Ma

ABSM

Q 1-7

Ch.

P T

2 730 yrs. 7 80 b .c.

2 7.

Ma

SM

S I-552

Gb.

T

2 765 yrs. 8 15 b .c.

2 7a.

Ma

NSM

HAR 2909

Ch.

T

2 770 yrs. 8 20 b .c.

2 8.

Ma

ABSM

QL-986

Ch.

T

2 820 yrs. 8 80 b .c.

2 9.

M i

TT

QL-1164

Ch.

T

2 830 yrs. 8 80 b .c.

2 9a.

Mi

TT

QL-1089

Ch.

T

2 840 yrs. 8 90 b .c.

2 9b.

Mi

TT

BM-1697

Ch.

T

2 860 yrs. 9 10 b .c.

2 9c.

Ma

S FO-YS

QL-1531

Ch.

T T i

2 890 yrs. 9 40 b .c.

3 0.

Ma

S SP

G IF-1947

Ch.

T

2 900 yrs. 9 50 b .c.

3 0a.

Mi

SMR

HAR341/3

Ch.

T

2 910 yrs. 9 60 b .c.

3 1.

Ma

SO

QL-20

Ch.

T

2 920 yrs. 9 70 b .c.

3 2.

Ma

SRF

Y -1857

CH.

T

b .p. +

5 0 yrs.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

b .p. + 1 20 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. +

5 0 yrs.

b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

b .p. +

3 0 yrs.

b .p. +

4 5 yrs.

b .p. +

4 0 yrs.

b .p. + 1 20 yrs. b .p. + 1 00 yrs. b .p. +

6 0 yrs.

2 960 yrs.

b .p.

1 010 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

3 3.

Ma

S ILL

HU 1717

Ch.

T

2 960 yrs. 1 010 b .c.

b .p. + 1 10 yrs.

3 3a.

Mi

TT

HAR 2980

Ch.

T

2 970 yrs. 1 020 b .c.

b .p. + 7 0 yrs.

3 4.

Ma

SRF

Y -1857

Ch.

T

3 000 yrs.

b .p.

1 050 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

3 020 yrs.

b .p.

3 4a.

Mi

TT

HAR

C h.

T

1 070 b .c. _ + 3 4b.

Mi

TT

QL-1433

Cg.

5 08

T

3 030 yrs. 1 080 b .c.

6 0 yrs.

b .p. + 7 0 yrs.

3 4c.

3 5.

3 5a.

3 6.

3 7.

3 8.

3 9.

4 0.

4 1.

4 2.

4 3.

4 3a.

4 4.

4 5

4 6.

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

SFO-OS

S ILL

SFO-OS

ABSM

SP

ABSM

ABSM

SMRG

ABSM

ABSM

ABSM

HAR-?

HU 1716

BM-1698

Y-2667

UP-1438

QL-5

QL-5a

Y -1856

CSIC-180

CSIC-179

QL-24

SFO-WOS QL-1592

CX

AMG

ABSM

1 -5515

Y-1789

Y-2359

Ab.

Ch.

Ab.

Ch.

Ch.

Cahl.

Cahl.

Hb.

Chcl.

Chcl.

Cahl.

Ch.

Ch.

Ch.

Ch.

T-PRT

T

T-PRT

T

T

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

PRT

3 070 yrs.

b .p.

1 120 b .c.

+

3 080 yrs.

b .p.

1 130 b .c.

+

3 095 yrs.

b .p.

1 145 b .c.

+

3 200 yrs.

b .p.

1 250 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

3 260 yrs.

b .p.

1 310 b .c.

+

3 350 yrs.

b .p.

1 400 b .c.

+

3 420 yrs.

b .p.

1 470 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

3 470 yrs.

b .p.

1 520 b .c.

+

3 480 yrs.

b .p.

1 530 b .c.

+

3 620 yrs.

b .p.

1 620 b .c.

+

3 670 yrs.

b .p.

1 720 b .c.

+ 1 00 yrs.

3 700 yrs.

b .p.

1 750 b .c.

+

3 750 yrs.

b .p.

1 800 b .c. _

+ 1 ?0 yrs.

3 790 yrs.

b .p.

1 840 b .c.

+

3 820 yrs.

b .p.

1 870 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

5 0 yrs.

7 5 yrs.

7 0 yrs.

6 0 yrs.

6 0 yrs.

8 0 yrs.

8 0 yrs.

8 0 yrs.

3 0 yrs.

8 0 yrs.

4 7.

Ma

SM

Y-2359

Ch.

PRT

3 910 yrs. 1 960 b .c.

b .p. + 1 20 yrs.

4 7a.

Ma

S FO-OS

BM-1843

Ch.

PRT

3 950 yrs. 2 000 b .c.

b .p. + 6 5 yrs.

4 8.

Ma

ABSM

QL-5b

Cahl.

PRT

3 970 yrs. 2 020 b .c.

b .p. + 1 00 yrs.

5 09

A 4 9.

5 0.

5 0a.

5 1.

5 2.

5 3.

5 4.

5 5.

5 6.

5 7.

5 8.

5 9.

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

ABSM

ABSM

ABSM

ABSM

ABSM

ABSM

SM

ABSM

S M

SM

SM

SM

C SIC-178

QL-23

BM-1408

QL-998

1 -5516

C SIC-176

K BN-640d

QL-29

KBN-640c

Chhl.

Chhl.

Mb.

Chhl.

Chhl.

Cps.

H b.

Mbhl.

Mb.

UCLA-1704c Mb.

KBN-640b

K BN-640c

Mb.

Mb.

P RT

P RT

PRT

P RT

E SP

Ma

S M

S IO-1f

Mb.

Ma

SM

S I-654a

Mb.

6 2

Ma

SM

S I-654b

Mb.

6 3.

6 4.

Ma

Ma

S M

SM

U CLA-170b

S I-646

Mb.

Mb.

5 10

+ 1 70 yrs.

4 020 yrs.

b .p.

2 070 b .c.

+

4 093 yrs.

b .p.

2 143 b .c.

+ 3 92 yrs.

4 650 yrs.

b .p.

2 700 b .c.

+ 1 20 y rs.

5 0 yrs.

5 750 yrs.

b .p. + 1 15 yrs.

5 820 yrs.

b .p.

3 870 b .c.

+ 3 80 yrs.

5 935 yrs.

b .p.

3 985 b .c.

+ 1 09 y rs.

6 680 yrs.

b .p.

4 730 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

P SP

7 135 yrs.

b .p.

0 150cms

5 185 b .c.

+

P SP

8 570 yrs.

b .p.

0 150cms

6 620 b .c.

+ 3 50 yrs.

P SP

8 448 yrs.

b .p.

0 150cms

6 498 b .c.

+ 1 180 yrs.

E SP

E SP

E SP

P SP

P SP Z 175cms

6 1.

b .p.

3 800 b .c.

0 175cms 6 0.

3 980 yrs. 2 030 b ,c,

P SP Z 350cms

1 0,685 yrs. 8 735 b .c.

8 0 yrs.

b .p. + 3 517 y rs.

( pending) 1 4,000 yrs. 1 2,050 b .c.

b .p. + 3 50 yrs.

P SP

1 4,465 yrs.

b .p.

Z 350cms

1 2,515 b .c.

+ 3 15 yrs.

P SP

1 4.650 yrs.

b .p.

Z 250cms

1 2,700 b .c.

+ 8 50 yrs.

PSP

1 5,885 yrs.

b .p.

D 250cms

1 3,985 b .c.

+ 6 55 yrs.

6 5.

6 6.

6 7.

6 8.

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

SM

SM

SM

SM

S I-648

Mb.

UCLA 1704d M b.

S I-649

S IO

Mb.

Mb.

P SP

1 6,335 yrs.

b .p.

X 300cms

1 4,385 b .c.

+ 4 15 yrs.

P SP

1 6,850 yrs.

b .p.

E 350cms

1 4,900 b .c.

+ 2 00 y rs.

P SP

1 8,100 yrs.

b .p.

F 300cms

1 6,150 b .c.

+ 6 00 y rs.

P SP Z 400cms

6 9.

7 0.

7 1.

7 2.

7 3.

7 4.

7 5.

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

SM

SM

SM

SM

SM

SM

SM

S I-605

Mb.

UCLA-1704e Mb.

S I-647

S IO-1c

Mb.

Mb.

UCLA-1704a Mb.

S IO-1g

QL-127

Mb.

S c.

P SP

1 8,735 yrs.

b .p.

X 350cms

1 6,805 b .c.

+ 5 55 y rs.

P SP

1 8,980 yrs.

b .p.

Z 400cms

1 7,030 b .c.

+ 2 00 yrs.

P SP

2 3,800 yrs.

b .p.

E 400cms

2 1,850 b .c.

+ 4 80 yrs.

P SP

2 6,000 yrs.

b .p.

Z 475cms

2 5,050 b .c.

+ 6 00 y rs.

P SP

2 8,600 yrs.

b .p.

Z 600cms

2 6,650 b .c.

+ 6 00 y rs.

P SP

3 2,000 yrs.

b .p.

Z 750cms

3 0,050 b .c.

+ 7 15 yrs.

P SP

4 8,000 yrs.

b .p. e xterior

4 8,000 yrs.

i nfinite

5 8,000 yrs.

b .p. i nterior

5 8,000 yrs.

i nfinite

8 0,000 yrs.

b .p.

X base 7 6.

Ma

SM

QL-128

S c.

P SP X base

7 7.

Ma

SM

Y -1f

C f.

P SP X base

5 11

( pending )

8 0,000 yrs.

r efract ion

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

2 .5

U niversities, I nsitutions a nd L aboratories

QL

Quaternary Research Centre, S eattle,

S I

S IO

Washington

Smithsonian

I nsitution,

Washington,

C .C.

S cripps

University of Washington a t

( Radiocarbon Laboratory). United States National Museum,

( Radiocarbon Laboratory).

Institute of Oceanography,

at La Jolla,

University of California

California.

Yale University,

Peabody Museum,

New Haven,

Connecticut

( Radiocarbon Laboratory). UCLA

University of California at Los Angeles,

California

( Radiocarbon Laboratory). UP

University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania

CSIC

University of Madrid, Investigaciones I sotapes

Museum S chool,

Spain

( Centro

Superior de

Cientificas).

I ncorporated,

Englewood,

KEN

Kaman Bio-Nuclear

I ncorporated,

GIF

French Radiocarbon Laboratory.

HU

German Radiocarbon Laboratory.

BM

British Museum.

New Jersey.

Colorado Springs,

T est M aterials A bbreviations

Y

Philadelphia,

( Radiocarbon Laboratory ).

Ch.

Charcoal

Ca.

Carbonate

Cahl.

Carbonate

Chhl.

Charcoal

Hb.

Human bone

Mb.

Myotragus bone

Gb.

Goat bone

Wd.

Wood

f rom habitational f rom habitational

l evels l evels

5 12

Colorado.

Cg.

Carbonised grain

Ab.

Animal bone

S c.

Stalactite

Cf.

Calcite

Coll.

Bone

Ma.

Mallorca

Mi.

Minorca

I b.

I biza

Ft.

Formentera

PT

Post Talayotic

core

core

collagen

Talayotic PRT

Pretalayotic

ESP

Early Settlement Period

PSP

Presettlement Period

Z 300

S ector and Level

b .c.

Uncalibrated

ABSM

Rock

SM

Cave of S on Muleta

AMG

Rock Shelter of Muertos Gallard

SMRG

Cave of Son Marroig

CX

Ca Na Coxtera

SPG

Cave of Son Puig

SP

S on Severa-Pula

SRDC

Sa Regina dels Cans

SMAR

S on Marino

SO

S on Oms

SRN

Son Real Necropolis

SRF

Son Real Figueral

in Centimeters at Son Mulet

1 4C Dates

Shelter of Son Matge

5 13

TT

Taula of Torralba den Salort

SSP

Ses Paisses

SILL

S 'Illot

SMR

Naviforme of

BCA

Talayot of Binicalf

SB

Son Baronat

SFO YS

Ferrandell Oleza - Younger S ettlement

SFO-OS

Ferrandell

Son Morell

Oleza

- Older S ettlement

CAL I BRAT ION

CURVES

049

G ö ' o ;

r s CY_

o '$ * 0 o • O `

Opt i ma l c a l ibration c urve- c onvers ion o f 1 4C d ates -5 568 h a lf • l ife

a fter R .M .C lark

f i g . 3&4

f ig . 5

30 0 0 B .P .

39 0 0 B .P .

\

S uper G roup I

f ig . 6

a c o

S uper G roup I I

f ig . 7

A PPE NDIX

1B

APPENDIX

1 .

1 B:

THE HYDRAULIC SOIL S EPARATION MULETA DEPOSIT — 1 969-1976

I ntroduction:

t he P urpose a nd B ackground o f t he R esearch

The hydraulic posit

s tarted

i n the

phases of the

s oil processing programme of the Muleta cave d eS pring of

1 969,

to

l ast until

At the t ime of

1 976 with s ome i ts beginning,

a s much of the cave's earth d eposit a s poss-

The purpose f or such an extensive and time consuming hydraulic

washing programme of the deposit's a s

was

s tudy s till continuing.

it was decided to process i ble.

S TUDY OF THE

earth

i s manifold and c an be

l isted

f ollows: ( 1)

To r ecuperate the

smaller bone c omponents

2 000 examples of M potragus b alearicus ( 2) fauna

To r ecuperate and s eparate a ll

( vertebrate and i nvertebrate) ( 3)

To

cave's earths, a s ector by

f rom the nearly

f ound i n the cave deposit. the cave deposit's micro-

f rom the cave earths.

s tatistically s tudy and s ystematically s eparate determinating the

s ector bases,

s oils

the

and s ediments granologically on

a s well a s collecting s oil

s amples

f or

f ossil

pollen analyses.

The project,

( see t ext , theless,

despite

C hapter I ),

the

the cave's r elatively small dimensions

was to develop i nto a monumental one.

c onsequence,

Thousands of examples of the

tinct vertebrates and using the hydraulic tant plant

and i n

an excellent and comprehensive c ollection of Mallorca's

Quaternary and Holocene macro-microfauna i s available s tudy.

Never-

task now c ompleted has been well worth the effort,

l ife

i slands'

( Chapter I ) have been extracted by

i nvertebrates

s ystem described below.

and the general

I nformation a s

e cology of the various

l ogical periods have a lso emerged

f or s cientific

smaller prehistoric ex-

( Appendix 1 C ).

to the ex-

early chrono-

At the

s ame

time,

important r eference and other data on the nature of the cave's mentation and a ccumulation has been obtained, i nterpret c ertain a spects of the prehistoric

( Appendix 1 A,

1 .6).

Other a spects

s edi-

which can be used to c limatic occurrences

concerning the possible e ffects of

these c limatic c onditions as well as conditions brought about by arity have been examined

i n the

appendices

( Appendix 1 D ,

1 E ,

i nsul-

1 F a nd

1 G ) where their effects are emphasised in the morphological and osteol ogical

s tudies.

However, the method used

the

s ubject of this particular appendix d eals with

i n the

s eparation of

the earths of the d eposit and

s ome of the

s tatistical

main,

a preliminary s tudy concerned mostly with weights

i t

measures.

i s

i nformation gained from the operation.

For the present,

the

s tatistical

washing process will be of a l imited value, has undergone f ew caves

i nformation f rom the a s no

s imilar processing of their d eposit.

anywhere have had a s

I n the and

l ocal Balearic

cave

For that matter,

complete a processing where

i n the cave

of Muleta t he earths of up to 8 0% of t he d eposit have b een washed, weighed,

r ecorded a nd picked t hrough g rain by grain t o e xtract

r emains and s edimentological d ata.

On t he whole,

warrant this particular t ype o f t reatment,

f aunal

f ew s ites w ould

n or would s uch c omplete

processing of t he earth b e possible with t he majority of c aves. s ides

i t i s r are

r emains,

s tratigraphical

I n s hort,

B e-

f or a c ave t o c ontain s uch a n a bundance o f f aunal s equences a nd ambient t emperature c onditions.

t hese c onditions a nd c haracterisitics have

i n a s ense obli-

g atorally d emanded t hat t hey b e t reated w ith a s t horough a n e xamination a nd s tudy a s possible.

The t ional,

s oil processing method has b een f or t he most part c onven-

e ntailing t he u se o f numerous

e arths were washed a nd s eparated, characteristics

s creens,

t hrough which t he

i dentifying a nd r ecording t heir

a long with extracting t he s keletal c omponents,

s ep-

a rating a nd c lassifying t hem a ccording t o c omponent a nd s pecies. mentioned a bove,

As

t hat which makes the programme c arried out a t Muleta

d ifferent i s t hat t he operation has b een d one on a bout 8 0% of t he cave's

s edimentological d eposit;

does not e xist l ocally,

t he main r eason why c orrelative d ata

and t he available

s tatistics c annot b e f ully

appreciated or a pplicable e lsewhere until c omparative

i nformation i s

on hand.

A D escription o f t he H ydraulic W ashing S ystem U sed a t M uleta

2 .

The washing s ystem u sed a t Muleta was c omposed o f a variation of t he

' Lais'

s oil

s eparation method

( Lais 1 940), which entails s epar-

ating e arth t hrough a s et o f s even s creens o f d iminishing s creen s ize. At 2 Muleta s creen s izes of 2 4, cm

were employed.

f or u se

These

1 4,

i n t he c onstruction t rade,

when i n n eed of r eplacement. i nto one a nother

1 0,

a nd w ere t herefore e asily purchased,

They a re e asily s eparated,

s o that e ach

a fter t he t rapped e arths have b een c ompletely

s ite

( Figure 1 6 ) could be placed on a wash ( Figure 1 4 ) , where t he washing process was

c arried out during f our years at Muleta; l aboratory,

I n t he

where t he

f ield,

be t ransported t o the

s ystem i s

but has

s till

s ervation,

s ince b een t ransferred

i n u se

( Plate 7 :2).

water was d ifficult t o have on place a nd had t o s ite where

i t c ould b e

voir until piped t o t he work a rea and u sed. f ield

5 and 3 mesh s quares per

The unit when s tacked

s tand built o n t he t o t he

8 ,

They a re c ircular i n f orm a nd f it well

( Figure 1 6 ) .

s creen c an b e emptied, washed.

1 2,

s creens a re c ommercially manufactured l ocally

s tored i n a f ield r eserF or r easons o f water c on-

a c irculating r ecycling s ystem w as d esigned f or u se

( Figure 1 3 ).

The c irculating,

r ecycling s ystem's t anks,

i n t he s upplying

the water were placed i n an e levated l ocation b ehind a nd a bove t he wash s tand p latform.

These tanks w ere r efilled by opening a v alve

f rom plastic hoses running f rom t he main r eservoir, hundred meters up hill t o t he work a rea

( Figure 1 2 ).

l eading

e levated s ome t hree The hand hoses

used f or j etting t he water during t he e arth washing had a djustable nozzles of t he garden t ype on the working e nd,

s o t hat c onsiderable

water pressure c ould b e maintained during t he washing.

5 24

. T able 5 .

T he S tatistical W ork A nalysis o f t he S eparation S ystem-1969 t o 1 976

P roject d uration: T ime:

8 years of 3 month s easons

l eta H ydraulic

=

Total:

2 4 months = 9 6 weeks or 5 76 days w ith 5 hour days=

N umber o f T eam P ersonnel:

5 = 4 picker-sorters a nd

E xcavated M atrix B efore W ashing ,

T otal W eight

M atrix f or P icking Af ter W ashing , S ilt a nd S oluble C lays,

2 ,880 hours

1 washer

( TMXW )=14,135.550 k ilos

T otal W eight =

6 ,248.300 k ilos

T otal W eight =

M an H ours S pent b y 1W asher =

2 4 months

7 ,887.250 kilos

2 ,880 hrs over 5 76 d ays,

5 h rs per day

M an H ours S pent b y 4P ickers = 11,520 hrs over 5 76 d ays,

5 hrs per d ay

T otal M an H ours

( TMH )

= 1 4,400 hours

O verall H ydraulic S ystem E fficiency =

1 4,400

TMH

1 4,135.550 TMXW

- 1 .01

k/hr.

E fficiency = 1 .01 kilos per hour, based on man hours available t o washing a nd picking.

W ashers E fficiency =

1 4,135.550 TMXW 5 76

M PD

= 2 4.5 k/day or 4 .8 k/hr.

E fficiency = 4 .9 k ilos per hour, based on man hours available t o washi ng a lone.

P icker -S orter E fficiency

6 ,248.300 TMXW 2 .7 k/day per person 4x 5 76 MPD . 675 k /hr

E fficiency = . 675 k ilos per hour, based o n man hours available t o picking a lone

Total M an Hours

i n Work Y ears,

1 Washer

1 .57 y ears

Total Man Hours

i n Work Y ears,

4 P icker-Sorters

6 .28 years

f or t eam of 5 workers

7 .85 years

Grand Total of Work Y ears,

A ctual Work Y ears S pent a t Muleta

8 .00 years

5 25

The e xcavated c ave e arth was s heets

s tored a fter e xcavation o n plastic

i n d esignated a nd r ecorded a reas outside the c ave,

l evel and c ave

s ector,

near t he hydraulic s ystem

t ransport s ystem o f t he cave earths f rom t he c ave). the earths before washing, plastic bucket,

a ccording t o

t ext

( see

f or t he

F or t ransporting

the e arth was put i nto a s tandard l ightweight

then w eighed a nd r ecorded i n a j ournal prior t o b eing

emptied i nto the washing s creens. r anged f rom 7 k ilos t o 9 kilos.

The average weight o f a f illed bucket After washing t he e arths t hrough the

s even s creens by u sing t he hand hose a nd f urther washing e ach o f the contents of e ach s creen,

the

i ndividual

s eparate c ontents onto a d rying pad. washed through t he mesh s creen, thus

s creens were emptied o f t heir

I n t his way,

a ll t he c lays were

s even s creens t o b e c aught i n a f inal

1 25 m icron

mounted i n the tank a t t he base o f t he washstand

( Figure 1 4);

f urther f reeing t he water f or r ecycling back up h ill t o t he r eser-

voirs t here. r eservoirs,

Even with a s eries of f ilters a t t he

i nlet of a ll t he

t he water eventually b ecame t oo s aturated with highly

s oluble c lays a nd f ine s ediment and had t o b e d iscarded periodically, and t he

s ite r eservoirs c leaned a nd r efilled f rom t he main r eservoir

uphill t o the work a rea.

Once each o f t he s creen c ontents were s et out t o dry o n t heir i ndividual drying pads, s creens,

which c orresponded t o t he number of t he various

t hose were a llowed t o f ully d ry a nd w ere t hen packaged s epar-

ately i n s tout plastic bags with i dentification c ards, the

s creen matrix n umber,

w ashed materials. c ave

c orresponding t o

and were t hen r eweighed a nd r ecorded a s

The s tatistics of t he unwashed e arth f rom any one

s ector or l evel

( e.g.

' 0',

' Z',

' AB'

e tc.

2 00cms,

3 00cms e tc.)

weighed before washing c ould b e checked against washed material, had b een weighed a fter s eparation.

which

The d ifference between the washed

and unwashed e arths f rom a ny s ector or l evel was r ecorded a s c lays a nd s ilts t hat had been washed off during the processing;

c lay c ontent

s tatistics w ere gained i n this manner.

After the various matrices w ere packaged f or s torage they c ould not b e examined i mmediately),

( in c ase

t eam personnel emptied part

of a package of numbered a nd w eighed matrix i nto a f lat t ray f or picking or d irectly onto a picking t able

( Figure 1 5); a nd with a f lat paintbrush

( 2-3cms wide)

i n one hand and a s mall pointed paintbrush

i n t he other,

picked t hrough the g rains o f t he matrix,

f auna r emains or oddments of macrofauna Aeotragus

e tc.)

( small bone c omponents o f

These pickings w ere then placed i n s pecimen tubes o r

j ars a nd l abeled with i nformation a s t o t heir origin l evel).

( 2-4mm w ide)

r emoving micro-

( cave

s ector a nd

These pickings w ere then passed on t o more e xpert s orters

where t he f irst e xtractions were

f urther c lassified i nto s keletal c om-

ponents.

S ince

1 969,

n early

1 5,000 kilos

( 17 t ons)

of c ave earth has

been washed a nd picked t hrough a nd a ll s keletal r emains r emoved f rom 6 648 k ilos

( about 8 t ons)

of processed e arths.

The breakdowns o f t he

s edimentological and g ranological c ontents o f t he d ifferent c ave t ors a re

f ound i n graphs

( G1 -G 6 a nd C 7).

breakdown o f t he e ight year washing process Table 5 ).

5 26

s ec-

A s tatistical work a nalysis i s f ound b elow a nd i n

SO IL SEPARATI O N CHARTS

1

S T

24 1 4 1 2 1 0 8

5 0 s ector

t otal weight

2501. 450k

S T

EF

s ector

t otal weight

2397 .280k

fi g . 9

2

S T

AB s ector

5

t otal

weight

1 980 .700k

3

CD s ector t otal

weight

473. 850 k

f ig .

1 0

3

1 4

5

1 2 1 0

3

X s ector

t otal

weight

3579 , 390 k

Z s ector

t otal

weight

3202

ST

880k

f ig .1

f ig . 1 2

HY D RAU LI C

I

f ig . 1 3

MULE TA

Washstand

•

•

•

•

TOP r ack

f or

s creens 1

. ( •s p i I

•

•

S I DE A

•

MULETA

b ench

SORT ING

TABLE

•

TOP •

matrix

•

b ox

s uti

a

c e

pi c k ing

•

/ f lew '

7 W x ,e / / 7 7 4e rr iev / 7 \* Je few i e 4A 6 j49 -7

S I DE

f ig . 1 5

III.

I

ii•u 1 i _

I L

.

1

. P

, 4: '

4 F --

F-H

-H --

' , 4 -i -. _

f ig . 1 6

APPE NDIX 1C

APPENDIX

1C.

A PRELIMINARY MULETA

1 .

CAVE

PALYNOLOGICAL

REPORT

FROM

THE

DEPOSIT

T he B ackground a nd P urpose o f t he R esearch

A s eries of f our s oil

s amples

f or t he e xtraction o f f ossil

pollen w ere c ollected and prepared f rom the Muleta d eposit e arly i n 1 967.

This

s eries

i s only one o f many s eries t hat have been s ystem-

a tically c ollected f or analysis t hroughout t he Muleta excavation s ince 1 962.

A lthough,

on a ll the

i t has not been possible a s yet t o r un analysis on

s amples c ollected,

t he modest s eries of f our s amples under

d iscussion here were s ent t o t he G eochronological L aboratory, of Arizona a t Tuscon l ate

i n

1 967.

University

The f ollowing r eport i s based on

t he f indings of two s ets of s amples t hat were c ollected f rom i mportant ' key'

s ectors and l evels

i n t he d eposit.

One

s et

( Samples

2 a nd 3 )

was t aken f rom two c ultural horizons r epresenting Early S ettlement P eriod habitational

l evels,

while t he

s econd s et

( Samples

1 a nd 4 )

f rom Presettlement P eriod l evels was c ollected f rom two other horizons a ssociated with eotragus b alearicus .

The purpose o f these palynological a nalyses c an be a s

s ummed up

f ollows: ( 1)

The

s amples were c ollected i n a n a ttempt t o d etermine t he

f loral c overing o f t he

s ite a nd a scertain s ome

i ndication o f t he c lim-

a tic c onditions present i n the a rea o f Muleta during the c hronological periods r epresented i n the d ifferent s tratigraphical horizons. ( 2)

Evidence a nd i nformation was

s ought which might g ive

s ome

i dea a s t o the d iet o f i totragus b alearicus . ( 3)

Another purpose was t o c ollect potential data a nd i nfor-

mation r egarding t he agricultural a ctivities of the e arly i nhabitants who l ived i n the ( 4)

i mmediate a rea of t he cave.

S till a nother purpose was t o d etermine whether o r n ot t he

d eposit was a ctually s uitable f or additional more e xtensive f ossil pollen s urveys.

2 .

T he M ethod U sed i n S ample C ollection

The

s amples w ere c ollected f rom f our d ifferent l evels

d ifferent c ave

s ectors.

The a reas

f rom which t he

w ere e specially opened up f or t he r emoval o f t he by preparing a v ertical f rom which t o take t he v ertical

i n t hree

s amples w ere e xtracted s amples.

This was d one

s ection profile a nd s electing the e xact l evels s ample.

A r ound c ore hole was cut i nto t he

s ection profile a t the e xact l evel

s elected.

f rom the c ore hole was r emoved with a s tainless

s teel

d irectly i nto a h eavy duty plastic bag a nd s ealed.

The e arth matrix s poon a nd p laced

This bag was then

placed i n a nother p lastic bag with a l abel o f origin.

The

s amples were r emoved f rom s tratigraphical

e ither had radiocarbon d ocumentation or where

l evels which

s uch d ating was present

i n a n adjacent o r c orresponding s tratigraphical

l evel

i n t he c ave s ec-

S amples 1a nd 4 from Presettlement Period l evels a nd S amples 2 a nd 3 from Early t or.

The

s et o f s amples w ere c hosen f rom particular horizons:

S ettlement l evels.

This was d one

i n order t o g et t he maximum c hrono-

l ogical and other data a nd i nformation f rom e ach o f t he

The origin of t he s ector

3 00cms and 2 50cms,

1 50cms a nd

' X'

s eparate

s amples.

S amples 1 a nd 4 , ' z' S amples 2 a nd 3 , ' F' s ector

s amples a re a s f ollows: r espectively;

s ector 5 0cms,

r espectively.

T he P alynological A nalyses R esults f rom t he M Uleta D eposit

3 .

The

f ossil pollen f rom t he f our s amples was e xtracted by t he

m ethod that has b een u sed f or S outhwestern U nited S tates a lluvial s amples.

The

f our s amples had a n e xtremely h igh c arbonate c ontent e ven

a fter a ll macroscopic bone f ollows:

HC1

HF a cid,

f ragments were r emoved.

HNO3,

H C1,

A cetolysis,

Extraction was a s

Ma0H.

S amples

1 ,3

a nd

3 c ontained l arge numbers of euhedral t ransparent mineral grains a bout 2 0-50 microns

l ong.

These w ere partly r emoved by a s econd s evere

hydrofloric a cid t reatment.

The presence o f t hese c lear mineral-detri-

t al grains of e ither rutile or z ircon o r b oth a re more

l ikely r utile -

s uggests that a h eavy mineral a nalysis o f t he b eds may be a v ery u seful s tratigraphic t ool t hese

i n Muleta.

Note t hat t he pollen a ssemblages o f

two l evels a re a lso s imilar.

On the whole, Of t he

f our l evels,

w ith variable,

the r esults of t he e xtraction a re v ery promising.

two have a bundant pollen

but on t he whole,

pollen i s poorly preserved, grains

s lide)

( 2,3)

( 1000 g rain s lide)

g ood preservation.

I n t he o ther two,

and w ith s ufficient material t o c ount

only i n number

( 200

1 .

The r esults of t he e xtraction c ounts may b e s een on t he c opy o f t he tally s heet t o f ollow. f ications a re t entative,

I t must b e e mphasised t hat s ome i denti-

s ince t he

l aboratory r unning t he t ests

a c ollection of M editerranean pollen r eference material. a re based on North American pollen i n s ome c ases a nd, n ot a lways the b est.

l acks

D eterminations

therefore,

a re

I t i s u sually possible t o r ule out many t axa on

b iogeographic background.

Unfortunately,

t here

i s n o one present h ere

s ufficiently f amiliar w ith European e cology t o h elp i n this r espect.

S amples 2 a nd 3 are dominated by grass pollen. ( sedge)

g rasses were u sually s trongly c rumpled a nd d ifficult t o other r espects,

t hese two c ounts a re v ery s imilar.

a boreal pollen s um. i n t hese

The C yeraceae

c ounts may b e more a ccurate because t hese grains a s w ell a s t he

s amples

B oth

i dentify.

I n

s how a l ow

The presence o f c ereal pollen o f the wheat t ype

i s a g ood i ndicator o f a griculture,

has n ot b een mixing of t his l evel with a younger one.

5 40

a ssuming t here

S amples 1 a nd 4 are s imilar i n t heir pollen a ssemblage, a s ( see a bove). I n both the preservation i s

w ell a s their mineralogy poor.

I t i s possible t hat the

l ow g rass pollen t ypes a re due t o d iff-

e rential d estruction o f pollen.

Large pollen grains a re much l ess

f requent t han i n S ample

r aising the possibility t hat t hese

2 a nd 3 ,

h ave been l ost i n t he e xtraction process.

S amples 1 a nd 4 are dominated by short spine Composites, bel onging t o the a nemophilous t ype,

s uch a s the r agweeds.

i s t he n ext most f requent g roup.

S everal v ei l , well preserved g rass

g rain pollen grains

i n S ample

G rass pollen

1 may b e due t o c ontamination with mod-

e rn pollen e ither by r odent burrows o r i n t ransportation. o f t hese s amples

i n t he l aboratory c an b e r uled o ut.

w ith Triassic pollen, t amination,

employing

l ess

C ontamination

I n r ecent work

s tringent m ethods t o a void c on-

only 3 g rains o f r ecent pollen r ain w ere f ound i n over

2 500 c ounted.

The higher a boreal pollen production among t he h eraceous

a nd s hrub t ypes,

t he

s lightly higher pine f requencey i n S ample

1 i s

n oteworthy a lthough d ifficult t o i nterpret with l imited e cological i nformation a nd s ample w ere poorly preserved.

s izes.

1 , two of the pine grains

This may b e a n i ndication o f r edeposition o f

l ate G lacial Age d eposits,

T RITICUM ,

I n S ample

which w ere presumably high i n pine.

t ype pollen has a lready been n oted a s o ccurring i n S amples 2 a nd 3 .

A SPHODELUS , pollen

( a d istinctive t ransverse colpus a nd a

g ranular s urface t exture )

i s present i n S ample 2 .

This o ccurrence may be due t o the presence o f s ome a nimal that f ed on the bulbs of t his b e

l ily.

I t would

i nteresting t o s ee how often A sphodelus a ppears

i n the modern pollen r ain.

The l ong s pire c omposite c ount i n S ample 2 i s due t o t he pres ence of a s ingle t ype. while

S everal c lumps of this pollen t ype w ere

s canning the s lide.

s een

The pollen grain i s about 2 6mm w ith a t hick

e xine a nd t hick s pines a bout 2 -3mm high.

The o ccurrence of t his t ype

s uggests t hat the plant was brought i nto the cave by i ts

i nhabitants.

A l arge c lump of g rass pollen i n S ample 2 suggests that grass

f lorets

w ere a lso brought i nto t he c ave.

A pollen a nalysis o f any c oprolites prove a very valuable material vores f rom Muleta.

S amples

i n t hese l evels s hould

i n d etermining the d iets o f t he herbi-

s uch a s t hese have had s uccessful a nalyses

r esults by t his

l aboratory,

e specially t hose of t he g round s loth

( Nothrotherium )

f rom Rampart C ave,

Nevada.

A s hort d escription of unknown pollen types: a re

( all measurements

i n microns) c f.

Y AMARIX ,

s mall t ricolpate grain c .20 prolate.

I ntercolpium

a ssymetrical overlapping amb a t one pole. t etrad:

a bout 3 8mc a cross,

5 41

psilate a ppears i napperturate,

t etrad a lmost planar,

L EPIDIUM ,

c f.

very t hin e xine.

s mall c rucifer t ype pollen,

s picuous collumelae,

a bout

1 8mc w ith c on-

t hickened b etween an i nner a nd o uter l ayer

of e xine. monolete t ype A :

l arge psilate monolete grains

monolete t ype B :

s mall g ranulate monolete g rains

t rilete type A :

s parsely granulate,

t rilete t ype B :

s mall psilate t rilete g rains,

C f.

JUGLANS ,

c f.

S ALICGHIA ,

c elastraceae)

periporate grains,

pores and a nnulus,

( c.18mc) ( c.20mc).

prominent c olumellae pore l arger

3 4mc.

three types of P lantage pollen w ere

belong to a t l east t hree

P LUMBAGANACEAE ,

c f.

( c.20mc)

( c.20mc)

( grain probably b elongs t o hippocrataceae or t ricolporate,

than narrow c olpus,

P LANTAGO ,

t rilete,

( c.35mc)

t ricolpate g rain,

c rowed thin c olumellae a s s pines a bout

l mc

s een.

These

s pecies. very t hick e xine w ith

s ome of which project a bove t he s urface

l ong,

s eine

3 -4mc,

a s t hick a s

e xine 6 4mc.

R emarks

3 .1

The pollen a ssemblage

i s i ndicative o f a s teppe-like v egetation

probably with widely s cattered t rees a t f avourable l ocations.

S amples

2 a nd 3 s how a n abundance of grasses which may have b een t he d ominant plant cover on the s ite.

The pollen r ain r epresented by S amples

4 may be due t o disturbance of t he

a nd D r .

( From a r eport b y: M r . W illiam H . W aldren 1 966).

4 .

C onclusions a nd O bservations

preservation

A lan G ottesfeld , D r .

The palynological evidence a bove, a nd s tratigraphical c orrelations below, rate horizons: ( 2)

( 1)

palynological evidence,

s ame or equivalent l evels,

b efore t he c oming o f man a nd

s hortly a fter his a rrival.

t han l oosely i ndicate t he two periods.

n ificance.

l inked with t he c hronological

though i nteresting,

c ombined with other evidence,

P aul M artin

s uggests two d ifferent a nd s epa-

a P resettlement P eriod;

a n Early S ettlement P eriod;

1 a nd

s urrounding a rea or t o d ifferential

s uch a s

by i tself does

While t his l ittle o ther

When t he evidence i s,

h owever,

1 4C d ating of materials f rom the

t he pollen a nalyses t ake on a g reater s ig-

A lthough b efore w e e xamine the a vailable c orrelations o f

absolute datings with t he pollen analyses'

r esults,

w e

s hould c onsider

i n g eneral t erms what t he a nalyses d etermine when t aken a t f ace value.

5 42

T able 6 .

F össil P ollen R ain C hart

Human Occupation 1 .

Gramineae

1 8

4 .

5 1

Cyperaceae

4

Triticum type

2

Typha

1

Lillinceae

2

Asphodelus

5 4 1 3 1

2

Taraxacum

1

Ligalifloreae

1

High s pine compos.

1

Low s pine compos.

3

4 3

7

5 8

1

Artemisia

1

2

Plantago

5

5

1

1

Caryophytaceae Leguminoseae Chenopodiaceae cf.

Plumbaganaceae

cf.

Salicighia

1

1 1 1

2

Umbelliferae

2

1

1

cf.

Cruciferae

2

1

cf.

Lepidium

3

Jasione Pinus

5

Cupressaceae

1

Fraxinus

4

2

cf.

3

2

Tamarix

1

Quercux

1

cf.

2

Juglans

Corylus

1

CAVE OF SON MULETA SOLLER,

MALLORCA

No.

1 = S ector Z ,

3 00 cms

No.

2 = S ector F ,

1 50 cms

No.

3 = S ector X ,

5 0 cms

No.

4 = S ector Z ,

2 50 cms

2 1 1

Betulaceae

1

Alnus

1

Acer

1

EAP

1 3

8

7

1

1

Filcoles monolete type A

1

monolete type B

1

polypodium

1

trilete type A

1

trilete type B tetrad type A Unknown

4

Microns

Analyses:

1 00

1

1

1

1

1 00

1 00

Geochronological Laboratory, Tucson,

Arizona

5 43

University of Arizona,

I t s eems quite a pparent when w e e xamine t he pollen e vidence present i n both s ets o f

s amples t hat S amples 2 a nd 3 ,

s imilar pollen r ain c ount,

b ecause o f their

i ndicate t he two horizons where a gricultural

a ctivities were present i n the Muleta a rea.

A lthough,

t his i s s ug-

g ested by t he g reater number a nd variety of plan s pecies present i n t he pollen c ount of S amples 2 a nd 3 , the pollen counts of S amples 1 a nd 4 are not only f ewer i n number but a lso i n variety. As pointed out a bove,

these

i ndications a lone,

r epresented by S amples

P eriod,

only r oughly,

s uggest a Presettlement

1a nd 4 , and an Early Settlement Period,

r epresented by S amples 2 a nd 3 .

However,

2a nd 3 ( 'F' with

by c orrelating t he s tratigraphical origin of S amples

s ector

1 50cms,

S ample 2 and ' X'

s ector 5 0cms,

S ample 3 )

1 4C r esults f rom M yotragus bone samples from an equipvalent level

( see b elow ), we will note that we can assign an absolute date of circa 5 000 b .c.

t o this

s et of s amples'

l evels;

a date which a ccords r emark-

a bly w ell with what w e know o f t he e arly presence o f man f rom b oth Muleta and Matge.

I ndeed,

w e would e xpect t o f ind s uch a d ifferent

pollen r ain c ount d uring a n Early S ettlement P eriod, a ctivities w ere t aking place;

whereas,

c ultural a ctivities would n ot a ppear o f t he f ormer Presettlement P eriod; d o a ppear t o i ndicate.

i f a gricultural

s uggesting s uch a gri-

i n t he f ossil pollen r ain c ount e xactly what t he a nalyses'

r esults

W e c an a lso a ssign c hronometric d ating t o t he

s tratigraphical horizons of S amples s ector 2 50cms,

evidence

r espectively),

1a nd 4 ( 'Z'

a s b eing c irca

s ector 3 00cms a nd

1 2,000 b .c.;

' Z'

t his horizon

d emonstrates a l ack o f pollen r ain c ount s uggesting a gricultural a cti vities

i n the

T able 7 .

i mmediate a rea of Matge.

P ollen S ample L evels a nd C orrelated 1 4C D ates

P ollen S ample 1 .

P ollen S ample 4 .

' Z'

' Z'

s ector 3 00cms

s ector 2 50cms

( * t hree c hronometric dates

P ollen S a r r le 2 .

P ollen S ample 3 .

' F'

' X'

s ector

s ector

1 50cms

5 0cms

1 2,515 b .c.

+ 3 15 yrs.

( 'Z'

3 50cms)*

1 2,050 b .c.

+ 3 50 yrs.

( 'Z'

3 50cms)*

1 2,700 b .c.

+ 8 50 yrs.

( 'Z'

2 50cms)*

f or t he P resettlement P eriod )

5 ,185 b .c.

+

8 0 yrs.

( '0'

1 50cms)

6 ,620 b .c.

+ 3 50 yrs.

( '0'

1 50cms)

1 ,960 b .c.

+ 1 20 yrs.

( '0'

5 0cms )

( * t hree c hronometric d ates f or t he Early S ettlement a nd Pretalayotic P eriods)

As

l imited a s t he

i nformation offered u s by t hese

nological a nalyses a ppears,

i t does

5 44

s upport a hypothesis

f irst palys uggesting

two d ifferent chronological periods,

e specially when c orrelated w ith

other s upportive data a nd i nformation f rom t he r esearch s ite. tunately,

s uch preliminary i nformation w ill be

t he r esults of more e xtensive pollen t ests a re a vailable. the author believes that a s d o g ive u s

l imited a s t he r esults a re,

s ome e ncouraging basis

l ar avenues o f r esearch a nd, a t a more d etailed the Balearics,

f or f uture

i n t his way,

we

Unfor-

f urther e nlarged when Meanwhile,

s o f ar,

t hey

i nvestigation a long s imis hould be a ble t o a rrive

i nsight i nto man's e arly a gricultural a ctivities

i n

a long with d etermining more precisely t o what e xtent

man had a ltered his

s urroundings by t hese agricultural a ctivities a s

well a s his t reatment a nd a ttitude t oward the endemic

The e cological picture,

f auna.

e specially r egarding t he Presettlement

P eriod, s uggests a rugged t errain with s teppe-like plant c overing, probably not t oo unlike t hat f ound i nthe higher a ltitudes of the Northern S ierras o f Mallorca a t t he present. c overed by the radiocarbon analyses'

n umbers S M ,56 t o 7 5)

The

l argest period

( Appendix 1 A ,

i nventory

i nventory

d eals with the Wurmian G laciation f orward,

a t ime

when the e ffect o f European c limate was r eflected a s periglacial c ond itions

i n the Balearics.

I t must b e noted that while t here a re n o

i ndications o f a ctual g lacial a ctivity having t aken place, i n t he higher

( 1400 meter )

Mallorcan r egions,

t here

even,

i n

i s v ery l ittle

d oubt that the c limate during s uch t imes must have been p eriodically s evere , and c ertainly would have had i ts e ffects on e cological c ondit ions a nd l ife f orms t hemselves.

The f act t hat the millions o f years

f auna o f t he Balearic

I slands was

l imited t o t hree mammalian s pecies,

f or many

which underwent

c onsiderable morphological evolutionary c hanges and adaptations, s trongly s uggests c ertain e cological a nd c limatic c onditions which a re c ompatible with t hose

i ndicated by the palynological

f indings.

The

e xtent a nd f ull r ole played by c limatic c onditions during i nsularity on t he l ife f orms

i s a s tudy i n i tself,

monstrated i n other a ppendices

1 E ,

1 F a nd 1 G ).

Therefore,

and i t i s perhaps better d e-

i ncluded i n t his volume

i n t his present s tudy,

i cient t o examine only t he two particular moments yses r esults obtained f rom these f irst s amples; c oming o f man,

( e .g .

A ppendix

i t h as been s uffi nvolving t he a nal-

the period before the

the P resettlement P eriod a nd a fter his a rrival,

E arly S ettlement Period,

I n t his r espect,

t hese

t he

f irst r esults o f

f ossil pollen a nalysis are e ncouraging f rom the s tandpoint o f f uture a nalyses

i n t he d etermination o f t he e cological s urroundings of t he

two periods a s well a s possibly during t he other chronological p eriods.

5 45

A PPE N DI X 1D

APPENDIX

1D.

THE

OSTEOLOGY

OF

THE

MYOTRAGUS:

THE

THREE

SPECIES

1 .

I ntroduction

This appendix i s d edicated t o t he d escription o f t he s keletal s pecies of M yotragus,

c omponents of t he t hree f ossil r ecord.

I ts

i nclusion i n this t hesis

r esearch a s c onducted i n t he Muleta d eposit,

s o f ar f ound i n t he i s r elated t o t he overall a nd i s offered i n t hese

a ppendices a s r eference t o t his r esearch a s w ell a s a s ource o f d esc riptive

i nformation a pplicable

i n the

f uture t o i nvestigators e xca-

vating s imilar d eposits.

The author would have g iven a g reat d eal t o

have had s uch d escriptive

i nformation c lose t o hand a t t he outset o f

his

i nvestigations

f ore,

i nvolving c ave d eposits

i n t he Balearics.

There-

their i nclusion i n t his t hesis equally d edicated t o prehistoric

e cology a nd culture

i s t otally j ustifiable,

d espite t he

f act t hat t heir

f ield of i nterest i s basically palaeontological.

The d escriptive

i nformation f ound b elow i s quite c omplete and

i s d rawn f rom r eference materials a s w ell a s personal l east two o f t he

s pecies:

the b alearicus and b atei

s tudies of a t

s pecies.

n ew i nformation and data c oncerning t he g enera a nd i ts

Even s o,

s pecies g rows

year by year t o i nclude other s pecies a nd s ub s pecies.

H owever,

d escription g iven below,

s hould r emain

t hough s ubject t o s ome c hange,

t he

of s ome r eference value f or s ome t ime.

1 .1

M yotragus b alearicus

The b alearicus

( Bate 1 909)

s pecies was d iscovered,

D orothea Bate o f t he British Museum i n by Charles M .

Andrews

d ine A ntelope ,

i n

1 914.

1 909.

d escribed a nd n amed by I t was

f urther s tudied

I t i s a n a berrant member o f N emorhae-

endemic t o the i slands o f Mallorca a nd M inorca

( no r e-

mains of t he animal have a s y et b een f ound o n t he other i slands of t he g roup or on t he Continent).

Bate a nd Andrews'

early d escription

c ompared i t t o t he N emorhaedus ,

B udorcas and O reamnus using the c lassification of the N emorhaedus as consisting of goral in genenral, while B udorcas i s a g oral f rom t he H imalayas a nd °rea ms i s t he R ocky Mountain Goat o f North America. t o the W .

M ore r ecent c omparison has b een made

European G allogoral m eneghinii

( Rutimeyer 1 878) which i s

only f ound i n t he Villfranchian of Eastern Europe.

Other c omparisons

with M yotragus b alearicus have been made with the A ntelope m eloni f rom S ardinia.

I t i s e ssential

i n t his t hesis

s ection t o r e-examine a nd r e-

evalute t he main morphological c haracteristics of M yotragus b alearicus i n order to d iscuss what t hey may mean i n r egard t o t he e cology o f t he Late P leistocene a nd H olocene periods extinction.

l eading up t o t he a nimal's

I t w ill be n ecessary briefly t o r ecapitulate

s ome o f t he

f ig .

1 7

T able 8 .

D entition F ormulas i n t he D ifferent eotragus S pecies

eotragus a ntiquus

( Pons 1 977) 2 3 4 P , P , P

Tooth Formula: 11 , 12, 13

Remarks:

All

the teeth are

l eotragus b atei

P 3'1 D4

M1 ' M2'M 3

P2 , P3 , P4

1 2 3 M , M , M

functional.

( Crusafont a nd A ngel 1 966)

Tooth Formula: 1 ' 2' 3

Remarks:

1 2 3 M , M , M

13 may well be growing,

a milk tooth or a canine,

P3 appears

s ide of the i cult to

M

P 3/P4

only I

to be non-functional.

right mandible a s

s ay f or

M 2' M3

a s tudy s pecimen,

sure that the

is ever-

With only one i t i s diff-

s pecies had three pairs of

i ncisors or two pairs.

l eotragus b alearicus

( Bate 1 909) / P

Tooth Formula:

3 4 r ip

I i Remarks:

12 , 1 3 are the

l ost

i n evolution,

chisel-like evergrowing

1 2 3 M , M , M

‚ P4

M 1'1 v 12' M3

a long with P 3.

I

has become

i ncisor diagnostic of the b al-

e aricus species.

Addendum:

Recent

f inds

i n the

evolutionary development of the teeth between M .

indicate that there are

b atei and the M .

a ntiquus,

s ub-species ancestors of M .

a s well a s other

b alearicus .

Minorca has recently produced s till that

i sland.

However,

covered materials are

i ntermediate

The

s tates

s pecies or i sland of

another variation f or

descriptions of these newly diss till pending publication.

5 51

minor c onclusions r eached during the a ccount o f t he a nimal's a ncestral t ypes,

a s well a s breaking n ew ground.

velopments bone

i n i ts major bones;

t he

W e

s tructure i n t he t erms of l ocomotion,

behaviour; s pecies;

t he o steological evidence

evidence

s hall c onsider t he n ew d e-

i nterpretation of t his modified f eeding a nd c ompetitive

f or s exual d imorphism

f or t he a nimal's r elationship w ith man;

i n t he miscellaneous

o steological d ata s uch a s t he presence of various pathological c ondit ions,

t opics which a re g reatly amplified i n the a ppropriate a ppendices.

However,

b efore w e a pproach t he

n ecessary t o t ake

i nto a ccount that,

s ubjects mentioned a bove

t he changes w e

s ee

i t i s

i n t he morph-

o logical c haracteristics o f the bones o f e ach s pecies o f M yotragus a re a ctually f eatures which were brought a bout by s tresses, s uch a s t he available c onditions,

f ood,

t his would b e t he w e

a daptation t o c limatic a nd other e nvironmental

on t he a ncestors of the

s pecies observed.

s ingle evergrowing i ncisor o f M .

s ee a f inal d evelopment

i n the

An e xample o f

b alearicus in which

i ncisor's f orm a nd i ts probable

which i s c ertainly d ifferent f rom that o f M .

f unction,

must r emember that t he r esult w e a re

b atei, but we

s eeing i n t his c hisel-like

i n-

c isor i s t he a ccumulated r esults of f ormer s tresses undergone by i ts a ncestors.

I n this way,

t o equip i t t o l ive

the a ctual adaptations we a re

i n i ts present e nvironment,

n ecessary within i ts a ncestor's e nvironment.

s eeing i s n ot

but one which s eemed

Therefore what w e a re

o bserving a t any one t ime r elates t o a f ormer t ime.

Another e xample

would be man's f ingers which d eveloped their present-day c haracterist ics not t o play a piano but t o g rip b etter

..

p laying the p iano j ust

happens t o b e a u se t hat w e c an put t hem t o at present.

T he M ajor C omponents o f t he S keleton o f M yotragus b alearicus: F inal D evelopments i n t he P hysical E volution o f t he G enus M yotragus

2 .

( i )

T he C ranium a nd M andibles

I n the

f inal

s tages o f d evelopment,

highly s pecialised a nimal. Muleta d eposit, t ion i n the

6 0 cms

b alearicus was a

i t c an be r emarked t hat t here was a v ery l arge v aria-

s ize o f t he

f ully g rown animals.

due t o s exual d imorphism, males.

t he M .

I n the thousand or more s pecimens f rom t he

F or e xample,

This c an b e only partly

small and l arge f emales o r s mall

a l arge male might s tand,

i n the s houlders,

a nd w eigh about

1 2

t o

a nd l arge

f ully g rown, 1 3 k ilos,

t o a bout

o r a f ull

g rown s mall male might weigh 8 k ilos a nd o nly s tand 3 5 cms t o 4 0 cms i n t he

s houlders.

A l arge f emale might s tand 4 5 cms

i n t he

s houlders,

weighing 9 kilos o r w eigh 6 or 7 k ilos and s tand a bout 3 5 cms i n t he s houlders. the bones d eposit,

This variation i n s ize of t he Muleta e xamples i n a bout t he

a lthough i t has been n oted t hat,

may have b een a s mall

s how i n a ll

s ame r atio o f f ull g rown s ize t hroughout t he i n other d eposits,

there

s pecies which e xisted i n c ertain a reas,

due per-

haps t o available f ood or s ome natural barrier which prevented t he a nimal events,

f rom l eaving t hat particular s ection o f t he t his phenomenon i s

c urrently b eing s tudied,

i ts passing mention i s pertinent h ere,

5 52

i sland.

I n a ll

a nd n o more than

though t he r eader c an g et s ome

i dea of the

l arge

s ize d ifferences by t he

i llustration h ere o f two

f ully g rown Mpotragus metatarsal a nd metacarpal b ones

( Figure 1 3).

The Muleta d eposit i s perhaps t he b est c ross s ection o f t he a nimal population available.

The

s kull a nd mandibles of t he M .

b alearicus are perhaps the

best examples o f t he adaptation a nd h igh s pecialisation f ound i n t he g enus.

I n the M .

b alearicus the differences between modern-day C aprini

and R upicaprini are

c onsiderable.

( 1)

the position o f the base of t he horns magnum i n t he A eotragus;

( 2)

i ts

I t i s more primitive b ecause i s f arther away f rom t he

f rontal

t he anterior part of the brain a nd

( 3)

s inuses c over a bout

the

s kull has c ornual

which e xtend only t o the base of t he horns,

whereas

f oramen

1 /3 of s inuses

i n modern a nimals

t hey go r ight t o t he t ip o f the horn.

On examining a s pecimen of eotragus three

s pecies,

one

i s

position o f the orbits i n the pect

( there

i s

s kull o f e ither o f t he

i mmediately s truck by the extreme f rontal s kull which g ive

s ome r ecent e vidence that t his

i t a n oddly human a s-

i s

s o,

even i n t he M .

a ntiquus)

( Pons 1 979). This s eparates i t f rom a ll the other a rtiodactyls, t he M . b alearicus having had a field of vision of only some 1 102.

Possible r easons

f or t his narrow f ield o f vision have been

s uggested i n preceding s ections of the t ext expanded i n Appendix

1 E,

a nd these a re f urther

which i s a s tudy o f s exual d imorphism a nd

c ompetitive behaviour i n the b alearicus

type.

Briefly s ummarised,

t he

narrow f ield of vision t estified t o a l ack o f predators a nd s pecialised f eeding habits.

There i s

s ome s light i ndication i n preliminary s tudy

that t he a ngle of vision i n the male

i s

s lightly wider t han t he

f emale

which may be t he r esult o f c ompetitive behaviour more t han a nything e lse

( Appendix 1 E ), but even here the difference between male and fe-

male

i s n ot t erribly s ignificant.

a spects of i ntraspecific c ombat, i n t he

s kull,

behaviour.

This a ppendix d iscusses i n d etail the a nd t he r esults

a nd evidence a s

f ound

a long with t he e ffect s uch s pecialised a daptions had on

Where the

i ous a daptations

s ubject overlaps;

there

i s

i ndication that var-

s erved more than a s ingle purpose a nd w ere due t o more

than one c ause. The

l arge variation i n t he

s ize o f the c ranial c omponents a s

w ell a s t he other bones was r emarked u pon by Andrews 1 914,

a nd at t he

s ame t ime he

i n his

s tudy i n

s tressed his opinion t hat the eotragus

f rom M inorca a ppeared t o be a l arger variety t han f ound on Mallorca. H e

s uggested t hat this might b e due t o d iet or s exual d imorphism.

I n

preliminary s tudies of t he British Museum s amples a nd t hose o f eo-

t ragus from Muleta, there s eems t o b e s ome t ruth i n Andrews' observat ions t hat t he M inorcan variety i s

l arger t han t hat o f Mallorca.

Other c ranial c haracteristics have b een perplexing. ample,

t he author f irst t hought t hat t he a ngle of t he

horns might have c onstituted s exual d imorphism has

s hown however t hat t here

w ith horn s ectioning s tudies, angle of h orns and d egree o f s ectioning s hows the

i s n o basis

( Appendix 1 E ).

f or t his,

s ex o f t he

a ppear t o b e r andom,

s pecimen v ery c learly

5 53

i ts S tudy

a s when c oupled

the t hree basic a lignments s play)

F or e x-

s play o f

( length, e ven when

( Appendix 1 E ).

A g reat d eal of r eference has a lready been made t o t he d entis pecies o f A eotragus,

t ion of a ll t he

but n o r eference has previously

b een made t o t he c ondition of t hese t eeth i n a ny of t he Whereas there w ere t oo f ew s pecimens o f M . draw c onclusions other t han about t he t eeth of the

M .

s tudy s ample,

b alearicus materails.

t ooth s pecimens, Muleta,

1 ,000

b atei to

s tate of w ear i n t he

i ndividual

i t i s a nother matter i n t he c ase o f t he I n t he preliminary s tudy o f about 6 ,000

s kulls,

j aws a nd post c ranial c omponents

which a re perfectly preserved,

i ncluding the f ollowing: l ated a s well a s

s pecies.

a ntiquus or M .

( 1)

a v ery h igh percentage of t he a rticu-

l oose t eeth s how c onsiderable wear a nd much s hrinking

of t he roots of t he molars a nd premolars

( Plates 5 1 t o 5 4, A ppendix 1 F );

this may be due t o e ither age o r d ietary w ear i n s ome c ases, s hould a lso c onsider over-specialisation a s a c ause e xceptional wear

i n many c ases of t he young;

molars a nd molars a ge has

f rom

c ertain observations emerge,

i s

( 2)

but w e

s ince t here i s a lso

t he w ear o f t he pre-

i n nearly every c ase l abial,

a nd i n e xtreme o ld

s ometimes r esulted i n g rotesquely worn t eeth a nd a h igh f re-

quency of l oss

( Figure 2 0)

( Plates 3 4 -3 5 , A ppendix 1 F ).

a uthor has not f ound a s ingle c ase o f t he l oss a nd only o ne

i ncisor,

c ondition.

I n f act,

c ase where t he t he

H owever,

i ncisor was

i n a pathological

i ncisor i n a nimals o f advanced a ge

a cteristically enlarged and b ecomes

s touter.

t he

i n l ife of t he a nimal's

I n s hort,

i s c har-

t he a nimal

s eems t o be d ependend on i t f or s ubsistence.

The j aws

a nd B ),

( Figures 1 8A

s upporting these t eeth are very r obust

with s igns o f powerful musculation,

g eneral character of t he

which must r eflect t he

f ood i t was obliged t o c onsume,

i n which i t f ed and u sed i ts t eeth.

I n turn,

t he m ethod

t he power of t he man-

d ibles would have r equired a n e xtremely s trong n eck,

a nd t his i s

a ctually borne out by the nature o f t he c ervical v ertebrae. would l ead one t o c onclude t hat,

i n i ts f inal d evelopment,

b alearicus was a ' grubber', r ather t han a ' browser' d ramatic way t he t eeth e rupted during various i s b est i llustrated f or t he r eader i n Appendix which the numerous

( ii )

s tages a re

t his

1 8 A ). i n s ize

a nd s tructure.

P lates

1 -17,

i n

s et o f v ertebrae d emonstrates t he power

s ay a bout t he

Like the r est of the

The

7 i n number

the A eotragus must have had in i ts n eck. what we have been a ble t o

1 F,

' grazer'.

i n t he d entition

s hown.

T he C ervical V ertebrae,

When a rticulated,

o r

s tages

A ll t his

A eotragus

This would c orrespond with l ower

s keleton the

j aws o f t he

s kull

( Fi o dre

i ndividual v ertebra vary

The e arly Bate material d id n ot have a rti-

culated vertebrae a nd a c olumn had t o b e made up of unassociated c omponents

f or s tudy.

Nevertheless,

a ppears t o have been well c hosen, d escribed by Andrews a bout t he

s pinal

c olumn of M .

i n

1 914.

c olumn a s

t he composite c ervical

There

i s n ot much t hat c an b e s aid

i t i s u sually quite

s tandard.

H owever,

t he

b alearicus can be noted for s ome minor c hanges i n par-

t icular c omponents a nd t he g roups o f v ertebrae

The A tlas of M . i n f orm

s pinal c olumn

a nd i ts principal u nits a ccurately

( Figure 2 3).

i n g eneral.

b alearicus varies i n s ize, t hough i t i s bovine

The cups of t he o ccipital

5 54

c olumn a re made up o f

c m . A

C i l ls

B

MY O T R A G U S

BA L E A RI C U S

MY O T R A G IUS

BA T EI

f ig . 1 8

upper and l ower l obes with n otches at t he outer a ngles; i nto t hese notches and outer a ngles t he c ondyles a re proportionately l arge f or t he

f it.

The g eneral c haracteristics

s ize a nimal

i n proportion t o other

a rtiodactlys w ith t he g reater l ikeness t o B udocras a nd a lso t o the N emorhaedus .

t he c ondylar s urfaces a re n ot c ontinuous hypapophysical prominence

( except i n s ize)

i n N emorhaedus

I t mainly d iffers

i s f ound a bout t he middle of t he c enturm I n O vis

a nd n ot t he posterior border.

t he d ifference

l ies

i n the

of t he condylar c up a nd a s trong prominence i n t he m id-ventral I n R upicapra the vertebra i s l onger,

o f t he a nterior f ace.

pophysis f arther d istant f rom the

The A xis of M . t he

group.

The n eural

f orm

l ine

t he hypa-

f ront of t he h inder border.

b alearicus i s variable, wider i n proportion t o

l ength with a s horter a nd s touter t ransverse process.

culation of t he a xis

i n t hat

i n t he mid-ventral l ine,

i s

The a rti-

s pout-like which a ppears t o b e u sual i n t he

s pine

I n B udorcas

i s not n otably high.

high and i n t he N emorhaedus

i t i s very

i t projects t o t he r ear o f t he z ygapophysis,

I n R üpicapra , the spine b alearicus, but i s on the whole l onger a nd more s lender.

t he v entral border of t he s pout b eing notched. i s

s imilar t o M .

The other c ervical v ertebrae have n eural a nd a re d eeply opistocoelous

( iii )

s pines of i ncreasing h eight,

( Figure 2 4).

T he T horacic V ertebrae,

1 2

i n number

The t horacics have rather l arge backward s loping s pines, hind t he e ighth t hey b egin t o s horten f inally b ecoming upright; the

l umbar a rea t hey b ecome very s hort a nd broad.

f it i n w ith t he g eneral s keleton.

F or t he

s ize of t he a nimal t he

v ertebrae a re v ery high, s pines

i ndicate powerful

t hat f or t he moment i t i s

s houlder muscles and g o a long t o s up-

s pinal d evelopment i n e ither t he M .

a tion t o Bate a nd Andrews' n eural

The r eader s hould b ear i n mind

i mpossible t o make a ny c omparative a pproach

t he bases o f c omparison h ere c ally s ound.

s pines o f t he t horacic

a nd l eads t he author t o b elieve t hat t hese

port t he powerful n eck a nd l ower j aws. w ith t he

t his would

f oreshortening of t he bones t hroughout t he

s hortening and broadening i s more t han i n N emorhaedus ,

The

O vis or C apra . high

I n a ll,

bei n

i s

b atei or M . a ntiquus, and b alearicus in rel-

i n r egard t o t he M .

f indings

i n

1 914,

w hich a re proving basi-

A r ough i dea c an b e g iven the r eader o f t he s ize o f the

s pines by proportionately c omparing t hem with t he

modern g oat o r s heep,

r emembering t hat t he A l .

s pines o f

b alearicus was a much

s maller a nimal.

( iv )

T he L umbar V ertebrae ,

8 i n n umber

These v ertebrae a re proportionately r obust, s hort a nd broad, possible t o

more

s o t han i n N emorhaedus ,

i nclude h ere the

s till broader a nd s horter, d ifference

i n the

t he

s pines b eing

O vis or C apra .

s acrum r egion where t hose

passing i nto a r idge.

I t

i s

s pines b ecome

T here

i s n ot much

s acrum o f the other a nimals c ompared by Andrews.

Whether or n ot t here a re biometric d ifferences b etween t he e xamples of t he

l umbar v ertebrae

i n M .

b alearicus and other older Pleistocene

5 56

c ave breccias c ollected by Bate, a nd Holocene a ge s tudy has

s o

f rom Muleta,

f ar b een made,

f uture r esearch.

and o ccurrences o f l ate P leistocene

i t i s n ot known.

No proper c omparative

s o a ny c onclusions a bout t his must be f or

The author's purpose

i n u sing biometric data has

s imply been t o c ast l ight on particular a spects o f prehistoric e vents a s t hey o ccurred w ithin the r esearch s ites.

( v )

T he H ind-L imbs,

c omprising the f emur, tarsals,

A s

the hind l imbs of M .

i ndicated e arlier,

t ibia,

c alcaneum

metatarsals a nd phalanges

b alearicus under-

went peculiar adaptation which c an b e c ompared t o t hose

s een i n a f ew

other mountain dwelling s pecies;

f or e xample t he O reamnus,

M ountain g oat o f N orth America.

The g eneral

l imbs

i n M .

two s pecies,

b alearicus ( and by most i ndication s o f ar i n t he other M . a ntiquus and M . b atei ) i s i ndicative o f t he r eduction

o f t he bones t hroughout the a nimal power

the R ocky

f oreshortening o f t he

i n place of s peed,

i nto a g eneral

and s mallness

s tockiness,

s uggesting

i n place o f e nlargement;

un-

d oubtedly s pecialised r equirements d ealing with e nvironmental a nd d ietary f actors. t or of

A s mentioned previously,

' slow l ocomotion'

t here

i s t he built-in f ac-

t o be a pproached presently.

This c oupled

with t he other f eatures of s trength a nd s hortening i llustrates a n a nimal v ery well adapted t o s urvival

( vi )

1 909,

t here were n o c omplete

i nnom-

a nd a gain t he g eneral d escription based on f ragmentary evidence

i s a ccurate

i n Andrews'

s tudy.

t he anterior e nd v ery extended, e nd.

( Figure 1 9).

T he P elvis a nd F emur

I n the B ate c ollection of i nates,

l ocally

On the

s urface

i s

i nside where the

s trongly marked.

The i lium being s hort f or t he g roup, a lmost f lat but well r einforced on t he s urface makes c ontact with t he

s acrum t he

A ccording t o Andrews t his i lium r esembles

t hat o f B udorcas more than any other comparative examination he made. H e a lso

s uggests,

and the Muleta material

t he a cetabular cup i s v ery l arge, s ize o f t he c otylar n otch,

s eems t o bear this out,

being r emarkably n oted f or t he

which i n one o f h is

s pecimens

posterior part o f the r im f or a bout a quarter o f a nimals u sed f or c omparison, i n t hat t he r im i s b elieves

the notches a re

t hat l arge

i nterrupts t he

i ts l ength.

I n other

s imilar t o one a nother,

i nterrupted f or a s hort d istance only.

Andrews

t hat t his p eculiar f eature may have g iven g reater f reedom o f

movement t han u sual t o t he

f emur.

The pelvis a s a whole

i s a gain

s horter a nd s touter t han goats o r a ntelopes.

The F emur

( Figure 2 1)

r idges a nd tuberosities The

t he

f emur head i s n early h emispherical a nd i s d irected s lightly u pward.

The pit f or t he heavy, t he

i s a ccordingly s hort a nd t hick,

f or the a ttachment o f muscles w ell marked.

l igamentum i s r ound a nd d eep.

t he r otular f ace

f emora of other t ypes where t he

f ront o f t he bone.

The d istal process

i s w ide but s hallow a s w ell a s

I n s hort,

i s

s horter t han

f ace has d eveloped f urther u p t he

t he most d istinguishing f eatures a re

5 57

Myotragus

b alear icus -Bones

ivest igua l f ibu la

t ib ia

a straga lus

c a lcaneu m

metatarsa l

,7

C MS

WNW

1

1

f ig . 1 9

again the e nd.

s tout s hortened c haracteristics with t he v ery l arge d istal

Andrews c ampares

f emur i s

B udorcas,

i t with that o f

s traighter a nd s tout,

c oming c loses t o

though this animal's

M . b alearicus but

s till b eing s limmer.

( vii )

T he T ibia a nd F ibula

There

i s nothing extra-distinguishing about the t ibia of M .

b alearicus other than its stoutness and shortness, though its distal process

i s quite d eep i n order t o r eceive the a stragalus,

r est of the

The

s keleton i s variable

i n s ize

a nd l ike the

i n t he f ull g rown a nimals.

F ibula is reduced to nothing but a very small vestigial

process on e ither end of the bone,

t hough i t has been n oted i n s ome

Muleta s pecimens that t his vestigial

f ibula c an extend s ome

1 0 t o

1 5

mm a t i ts proximal end.

( viii )

The animals,

T he A stragalus a nd C alcaneum

A stragalus differs only s lightly f rom other c ompared

being only a bit l arger on t he e nd which articulates w ith

the d istal end of the t ibia, l ittle

and the distal end of t he bone

i s a

s maller i n proportion t o the opposite e nd.

The

C alcaneum is for the author more robust than goat or sheep,

t he h eel end being quite wide and r einforced f or t endon a ttachment. The

f ace which articulates with the

( ix )

a stragalus i s l arge.

T he M etatarsals a nd T arsals

This a rea i n the hind-limbs has been d iscussed i n previous s ections a s b eing one o f t he principal s pecialisation a nd adaptation. earlier i s t he g rown.

s et of bones w hich underwent

The main f eature a s pointed out

f usion of the tarsals t o the metatarsal

I n Muleta,

this f usion o ccurs

e piphyses at the c annon bone's d istal end unites, pointed out by Andrews.

an observation i s

I n g oats and a ntelopes t he t arsal's

cuboid and navicular f use with one a nother, I n g eneral,

f ull

The exact percentage o f this o ccurrence

being s tudied a t t he present. f orms.

i n the

s ometimes young e ven b efore the

among ruminants t he

but n ot with t he c unei-

tarsals a re

f used with one

H yaemoschus and T ragulus, but they are never fused to the metatarsal. I n M yotragus b alearicus, this tarso-metatarsal complex a nother i n s uggests

' slow l ocomotion'

a nd c ertainly i s one

l ack of predators.

5 59

f actor s upporting t he

( x )

T he H umerus a nd S capula

I n Andrews'

d escription of

1 914,

whereas there a re many f rom Muleta. Andrews s heep,

i n that

t here was n o c omplete s capula,

S tudy s upports t he brief n ote of

i t r esembles those of other animals l ike t he g oat a nd

with only the c oracoid process proportionately l arger.

H owever,

i n the c omplete Muleta s amples t he proximal edge of t he plain of t he blade

i s more r einforced t han i n s heep or goat with t he r esult t hat t he

c oracoid process

i s extra l arge.

The H umerus

i s

i n a ccord with the other bones i n b eing s hort

and s tout with the proximal end massively c onstructed. l arge and extremely c onvex, s ide.

more

I ts h ead i s

f rom f orward t o r ear t han s ide t o

There i s a hooked process f orming t he outer t uberosity which

i s l arge and r ises a bove the head.

Outside,

this process

i s parted

by a n otch f rom a pronounced prominence t o which . a muscle was a ttached. The head of the

s haft has a well

f ormed d eltoid process f rom which a

r idge r ises up and outward.

I n general a ppearance,

the humerus has a n ox-like a ppearance

i n proportion and i mportance of the d eltoid c rest. a ppearance

The

s tout,

s hort

i s different f rom the other a nimals t o which i t was c om-

pared by Andrews,

but r ather more l ike B udorcas Table

r ange of biometric measurements

i n r egard t o f ully g rown l arge a nd

s mall animals,

T able 9 .

9 ( below )

i n s ome r espects,

t icularly the d eltoid process.

par-

gives a n i dea o f the

a nd i ncludes the major l imb bones a nd metapodials.

B iometric

M basurements

the Major B ones

S howing the S ize Variation i n

i n eotragus b alearicus

D eposit of Muleta,

M allorca.

S ome of

( Bate 1 909) from the

M easurements a re

i n M illimetres.

Maximum

Minimum

D istal

L ength

L ength

Maximum

Minimum

S pecimens

1 45.0 mm

9 3.0 mm

3 7.1 mm

2 2.5 mm

5 44 L -R

Astragalus

3 1.4 mm

1 8.2 mm

2 0.3 mm

1 0.9 mm

3 60 L -R

M etatarsal

9 5.0 mm

5 4.0 mm

2 9.0 mm

1 8.0 mm

4 89 L-R

1 52.6 mm

9 8.5 mm

3 5.0 mm

2 1.0 mm

3 52 L -R

6 8.0 mm

4 1.0 mm

3 1.0 mm

2 0.0 mm

5 84 L .R

P iece:

F emur

H umerus M etacarpal

S acrum

Width of V ertebral B ody,

S 1 min.

L ength of Vertebral Body,

S i

Radius of the V entral Curve

min.

W idth

N o.

7 mm max.

max.

1 4 mm

1 8 mm max.

max.

3 1 mm

( centimetres) N o.

5 -16 c ms of S pecimens 2 14

5 60

of

Note:

The r eader s hould bear i n mind that t he project of biometrics

on the Muleta s pecimens has only j ust b egun.

, The project i s much

more c omplex than the measurements o f a number of bone s pecimens. The project i nvolves a pproximately 5 00,000 bones which must be measured.

At the

t akes place,

s ame t ime,

the bones must b e hardened b efore measurement

which s lows the whole process down.

the w ork i n s uperficially c leaning, bones.

There has a lso b een

i nventorying and c ataloguing t he

The t able on the previous page

i s g iven s o that t he r eader i s

given the mean average measurement of a g ood n umber of Myotragus bale aricus bones t o have

s ome

i dea of their d imension,

a nd s ome

i dea of

the work i nvolved.

( xi)

The Radius and t he U lna

I n proportion t o the a nimal's humerus, r ather s lender bones, than i n Ovis,

a ll the

Rupicapra e tc.

The Radius

the other g enera a s they curve viewed f rom the

f ront.

bone becoming more

t he radius and u lna a re

s ame they d o a ppear g enerally heavier i s much s traighter than i n

s lightly i n the bone's s haft when

The proximal process o f the bone

s lender d istally.

d istal end f or the cuneiform i s

i s

l arge,

the

The a rticular s urface a t t he

s mall,

which a ccoridng t o Andrews,

probably gave a g reater d egree of f lexion of the c arpus o n the f orearm's bones,

s o the metacarpus c ould a t t imes t urn a t r ight a ngles t o

t he radius.

I n Budorcas,

t here

i s a s imilar d egree of f lexion,

the a rticular s urface of the d istal process and the cuneiform i s very wide and s hort,

( xii)

The C arpus

( Figure 2 9)

s lightly r educed.

d irection of the earpus

has a proximal r ow of bones which a re

l imb's a xis.

( Figures 2 9)

As pointed out by Andrews,

i s t he most characteristic bone

i onally s hort and broad,

s kull

i tself.

the

the Meta-

i n t he Myotragus

The c annon bones a re except-

and there i s a d eep d epression i n t he post-

s urface of the bone which s hows t he original

metacarpals; s ide.

except f or the cuneiform which

The d istal r ow of bones a re s hortened i n the

a part f rom the animal's e rior

a ccording t o Andrews.

C arpus and Metacarpus

more l ike present-day s heep a nd goats, i s

however,

i n t he r adius i s broader

s eparation o f the

f ace of the bone i s s lightly c onvex f rom s ide t o

The a rticular s urface f or the phalanges a re s imilar t o other

s pecies,

but s lightly narrower.

The

' dew f eet'

a re present and

s trongly f used i n most c ases t o the c annon bone. these vestigial a ppendages a re

I n the Muleta c ave,

f ound i n great number during the bone

s eparation operation s howing probably a ll the a nimals had these ' late ral metacarpals pals

( Figure 2 2).

( cannon bones)

a re

examination of the bone case

i n Muleta,

Quite o ften s pecimens of t he metacar-

f ree of these

l ateral a ppendages,

s hows that t hey d id e xist

but were easily d etached because o f t heir being only

s lightly f used t o both s ides of t he c annon bone. the whole,

but c lose

i n n early every

though s till

s horter,

The c annon bones on

most r esemble Oreamnus,

Mountain g oat of North America.

5 61

the Rocky

fi g .

20

f ig .

2 1

( xiii ) T he H ind a nd F ore P halanges

These a re

s hort and s tout a nd l ike the metacarpals a nd meta-

t arsals are c haracteristics l ange

i s oblique where

the e ffect o f t his obliqueness

l imb i s that when the

i n g eneral.

The s econd pha-

i n union with t he hoof,

i t s eems t o have with B udorcas.

a nother characteristic Andrews,

i n M potragus

i t c omes

l imb i s e xtended,

which i s A ccording t o

i n t he a rticulation o f t he t he hoofs would have been

f lexed downward and r otating outward away f rom e ach other. when t he animal's w eight was thrown on the

f oot,

b ent upward i mmediately a nd drawn c loser t ogether. t o Andrews,

I n t urn,

t he hoofs would have Therefore,

a ccording

s uch a movement would have b een of a ssistance t o t he a ni-

mal's g ripping r ough g round;

a view a lso s hared by the a uthor.

The hoofs of M .

b alearicus are broader and stouter than other Those o f t he M . b alearicus but are quite d ifferent f rom e ither C apra or

animals used f or c omparison by Andrews. most r esemble OVibos, OVibos

i n that t hey l eave a more horseshoe

pointed kind l eft by C apra or O vis

Andrews c oncludes g enerally a grees t hat M .

O reamnus ,

( Andrews 1 914), and this present author b alearicus was a c limber l ike B udorcas and

rather than a j umper,

s lopes and c liff f aces.

s haped i mprint than t he

( Figure 2 9).

l iving much of their t ime on

H owever,

c an be postulated f rom t he osteological evidence motion,

manner of f eeding,

' talus'

t he present a uthor b elieves more i n t erms o f l oco-

c ompetitive b ehaviour a nd t hrough s exual

d imorphism and i n man's e arly r elationship with t he a nimal n ow t hat more d etailed i nformation i s available c oncerning the

l atter t wo

t opics.

2 .1

eotragus b atei ( Angel a nd C rusafont 1 965)

The eotragus b atei year a s the Muleta c ave) Mallorca,

s pecies w as d iscovered i n

by B .

Angel

( the

s ame

and s ubsequently named a fter D orothea Bate who f irst i denti-

f ied t he M .

b alearicus species.

f rom a s ingle

s ite a t present,

The M .

b atei

s pecimens o riginate

a nd have been a ssigned by M .

P airo an age of approximately 2 1 /2 million years The quarry i s

C rusafont

( Villafranchian).

l ocated i n the s outhwestern f oot hills o f t he N orthern

Jurassic S ierras

( Region

1 ).

c lose t o a quaternary z one

G eologically,

( Figure 5 )

s ediments

i n which t he

i t a ppears

i n a n a rea

( section 3 .1, I ntroduction),

a nd this g ives a s lightly questionable of the

1 962

i n a s tone quarry i n G enova,

l ight a s t o t he a ctual o rigin

s pecimens w ere

f ound.

U nfortunately,

t his particular quadrant o f the r egion i s g eologically d escribed poorly,

and hence

of t he M . 1 .3.2,

b atei.

s ome r ecent doubt has However,

s prung up c oncerning t he a ge

a s pointed out i n t he

f inal part o f s ection

t he author c onsiders the chronological a ssessments t o d ate a s

t entative, and i s willing t o consider t he c urrent a ge o f 2 1 /2 million years a s a cceptable until f urther i nformation a nd materials a re a vaila ble.

5 64

F ortunately,

more

s pecimens o f this M .

a ntiquus .

b een f ound than i n t he c ase of M . preserved s kulls,

s everal badly preserved j aws,

o f one r ight l ower mandible t ells t he

1 8A a nd 3 4B ).

b atei species have

There a re a f ew w ell

There a re

s everal

but only one s ide

s tory o f t he

i ncisors

i solated c omplete t eeth,

( Figures

mainly

premolars and molars a nd s ome good e xamples o f l ong b ones a nd other post cranial c omponents t hat f acilitate

i dentification and s tudy

( A r tgel a nd C rusafont 1 965 , A drover a nd A ngel 1 966).

The main c haracteristics i n which t he M . b atei differs from a ntiquus and the M . b alearicus are in its teeth ( Table 1 ). I n t he b atei, according to the authors j ust r eferred t o, t hree pairs o f t he M .

i ncisors, 2

4

I1I

3

and premolars,

with P -P in tne maxilla.

P3 a nd P4 e xist i n t he l ower j aw,

However,

a s noted e arlier,

a ntiquus and M .

number of these t eeth which change between the M .

b atei,

i t i s t he

a long

i t i s n ot t he

f orm a nd cutting edge and a pparent f unction that a re

( Figure 1 7). The real changes in the number of these teeth o ccur within the b alearicus specimen, as we shall s ee l ater. d ifferent

The present a uthor however believes that t here

b atei species.

question about I3 a nd P3 i n the M . that the

I

i s e ither a milk t ooth or a canine.

f act that the one perfect s pecimen of a M . l ongs t o a young a nimal f ully e rupted v estigial

i n which the

( Plates 1 8 a nd 2 7).

i ncisors a re

( Plates 1 5 a nd 1 6). i ncisor variety,

This

i s based on t he

M3 , had n ot yet

b alearicus animals

i mpression o f b elonging t o a two-

a nd t his has a ctually been s uggested by C uerda

i n r eporting of t hese

s pecimens.

s ome

i s worth n oting t hat s imilar

f ound i n s amples of young M .

These give the

s till

b atei lower jaw clearly be-

l ast molar,

I t

i s

I t i s his opinion

However,

( 1969)

t he author's prolific M .

b alearicus materials from Muleta demonstrates beyond doubt that this e xtra i ncisor o f M . b alearicus önly occurs i n t he young l ower j aws. I n Muleta these two i ncisored l ower j aws o f t he young M . b alearicus o ccur only i n one s ector i n t he s tratigraphy ( see ' E" s ector p rofile) a t l evels b eginning a t 3 50 cms. t his chapter,

Odd a s

i t may s eem a t the writing of

a f ind has been made by a nother i nvestigator where t his

two-incisor o ccurrence a ppears

i n a ll t he mandibles of t he young.

This then c onstitutes a n evolutionary moment when this a pparently d id o ccur i n the young d eveloping two i ncisors The

i n t he

l ower j aw w hen young.

l evels a t Muleta where these two-incisored young j aws a re

have been radiocarbon dated s everal y ears a go a s c irca

f ound

1 5,000 b .c.

( Appendix 1 A , S M ,66), which would indicate it i s a r elatively l ate b alearicus, and that it only occurs as part of the

d evelopment i n M . milk d entition.

I f this d ible we have,

i s a lso the c ase i t

i n t he one

s ample o f M .

i s r eally a two-incisored s pecies a nd n ot a t hree v ery unfortunate t hat s o l ittle M . a ble which would s ettle t his the

b atei man-

i s t hen possible t o a ssume that t he b atei i ncisored.

s pecies I t

i s

b atei material i s c urrently avail-

i ssue a s t o t he proper d escription o f

s pecies.

5 65

f ig . 22

We a re

i n s imilar

s traits when we consider P 3

which the author b elieves plainly t o be

1 3 a nd 1 4).

b atei, I t s eems

( Plates

i n a c ondition of r egression and n on-functional F urthermore,

the a uthor has

i n the c ollection of t he Deya

Archaeological Museum and R esearch C entre, s amples

i n M .

i s a n on-functional milk t ooth.

Deya,

Mallorca s everal

f rom M uleta w here this P3 c an b e observed i n various s tages

of d evelopment a nd disappearance c aused by t he f inal e ruption o f M 3

( Plates 2 2 a nd 2 3, A ppendix 1 F ). s tress

of the

The d isappearance o ccurred t hrough

f orward pressure a pplied by the erupting M 3 on P3 ,

f inally s hifting t he other molars a nd premolars t oward t he a nd c ausing the P3 t o disappear

t ion of t he molars and premolars, s een,

A ppendix 1 F ).

I n f act,

i ncisors

( note t he X -ray photos o f this e rupwhere this pressure f orward c an be

t his a ppendix a lso

i llustrates

i n photos

and x -ray a ll t he t ooth s uccession i n t he M yotragus b alearicus t he Muleta d eposit, t he

f rom

l eaving n o doubt a s to t he pressure applied on

j aws d uring t he eruption of M l-M3,

s o f ar a s that s pecies i s c on-

c erned.

Other o steological c hanges a ppear between M .

e aricus.

b atei and M .

b al-

The most i nteresting i s t he s lightly l ess f rontal position

of the animal's orbits. f eature a s t here a re e stablish i ts

Caution must be e xercised

s till not enough s amples f or

i nvariable presence

therefore d ependent,

d ence o f only a f ew e xamples. Muleta M .

i n a ll M .

a s with a ll the

i n a ssessing this

s tudy positively t o

b atei skulls.

s maller d ifferences,

I t has been s hown i n the

W e a re on t he evi-

s tudy o f the

b alearicus skulls that a great deal of variation in bio-

metric measurements o ccurs and r ecording i n t he M . i s merely a matter of

i n that s pecies.

We may therefore be

s eeing

b atei type through biometrics s omething t hat

i ndividual variation or even s exual d imorphism

( Appendix 1 E ).

There a re a lso c ertain points o f

s imilarity between t he

s pecies

that d eserve mention t o i ndicate the d egree o f c onsistency within the g enus.

I n the

f ore and hind l imbs,

a long with their phalanges e xtreme

f oreshortening which s eparates M yotragus

members of the R upicaprinae . f ound f or the M . i ts

t he metatarsals a nd metacarpals

have a c ommon c haracteristic,

l imbs d oes

namely an

f rom most other

No c omplete major l ong bones have been

a ntiquus, but this characteristic

' shortening'

which a re not dissimilar t o those o f e ither M .

b atei or M .

b alearicus.

S o w e c an r easonably predict t hat a ll three will prove t o have i ness'

of the

The metatarsals of M .

( Figure 2 9 ).

b atei are certainly fused to the tarsals,

f used t hemselves t o make a s ingle unit,

This f eature c ertainly r eflects t he animal's

s low l oco-

a nd i s a lso one of the r easons why the author b elieves t hat

there w ere n o predators of M yotragus. kind of movement, nature,

' stump-

l ower l imbs.

the c omponents of which are motion,

of

s eem t o b e r epresented by a f ew f ragmentary phalanges

I t a lso r eflects a s pecialised

d oubtlessly r elated t o t he habitat's r estrictive

but a s will be

c ompetitive behaviour

s een with an e ffect during s uch a ctivities a s

( Appendix 1 E ).

A c ertain amount o f

i nformation

i s thus available or potentially available c oncerning t he possible e cological c onditions t hat prevailed d uring t he Villafranchian d ivision

5 67

of t he Early P leistocene,

i f we can a ssess t he meaning of t he o steo-

l ogical characteristics of M . ment.

For example,

t here

normal

i n A rtiodactyla ,

b atei in terms of contemporary environ-

i s t he d evelopment o f t he t hree

antelope,

g oat,

i ncisors,

s heep a nd d eer e tc.,

which i n

eotragus are evergrowing l ike the i ncisors o f t he present-day S outh American Vicuha. I n t he M . b atei, there i s not yet t he r eduction of the number o f i ts i ncisors a nd premolars s o visible i n M . b alearicus , but t he evergrowing i ncisor i s present, c isors of M .

where i n t he c ase o f t he i n-

a ntiquus they are normal growing incisors similar to

a rtiodactyla.

This

f eature o f the evergrowing i ncisor i s a nother

d elineating f actor between t he M .

b atei and M . b alearicus, on one a ntiquus on the other, thus showing the succession

and t he M .

hand, of t he

s pecies.

molars

i ndicate t o t he a uthor t hat a t t his

The

s hape and o ther f eatures of t he b atei

r equire e ither those of t he e arlier a ntiquus l ater evolved i n b alearicus. d icative of a ' grazer's'

s pecies o r those which

The t eeth o f M .

manner o f

i ncisors a nd pre-

s tage t he a nimal d id not

f eeding,

b atei surely s eem i n-

whereas t hose o f t he

M . a ntiquus are likely to be those of a ' browser'. I t s eems t hat eotragus may have turned from browsing for food to grazing for it, only t o become a ' grubber' M .

b alearicus.

with t he d evelopment of t he third s pecies,

This would i mply t hat t he c limate and e nvironment

a ssociated with M .

a ntiquus supported much more in the way of forest,

where t he c reature was adapted t o e ating a variety of f ood t ypes, probably l eaves and more t ender g round plants, i ncisors

I1 a nd 12 a re

even i f t he c hisel-like

i n s ome way s imilar t o t he

s ingle one

i n

b alearicus .

The modification i n M .

b atei of the evergrowing incisor sug-

g ests t o the a uthor t eeth that have been a dapted t o ' clipping' l ike

rather than t he

' raking'

a ntiquus and M .

i ncisors o f M .

capable o f e xecuting.

or

' scraping'

' nibbling'

a nd

which t he c hisel-

b alearicus appear to have been

S uch a n ibbling or c lipping a ction would s ug-

g est t he abundance of g rasses a nd r elatively s oft plants a s part of the animal's d iet.

Whether or not t his k ind of vegetation c overed

t he plains or j ust the mountains of t he Balearics I t s eems l ikely t o the a uthor t hat M .

b atei,

ranged over both f or what t hey had t o offer. the d istribution of t he various k inds o f M . f ound i n d eposits s eems t o be

i s n ot yet k nown.

l ike t he ohter s pecies, This

i s t estified t o by

b alearicus which are

i n every r egion of Mallorca a nd M inorca;

a nd i t

s o with t he d istribution of t he M .

have r ecently been a ppearing, f ew r emains and only one

s ite,

a ntiquus sites which s o that with t he M . b atei, despite the t his may b e equally t rue.

Undoubtedly,

the M .

b atei would have been very much the product of its particular environment, l ike i ts a ncestor M . a ntiquus and its successor, M . b ale aricus .

As w e have

s een,

d iscovery a nd r esearch c oncerning d evelopment

within t he g enus eotragus has b een g reatly a ccelerated s ince The main s timuli of t his a cceleration have b een t he b atei

s pecies,

events o ccurring i n

( b )

( a)

t he d iscovery of t he Muleta d eposit

1 962)

and l astly,

5 68

( c)

1 962.

t he d iscovery of ( both

t he organisation by t he

a uthor o f an I nternational Symposium on the M yotragus b alearicus With the d iscovery by Juan P ons of the M .

1 965.

the f indings have r esulted i n a c learer picture o f t he evolution a nd e xtinction.

L inked t ogether,

s pecies'

prigin,

the f indings o f the past

1 4 y ears emphasises the n ecessity t o r e-examine the previous a nd hypotheses a bout the a ncestry o f M yotragus. i s perhaps

i n

a ntiquus in 1 976,

At the

s tudies

s ame t ime,

i t

s till a l ittle e arly t o s ay whether o r not M yotragus orig-

i nated f rom the G allogoraZ m eneghinii as

s uggested by one

i nvestigator

( Alcover y T omas 1 976) or A ntelope m eloni postulated by another ( Guerin 1 965) I n f act, d iscoveries s ince 1 976 have a ccelerated t o t he point where

i nformation i s outdated by t he t ime

M yotragus a ntiquus

2 .9

( Pons 1 976)

i s the o ldest f ossil f orm o f M yotragus

This B alearics.

i t i s published.

yet f ound i n t he

I ts d iscovery c onstitutes the most r ecent evidence t o

emerge on the f irst d irect a ncestry of this peculiar ruminant. I ts high a ntiquity i s a pparent f rom t he morphological d ifferences i n i ts t eeth f rom those o f g eology i n which t he

s uccessive

s pecies

( batei and b alearicus) and the

f ossil materials were f ound.

Unfortunately,

the

r emains r epresenting this s pecies a re not v ery plentiful,

t hough t here

c an b e n o doubt that they b elong t o t he g enus M yotragus.

The evidence

c onsists mainly of t eeth f rom t he l ower and upper j aws, f ragmentary due t o t he w ere

l ithological c onditions o f t he d eposit.

f ound with a f ew l ong bone f ragments a ttributed t o t he

s pecies, Arta,

s ome o f t hem

i n f issure

Mallorca

v ery a rchaic,

s ediments

( Region 4 ).

i n Miocene

f rom Cap Farrutx,

The c haracteristics of the materials a re

i ncluding t he presence o f three

but two a re very hypsodont-high c rowned ) a ppears t o have a P2 a nd P3 which a re well f unctional

l imestone

They

s ame

i ncisors

( Figure 1 7).

( not evergrowing This s pecies

f ormed a nd c ompletely

( Pons 1 977).

According t o P ons,

t he principal morphological

f eatures which

d istinguish M .

a ntiquus f rom the l ater M . b atei species i s the s hape o 5. t he t rth a nd t heir s tructure. I n M . a ntiquus, he describes the P and P of the maxilla a s d iffering f rom the e quivalent i n M . b atei i n t hat the premolars of t he M . a ntiquu9 are completely functional a nd well f ormed, whereas the M . b atei P i s s omewhat c onical a nd more pointed a s well a s being s mall a nd n on-functional ( Adrover a nd A ngel 1 969). The P3 o f t he M . a ntiquus i s l arger than i ts c ounterpart i n M . b atei as well a s being s traighter t han P4 . The l ower d entition of t he M .

a ntiquus as s o f ar known c onsists o f t hree i ncisors

a nd premolars

( P3

a nd P4 ) .

The characteristics o f these t hree

s ors a nd premolars are d iscribed i n d etail by Pons, s ummary of the outstanding d ifferences

( I 1I3) i nci-

a nd only a brief

s eems n ecessary h ere.

Only a

a ntiquus has been found, a nd i t does not s eem l ong c ompared t o t hat o f M . b atei. 1 2 i s c omplete s ingle

f ragment o f the f irst i ncisor of M .

and i ts very hypsodont s hape

b atei .

1 3

i s quite d ifferent f rom t hat o f t he M .

i s d ifferent f rom t he other two i ncisors.

t hat f ound i n B ovidae, a nd s limmer.

but s maller.

The M .

I t i s c loser t o

b atei 13 i s more modified

I t has been s uggested by t he present a uthor among other

things t hat t he b atei

s pecies

i s a young animal a s

5 69

i ts

l ast molar,

M3 ,

Cerv ical

V ertebra -A tlas

: ::

•

: • :: :

8

I

C rY ls

f ig . 23

f ig . 24

has not f ully e rupted

( Plate 9 .1 and 2 ).

s pecimens

i nclude

place

f rom Muleta

i n young a nimals.

The a uthor's M .

s amples where t here

I n one c ase,

t he l ower j aw o f a M .

s pecimen of t he s ame age g roup a s t he batei 1 3-14),

a nd he s uggests t hat t he M .

Angel and Crusafont

( 1965)

batei

As r egards t he M .

I t i s t he author's

s pecimen would c ertainly have

b ecome l ost w ith t he f inal e ruption o f t he M 3, l ong e nough.

antiquus premolars,

P3 d iffers f rom i ts equivalent i n M .

( Appendix 1F

batei P 3 d escribed by

i s a lso non-functional.

opinion t hat t he P3 of t his M .

balearicus

s pecimen i n question has a

P 3 which t he author r egards a s a n on-functional premolar and Plates

balearicus

i s a D I2 s till i n

batei

had t he animal

l ived

we may n ote t hat t he

i n being heavier and having

a well f ormed s tructure a s well a s b eing g enerally l arge when c ompared t o t he M .

s omewhat r egressive t eeth of M .

batei.

batei b ecause of i ts well d eveloped l obe,

with the d escription made o f t he M . Angel

P 4

i s more l ike t hat o f

and i s more

i n a ccordance

batei d entition by Ardover and

( 1969).

The parts o f the molars

f ound at Cap Farrutx are t oo f ragmen-

t ary t o be worth d escribing i n d etail here;

t he author will merely

c omment that t hey s how v ery l ittle d ifferences f or t he moment f rom their equivalent i n e ither M .

batei o r M .

balearicus,

a lthough this

i mpression may v ery well c hange when b etter preserved materials a re on hand.

There does

s eem t o be a c ertain primitiveness present which

i s t o be e xpected i n the evolution f rom one s pecies t o t he other. s ame may be s aid o f M .

s everal

The

f ragments of m etapodials a nd phalanges o f

antiquus which w ere a lso f ound h ere.

I t i s much hoped t hat better

evidence will be f orthcoming i n t he n ot t oo d istant f uture.

B efore

s umming up t his d escription o f the

4otragus a ntiquus

s ome mention must b e made of a s ingle f ind o f a c reature d iscovered a t Cap Figari on Sardinia which has been n amed Antelope meloni 1 911).

F rom what i s published on t his animal,

g lance,

s eem t o r esemble Myotragus.

o f t his material has b een made,

i t would,

At t he present n o s erious s tudy

a lthough s ome i nvestigators l ike P .

S ondaar a re o f t he opinion that there i s a g enuine Myotragus. understood.

H owever,

s imilarity t o

t he age o f t his S ardinian material

Whether o r n ot a t rue

s imilarity e xists

no r eason t o b elieve t hat i t i s not possible) f uture r esearch.

I f i t i s s o,

animal t o t he Balearic

I slands'

( Dehaut

a t f irst

i s n ot a s

( the a uthor has

will b e a matter f or

i t would b e t he nearest c omparable Myotragus.

I t would a lso open s erious

questions r egarding t he migratory r outes b etween t he i slands o f which n othing i s known t o d ate.

At t he present t ime, which t he M .

a ntiquus

i s

t he g eological a ge o f t he

s ediments

the physical make up a nd t he l ocale of the d eposit i s o lder i n which M . M .

b atei

batei

i s f ound.

by c hronombtric means. a re

The M .

antiquus

s ediment matrices a re M eanwhile,

s till a matter of hypothesis.

t han t hat

i s more primitive t han

i n t he evolution a nd s tructural c hanges

r elative a ge o f both t he

i n

f ound c an only b e a ssessed r elatively i n t hat

i n t he t eeth.

The

s till open t o d ating

t he various theories o f o rigins I t will

5 72

s uffice h ere t o s tate t hat

the author's opinion of the r elative a ges of t he

s pecimens

i s that

t he whole of the c hronological picture of t he d ifferent s pecies must be more c losely r eviewed.

What can be c ertain i s t hat t he

author's d eposits a re well d ocumented c hronometrically, his a ssessments of the a ges of t he f ossil evidence c ollected on e ach o f the voirs)

s ites,

a s well a s having a f ew other r eser-

f ounded i n s tarting with M .

a re

a nd a ll of

( having viewed a nd

b alearicus before permanently

f ixing a ll but t he most r elative of d ates f or the other s pecies. a ges a ssigned i n t his thesis a re r eally,

only,

The

t he most t entative,

being s ubject t o c hange a s n ew i nformation arrives.

Tentatively,

t he

author i s of the o pinion t hat a n age of 5 -6 million years f or the M .

a ntiquus and 2 -2 1 /2 million years f or the M .

b atei would be accept-

able on evolutionary l ines of the morphological d evelopments. mation i n r egard t o the date of t he

s ediments,

I nfor-

c ontaining the M .

a ntiquus specimens in the fissures of Miocene limestone will only bec ome available when these d eposits c an be dated properly f rom their c onsolidated s ediments.

I n any e vents, i n the f ossil r ecord

the r ecent d iscovery of this a rchaic s pecies

( and s till other f inds a s yet unpublished)

e xtremely important f or f uture s tudy of itotragus

i n g eneral,

a s giving s pecific c lues t o i ts origin and d evelopment. t he morphological d ifferences may s eem,

f rom t he

i s

a s well

S light though

f oregoing d escription,

a nd the d etails of the d entition a lso c learly i ndicate a d ifferent type f rom that of M .

of existence

b atei as well as M .

b alearicus .

I f one c ompares the t ooth a rrangements of t he t hree s pecies, i t becomes evident that t heir i ndividival types of use.

An e xample of this

characteristics o f the

i ncisors

i n M .

f eatures

i ndicate d ifferent

a ntiquus can be found in the

( cutting edges,

s hape and s ize).

The

s hape and cutting edge of 12 i n M . dae,

a ntiquus are very typical of Bovif eatures n ot f ound i n the i ncisors of b atei or b alearicus . Other

i ndividual t eeth,

both i ncisors a nd premolars,

would e xpect t o f ind a t s pecific o f t eeth,

both

i n number a nd s ize). H owever,

( e.g.

For the moment,

s upposition a s t o what these f eatures e cological c onditions.

s how d ifferences one

l evel of evolution

r eduction

i t i s a matter o f

i n the t eeth mean i n t erms o f

i t i s t he opinion of the a uthor t hat

I1 a nd 12 of M .

a ntiquus resemble more the single incisor, I of M . b alearicus than any of the incisors of M . b atei ( Figure 1 ?), in that t hey a re chisel-like f ragment of

M . t he

I i

b alearicus .

i n s hape.

a lso has These

The cutting e dge on t he one known

s ome r elationship t o t he

t hose of M .

s imilarities would s uggest t o t he a uthor t hat

a ntiquus functioned quite differently than either b atei or M . b alearicus. While i t i s dangerous t o t ry a nd

of t hese earlier s pecies,

s ources o f f ood or f eeding habits i n e ither s ome postulation can b e made

t hese be c arefully s tudying t he

b alearicus .

This

i dea that what w e t o

i ncisor o f

i ncisors of M .

d educe or even s urmise the

M .

s ingle

( a)

s ources,

( c)

i f one can c ome t o t erms with t he

( b)

S ome

( d )

c limatic c hanges

s peculation based on i ntelligent s urmise

f ound i n a f ollowing s ection,

t ics o f the

b alearicus was due

availability and t ypes o f f ood

g eographic a nd g eological domain and

on the e arlier t ypes. can be

i s possible

s ee a s a f inal d evelopment i n M .

s tresses o f adaptation,

i n r egard t o

f inal d evelopment i n t he t eeth o f

t eeth might mean.

5 73

c oncerning what t he c haracteris-

Thorac ic

V ertebra - F ifth

f ig . 25

f ig . 26

f ig .

27

f ig . 28

d egrees o f t arsa l f us ion

h oof c ores

a rt icu lated f ore li mb

Metacarpa l

&

Metatarsa ls

fi g .

2 9

fi g .

3 0

f ig . 3 1

APPE NDI X lE

APPENDIX 1 E.

INDICATIONS OF CRANIAL SEXUAL DIMORPHISN I AND COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOUR IN MYOTRAGUS FROM MULETA

1 .

A G eneral I ntroduction a nd D iscussion:

R eviewed

M yotragus b alearicus was first discovered in 1 909 by D orothea Bate of the British Museum i n P leistocene s ea cave breccia d eposits on Mallorca.

Subsequent e xpeditions e stablished i ts presence on t he

s ister i sland of Minorca where i t was a lso f ound i n cave breccias o f e roded s ea caverns.

Currently,

t here

i s n o evidence o f i ts e xistence

on the other i slands of the Balearic group,

I biza or Formentera.

M yotragus b alearicus

A s d escribed i n Chapter I of the t ext, is

a highly modified,

endemic a nd a berrant H upicaprine A ntelope .

I ts

principal modifications a re f ound i n the t eeth o f the upper and l ower j aws,

i n t he metatarsals a nd metacarpals,

orbits.

There a re other odd d evelopments

and i n the position o f i ts i n i ts post-cranial and

c ranial c omponents which a re t oo numberous t o d etail i n this r eport

( Andrews 1 914, B ate 1 909 a nd 1 915)(see t ext C hapter I :

1 .3 .1 t o 1 .3 .5).

The most outstanding d evelopment i n i ts l ower d entition endix

1 F )

i s

i n the

t he three pairs normal

i n A rtiodactyla ,

e xtra l ong and c hisel-like

i ncisors.

t o a s ingle pair o f evergrowing

I t i s t he presence o f these ever-

growing i ncisors which has g iven t he animal i ts name M yotragus g oat ).

( App-

f orm of a r eduction of the number of i ncisors f rom

( mouse

There has a lso b een a r eduction i n t he number o f premolars

i n

both the upper a nd l ower d entition.

I n t he metatarsals a nd metacarpals,

there has b een a n e xtreme

f oreshortening s imilar t o that i n t he Rocky Mountain Goat a nd B udorcas .

way that these a re t he young)

i n turn f used t o the m etatarsals

f ore a nd hind l imbs a s w ell a s the r est o f t he

a nd t he

( occasionally i n

would s uggest a n a nimal w ith s low l ocomotion.

s hortening i s i n f act g eneral throughout a ll t he

The

( Oreamnus)

The complete f usion o f the t arsal c omponents,

The f ore-

l ong bones o f t he

s keleton.

i n M yotragus i s a peculiarO reamnus t o Nemorhaedus . I t is hardly nec-

f rontal position of t he orbits

i ty not f ound i n B udorcas ,

e ssary t o point out that s uch a d evelopment drastically narrowed t he a nimal's

f ield o f vision.

S uch a n a daptation would have made

prey t o predators had a ny e xisted.

H owever,

there

i t e asy

i s n o e vidence o f

M yotragus having had predators living off it, other than man in its l ast f inal period of existence.

I n f act,

t he f aunal

s tructure o f t he

Balearics t hroughout the Quaternary i ncluded only t hree mammals,

t ragus , R ypnomys m orpheus , a s hrew.

The f rontal position o f t he orbits

i stic t reated i n s ome

( a d iagnostic c haracter-

l ength i n this a ppendix),

s hortening of f ore and hind l imbs a s well a s

a nd t he g eneral

' slow l ocomotion'

cated by the r igidity of t he tarsals a nd metatarsals i n l ength here)

M yo-

a g iant d ormouse a nd Nesiotites h idalgo , f orei ndi-

( also d iscussed

a re a ll c onstant with a l ack o f predators.

There

i s

no doubt i n the mind of the a uthor that t hese l ated to f eeding habits, s urroundings. phological will

s pecialisations a re r e-

available f ood a nd t he a nimal's g eographic

These a re a ll a spects t o b e c onsidered i n a f uller mor-

s tudy of M yotragus

t han t he present publication h ere.

s uffice t o s ay t hat M yotragus

oddly d eveloped

I t

i s one of the most i nteresting a nd

B ovidae yet encountered anywhere.

For t he purpose of this appendix on s exual d imorphism and c ompetitive behaviour g eneral,

i n M yotragus b alearicus ,

a nd potential r eaders i n

s ome r epetitive d escription will b e n ecessary a s i t r elates

t o t he animal's c ranial and post-cranial o steological modifications a nd adaptations.

There i s a lso a n eed t o r eview t he

s ource o f t he

M yotragus a ntiquus and M yotragus b atei and the M yotragus b alearicus in its final s tudy materials,

s ome of the d ifferences i n i ts predecessors,

s tages of d evelopment a t the t ime of i ts extinction by man, t hese

s ubjects have been d iscussed i n d etail

i n t he t ext

a lthough

( Chapter I ,

s ections 1 .3 .2 t o 1 .3 .4).

The d iscovery of t he cave of Muleta with i ts a pproximately 2 000

s pecimens of M yotragus . b alearicus,

a nd t he r ock s helter o f S on

Matge with i ts evidence of t he f inal e xtinction of the made possible a s tudy of the a nimal,

s pecies has

i ts f aunal c ompanions,

a nd s ome

a spects of Balearic e cology over a period of about 2 50,000 y ears. Already s amples of M yotragus bone from more than 3 0 c ave been dated by radiocarbon a nalyses, a nd by other methods,

s trata have

by r acemisation of a spartic a cids

which t ogether have f acilitated t he i nterpre-

t ation o f t he c ave's d eposit.

This documentation has made possible

e xtensive biometric r esearch on materials of which t his a ppendix i s

( Appendix 1 A t o 1 H , s ee a lso t ext: P resettlement P eriod ) ( Waldren 1 966 , K ooper a nd W aldren 1 968 , W aldren 1 972).

part.

With the d iscovery of Muleta s everal a spects

i n t he d evelopment

of M yotragus b alearicus during the Quaternary and Holocene Periods became a pparent.

( 1)

The

These a spects a re l isted b elow:

s urvival o f t he animal s ome 4 0,000 t o 2 0,000 years

l ater than a ssumed. ( 2)

The f irst i ndications o f a possible

s ymbiotic r elation-

s hip having o ccurred b etween M yotragus b alearicus and Mallorca's f irst s ettlers. ( 3)

I ndications t hat man may have had a hand i n t he a nimal's e xtinction.

1 967 ,

1 968 ,

( Text: P resettlement P eriod ) 1 971, 1 972 a nd 1 975).

( Waldren 1 966 ,

S everal other important o pportunities w ere manifested f rom t he beginning i n t he Muleta d eposit a s

f ollows:

5 86

( 1)

The d eposit c ontained o ne of t he most i mportant r eservoirs o f a s ingle major e ndemic ruminant, valuable

with i nteresting and

i nformation on t he d evelopment a nd evolution o f

a n i nsular s pecies. ( 2)

I t o ffered unprecedented materials f or a n e xtensive s tudy o f t he a nimal

•

i n t erms o f t otal e nvironmental and i nterdis-

c iplinary r esearch f or two g eological periods,

t he P leis-

t ocene a nd Holocene. ( 3)

These materials presented a n e xcellent c hance f or c omparat ive s tudies i nto i ts o rigin,

i ts b ehaviour a nd t he part

i t played i n Balearic prehistoric e cology.

This l atter

s ubject i s partly the objective o f t his a ppendix.

The

f inal d evelopment o f eotragus b alearicus,

i ts c oexistence

with man a s w ell a s his t rials a t d omesticating the animal, r elationship with t his i tive behaviour

i n that s ome of t he

l ogical c ontexts offers Equally,

have

s ome

s tudy of c ranial s exual d imorphism a nd c ompeti nformation gained f rom a rchaeo-

i nsight i nto these s ubjects

c onsideration o f t he existing,

( Chapter I ,

t hough s parse,

1 .6).

e arlier f ossil

evidence of predecessors a s well a s other e xtinct and l iving s pecies of the s ame order must be made.

Unfortunately this material

i s n ot

a s abundant a s would be d esired c oncerning the n ecessary c omparative s pecimens,

and t herefore s ome

l arge gaps o f i nformation c an be e xpected.

As pointed out i n the beginning of the t ext of t his thesis

1 .3 .1),

( Chapter I ,

these a ppendices a re open t o r evision a nd extension a s n ew i n-

f ormation i s made available.

The e ffort of approaching t he

s ubject of c ranial

phism a nd c ompetitive behaviour a t a ll

i s based on the

a ttempt t o d o s o until now has been undertaken.

s exual d imor-

f act t hat n o

This has probably

been due t o i nsufficient materials available t o s uch s tudy o f A eotragus . The r arity o f c omparative materials among t he b atei much l ess t he A ntelope m eloni of Sardinia s tudy a ll t he more.

However,

a nd a ntiquus

( Dehaut 1 911),

t hese s pecies

s pecies,

l imits t his

s hould be k ept i n mind

with f uture r esearch a nd s tudy i n s exual d imorphism a nd competitive behaviour among R upicaprines I n t he

i ntermim,

i n g eneral a s w ell a s A eotragus

i tself.

t heir c omparison t o t he b alearicus s pecies i s e ssential,

even t hough i ncomplete.

The d iscovery of A eotragus b alei

( Crusafönt a nd A ngel 1 966) ( Pons 1 976) have placed a new emphasis on the c loser s tudy o f eotragus b alearicus . I n s hort, i t s eems a n opportune moment with t he present wealth o f A eotragus materials from Muleta and and eotragus a ntiquu$

e lsewhere

f or e xtensive a nd d etailed r esearch o n the a nimal t o b e

undertaken.

The b eginning of s uch a programme by t he a uthor has b een

underway f or s everal y ears; j ect.

t he current s tudies a re part o f t hat pro-

The g reat quantity of materials

opens t he way t o s tudies o f biometrics, b ehaviour,

f rom t he Muleta d eposit a lone morphology,

paleopathology,

f inal d evelopment a nd e nvironment o f the animal during pre-

historic t imes

i n t his

s phere of t he W estern M editerranean,

of r esearch t hat will r equire

a ll a reas

l ong r ange programming f or many y ears t o

5 87

We c an a ssume t hat many of t he peculiarities f ound i n the I tot ragus stem from the insular conditions in which it developed and c ome.

f inally became extinct,

t hat i ts odd modifications a nd adaptations

were i n r esponse t o i ts e nvironment, particular g eographic

1 .1

function a nd b ehaviour w ithin i ts

s phere.

T he B ackground t o t he C urrent R esearch

The present r esearch was S chaeffer and Charles A .

i nspired by t he work of William M .

Reed i n t heir paper,

' The C oevolution of

( Shaeffer

S ocial B ehaviour a nd Cranial Morphology i n S heep and G oats'

a nd R eed 1 972).

The eotragus materials u sed i n t his r esearch a ll

c ome f rom t he Muleta c ave.

They are on d eposit i n t he D eya Archaeo-

l ogical Museum a nd Research Centre,

D eya,

Mallorca,

S pain,

which i s

a ffiliated with the Museum of Mallorca a nd t he Museum of S abadell, S pain.

The s ectioning and photographic work was d one t here by t he

author and his a ssistants.

The biometric

s tudies o f the I totragus b alearicus currently

i n progress will take c onsiderable t ime t o c omplete because o f the a bundance of materials available f rom the Muleta c ave, over

1 0 years t o excavate a nd prepare.

which has t aken

I t has b een c onsidered b etter

t o await t he moment when t his preparatory work was c ompleted b efore undertaking a c omprehensive

s tudy.

A s

pass before this c an b e c ompleted. prepare a f ew modest s tudies

i t i s a f ew years w ill probably

M eanwhile,

i t has b een d ecided t o

f or s cientific c onsideration,

t hey a re a preliminary nature,

s uch a s t he present s tudy.

even i f These

s hort

s tudies a re by no m eans t o be considered c omplete r esearch on t he s ubj ect that t hey s ignal,

but to l ay d own

a background a nd basis

f or

more e xtensive e ffort.

As early a s

1 965,

i t was d ecided by t he a uthor a nd Dr.

C rusafont P airo that t o do f ull t he Muleta d eposit, n ecessary.

Now,

a r esearch t eam with l ong r ange a ims would b e

over

has been c ompleted,

1 0 y ears have passed a nd t he preparatory work

t he t eam s elected f rom the i ndividuals who have

c ontributed over t he years, worked out.

a nd a c ourse o f a ction f or t he r esearch

The programme was outlined i n

c ollaboration with Dr.

1 976 by t he author i n

Paul S ondaar a t t he D eya Archaeological Museum

a nd Research Centre which houses the c ollection. b ecause of the

l arge quantity o f materials,

s ame t ime c ollectively.

I t was d ecided t hat,

a g roup of i ndividuals

would work f rom a number o f d ifferent a spects t he

J .

j ustice t o t he opportunity o ffered by

i ndependently,

but a t

The materials t hemselves would r emain i n

t he D eya Archaeological Museum a nd Research C entre where t hey a re available f or s tudy. pects a re: U trecht; Reumer,

D r.

Mr.

Those who have

Edward A .O.

who a re

S anders,

Mr.

I nsitute,

University o f

P iet D oeven a nd Mr.

s tudents o f t he University o f Utrecht,

permanent members o f t he t eam. t eam will

s o f ar worked on s ome o f t he a s-

Paul S ondaar of t he G eological

J elle W .F.

a nd c urrently

I t i s hoped t hat f uture members o f t he

i nclude S panish Nationals

f rom t he U niversity o f B arcelona,

t he Museum of S abadell a nd e lsewhere.

5 88

fi a . 32

c m . A

B

MY O T R A G U S

HAL E A R ICUS

MY OT R A G U S

BA T E,

• › •

' . %

• I

• %

„

. •. " " '

J ; ( 1 : b atei

A

b alear icus

cm .

t J a . b )

MYOTRAG US

MA NDIBLES

f ig .

34

T he M aterials a nd t he T echniques U sed

1 .2

The s kulls

u sed f or

' parasagittal s ectioning'

f or maximum i nformation they c ould give. was

f ully mature a t t he t ime of d eath,

that they are male,

They were chosen a s t o

v isual basis of what might constitute a male or fe-

s uch a s l arger horns,

be borne

a nd whose d entition i ndicates

a pproximately the s ame a ge.

s ex on a s trictly

l arger f acial f eatures.

However,

i t s hould

i n mind that both male and f emale of t he s pecies has horns

and that i s has b een observed that s kull s ize s ex i n

were s elected

They present a g roup which

i totragus.

The Muleta materials

of i ndividual s ize r egardless of s ex

i s

n ot a criterion of

i llustrate a l arge variation

( Chapter I : 1 .3 .4).

I n f act,

t his r ange of s ize among mature males a nd f emales makes t he s exing o f i ndividual

l ong bones e xtremely d ifficult.

s ome errors of a ssessment i n the past,

This f actor has l ed to

a s i t was t hought t hat the

s pecimens originating f rom Minorcan d eposits were a l arger variety

( Andrews 1 914); Muleta has sub-

than t hose f rom Mallorcan c ontexts s tantiated this early evaluation.

Although the Muleta d eposit c ontained r emarkably well preserved materials,

mode of a ccumulation was

were rare.

s uch that articulated s pecimens

Recently a n ew s ource which has excellently a rticulated

materials has b een d iscovered by the author i n a n adjacent c himney i n a cave which i s part of the excavated s ystem. much t o s hed l ight on the

s exing of the

This f ind s hould do

l ong bones of

M yotragup, which

has b een difficult until now.

There has been a n attempt i n this present r esearch t o s elect pairs of s kulls,

male a nd f emale,

f rom d ifferent l evels which have

undergone r adiocarbon a ssay and other dating methods s erve t he possible differences. s tratigraphy c an be

f ound i n these a ppendices

can be mentioned here that a ll the 1 4,000 and 2 6,000 b .c.,

i n order t o ob-

The chronological r esults o f Mulet

' s

( App endix 1 A), but it

s kulls c ome f rom the period between

whereas the horn c ores a lso i ncluded originate

f rom 5 ,000 b .c t o 2 6,000 b .c.

While

l ittle variation i s v isible a t

present i n s kulls f rom d ifferent l evels,

s ome may b e apparent when

more biometric work i s done.

Consideration was a lso g iven i n t he parasagittal This

s ectioning a s

i s t o s ay,

s election of s kulls f or

t o t he natural hardening of t he

s pecimens.

s amples w ere u sed which had been hardened by natural

r eplacement and c oating o f t he c raniums by c alcium carbonate i n varying degrees,

but a lways

s ufficient t o withstand s ectioning.

because i t was f ound t hat a c learer

This was d one

cut c ould be made when there was

no gummy coating of penetrant which would adhere t o the s aw. s ame t ime,

not a ll s pecimens

i n t heir natural

s ectioning because of f ragility.

s tate a re

At t he

s uitable f or

The artificial hardening o f a ll t he

materials f rom Muelta i s a project which will necessitate programming and f inancing.

There

i s a lso a n eed f or the u se o f a non-damaging

hardener and preservative which will not i nvalidate biometric work o r a ffect the bone.

5 92

All

s pecimens have been c leaned principally with water,

but i n

cases with s evere adherent d irt o r c alcium c arbonate a s olution of or l ess a cetic a cid a cidifying.

( CH3COOH )

S pecimens have s ince been hardened by a m ethod used a t

t he Department o f G eology, a chemical

s olvent,

Xileno

packing a re d issolved, The

1 0%

was u sed with s ubsequent bath f or d e-

University of Utrecht. ( C H4

( CH 3 02 ) ,

This method employs

i n which chips of s tyrofoam

thus c reating a solution o f varying d ensity.

s pecimen i s emerged i n t his f or up t o half a n hour,

the porosity o f t he bone a nd t he viscosity o f t he c ess hardens a s w ell a s penetrates the bone, d ripped off and d ried,

d epending on

s olution.

This pro-

once t he r esidue has

l eaving only t he s lightest o f c oatings,

which

d oes not change b iometric measurements.

The horn c ores u sed i n t he s exing of t he Aeotragus by v ertical a nd l ongitudinal s ectioning w ere chosen a t random f rom a c ollection o f s everal t housands.

These w ere s ectioned a fter hardening i n a product

known a s S antolite u sed i n hardening s ediments i n the G eology Laborat ory of the University of Oxford.

I t has not been a s

Xileno but does the work o f hardening t he d ifficulty i n s awing t he s ections a s

s pecimens.

s uccessful a s I t c auses s ome

i t adheres t o t he s aw blade,

had has a t endency t o melt with the a ction of the s aw b lade. c ores were graphy.

s elected f rom every possible context i n t he Muleta s trati-

The

s tudy of these numerous and well preserved c omponents

s hould g ive s ome

i nformation a s t o the population present i n t he

graphy a t Muleta,

s aw blade of

h eight of

s trati-

a s w ell a s d istribution i n the d eposit.

A j eweller's n eedle

and

The horn

1 2cms

l ong,

f ine t oothed a nd o f c arbon s teel,

1 mm thickness was a ttached t o a harp s aw with a

1 5cms a nd t his was u sed f or the parasagittal s ectioning.

t he s pecimen was c upped i n the hand o f an a ssistant while being s ecti oned by the a uthor.

I n this way,

the cut c ould be c ontrolled f or

maximum a ccuracy and minimised breakage.

The s awing was k ept a pproxi-

mately 3 mm t o one

s uture o f t he s kull

t o s ee t he

s ide o f t he midsagittal

s inus c hambers.

tween the halves of the t o e ither part. s ame type v ertical

s aw.

The

There has been a maximum o f

s kull,

and they can be

j oined without damage

s ectioning o f t he horn c ores was d one w ith the

The cuts were made a s t o s aw the horn c ore

s ections.

i n order

1 mm l oss be-

The f irst c ut was made

a ttachment of the horn c ore t o t he

s kull base

cut was made

thus

1 0mm above t he f irst,

i nto three

1 0mm a bove t he base l ine ( Figure

3 5).

The

l eaving f our s urfaces

s econd

f or s tudy.

The l ongitudinal s ections w ere d one by cutting t he c omplete horn c ore down the middle of the c ore's arc,

t hus g iving a view o f t he e ntire

horn c ore s tructure.

The drawings u sed i n t his ways.

I n the

f irst,

s tudy were prepared i n two d ifferent

the halves o f t he

s ectioned s kull were photographed

and t racings were made o f t he photographs, tails of the

carefully t racing t he d e-

s pecimen with the palate s urface parallel t o a l ine drawn

beforehand on the t racing paper.

t his horizontal

l ine and i ts a lign-

ment with t he palate p late of the maxilla o f e ach half o f t he s kull s upplies a c onstant r eference a nd

. orientatiin

which subsequent calculations c an be made s econd method,

( P P

n e ach t racini f rom on d rawing C ) .

The

which d oes n ot n ecessitate t he photographing o f e ach

5 93

s pecimen,

i s done by placing the

s ection half,

s lightly r oughened transparent a cetate profile.

After this,

the

c ut s ide d own,

i nner walls of the

s kull and other d etails

a re t raced with a s harp pencil by r eversing the äcetate turn,

on a

s heet a nd t racing t he outside s heet.

I n

these a re traced i nto s tandard s heets of t racing paper f or r e-

production.

This method i s a great d eal cheaper a nd a ccurate a s no

d etails a re

l ost or d istorted.

can b e made

f rom these careful t racings.

Subsequently angles a nd measurements

T he I ndications o f C ranial S exual D imorphism

1 .3

S exual d ifferences ( and the

i n t he parasagittal

s ections o f t he s kulls

numerous vertical and l ongitudinal s ections of horn c ores)

are r emarkably c lear.

I t i s a pparent f rom t he photographs a lone that

a ll the bones of the basi-cranium s how c onsiderable differences, only between the male and f emale l eotragus,

R upicaprini ,

C aprini ,

e tc.

where c ompetitive behaviour e ntails butting

or wrestling a nd other head c ontact, Geist

( 1966 a -b),

Teal

( 1970).

e .g.

R eed and S chaeffer

I n t he case of the male,

been a c onsiderable thickening of the f rontal bones,

n ot

but c ompared t o other

s upraoccipital,

( 1972),

t here has

parietal,

a nd

a s well a s i n the basioccipital and basisphenoid bones i n other R upicaprines ,

and o ccipital c ondyle.

As

i s n ot a s pronounced a s

i n the C aprini.

than modern s pecies the f oramen magnum.

s exual d imorphism

M potragus is more primitive

i n that t he bases o f i ts horns a re quite f ar f rom The f rontal

s inuses a re a lso more pimitive,

a s

they c over about one third of the a nterior part of the brain a nd not most of i t,

a s they d o i n modern g enera.

s inuses are l arger and s eem t o b e

I n t he male,

( Photographs 2-5 ) .

f emale

The c ornual

s inuses a re primitive i n that they e xtend o nly t o

the base of the horn c ores,

whereas

S chaeffer have pointed out,

t he c ornual

the t ip of t he horn c ore.

i n modern s pecies a s R eed a nd s inuses can r each a s f ar a s

The horn c ores of eotragus male a nd f emale

s how very l ittle d ifference

s uperficially.

was f irst s ought i n t he angle of s play a s s pecimens.

A wide

this would have ever,

t he f rontal

l ightly more c omplex t han i n t he

A mark of

s exual d imorphism

i t o ccurred i n i ndividual

s play might have been c haracteristic o f males a s

s eemed more e ffective i n i ntraspecific c ombat.

this does not s eem t o be t he c ase a s males and f emales,

f ully mature,

H owwhen

both s how g reat variability i n t he a ngle o f s play.

s exual d imorphism d oes s how i n t he t ransverse and l ongitudinal s ections of t he horn c ores ( Photographs 4-6 a nd Figure 35). The outer l ayer of bone

i s c onsiderably t hicker i n t he male than i n the f emale.

Measurements of the base o f t he horn c ore o f t he male a nd t he

f emale

do n ot s how a nything s ignificant other than t he s ame variability o f s ize.

However,

other l ess obvious d ifferences

i n c ranial m orphology

become evident when various a ngles a nd c alculations are r epfes9nted graphically.

F igure 37,

The most outstanding of t hese i s t he angle

S erie

1 -14,

plotted f or t he

5 94

( 0 -0

s upraoccipital bone o f

,

male and f emale s kulls.

When the a ngles a re calculated off l ine P1P2 ,

which r epresents t he s pecimen's palate base, erably between the t here

f rom

. 52 t o

1 72.

the angle d iffers c onsidI n the c ase of t he male,

i s n oticeably more variation o f angle f rom n ear vertical t o

whereas the a ngle

1 ).

s exes,

However,

i s more c onstant i n the f emale

the g eneral r obustness of t he male

f urther k ey i n t his r espect.

1 72

( Table 1 0 a nd D iagram s upraoccipital i s a

Another angle c an be f ormed,

which pro-

duces a s chematic r ectangle f or t he brain o f male and f emale i ndivid-

( Figure 3 7 ,

uals

1-A t hru 1 F ).

This i s c riat9d by marking t he prox-

i mal extensions o f the o ccipital c ondyle

( c

) ,

and e xtending a l ine

s o a s t o plot a r ight a ngle t ouching the t op of the brain of the i nner wall of t he parietal bone. t he

Then t he

s ame t ype o f l ine

i s plotted f or

j unction of the basioccipital and the basisphenoid bones,

and ex-

t ending these l ines until another r ight angle c an be d rawn i ntersect ing the most d istal point of the f rontal part of t he brain or f rontal bone.

The r ectangles can then b e measured f or a rea,

and plotted

( Table 1 2, D iagram 3 ).

a ppears t o be a d ifference betwen males a nd f emales, t angle i s

l ength a nd width

I n t he s pecimens measured,

t here

t he brain r ec-

l arger i n a rea a nd l onger i n l ength i n the male

( Table 1 2).

S ome I ndications o f C ompetitive B ehaviour

1 .4

Considerable evidence o f i njury caused by i ntraspecific combat among the male populaton has been n oted i n t he better preserved s pecimens of I totragus

f rom the Muleta d eposit.

These i njuries c oncern

mainly the cranial a reas and the horns themselves. o f wounds can g ive us

s ome

The a reas a nd type

i dea o f t he c ourse t hat c ompetitive b ehaviour

t ook.

The most s evere marks o f i njury a ppear a s wounds, healed or partially healed, bones

( Photographs 3 7:1 -3 ).

which have

made by horns o n the f rontal and parietal The e xtent of t hese wounds

s uggests t hat

c onsiderable f orce was used by t he a nimal's opponent during rutting a ctivities. f rontal

3 7).

I n s everal c ases,

t he b lows c ompletely penetrated t he

s inuses a nd the brain c ase i n the parietal a rea

( Photograph

H owever i nstant d eath does not s eem t o have o ccurred,

a s i n a ll

( Photog raph 9 ) the wound to a frontal bone has completely healed. H ealing a lso o ccurred i n s everal parietal penetrations ( Photograph 1 0:1 -3 ). c ases h ealing r idges have f ormed on the bone,

Although these wounds do n ot a ppear t o have t hey may well have caused a belated one, the protection o f t he Muleta c ave t o d ie. a s ecluded place during an animals

and i n s ome c ases

l ed t o i nstantaneous d eath,

i n which t he a nimals

s ought

This drawing o ff t o s ecure

i llness or i njury has been o bserved

by the author with modern s heep a nd goats t hat s till graze t he Muleta a rea.

The most common damage d one i n c ompetitive b ehaviour i s t o t he horn core

i tself,

i n which t he f orce and s tresses t o the horn have

a ctually r esulted i n breakage.

This

s uggests a high v elocity o f

i mpact.

The f requency of these cases a re quite high i n preserved s pecimens among male

i ndividuals a nd may r epresent a nutrient d eficiency i n t he

5 95

SEX ING CORN CORE

NOR MAL

SECTIONS

ASPECT

1 2

3

1

• •

g ra

5

Myotragus

C MS

b a l ea ri cus

f ig . 3 5

animal's diet

( Photographs

1 0:3 ,

1 1:2) .

Such damage has been noted on

both horn c ores, but i n the majority of c ases horn core only.

i t i s most c ommon on one

S uch s igns of damage of the horn c ores has been a tt-

r ibuted t o gnawing of t hem a fter the animal's d eath The author does not doubt that horn c ore, does exist.

( Sutcliffe 1 973).

antler a nd even bone gnawing

This behaviour i s well r ecorded,

but a ccount must a lso be

made f or horn damage due t o a ccidental or competitive breakage a nd r ejuvenation of t he horn c ore

( Plates 2 6 -3 4)

i n many cases.

can be

s een

of

trimming of Aeotragus horns,

" V"

One o f these examples

i n the problem of i nterpretating the c ause i n what i s believed by the author

t o be a s ign of man's t rimming the animal's horns

i n attempts at d om-

e stication of t he eotragus b alearicus.

t his

However,

s ubject i s r e-

s erved f or d iscussion i n the t ext where this has a lready b een done

( Chapter I ,

s ect .

1 .3 .5 v i a nd C hapter I I ,

s ection 1 .1.2 t o 1 .1.4).

The mode o f movement i n eotragus during the r ut i s an i ntruig ing s ubject and s ome c lues t o i t may be given by adaptional morphology of i ts

l imbs and s pne.

I t i s evident t hat a ll these a spects might t ie

i n with one a nother with a f inal r esult which emerged during t he a ctual c ompetitive behaviour.

For

i nstance,

the r igidity o f t he hind l imbs

i n the r egion of t he t arsals a nd metatarsals,

a s a r esult o f t heir

complete f usion i n both male a nd f emale adults,

would have made

i t

difficult f or t he a nimal t o s hift i n f ighting o ff opponents during the rut.

Such an adaptation would however g ive

a s well a s

impetus t o t he male's d rive

l imits t o i ts d irection and movement i n g eneral.

c ontrary to this

H owever,

i nability to s hift d irection i n i ts h indlimbs,

i s

t he d evelopment of t he r obust c ervical v ertebrae and the high s pines of the thoracic v ertebrae which f or the animal's l arge.

s houlders, bat.

The

and this would have c ome s lightness of the s kull,

i nto play during c ompetitive c omapart f rom the powerful mandibles,

s eems to offer evidence contrary t o the tact.

Nevertheless,

e xists

Among the O reamnus

another mountain dwelling a nimal,

( Reed a nd S chaeffer 1 972).

' wrestling'

with horns

Body butting, head t o h ead butting, The damage d one i s a lso w ell

The exact f orm that t his conduct t ook i n l eotragus

d irectly observable,

s hown i n F igure

These f igures

i s n ot

but there a re i ndications t hat s everal methods

may have been possible a s s uch a s

( Rocky Moun-

no c ompetitive c ombat

l ocked u sing the n eck muscles a re d escribed

by Reed and S chaeffer a nd many others. d escribed.

s pecimens s uggests

Whether these wounds a re a ctions gone

wrong during f ighting i s not c lear. tain Goat),

i dea of f orceful f rontal c on-

the wounds present in the

f rontal a pproach a nd impact.

a nd

s ize a re e xtremely

Very powerful muscular d evelopment i s evident i n t he neck a nd

i mplied by t he c ranial wounds i n t he males, 3 6.

i llustrate t he only means by which t he t ype o f

wound f ound i n the f rontal and parietal bones c ould have o ccurred. The angles are c alculated f rom t he postures of t he two c o m batants whch are n ecessary f or s uch i njuries t o o ccur. mals were to

s tand head t o head,

and i n

of the n eck and s houlders of eotragus,

Even though the a ni-

s pite o f t he powerful makeup i t s eems

i mpossible that t he

penetration of the horns

i nto e ither the

c ould have taken place.

The a ct of ramming i s a more c onvincing e x-

planation.

f rontal or parietal bone

This e ntails a s tanding off of i ndividuals with a purpose-

f ul charge taking place,

a f rontal t o f rontal approach,

5 97

a nd t he r e-

s uiting impact,

are i nteresting i n more t han one r espect.

peculiarities of e otragus a t t he most,

One o f the

i s t he f ront position of i ts orbits,

i ts f ield of vision was not over

1 102.

H ence,

and

i t would

a ppear that the animal would have been c ompletely blind a s t o i ts opponent's position during i ts approach a nd at the moment o f c ontact. During the charge,

i ts eyes would have been f ocused on a v ery narrow

a rea of ground directly i n f ront of i ts

f orelimbs.

r un a lmost s traight back f rom i ts orbital r egion,

Wtih horns t hat i ts

j udgement o f

a pproach a nd impact during c ompetitive c ombat must have been f ull of e rrors.

I f we

podials,

t he s hock a t i mpact must have been c onsiderable.

l ink these f actors with the r igidity of t he h ind meta-

n ot this was normally offset

Whether or

i nstinctively a t the l ast moment i n

v eering off by using t he powerful n eck muscles,

i s n ot known.

What

i s a pparent i s t he r esult of s ome kind o f charge that a t t imes was bone penetrating i f the head t o head e ncounter went wrong 3 6 .1 4-0).

( Figures

Such miscalculations during i ntra -specific f ighting have been

observed i n modern s pecies

The

( Reed and Schaeffer 1 972).

s everity of this c ompetitive behaviour among males i n

tragus has a great d eal of b earing on t he f ollowing s ection 1F),

on the evidence of man's attempts at d omesticating a nd u se of t he

animal a s a f ood s ource. morphism,

That i s t o s ay,

t reatment of the animal

i n r elation t o i ts c haracter and behaviour I t a lso has a d efinite bearing on

i nterpretation o f the evidence d ealing w ith t he

mentioned earlier, I t will

' V'

t rimmed horns

and c onnected with the k ind of horn damage d escribed.

s uffice t o mention here t hat the damage possible with t he horns

of both s exes, rut,

t he question of s exual d i-

c ranial and horn d amage i s part o f the picture o f man's

during attempt at domestication. t he

o-

( Appendix

and e specially with the male behaviour pattern d uring

would have considerable e ffect on whether or not man c arried out

t he t rimming of the horns a ccidental damage, horns,

To d etermine what c onstitutes

a better understanding of A lyotraagus behaviour,

will help, a ppears

i n Aeotragus.

gnawing a fter d eath or t he purposeful t rimming o f i ts d iet,

e tc,

a long with a c loser s tudy o f t he horn c ore evidence t hat

i n s trictly paleontological a s well a s cultural c ontexts.

W ith these f actors f ollowing s ection

i n mind,

i t has been d ifficult n ot t o mention the

( Appendix 1 F)

which will b e r elated t o s ome o f t he

f indings and observations outlined i n t his present s ection. a ssume that i f man d id t rim t he horns of Aeotragus w ell a s butcher the animal, S on Matge,

a s

i s

W e c an

i n his c orral,

a s

i ndicated i n the r ock s helter o f

h e did s o because of the animal's behaviour,

a long w ith i ts

s exual characteristic of both males and f emales having horns - i n which case both the s ubjects o f behaviour a nd s ex have a proper p lace of mention i n this

s ection,

i f only briefly.

I t i s perhaps unnecessary

t o s ay that the animal's behaviour pattern would have been r eflected i n man's t reatment of i t and r elationship with i t;

and t hat i n t urn,

man's

t reatment would be expected t o r eflect back on the b ehavioural pattern of Aeotragus;

but this does n ot a ppear to b e t he c ase,

examine t he evidence both here and i n t he n ext s ection.

5 98

i f w e c losely

f19.36

C onclusions

1 .5

The r esearch i nto s ome of the a spects of s exual c ranial d imorphism and competitive behaviour i n

eotragus b alearicus indicates cer-

t ain characteristics both i n morphology a nd behaviour.

( 1)

The r esearch s hows that the a nimal had primitive f rontal

s inuses which c over a pproximately the a nterior t hird o f t he brain, a re

a nd

s lightly more c omplex i n the males t han i n the f emales. ( 2)

The c ornual s inuses a ppear t o r each o nly t o t he base o f

the horn c ore.

There

i s only a s light d ifference i n t he d iameter

measurement of the base of t he horn c ores b etween t he male a nd f emale s pecimens which c an be r uled out on t he basis of t he variability i n i ndividual animal s izes. ( 3)

There

s upraoccipital, s kull which i s

i s c onsiderable d ifference

basioccipital,

i n t he thickness of t he

basisphenoid a nd parietal bones of t he

f ound i n t he males.

This would b e e xpected w ith comp-

etitive behaviour d uring r ut. ( 4)

There i s a l arge variation i n t he a ngle of the s upraocci-

pital bone of the male plotted a s oultined i n this s tudy. ( 5)

The r ectangle o f the brain a s plotted i n this s tudy s hows

that the male's r ectangle i s l arger a nd l onger. ( 6) males

There

i n the

i s no apparent r elationship between males a nd f e-

s playing of horns o f i ndividuals,

which would b e expected

t o be wider i n the males f or t he e ffectiveness of t he horns i n i ntras pecific f ighting. during c ombat,

This may well be a c lue t o the a nimal's posture

d esignating a f rontal approach t o the r oute o f

i ts

charge. ( 7)

The wounds perpetrated during c ompetitive c ombat i ndi-

cates the only possible posture of both a nimals a t t he moment of impact.

When coupled with the r igidity of t he hind metapodials which

i ndicate an i nability t o s hift easily i n a s ideward d irection before impact,

the

i mpression i s g iven that the a nimal u sed h ead t o head pos-

tures during rutting a ctivity. a ccidental

The

s everity of t he wounds whether

or not s how a f orward c harge o f c onsiderable f orce i n order

t o e ffect a bone penetrating b low. ( 8)

The f rontal positionging of t he orbits a nd s ubsequent

narrow angle of vision would have c ertainly caused c onsiderable error of

j udgement i n antagonistic behaviour.

The d ifferences a nd s imilarities w ithin the s pecies, a s

a s well

eotragus to other R upicaprini, will undoubtedly become clearer

when more biometric

i nformation i s available.

Meanwhile,

t he materials

f or t his current s tudy have b een c arefully s elected t o g ive the maximum of detail

i n t heir variety and preservation,

a s well a s b est i llus-

trating s exual dimorphism a nd i ndications o f c ompetitive b ehaviour i n

6 00

l totragus.

S ome of the s tatistics c an be expected t o c hange a s only

a portion of t he Muleta materials have been used and n one f rom other s tations,

which will have t o be

i ncluded i n t he f uture.

The value of this present r esearch s tems out of i t b eing t he f irst work done on the s ubjects

i n r egard t o l totragus.

There a re many

other considerations within t he current work t hat c an and s hould be e nl arged upon;

however a s this

i s basically a preliminary s tudy,

enlargment i s not possible a t the present t ime. i nformation f ound i n both the graphic

The

s uch a n the

i nformation a nd t he t ext s hould

be of s ome use and i nterest t o paleontologists, g inning f or a more c omprehensive

N evertheless,

a nd may s erve a s a be-

s tudy.

s pecialised nature o f the 4otragus b alearicus

a s a n i n-

s ular s pecies with an i solated evolution f or a ll o f the P leistocene and part of the H olocene periods

i n the Balearics,

cular i nterest t o many branches of s cience. d eveloped characteristics, of man,

and beyond,

a round 2 000 b .c.

a s well a s i ts

makes

i t o f parti-

I ts a berrant and oddly

s urvival until the a rrival

i s additionally important.

I ts e xtinction by man

g ive a n ew i nsight i nto both the knowledge o f the

animal a nd the events a s they t ranspired e cologically a nd culturally i n this area o f the Western M editerranean.

6 01

D escription o f t he D iagrams a nd B iometric C alculations

1 .6

P 1P2 The calculated graphic

l ine,

palate and u sed a s a s tandard f or t he

a ligned with t he a nimal

s ample's

s pecimen's orientation.

C S1 -C S2 A r ight angle t o P 1-P2 used f or t he c alculation s tandard i n plotting Z 1-Z2 and x and y .

x a nd y These a re drawn a s parallel l ines t o P 1-P2 where C S1-CS2 t ouch t he i nner s urface of the basisphenoid a nd f rontal b ones of t he s kull.

Z 1 -Z 2 A horizontal

l ine t o P 1-P2 plotted a s the c entre o f x a nd y

and i ntersection with C S1-CS2.

This i ntersecting point r epresents t he

c entre of calculation s tandard a lthough i t varies

i n i ndividual

s peci-

mens.

0 1 -0 2 This

l ine

i s drawn through t he most e xtended point o f t he o cci-

pital c ondyle and the duced t o i ntersect this

i ntersection

s upraoccipital bone a s

P 1-P2

i llustrated.

I t i s pro-

i n order t o c alculate how f ar t he a ngle o f

d eviates f rom a r ight a ngle

i n male and f emale

s pecimens.

A 1 -A 2 This i s a l ine drawn a s s hown parallel t o a l ine betweeen t he maximum extension of the nasal and f rontal bones,

t hrough t he

i nter-

s ection between CS1-CS2 and P 2-P2

B 1 -B 2 This l ine

i s a lso created by i ts a lignment with the f rontal,

parietal a nd s upraoccipital bones a nd i nteresecting C S1-CS2 a nd P 1P 2

f orming a n a ngle B 1-B2 and P 1-P2.

c l -c 2 This l ine

i s drawn between t he two l eading points on t he o cci-

pital c ondyle and i s extended t o f orm the brain case r ectangle, d escribed.

6 02

a s

C S1 a '

A '

s zt

• A t C SI

2 F

A '

i . za

z '

2 0* V

a l

O a

4 F

. za Al P z

i

S

6 F

1 2

.

L IST O F P HOTOGRAPHS .

P late 1 .

Two of the 4otragus b alearicus

s agittal

P lates 2 a nd 3 .

s ectioned eotragus b alearicus

Four midsagittal

s kulls,

i n each case the

below.

The

f emale example

cuts have been made

s eptem to r eveal of the

s kulls u sed i n para-

s ectioning.

the

i s

above and the male

s kulls

immediately l eft of the midsagittal

l eft f rontal

s inuses.

All of the

s pecimens

are

s ame age group.

P late 4 .

Two traverse

been done

1 .5

cms above the

s ection horn cores.

skull and s hows

and f emale:

S ectioning has

c learly the d ifference

i n the horn cores

i n male

f emale

P late 5 .

Two A l yotragus horn cores that have been longitudin-

a lly s ectioned to

s how the

extent of the

the base of the horn core.

The

clearly show the d ifferences

f emale

i n the

( left)

cornual

( below )

male

s inus

( right).

i n r elation to

and the male

( above)

s tructure of the horn core

i n both

s exes.

P late 6 .

Two I totragus

s ectioned,

f emale

( below )

horn cores that have been transverse

and male

( above).

Both horn c ores have

been cut approximately

1 cm above the base of the horn core,

veal their differences

in s tructure.

P lates 7 a nd 8 .

Two midsagittal

The male and the

f emale c learly

n esses of the various bones

P late 9 . middle

i sed and c omes ( batei).

The

s kull

i n the

thick-

i n both s exes. s kulls.

The

l eft and

b alearicus from two different sites, but from The one on the r ight i s

c ompletely f ossil-

f rom a s ea cave deposit and may well be another

l eft s ample as well as the one

i njury to the

c entre

skull

Three examples of I totragus

examples are M .

r ecent Holocene d eposits.

of

s ectioned s kulls of e otragus.

s how the differences

of the

t o r e-

f rontal bone of the head,

a lso shows

in the middle

which has mended.

s igns of horn core damage,

s pecies

s hows

s igns

The

e ither made by man

or done accidentally.

P late 1 0 . Examples of head wounds in s kulls of 4otragus b ale aricus from the cave of Muleta. P late 1 1 . ( top ).

A well preserved M yotragus b alearicus

Two horn c ores

probably due

to rutting behaviour.

than the other,

f rom Muleta

f rom Muleta which have been broken in l ife, One

shows more

s igns of healing

i ndicating different t imes of breakage.

6 17

1

P Ia te 1

1

2

P late 2

1

2

P I a te

3

M U E T A 1

P I a te 4

M U

T A 1

2

P late 5

m uE T A 1

M U E T A

P late 6

P late

7

P late

8

1

P I a te

9

M U LETA

[ E TA 2

3

P late

1 0

1

2

P late

1 1

T able 1 0 . A ngle o f t he S upraoccipital B one: M yotragus b alearicus

Angle 01 02

Angle P1 B2

Angle P2 -A 2

S ex

No.

0

5 A

- 8 2

3 42

2 52

0

5 B

- 4 2

4 22

2 42

0

5 C

- 6 2

2 72

2 72

0

5 D

+ 122

3 02

2 82

0

5 E

- 4 2

3 22

2 62

0

6A

-.5 0

3 22

2 32

0

6 B

109

2 62

2 52

0

6 C

172

3 52

2 42

0

6D

- 5 2

2 42

2 92

0

6 E

132

2 89

2 02

0

6 F

- 6 2

3 12

2 02

0

6G

.252

3 72

2 42

0

6 H

- 6 2

3 72

2 72

T able 1 1. A rea o f t he B rain R ectangle: M yotragus b alearicus

R ectangle Length

R ectangle Width

mm

2

S ex

No.

0

5A

6 4mm

4 2mm

2 688

0

5 B

7 2mm

4 0mm

2 880

0

S c

7 7mm

4 1mm

3 157

0

5 D

0

5 E

7 2mm

4 0mm

2 880

0

6A

7 3mm

3 8mm

2 774

0

6 B

7 3mm

4 6mm

3 358

0

6 C

7 0mm

4 3mm

2 870

0

6D

7 5mm

4 3mm

3 225

0

6 E

0

6 F

0 0

6 19

APPE NDIX

LF

APPENDIX

1 ,

1F.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC

AND

SUCCESSION

IN

THE

BALEARICUS

FROM

X-RAY

REPORT

MANDIBLE

THE

OF

DEPOSIT

ON

THE

OF

THE

TOOTH

MYOTRAGUS

MULETA

I ntroduction: t he P roblems o f D etermining t he A ge o f a n A nimal b y T ooth E ruption

Only until the f ully e rupts f rom the value.

l ast t ooth i n t he

j aws o f an a nimal

I n the M yotragus

a s

s eries o f permanent t eeth

i s t ooth s uccession o f a ny

i n a ll a nimals,

the l ast t eeth t o e rupt

a re the l ast molars o f the upper a nd l ower j aws,

M3 and M 3 r espectively;

a nd the value of t ooth s uccession d epends o n the f act t hat n o wear has o ccurred i n t hese

l ast e rupting t eeth.

t he a nimal b ecomes

b e pointed out s hortly. t he

l ast molars,

Once wear has o ccurred,

i ncreasingly more d ifficult,

a ging

f or r easons that w ill

Even providing n o wear has t aken place on

i t i s not a n easy task t o d etermine a ge f rom a s eries

o f j aw s pecimens o f a s pecific

s pecies,

e specially l ike M yotragus.

T here a re a good number of f actors r elated t o t he r ate a nd a ge o f e ruption o f the t eeth.

I n f act,

a lthough on the whole t he o rder o f

e ruption i s u sually c onstant i n a s pecies,

but i t has been observed

t hat minor variations c an o ccur i n a g iven population.

S ome of t he

f actors d etermining t he r ate a nd a ge o f t ooth

e ruption a re: ( 1)

Whether o r not a n a nimal i s domesticated o r a c reature

l iving i n t he wild. ( 2)

The f unction that the particular s pecies

s erves

i n i ts

s urroundings. ( 3)

The n ature a nd the availability o f i ts f ood i n a parti-

c ular g eographic ( 4)

s ituation.

The possibility of the presence o f pathological c ondi-

t ions e xisting within the population. ( 5)

Whether or n ot particular m ethod o f f eeding e xist.

To g ive a n example t o t he a nimal

f irst c ase o f whether or n ot a n

i s d omesticated or l iving i n t he wild,

e ruption a nd d evelopment c an b e

a n a nimal which has ever-growing i ncisors When the a nimal

i s

t he e ffect on t ooth

f ound i n the v icuna of S outh America,

l iving i n t he wild,

l ike t he M yotragus had.

i ts i ncisors r emain ever-growing,

but i n c aptivity or i n a s urrounding which i s d omestic,

t he ever-

g rowing i ncisor c eases t o g row and t he r oot c hannels of t he s ea.

E ither by preventing t he a nimal

c ut off s ome vital e lement i n i ts d iet,

man has

o r i n order t o maintain a n

e ver-growing i ncisor i t must s eek out i ts c onditions.

i ncisors

f rom l iving i n the w ild,

f ood under s trict natural

At t he s ame t ime,

i t has b een n oted t hat t he r ate o f e ruption

of the t eeth o f domesticated animals i n wild s pecies,

n ecessity f or t he a nimal t o prepare i ts e nvironment. e cological

i s g enerally s omewhat s lower than

probably due t o d iet a nd whether o r n ot t here Naturally,

the g eneral g eological,

g eographic a nd

s urroundings have a r ole i n the a nimal's health a nd,

f ore a role

i s a

i tself f or an e arly s truggle w ith t here-

i n c ontrolling pathology i tself.

Chaplin a nd others have outlined s ome o f t he other problems d ealing with d ifferent s pecies

1 964),

and tables

( Chaplin 1 971, H abermehl 1 961, E wbank

f or t he e ruption a ge of t eeth d o e xist.

H owever,

t he value - other t han g eneral - o f t he a ge o f

e ruption of t eeth i n d omesticated animals

( even of s imilar s pecies)

i s h ighly questionable when d ealing with w ild c reatures; an i nsular, tors

highly s pecialised s pecies

l ike the A l .

l ike e otragus,

b atei and A l . a ntiquus .

e specially

or i ts a nces-

P rimitive b reeds c ould b e

expected t o vary i n t he a ge o f t ooth e ruption based o n evolution a lone. S o,

w e may well a sk ourselves t he worth of t he c urrent preliminary

s tudy.

I t

s hould a lso b e pointed out t o t he r eader t hat t his particu-

l ar s tudy i s only one s uch a ppendix d edicated t o t he d entition a nd behaviour o f A eotragus b alearicus.

At the s ame t ime,

of t he highly s peculative nature of t hese

s imply b ecause

s hort a ppendices,

t hey per-

haps may awaken i nterest i n the continuation of the s tudies,

a nd where

s ome o f the e nclosed i nformation and data may f orm a n ucleus a s w ell a s

s timulate s uch s tudies.

s tandable

Meanwhile,

t he

s hort c omings a re u nder-

i n that a g reat d eal o f c omparative s tudy o f s imilar s pecies

both wild and domesticated with the d entition of the I totragus b aleari-

c us

i s n ecessary.

S uch a n e xtensive

preliminary r eport,

s tudy i s n ot t he purpose o f t his

which i s merely t o present s ome o f t he potential

s tudy materials and data i n preparation f or a more e xtensive s tudy. B esides,

the i nformation and evidence s howing a c oexistence r elation-

s hip between man a nd eotragus is a r elatively n ew a spect,

a s w ell a s

other more r ecent evidence c oncerning t he a ncestral background o f t he

A eotragus b alearicus

until a better understanding o f t he

of t hese d evelopments

i s a rrived a t a ny s tudy a t most must b e a modest

one.

There

f ull e ffect

i s s till a great d eal t o b e l earned r egarding man's a ssoc-

i ation with A eotragus b alearicus during the Early Settlement Period; the e cological c onditions

i n which the animal

l ived a nd t he e xtent to

which t he early s ettler's e conomy or a nimal husbandry t echniques d eveloped i n r egard t o t he eotragus b alearicus ,

prior t o a nd a fter t he

i n-

t rodution of t he f irst d omesticated s pecies.

Other environmental of a particular population z one c ompared t o one

f actors s uch a s t he g eographic l ocation

( e.g.

a population l iving i n a mountainous

i n a l owland a rea)

e ffect i n the g eneral g enetic pool;

would naturally have had i ts

e specially i f a particular popu-

l ation d id or d id n ot i nterbreed with a ny o ther, population

or i f t he t otal a nimal

( Aeotragus) was made up of different independent small gene-

t ic n iches.

There

i s r eason t o believe that s uch i solated population

of A eotragus b alearicus maywell have occasionally existed

S anders a nd P ons , p aper i n p reparation).

( Sondaar ,

Advanced i nformation s hows

that there

i s

within t he

i slands of Mallorca a nd M inorca e xisted where t here w ere

s ome biometric evidence t o s how t hat i solated populations

6 24

s mall

i solated

' niches' where populations d iffered i n s ize a nd even i n

d entition,

probably due t o d ietary d ifferences b etween t he plains a nd

mountains;

f actors which may have been the c ause o f s low o r a ccelerated

t ooth growth a nd e ven possible e ruption r ates.

1 .1

S ome C ommon C haracteristics i n T ooth E ruption

I n v eterinary s ources,

the a ge o f a n a nimal

i s u sually d eter-

mined by t he s tage a t which t he t ooth cuts the gums which i s t he a ctual breaking t hrough t he bone of t he

j aw ;

a nd a t t he

e arlier than a ny a pparent w ear t o the e rupted t ooth.

l ater t han s ame t ime,

W e c an a ssume t hat

t he natural c ourse a nd a ccurate r ate of e ruption i s t o b e f ound i n a nimals

l iving i n the w ild,

rather than domesticated s pecies o r highly

bred animals because o f natural e cological s tress. a c lose

s tudy of t he

i ncremental

At t he s ame t ime,

s tructure o f the t eeth a nd a ll the

a ges and s tages of t ooth s uccession a s w ell a s w ear patterns and d egrees might prove f ruitful s pecimens. t he

I n f act,

i n d etermining a ge a t d eath i n a rchaeological

t he author c an o ffer s ome

f ollowing a ppendix

( 1G )

i nformation a nd date

i n

on t he thin-sectioning o f the t eeth i n

M yotragus b alearicus .

Another pitfall s pecies'

i n age d etermination l ies i n the f emale o f a

r ate of birth a nd period o f g estation which would have a d e-

f inite bearing on t he a ge of a n animal a t a particular s tage o f t ooth e ruption.

I n turn t his c ould a lso r eflect t he

i nhabitants

i n domesticated s pecies,

s tate of e conomy of the

a s t o t heir t ime of d eath f or f ood,

s uch a s whether or n ot t he majority o f f ood r emains were o f o ld animals o r young ones.

I f the majority of animals k illed w ere young,

might r eflect e ither poverty or a ffluence, t ion or f actor

( e.g.

the

i nhabitants n ot being a ble t o wait f or t he

f ull maturaity of t he a nimal before c ould a fford t o kill t he young, f or the

this f act

d epending on o ther i nforma-

s laughter,

or a ffluence where t hey

or t hen a gain they j ust had penchant

f lesh o f young a nimals).

I n presettlement c onditions

s uch a s t he Muleta d eposit t he

f actor o f r andom c ollection of the M yotragus t unity t o s tudy numerous

r emains o ffer a n oppor-

s ets o f a s eries o f t ooth s uccessions which

would be of value i n a ge d etermination of t ooth e ruption a nd d eath of t he animals,

i f only i n a ge

s tages

f or the moment.

These

b e potentially valuable when thin-sectioning o f t eeth a re

s tages may f arther ad-

vanced.

One a nalysis. s pecimens

i nvestigator

f ound on a n a rchaeological

d evelopment

( not a ge).

which they were

f ound,

g raph which s hows t he t he author

( Chaplin 1 971) has used group f requency

I n u sing t his t echnique which entails grouping a ll the

( Chaplin)

These

s ite,

j aw

s howing a s imilar s tage o f

s tages a re a rranged i nto t he order i n

and t he r esult i s

i llustrated a s a f requency

s tage a t which the a nimals w ere

s laughtered.

and others by thus analysing s heep mandibles

f rom

a number of s ites have endeavoured t o d emonstrate t hat a c onsiderable

6 25

percentage o f t he

j aws often s how i dentical

when very c lose s tages a re being employed.

s tages o f d evelopment even Chaplin b elieves t hat this

analytical r esult possibly r epresents a nimals whose b irth o ccurred during t he peak b irth period and which w ere k illed a t t he peak t ime o f s laughter.

H owever,

the r eader s hould b e aware t hat births t ake place

over a period o f w eeks during t he a v ery s hort period,

s eason while k illing c an be d one

e specially i f t he a nimals w ere k illed

they r eached a c ertain s ize or weight.

i n

o nly when

This would b e based on t he

a ssumption t hat t he g enetic background o f t he a nimal a nd i ts e nvironment c orresponded w ith i ts weight a nd s ize, a l ong period o f t ime, have t o a ssume

weight a nd s ize; i ts

I n a ll events,

one would

i n c ases l ike t hese t hat k illing o ccurred over a b rief

period of the year, a ppear more

a nd t he k illing done over

perhaps over months.

or i t o ccurred when t he a nimals became a c ertain

t hus a particular s tage of t ooth s uccession would

f requently.

Such a g roup f requency a nalysis would have

s hortcomings with a d eposit l ike Muleta.

preservation of s pecimens, preserved t han o lder

younger a nimals'

s pecimens.

B esides,

D espite i ts r emarkable r emains a re l ess

t ion where t he a nimals were a ccidently k illed. of t he group f requency a nalysis on a ll t he mandible

s pecimens

f requently

w e a re d ealing with a s ituaAlthough,

a variation

s hould b e a ble t o be u sed eventually

f rom Muleta.

I t has been n oted by t he

present author that on observation a lone there a ppear t o be a h igher f requency o f o lder animals t hat were t rapped i n Muleta. t ime,

the u se of c aves by animals

i s no n ew s tory,

what a ctually a ttracted the a nimals c ase of a nimals perhaps,

i nto the c ave;

s ick a nimals

s ingling out the protection of t he c ave. i n which c ase,

d eposit s hould g ive a very a ccurate c ross

I t may

the Muleta

s ection o f t he population

s pan of t ime of t he c ave's a ccumulation.

T he A vailable S tudy M aterials

1 .2

The

f ollowing

d istinct s tages t he

whether i t was a

s eeking s helter i n t ime o f t empestuous w eather o r,

well have b een a c ombination o f r easons, over t he

At t he s a w

but i t i s n ot known

f ull eruption of t he

s everal

s tages

s tudy materials will b e

i n t he t ooth s uccession of

l ast permanent molar

( included i n the

undergone minor t o s evere wear, a lso r epresents

1 8

3 3

s tages)

s een t o i nclude 3 3

M yotragus b alearicus up to ( M3)

of t he mandible a nd

o f c ases where the M 3 h as

i ncluding l oss o f t eeth.

This

s tudy

s tages where t he e ruption o f t he molars have b een

x -rayed f or c learer e xplanation of what o ccurs i n t he d evelopment o f the r oots.

At t his particular point i n t he r esearch, n o c omparative s tudy material

f or s imilar s pecies

i s available.

The

s eries o f photographs

o ffered here a re quite r emarkable by an s tandards

f or f ossil

s pecimens

of a n e xtinct s pecies ' a nd c learly d emonstrate t he quality of the s pecimens.

s tudy

The author f ully r ealises that t he present s cope o f t his

s tudy i s v ery l imited a nd i s basically one o f d escribing and d iscussing s ome o f t he mandible e xamples w ith varying

i llustrating,

briefly

s pecimens by s howing a s eries o f

s tages of tooth succession, which i n e xact ages at death.

t hemselves r epresent a s eries o f u nknown

6 26

G eneral C onsiderations R egarding t he S amples o f I totragus b alearicus D entition

1 .3

B ecause of the possibly observe

M .

l ack of c omparative materials by which we can

s imilar c onditions present i n the t ooth s uccession o f

b alearicus, it s eems i mpossible t o make a ny positive e stimation

which would f ix a n a ccurate age a t d eath f or an i ndividual men.

However,

s tudy s peci-

by taking i nto c onsideration what t he g eneral o steologi-

cal morphology of t he mandibles a s w ell a s the r est of t he bone c omponents

s uggest,

o logy etc,

r egarding environmental f actors,

f eeding habits,

path-

we c an r econstruct c ertain evidence which possibly r eflects

c onditions and which l eads u s t o a better understanding of t he problem a nd the i nterpretation of what we a re s pecimens themselves. s tudy s pecimens,

Therefore,

s eeing a s t he e nd r esults

i n t he

before w e d iscuss or d escribe the

i t i s n ecessary to c onsider particular f actors

i n t he

a nimal's d evelopment.

S ome F actors t o C onsider i n D etermining t he R ate a nd A ge o f T ooth E ruption i n l totragus b alearicus

1 .3.1

As pointed out e arlier and d iscussed i n s ubsequent s ections below,

t here a re s everal

i nterrelated f actors which d etermine the r ate

a nd age of tooth eruption i n animals n ot the a nimal l ives

i n g eneral,

s uch a s whether or

i n the wild or i s a domesticated s pecies,

d iet and the nature of i ts f ood,

s pecial

f eeding habits etc.

i ts The

a uthor b elieves because of the unusual modifications f ound i n t he d entition the

( e.g.

j aw etc.)

r eduction of the

of the metapodials, e tc.)

f usion of the t arsal units,

that these various

t ragus.

i ncisors a nd premolars,

and other osteological modifications

( e.g.

a ngle o f f oreshortening

position o f the e yes

f actors a re particularly i nterrelated i n I to-

I t s eems t o the a uthor that t he r ate a nd a ge of t ooth e ruption

and s uccession i n M . s imilar s pecies

b alearicus would have been more rapid than other

l iving i n the wild,

and t hat i t would have b een e spec-

i ally n ecessary t hat the a nimal equip i tself quite e arly i n l ife with a proper d entition to cope with i ts d ietary r equirements a nd t he nature of

i ts

f ood,

ordinary.

which a s we will

The

s ee a ppears t o b e

s omewhat out o f t he

r eduction of the number o f t eeth - e specially the

i n-

c isors - and what appears to be their f unction s uggests a s pecialised diet of c onsiderable ruggedness, i t

and even a n unusual method o f attaining

( either by excavating f or r oots and l ichens or even s craping at bark

or other t ough v egetation with i ts c isors,

unlike other s pecies of i ts k ind ). erosion i n s ome s pecimens s pecimens

s ingle

s et o f i n-

The

c ompletely

s igns of s evere wear a nd d ental

( and i n a very high percentage o f a ll t he

i n the e ntire c ollection o f hundreds of j aws a nd s everal

thousand s eparated t eeth) f ood,

s harp c hisel-like

which i n turn was an ever-growing piece of e quipment,

a nd at the

t estifies t o t he quality of the a nimal's

s ame t ime,

i ndirectly t o l ongevity,

a s a g reat many

of the a nimal r emains are those of animals which r eached c onsiderable age

( Photograph 3 4 S tage 3 5).

t eeth 3 3

( e.g.

and 3 4),

F rom t he appearance of

where t eeth have a ctually b een l ost,

s ome o f these

s uch a s

i n s tages

i t would not s urprise t he a uthor i f s ome of t hese a nimals

did n ot r each t he a ges of up t o tounding f act i s

1 5 years or more.

t he c ondition of the

6 27

Another r ather a s-

i ncisors o f s uch a nimals o f

extreme age, c isor;

a s

where a ge s eems t o have r einforced t he ever-growing i n-

i f t o c ompensate

mandible.

f or the

l oss of the other t eeth i n the

Evidence of this u nusual

c ondition i n t he

i ncisors c an b e

verified by t he f act that i n the hundreds of s pecimens

f rom Muleta,

t his ever-growing i ncisor s hows only t wo cases where pathology exists, a nd t hen only o ne

c ase of the two c ases has the r oot a ctually c losed

( it i s a d iagnostic characteristic of a n ever-growing i ncisor t hat i ts r oot r emains open on the d istal e nd a ll of t he a nimal's

Age d etermination i n animals ( C haplin t ablished by wear a nd n ot a ctual age

1 971) continued to be es-

i n years;

s pecimens b eing aged

a ccording to a n i ndex s eries of s peciment j aws. venient t o t alk i n t erms of age

i n years,

a particular j aw s pecimen of unknown age, group of j aws mal

s pecies

Quimby and Gashwiler

s howing d egrees of w ear.

l ifetime.

A lthough i t i s c on-

what i s r eally m eant i s t hat i n t ruth,

only b elongs t o a

The problem of a ging wild a ni-

l ike the Rocky Mountain e lk has been t reated i n a paper by C ä .ab

( 1957)

( 1957)

a nd others

l ike Robinette,

H ones,

Rogers and

have c learly d emonstrated their s olutions t o problems

i nvolved i n a ge d etermination among the Muleta d eer.

The a ge

i ndex s eries

i llustrated h ere

i n photographs and x -ray

photographs b egins with j aw s pecimens which w ere y et unborn, mother had become t rapped before g iving birth t o the fold. n ewly born a nimals which s till have milk d entition,

where t he Others

s how

a nd most l ikely met

their d eath b y e ither wandering i nto t he c ave a s a s tray o r by f ollowi ng the mother i nside.

S till other s pecimens

s how : f ully matured a ni-

mals where the t eeth s how vafy ng d egrees o f wear, extreme a ttrition has o ccurred and even the

r ight u p t o where

l oss of t eeth.

S ome F actors t o C onsider i n t he F unction o f M yotragus b aleari cus i n I ts E nvironment

1 .3.2

I t s eems r easonable t o a ssume that M yotragus had a special The f act i s that M . b ale aricus had what one might even call a privileged position in its surr ole

i n i ts e nvironment f rom the beginning.

r oundings a s b eing not only the major mammalian f orm of l ife but was an a nimal without predators until t he coming of man.

While t he

l ack

o f predators would n ot n ecessarily a ssure

l ongevity i tself,

f reedom f rom s tarvation or d isease,

i s every i ndication f rom t he

t here

evidence of t he d entition a s well a s t he o steological a nimal d id attain l ongevity i n a l arge number o f c ases, The s pecial

Muleta evidence. chisel-like vision,

i ncisor,

r emins

t hat t he

based o n t he

equipment i n the f orm of t he evergrowing

t he powerful

s hort powerful l imbs e tc.,

i n the environment.

o r even

l ower j aws a nd n eck,

t he

f rontal

would have a ssured a s pecial place

The e xact d etails of i ts

s pecial position i n i ts

environment a re not c lear nor v ery well understood a t t he moment, though g radually d etails a re emerging. behaviour, i dea o f i ts

s uch a s

c ompetitive behaviour

s ocial a ctivities,

a l-

Other d etails c oncerning i ts

( Appendix 1 E ) give us some

a nd other morphological

s tudies

s hould

g ive u s more i nformation and data c oncerning t he a nimal.

C ertain s keletal c haracteristics, units which a re

s uch a s t he f used t arsal

i n turn fused t o the metatarsals i n t he h ind l imbs and

which r esulted i n the r igity of the hind l imbs g ives u s a v ery s trong

6 28

picture of a c reature with and f orward j umping,

' slow l ocomotion',

c apable o f a ble c limbing

but with l ittle a bility t o veer or a ptly c hange

i ts c ourse o f d irection during any f ast f orward movement. would not have n eeded t o move w ere none.

H owever,it

f ast or veer t o e scape predators a s t here

I ts unusally n arrow f ield of vision would have b een advan-

t ageous

i n l eaping o r f ood gathering;

f or the

l ook out o f predators,

w ide a ngled vision was not n eeded

but would have been a n advantage i n

j udging d istance o r s eeking out f ood among r ocks a nd c revices, f eatures

c haractertistic o f the mountainous r egions of the

S everal

i nvestigators have

t hat eotragus was a ' troglodyte'

t errain

i slands.

s uggested a nd a ctually a cclaimed

( Kurten 1 968) and even a ' hibernating

( Angel 1 966) based mainly on the fact that its skeletal re-

a nimal'

mains a re i nevitably f ound i n caves. with both t hese

s uggestions.

I n the

The author thoroughly disagrees f irst place the r eason M b alear-

i cus bones are found in caves are the same as why other modern ruminants s uch a s goat a nd s heep etc. mals have m ents,

are f ound i n c aves:

a nd c aves happen to offer ambient t emperature c onditions which

a re c onducive t o t he g ood preservation of the t he

s imply that t hese ani-

s ought s helter i n caves during i llness o r t o e scape t he e le-

s econd c ase,

that of the M .

based on the f act t hat the

s keletal r emains.

a nimal has unusually l arge

t horacic vertebrae which has

I n

b alearicus was a hibernating animal is

l ed the

s pines on i ts

i nvestigator t o s uggest t hat t hese

s erved t o s upport s tored f at f or hibernating;

while t he present author

b eliev2s t hat these s upported the powerful s houlder muscles t hat w ere u sed both t o enable t he animal to turn over r ocks w ell a s i our

s upporting t he use of the powerful

i n s earch of f ood a s

j aws a nd particular behav-

i n c ompetitive behaviour.

I n a ll events,

i t i s the author's opinion that the M yotragus

c ertainly dominated i ts e nvironment f or perhaps 5 t o 6 million years, a dapting t o the numerous and probably o ften dramatic and s evere c hanges i n the

l ocal

i nsular

s urrounding,

where r easonably r apid evolutionary

a daptation a nd modification was n ecessary f or s urvival.

1 .3.3

S ome F actors t o C onsider i n t he N ature a nd A vailability o f F ood f or M potragus b alearicus While w e have no concrete evidence a s t o t he

t he animal,

we c an postulate

s ome

s pecific diet of

i dea of the d iet i n g eneral t erms,

w e may eventually g et i nformation a nd data f rom f orthcoming analyses o f t he Matge c oprolite b eds.

M ineral

i ntake of a n animal c ounts pro-

f oundly i n i nfluencing t he d evelopment o f t eeth and bones of a n a nimal. H owever,

a part f rom l ow f requency of pathology among t he M uleta r emains

( see b elow), d ence of mass

the a nimal's d iet a ppears s tarvation or epidemic

u rred e lsewhere

i n t he

f ossil

t o have b een ample,

i llness e xists,

r ecord.

Otherwise,

a nd no evi-

s uch a s has o cc-

the e xtreme d ental

a ttrition s een i n a g ood percentage o f t he Muleta s pecimens a re more a c ase of o ld age t han one o f pathology, f ood that i t chewed i n c ondition;

l ife

a lthough t here

b elow a nd A ppendix 1 H )

i s

due t o t he r ough n ature o f the

t han a s ign o f a particular pathological s ome evidence o f a d ental

c ondition

i n o lder a nimals which probably c an b e

t o d ietary d eficiency i n o ld a ge.

6 29

( see

t raced

Palynological e cology during the

analyses

( Appendix 1 C )

i ndicates a s teppe-like

Presettlement Period which a predominantly rugged

l andscape with s edges

and widely

s paced t rees,

probably not unlike t he

f loral conditions above

1 000 meters a ltitude,

Sierras,

toughest of mountain plants exist.

where only the

The ness of the

extreme

l abial wear of the

f ood i tself indicates

b rowser or g razer . s eeking f ood even

a

t oday,

i n the Northern

t eeth a s well as apparent r ough-

g rubbing animal rather than a

I t also gives a picture of an animal capable of i n the most difi ficult of conditions

and t errain.

S ome F actors t o C onsider i n t he P ossibility o f P athological C ondition i n M ayotragus b alearicus

1 .3.4

Apart f rom s ome pathology and undoubtedly due

to

which

i njury of the

s eems to c entre

l imbs,

in the

trauma in the metacarpals and metatarsals and l ong bones, rickets

and a f ew cases of osteoporosis,

l imbs

s everal cases of osteo-

there

one

case o f

i s not an abundant num

ber of paleopathological

s pecimens

f requency of these cases

s ufficient to attribute d isease a s a major

factor

i n the animals

existence.

f rom the Muleta cave. Therefore,

Nor

i s

the

the author believes

that

the

M yotragus b alearicus as a species - though highly specialised -

was

s uccessful

s cene,

f or the most part,

whereupon the animal

other s imilar At the

s pecies

s ame t ime,

until man entered the e cological

came up against t oo much competition f rom

introduced by man a nd by man's needs

there appears

t hemselves.

to be no evidence that this

lack of

major disease d id not carry over even i nto the Early S ettlement Period species

s pecimens,

the animal

1 .4

where man shared at

f rom c irca

5 000 b .c.

to

l east a 3 000 year

s ymbiosis with

2 200 b .c.

I ntroduction t o t he X -Ray P hotographs

The f ollowing s eries of x-ray photographs i llustrates a S ample A ge I ndex which is quite remarkable in that it clearly shows the diff erent s tages of tooth development i n M yotragus b alearicus from the f irst stage of the development of the f irst permanent molar ( Mt) through to the f ull eruption of the last permanent molar ( M3) and the s ubsequent s tages of s erve

t ooth attrition.

I t i s a rare opportunity to be a ble

such s tages of development of the t eeth in a f ossil

pecially one with the dentition of the

evolutionary modifications

M yotragus.

The

that the

r eader c on-

s pecimen photographs because

the x-ray photographs demonstrate what goes on

i n the

interior of

j aw s pecimen i n r elation to the new f orming t eeth a s well details which cannot be

s een in

a s the t he

t he root

system of a ll

the

photographs.

By s tudying this choice group of x-rays of the mandible

of

t eeth,

e s-

that occurred i n the

author r ecommends

sult these x-ray photographs before the

to ob-

s pecies,

s pecimen

M yotragus, the reader can better interpret the stages in the con-

ventional photographs.

There

are,

unfortunately,

s tages of tooth development x-rayed, ible

to correct this

s hortcoming

i n the

6 30

s ome gaps

in the

and hopefully i t will be posss eries

i n the near

f uture.

Mii3 4 ‹ , a 18 ‘

4

P late

1

5

7

P late

2

1 0

1 1

1 2 P late

3

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6 P I a te

4

1 7

1 8

1 9

20 P I a te

5

22

24

2 5 P late

6

2 6

2 7

2 8

29 P I a te

7

3 1

32

3 3

34

3 5

X RAY PHOTOGRAPHS

P I a te

9

T he A ge I ndex S eries,

1 .4.1

S ample 3 5,

XRay S amples 3 5-54

S tage 1 .

The x -ray photograph s hows an exceptionally young a nimal with only i ts d eciduous d entition of t he

( arrow 1 )

j aw bone

t he f irst permanent molar,

( arrow 2 )

i s s till

( milk t eeth).

The

i nternal c avity

a ppears t o c ontain the v ery f irst n ucleus o f M l.

s ealed.

The bone a t t he t op o f t he c avity

The

t otally d eveloped and i n place,

s pecimen's d eciduous premolar, a lthough i ts r oots

DP4

i s

( arrows 5 ) are not

f ully d eveloped or e xtended a s t he d istal e nd of t he r oot i s n ot yet present.

There a ppears t o b e no s igns of w ear on t he c rowns o f DP4

( arrow 4 ) or on the deciduous premolar,

( arrow 3 ).

D P3

The a uthor b e-

l ieves this s pecimen i s t hat o f a n unborn f old which met i ts d eath w ith t he mother.

S ample 3 6,

S tage 2 .

The x-ray photograph s hows a s lightly o lder young a nimal with only i ts d eciduous d entition; the

s pecimen.

The

however the DP4 i s missing i n

i nternal c avity of t he

with a d eveloping permanent molar,

M 1,

j aw bone

( arrow 1 )

i s

f illed

of w hich the r oot i s n ot d evelj aw ( arrow ( arrow 2 ),

oped or s tarted t o extend i tself downward o n t he base of t he

11 ) .

The c rown of t he d eveloping M l

i s c learly discernible

a nd t he bone a t the t op of t he t ooth c avity i n the j aw has b egun t o open,

due t o t he pressure o f t he growing t ooth and t he c rown probing

i ts way upward.

The d eciduous Premolar,

( arrow 4 ).

wear on the c rown a re

D P4 i s

s lightly more d eveloped t han i n Sample 3 5,

S ample 3 7 ,

i n place a nd s hows n o

The d istal e nd o f t he r oots o f t he Stage

The x -ray photograph s hows a s till 3 6,

S tage

j aw

( arrow 1 ).

s ame t ime,

premolar DP4

s till

t he r oots of t he d eciduous

( arrows 5 )

i n place

i n t his

s pecimen.

j aw

s hows n o wear

T he d eciduous

S ample 3 8 ,

The d ecidi ncisor,

The author believes t hat t his

men i s e ither a n ew born e xample or one which was unborn, l ack of any t races of t ooth wear

( arrow 2 ). ( arrow 4 ).

premolar are c ompletely d e-

a s w ell a s o pen.

uous premolarz fisintact a nd s hows n o wear. i s

i s b eginning

s lightly d eforming t he

The upward pressure of t he c rown o f t he

veloped and e xtended downward I ,

s lightly o lder

t he d eveloping M l

has prepared a n opening at t he t op of t he

The c rown of t he d eciduous At t he

2 a s

( arrows 1 a nd 2 ),

t o push upward and downward d eveloping M l

DP3

5 ).

S tage 3 .

young a nimal t han S ample base of the

1 ( arrows

s peci-

based on t he

( arrows 3 a nd 4 ).

S tage 4

The x -ray photograph s hows a n o lder young a nimal t han the other s pecimens manent molar,

M1 , i s

s o f ar d emonstrated i n t his i n t he

begun t o extend d ownward, As

will b e

s eries.

f irst s tage of e ruption

The

f irst per-

( arrow 2 ) and has

s tarting t o d eform t he bottom of t he mandible.

s een i n s ubsequent s tages,

6 32

t his d eformation o f t he

l ower

5

5

3 5

36

3 7

3 8 P I a te

10

rear base of the mandible will still

older young animals.

r each rather

The

s tartling proportions

d eciduous pre-molar DP4

i n

s hows no wear

( arrow 4 ) but the deciduous premolar, DP5, shows s light wear to the inner s urface of i ts crown ( arrow 3 ). This s uggests t o on the crowns

the author that a t this

S ample 3 9 ,

s tage

the animal was f eeding.

S tage 4 a .

The x-ray photograph shows a n older young a nimal of t he same

age a s that of Sample

and their

3 8,

above.

The position of a ll the t eeth

s tage of d evelopment appears

t o be

identical,

degree of wear on the d eciduous premolar 3 ( arrow 3 ) the cusps of the deciduous premolar, 3 8,

down to the

and the edges of t he

DP 4 a re equally s harp a s

j ust as the d egree of eruption of the M1

( arrow 1 ).

growth of the roots of this

tooth

a ssign the

index to this

s pecimen a s

incisor

i n place(arrow

3 8.

s ame age and age

However,

the permanent

cavity which once contained the This

s pecimen

i s the

s till

i s

d eciduous

Thus

i ncisor,

s ame age of development as

the

i t i s possible

t o

that of Sample

D 12

7 )

can

but the s til be

s een.

s pecimen photo-

( Plates 1 6 a nd 1 7), which has its deciduous

graphed with two i ncisors i ncisor

I i

in S ample

( arrow 2 )and downward

i n place a long s ide of permanent

i ncisor

II , a lso pre-

s ented in a s eparate photograph found at the end of the description of this x-ray age

i ndex s eries.

S ample 4 0 , The x-rayed.

The

S tage 4 b . s pecimen representing t his

of tooth development a s deciduous

s tage has

not a s yet been

s pecimen photograph shown here demonstrated the

incisor D 12

Samples

i s

still

3 8 and 3 9, in place

X-ray phctograph i s missing here a s

S ample 4 1,

s ame

s tage

with the exception that its

a long s ide of permanent i t i s

s till

i ncisor

i n preparation.

S tage 5 .

The x-ray photograph shows a s till o lder young animal with

i ts d eciduous molar,

( arrows 5 ).

roots

3 ). 2 ),

The and

n ewly

DP4,

There are

erupted M1 i s

still

i n place with fully developed

still no traces of wear on the DP3 in an advanced s tage of d evelopment

i ts roots are beginning to extend d ownward,

the base of the mandible

( arrow 1 ),

l ength over that of Sample

S ample 4 2 ,

( arrow ( arrow

further d eforming

a s well as having

i ncreased in

3 9.

S tage 6 .

The x-ray photograph shows a n older young animal with i ts

( arrow 2 ) and its roots are nearly fully ex( arrow 1 ), but the whole tooth has not yet arrived at a comple-

M1 nearly f ully erupted t ended

t ely upright vertical position.

At this point,

the d eciduous premolar

( arrow 3 ). The deciduous molar, DP 4 , shows some s ign of wear ( arrow 4 ), although its roots are still open ( arrows 5 ). A cavi ty i n the j aw has been created at the r ear of M1 ( arrow 6 ) which will has been

be

the

l ost

s eat of a d eveloping g erm to become

6 34

s econd permanent molar M2.

3

3

40

4 1

42 P late

1 1

S ample 4 3 ,

S tage 7 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a bit o lder

a nimal t han

( arrow 2 ) i s j ust on the verge of c omplete e ruption and i ts root ( arrow 6 ) has coms hown i n S ample 4 2,

S tage 6 .

The f irst p ermanent molar

pletely extended a nd d eveloped, part of t he mandible.

( arrow 4 )

a nd i ts r oots a re

premolar,

D P3

f ully d eveloped

has b een l ost,

( arrow 3 ).

posit

d eeply deforming'the base of t he

The d eciduous premolar,

DP4,

i s

s till

( arrow 5 ).

probably f rom t he

l ower

i n p lace

The d eciduous

s pecimen i n t he d e-

A c avity has b een c reated a t t he r ear o f t he Ml . There i s a gap i n the i ndex s eries a t t his point which

s hould s how t he e arly s tages o f t he d evelopment o f M 2. t he

s tages

i n t he d evelopment of t he M l

s hould b e a t l east f our s tages M2 .

H owever,

i n t he

Judging f rom

s pecimens

s o f ar,

t here

s howing the f irst d evelopments o f t he

our i ndex s eries d oes n ot c ontain t hese missing s tages

a s y et.

S ample 4 4,

S tage 8 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a n o lder y oung a nimal with with i ts permanent f irst molar,

M1 , f ully e rupted a nd i n place,

i n a n upright v ertical position

( arrow 5 ) with its roots fully extended

( arrow 6 ). and i ts

The

s econd permanent molar,

f irst s tage of e ruption

extend d ownward

( arrow 1 ).

s iderable w ear a s w ell.

S ample 4 5 ,

i s a lready well d eveloped

( arrow 2 ) with its roots beginning to

The d eciduous premolar,

but i s on the point of b ecoming l ost point o f being l ost

M 2,

a lmost

( arrow

4 2

D P4 i s

The d eciduous premolar,

s till

i n place,

i t a lso s hows c on-

nd

D P3,

i s a lso a t the

( arrow 3 ).

S tage 9 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a much o lder young a nimal where a ll the visiible t eeth a re permanent, permanent molar, yet c ome

M 2

M 2,M1

( arrow 2 ) has fully erupted,

a nd PM4.

The

s econd

a lthough i t h as n ot

i nto a c ompletely upright v ertical position,

a nd t he r oots

( arrow 6 ) are nearly fully extended. The f irst permanent molar M 1 i s i n position a nd s hows n o wear ( arrow 4 ). T he r oots o f M 1 have f ully d eveloped ( arrow 5 ). The permanent premolar, PM4, i s operational but s hows n o w ear ( arrow 3 ). A c avity ( arrow 1 ) has begun to appear which will eventually s eat t he d eveloping t hird p ermanent molar,

M 3,

n ot y et

visible.

S ample 4 6,

S tage 1 0 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a bit o lder a nimal t han

.

S ample 4 5. B oth t he permanent molars, n and M2 ( arrows 2 a nd 4 , r es pectively) are fully erupted and in a completely vertical position. Both t he r oots o f t he molars a re f ully e xtended ( arrows 5 a nd 6 ), s everely d eforming t he base of t he s tage o f t ooth s uccession. t ional

j aw.

This i s characteristic a t t his

The permanent premolar,

( arrow 3 ) and shows no signs of wear.

PM4

i s

f ully f unc-

A c avity has been c reated

behind t he M 2 which will eventually c ontain t he d eveloping l ast per-

6 36

43

44

45

manent molar,

M 3.

There

s tage a nd t he n ext s tages

i s a lso a gap i n o ur i ndex s eries a t t his

r epresented h ere,

which s hould s how a t l east t hree

i n t he d evelopment o f t he M3 .

S ample 4 7 ,

S tage 1 1 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a n early completely matured a nimal with a f ull permanent d entition, molar,

e xcept f or t he permanent l ast

M 3 which has not f ully erupted a s y et

1 )

i s not f ully e xtended. Molars, n and M 2 wear. The premolar i s a lso without wear.

S ample 4 8 ,

( arrow 2 ). The r oot ( arrow ( arrows 4 a nd 5 ) show no

S tage 1 2 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a nother n early f ully matured animal with a bout t he s ame s tage of t ooth d evelopment a s S ample 4 7. The

( arrows 4 a nd 5 ) are i n a n upright v ertical j ust erupting ( arrow 2 ) and the root i s n ot f ully e xtended ( arrow 1 ). The premolar(PM4) i s c ompletely d evelf irst two permanent molars

position.

The crown of M 3

i s

oped but s hows no w ear a s yet.

S ample 4 9,

S tage 1 3 .

The x -ray photograph s hows t he f ully matured t han S ample 4 8.

The M 3

i s

a nimal a bit c loser t o

s till erupting

t he r oot i s b ecoming l onger a nd extending d ownward, d eform the base of t he l ower j aw

( arrow 1 ).

( arrow 2 )

a nd

t hus b eainning t o

The premolar

( arrow 3 )

i s

j ust beginning t o s how wear.

S ample 5 0,

S tage 1 4 .

The x-ray photograph s hows a n animal t han S amples 4 8 and 4 9.

The

l ast molar,

M 3,

( arrow 2 ).

upright and t he c rown i s now n early f ully e rupted

( arrow 1 )

i s n ow n early extended a nd a t i ts f ull

PM 4 , s hows d istinct wear

S ample 5 1,

s till m ore mature

i s becoming v ertically l ength.

The r oot

The premolar,

( arrow 3 ).

S tage 1 5 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a c ompletely mature animal with a ll

i ts t eeth i n c orrect positon.

a re without w ear growing

( arrows 2 ,

4a nd 6 ).

A ll t he molars,

( arrow 1 ) as have the other molar's r oots.

opinion this a nimal

S ample 5 2,

M 1,

The r oots o f M 3 have

M 2

a nd M 3

s topped

I n the a uthor's

i s over one year o ld.

S tage 1 6 .

The x -ray photograph s hows a mature a nimal where a ll the t eeth s how s igns of attrition a ll t he t eeth

( arrow 1 )

( arrows 2 ,

4a nd 6 ).

The r oots o f

s how the c losure o f t he pulp c avities,

6 38

a nd

47

48

49

a lso b egin t o s how a ' shredded' with t he aging process

w hich s eems to have t o d o

This c ondition i s d iscussed i n

( Appendix 1 G ).

t he f ollowing appendices

S ample 5 3,

a ppearance,

i n I totragus.

S tage 1 7 .

The x-ray photograph of t his s pecimen i s

i n prepara-

t ion.

S ample 5 4, S tage 1 8 . The x-ray photograph s hows a n o ld a nimal o f c onsideri n PM4 ( arrow ( arrow 4 ), m 2 ( arrow 5 ) and M3 ( arrow 2 ). The r oots o f a ll t he t eeth ( arrow 1 ) have the ' shredded' a ppearance which i s d iscussed i n able a ge where extreme d ental attrition has t aken p lace

3 ),

m i

the

f ollowing appendix

f iciencies

i n o ld age,

c isor o f t his

( 1G ),

and may w ell h ave to d o with d ietary d e-

or part of t he aging process i tself.

r esults of what s eems to be a f using t ogether of three ever,

r egardless of this anomalous c ondition,

growing a t d eath,

a nd the r oot e ndings a re

imen i s a lso r epresented a s S tage photgraphic

3 3,

i ncisors.

t he t ooth was s till

s till wide open.

Photograph 3 4,

H owe vers pec-

a t the e nd of t he

s ection.

The f ollowing photographic a ge

index s eries

i llustrates many

more s tages of d evelopment t han the x-ray photographic age t here

i s a gap i n this

Photograph 2 1, M 2

This

the

I ntroduction t o t he S pecimen P hotographs

1 .5

s o,

T he i n-

s pecimen i s an anomaly i n that i t has t hree r oots,

Stage

i s missing.

2 2,

However,

s eries between P hotograph 2 0,

i n which s everal

r epresented i n the x -ray photographic age s eries,

Even

s tages of t he d evelopment o f

this gap i n t he photographic a ge

between the two photographic

i ndex.

S tage 2 0 a nd

i ndex s eries.

t here

i ndex i s w ell N evertheless,

i s a compelete

s equence o f

tooth s uccession r epresented i n t his appendix s tudy.

D espite the

f act that t he

s pecimen photographs

s eries i s not a s dramatic a s t he x -ray s eries, great d eal

f rom the

what g oes on i n the not d escribe t he only d escribe the

s pecimen photographs, j aw i tself.

s pecimens

i n t his

w e c an s till

even i f we c annot o bserve

F or d escriptive purposes,

i ndividually,

i ndex

l earn a

but i n groups,

w e s hall

because w e c an

s tage of e ruption o f a s ingle tooth i n many c ases

and cannot r eally s how what goes on i nside

t he j aw,

basis o f what we

s ee

T he s pecimen photographic '

a ge

c an be d ivided i nto f our groups f or d escription a s

i ndex s eries

f ollows: graphs

( 1)

i n the x -ray s eries.

Photographs

2 1-26 a nd

( 4)

1 -11,

( 2)

Photographs

Photographs

2 7-34.

6 40

o ther than o n t he

1 2-20,

( 3)

P hoto-

5 1

52

P Ia te

14

T he A ge I ndex S eries,

1 .5.1

S amples 1 -11,

S pecimen P hotographic S amples 1 -34

S tage 1 -11 .

G roup I .

This g roup of photographed age

i ndex s pecimens

s hows

a s eries of l eotragus b alearicus mandibles of extremely young animals i n which t he d eciduous t hird premolar, The only d ifference

f rom s pecimen t o

t he D P 4 has e rupted f rom t he

j aw.

DP4,

present i n a ll t he examples.

s pecimen i s t he d egree t o which

The author believes

t hat t his

s eries

of s pecimens b elonged t o a nimals which were a s y et u n-born.

The d e-

c iduous premolar

a s

were

( DP3)

i s n ot present i n a ll the s pecimen

S amples 1 2 -2 0 ,

S tage 1 2 -2 0

G roup 2 .

This group of photographed a ge a s eries of mandibles of young a nimals molar

i ndex s pecimens

( M 1 ) has j ust erupted through t he j aw o f S ample

position i n S ample 2 0.

s hows

i n which the f irst permanent

by a number of s tages f ully e rupts a nd becomes D P

t hey

l ost i n the d eposit.

1 2

a nd gradually

i n a n upright vertical

S tages of w ear c an a lso be s een i n t he existing

t eeth i n t he s eries.

4

I t i s a t

this

s tage that there i s a g ap o f our s eries which

would s how t he d eveloping s tages o f t he s econd permanent molar H owever,

t hese

( M2 ) .

s tages of d evelopment i n the M 2 a re amply i llustrated i n

our x-ray s eries.

S amples 2 1 -2 6 ,

S tages 2 2 -2 7

G roup 3

This group of photographed a ge

i ndex s pecimens

s hows

a s eries o f mandibles of o lder young a nimals i n which the t hird perman ent molar Stage

2 2.

( M3)

has

i n t he bone of t he the

j ust begun t o e rupt a s c an b e

j aw behind the f ully erupted M2 .

l ast permanent molar

t ion,

s een i n S ample

2 1,

H ere t he pressure of the emerging M 3 has j ust made a n opening

until

( M3)

can be

This e ruption o f

s een i n various d egrees O f e rup-

i t i s f ully e rupted and i n a n u pright v ertical position a nd

the extension o f t he r oots have d eformed t he b ottom o f the mandible a s s hown molar

i n S ample

2 6,

S tage

2 7.

I n t his

s eries t he permanent f ourth pre-

( PM 4 ) has e rupted a nd s hows varying d egrees o f a ttrition,

S ample 2 6, At t his

S tage

2 7,

where

s ome a ttrition a ppears a s o n the M 1

s tage o f t he e ruption of the

l ast p ermanent molar

t ragus b alearicus has almost reached maturity, opinion t his

S tages 2 8 -3 5

s evere,

2 9,

until there

S tage

i ndex s pecimens

a ttritiion.

6 42

s hows

i n which a ll the I n s ome c ases,

3 0 the d egree of w ear b ecomes

i s a ctually the

a l i eo-

G roup 4

This group of photographed a ge t eeth s how varying d egrees o f d ental

( M3).

1 y ear.

a s eries of mandibles o f matured a nd a ging a nimals n ing with S ample

i n

a nd i n the author's

s tage r epresents a n animal o f a bout

S amples 2 7 -3 4,

a s

a lso.

b egin-

i ncreasingly

l oss of t eeth by S amples

3 3

a nd 3 4.

At t he

s ame t ime,

t hese two l ast s pecimen photographs

o f t he d evelopment o f t he ever-growing i ncisor, i ncisor has b ecome more r obust, o f the bone o f the mandible. t hree o ver

s pecimens t o b e c lose to

where

s hows t he e xtent i f a nything t he

d espite what a ppears t o be t he s hrinking

The author believes these 1 2 or

1 3 years o ld,

l ast two o r

a nd i n a ll events

1 0 years o f age.

S ome C ounents o n t he A ge D etermination i n eotragus b alearicus a t t his P oint i n t he R esearch : P reliminary C onclusions

1 .6

While t his r esearch i s by n o means presented a s a c omplete o ne

i t does e stablish a s ound photographic a ge d etermination i ndex f or

t he M yotragus b alearicus,

t he

s pecies.

s eries a re unfortunate,

The gaps i n the

l ikes o f which e xists

f or v ery f ew f ossil

a lthough b etween t he

two s eries we c an perfectly r econstruct the whole s equence o f t ooth s uccession f rom a prenatal t ime and s tudy,

s tage

i nto a dvanced o ld age.

W ith additional

a s w ell a s having t he a ccess t o x -ray equipment,

s hould be possible

i t

i n t he n ear f uture t o c omplete t he x -ray a ge i ndex

s eries which d iscloses t he t ooth d evelopment i n M yotragus b alearicus much more d ramatically and i n g reater d etail. a n a ppendix s tudy,

i t a lso presents t he r eader

g enerally i nterested )

w ith s ome additional

B esides,

t his value a s

( both s pecialist a nd

i nformation c oncerning t his

i mportant a nd i nterestingly evolved i nsular s pecies of r uminant,

a s

w ell a s c ondition a nd curious d irection of adaptation which i nsularity c an s timualte.

There a re many a reas of morphological d evelopment which overl ap and a re i nterrelated, t hese at present. t he

however,

t here

i s n o a vailable t ime t o s tudy

The author would nevertheless l ike t o c onclude that

s ubject of t he process of mastication,

e ssion a re

t ooth wear a nd t ooth s ucc-

s tudy a spects which a re v ery c losely i nterrelated.

U nfor-

t unately hypothesis c oncerning d efinite c onclusions a s t o t hese i nterr elationships a re n ot f or the moment possible,

other t han g eneral

s ug-

g estions a s t o what c ertain d iagnostic characteristics o r a daptations might mean i n t erms of l ocomotion, s urroundings,

f eeding habits,

t ooth d evelopment,

e tc.

D espite t he amount o f work s till n ecessary before a ny s olid c onclusions c an b e made c oncerning M yotragus b alearicus , c onclusions r egarding the o ther a ncestral

s pecies,

t hat s ome preliminary c onclusions c an b e made

l et a lone f irm

the a uthor b elieves

i n t he

f orm o f s uggestions

a s t o the meaning a nd i nterpretation o f what a re t he e nd r esults o f evolutionary s tresses brought a bout by g eographic, g ical

c onditions a nd t he problems o f

( 1)

g eological,

e colo-

i nsularity i tself.

I t s eems t o t he a uthor,

based o n t he d entition

t hat

M yotragus b alearicus was capable of masticating a wide range of tough v egetation

( e.g.

r oots,

l ichens,

barks a nd a variety o f t ough mountain-

ous

s hrub )

present t hroughout t he P leistocene.

the

s tate o f a ttrition o f t he t eeth i n o lder a nimals t hat a g ood por-

6 43

I t would a ppear f rom

t ion o f grit was contained i n t he animal's d iet;

a c ondition o ne might

expect i f the a nimal was d igging i n the e arth f or r oots a nd t hen d evouring t hem with grit s till on t hem. growing i ncisor played a s pecial r ole of f ood.

I t a lso s eems that t he e veri n t he

f eeding habits a nd s earch

I t s eems particularly i ndicative o f the

c hisel-like

f unction o f t his

i ncisor t hat a ll of the hundreds of j aws with i ncisors

s till present a nd the hundreds o f s eparated i ncisors o f Muleta have a n edge

on t he c utting e nd o f the

f rom t he d eposit

i ncisor t hat w ill

s till c ut a piece of paper l ike a r azor o r a s harp c arpenter's w ood c hisel.

This

s harp,

ever-growing i ncisor would a ppear t o b e e specially

prepared f or a s craping a ction,

which i n i tself might l ead t o main-

t aining a k een edge on t his t ooth a t a ll t imes. ently t he a nimal c ould not a fford t o l ose t his

The f act t hat a ppari ncisor a t a ny c ost

a ppears t o t he a uthor a s e xtra s ignificant.

( 2) The g enerally powerful a ppearance o f the j aw i tself a s w ell a s t he e xceptionally ' hypsodontal' ( high c rowned) molars a nd ever-growing i ncisors a lso i ndicates t o t he author t he r ugged c hara cter o f t he a nimal's d iet and t he marked r idges o n the powerful

j aw muscles.

The

s trong o steological

j aws i ndicate

c haracteristics o f t he

t horacic vertebrae - e specially t he h igh s pines on t he t horacic v ertebrae - s how the a nimal had powerful

s houlders a nd n eck,

which i n turn

a dds t o our i dea of a n a nimal c apable of g rubbing f or i ts f ood, g oing t o no e nds t o s ecure

( 3)

a nd

i t.

From the t eeth a s w ell a s t he other o steological e vidence

i t would a ppear t o t he author that t he a nimal c ertainly d id n ot k now s tarvation,

nor f or t hat matter any n oted pathological c ondition which

might have g enerally a ffected the a nimal. o steological

s pecimens f rom the d eposit,

There d oes appear a f ew but these a re i n a v ery l ow

f requency of o ccurrence,

a nd a s will be

a reas o f t he metapodials

( mostly i n t he metacarpals,

s als t oo)

s een,

they a re

f ound i n t he

a lthough m etatar-

where t he greatest a reas o f adaptation a nd evolutionary c hange

has o ccurred i n the a s uccessful

l imbs.

s pecies,

I n a ll,

t he a uthor c onsiders t he M yotragus

d espite i ts over s pecialisation a nd e ventual e x-

t inction a t t he hands o f man.

I t a lso would s eem t hat the a nimal was

a ssured of g ood c hances of l ongevity

b ecause of t he

l ack o f predators,

but a lso because of i ts particular a bility t o adapt t o and l ive w ithin i ts i nsular e nvironment.

There a re a n umber of bones which have s igns

of c ompound f ractures which had e ntirely h ealed, i mpaired t he a nimal. have

H ad t here b een predators,

but which would h ave t he a nimal would n ever

s urvived t he t ime n ecessary f or the bones t o h eal.

4 )

Based on the

s tages of t ooth s uccession a nd w ear,

i t s eems

t hat t he M yotragus b alearicus was generally equipped with a dentition capable of f unctioning e ffectively f rom a v ery e arly age. not t he

s uccession was a ny more r apid t han o ther s pecies

wild i s n ot a s y et known.

Nor i s

Whether o r l iving i n t he

i t t oo unlikely t o wonder i f t he

t ooth s uccession was n ot e specially d ifferent than o ther s pecies o f i ts k ind,

a s

s o many other morphological c haracteristics a re.

i s d ifficult t o prove, a re made available. s pecies

H owever,

t his

but may well b e t he c ase a s more r esearch r esults

The f act t hat w e have f or t he moment no c omparable

s pecimens available t o make c omparisons or other parallels.

6 44

Until these c ompartive materials a re available, i s o ffered a s a s pecial

s tudy,

t he present i nformation

i f a s omewhat i ncomplete one.

6 45

A PPE NDI X 1G

APPENDIX

1G.

A PRELIMINARY AGE

THIN—SECTION

DETERMINATION

IN

THE

STUDY

TEETH

FOR

OF

DENTAL

MYOTRAGUS

BALEARICUS

1 .

I ntroduction : t he M ethodology U sed i n t he P reparation o f t he S pecimens , t he P roblems a nd t he P roposed P roject

B ecause o f t he g reat number of i ndividual t eeth of M yotragus b alearicus s eparated f rom broken mandibles a nd maxilla, t he a uthor d ecided t o c arry out a t hin-sectioning s tudy of a quantity o f t hese. This was d one i n order t o examine t he possibility o f d etermining t he mortality a ge o f a s election o f t he available s pecimens.

I t a lso s eemed

r easonable t hat s uch r esearch would b e o f s ome value a s a s ubsidiary s tudy t o t he preliminary one on t ooth s uccession i n M yotragus

1 F ) and also the study of sexual dimorphism in M yotragus

( Appendix ( Appendix 1 E ).

Teeth of a nimals a re o f considerable value t o t he a rchaelol ogist f or a number of r easons: ( 1)

B ecause o f t heir durability,

t hey s tand up w ell a gainst

t he r avages o f t ime. ( 2)

They have t he possibility t o i ndicate the

t hey w ent t hrough i n t he a ctive ( 3)

s pecific u se

l ife o f t he a nimal.

They c an r eflect the nature o f t he a nimal's f ood,

a nd

s omething o f t he e cology i n which t he a nimal l ives. ( 4)

They may a lso i ndicate

f actors a bout t he e conomy o f t he

( 5)

They a lso r eflect a g reat d eal a bout t he

people.

b eing o f t he a nimal

s tate o f w ell

i tself.

The t eeth b est s uited t o e xamination a nd s ectioning t o obtain t he maximum of i nformation a re t he hypsodont, t ooth,

a s t hese g row out o f t he

' high c rowned'

j aw a t a c onstant r ate.

t ype o f

The wearing

d own o f t hese h igh c rowns r eflect t he age a nd d iet o f t he a nimal a nd i ts e nvironment;

a nd t he t eeth t hemselves that a re b est s uited f or

t his a re t he molars.

A lthough,

e qually s uited b ecause o f

the

l ower i ncisor o f M yotragus

i s

i ts particular d urability a nd ever-growing

n ature.

1 .1

T he A natomical S tructure o f t he T eeth

I t i s n ecessary t hat t he r eader b ecome f amiliar w ith the a natomic

s tructure o f a t ooth,

t ernal a s w ell a s i nternal c omponents

i f o nly g enerally,

s tructure.

i n the s tructure o f a t ooth:

c oncerning t he e x-

There are u sually f our e xternal ( 1)

t he c rown,

( 2)

t he r oots,

CO MPOSITION TEETH

OF

I N

MYOTRAGUS

BALEARICUS

THI N-SECTIONING

Mo lar 2

Mo lar

3

I nc isor

1

C - c e ment d - d entine e - e na me l p c- p u lp c avity

f ig . 38

( 3)

the body a nd

t hree ( 3)

( 4)

t he n eck,

The

i nternal

s ubstances f or g eneral d escription,

c ement.

s tructure

( 1)

e namel,

i s made up o f ( 2)

d entine a nd

Each o f t hese a re o f varying d egrees o f hardness.

The e xternal c omponents o f the t ooth c ontaining t he various s ubstances a re a s f ollows:

t he c rown

i s c overed with e namel,

t he r oots

a nd b ody are composed of dentine and the n eck i s a lso made up of d entine but t his

i s t he d emarcation b etween t he r oot and body.

The r oots o f

adult t eeth a re u sually pierced by c anals t o admit v essels a nd n erve t o t he pulp cavity which i s t he s pace f or t he l iving part o f t he t ooth ( see F igure

3 8).

The

i nternal t ooth s tructure with i ts t hree

d ifferent d egrees o f hardness r eflects the various f unction.

The c overing above t he g ingival

l ine

s ubstances o f

l ayer's

s pecific

i n a t ooth t hat has

e rupted consists of e namel.

I n t he M yotragus b alearicus,

very apparent i n t he s ingle

s et o f i ncisors o f t he animal.

t his

l ayer i s

B eing a n

a rtiodactyla with a n ever-growing i ncisor i n i ts l ower d entition, e namel which c oats t he upper s urface of t he pushing f orward during a ll t he a nimal's r azor s harp edge o n t he s el.

i ncisor,

t he

i ncisor i s perpetually

l ife.

This gave t he animal a

not at a ll unlike a carpenter's c hi-

The enamel being only on t he buccal

s urface e nabled t he a nimal

t o e ffectively c lip v egetation or even s crape t ougher p lants.

The d entine which makes up t he l argest part o f t he t ooth s ubs tance

i n the r oot a nd body i s

the c ore of the t ooth.

s ecreted by t he l iving pulp which f orms

I t i s a r easonably hard s ubstance,

t hough

t ougher and more r esilient t han enamel.

The c ement c overs the t ooth's r oots, crown and enamel walls,

1 .2

l ightly i nvesting t he

f illing i n the valleys a nd t he f olds.

T he P rocess U sed i n t he R esearch

The most popular way t o cross-section f resh s pecimens

1 971)

i s one o f t hree ways:

s hing one e nd,

( 2)

( 1)

by c utting t he t ooth

( Chaplin

i n half and poli-

t hin-sectioning a s lice o f t he t ooth and e xamining

t he r esults under a microscope a nd t he t ooth i n f ermolin,

( 3)

the most s atisfactory i s t o f ix

d ecalcifying i t i n

1 0%

s olution o f a cetic a cid.

Thin-sections are cut a nd s tained with haematoxylin or other s tain. I t i s g enerally agreed t hat t he most s uitable method f or e xamining a rchaeological material will d epend on t he preservation o f t he

s pecimen

a nd plain experience.

The author t ried the f irst two methods u sing t he f inest f ixed r otary d iamond-dust c oated b lade. i ntegration r esulted i n most c ases

i n t he e xperiments.

Therefore,

a uthor d ecided t o i nvest the t ooth i n f ine d ental p laster

6 51

( 1mm )

S plintering a nd c omplete d ist he

( Moldroc) -.

This was done by obtaining s tandard s pecimen bottles of c lear p lastic a pproximately 5 cms

i n d iameter a nd 1 0cms h igh.

f illed with l iquid plaster, o f the t ooth was upright.

and while i t w as

H alf the bottle was

s till wet t he r oot e nd

i mbedded i n the plaster u ntil

i t could s upport i tself

This was done a fter a l ine was d rawn on t he

t ooth r epresenting t he g ingival

l ine o f t he t ooth.

s urface o f t he

The

i mplanted t ooth

was t hen l eft t o dry i n t he plaster.

When i t was d ry,

then mixed which was

i n t he mixing water i n o rder t o

s tained w ith dye

new p laster was

have a d ark t oned plaster which was t hen poured i nto t he plastic bottle c overing the r emainder o f t he

i mbedded t ooth.

bottle was t hen l eft t o d ry.

I n t his manner a t rue horizontal

The completely f illed l ine d e-

l ineates the two havles o f the plaster e ncasing a nd s pecimen which s erves a s a guideline

i n c utting t he

a ccurate cross-section d esired on the halves

s ample

i n half,

i mbedded t ooth.

i s t hen r eady f or grinding and polishing.

t hus a ssuring a n One o f t he two

Casting t he t ooth

s pecimen i n t he c lear p lastic bottle s erves f our d ifferent purposes; ( 1) i t s erves t o protect t he s pecimen a gainst r ough handling during both c utting a nd grinding, s pecimen t o be cut,

( 3)

( 2)

i t a ssures a proper a lignment o f t he

the plastic r im a round t he plaster i nvestment

a ssures t hat t he embedded s pecimen a nd t he p laster d o not g rind d own t oo quickly a nd

( 4)

i t enables t he s ample t o be

l abelled permanently,

a nd e asily s tored.

The

s elected half t o b e u sed f or s tudy i s t hen g round d own

on a f ine c arborundum wheel or d iamond-dust i mpregnated d isc t o r emove s cratches or a ny minor s urface b lemished t o t he exposed on t he

s ection.

i ncremental

u sing v ery f ine carborundum powder lubricated w ith water, c ircular motion o f t he

s tructure

Extra a nd f inal polishing i s d one by hand employing a

s pecimen on a heavy s heet of g lass.

u sed i n t his s tep of the

The t ime

s pecimen's preparation f or s tudy d epends on

t he c ondition o f t he s pecimen.

A F ew O bservations o n t he A ge F actors F ound i n T eeth

1 .3

As t eeth age c ertain c haracteristics c an be observed w hich h elp d etermine t he a ge o f a n a nimal or a s pecimen a t d eath. d eciduous tooth a lveolar r idge

( milk t ooth )

I f a

i s f ound i n i ts natural position i n t he

i n domesticated a nimals,

a s pecimen c an most o ften b e

c lassified a s t o age within an e rror of only a f ew months. the g eneral n on-microscopic evidence of a ge

H owever,

i s u sually bas . e d o n c rown

d esign a nd c rown patterns a long with t he w earing e ffects o f u se - a s covered i n A ppendix tooth,

1 E.

I t i s a lso d etermined by t he

l ength o f t he

a s c ontinuous grinding progressively f oreshortens

l ength.

Molar t eeth a re e specially valuable l ike eotragus b alearicus.

t he t ooth's

i n d etermining wear pat-

t erns

i n a nimals

ments

f or grinding the v egetal matter which c onstitutes t he a nimal's

d iet,

a nd t he g rinding a nd c rushing of t he f ood produces wear patterns

( Appendix 1 F ).

6 52

The t eeth a re t he

i mple-

The s econd g eneral n on-microscopic f eature o f t ooth l ength has t o d o with the s hortening of the e rupted portions o f the t ooth by over-all wear and t ear processes and f oreshortening o f the r oots a s the a ging process o ccurs.

I n the Muleta s pecimens,

i t has b een ob-

s erved that a s bone a bsorption o f the a lveolar s ocket happens, i s a d efinite

l oosening o f the t eeth.

F or e xample,

animal's mandible or maxilla c an e asily b e extracted, bone absorption.

Another d istinctive

t here

t eeth i n a n a ged d ue t o a lveolar

s ignal o f a ging on visual i n-

s pection i s t he g radual c losure o f the pulp c avity a t the e nd o f t he roots,

e specially t he molar r oots.

a ll a ged s pecimens o f i l eotragus mens t ine,

s how a ' shredded' s uch a s

to d isease

appearance

s een i n P late

This has b een observed i n n early

f rom Muleta.

1 .

I n addition,

most s peci-

i n t he proximal e nd o f the r oot d en-

This may well b e or c an be c ompared

i n o lder human a lveolae known a s pyorrhea.

The t ooth r oots

have a l oss of bulk a nd s how c alcified s triations which are

i ndicative

o f a ging i n Myotragus.

S pecific pathological c hanges a nd body r epair a ttempts a re i ndications o f a ging,

and s ome

s pecimens have

s hown d ental a pical a bs-

c ess f ormation with breakthrough o f t he maxillary bone ondary calcification has been n oted i n s uch c ases, attempts of t he a bscess cavity by the body. o f t he t ooth r oots

i n s ome cases

s urface.

S ec-

i ndicating r epair

The prominent a bsorption

i ndicates d isease i n addition t o r e-

gressive changes which c an b e a ssociated w ith a ging.

6 53

P late

1

APPE NDIX

3A

APPENDIX

3A.

A PRELIMINARY OF

1 .

BALEARIC

POTTERY

THIN-SECTIONING

PREHISTORIC

CERAMIC

STUDY

WARES

B ackground a nd O bjectives o f t he R esearch

The thin-sectioning r esearch programme o f pottery s amples f rom the Balearic 1 975.

I slands was

Until t hat t ime,

B alearic pottery.

i nitiated by the author a t Oxford i n

n o work o f this k ind had b een a ttempted o n

S ince then,

a f ield a nd l aboratory s ampling pro-

g ramme has b een

i n progress,

and while t hat programme

i nitial

a t l east 3 00

s elected and prepared s amples a re n ow

s tages,

available

f or s tudy;

a nd t hat number will

i s

s till

i n i ts

i ncrease w ith e ach f ield

s eason.

The method o f thin-sectioning was d esigned t o a chieve a numb er of ofjectives which a re outlined below:

( 1) pottery

To prepare a ' reference

s amples

l ibrary'

o f B alearic prehistoric

i n f orm of thin-sections mounted on s lides,

a ccompanied

by microphotographs which c learly i llustrate t he many d ifferent physical properties o f t he various f abrics a nd the visible e ffects r esulting f rom t he u se of d irect t echnological processes by their makers. ( 2) present

f eatures and e vents e vent being an observable change

To observe and r ecord t he various

i n e ach s pecimen s tudied

( an

i n t he c omposition o f the c lay f abric a fter f iring, m ineral

i nclusions or i n the c lay i tself);

whether i n t he

t hese may g ive c lues t o the

f iring processes a nd t emperatures and other c onditions manufacture of t he ( 3) m etric

To e stablish a ' mineralogical t hermometer'

s cale',

the mineral s ample;

i nvolved i n the

i ndividual vessels. or

' thermo-

d educed f rom the c ompositional a nd c hemical c hanges o f

i nclusions or c lay f abric of the

s ectioned pottery f abric

a nd t o a scertain by experimental r efiring o f c orresponding

s herd s amples the s tage and t emperature a t which s intering , d ecomposit ion and v itrification of such mineral inclusions as limestone and haematite t akes place ( see G lossary, s ect . 1 .1.2). ( 4) f abrics and,

To observe d ifferences eventually,

i ndividual c lay f abric

i n the

s tructure o f the c lay

t o determine t he exact c omposition of e ach

s ample t ested

n ot been s tarted b ecause of the

( this

l atter project has a s y et

l ack of s pecial f acilities t o c arry

i t out). ( 5)

To d etermine whether or not a ny particular t ype o f f ab-

r ic may be a scribed c onsistently t o particular c hronological periods, o n the basis

i n the

f irst i nstance o f

s imple c omparison o f c arefully

p repared microscopic s lides. ( 6)

To d etermine how f ar d ifferences b etween c lay f abric

may be a scribed e ither t o varying t echnological f erences

i n c lay a vailable

s kills o r e lse t o d if-

i n particular g eographic a reas.

( 7)

( e.g.

e stablish whether a ny o ne t ype of pottery v essel

To

B alearic B eaker ware)

enous pottery a ssemblages f ar advanced,

may or may n ot b e

( unfortunately t his

because while the

imported i nto t he

i ndig-

l atter project i s not y et

f irst s eries of

l ocal B eaker ware

s herds have b een s ectioned a nd otherwise prepared,

n o s herd material

f or t hin-sectioning i s yet available f rom mainland s ources).

While one o f t he

l onger r anged objectives o f t his r esearch

i s g radually t o build up a n extensive r eference t hin-sections,

the

l ibrary of pottery

f irst and i mmediate project has b een t o prepare a

s ound preliminary s et of r eference

s lides a long with c orresponding

phototographs - both black a nd white a nd c olour t ransparencies - f or s herds f rom good stratigraphical c ontexts which a re r adiocarbon d ated i n a s many c ases a s possible.

Another part of t his proposed r eference c ollection - which i s a lso underway - i s made up o f s ample t hin-sectioned s herds, l ected a t r andom f rom a number o f a rchaeological of t he primary s ites

s tations,

i n the i nitial c ollection l isted below.

c ase of t he random s ampling c ollection,

t he

c ol-

i ndependent I n t he

s herd materials h ave b een

picked up f rom s everal types o f a reas and s ources,

f or e xample f rom

f ields and i mmediate a reas

s ettlements

i n a nd a round Talayotic

s ites,

o r f rom c ave .d eposits where e xcavation has a lready t aken place a nd l arge

' tip'

o r d ebris piles a re

l eft over f rom f ormer e xcavations o r

where natural e rosion has brought t hem t o t he

s urface.

Such a r andom

s ampling and c ollection s hould prove valuable i n plain e xperimental materials,

r eassessing s ome of t he many s ites which have b een b adly

e xcavated i n t he past a nd a ssessing n ew o nes which have n ot b een e xcavated a s y et.

S till another part of the proposed r eference c ollection extension t o t he project currently being d one) - will s ectioning s herds

c onsist

( an

o f t hin-

s olicited f rom e xcavations a nd collections o f others,

c oming f rom known s tratigraphical c ontexts a nd b eing of known period, even i f t he c ontexts have not been dated by r adiocarbon analysis, though i f

a l-

1 4C d ates d o exist s uch i nformation c otld naturally b e a dded

t o t hat f rom t he primary r esearch s ites r eferred t o above.

S amples have been c ollected with a view t o eventual t hermoluminescence a nd other analyses c oncurrently with t he c ollection a nd preparation o f the t hin-section s pecimens,

a lthough i t i s d oubtful

whether a programme of thermoluminescence d ating can b e put i n h and f or s ome t ime.

M eanwhile,

the

s amples a re a vailable

i n the a uthor's

c ollection a t t he D eya Archaeological Museum a nd Research C entre, Mallorca,

B aleares,

S pain.

r eference

l ibrary f or the Balearic

value t o r esearchers, i ncreased with t he

D eya,

The author b elieves that the t hin-section I slands w ill be o f c onsiderable

i ncreasingly s o a s

i t

i s expanded,

i nclusion of s herd r eference

s lides

a nd i ts

s cope

f or pottery

f rom I berian a nd S outhern French r egions a nd other a djacent i slands l ike C orsica a nd S ardinia.

6 58

1 .1

T he M ethod o f C ollection a nd P reparation o f t he T hin-Section S lides a nd T est S amples

The

f irst s eries of pottery s herd s amples collected f or thin-

s ectioning were where

chosen for the primary r esearch s ites'

1 4C analyses r esults were

available.

All

s tratigraphies

the pots

can d efinitely

be a ssigned chronological provenances to one of the phases defined i n this thesis: yotic, the

the Neolithic Early Ceramic Phase

the Early Beaker Phase

s ame period,

l ate phases phases

MBA and LBA )

of the Pretala-

i ts early,

and the Post Talayotic

( LBP)

of

middle and

Iron Age

and i ts

MIA and L IA ).

The f rom the

( NECP )

and the'Late Beaker Phase

the Talayotic Bronze Age with

( EBA;

( EIA ;

( EBP)

f irst s eries of

s amples therefore comprises material

f ollowing s ites:

' Primary' S ites,

with

1 4C analysis results

( 1)

The Cave of Son Muleta

( 2)

The Rock Shelter of Son Marge

( 3)

The Rock Shelter of Muertos Gallard

( 4)

The Cave of S on Marroig

( Mallorca)

( 5)

The Taula of Torralba de

Salort

' Secondary' S ites ,

without

( Mallorca)

1 4C analysis

( Mallorca) ( Mallorca)

( Minorca)

r esults,

but with

known s tratigraphies ( 1)

The Cave of S on Puig

( 2)

The Naveta and S ettlement of Sa Torreta

( 3)

The

S ettlement of Trepuco

( 4)

The

S ettlement Complex of Son Ferrandell

( 5)

The Talaayot of Sa Canova

As yet, n either of these i s very extensive, s herds

( Mallorca)

studied and photographed.

but c ertainly time c onsuming.

The

This process

i s discussed in the idea of the

events,

the

subsequent

a ctual

s ectioning process.

t inue,

personally,

doctoral thesis.

s ection,

3 00 or

s o prepared s lides

in order to give the reader

collected to date I t

i s also the author's

t his particular H owever,

i s well ahead of

I n a ll the

i ntention to con-

s tudy after the completion of his ,

the preliminary results are

and promising enough to be worth i ncluding here. the

i s not difficult

s tage which the current project has reached.

sherd material

The

i nteresting author accepts

fact that a more extensive collection will be necessary before

f irm conclusions

c an be drawn,

but

the

s lides

s tatistical work breakdown of the

t ime used f or the preparation of the existing s ome

s econdary s ites

f act that not a ll

collected until now have been s ectioned and mounted on

which can be

( Mallorca)

( Mallorca)

l ists of primary or

but this merely r eflects the

( Minorca)

( Minorca )

any

s ome preliminary indications of

their l ikely trend c an already be offered.

The author has not yet

attempted to compare his methods or r esults with those of other i nvesti gators'

materials and r esults

course will be

f rom continental

areas,

done when enough Balearic material

6 59

i s

but this of

r eady.

For the

present,

the a uthor

i s r eporting the r esults o f

s imple observation o f

the prepared s amples r ather t han f ully analytical a nd quantitative comparison o f t hem.

The various

s herds used f or eventual t hin-sectioning w ere f irst

s imply broken i n half by hand - whenever t he s ize o f t he

s herd per-

mitted - a nd one half was k ept uncleaned i n a s pecimen bag w ith a ppropr iate c lassification i dentification c ard.

The other half was t hen

c leaned with ordinary t ap water - whenever possible - i n o rder t o avoid u sing a cids on t he porous c lay f abric w ith c onsequent s torage w ithin t he

f abric of any evaporated a cid r esidue which might a ffect

the pottery's adhesion when g lued t o the g lass t he adhesive over a t ime. mild a cid s olution

I n s ome c ases,

( 10% a cetic a cid,

or c alcium c arbonate c oating t he operation was c ompleted a nd t he s pecial hot plate, ventory number, This

the

s lide

s urface o r a ffect

i t was n ecessary t o u se a

CH 3 COOH )

t o r emove

s herd s urface.

s tubborn e arth

Once t his i nitial

s herd dried o ut i n t he a ir o r on a

f ragment was a ssigned a c lassification a nd i n-

c orresponding t o t hat of t he s tored unwashed p iece.

i nformation was written i n i nk on t he s herd on a n a rea painted

with l acquer on the s urface o f t he s herd t he f artherest away f rom t he edge c hosen t o be cut f or t he t hin-section; t his was d one t o o bviate t he r isk o f cutting t hrough t he l abelled part o f t he s herd.

A s ystem of a bbreviations

s imilar t o t he

i dentification nomen-

c lature u sed i n i dentifying other a rtefacts a nd i nformation f rom the r esearch s ites was u sed.

For e xample,

a s herd originating f rom the

r ock s helter of Son Matge and c oming f rom, Phase horizon would b e g iven t he

l et u s

s ay,

a n Early B eaker

f ollowing i dentification a bbreviation:

S ite ,

P eriod ,

P hase,

ABSM-

PRT-

E BP-

I nventory N umber 1 -100

( or whatever number n eeded )

( ABSM-PRT-EBP-78)

When this was done, a llowing )

t he

s herd was a gain c ut i n half

by u sing a s tandard s tone c utting,

( size

t hin-sectioning machine

s imilar to any number of t ypes u sed i n university g eological t ories o r by l apidary c raftsmen.

s herd was t hen put a side f or s torage and f uture cut f or mounting on t he

s tudy u se.

c ut

The s lab

s lide was t hen ground down on a d iamond dust

i mpregnated or c arborundum wheel, until one

l abora-

The other r emaining half o f t he

u sing the f lat part o f t he wheel

s urface edge o f t he s herd was perfectly f lat t o a ssure t he

best possible

s urface

f or t he a pplication o f t he adhesive

( epoxy o r

other waterproof g lue) , s trong e nough e nough t o withstand t he handling n ecessary i n grinding d own t he microscopic g lass

s lide.-

s herd a fter mounting on a s tandard

After t his preliminary grinding,

f ragment i s cut under water and c arefully d ried. s tuck f irmly t o t he g lass

The piece

t he s herd i s n ext

s lide a nd l eft t o d ry i n t he a ir o r o n a

s pecial hot plate which hastens t he d rying o f t he adhesive.

O nce t he

mounted s herd s pecimen i s dry,

i t i s then r eady f or t he

process.

s lide w ith t he mounted s lab o f s herd

( about b elow.

The g lass microscope

1 cm t hick)

f inal g rinding

i s placed i n a s pecially d esigned holder

6 60

( Figure 3 8)

G RINDING H OLDE R F OR M AINTAINING A I • DUNTED TH IN-SPCTION DURING T HIN-SFrTIONING GRINDING OPERATION

B lock f or G rinding H older

p lastic p late w ith r ecess f or h olding g lass s lide d uring t he g rinding a nd p olishin , ;

P ottery S lab

-M icroscope

g lass s lide

( thin-section) ure 3 8A .

* g lass s lide i s h eld i n p lace i n t he r ecess o f t he g rinding h older b y w ater s urface t ension.

The holder i s d esigned t o k eep the g lass pottery s lab s teady while

c oated wheel o r c arborundum wheel, thickness.

s lide with i ts mounted

i t i s being held a gainst t he d iamond dust

The t hickness of t he

f or grinding d own t o t he d esired

f inal pottery s lab i s a rbitrary.

The

a uthor has f ound t hat t he thickness best s uited i s u sually a bout 3 mm t o 4mm,

which i s s ufficient t o a ssure t hat the pottery s lab has

while p ermitting t he f inshed s lide a s tandard microscopic

s pecimen t o b e

s lide f iling case.

t ionally thin s pecimens about 2 -4 microns

s trength,

s tored and f iled i n

I n s ome i nstances,

c onven-

t hick may b e d esired,

order t o s tudy t he mineral c ontent of t he c lay,

i n

and i n s uch cases,

t he

s lide a nd i ts mounted pottery s lab have t o be g round d own mechanically t o

l mm a nd t he g rinding t hen f inished by hand on a thick g lass p late,

u sing water a nd powdered c arborundum o f a lternately f ine g rade, t he d esired s lide t ransparency t hickness microscopic i s

s lides.

Otherwise,

t he

i s a ttained,

a s

until

i n c onventional

3 mm t o 4mm t hick mounted s pecimen

f inally polished by u sing the g lass plate and very f ine carborundum

powder,

s o that t he

s urface of t he pottery s ection mounted on the

c learly s hows t he granular d etails of the pottery's a s d etails o f t he c lay

( e.g.

d egassing c hannels,

c racks e tc.).

The

thin-sectioned s lide i s then r eady f or s tudy under t he microscope.

6 61

s lide

i nclusions a s w ell

Once the are r eady t o b e

s lides have been prepared i n the above manner, s tudied under the microscope a nd photographed.

t hey The

author f ound that d ifferent magnifications o f a bout 8 0X produces t he best r ecord o f d etails o f t he a lso i nsures

i nclusions a nd t he pottery paste;

r egularity i n t he

f inished photographic i ndex,

t eeing a s tandardised view o f t he d etails,

i t

guaran-

which o therwise might b e

d eceiving a t d ifferent magnifications.

The a uthor has

f ound that i t i s

a lso a n advantage t o photograph

the s pecimens i n c olour a s w ell a s b lack a nd white. These c olour t ransparancies, t hough t aken a t the s ame magnification a s t he b lack a nd white photographs,

have the additional advantage w hen projected of g reatly

enlarging t he d etails of the pottery t hin-section's effect c annot o f c ourse b e r eproduced here, a re u sed to i llustrate the photographic

s urface.

This

a nd black a nd white prints

s ide o f the project.

F or t his

purpose a s election of s ome 5 0 photographs a re presented i n this The e xisting r eference c ollection c ontains o ver

The a uthor uses

s tudy.

3 00 s uch s amples.

a nother kind of c lassification s ystem o nce t he

s lides have b een s tudied a nd photographed,

w hich i s d escribed b elow.

This s ystem i s u sed i n order t o f acilitate t he handling,

i ndexing a nd

s toring o f the thin-section s lides and t heir c orresponding photographs.

1 .1.1

T he C lassification S cheme U sed i n t he I ndexing o f t he F inished T hin-Sectioning S lides a nd T heir C orresponding M icrophotographs

The g eneral

i nventorying a nd primary c lassification o f t he

s herds

f rom which the thin-sections w ere t aken has b een d escribed a bove.

This

s ystem i s u sed by the a uthor only f or r eference while preparing the thin-section s lide a nd s torage of other c orresponding s pecimens. ever once the

f iling a nother s ystem t akes over. t ion,

By t he way o f

This

s imply by u sing a tri-colour s ystem o f s tandard gum l abels

which r epresent the three c ultural periods,

( 1 ) ( 2) ( 3) This

a s f ollows:

Y ellow , represents the Pretalayotic Period R ed , represents the Talayotic Period G reen, represents the Post Talayotic Period i s c onvenient f or i mmediate period i dentification w hen

anyone w ishes t o s tudy or r efer t o the physical c haracteristics o f t he a re

i mmediate i dentifica-

t he t hin-section s lides a nd photographs a re c olour c oded.

i s done

How-

s lide has been prepared a nd photographed a nd i s r eady f or

s lides.

Chronological phase,

s pecimen a nd o ther d escriptive d ate

r ecorded by u sing a c ombination of graphic n umerals a nd a lpabetical

s ystem outlined b elow.

Three S uper C ategories are l ows:

A

Known Age,

B

S pecific

More or L ess C ommon F abric.

i ndicated b y c ircled l etters a s

f ol-

I ndividual C haracteristics,

S uper C ategory

6 62

A

c omprises 6 K nown A ge

s ub-categories, S uper C ategory B comprises 1 1 Specific I ndividual Characteristics s ub-categories and S uper C ategory C c omprises 7 More or Less Common Fabric s ub-categories .

An example s ection s lide L et u s

f or u sing the

s pecimen or

s ay we wish to

s ystem f or

i dentifying either the thin-

i ts equivalent photograph can be demonstrated.

i dentify a thin-section s pecimen s lide and i ts

photographic counterpart which has a known age circa 2 000 b .c. b .c.

and

i s

t o

1 700

a s pecimen or photo of an i ncised Beaker s herd of t he Early

Beaker Phase which has been examined a nd f ound to have c ertain common f abric,

the c lassification

i ndex would read a s

f ollows:

A 2

I f another Late Beaker Phase, classification

s ample

2

2

r epresented an undecorated Beaker s herd of

the origin being c irca

i ndex would be a s

1 700 b .c.

to

1 400 b .c.

the

follows:

A 3

4

T he A nalytical S trategy C oncerning a V ocabulary a nd t he M ethod U sed i n t he O bservational A nalysis

1 .1.2

The a s

6

author r ecognises the outstanding value of

' Ceramics

f or the Archaeologist'

contributions made by s uch

i n r ecent years by physicists

s ophisticated l aboratory techniques a s

x-ray diffraction,

s uch handbooks

( Shepard 1 965) as well as many to

c eramic

s tudies

emission spectroscopy,

x-ray f luorescence and by computer-based analyses,

and undoubtedly most of what one would wish to know concerning the analysis of pottery c an be gained by using these he

s till believes that there

i s

t echniques.

substantial value

basically observational methods,

using

However,

t o be derived from

a s imple binocular microscope

to e xamine the polished surfaces of prepared s lides with mounted pottery s ections.

This kind of approach d emands that s omeone d eal of t ime

s imply

After that l ong hours must be and i n r ecording

spent over a microscope s lide.

The work

abundantly c lear that s imple and d irect

s ets of

and t erminology are necessary to c over

all

i n the

l ocal Balearic wares,

ards

are

i nvaluable

standards,

the possible

f eatures

f eatures

and

Handbooks

l ike A .O.

S hep-

and vocabulary,

that each i nvestigator will have to

6 63

i t

procedures

i s determined to

i n that they offer s uch s tandards

but the present author believes

special

s o far done has made

and the author

e stablish t hem at this preliminary s tage.

s lides.

i n their s tudy

i n proper predetermined vocabulary the

and c onditions present i n each

events

s hould s pend a great

s ectioning s herds and mounting t hem on

I

T able 1 2 .

C lassification o f T hin-Section S pecimens a nd M icrophotog raphs: L ist o f S uper-Categories a nd S ub-Categories

Super-Categories

I

Category by Known Age

Category by Named I ndividual Characteristic

Category by More or Less Common

Fabric

Sub-Categories 1 1

6

1 .

2 700 b .c.

200 b .c. to 2

2 .

2 000 b .c.

to

1 700 b .c.

1 .

NECP,PRT

2 .

BW,EBP

3 .

UD,BW,EBP

4 .

I D,EBP

5 .

I D,LBP

7

1 .

2 . 3 .

3 .

4 .

5 . 6 .

1 700 b .c.

1 400 b .c.

1 000 b .c. 5 00 b .c.

to

to

to to

1 400 b .c.

6 .

BW,LBP

7 .

UD,BW,LBP

4 .

8 .

EBA,T

9 .

MBA,T

8 00 b .c.

1 0.

LBA,T

6 .

B .C.

1 1.

MIA,PT

7 .

1 000 b .c.

1 23

6 64

5 .

adapt their use wishes

to his own s pecial

and l ocal

i n this Appendix c learly t o define

i llustrating

i t by

s elected photographs

r equirements.

he has encountered i n his own material. f eels this

i s

I n

s ome

s pecific conditions

i nstances

no doubt differ f rom that of others,

l ikely to be

As a f irst s tage,

s o,

he will

a glossary of t erms

s ystem,

as well a s by notation based

on careful observation of the prepared s amples of t erminology will

The author

and outline his own

t he

author's

and where h e

try and i llustrate his meaning. and t heir definitions

i s given

n ext.

1 .1.3

T he G lossary o f T erms U sed i n t he T hin-Sectioning R esearch

The

three

s tages

during firing are a s

i n the preparation of pottery f or

f iring and

f ollows:

c c

( 1 )

T he D ehydration P eriod :

the

c ontent to be driven out of the c lay by erated by

' water

i nterlayer water minterals by

smoking'

which gets

t ime

r equired f or the water

l ow heat.

r id of

This may be

a ccel-

the capillary water and

( see b elow ) that is held between the plates of the

preheating the pots on the edge of a f ire a fter the nor-

mal air drying has

taken place.

The

l ength of time r equired for water

smoking differs and d epends on the t exture and s tructure of the

c lay

body.

( 11 )

T he O xidation P eriod :

carbonaceous materials of the t asks

i s

the t ime

c lay.

to define properly the

r equired to burn out the

One of the difficult analytical

d egree of oxidation in prehistoric

pottery where open and pit kilns have been used. c ess

r equires

a draught and conditions where

can be obtained. t emperature

The better the

the more

condition of good draught and high

complete the oxidation of the clay.

will need longer periods of f iring. a s

I f the clay fabric

i n most prehistoric pottery and has

more

r eadily oxidised i t becomes.

quire

( III )

Dense i s

a l ow carbonaceous

c lay

l ess dense c ontent the

Some highly carbonaceous

l ong periods of oxidation and excesses

can cause bloating

The oxidation pro-

even and high t emperature

c lays

r e-

of carbonaceous materials

( see b elow ) of the clay.

T he V itrification P eriod :

the

t ime r equired i n

f iring

t o soften the cement the constituents of the c lay. S intering ( see b elow ) begins when the particles begin to adhere to one another and t hey eventually vitrify by melting and becoming c emented by the g lass that

i s

formed by high t emperatures.

t ion could be the

f luxing

i ncipient vitrification to have

The degree of porosity of the pots

i s

of vitrification of c lays

but a f iring t emperature above the

because of

these would have needed r easonably prolonged and even

f or other tha r

t emperatures

of vitrifica-

( see b elow ) properties that are present in low grade clays.

I n a ll events, heating

I ncipient stages

attained a t t imes by prehistoric potters,

taken place.

a measure of vitrification. i s variable,

The

a s pointed out,

9 00 C might vitrify areas of a pot,

i f

condition of a good draught were maintained furing prolonged f iring

6 65

A l ist of t erms

i n t he observational notes a nd t he d escriptions

o f t he pottery s ections a re a s f ollows:

S intering :

( 1)

high e nough t o

t he

s tage a t which t he f iring t emperature i s

s often t he edges of a ny i nclusions

t hey b egin t o adhere t o one a nother. c ertain c onditions t he

i nclusions

( see b elow)

s o t hat

The author has n oticed t hat u nder

( either n atural o r a rtificial)

s ome s herds b ecome g lassy a t various

s tages;

w ithin

s tages t he t emperature o f

which s till has t o b e d etermined.

I nclusions:

( 2) a nd others f or t he

t he a uthor r ecognises two k inds,

s imply d efine

e xpress purpose of r educing s hrinking

( i.e.,

The author c onsiders t emper a rtificial

s ions).

u ishes natural

while S hepard

i nclusions a s b eing t emper a dded t o t he c lay non-plastic

i nclusions a s t hose f ound i n c lays naturally,

gritty particles that a ppear i n s ilty s oils.

i nclu-

i nclusions a nd d istingl ike l arger

Familiarity w ith ones

materials l ocally will eventually e nable t he i nvestigator t o d etermine which i nclusions a re

f oreign and which must have b een added by t he pot-

t er a s part o f the process of pottery manufacture. t imes b een s uggested t hat a rtificial the pottery f abric,

t his

i s not s o;

( non-plastic)

t heir main a dvantage

a ct s hrinkage and t o f acilitate uniform d rying. have u sed a wide variety o f t empers, s ites,

d iorites,

and gneisses; s picules,

l ike

S edimentary r ock particles

i nclusions

i n Balearic pottery,

H owever,

i gneous r ocks

s uch a s a ndel ike

s hists

d iatomaceous e arth,

s ponge

plant f ibre a nd e ven

a re o ne of t he main n on-plastic

i ncluding l imestone,

s andstone a nd d olo-

i t s hould be understood t hat a ll t empers w eaken t he c lay,

though a rtificial

i nclusions with s harply broken particules,

added t o c lays which d o not have enough n atural l ess t han natural

i nclusions,

i nclusions with r ounded s hapes.

t o t his g eneral rule e gular,

i s t o c ounter-

m etamorphic t ypes

s hell,

s ome-

s trengthen

Prehistoric potters

plant s ilica obtained by burning bark,

f eathers. mite.

e .g.

t rachytes and basalts;

organic materials

While i t has i nclusions

i n t empers

i s very b rittle.

i t

There a re e xceptions

l ike volcanic a sh which,

On t he whole,

n ormally w eakens

a lthough i rr-

o f a ll t empers ground up pot

s herd i s the s trongest non-plastic inclusion, rock and ash the s econd s trongest and sand the l east s trong . ( 3)

F iring A tmosphere:

a s r educing or o xidising.

a f iring a tmosphere may b e d escribed

The t erm r efers t o t he e nvironment o f t he

pot w ithin t he kiln during f iring, t ure,

w ith particular r egard t o t empera-

amount o f d raught and s o f orth.

A n O xidising A tmosphere requires a draught, oxygen i n

( a)

e xcess o f t hat r equired f or burning f uel, w ill burn off a ll

t he c arbonaceous material has burnt o ff f inity f or oxygen t han i ron),

t he

c omplete

f uel

i n t he c lay paste.

After

( carbon having more o f a n i n-

i ron oxides

b rought t o a h igh s tate o f oxidation, ( b)

a nd a t emperature r ange t hat

t he c arbonaceous material

i n t he c lay will b e

t hus producing a c lear c olour.

AR educing A tmosphere requires insufficient oxygen for

c ombustion,

hydrogen a nd hydrocarbons)

s o t hat t he r educing gases which

' steal'

a tmosphere a nd t he c arbonaceous materials w ith c ertain t emperatures t he

( carbon monoxide,

t he oxygen f rom t he

f iring

i n t he c lay r emain u nburnt;

i ron o xides a re r educed t o a l ower

a nd t he r esulting c olour of t he pottery

6 66

i s g ray r ather t han r ed.

s tate

,

O pen F iring:

( 4)

o sed t o pit f iring, i n o pen f iring, t he

f iring i n a n o pen a ir

b elow ).

t herefore,

S ince t here

s urrounding

( as opp-

i s a lways a mixture o f gasses

o nly r arely a re r educing g asses c reated a s

f iring a tmosphere would b e

c ontinually c hanging.

H owever,

i f t he

f irewood i s burnt t o charcoal a t a h igh e nough t emperature a nd t here

i s

a s teady draught,

t he

a n oxidising a tmosphere c an be o btained.

U sually,

pots have an uneven c olour which m eans t hat a f luctuation i n f iring a tmosphere c an b e obtained.

U sually,

t he pots have a n u neven c olour

w hich means t hat a f luctuation i n f iring a tmosphere has o ccurred, by s hifting current of a ir a nd d raughts,

gasses

c aused

s wirling a round t he

pots and f lame probably l icking t hem.

P it F iring:

( 5)

f iring i n a pit d ug i n t he e arth w ith a f lue

a t one e nd t o produce a d raught. t he

T his

i s a primitive k ind o f k iln but

f iring atmospheres c an be more e asily c ontrolled;

mosphere could be a ttained by a d raught on charcoal r educing a tmosphere c ould, w ith a shes,

e arth o r

e qually,

i f s ome

a n oxidising a t-

f ed by a f lue.

A

be c reated by s mothering a f ire

s ort o f r oof t o the k iln was p laced over

t he pit.

M ottled C olouring o r U neveness o f C olour :

( 6)

a c ondition

c aused by t he f luctuation o f f iring t emperatures a s t he r esult o f s hifts o f a ir-currents a round t he b aking pottery,

o r m ingling a nd

s wirling gasses a round t he pots a nd f lames playing d irectly over t hem.

H aematite:

( 7)

t he anhydrous

f erric oxide,

a c ommon a ltera-

t ion product i n various r ocks and s ediments which c an c hange t o manget ite,

s iderite,

on c onditions.

pyrite,

l imonite a nd other i ron d erivatives,

metamorphism i n c rystalline b etween 9 202C and 9 502C, o f c lay,

d epending

I t a ppears i n s edimentary r ocks a nd a s a product o f s chists.

but i ts

I ts

s intering point o ccurs a t

s intering i s not l ike t he

s intering

which i nvolves t he s oftening and f usion o f c lay particles,

when s maller c rystals a re t urned i nto l arger ones.

L ower o xides a re

f ormed by t he a ctions o f hydrogen o r carbon monoxide o n f erric oxide when h eated t o a t emperature above 3 002C. g ins a t a bout 4 002C pottery therefore r efiring t ests i n which the c ase,

i n a ir.

Oxidation o f magnetite b e-

The b lackening of magnetite i nclusions

s trongly s uggests,

( described below ),

t hat t here was a r educing a tmosphere

magnetite was t otally prevented f rom o xidising.

i f t hese c hanges

i n

a ccording t o t he author's c anister I n e ither

i n haematite o r magnetite a re t o b e a chieved

f iring t emperature and f iring a tmosphere must be c arefully c ontrolled. They a lso s trongly s uggest t hat w hen r eduction a nd o xidation a re pres ent t hat t hey i ndicate pit kiln f iring a nd open-air k ilns r espectively. ( 8)

I nversion:

t his

i s a physical c hange

t ure o f a mineral t hat t akes place d ifferent minerals. s ions

For e xample,

quartz,

i n s ome o f t he Balearic wares,

f irst a nd l ower

o ften f ound a s n atural

has two i nversion points,

( inversion o f a lpha quarta t o b eta q uartz)

i nversion a nd o ccurs a t 5 722C + 5 2C a nd t he point when t he b eta quartz a t 8 702C.

i n t he a tomic

i s a s harp

s econd a nd h igh i nversion

s table minerals

t hough two t ypes undergo i nversion a t 9 002C; t he most f requent u sed.

i nclu-

t he

i s t ransformed i nto t ridymite w hich o ccurs

Most f eldspars a re

t he most c ommon mineral

s truc-

i n a w ide t emperature r ange w ith

i nclusions,

s hell,

i n p ottery f iring, however,

a l-

c arbonates a re

l imestone a nd c alcite b eing

These d ecompose a t t emperatures b etween 6 502C

a nd 8 982C.

6 67

F luxing A gent:

( 9)

a ny s ubstance whose presence promotes

vitrification s uch a s c alcium oxide. the d ecomposition of l imestone a ted promote vitirification,

The

l atter i s t he product o f

i nclusions which,

t hough t he

i f f inely d issemin-

l atter does n ot o ccur with t he

l ower f iring t emperatures o f primitive pottery. f iring where

l imestone t emper has b een u sed,

6 502C a nd i ncreases t oward 8 982C. s tone

At t he

i s c onverted i n c alcium oxide

I n prehistoric pottery

d ecomposition s tarts a bove

l atter t emperature t he l ime-

( quicklime),

but i f t he

l atter i s

n ot d isseminated with t he c onstituents o f t he c lay during f iring i t will c ollect moisture

f rom t he a ir a fter f iring,

hydroxide and c ausing e xpansion which, c rumble t he pot

s ets

t ive pottery but, those

f orming c alcium w ill

c ompletely

( a r esult which has o ccurred i n r efiring s ample t ests a t

t emperatures of 9 002C, pers t herefore

t hus

i f s trong e nough,

s ee

s ection b elow ).

s evere l imits o n t he

The u se o f c arbonate t em-

f iring t emperatures o f primi-

f rom our own point o f v iew,

f iring t emperatures

i t makes e stimates o f

s impler t o a chieve.

T he S urface C haracteristics o f B alearic P rehistoric P ottery: A G eneral D escription

1 .2

To

t he experienced e ye,

c lear a nd c onsistent d ifferences

i n

s urface a ppearance and t exture d istinguishes the B alearic p rehistoric pottery within t he d ifferen t .c hronological periods. a re h elpful t o the

i nvestigator i n t he f ield,

e nables the worker t o make a f irst g lance without the

c oncern of t ypology.

t ion i n the

f ield i s e asy work,

These characteristics

a nd a knowledge o f t hem

i dentification o f s herds

To t he t rained o bserver,

i dentifica-

a nd h e c an u sually a ssign n ot only a

g eneral chronological p eriod t o a s pecimen picked up i n t he f ield, a lso t he phase and o ften the t ype of pot. c ause o f c ommon c haracteristics f rom a rchaeological

This

f ound i n t he pottery o f e ach period a nd

s ite t o a rchaeological s ite,

but o n Minorca a s w ell,

d espite t he

n ot merely on Mallorca

f act t hat t here may b e

r egional differences

i n c lay preparation,

c eramic t echnology.

These

period not only make

i dentification r easonably e asy,

i mportant t o t he i ndeed,

s uccess o f t he more

where

t hem and r ecord them o bjectively.

f or s tudy exists

i n t he

s uch

I t

i s

t herefore

I ts

w ell documented s ources o f

s tratigraphies o f t he r esearch s ites

1 4C dating has b een c arried out

t rols.

but a re highly

f ormal thin-sectioning s tudies:

t heir v ery e xistence v irtually d emands a thin-sectioning pro-

i s vastly e nhanced b ecause

material

l ocal o r

f iring a nd o ther a spects o f

s trong t raditional t rends w ithin a ny g iven

g ramme d esigned to a nalyse value

but

i s p ossible s imply b e-

-

w ith s trict s tratigraphical c on-

i mportant t o i ndicate h ere e xactly what t hese

outwardly visible

a nd c onsistently c haracteristic f eatures o f t he

t ery a re

c hronological period.

f or e ach

w ith d ecoration a s a s urface pottery f abric

f eature,

i tself.

6 68

p ot-

H owever h ere we a re n ot c oncerned

but w ith f eatures r elating t o t he

T he S urface C haracteristics a nd I dentification o f P retalayotic P ottery S herds

1 .2.1

At

f irst glance,

one

i s

s truck by the high quality a nd excell-

ent workmanship of this pottery. f rom roughly to

The pottery f abric or paste varies

f inely t extured and i s well

f ired,

when compared t o the wares of other periods. have

s upplied h ere .

i n types of ware,

f ragments when c leaned will be

c lays used as well a s to the yellow ochres 7 /8

to 4 /4

2 .5

5 /1.

s een to have

f iring processes.

A ünsell colour scale,

s uch a s

through browns Again, The

s uch as

There

s een.

a much wider range of c olour range

8 /8 to 6/8

f rom

and 7 .5YR

5 YR 4/6 to blackish browns

s uch a s

whether decorated or un-

c olour of these a lso vary f rom black to brown to a lmost These characteristics of the

s urfaces of the Bea-

s eparate them from other types of the Pretalayotic group on

quantitative grounds alone,

the best example being the burnish that

appears on both the

and outside of the pieces,

i nside

whether or not t hey are

incised,

s oil,

conditions

i n

and i t can a lso be r emoved by treatment the vessels might

have had during their use. Beaker wares, f inger nail, which

r egardless of

though i t has been noted that the

preservation of this burnish i s often dependent on the the

By testing the edge of a s herd of these

and a lso of the

contemporary i ndigenous wares with one's

i t i s possible to demonstrate the

s trength of the c lay,

i s different f rom the wares of other periods

c lay and its density.

When the

t erior will u sually be

s een to have

( that i s only those

s ample

i n s trength of the

i s c leaned by washing,

the

i n-

inclusions which are non-plastic

f ound naturally i n

s ilty c lays)

and this

c learly

differs

f rom the heavily l imestone t empered wares of Talayotic t imes.

1 .2.2

T he S urface C haracteristics a nd I dentification o f T alayotic P ottery S herds

The

surface appearance of Talayotic

guishable at

c lay fabric to r einforce

that had the effect of

l imiting the

decompositional t emperatures of

i s

c learly d istin-

s tatistically

i nvestigate

of the different periods l imestone t emper

i s

i t

l imestone

( a t echnological d evice

f iring t emperature because of

l imestone,

graphic analyses of a ll the clays

The

s herds

f irst glance because of the high contents of

t emper used i n the

will

5 YR

Early Beaker and Late Beaker wares are often f ound

a r ed oxide colour. ker wares

T able 1 )

a s will be

The

1 0YR,

with their characteristic ultra high burnish, d ecorated.

s ect 1 .5 .3 ,

s trong

types

s herds of the pottery of other periods.

a lso much greater variability

The

i t

a ctual vessel

Fragments of Pretalayotic pottery a lso f eel

heavier than c omparable i s

( Chapter I II ,

a lready been l isted i n t he t ext

' ( also

which makes

The

6 502C t o 8 982C).

a re currently

the various

and phases,

i n progress,

t empers used

though no r esults

the

P etrowhich

i n the wares are yet at hand.

i dentified microscopically by the

uniform a nd

s harply broken up r emains of this material protruding obviously f rom the

edges of the

to the

eye

f rom s uch

s herd.

i s even better s herds.

Needless to say, s een i n t he

what i s

thin-section

s o c learly visible s lides

The d ifferences between these heavily

obtained l imestone

t empered wares o f the EBA and MBA and their c ounterparts of l ies

i n

the

s lightly

l esser quantity of t emper used and

6 69

t he LBA

i n the

appar-

ently higher of

f iring t emperatures

i ncipient vitrification,

s eem to be more non-plastic s iltier c lay paste, f or the whole

i nclusions

though a c loser

type of clay before this true

s tudy area.

These a lso

i n the LBA pottery and u se of a

s tudy will have

l atter point can be

gritty f eel when rubbed i n the LBA wares are

employed f or which the evidence exists

easily s een i n the LBA pottery.

to be made of this

confirmed a s being g enerally

The EBA a nd MBA wares have a much more f ingers,

c ompared to LBA wares.

s omewhat harder than the more heavily l imestone

EBA and MBA fabrics.

The

c olours of these EBA and MBA wares

a ssorted mottled ochres of the M unsell

The t empered

i s r ather

7 .5YR colour ranges.

T he S urface C haracteristics a nd I dentification o f P ost T alay otic P ottery S herds

1 .2.3

This

type of pottery i s very easily identified because of

i ts

extremely poor quality by comparison with the wares o f other periods. The

s herds

are riddled with d egassing channels,

inside the pieces.

This makes

by a combination of l ow t emeprature materials used

f or t emper.

both on t he

s urface a nd

them very brittle and was probably caused f iring which burnt out organic

Recent evidence

s hows

t hat the

t emper used

was a f orm of grass which was actually mixed i n the c lay a s a proper t emper,

and s o,

distinctly s eparates this

former periods.

The author argues

general degeneration of to the vast amount of 4th Century B .C. of these

t ype of pottery f rom that of

e lsewhere

in this

thesis

imported c lassical wares

forward.

There

available f rom about t he

appear t o be l ocales where

Iron Age Post Talayotic wares

cation of here.

l ate

types

and eventually s ome

l ocal types using wheel t echniques,

The

s herds

i nterior of the Post Talayotic are extremely brittle and,

to their porous oured showing that a re

character.

appendix;

s amples

5 /4 as

i f

introduced here

5 /4 with areas

i n imitation of late Roman wares.

are

a number of microphotographs of pot-

f rom l ocations other than the these

r esting on the

but they can a lso be a r ed oxide

r esearch s ites

1 938

' Cambridge Expeditions'

the many s imilarities two major Balearic Talayotic

s tudied

i nclude r ecently c ollected and prepared Minor-

and the

I slands,

f rom Mar-

at Trepuco and Torreta.

These have been added f or c omparative purposes

i n order t o d emonstrate

f ew differences between the wares of t he

Mallorca and Minorca,

during t he

P retala-

a nd Post Talayotic.

The s econd s eries o f m icrophotographs i rely of Pretalayotic pottery s ites,

B .0

are usually buff col5 /6,

from the Taula of Torralba den S alort and s ome

gret Murray's

yotic,

1 23

actually crumble due

s urfaces

probably due to open f lames and f uel

M unsell 10R,

Also

can

mainly after

i ncipient vitrified a reas;

M unsell 7 .5YR,

the pot during f iring;

t ery t hin-sections i n this

s ome

s herds on casual examination

i f moist,

The outside

surface oxidation,

s corched,

s urface of colour,

even

s igns of f abri-

factors do not a lter the general validity of the c omments made

usually appear to be burnt black with s ome the

the quality

i s better than others doubtless

r eflecting the presence of talented i ndividual potters, attempt at copying c lassical but these

t hat this

i ndigenous pottery t echnology was probably due

s lides

( A1-A16)

c onsists

ent-

f rom Mallorca primary r esearch

placing emphasis on the Balearic B eaker wares of the Early and 6 70

M ICROPHOTOGRAPHS

L ate B eaker phases o f t he two phases. s how the

( EBP a nd L BP)

a long w ith t he i ndigenous

The microphotographs o f the

( ID )

wares

s lide s ections c learly

c ompositional a nd t echnological d ifferences b etween t he various

wares of t he Pretalayotic P eriod;

d ifferences which i n t he c ase o f t he

B eaker EBP wares of which t hese a re t he

f irst t hin-sections e ver made,

a nd particularly s uggest t o t he a uthor t hat t he pots w ere o btained f rom s pecial c entres of d istributions,

whether s ituated l ocally o r f arther

a field.

The t hird s eries o f m icrophotographs t ery s ections

( 021 -0 62),

i ncludes pot-

f rom f our d ifferent periods i n t he Balearic I slands.

E ach s et i s a rranged i n c hronological o rder f rom upper l eft t o r ight, t op: P retalayotic , T alayotic , M BA and lower l eft t o r ight; T alayotic , L BA and P ost T alayotic , L IA . These a re i ncluded s o t hat t he r eader c an e xamine f or h imself t he d ifferences b etween t he f abrics a nd c onstructi on o f t he wares

f rom the d ifferent periods.

preceding s eries

( A)

1 .3 a nd are t his

This s eries

( 0 )

a nd t he

a re c lassified i n t he m ethod o utlined i n s ection

i ncluded h ere t o g ive t he r eader a n i dea o f t he

s tage w hich

s ide of t he r esearch has s o f ar r eached.

T he F irst S eries o f M icrophotographs,

2 .1

E 1-E21

S ample E l. F eatures: s ome

' bread-like'

l imestone or quartz,

E vents:

t he

c ompletely d ecomposed, f ormer

i nclusions.

pits i n a f ine c lay f abric w ith

probably quartz

( see b elow ).

l imestone t emper

( artificial

l eaving s harp-edged pits

i n t he

i nclusions)

h as

s hape o f t he

The r emaining n atural i nclusions or a rtificial

i nclusions w ith a h igher t emperature of d ecomposition have b egun t o s inter a s well a s become o paque,

a nd t he c lay body i s

f irst s tages o f i ncipient v itrification, s tate

s een i n s ubsequent s lide

i n o ne o f t he

but d id not r each t he f luid

s ection s amples.

D iagnostic D escription:

t he piece

i s w ell o xidised,

a pparently

i n a n oxidising a tmosphere where t he t emperature has been h igh e nough t o c ombust a nd d ecompose t he ' bread-like'

l imestone

i n a ppearance t hroughout.

i nclusions,

a s

t he

s herd i s

T his w ould i ndicate t hat a

t emperature o f a pproximately 7 002C t o 8 002C was a ttained a nd a part f rom t he d ecomposition of t he f ication i n t he

l imestone t emper s ome

The pot was probably f ired i n t he c harcoal embers were Talayotic,

MBA,

i nitial

i ncipient v itri-

s maller c lay particles o f t he c lay f abric c an b e i nner z ones o f t he

O rigin: ABSM 7 8-9,

s upplying a n e ven t emperature.

r im s herd.

M Änsell C olour :

7 .5YR,

s een.

f iring a rea where

7 /6.

S ample E 2 . F eatures: l imestone t emper

c arbonised o r s mudged paste;

i nclusions

i n t he

i nner a rea only

photograph).

6 72

' bread-like'

( on t he

p its;

l eft i n t he

P late 1

E

E vents: the limestone temper has completely decomposed by c ombustion i n the r ight hand 3 /4 of t he s lide wall of t he

s herd),

s hape of t he

l eaving t he

f ormer i nclusions a s

( natural o r a rtificial?) t he

s herd

( inner wall)

s tone t emper,

s ection

i n E l,

a nd t he r emaining i nclusions

again s how s intering.

The r emaining

s till c ontains t he o paque, i n t he r emaining

D iagnostic D escription:

1 /4 of

s harply d efined l ime-

s o typical of the Talayotic w ares.

i ng o f the i nclusions

( outside

s ame k ind o f s harp-edged pits i n t he

There

1 /4 o f t he

i s n o s inter-

s herd.

t he p iece i s i ncompletely oxidised

a nd f rom i ts a ppearance t he f iring t emperatures a nd c onditions t o which i t was exposed varied w idely during t he f iring process. s urface

( right s ide)

burned out t he exposed.

The e xterior

was probably e xposed t o a n open f lame,

i nclusions,

while t he

which

i nner part of t he wall w as l ess

The varying t emperature i s d emonstrated by t he v ery c lear

boundary e xisting b etween the two z ones; present on the c lusions.

l eft s ide,

t he one with t he

i nclusions

and the z one on t he r ight s ide without i n-

The pot during f iring was probably l ocated n ear t he p eri-

meter of t he k iln where a ir currents t he pot's outer s urface.

M unsell C olour:

2 .5YR,

c aused o pen f lames which r eached

O rigin: ABSM 7 8-4, Talayotic MBA, r im s herd.

3 /4 t o 3 /0.

S ample E 3 . F eatures:

a l arge c ircular c avity,

t he r esult o f t he

burning out o f a piece of organic material s uch a s a s mall the c lay;

l imestone

E vents:

the r oot or other piece o f organic material has

c learly been burnt out during the c avity s mudged.

There

the c lay f abric's

r oot i n

i nclusions.

f iring,

l eaving t he e dge of t he

i s s ome minor s intering of t he i nclusions a nd

smaller particules have a lso b egun t o vitrify.

D iagnostic D escription: the c lay was not w ell c leaned a s i llustrated by the presence o f plant organic material The

l imestone

but not c rystalline). f rom the

The piece a lso l ooks e venly oxidised,

s mudging o f t he edges of the c avity,

the outside of t he

i nclusions a nd t estifies t o t he presence o f r im s herd,

The

s maller c avity on

s herd s urface was a lso l eft by t he burning out o f

A t insell C olour:

7 .5YR,

f urther organic mat-

O rigin: ABSM 7 8-10, Talayotic

t er t hat got i nto the c lay by a ccident. MBA,

( glassy

a part

which would have c om-

busted out a t a l ow t emperature of the f iring. s ome

i n t he c lay.

i nclusions have r eached a s emi-translucent s tage

5 /6 t o 5 /2.

S ample E 4. F eatures: s herd

( on the

' bread-like'

E vents:

the

l imestone

f rom the outer s urface of t he paste has begun t o vitrify, of haematite

pits on t he outer e dge o f t he

r ight i n the photograph) ; n atural a nd a rtificial

a s

( dark i nclusion ),

i nner z one t o the

i nclusions have been d ecomposed

s herd only, i s

i nclusions.

s hown,

while t he

a s

i n S ample

1 .

a round t he natural l imestone

l eft have begun to s inter,

i nclusion

i nclusions

a s c an b e

i n t he

s een f rom t he

s oftening of t heir edges a nd t heir t ranslucent a ppearance.

6 74

The c lay

5

7

P late

2

E

D iagnostic D escription:

t he pieces

i n a r easonable oxidising a tmosphere, events

s eem t o i ndicate a t l east t hree t emperature c onditions:

outer s urface w ith i ts

' bread-like'

pits,

( 2)

i nner s urface with therefore,

i ts

s intered e dges o n t he

s hows uneven f iring,

t he f iring r eached.

( 1)

t he

t he middle z one w ith i ts

vitrification o f t he c lay a round t he haematite piece,

s eem t o have b een f ired

t hough t he various f eatures a nd

i nclusion a nd

( 3)

t he

l imestone particles.

s o much a s t o t he

This c ondition o f s everal z ones o f

T he

s tage which i ncipient v itri-

f ication can b e f ound i n many s herds a nd s imply i ndicates t hat one a rea o f t he c lay b ecame hotter t han another due t o varied c omposition o f t he

O rigin: ABSM 7 8-1, Talayotic MBA,

c lay a nd not t o t he a ctual f iring. r im s herd,

M unse11 C olour :

7 .5YR,

6 /4 t o 6 /0.

S ample E 5 . F eatures: vitrification bands; i nclusions

( in l eft hand

E vents:

of t he

c lay f abric, c an b e

The multicoloured bands are

s tage a nd the high t emperature a rrived a t i n t he

which has probably c lose t o 9 002C.

s een a re a lso i n t he

has t aken place

The f ew i nclusions t hat

s tage o f being s intered.

S ome c racking

i n a minor way c aused by s hrinkage i n c ooling r apidly

after t he vitrified z one r eached i ts f luid s tate. t icles around t he vitrify,

s intered

a good e xample of t he f luid s tage of v itrification

s ometimes attained by Balearic potters. d iagnostic o f t his

s hrinkage c racks;

s herd).

s intered i nclusions o f

The f iner c lay par-

l imestone have a lso b egun t o

t hough not quite t o t he s ame d egree a s t he banded z one,

vitrification r eached a more advanced d egreee. vitrified a rea of t he

Once again,

where

t he most

s herd a ppears o n the outer s urface o f t he pot.

Another i nteresting point i s t hat t he

' flow'

o f t he banded z one f ollows

t he c ontour o f t he pot s herd.

D iagnostic D escription:

t he s herd was probably f ired i n

an a rea of t he k iln where a n oxidising a tmosphere was present, i s well oxidised.

There was probably a s teady t emperature,

the c entre of t he kiln,

a s

i t

s uch a s a t

where t he c ombusting f uel was made u p o f c har-

c oal g lowing without an open f lame.

H owever,

s ome t ype o f d raught must

have b een maintained i n order t o a rrive a t s uch h igh t emperature f or

O rigin: ABSM

a n o pen a ir k iln l ike the one known t o be u sed a t Matge. 7 8-28,

Talayotic MBA,

body s herd,

M unsell C olour :

7 .5YR,

6 /4,

with

s light c hanges due t o t he multicoloured banding.

S ample E 6 . F eatures:

a l arge

l imestone particle a nd s ome

particles are

i ncluded i n t he c lay;

magnification

( approx.

E vents: s intering,

where

s maller

s een h ere under r elatively h igh

1 50X).

t he

l arge

i ts edges a re

i nclusion i s ' clouded'

i n a n a dvanced s tage o f

a nd t he

i nclusions b egin t o

melt o r blend i nto t he background o f t he c lay i n which t he c lay partic les t hemselves a re

s intering and beginning t o vitrify.

D iagnostic D escription:

t he c lay i n t his

have b een i n t he process o f c omplete o xidation, 6 76

a s

s herd s eems

t o

i ndicated f rom t he

1 0

9

1

1 2

P late

3

E

even c olour o f t he

s herd.

The c louded a ppearance o f t he

i on o f l imestone a lso g ives with t his piece,

s ince c alcium c arbonate d ecomposes a t 6 502C t o 8 989C,

t he c arbon d ioxide being d riven o ff i n f iring, or quicklime. t his piece.

l arge i nclus-

s ome i ndication of t he t emperature r eached l eaving c alcium oxide

An e stimate o f a bout 8 009C s eems t o be i ndicated f or I t s hould b e r emembered t hat c alcium oxide w ill t ake u p

moisture t o b ecome c alcium hydroxide o r s lakelime which wou hld b y e xpans ion w eaken t he c lay f abric.

S ome

s herds do s how particles o f s laked

l imestone which are c halky i n a ppearance; i n t he opaque particles MBA,

i n S ample

M ünsell C olour :

body s herd,

a n occurrence which o ccurred

O rigin: ABSM 7 8-28, Talayotic

2 .

7 .5YR,

5 /6.

S amples E 7 a nd E 8 . F eatures . i n t he c lay f abric, o rganic

f illing.

two e xamples o f a s eries of d egassing c hannels

s everal o f which s till have t he r emains o f t he

The

f illing of the d egassing c hannels c onsists o f

what a ppears t o be v ery t hin l eaf-like s uch a s plant r emains.

There a re a lso s lightly c loudy l imestone

c lusions but t he e dges of t hese a re

E vents:

l ayers o f c arbonaceous m atter

t he c arbonised f illing of t he d egassing c hannels

has n ot been c ompletely burnt out a s i t has Post Talayotic wares, a re r are, f abric.

i n-

s till s harp.

i n o ther s amples o f l ater

and s uch d egassing c hannels

i n Talayotic wares

being a ccidentally due t o o rganic material The c lay f abric o f Post Talayotic wares,

l eft i n t he c lay

on the other h and,

have a g reat number o f d egassing c hannels due t o o rganic t emper b eing a dded t o the c lay f abric a s part o f t he manufacturing process.

The

c arbonaceous matter i n the c lay f abric has a lso c aused s ome s mudging of t he c lay f abric

i n a reas a round the : . d egassing c hannels,

a nd s ome

of t he o rganic r emains c an b e s een i n t he d egassing c hannels i n t he f orm o f charcoal.

D iagnostic D escription:

t he c lay s ource probably c on-

t ained s ome type of plant matter which w ent undetected by t he potter, a nd which has been c ompletely burnt out, bonised r emains

a part f rom s ome

i n a f ew o f t he d egassing c hannels,

wares of the Post Talayotic P eriod,

t he organic matter i n t he f orm

of plant f ibres was added t o t he c lay f abric a s a t emper. i n t he c ase of t hese e xamples i ts e lse

( 7

s mall c ar-

I n l ater M IA

a nd 8 ),

H owever

i t a ppears t o t he a uthor t hat

i nclusion was a ccidental and t he r esult of poorly c leaned c lay,

o r

s ome pieces of plant matter may have b een mixed with t he c lay

b efore working t he piece. poor o xidising a tmosphere. s herd,

M Unsell C olour :

The pot a ppears t o have b een f ired i n a Origin:

7 .5YR,

ABSM

7 8-59,

Talayotic MBa,

r im

4 /0 t o 7 .5YR 5 /6.

S ample E 9 . F eatures .

a l arge

i nclusion

( upper half of photograph)

c onsisting o f a f ragment of c rushed pottery a s part of t he t emper; s ome

l imestone

have b egun t o

i nclusions which a ppear t o b e natural or e lse t hey s inter,

s hrinkage c racks

t hus

a s w ell a s

l osing t heir s harp e dges; s ome

t here a re s ome

s mall c avities a nd d egassing c hannels.

6 78

1 4

1 3

1 6

1 5

P late

4

E

E vents:

t here has been s ome s hrinkage of t he c lay s urroun-

d ing t he f ragment o f c rushed pottery,

o ccurring during f iring.

There

has been s ome o rganic matter i n t he c lay whose burning out has r esulted i n the d egassing c hannels a nd c avities most of which c an b e s een t o b e s mudged by t he c ombusted organic matter.

D iagnostic D escription: r educed a s g rey,

i s

t his piece appears t o h ave b een

i ndicated by t he c olour o f t he c lay f abric which i s d ark

a part f rom t he burnt,

s mudged a reas l eft by c ombustion o f t he

o rganic matter which would have o ccurred a t a r elatively l ow t emperat ure.

The

s hrinkage a round the

f ragment o f s herd has evidently been

caused by t he more plastic property o f t he c lay o f t he v essel a nd t he r efired c ondition o f t he s herd f ragment i nclusion. O rigin: SM 23. P retalayotic

I D,

L BP,

body s herd,

M unsell c olour :

. 5YR,

4 /1

S ample E 10 . F eatures: mineral,

s hell t emper mixed w ith natural

s uch a s haematite

c ollected f rom t he

( dark i nclusions).

s ite of S a Canova,

t hus a ccounting f or t he

Arta,

i nclusions of

The piece which was

Mallorca,

i s n ear t he s ea,

s hell t emper.

E vents: There has been some s intering o f t he s hell i nclus ions with t he c lay f abric.

Thre

i s

s ome v itrification of t he c lay

f abric.

D iagnostic D escription: e ncountered where

l ate Post Talayotic LIA, were

t his i s one of t he

s hell t emper has b een u sed,

r epresenting a t ime when t he

i mitating c lassical wares.

oxidation a lso s uggests

f irst peices

a nd a ppears t o b e v ery l ocal potters

The even a ppearance of the c lay's

s omething more s ophisticated t han a r udimen-

O rigin: CNV-24, Post Talayotic or Post Roman Coli nisation, r im s herd, M unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 5 /6.

t ray open-air k iln.

S ample E 12 . F eatures:

natural

i nclusions a nd pottery t emper

dark a rea a t the bottom of photograph)

( large

s hrinkage c racks around t he

f ragment of c rushed pot u sed a s t emper;

the natural

i nclusions have

c lear edges.

E vents:

s hrinkage has o ccurred a round t he piece o f pot-

t ery u sed f or t emper a s might b e e xpected t o happen, o f t he pot was not f ully dried before f iring, would have t aken place,

r esulting i n t he

i f t he c lay f abric

and s ome

s hrinkage

s eparation o f t he c lay f abric

f rom the piece of s herd t emper which had b een f ired once before.

A

s imilar event has o ccurred i n t he pottery f ragment f ound i n S ample 9 , where

s hrinkage has a lso t aken place b etween t he pottery t emper part-

i cle and the body of t he c lay f abric.

D iagnostic D escription:

t he piece

a ture below t he d ecompositional point o f t he s ions,

l imestone natural i nclu-

a nd evidently s ome moisture was present i n the body o f t he

f abric t o c ause per.

s hows a f iring t emper-

s hrinkage

I n t his c ase,

f rom t he previously f ired piece of

i t s eems r easonable

ture was probably i n the r ange o f 6 509C,

6 80

t o s ay t hat t he and t hat t he

c lay

s herd t em-

f iring t empera-

f iring a tmos-

1 8

1 7

20

1 9

P late 5

E

O rigin:

phere was a badly oxidising one. s herd,

M unsell C olour :

7 .5YR,

SM14,

Talayotic M BA,

body

4 /1.

S ample E 13 . F eatures: i ng of s mall

v itrificaion w ith multicolour bands a nd s inter-

i nclusions a s w ell a s

s ome pits where particles have d e-

c omposed.

E vents:

t he t emperature was

have begun t o vitrify,

a ppearance where t he c lay f abric was c les

i n the

l eft pits

i n t heir original

t he

f iring t emperatures u nder

f ired c ertainly a pproached 8 502C i n order t o

s tage o f vitrification d emonstrated by t he

O rigin: ABSM-50,

o f t he multi-coloured bands. r im s herd,

a nd t he parti-

while s ome have d ecomposed a nd

s hape.

D iagnostic D escription: cause t he

i n a f luid s tate,

c lay have b egun t o s inter,

which t his piece was

s uch t hat t he c lay particles

t hus g iving t he t ypical multi-coloured banded

M Unsell C olour :

2 .5YR,

6 /6 t o

f luid a ppearance

P retalayotic

I D,

BBP,

3 /0.

S ample E 14 . F eatures: f icial and natural

E vents: ' sag'

s tages of vitrification and s intering o f a rti-

i nclusions, t his

s uch a s

s ample

s hows t he i nclusions b eginning t o

a t t he point o f b ecoming f luid,

( dark s pots)

r emain unaltered.

l imestone a nd haematite.

The

a nd o nly t he n atural

s intering o f t he

i nclusions

i nclusions i s

s een

i n t he blending of t hese particles with t he c lay body.

D iagnostic D escription:

t his

e ssentially a s imilar f abric a s S amples f iring t emperatures, / At t he s ame

t ime,

s ample

1 3 a nd

s hows e xposure o f

1 6 t o t hree d ifferent

i llustrated by d ifferences

i n t he v itrification.

t here a ppears t o be a d ifferent k ind o f f iring c ondi-

t ion i n S amples

1 4 and

whereas S ample

1 3

1 6 where

s ome r eduction o r s mudging has o ccurred

s hows a n oxidising f iring a tmosphere.

A ll t he

pieces a re P retalayotic and g enerally s how b etter f iring c ontrol t han t he pieces EBP,

f ired i n Talayotic t imes.

r im s herd,

M unsell C olour :

7 .5YR,

O rigin:

SM,10,

Pretalayotic

I D,

5 /2.

S ample E 15 . S pace a n i ntermediate

i s

l eft h ere

s tage

f or a n e xample t hat may possibly s how

i n f iring.

S ample E 16 . F eatures: d ifferent t han S amples

a s tage of s intering a nd v itrification s lightly 1 3

a nd

A f ew natural

while o thers

o thers a re

a ctually beginning t o f low.

E vents: i n t his piece. i nclusions o f

a re

1 4.

unaltered,

i n t he f irst s tage o f

t here a re various

The outer z one l imestone,

s tages

( upper r ight)

s intering,

a nd s till

i n t he c hange o ccurring s hows c learly d efined

while t he middle z one's

6 82

i nclusions which a re

i nclusions a re b e-

-

2 1

P late 6

22

E

g inning t o s inter and a lter, i nto the c lay f abric. g inning t o

' twist'

The

with s ome

D iagnostic D escription: ( 13 a nd

1 4),

( left s ection)

' fluxing'

c an b e

s een be-

prior t o becoming f luid.

c ation f ound i n t his piece, s uggests

a s t o d raught,

i nclusions a ctually

i nner z one

t he s tages o f i ncipient v itrifi-

a s t hat f ound i n t he preceding t wo s amples

f iring i n a pit k iln w ith a t l east s ome c ontrol

a s a ll

t he pieces are P retalayotic a nd generally s how

better f iring c ontrol than t he pieces

f ired i n Talayotic t imes.

The

author s uggests t hat t emperatures o f over 8 502C w ere n ecessary t o produce t hese

c onditions

P retalayotic

I D,

O rigin:

i n t he c lay o f t he p ieces.

LBP,

M Unsell C olour:

r im s herd,

7 .5YR,

ABSM,

PRT-39,

5 /2.

S amples E l? a nd E 18 . F eatures: s tone and haematite, particles

f ine c lay f abric;

s ome

i n t he c lay and o f t he

i nclusions o f l ime-

s intering o f t he s mall

i nclusions.

cavities and d egassing channels,

E vents:

n atural

s hrinkage c racks;

There a re

s ome s mall

mainly i n t he l eft photograph.

both e xamples s how t he s ame

a r educing a tmosphere and t here i s

s ome

s tages o f f iring i n

s intering o f t he

well a s c alcination o f a f ew o f t he particles

i nclusions a s

( chalky c oating )

but most

of the l imestone i nclusions a re t ranslucent.

D iagnostic D escription: both s ections a re very s imilar i n f eatures a s well a s s amples are

i n the events which o ccurred during f iring.

s hown t ogether h ere because t hey o riginate

S ample 1 7 originates from the Pre1 8 originates f rom t he

g eographically s eparated r egions. t alayotic

l evels at Muleta c ave,

while S ample

author's r ecent e xcavations on the S alort.

Their main i nterest h ere

i ty b etween t he

The

f rom t wo widely

I sland o f M inorca a t Torralba d en

i s t o d emonstrate t he great s imilar-

f abric a nd f iring process b etween Pretalayotic w ares

o f d ifferent s ources a nd a ges.

B oth pieces h ave b een f ired i n a r e-

ducing atmosphere at t emperatures of a bout 7 002C a s t he f iner partic les o f t he c lay and i nclusions have only b egun to s inter.

This type

of c omparison between t he wares of t he i slands

s trength o f

s uggests t he

l ocal t raditions a s well a s wide d istribution o f t echniques

i n t he

O rigins: S ample 1 7 , SM 13, P retalaytic I D, EBP, r im s herd, M unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 6 /4 t o 4 /0. S ample 1 8 , TT-423, Pretalayotic, I D, LBP, r im s herd, N h Änse11 C olour: 7 .5YR, 4 /2 t o 4 /0. Balearics.

S amples E 19 t o E 22 . F eatures:

various d egrees

o f s intering o f natural

i nclusions of l imestone a nd haematite a nd c lay particles a nd d egrees o f c lay f abric

s hrinkage.

E vents: by s intering a nd t he f rom c rystalline,

t he

c lay particles a re i n varying s tages o f change

l imestone

t ranslucent

i nclusions a lso s how s tages o f c hange ( cloudy)

D iagnostic D escription:

t o o paque

t hese s lide

( chalky). s ection s amples s how

t he e ffect o f f iring of Minorcan c lays a t v arying t emperatures.

p le

1 9 s hows t he n atural

S am-

i nclusions o f t he c lay a s n early v itrified,

while t he t emper i nclusions a re

i n a n a dvanced s tate o f

6 84

s intering.

2

1

4

3

P late 7

A

S ample 2 0 shows the clay inclusions less consolidated than those of S ample 1 9 . S ample 2 2 shows the temper inclusions beginning to deform prior to decomposition,

l ines of

s hrinkage begin to appear,

of the clay particles can still be degree that they have c lay particles s tone age

s een a s not yet

i n either S amples

1 9 or 2 0 .

S ample 2 1 shows the 1 9 and the lime-

s intered nearly to the degree of S ample

inclusions have r eached a translucent point of than in S ample 2 2;

l ines are more plentiful

to pass out a s can a lso be

the

carbonates combust.

f rom s herd

Cambridge Expeditions They are

included here

Shrink-

s tages

These

s amples

s amples collected by Margaret Murray on her Minorca i n

1 937.

comparative examples with those of the authorg

by courtesy of Stephen H erz who i s preparing an M . Margaret Murray Cambridge Colelction at Cambridge. the author and Stephen H erz on t he

t o these

s ame period.

to Sa Torreta and Trepuco, a s

s intering.

probably to a llow gasses

Equivalents

f ound in Mallorcan wares of t he

have been made

but many

s intering t o t he

are

Phil

thesis on the

At the

s ame t ime,

co-authoring r esearch and publication

thin-sectioning of Balearic wares,

both on Mallorca and Minorca

O rigins: S ample 1 9, TOR-37.1465M, Pretalayotic ID, L BP, rim s herd, M unsell C olour : 1 0YR,6/3. S ample 2 0, TOR-37.1465H, Pretalayotic I D, LBP, rim s herd, M unsell C olour: 7 .5YR, 6/2. S ample 2 1, TR-15, Talayotic EBA to MBA, rim s herd, M unsell C olour: 2 .5YR, 5 /6 to 4/0. S ample 2 2, TOR-37.1462A, Pretalayotic ID, LBP, rim sherd, M unsell C olour : 2 .5YR, 4/0. ( Herz and Waldren

1 979).

D iagnostic D escription: T he S econd S eries o f M icrophotographs , A 1-A16 .

2 .2

( The Pretalayotic

F eatures:

S eries

f ine

c lay f abric with natural

which the haematite particles have been converted i nto due

to reduction

part of the

( see below ).

c lay fabric.

structurally.

Limestone natural

These

Grooves of the

S amples A 1-A4 .

i ncluding Beaker Ware)

are

i nclusions i n f erric oxide

i nclusions exist a s

s till c rystalline and i ntact

incisions

s hows

i n S amples

3 and 4 .

E vents: the natural limestone inclusions are unaltered, although the particle edges are rounded; l imestone a s

i nclusions.

this

the blackish and dark grey particles of

f abric

s hows

s igns of

i s diagnostic of natural

Conversion of haematite particles f erric oxide.

can be

s intering and i ncipient vitrification.

are thin oxidised l ayers on both outside and i nside

s een

The c lay

surfaces

There i n S amples

1and 2 , but only on the inside of S ample 3 . D iagnostic D escription: all four pieces have undergone f iring i n a rudimentary r educed atmosphere, l ast minute oxidation has 3 and 4 .

taken place on the

Conversion of the haematite

f erric oxide a lso demonstrates s ee refiring experiments, s tone

i nclusions

General

the

s ections

suggest original

t exture of the

a lthough s ome

i ncidental

i nside only of S amples

i nclusions of the clay i nto

r educed f iring atmosphere 3 and 4 ).

( also

Unaltered natural

l ime-

f iring t emperatures of under 6 502C.

c lay f abric a lso

apart

f rom S ample

s uggests

a relatively even

3 where two s lightly different t emperature zones s eem to have existed. O rigins: S ample 1 , ABSM-PRT 8 7, Pretalayotic, Beaker ware, EBP, r im s herd, M unsell C olour: 7 .5YR, 4 /0. S ample 2 , ABSM-PRT 9 1, Pretalayotic Beaker ware, EBP, rim s herd, M uns ell C olour : 7 .5 YR, 4 /0. S ample 3 , ABSM-PRT 78, Pretalayotic, Beaker temperature,

6 86

6

5

7 P late 8

A

ware,

D ecorated,

ABSM-PRT 5 7,

EBP,

l ensell C olour :

A l unsell C olour :

r im sherd,

Pretalayotic, 7 .5YR,

Beaker ware,

7 .5YR,

D ecorated,

EBP,

S ample 4 ,

4 /2.

rim s herd,

4 /5.

S amples A 5A8 . F eatures:

f ine

and 8 which i s unaltered. 5 ,

6 and 8 ,

E vents: and the

a ll

by S amples by the

l imestone

f iring a s

5 ,

and a rtificial)

s een by their s harp and c lear

5 , 6 and . 9 has been r educed, 7 is oxidised.

c lay fabric and the c onversion of the haematite

S ample 7 has been fired in an oxidising

i nto f erric oxide.

atmosphere.

( natural

f erric oxide.

D ia nostic D escription: three of the four pots represented 6 and 8 have been fired in a reducing atmosphere as shown

smudging of the

i nclusions

i nclusions

can be

5

c lay f abric of S amples

c lay fabric of S ample

while the

s een i n S amples

i s present i n S amples

and natural haematite has been converted to

are unaltered by the edges,

l imestone t emper can be Reduced c lay f abric

However,

none of the

s amples have been f ired i n a f iring

O rigins: S ample 5 , ABSM-PRT 8 9, Pretalayotic I D, EBP, body s herd, A l unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 4 /1. S ample 6 , ABSMPRT 8 5, Pretalayotic I D, EBP, r im s herd, M Unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 4 /0. S ample 7 , ABSM-PRT 27, Pretalayotic ID, EBP, rim sherd, %nsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 5 /6. S ample 8 , ABSM-PRT 83, Pretalayotic ID, LBP, body sherd, M ünsell C olour: 7 .5YR, 4 /0 t emperature of above 6 50°C.

S amples A 9-Al2 F eatures: tite,

s ee

can be

f erric oxide natural

r efiring experiments,

s een i n S ample

E vents:

i nclusions

s ection 3 and 4 ).

( converted haema-

Grooves of i ncisions

1 1 . natural haematite

i nclusions have been c onverted

i nto f erric oxide due to r educed f iring atmosphere, ric has been smudged.

and the c lay f ab-

Limestone and other calcite natural

i nclusions

are unaltered.

D iagnostic D escription:

all

f our s amples are

f rom pots

which have been originally f ired i n a r educing atmospnere a s by the clay f abric

smudging and conversion of the haematite

a lthough s light oxidation of the different s amples' wall

i s probably incidental,

c ess was complete.

S ample 9 ,

ABSM-PRT

Pretalayotic,

M unsell C olour :

t alayotic,

Beaker ware,

4/0.

4/1.

Plain ware,

ABSM-PRT 8 2,

r im s herd,

A l unsell C olour :

EBP,

PRT

Pretalayotic,

3 9,

7 .5YR,

EBP,

Beaker ware,

S ample 1 1,

orated,

C olour :

7 .5YR,

outer and i nner

after the major part of the firing pro-

Firing temperatures did not exceed 6 502C. 7 6,

r im sherd, 7 .5YR,

s hown i nclusions

EBP,

S ample 1 0 ,

ABSM-PRT 7 9,

body s herd,

Pretalayotic, 7 .5YR,

4/0.

O rigins:

Plain ware, Pre-

M Unsell C olour :

Beaker ware,

S ample 1 2 ,

D ecABSM-

EBP,

Plainware,

body s herd, A l unsell

s intered natural

i nclusions

i n S amples

Beaker ware,

4/1

S amples A 13-A16 . F eatures: 1 5 , t ite

and two

s hrinkage

i nclusions

i n S amples 1 5 and 1 6 . Unaltered haema1 4 with s light s hrinkage of the oxidised

cracks

i n S ample

1 3 and

6 88

1 0

9

1 2

1 P late 9

A

c lay f abric.

Natural unaltered l imestone i nclusions

E vents:

c lay i nclusions have s intered a nd s ome v itrifi-

c ation has o ccurred i n S amples while S ample

s tone

1 3 and 1 5,

1 6 has been reduced,

i nclusions.

A ll

i ndicating h igher t empera-

Evidenceof o xidation i n S amples

t ure f iring t han n ormal.

1 5,

s et i n a r educed

( Sample 1 6).

f ired c lay f abric

1 3 ,

1 4 and

a nd s till has unaltered l ime-

f our s amples r epresent

v ariable

f iring c ondi-

t ions a nd a t l east two d ifferent f iring t emperatures.

D iagnostic D escription: all f our s amples have had d iffS amples 1 3 and 1 5 have been f ired a t two d ifferent t emperatures above 8 002C i n t he c ase o f S ample 1 3 a nd a bove 9 002C i n S ample 1 5 . S ample 1 4 i s well oxidised, a nd has been f ired i n erent f iring c onditions.

a n oxidising a tmosphere a s t he haematite most of t he l imestone t he

i nclusions

a re

i nclusions a re unaltereed;

s intered;

f iring t emperature at a bout 8 502C.

a nd t he author e stimate

The unaltered l imestone nat-

1 6 would suggest f iring t emperature was beS ample 1 3, ABSM-PRT 2 9, P retalayotic, B eaker ware I D, EBP, P lainware, body s herd, M unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 4 /2. S ample 1 4, ABSM -PRT 7 5, P retalayotic, I D, E BP, body s herd, M unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 5 /6 . S ample 1 5, ABSM -PRT 3 8, Pretalayotic, I D, EBP, body s herd. M uns ell C olour : 7 .5YR, 5 /3. S ample 1 6, ABSM -PRT 4 1, Pretalayotic ID, EBP, body s herd, M unsell C olour : 7 .5YR, 4 /0. ural

i nclusions of S ample

l ow 6 502C.

T he T hird S eries o f M icrophotographs,

2 .3

The of

Origins:

s lide

0 21 -0 52

f ollowing s eries of microphotographs

s ections which originate

photographs o f the

s lide

i s made up o f a number

f rom f our c hronological

s ections a re a rranged h ere

t imes.

The

s o t hat t he e xamples

r epresenting a s pecific chronological period c an be f ound i n t he s ame part of t he page,

e .g.

a ll upper l eft hand photographs r epresent a

microphotograph of Pretalayotic origin

( circa 2 000 b .c.

t he upper r ight hand o f Talayotic origin the

l ower l eft hand o f Talayotic origin

and t he

( circa ( circa

1 000 b .c.

l ower r ight hand of Post Talayotic o rigin

1 00 b .c.).

This

t o

1 400 b .c.

1 400 b .c.), t o

( circa 5 00 b .c.

i s d one f or comparative purposes a s w ell a s

fying their d escription below.

I dentification i s

1 000 b .c.)

t o 5 00 b .c.) t o

s impli-

f urther s implified

by c olour coding each of the microphotographs by applying c oloured dots t o the photographs

i n t he

f ollowing manner:

A y ellow dot r epre-

s ents t he P retalayotic,

a r ed d ot the Talayotic,

a r ed and g reen d ot

t he Talyotic Late B ronze Age a nd a green d ot t he Post Talayotic.

S amples 0 21,

0 25,

A ll t hese All o f t he

t o

0 37 ,

s amples originate

1 700 b .c.,

1 700 b .c.

t o

F eatures: s ions

0 33,

s amples originate f rom t he

circa 2 000 b .c. f rom c irca

0 29 ,

s ome n atural

0 41,

0 45 a nd 0 49

f rom a Pretalayotic c ontext.

s ame c hronological c ontext,

e xcept f or S ample

3 3 which originates

1 400 b .c. a ll t he

s amples

s hows n atural haematite i nclu-

l imestone particules.

S ample 2 5 s hows a piece of S ample

pottery t emper i n t he upper l eft hand part o f t he photograph.

6 90

1 4

1 3

1 6

1 5

P late 1 0

A

2 9 shows what appears to be a quartz pebble in the lower centre of the photograph.

The body of the c lay f abric

f ine grained and the pieces are well particles have not

a ltered

E vents:

i n a ll

f ired,

the pieces

i s

f airly

a lthough the haematite

and minor c racks

appear.

S ample 2 1 seems to have been higher fired than

the other s amples

a s

have

a lthough s imilar f iring s eems a lso t o have taken

taken place,

place

i n S ample

s ome

4 9 .

s intering of the

There

in most of the pieces

due

i s

s ome minor

smaller particles

s hrinkage that c an be

to e scaping moisture during

pieces would appear t o have undergone

s eems

f iring.

t o

s een All the

s imilar f iring conditions.

D iagnostic D escription: apart from s lightly higher f iring and 4 9 , the other samples have had s imilar

t emperatures of S amples 2 1 f iring.

The pieces

are not particularly well

oxidised,

a lthough t he

f iring atmosphere was one of an oxidising atmosphere r ather t han a r educing one.

This

for S amples 2 1

and 4 9 where

s eems

to have been r eached,

common i n most

the

i ndigenous EBP wares.

f iring t emperatures of about 7 502C

r emaining s amples are e stimated by the author

of having been f ired i n a t emperature of not exceeding 6 502C.

C olours:

7 .5YR,

All

0 26 ,

these

can be dated c irca

0 30 ,

0 34 ,

0 38 ,

a ll

to

the

l imestone t emper, There

are

s ome

0 46 a nd 0 50

f rom a Talayotic c ontext which

1 000 b .c. samples

are heavily impregnated with

s o diagnostic of Talayotic wares

There are occasional natural

minerals.

0 42,

s amples originate

1 400 b .c.

F eatures: eral.

s hinkage

l imestone

i n gen-

i nclusions of haematite a nd other c racks

i n the c lay fabric and s ome

minor s intering appears to have occurred i n S amples wise the

M unsell

5 /6 to 5 /4.

S amples 0 22,

artificial

Except s eem

3 0 and 3 8, other-

i nclusions are not a ltered.

E vents: sintering has begun to occur in some of the l imei n S amples 3 0 and 3 8 and some smudging has occurred in a ll the s amples except S amples 3 4 and 4 6, although this was probably s tone particles

not done purposefully but accidently during the course of f iring an open mound kiln where gasses Unevenly coloured

and f lames

i n

swirled around t he pots.

s urfaces on Talayotic pots are particularly common,

and blackened unevenly smudged and oxidised pottery walls are commonly noted.

Firing t emperatures probably f luctuated greatly but d id not

exceed a sufficient height to a lter the

D iagnostic D escription: f ired at nearly the

s ame

l imestone

a ll

t he

i nclusions

s amples

s eem t o have been

t emperature and f iring atmosphere;

which probably f luctuated,

r adically.

a lthough probably not exceeding

both of 7 002C ex-

cept i n S amples

3 0 and 3 8 where some minor sintering has occurred which suggest s lightly higher t emperatures of about 7 502C. M ünsell C olours: 7 .5YR 5 /6

to 4 /1.

S amples 0 23, All i nate to

f rom c irca

the

0 27 ,

0 31,

s amples

1 000 b .c.

0 35,

0 39 ,

except two

to 8 00 b .c.

1 000 b .c.

6 92

0 43,

0 47 a nd 0 51

s amples

( 23

are Talayotic

and 2 7) c irca

which orig1 400 b .c.

1 8

1 7

20

1 9

P late 1 1

A

F eatures: yotic P eriod a ll t he

l ike the

a lthough s ome c alcite a ppears t icle

i n S ample 2 3 .

s amples d escribed a bove f or t he Tala-

s amples a re i mpregnated w ith l imestone t emper, t o b e present s uch a s t he

All t he particules o f

l ong t hin par-

l imestone and c alcite a ppear

t o b e unclear i ndicating a lteration o f t he e dges o f t he particles. There a re

s ome

s hrinkage c racks

E vents:

i n most o f t he pieces.

t he f iring t emperatures

s eem t o have b een h igher

than i n f ormer s amples a s s intering a nd a lteration of t he c alcite particles has taken place a s w ell a s

particularly i n S ample 2 3 .

S amples 3 1, 3 5, 4 3 and 2 6 , 3 0 etc i n t he t hough h igher t emperatures i n f iring a re s uggested. S am3 5 and 5 1 are better oxidised than the rest where some

f o t he c lay f abric,

5 1 s eem t o b e c lose i n l ast s eries,

p les 2 3 ,

2 7 ,

l imestone a nd

s ome m inor v itrification

a ppearance t o S amples 2 2,

s mudging has o ccurred.

D iagnostic D escription: Higher f iring t emperatures o f a pproximately 7 502C a re

s uggested f or most o f t he pieces w ith c loser

t o 8 002C f or S amples 2 3 ,

2 7 and 5 1.

This i s f urther i ndicated by t he

M ünsell C olours:

m inor vitrification i n t he c lay f abric.

S amples 0 24,

0 28 ,

A ll these

0 32,

0 36 ,

0 40 ,

0 44 ,

7 .5YR 5 /6 t o 4 /1 .

0 48 a nd 0 52

s amples originate f rom P ost Talayotic c ontexts

which c an be dated c irca 5 00 b .c. t o 1 00 b .c.

F eatures:

a ll t he

s amples

s how d egassing c hannels,

i ally S ample 2 4 where the channels are clearly shown.

e spec-

S ome o f t he

organic matter which c reated these d egassing c hannels c an s till b e s een i n a c arbonaceous

s tate s till

i n the c hannels

r ight hand c orner of the photograph ).

( Sample 2 3,

This c hanneling f eature

characteristic o f most Post Talayotic wares o f this period.

u pper i s

The

c lay f abric c ontains s ome antural haematite a nd o ther i nclusions a s

E vents: place

s uch

S ample 3 6 shows vitrification.

l imestone.

burning out of o rganic a rtificial t emper h as t aken

l eaving a c arbonaceous r esidue

The c lay f abric

i s vitrified,

i n s ome o f t he d egassing c hannels.

thus t estifying t o h igh t emperatures.

The vitrification i s e specially evident i n S ample

3 6 ,

where w e c an s ee

t he f low o f t he pottery f abric.

D iagnostic D escription: s uggested by t he

t emperatures o f over 8 002C a re

i ncipient vitrification i n a ll t he pieces.

V egetal

matter s eems t o have been t he principal t emper i n t he pieces r epresented which i s g enerally d iagnostic o f t he g reatest majority o f P ost Talayotic pottery,

a nd which makes

i ts

i dentification i n t he f ield

particularly e asy.

3 .

N otes a nd R emarks o n t he E xperimental R efiring o f a S election o f P ottery S herds: M ethodology

The process o f r efiring ppttery c hips t o i nterpret d egrees o f o xidation i n pottery i s k nJwn

( Shepard 1 965).

6 94

While t he method i s

22

2 1

24

2 3 P late

1 2 0

r ecommended a s a t raining procedure i n S hepard's t hesis t ing oxidation,

f or i nterpre-

the present a uthor b elieves t hat more c an b e l earned

f rom c ontrolled e xperiments only d egrees of oxidation,

i n r efiring a ncient s herd s amples t han a lthough,

t his i s one o f t he r easons f or

e xperimental r efiring.

The present experiments

i n r efiring a s ample collection

o f

pottery s herds were c arried out on a s elect number o f t est materials f rom t he

s ame c ollection u sed f or t hin-sectioning s tudy.

The r efiring

was d one f or s everal r easons which c an be l isted: ( 1) s cale

An attempt has been made t o e stablish a c riterion o r

f or grading the d egree o f o xidation a rrived a t i n t he t est

s amples. ( 2)

An a ttempt has b een made t o o bserve a nd n ote a ny c olour

change

i n t erms of A t inse n c olour s cale.

a cter,

nature or s tate o f t he original t est s amples'

f icial

i nclusions,

( 3)

An attempt has been made t o o bserve any c hange or i n t he c lay i tself,

i n c har-

natural o r a rti-

brought a bout by r eheating

t he t est s amples at d ifferent t emperatures. ( 4)

An a ttempt has been made t o t ry a nd a rrive a t s ome c on-

c lusions c oncerning t he original f iring conditions of t he

s elected

s herds.

Each s herd u sed f or r efiring purposes was particular s ize a nd known f eatures. a s

i t must b e

o ne piece

s elected f or i ts

s ize of t he s herd i s i mportant

l arge e nough t o b e c ut o r broken i nto 3 or 4 pieces;

i s k ept i n i ts original c onditon while others a re u sed f or

r eheating e xperiments. w ere c hosen, s urface

The

t o

As many d ifferent t ypes of s herds a s possible

i nclude where various

f eatures a s burnish,

i nternal c onditions a nd,

i ncisions,

e tc.

s uch

Care n eeds t o be t aken

t o e nsure t hat t he r etained portion o f t he s herd i s marked with t he r eference number.

F or r efiring purposes u se was made o f a s mall c ompact c ommerc ial oven w ith a n i nner-oven c hamber

( 10cms x 1 0cms x 6 .5cms);

which

had a c over-door aperture f or i nserting a pyrometer graded f rom 0 2 t o 1 2002C. ( the author u sed a Hydebourne e namelling kiln a nd pyrometer). The t est s herds

f or r eheating a re placed on a b lock made o f a c ompo-

s ition o f a sbestos o f t he kind u sed by j ewellers t o place metal j ewellery on f or brazing or s oldering. 6 cms x 2 .5cms)

The a sbestos b lock

numerous r efirings without i t a ffecting t he process, t ime,

enabling t he t est s herds t o be

oven a ll t ogether. o f t he

( 6cms x

i s c apable o f withstanding v ery h igh t emperatures a nd and a t t he

s ame

i nserted and r emoved f rom t he

I t t hus helps t o e nsure uniform h eating a nd c ooling

s herds a s w ell a s k eeping t hem c entred i n the c hamber o f t he

k iln.

6 96

25

25

2 7

2 8

P late

1 3 0

29

3 1

3 0

3 2

P late 1 4 0

34

3 3

3 5

3 6 P late 1 5 0

37

3 9

3 8

40 P late 1 6 0

4 1

43

42

44

P late 1 7 0

45

4 7

46

48

P late

1 8 0

5 0

49

5 1

5 2

P late 1 9 0

U sually, be o f t he

f our s herds c an be r eheated a t a t ime;

s ame c hronological a ge,

t hey meed n ot

s ince e xposure t o one a nother i n t he

k iln d oes not a ffect t he r esults o btained f or i ndividual f ar a s t he a uthor has been a ble t o observe, 2 002C t o 4 002C before of r efiring,

i nserting the

s herds.

preheating the k iln

A s f rom

s herds d oes n ot affect t he r esults

a nd i t c ertainly s aves t ime.

H owever,

r emoving t he h eated

t est s herds f rom the k iln t oo s oon a fter f iring c an c ause c racking o f t he s urface or t he c lay wall of t he s howed that r emoving o f t he

s herds;

a lthough,

experience has

s herd f rom t he k iln s ho l ild n ot b e d one b e-

f ore t he t emperature has f allen t o 2 002C.

S ome R efiring E xperiments

3 .1

The r efirings r ecorded b elow a s e xamples o f t he e xperiments a re t he

f irst of a l ong s eries u sing various r efiring t emperatures.

The t emperatures a re r ecorded at t ime i ntervals of a pproximately minutes

1 0

f or c ontrol purposes a nd f or plotting a t emperature c hart

( Diagram 1 ),

but on odd o ccasions

5 or

1 5 minute

i ntervals o ccur be-

cause o f i nterruptions during the r efiring process; dutifully n oted i n t he diagram,

t hese have been

but s hould have had n o e ffect on t he

r esults obtained.

Colour changes a re noted i n M unsell t est s herds

parison can b e made with t he part of t he t ion.

s oil

c olour t erms;

f or t he

f irst before r efiring and t hen a fter r efiring w hen a c oms herd i n i ts o riginal c ondi-

A s imilar c omparative examination i s made u sing a binocular

microscope,

t o check on possible changes

i n the

i nclusions.

l owing pages r eport i n d etail on n ine o f t he e xperimental each o f which i nvolved s everal s eparate

R efiring S ample 1 .

T emperature:

s herds processed t ogether.

S herd N o:

.

C olour C hange: B efore

2 :30

2 002C

2 :50

6 502C

3 :00

7 609C

3 :10 3 :20 3 :25

f ol-

M aximum F iring T emperature: 9 002

, T ime:

The

f irings,

A fter

TT-410

7 .5YR 6 /6

7 .5YR 6 /0

ABSM-600

2 .5YR 6 /6

2 .5YR 6 /0

8 502C

ABSM-608

2 .5YR 5 /6

2 .5YR 5 /0

8 902C 9 002C

TT-3445

no c olour c hange

K iln t urned o ff a t 9 002C 3 :30

7 602C

3 :35

7 002C

3 :40

6 002C

3 :50

5 002C

R emarks:

Early r emoval o f t he t est s herds c racking of t he

s herds.

f rom t he k iln c aused s ome

K iln was preheated t o

2 002C.

Firing

to a s high a t emperature a s 9 °02C was a lso undoubtedly r espon-

7 04

s ible

f or c racking a s w ell a s c ausing c ombustion o f t he

s tone

i nclusions a nd c arbonates.

l ime

Lime r esidue o f t he original

l imestone i nclusions r epresenting t he t emper i s s olt a nd c halky.

C onsiderable

a ll the t est s ample

s hrinkage

s herds.

i n t he c lay f abric o ccurred i n

Complete oxidation o ccurred i n a ll

t he t est s ample s herds a nd d ramatic c olour c hanges

t ook p lace,

e xcept f or TT-3445 which was w ell oxidised t o b egin w ith.

O ne

c an a ssume t hat t he r emaining s herds were badly o xidised a nd t hat a ll t he s herds w ere

f ired originally well u nder 9 002C.

R efiring S ample 2 .

M aximum F iring T emperature: 9 002C

, T emperature:

T ime:

S herd N o:

C olour C hange: B efore

3 :50

4 002C

TT-820

4 :00

7 002C

ABSM,

4 :10

8 002C

4 :20

8 802C

4 :30

9 002C

CA37-40

TT-813 ABSM,

CA2-26

After

5 YR 7 /6

1 0YR 6 /2

5 YR 6 /8

5 YR 6 /2

2 .5YR 6 /8

2 .5YR 5 /4

2 .5YR 6 /8

2 .5YR 4 /1

Kiln turned off a t 9 002C 4 :45

r

6 802C

4 :55

5 802C

5 :00

5 002C

R emarks:

Early r emoval of the t est s herds c racking o f t he

s herds.

f rom the k iln c aused s ome

K iln was preheated t o 4 002C.

t emperatures w ere excessively high a s with s imilar r esults; At t his

the

1 ,

s herds becoming c ompletely o xidised.

s tage w e a re e xperimenting w ith the method,

r esults t aught u s n ot t o u se excessive h eat, s herds c ool

F iring

i n R efiring S ample

a nd t hese

a nd t o l et t he

f urther a fter r efiring.

,

R efiring S ample 3 . T ime:

M aximum F iring T emperature: 8 002C

T emperature:

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: B efore

After

3 :00

0 2C

P PT-3

7 .5YR 6 /4

7 .5YR 7 /4

3 :10 3 :20

2 502C 5 502C

T-5

7 .5YR 5 /6

7 .5YR 5 /4

3 :30

7 502C

PRT-19A

7 .5YR 6 /4

7 .5YR 6 /4

3 :40

8 002C

,

( no c olour c hange)

K iln turned o ff a t 8 002C 3 :50

6 002C

4 :00

5 002C

5 :20

1 752C

R emarks:

The

s herds w ere

, l eft

before r emoving them.

i n t he k iln a nd a llowed t o c ool

t o

1 752C

No c racking o ccurred which c onvinced

u s t hat t he preceding two r efirings t he c racking had u ndoubtedly b een d ue t o r emoving t he r efired s herds prematurely.

7 05

Only very

s light colour changes occurred i n r efiring these

t est sherds a s

they were originally well oxidised by having

been f ired

i n an oxidising atmosphere.

i n a ll

s herds

due

the

to high t emperature

that the original

The

( but particularly PPT-3 r efiring,

l imestone t emper

and T-5)

d ecomposed

s o that we can s ay d efinitely

f iring t emperature of a ll

the pieces d id

not r each 8 002C.

R efiring S ample 4 :

M aximum F iring T emperature: 7 002C

‘ T ime:

T emperature:

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: Before

1 1:30

0 2C

PRT-5

1 1:40 1 1:50

2 502C 5 802C

PRT-4

1 2:00

7 002C

PRT-25

Kiln turned off at

7 002C

5 YR 6/6

2 .5YR 5 /4

PT-6

2 .5YR 2 /0

( no change)

5 502C

PT-3

1 2:20 1 2 30 : 2 :30

4 502C 4 002C

5YR 6/2

PRT-12

5 YR 4 /1

( no change,

7 52C

i n PRT-4,

Fired s herds were a llowed to c ool

S ample 3 .

5 YR 4 /1

( no change)

1 2:10

R emarks:

After

i nthe kiln a s

c olour a s

2 .5YR 5 /6) i n R efiring

No cracking occurred f rom the r efiring a t 7 002C.

Two s herds,

PRT-4 and PRT-12 were

canister buried i n charcoal. the canister after

r efired i n a s ealed a luminum

On r emoving the two

f iring to 7 002C no visible

s herds

change

in

i n M Un-

s ell colour was observed which could possibly indicate that the original c losely t ional

f iring t emperature and atmosphere may have been

s imilar to those of the tests

not t his

i s

and PT-3

i ndicate that these

s o.

The dramatic colour changes

original

f iring.

c lay,

which a lso

suggests

i n the natural

PRT-25

i nclusions o f the

that the original

l ess than 8 002C i n any of the t est

f iring t emperature s herds

r efired.

M aximum F iring T emperature: G OOgC

R efiring S ample 5 .

T ime:

i n PRT-5,

s herds were badly oxidised i n t he

i nclusions and absolutely no a lterations

l imestone particules

had been

Addi-

There have been no aterations to e ither nat-

ural or artificial t o the

r efiring experiment.

i n this manner may help to a scertain whether or

T emperature:

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: B efore

3 :20

0 2C

3 :30

2 002C

3 :35

4002C

3 :40

5 002C

4 :45

6 002C

After

ABSM,PRT-94,LBP,BW

7 .5YR 6 /4

7 .5YR 6 /2

ABSM,PRT-85,EBP,BW

2 .5YR 5 /4

2 .5YR 3 /0

ABSM,PRT-99,UD,EBP

2 .5YR 5 /4

2 .5YR

3 /0

2 .5YR 5 /4

2 .5YR

5 /2

ABSM,PRT-39-45 EBP

7 06

I ND,

Kiln turned off at 6 002C ABSM,PRT-6,IND;LBP 4 :00

5 402C

4 :10

4 502C

4 :20

3 002C

5 :00

1 252C

R emarks: None of the refired test sherds shows any alteration in the natural

i nclusions,

a s the r efiring t emperature was below t he

t emperature necessary to change natual

i nclusions.

of the

s herds,

PRT-94

and a dramatic change

PRT-6 with s light changes i n PRT-85

c omplete oxidation a fter r efiring. i nally well

to

i n s herds,

Sherds PRT-85

All

show

and PRT-99 were orig-

and t he

f iring,

s mudging was

a s

and the c ondition of their

s uggests an original

and

s herds

Sherds PRT-94 and PRT-39-45

f airly enough oxidised i n their orginal c olouring,

l imestone

i n a ll but one

PRT-39-45

and PRT-99.

i n r efiring experiments.

their original s ions

chemistry of the

taken place

smudged i n a r educing atmosphere,

oxidised off were

the

Some colour change has

i ndicated by

l imestone

i nclu-

f iring t emperature of a pproximately 6 502C

7 002C.

1

R Pfiring S ample 6 .

T ime:

M aximum

T emperature:

F iring T emperature: 7 002C

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: Before

2 :30

0 2C

2 :40

2 002C

2 :45

4 002C

2 :55

5 002C

3 :00

5 802C

3 :10

7 002C

ABSM,T-5

After

7 .5YR 5 /8

7 .

ABSM,PRT-3

( See r emarks)

ABSM,PRT-4

( See r emarks)

Kiln turned off at 7 002C 3 :20

5 002C

3 :30

4 002C

3 :40

3 00

3 :50

2 002C

R emarks:

I n the case of T-6,

the portion of the t est

sherd r etained

i n i ts original condition had been i ncompletely oxidised i n i ts original

f iring.

Refiring of the t est portion r esulted

i n complete oxidation when i t was r eheated to

7 002C

atmosphere

i n both original

i n the k iln.

r efired portions ation of the piece;

t he

i s nearly the

s ame,

s howed a s i n the

The

f or a ll

r efired piece.

t est

canister

visible

s amples PRT-3

taken place

' chalking' This The

d iameter and 8 cms high.

of the

and

l ittle a lteri n the

f ired

l imestone

s uggests that the

extra 5 02C

i n the

differences between the two

s herd

r efiring s pecimens.

and PRT-4 were placed i n a s tainless

( the a luminum one u sed i n t ests No.

cause i t oxidised a fter two

i n a n oxidising

s o that only a very

a a s light

f ired originally above 6 502C.

would a ccount

s teel

l imestone t emper

l imestone t emper particles has

change

t emper particles was not

The

f irings).

I t was half

7 07

4 was abandoned be-

The n ew c anister was

5 cms

i n

f illed with powdered charcoal

N O '

( a product o f the Matge k iln u sed f or e xperimental purposes s uch a s t his - s ee t ext).

The s herds w ere then p laced i nside t he c anister a nd

the canister f illed with c harcoal,

c overing t he t est s ample e ntirely

a nd e nsuring a r educing a tmosphere during t he r efiring t o 7 002C.

A

perfectly uniform s mudging of t he s herd r esulted a nd even penetrated the c lay f abric o f t he body c omnletel y.

T he

l imestone

t his c ase n atural)

r emained c rystalline after r ef i n ne.

a ltered f rom t hose

i n t he original

the original

unfired s herd.

i nclusions

( in

havina n ot

One c an a ssume t hat

f iring t emperature o f t he pot d id n ot e xceed 7 002C a s

s hown by the unaltered l imestone

i nclusions.

R efiring S ample 7 .

T ime:

M aximum F iring T emperataure: 9 002C

T emperature:

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: B efore

4 :10

1 502C

4 :20

4 502C

ABSM,PRT-1

4 :25

5 502C

4 :30

6 502C

4 :45

8 002C

After

( see r emarks)

ABSM,PRT-3

( see r emarks) 5 YR 6 /2

5 YR 4 /1

ABSM,PRT-16,UD, ( see r emarks)

EBP, BW

K iln turned o ff a t 8 002C 4 :55

6 002C

5 :00

4 502C

5 :15

3 009C

5 :20

2 009C

R emarks:

The third piece o f s herd PRT-3 was r efired a t 8 002C i n a n oxidising a tmosphere f or c omparison with S ample P RT-3 of

R efiring S ample 6 . oxidised by r efiring,

The r esult was t hat PRT-3 was c ompletely

a nd on e xamination i ts

l imestone i nclusions were

a ltered t o a c halky c ondition due t o the h igh t emperature o f r efiring, which was done t o n ote would o ccur,

i f s uch a lterations i n t he

t hus a scertaining t hat t he original

n ot a s h igh a s 8 002C,

l imestone

i nclusions

f iring t emperature was

but s till c ould have b een over 7 002C.

S herd S ample P RT-1 6 was refired in the canister as described a bove.

The pieces,

o riginal

f iring,

a tmosphere,

which was burnished black a nd f ully r educed by i ts

was n ot a ltered by r efiring i n t he c anister's r educing

n or d id t he

i nclusions a lter by r eheating,

s o w e c an a ssume

t hat t he c anister a tmosphere was undoubtedly a l ower a tmosphere b ec ause o f t he

l ack of c hange

i n t he

i nclusions.

S herd S ample P RI=1 was a lso c ut i nto t hree pieces,

one piece

b eing f ired i n a canister a nd a nother i n t he open a tmosphere o f t he k iln.

The

s herd s ample,

r educed on t he

which was r educed o n i ts outside

i nside a nd t he wall

t hree d ifferent c haracteristics. c anister became t otally r educed,

The s herd s ample r efired i n t he while t he p iece r efired i n t he open

a tmosphere of the k il n b ecame c ompletely oxidised.

The t hird p iece

which was n ot r efired r emained i n i ts o riginal c ondition. n o c hange

i n t he a ppearance o f t he

t he c anister,

while t he

s urface a nd

s emi-reduced originally t ook o n

i nclusions

There was

i n t he s herd r efired i n

s herd r efired i n t he o pen a tmosphere o f t he

7 08

TE MPERATURE

CURVES

P ea k ; T emperatures : • o 9 000 C

1 000

9 C0 C 8 00.2 ,

900

7 00 C 6 00 U

*1

7 00

3

4 5

1 00

2 c 0

1 0 .

2 0

30

4 0

3 0

6o

7 0

8 0

9 0

1 00

10

1 20

1 30

2 1 1 1 Z .

TEMPERATURE C URVE3 F OR BALEARIC PREHI3TORIC POTTERY REFIRING EXIERIL aT F OR C OLOUR CHANG ( Munsell) TEmPERATURE-TIM i ! : C HA IV2

fi g. 3 9

1

kiln s howed a chalky change to i ts l imestone i nclusions, c oncluding that there were two different t emperatures a s well as two d ifferent r efiring atmospheres.

R efiring S amples 8 a nd 9

M aximum R efiring T emperature: t wo f irings a t 6 002C

, T ime:

T emperature:

S herd N o .

C olour C hange: Before

3 :15

0 °

ABSM,PRT-4

3 :25 3 :30

2 502 4 402

ABSM,PRT-3

3 :35 3 :40

5 502 6 002

TT,PRT-410

A fter

Kiln turned off at 6 002C 3 :50 4 :00

5 002C 4 002C

4 :20

1 752C

R emarks: These samples underwent two separate refirings. r efiring was

to oxidise

the

The

f irst

sherd f ully by heating i t to the

t emperature of 6 002C and a llowing i t to cool,

s o that the

M Unsell colour could be checked in relationship to the other pieces of the original 4 ).

l arge

sherd u sed f or the experiments

The pieces were then placed i n the

c overed with charcoal

for smudging

s ee

i f they could be r e-blackened.

the

s herds,

of

i t was not possible

7 .5YR 4/0 a s s ame time,

s herds,

thus

the

1 and

i n a r educing f iring atmosphere to While

i t was possible to d arken

to blacken them totally t o a c olour out

s herds without f irst heating them to 6 002C.

l imestone

i nclusions

i ndicating the original

c ould not have been l ess

At

remained unchanged i n a ll the

f iring t emperatures of the pots

than 6 002C.

S ome P reliminary C onclusions

4 .

The aims of this

( section 1 ),

appendix

s tudy were outlined at the beginning o f this

and while

t ation of f inal

conclusions,

r esults.

can be

These ( 1)

i t

i t i s premature to attempt a preseni s possible to mention s ome preliminary

l isted a s

f ollows:

By thin-sectioning and preparation of

microscopic examination and microphotography, d emonstrate a s eries of

f eatures

Balearic wares;

and while the

i s

i nformation that has

immediately concerned with the

s hould be of great

i nterest to

s tudy o f

t ext has

could be made of

r eferred.

of a wide

f or

There

l ocal

c eramic wares

notably t he

f eatures

and events

i s no doubt that a s imilar

any other kind of prehistoric pottery. 7 10

r ange of

emerged from this

s tudents of pottery,

microphotographs giving examples of the various which the

s ections

and events which have o ccurred during

and f iring of the pottery s amples

project

s lide

i t has been possible to

the manufacture

i t

( see r efirings

s teel canister and

i t w as when oxidising experiments were carried

directly on original the

stainless

s tudy

t o

( 2)

Examaination of the

Balearic primary and s econdary c ompositional differences t o different periods,

s ectioned s herds prepared f rom the

s ites

i n the

s uch a s

the

addition of

l imestone t emper t o the c lay f abric 1 400 b .c. the

to 8 00 b .c.,

f iring techniques

s hows c learly that there are

c lay f abric of the vessels, considerable

s pecific

amounts of

i n the Talayotic Period,

c irca

and that such compositional differences affected themselves;

f or example

the

s tability of the

l imestone t emper at high t emperature meant that Talayotic pottery had to be

f ired in

l ess hot kilns.

Or again,

the evidence s uggests that

the Post Talayotic wares contained a considerable quantity of organic material added to the d egassing channels ( 3)

c lay a s

can be

s een f rom the uniform and abundant

c aused by the combustion of the organic t emper.

The thin-sections

a lso

s how that f iring t echniques were

different f rom period to period and even f rom phase to phase, f ollowing differences

i n c lay composition a s we have

a lso for traditional r easons.

For example,

s een,

probably

but no doubt

the high f requency of

smudged

or r educed wares during the Pretalayotic Period - and e specially the very highly burnished smudged and r eduction f ired B eaker wares, natural hematite

i nclusions have turned t o

f erric oxide

pit kilns may have been used,

where

t emperatures,

f iring atmosphere.

but a lso of the

the wares of the Talayotic Period i tely f ired i n open-air kilns thermore, author

there could be better c ontrol of

( EBA,

evidence

and the

so that we

were quite defin-

f ound at Matge. s pecial process

i n the Balearic Beaker wares

s pecial manufacture,

yotic wares,

On the other hand,

MBA and LBA )

s imilar to the one

the high quality of the c lay,

which we have

where

- s uggests that

Furf or

s uggest t o the

different f rom that of the other Pretala-

can think of

s pecial

c entres of

l ocal distri-

bution or even importation. ( 4)

There

s eem to be

t her research will make of

individual pieces

produces

i n the

c onsiderable grounds

f or hope that fur-

i t possible to e stimate the

f iring t emperatures

examined on the basis of the changes that heat

l imestone

natural or artificial

and other

t emper

i nclusions

inclusions).

i n the

s herds

( either

It may eventually be possi-

ble to e stablish an accurate thermo-scale f or the various degreees of change or decomposition of these

l imestone

i nclusions or other mineral

particles. ( 5) s herds,

By c ontrolled refiring t ests using numerous different

i t has been possible

to e stablish the degree and

which the various pieces originally underwent oxidation, a lso helped to make e stimates of original r efiring can also i nduce known t emperatures,

changes

s tage to and this has

f iring t emperatures.

i n the t est s herds'

i nclusions

The at

offering yet another way of e stablishing original

f iring t emperatures.

The

results of t he thin-sectioning r esearch s o

encourage the

author to c ontinue

the

w ork,

far,

c ertainly

i ncluding the compilation

of a catalogue of observed i nformation and a definitive c ollection of prehistoric pottery f rom the Balearics.

r eference A great d eal

more practical

experiments by r efiring and other f orms of analysis will

a ccordingly be

c arried out i n the

s imply r epresent the

f uture , and the

current s tate of progress

r esearch project.

7 11

r esults presented

i n t his particular

APPE NDIX 3B

APPENDIX

1 .

3B.

POPULATION ESTIMATES TALAYOTIC CEMETERIES

USING

TALAYOTIC

POST

I ntroduction .

From the d iscussion and description the conditions present i n quicklime

i n Chapter

i nhumations,

I II,

s tudies, l ime

s imply because of

the

s evere

f or

It i s t rue that they a re not

such s tudy a s one would d esire,

that with careful

l ed to

f or population

c orrosive e ffects of the quick-

i n the buials and their artefacts.

ideal

concerning

one would be

assume that the quicklime conglomerates are not s uitable

a s

AND

s tudy and examination,

but the author believes

i t s hould be possible to make

a f air a ssessment of population statistics of a n area s uch a s Matge, based on available data, osteological exercise

evidence.

i n archaeological method,

of demographic are

i nformation which cannot a fford to be

a s well a s

s ocial

the

structure

fact that t he

r emains

s ome

s ource i f we i n t erms

s keletal

components o f

the quicklime

they are not completely

f or s uch s tudies.

At l east 2 5% of the

i n the conglomerate can be used i n attempting

t o estimate

the number of persons

i n Appendix

1 A,

( section 2 .2),

i nhumed in the quicklime.

As

s hown

we have a very good idea of the chrono-

duration of the u se of the Matge cemetery during Talayotic

a nd Post Talayotic

times,

Talayotic quicklime a worthwhile t o give us

and especially of the duration of the Post

inhumations.

On this basis,

some

s ize of the

l ocal

s ites we are

still

l ooking for,

of population will d ead and the

s hould be possible.

s ettlement would be valuable

i dea of the u se of the valley area in prehistoric

and might a lso give a c lue to the

s tatistics

the author believes

e stimate of the population of the area

i ndication of the

t imes,

i gnored,

interpretation of the particular area

d estroyed or wholly unsuitable

S ome

not a s

s tages of Balearic pre-

are badly broken and distorted,

original bone

l ogical

later

s o,

i s a prime

and e conomy.

Despite the c onglomerates

important to do

but because this

to reach any understanding of the

hsitory, of

such a s good chronometric dating and available I t i s of course

s ize of t he domestic

and have not yet f ound.

therefore be attempted,

based on the number of

chronological duration of the c emetery,

such a s

s ite or

An e stimate

j oined by other

i nformation on the rate of a ccumulation of

t he de-

posit.

I t

i s granted that there

any f orm of population s tatistic t he

l ack of

s ome vital

a rchaeologist t o the

a nd Cosgrove

r ates.

s tatistic or another.

s tudies have been based on

at Matge.

( 1938)

For example

at t he

estimated population

l argely due

i n t o

This often d eters t he

author an unnecessarily d efeatist attitude.

that available r ooms

l imitations present

f rom attempting population e stimates,

u seful population

units,

are a lways

s urvey or e stimate,

l ess

but t hat

s eems

B esides,

s ome

i nformation t han

Swart Ruins,

Cosgrove

s ize based on the number of

i n a s ettlement and their probably c orrelation with f amily combined with comparison of e stimated death rates, Hack

( 1942)

i n his

s tudy of the Hopi

and known

I ndians of Arizona based

his e stimates of population o n a rbitrary u nits t o f actors o f s ite s ize, number of h ouses a nd s herd a reas.

I n b oth i nstances,

i nformation was available than i s present

l ess

s tatistical

i n t he Matge c emetery f or

s uch population e stimates.

T he M ethods U sed i n t he C alculation o f P opulation a t S on M atge

2 .

The a ge a nd duration o f u se o f t he Matge c emetery has b een w ell d ocumented i n the t ext a nd a ppendices that t he

( Appendix 1 A).

1 300 years

f rom c irca

1 400 b .c.

a nd P ost Talayotic P eriods. two s horter periods, t o c irca 7 00 b .c.,

t o 8 0 b .c.,

This

one o f a pproximately 7 00 years,

when t he

a pproximately 6 00 years, l atter period,

c overing both t he T alayotic

s pan of t ime c an b e broken d own i nto c irca

c irca 7 00 b .c.

c irca 7 00 b .c.

t o c irca 8 0 b .c.

t o c irca 8 0 b .c.

( Stuiver a nd W aldren 1 975).

H owever,

duration o f t he c emetery's u se,

i ndividual

a proper

1 4C c arbonate

f or population e stimates,

Apart f rom o ur knowing t he a ge a nd i t i s

o f t he s urviving s keletal r emains, f or burial o f a ll

This

has b een e xtensively

1 300 y ears w ill b e used i n t he c alculations f or

r easons t o b e d iscussed s hortly.

or

when i t was

i nhumation c emetery.

dated by b oth c onve i _tional r adiocarbon m ethod a nd by t he overall period o f

1 400 b .c.

s ite was a Talayotic burial a rea a nd a nother

u sed i n Post Talayotic t imes a s a quicklime

dating

We h ave s een

1 4C d atings have e stablished a p eriod o f u se o f a pproximately

i mportant t o r ecall that s tudy

s hows that the c emetery was u sed

t he d ead of the c ommunity,

s tatus w ithin t he c ommunity;

r egardless o f s ex,

t herefore,

a ge

w e are g etting

picture o f t he population f rom t hat a spect a nd n ot a b iased

one.

The number o f f emur h eads present u sed f or t he

s tatistical c ount o f

i n t he c onglomerates w as

i ndividuals buried i n t he c emetery.

This particular s keletal e lement was u sed f or c ounting f or two main r easons:

( 1)

quicklime a nd

I t i s a b one which s tands up t o preservation best i n t he ( 2)

of other bones. was

I t i s t he e asiest bone to r ecognise amid t he mass The number of f emur h eads c ollected f rom a ll

3 160 or a pproximately

f emur h eads person ).

1 580

l evels

i ndividuals o f a ll ages and s exes

( two

No attempt was made t o pair t hese or t o m ake

i ndividual c ounts of l eft or r ight,

a s o ne c ount not a lways b e

s ure

o f t his a spect i n the preservation o f t he piece.

This number of f emur h eads

i s t hought t o r epresent a bout

1 /4

of t he t otal e stimated number o f i ndividuals buried a t Matge d uring a pproximately A s can b e l ower

1 300 years,

which w ould t herefore b e a round 6 320 people.

s een i n the vertical

s ection profiles

only the

1 /4 of t he l evels had w ell preserved bones.

3 /4 of t he

The

r emaining

l ime conglomerate on t his r eckoning c ontained an

e stimate 4 740 burials.

This number may s eem v ery g enerous a s a n e sti-

mate o f t he u pper 3 /4 of t he l ime c onglomerate, c entration of a bout

1 580 known burials

but based on t he c on-

i n t he b etter preserved l euels

w hich e xisted c onsistently a ll over t he bottom quarter o f t he 4 00m a rea,

i t does n ot a ppear t oo h igh,

As will be

s een,

and t here may w ell have been m ore.

t here a re other f actors which would s upport t he e sti-

mates o f 6 320 burials a t Matge

f rom c irca 7 16

1 400 b .c.

t o c irca 8 0 b .c.

The total

number of

1 300 years has

to be used f or the duration

of the Matge c emetery because without a doubt there has been a mixing of the Talayotic c remation burials with Post Talayotic quicklime humations

i n the

contact zones,

and whereas

Talayotic burials are d istinguishable l ime

the osseous

f rom those of the Post Talayotic

conglomerate remains when they occur at the base of the

erate,

there

i s a good chance that many of the

conglomerates may actually be i nto Post Talayotic l ime

conglom-

r emains within the

i ntrusive Talayotic bones,

l evels due

i n-

r emains of the

l ime

dragged up

to disturbance caused during the quick-

i nhumations.

However, i stics that

before we begin any calculation of population s tat-

i nclude estimates of d eath rates,

l ife expectancy,

of generations and possible population tabulations i n the Matge area,

the author f eels

and discuss

the g eographic

Matge

and t o

s ite,

available arable

that i t

a spects of the

i s necessary to r eview

immediate

r emark on c ertain geographic

area a round the

f eatures,

l and open to agricultural and pastoral

which might have been

i nfluential

i n prehistorical times,

as

i t

f actors

s eems

number

for a s ettlement

such a s

a ctivities,

i n population of the

a rea

to control and have great bearing

on present-day population.

G eographic A spects C oncerning P opulation E stimates o f t he M atge A rea i n T alayotic a nd P ost T alayotic a s w ell a s P resent T imes

3 .

One of the outstanding f eatures of the Matge-Valldemosa area discussed i n earlier chapters t he area, Pass, that

i n which

even

i s the c losed geographic environment of

i t i s virtually s ealed off by the narrow Estret

i n this present day

( Figure 7 ). Here, the available land a ctivities ( Figure 4 0)

i s exploitable to agricultural or pastoral

in the Valldemosa Valley at the present time, other prehistoric periods, and population of the area. about

1 650 people,

at present, Palma.

i n this

a re only about 8 f amily e states

s outhern end of the valley.

extensive t erracing of the hill i t was

i n n earby

At the

lands

that until f or

s ame time,

s ubsisthe

times due to the

s ince Moorish times,

s o that

agricultural potential has c ertainly increased f rom what

i n the

last Millennium B .C.

s ome useful a ssessments i n prehistoric

can

However, the author believes that

still be made concerning the conditions

t imes and their use

i n considering population e stimates

f or

s ome of the prehistoric periods.

use

f or the valley of Valldemosa

The available i ncludes the

( fincas)

and pastoral a ctivities

valley has changed considerably s ince prehistoric the valley's

e conomy

area between the Estret Pass and the town of

r ecently depended on agricultural t ence

u se

area i s

t ourist trade and business activities

i mmediate

Valldemosa there

The current population of the

most of whom do not r ely on agricultural

but on the

I n the

a s well a s during the

has a lways d etermined the potential

land area open to agricultural i n this

s outhern end

and transhumance i s

1 3.5km 2 , which

a rea that has been changed by present-day t erracing

7 17

( Figure 40).

This

( 5.5km 2 ) and the

can be divided i nto

f lat l and

( 1.0km 2 ) ,

surrounding mountains

( 7.0km 2 ) ,

the

i s partly a ccessible and usable

f or animal grazing.

the modern agricultural potential,

f icant population

i ncrease

s ince prehistoric

t imes.

s ize of a village and the

s ettlements

f ar s tudied only in individual

i n the plans,

I f we

s ee that 6 .5km 2

toral activities, i n prehistoric

t imes;

this

and Coggove,

( 5 persons per

and hence,

an ordinance map

1 64 persons

i n the

f ollowing

f amily unit i s proposed by

Son Salvat,

Son Coma.

Of course,

i f we

4

an e stimate of 7 families per km 2 .

Son Mirabo,

1 30,000m 2 or

The present author uses

that the infant mortality rate

( see F igure 7 ) of the Valldemosa area,

f ind the area today only contains

Son Matge,

1 2 people per

s hown

and considered by t hem a s an underestimation

was probably very high,

only

l and t o

f igure being a rrived at

a s a family unit because he believes

l and i ncluded)

l and and f oothills

f or agriculural and pas-

1 64 population f or the Matge area

because of high infant mortality rates).

we

This

would d iffer f or

or an e stimate of 2 9 people per km 2 with an i deal

family unit of 4 persons

I n consulting

cases,

this would a llot 6 5,000m 2 of

and s ections),

Cosgrove

f lat

i s available

( providing we a ccept an e stimate of pages

l ocal avail-

s ituation.

f oothills or mountain ranges.

consider the total area of

i n Figure 4 0, we

i n a ss-

t here must be an

f armland i n any topographic or environmental

r elationship so

s igni-

t aken place

As pointed out by two i nvestigators

optimum relationship between the able

and t his natur-

s o that s ome

could a lso be expected to have

( Braidwood a nd R eed 1 957),

e ssment of population

l and

Much of the hill

l and has been improved by r ecent or modern t erracing, a lly increases

hill

l atter of which

about 8 f amily e states

S on Veri,

i nclude the

t otal

S on Moro,

( farms):

S on Bauza and

l and a rea

( mountainous

1 3.6km 2 , then the population density i s

square kilometer,

or

3 f amilies per

square kilo-

meter.

S ome

comparable data i s

f ound elsewhere, with

s ites

tural

l ike neolithic Jarmo

communities

n eighborhood of

( Iraq )

i n that r egion,

1 50 per village

groves estimates of the f amilies or

available

1 75 people

t o about to

i n the

and a lso with modern agricul-

( Braidwood a nd R eed 1 957).

e stimates were

2 00

which

3 5

Famous S tar Carr

i ncluding one

5 f amily groups

i n this e stimate has been projected

square miles

i n an area the

i n t he

The Cos-

Swarts Ruins of t he Mimbres Valley a re

( Cosgrove a nd C osgrove 1 932).

area;

2 5 persons per

7 ,538 persons

s ettlements

i n reasonable accord

where village populations are

( Clark 1 954) has had s everal estimates, or 2 5 persons

f rom prehisotric

and this population density i s

a nd projected

s till

s ize of England and Wales.

f urther These

carried out principally on a wide range of animal

and

plant r emains.

I t

i s

a lso

i nteresting to note

demosa valley i s bordered by the on the

south,

t hat the c entre of t he Vall-

Son Puig Talayotic

a distance of about

s ettlement s ite

5 k ilometers away and the S ettle-

ment Complex of Ferrandell-Oleza a lso about 5 kilometers north l atter

s ite

i s

currently under excavation by the

s ettlements would have been active s ettlement.

I t

i s a lso

at the

author).

s ame t ime a s

i nteresting to note t hat t he

7 18

( the

Both these

the Matge

d istribution of

1 4 E

wE

i I cm23 l000

C O

Land

0 • . . .

. . i

1 3 i f , U . . 1

i d E

2

4

. 2 3

0 e . C 0

III

D istr ibution -Va l ley O f

3

V a l lde mosa

f ig . 40

these prehistoric villages occurs

at 5 kilometer d istances,

these distances a lso correspond with the Jarmo villages are an average of

w ood a nd R eed 1 957); environment, i ng the

2 .38 miles a part

though s uch

s ites

s ites l ocale

i s quite

the Matge

s triking how well

Jarmo a nd even Sumer where the 4 9.83 people per

the a uthor believes that the

i s a viable

e stimation of population

and known chronology a s well a s on avail-

able a rable

l and a nd other s ubsistence potentials.

should take

i nto a ccount that the author i s aware of t he

present i n any s uch e stimation of population, available well

i nformation and data coming

has a lready gone on. t ion

However,

but a t the

s ame t ime t he

Furthermore,

other l ines of

i nto use which a re r elated t o the

The

t he r eader

s hortcomings

f rom Matge and i ts vicinity are

s uited f or t he present hypothesis.

argument c an be brought

i t

s tatistics compare to t hose of

or 3 1.14 people per s quare k ilometer

I n s hort,

c emetery contents

when c onsult-

and l and s ubsistence potential,

population density arrived at Matge based on the

However,

l ater population density has proved to

s quare mile,

( Braidwood a nd R eed 1 957).

( Braid-

5 .25cms)

i n r egard t o population s ize and

considering the g eographic

be

( approx.

r epresent a s omewhat d ifferent

a nd a very different t ime period.

s tatistics of these

a nd that

s ite where present-day

r esearch that

f ollowing i s one o f those a spects o f popula-

s tudy.

C alculations o f D eath R ate , L ife E xpectancy , N umber o f G enera tions a nd P ossible P opulations f rom t he M atge C emetery

4 .

Based on the e stimate of 6 320 burials at Matge for t he mate period of possible to l ation.

1 300 years,

At the

s ame t ime,

rate per annum per

1 400 b .c.

t o circa 8 0 b .c.,

at Matge,

i t

i s

1 00 person popu-

i t i s possible t o e stimate a s eparate d eath

1 00 person population for the two parts of t he

year period f rom circa burials

c irca

s uggest a l ikely death rate per annum per

a pproxi-

1 400 b .c.

to c irca 7 00 b .c.

and f rom circa 7 00 b .c.

Post Talayotic quicklime

i nhumations.

attribute half the burials

e stimated

t o c irca 8 0 b .c.

For t his purpose, ( 3160)

1 300

f or the Talayotic f rom the

we c an

s imply

t o each of the periods,

a ssuming that the populations during both t he periods was about the s ame,

and of c ourse,

t erms of

this takes no account o f possible variations

i ncrease or decrease by such events a s natural

Particular a ttention has been given during e xcavation f or any of catastrophic events disease or war) s ignes of

( mass burials due

which might have

to s uch things

i n

catastrophy. a s

, igns

f amine,

l eft a r ecord i n the deposit;

but no

s uch events were present.

These calculations are admittedly based on broad a ssumptions a s r egard to d ividing the a ttributing equal parts i ods;

thus n ot a llowing f or any natural

the Post Talayotic Period, author's mind, crease

number of burials at Matge

there

i s

i ncrease

f rom mercenary s oldier

and

i n population during

which one might e xpect.

However

i n the

f or the moment no way of e stimating this

i n population f actor during the Bronze or

Roman t imes,

i n half,

to both the Talayotic and Post Talayotic Per-

I ron Ages,

i nvolvement toward the Middle

which i s not c alculable,

I ron Ages until

other than s uch natural i ncrease

over the Bronze Age population may well have b een offset by these

7 20

i n-

a part

l ater

I ron A ge

l osses a fter 4 00 B .C.

I t i s a matter o f c lassical r e-

c ord that c onsiderable numbers o f B alearic m ercenaries w ere r ecruited by t he Carthaginians a s w ell a s

l ater by t he Romans.

S o t he

a uthor

b elieves t hat a ttributing a n even d ivision i n t he e stimated Matge burials

i s a cceptable.

F rom t he r ough c alculations per annum per

o f e stimated burials t ery's u se y ears

( 6320)

( 1300 y ears).

f or t he

P eriod.

The

e stimates o f d eath r ates

by t he number o f known years o f t he c eme-

The

s ame c an b e d one

f or t he t otal o f 7 00

3 160 burials during t he Talayotic P eriod,

t he t otal o f 6 00 y ears p er

s o f ar,

1 00 population c an b e a rrived a t by d ividing t he number

f or t he

f ollowing a re t he r esults

1 00 population,

a nd i n t urn,

3 160 burials during t he P ost Talayotic f or t he d eath r ates per a nnum

based o n t hese c alculations.

T able 1 3 . C emetery's U se i n Y ears

Total

N o .

o f B urials

D eath R ate p er A nnum p er 1 00 p opulation

1 300 yrs.

6 320

4 .9

Talayotic

7 00 yrs.

3 160

4 .5

P ost Talayotic

6 00 yrs.

3 160

5 .2

W e c an project a c hart o f e stimated l ife e xpectancy r ates, u sing 2 5,30,35

a nd 4 0 y ears t o f orm a c hart t o e stimate various poss-

i ble population f igures r epresented i n t he Matge burials w ith t he various

l ife e xpectancy r ates l isted below.

At t he

s ame t ime,

t he

r eader s hould a lso b ear i n mind t hat n o c alculation has b een made f or s uch problems a s t he r ate o f

i nfant mortality,

a lthough t his would b e

a bsorbed u sing a rbitrary l ife expectancy r ate of 2 5,30,35 years e tc.

T able 1 4 . S uggested P opulation

A rbitrary L ife E xpectancy

D eath R ate p er A nnum p er 1 00 p opulation

1 20

2 5

4 .9 overall e stimate

1 44

3 0

4 .9

1 68

3 5

4 .9

1 92

4 0

4 .9

1 05

2 5

4 .5

1 26

3 0

4 .5

1 47

3 5

4 .5

1 68

4 0

4 .5

7 21

f or

1 300 yrs.

Talayotic P eriod

1 30

2 5

5 .2

1 60

3 0

5 .2

1 82

3 5

5 .2

2 08

4 0

5 .2

These nity of Matge

e stimations

f amily units, f amily );

the

e stimates,

author used this

f amilies,

ages of

2 5,

f amilies

The

d epending on t he 3 0,

3 5

( some

f urther

number of l ife

I n t urn,

s uggest t he n umber o f

n umber a s b eing the

f amilies

3 5 years,

f rom

These

f rom 3 0

o f t he

t o

a rbitrary

e stimates of the number o f t he t otal

f or example, 4 .5

1 47 persons

and 5 .2,

l and a rea o f

( 36

with d eath r ates per a nnum our population range

f amilies)

t o

1 68 persons

a nd f or the number of g enerations with t he

ancy of 3 5 years

r ange

expectancy r ates

5 per

i deal

i f we utilise Table 1 4 a nd t he arbitrary l ife e x-

1 00 population of 4 .9,

time would be

i n t he vici-

Assuming the g eneral

i nvestigators u se a unit o f

c onservative

and 4 0 years.

pectancy r ates of

l ies);

c an even

s eem r easonable when considering

1 3.5km 2 . per

we

based on 4 people

number of family members. 5 2

Period

f or the prehistoric population

s eem t o the author r easonable.

a ccuracy of these

Post Talayotic

f or t he approximate

average

1 300 year period,

a t a ny ( 42

f ami-

l ife e xpect-

a total of 3 8

g enerations would be r epresented i n the Matge c emetery.

I f

ations r epresent 6 320 people buried,

1 64 people

( 42,

4 -person f amiles )

can be

a n average of about

s uggested f or the

area

3 8 g ener-

i n prehistoric

t imes.

O ther P ossible C alculations o f t he N umber o f B urials a nd A ccum . ilation i n t he M atge P ost T alayotic Q uicklime I nhumations

5 .

Another means of e stimating the number of i ndividuals buried a nd the a ccumulation rate

i n the Post Talayotic quicklime

can perhaps be drawn f rom the weights and measures, c onglomerate have F or

s ome of the

available,

l ime

conglomerate

r esults

arrived at below,

their exact meaning

s ome c larification may be i ments r ecently begun

i nhumations Certain

dealing with the total a ccumulation of

s ome general bearing i n the

and t hus

i tself.

s lakelime

e stimates given a bove.

no c omparative data i s y et

i s n ot a s yet c lear;

however,

f orthcoming f rom c ontrolled practical e xper-

by the author,

i n a programme roughly comparable

t o the pottery f iring experiments which have proved s uch a useful s ource of

i nformation a s d escribed

I n the

i n Appendix 3A.

f ollowing c alculation,

the author has

t ried t o a rrive

at an e stimate of the t otal amount of quicklime that was u sed f or t he Post Talayotic quicklime of the conglomerate. others may be

i nhumations,

While

based on the present c ondition

experimental e stimates,

a ffected by a s yet unperceived e rrors,

that they u sefully prepare plete

these

c ollected data.

t he way

Meanwhile,

f or the

future

afford

s ome c lue to t he

a ctual

7 22

l ike a ny author f eels

s tudies u sing more

f ollowing

c om-

s tatistics permit u s

t o view other a spects of t he a ccumulation rate a t p erhaps,

t he

s uch

number d ead,

s ites

which

a nd e ven,

i n t urn we

may use

for c omparison with current efforts

and their r esults.

The

( Table 1 5) gives the results of weights and measurements

table below

of sample pieces of c onglomerate

f rom the quicklime

i nhumations

a t

Matge.

T able 1 5 . E xamples o f L ime C onglomerate f rom M atge: S ample N o .

D imensions i n e ms .

V olumes a nd W eights

V olume

W eight

G r/cm 3

1 .

4 7

x 2 9 x 1 2

1 6,356cm 3

1 3.0kg

0 .79

2 .

3 5

x 3 8 x 1 8

2 3,940cm 3

2 0.0kg

0 .83

3 .

2 5

x 2 6 x 1 4

9 ,100cm 3

7 .5kg

0 .82

4 .

3 3

x 2 2 x 1 2

8 ,712cm 3

7 .2kg

0 .83

5 .

2 4 x 1 6 x

3 04cm 3

1 .9kg

0 .82

6

, Total weight of the

f ive

conglomerate

samples

4 9.6kg

Total volume of

f ive conglomerate

samples

6 0,400cm 3

the

On this basis we can calculate: Total weight of the Matge conglomerate ( 400m 2 area

Given the e stimated burials We

f or 4 00m 3

i n quicklime only

s hould expect the f ollowing amount of

r esult f rom an

i ndividual burial:

1 5.

c ertain

at; ple

s tatistics

are

( a)

i n grams per cubic c entimeter

s amples,

conglomerate to the the 1 03kg per burial.

s amples of conglomerate

s tatistics

i s

c an be

3 28,000kg.

1 03kg/person).

The two

the weight of the conglomerate

s am-

( average of the measured and weighed

based on the estimate of

Naturally,

these

s tatistics

3 160

burials

but they do give an

ate consisting of bone and f rom the practical

i nhumations,

s laked l ime mass

experiments which the

and therefore enable u s

i s

that d epend on

l ike

t o be

c orrect,

i s

c urrently c onduc-

Such experiments

original quantities u sed

i n-

c onglomer-

can be expected t o result

author i n the

s hould g ive

ancient quicklime

to s ee whether the e stimated f ig-

s eem near the mark and hence whether the

of burials

i nitial

i ndication of what volume o f

t ing with quicklime a nd animal bone. i dea of the

( average o f

do not give a c lear pic-

ture of the actual quantity of calcium oxide used i n the humation,

ures

s ome

arrived

0 .82gr/cm 3 ) and the r esulting e stimate of conglomerate weight

per buried person,

s ome

and

emerge which are

l ime conglomerate

i n the case of Matge that gross weight important

( 3160 burials>

I n r ecording these weights and measurements

idea of the gross weight of the Matge most

l ime

Average of

By s electing a number of block measuring and weighing them, l isted i n Table

3 28,000Kg

1 meter thick)

e stimated t otal

number

a long with the population e stimates

i t.

7 23

The conglomerate

s amples used i n the

experiments were

s elected

a s being entirely typical of the various areas of the whole mass. on the

s amples

i s now c ontinuing beyond measurement;

been manually c leaned to r ecover i f

i ts

i ndividual bone

components

i n that way a count of persons present i n a cubic meter of

merate can be total mass.

arrived at to help e stimate t he burial

the population s tatistics' these

able,

the meaning of

f igures

f igures

are

e stimates

contents

A ge quicklime

s uggested by t he

and t he practical t his

s et of

i ncluded here to give the

i nhumation has

thus

f emur head counts.

r eader an

and s o,

make

avail-

i dea of the I ron

far arrived.

However by measuring and weighing s amples of the conglomerate,

a re

rather obscure,

s tudy of the Post Talayotic

we can at l east attain s ome

the entire

of t he

experimentation r esults

s tatistics r emains

s tage at which the r esearch i n the

erate,

to s ee

c onglo-

This would offer the means of checking the a ccuracy of

Until

and the

Work

each piece has

l ime conglom-

i dea of t he weight per gram of the

a s tatement concerning the total weight o f

4 00m 3 area of the

l ime conglomerate at Matge.

I n Table

1 5

an average weight of 0 .82gr/cm 3 has been a rrived at through measuring and weighing the

s ample blocks of l ime conglomerate,

total deposit weight of

3 28,000kg,

estimated number of burials total of

1 03kg/person,

i n the

i nto a ccount t he

f igure by the

l ime c onglomerate

( 3160)

as the volume of t he bone

r esulting f rom each burial.

This

arriving at a

and dividing that

f igure of

1 03kg/person does not t ake

f act that much of the weight of

conglomerate consists of bone and bone

giving a

l ime conglomerate t he

f ragments.

r esulting l ime

Nevertheless,

the

amount of quicklime used must have been a round 8 0% of that weight, the bones

themselves - once the

l ime - would probably weigh about while the quicklime does not

1 0 kilos

region of for the to

f or a f ull grown adult,

l ose volume during the process.

this calculation of 8 0% of the bone originally,

Based o n

l ime c onglomerate being quicklime

we can e stimate that the . total quicklime used was

2 62,400kg.

a s

f lesh had been removed by the quick-

We cannot at present adjust this

f act that a ll burials were adults,

but i t will

i n t he

f igure

t o a llow

s erve meanwhile

i ndicate the order of magnitude of t he quicklime production.

O bservationo a nd C onclusions

6 .

The

author has

t aken an optimistic and positive view of the

possibility of population density e stimates,

and has

l ife expectancy,

I n

number of generations

etc.

a lso postulated

s hort,

he has

the opposite of the defeatist's attitude o f these problems. one must a lso f actors,

l ook at

and at the

s tumbling blocks s omewhat

s ome of the

s ame t ime,

a s well

l acking,

t he most

to the bone

s ome

i n

s pace

i nterpreting t hese

to d iscussing possible

s tressing the areas

i n which c larity i s

at presnet.

I n e xamining the t ions,

a s

l imitations

give

t aken However,

l imitation i n

important one

c omponents

i nterpreting quicklime

t he

s evere

and artefacts

a like,

damage done by the periodical

i s

a s well

d isturbance of t he

7 24

i nhum-

damage of the quicklime a s

l ime

the additional conglomerate,

due o f

t o

s ucce

k illing

i ve

i nhumations.

We c an a lso add t o this the process

the objects placed with t he d ead by breaking,

distorting these g rave goods. the author's

Thus,

admittedly,

i s e asily d etermined f rom the

1 /4 of t he

l ime

c onglomerate,

profiles,

i t

the upper

3 /4 of t he

t o the i s no

Where the number of f emur heads

l ime

conglomerate where

the upper

Examination o f the upper

packed with bone,

s imilar

t hese upper r egions of the

the

there

l ower l evels of the

can be

r ecorded

action of the

inhumations existed

l ime conglomerate.

a t t he bottom of the s ections,

t ion to a higher degree The author,

i n every a rea of

As t emperatures of 4 002C s laking

c lose to the ground f loor of the

whereas

c entre part of the

z ones.

l ime

l ime

conglomerate

i n a ll

t he 4 002 heat would be at

c onglomerate mass, believes

that

i ts maximum

s o c ausing d estruc-

i n this area than at the bottom

therefore,

c onglomerate

s ection profiles at a ll

by using the

f emur h ead counts

the

' contact'

i t i s within r eason t o

l evels;

l ime

hence the e stimates made

f or the number of dead i n the

t he deposit c an also be applied to the upper

l ime

s hel-

the r e-

a ssume an equal d istribution of bones originally throughout the

1 /4 of

i n

i n the higher

i nternal heat generated by the

the bones were

i n the

3 /4 portion

this heat would naturally be partly a bsorbed i n

t er;

corded profile

i n the upper

Patches of better preserved bones

the areas where a s happens

i s

f or n ew burials has wrought

are well preserved bones

i n measuring

l ime,

there

s tratigraphy do occur often enough t o e s-

fact that numerous

By contrast,

H owever,

3 /4 portion a lso

1 /4 portion of t he conglomerate,

i n making way

greater havoc on the r emains.

l evels.

l ower

i n

l imited

s hows t hat i t was d ensely

l ime conglomerate

f requent d isturbance

i s

even though preservation

3 /4 portion

t o the

but that r ecycling of the

l ower

s ection i nhumed

the evidence

f ew whole ones.

t ime

c ontained s imilar quantities of bones,

t ablish the

t he

i s not s o easy to a ccept the number of those

f ragments of bone with a very

and i ts

i n

i ndividuals

f ound i n the

l ocated at the bottom of

r eason to doubt that at one

bad.

l ink

argument i s based on his e stimation of the number of

i ndividuals buried i n the quicklime. ( 1580)

bending and

the weakest

l ower

3 /4 pertion o f

c onglomerate.

Another l imitation c oncerns e ssary to carry out the process of out earlier,

the quality of the quicklime n ec-

i nhumation effectively.

different qualities of quicklime

use of different l ocal

types of l imestone.

As pointed

are the r esult o f

Then too,

t he

the e ffective-

n ess of the quicklime can be greatly improved by the addition of a small quantity or percentage of earth which contains

s odium,

which

a pparently makes the quicklime more e ffective and d estructive. t ors

l ike these have not been a llowed f or

and a study of these conditions t hrough

f irst hand experience

i n the

Fac-

above observations,

are n ecessary - i n the author's mind -

i n experimentation with animal

s imilar t o those mentioned above,

i f r eally precise r esults

r emains, are

t o

b e a chieved.

While

the

f irst and most important

s evere damaging properties of t he quicklime, t hat the variations

originally,

i t

i s a lso

i n t he

f air t o add

i n the quality of the quicklime do at t imes

r easonbably well preserved pends on the

l imitation r ests

i tems,

the

S ize of the c emetery: the b etter the

chance

a ssure

f requency of these probably d e-

the more grave goods there a re that s ome

7 25

s urvive.

D espite

t his

unusually bad preservation, f ied by r eference l ess of the

the damaged artefacts can often b e

to the pieces that are b etter preserved,

s tate of preservation a s ense of the original r ichness and

extravagance of the offerings buried with t he bodies and r eminds

u s of the g eneral

t ion of Mallorca.

At the

s ame

i s

s oon attained

a ffluence of the Post Talayotic populat ime,

i s not s o bad that we cannot s ee the areas,

i denti-

and r egard-

the overall

s tate of preservation

i nfluence of other g eographic

r epresented i n the typology of the a rtefacts which were deposited

a s grave goods.

7 26

APPE NDIX 3C

APPENDIX

1 .

f ive metal

3 C.

PRELIMINARY BRONZE ANALYSIS

RESULTS

I ntroduction:

C oncerning t he T est S amples

The r esults o f

e lectron microscopic analysis

s amples

programme of

2 00

l isted below. Three

1 800 b .c.

to

the

f rom prehistoric contexts

The f ive

periods.

to R OO b .c.)

( copper and bronze),

of t he

s amples originate s amples

1 400 b .c.),

are

while

r epresented by one

Dr.

P .

i n the Balearic

f or a

I slands a re

f rom three different cultural

f rom the Pretalayotic P eriod

the Talayotic Period

and the Post Talayotic Period

are

c onducted on

f irst of a s eries

s ample each.

( circa

( circa 8 00 b .c.

The analyses were

( circa

1 400 b .c. to

1 23

B .C.)

carried out by

Northover of the Department of Metallurgy of the University of

Oxford.

All of

the

s amples are

inventoried a ccording to the program

s equence.

S ample 1 . The

I nventory n umber A BSM ,EMA 0 01 s aü lple was

( WW 1)

taken from the green encrustration f rom

the

inside of a f ragment belonging to a c eramic c rucible

I ts

examination under the

( undecorated ).

e lectron microscope proved this t o be mainly

c opper oxides with c opper corrosion products. Comments:

Pretalayotic origin 1 973,

earics,

S ample 2 . The the

( EBP),

Stratum

Rock Shelter of Son Matge,

1 1,

s ample was

taken

( WW2)

f rom the green encrustration f rom

i nside of a f ragment belonging to a c eramic crucible

s imilar to Sample

1 ,

Comments:

Pretalayotic origin

taken from a point.

analysis to be

impurities,

and s ome

s light

1 2,

collected

Mallorca,

Ba.-

Spain.

but numerous

( WW3) This proved,

approximately a 1 0%

by a

tin bronze with a

small oxide and s lag

I t has a f ully r ecrystallised equiaxed grain twins

Stratum

I nventory n umber A BS 1 4-EMA 0 03

A s ample was l ow l evel of

( EBP),

Rock Shelter of S on Matge,

earics,

s emiquantitive

( decorated ).

e lectron microscope proved this piece to be

mainly copper oxides with c opper corrosive products.

1 973,

S ample 3 .

Bal-

Spain.

I nventory n umber A BS 14-EMA

I ts examination under the

collected

Mallorca,

i nclusions.

s tructure with annealing

s ubsequent deformation.

The grain

s ize

i s

1 5-20

microns. Comments

Pretalayotic origin 1 973,

( LBP),

S tratum

Rock Shelter of S on Matge,

earics,

Spain.

1 0,

c ollected

Mallorca,

Bal-

S ample 4 .

I nventory n umber A BS 1 4-EMA 0 04

Part of the bronze bead was completely corroded. As

examined a nd f ound t o be

Analysis gave a considerable r esponse

t in contents are enhanced by corrosion,

the original value, Comments:

Post Talayotic origin

ities,

s uggest

5 -10%.

S tratum 2 ,

c ollected

Mallorca,

Bal-

Spain

taken

i ndicated a 6-7%

but with oxide and s lag

gests that this bronze structure

( PT ),

I nventory n umber A BS I V-EMA 0 05

A s ample was

f rom tin.

i s d ifficult t o

Rock Shelter of S on Matge,

earics,

titive analysis

i t

but i t was probably i n the order of

1 971,

S ample 5 .

( WW4)

( WW5)

( Figure 8 0).

f rom a pin

A s emiquan-

tin bronze with a l ow l evel of impur-

i nclusions.

The

effects of etching

i s purer than that i n s ample

3 .

s ug-

The mirco-

i s equiaxed and fully r ecrystallised with annealing twins

but no further d eformation. extensive

Grain s ize

i s 4 0 microns.

There

i s very

intergranular c orrosion attach. Comments:

Talayotic origin

( T),

S tratum 8 ,

Rock Shelter of Son Matge,

collected

Mallorca,

1 971,

Balearics,

Spain

C onclusions

2 .

While the

ured, the

it i s premature to draw any definite conclusions a s

s ource of the bronze

f rom which the Matge

i t does appear that there are

s ome

compositional differences

tin content which s hould become more

s ignificant when a l arger

s eries of

samples are analysed.

The

f act that the c rucible

analysed s how copper with no tin may be age,

but

toric crucibles a s a whole. acteristic of B eaker bronze until a l arger

s eries

LBP analysis result bronze was while

i n u se

s ample

8 00 b .c. Talayotic f rom i ts

Whether this can be

i nteresting i n that

i n the Balearic

i nterpreted a s char-

i t

s ample

3 .

Furthermore,

Sample

f rom the quicklime burial

t in bronze,

c irca

c irca 8 00 b .c.

t in

1 400 b .c.

1 400 b .c.

impurities

t hat

to i s

to

1 23B.C.

+ 1 00 yrs.

to be apparent

in the

7 32

( ABSM,36),

i s a very r efined product. c ontext o f the Post Tala-

appears

to be a high c ontent

though the highly corrosive nature of t he

f ound s eems

to

t he absolute age of t his

1 250 b .c.

that the Talayotic bronze

4 which i s

t hat a true

1 700 b .c.

The

c losely determined a s r adiocarbon analysis,

context has been dated a t

yotic P eriod,

t hemselves.

s uggests

I slands circa

5 from the Talayotic context at Matge,

s ample can be

a normal

i n the Bealearics can not be determined

which e stablishes

i t was

s eems t o be

s hows a true t in bronze with l ow l evel of

purer than that of

s amples

in general a s well a s other prehis-

i s a nalysed f rom EBP a rtefacts

i s

i n

s ignificant i n view of their

i t has been noted by Northover that this

occurrence with Beaker crucibles

to

s pecimens were manufact-

s tate of

l ime

i n which

i ts preservation.

On the w hole, quite encouraging,

t he author f eels

t hat these f irst a nalyses a re

a nd t hat f urther a nalysis

s hould b e o f value

i n d e-

t ermining t he c ompositional make up of the copper a nd b ronze of t he d ifferent periods,

a s well a s eventually l eading t o t he s ource o r

s ources o f t he o res.

7 33

B ibliography

Adrover,

Hno.,R.

1 966.

' Pequeno

I ntento de Lavado de

N atural d e B aleares, Adrover, S ion:

Hno.,R.

X II,

la Cueva d e S on

B oletin d e l a S ociedad d e H istoria

Muleta y l os Resultados Obtenido'.

Palma d e Mallorca,

a nd Basilio Angel,

Hno.

pp.

1 968.

3 8-47.

' El Myotragus d e Cab

Primer Esqueleto Completo del Rupicaprino Endemico de Baleares'.

B oletin d e l as S ociedad d e H istoria N atural d e B aleares, d e Mallorca, Adrover,

pp.

Hno.,R.

1 977.

' Baleafrensis Muletensis,

pp.

J .

1 976.

' L'Evolucio de Myotragus Bate

Biologic Lligat a l Fenomen de

C iencia , H istoria N atural, Basch M .

1 940.

l a I nsularitat'.

40,

pp.

Almagro,

Basch M .

1 941.

Almagro,

Basch M .

1 952.

Almagro,

E spaüa ,

l a Peninsula Basch M .

' El Hallazgo de

Gorbea M .

Amoros L .

en Mallorca'.

L uliana , Amoros,

pp.

1 26-128.

Barcelona.

l a Primera Edad de

I nvasion Celtica en Espaha'.

H istoria d e

1 978.

' C14 y Prehistoria de

Fundacion March,

1 929.

Cueva de

l a Peninsula I berica'.

Madrid.

' Contribucion a l Estudio de Son Bauza.

la Edad d el H ierro

B oliten d e l a S ociedad A rquelogica

Palma d e Mallorca. Amoros L .

Andrews,

1 955.

' Sa Canova,

C .W.

1 914.

Petra Mallorca'.

' A Description of the Skull and Skeleton of a

S ociety o f L ondon , Vol. Hno.

2 06,

1 966.

S eries B ,

H istoria N atural d e B aleares, A .

M illares'. Aspinall,

1 963.

' El

pp.

2 81-305.

' Myotragus balearicus Bate Considerado

c omo Vertebrado Mamifero Troglofilio'.

Arribas,

( Myotragus balearicus with

P hilosophical T ransactions o f t he R oyal

a Notice of a New Variety'.

Basilio,

X II,

B oletin d e l a S ociedad d e

Palma de Mallorca,

Warren,

3 5-38.

S .E.,

Crummet,

J .G.

l os

V ol III, Madrid.

and Newton,

' Neutron Activation Analysis of Faience B eads'. 2 7-40.

pp.

Poblado y l a Necropolis Megalithicos de

B iblioteca P rehistorica H ispaüa , A .,

N oticiario

1 7.

Particularly Modified Rupicaprine Antelope

pp.

2 ,

A mpurias I .

A rquelogico H ispano 2 , Madrid, pp.

Angel,

Un Proces

I .

S eria U niversitaria , Amoros,

' La

A mpurias,

l a Arquelogia'.

' La Ceramica I ncisa de I berica',

1 909.

B arcelona I nstituto d e

l a Ria de Huelva y el Final d e

' Introduction de

1 946.

E spasa Calpe

Almagro,

Palma d e

5 9-94.

l a Edad del Bronce en e l Occidente de Europe'.

H ierro d e

X IX,

4 9-51.

Alcover y Tomas,

Almagro,

Palma

a New Species of Frog'.

B oletin d e l a S ociedad d e H istoria N atural d e B aleares, Mallorca,

X III,

7 5-92.

R .G.

1 972.

A rchaeometry 1 4,

Bibliography

Bada,

J .L.

( continued-2)

and S chroeder,

R .A.

1 973.

' Glacial-Postglacial Temperature

Differences Deduced f rom Aspartic Acid Racemisation

S cience 2 , Vol.

1 82,

Bate,

D .M.

z ine ,

New S eries,

Bate,

D . M.

e aric

I slands'.

London, Bate,

1 909.

D . M. I I,

Bate, pp.

Vol.

VI,

London,

pp.

G eological M aga-

3 85-388.

' On the P leistocene Ossiferous Deposits of the B al-

G eological M agazine , New Series, Decade VI, Vol. I ,

1 919.

' On a New General of Extinct Muscardine Rodent f rom

G eological M agazine, New Series, Decade VI,

I slands'.

London,

D .M.

ranean

Decade V ,

3 37-345.

the Balearic Vol.

i n Fossil B one'.

3 5-38.

' A New Artiodactyla f rom Mallorca'.

1 918.

pp.

pp.

pp.

1 944.

3 42-352.

' Pleistocene Shrews

f rom the Larger Western M editer-

G eological M agazine, Natural History Series, London,

I slands'.

7 28-769.

Birkhoff,

G .D.

Blinkenberg,

C .

Boekschoten,

G .L.

Cyprus'.

A esthetic M easure ,

1 933. 1 926.

' Fibules Grecques

and Sondaar,

P .Y.

et Orientales,

1 972.

Copenhagen.

' On the Fossil Mammalia of

K nok , N ederlands A kademie v an W etenschappen , P roceedings .

S eries B ,

Vol.

Boekschoten,

7 5,

G .L.

No.

Goody and Hecht, Gimpera,

4 ,

Amsterdam,

and Sondaar,

P .Y.

pp. 1 977.

3 06-338. ' Insularity and I ts E ffects

M ajor P atterns i n V ertebrate E volution ,

on Manual Evolution'.

Bosch

Cambridge.

New York,

pp.

H echt,

6 71-707.

E ditoria C atalana ,

P .

1 919.

' Prehistoria Catalana'.

P .

1 920.

' La Arquelogia Preromana Hispanica'.

Barcelona. Bosch

Gimpera,

A ppen-

d ices a l a H ispania d e S chulten , Barcelona. Bosch

Gimpera,

P .

1 945.

Poblados de Espana', Burleigh,

R .

' El Poblamiento Antigio y l a Formacion d e

and Clutton-Brock,

balearicus Bate,

1 909

J .

1 980.

2 85-288.

Braidwood,

1 957.

J .R.

and Reed,

Bray,

W .

and Trump,

P ress ,

London,

Camps,

Cantarelles,

pp.

' The Survival o f Myotragus

i n the Neolithic of Mallorca'.

A rchaeological S ciences 7 , pp.

Eastern Prehistory'.

l os

Mexico.

C . W.

' Jericho and I ts S etting

A ntiquity 3 1, pp. D .

J ournal o f

i n Near

7 3-81.

1 970.

' A Dictionary of Archaeology'.

P enguin

1 972.

' Ceramica

C aja d e

1 59. C .

A horras y M onte P iedad d e l a B aleares,

7 38

I ncisa en Mallorca'. Palma d e Mallorca.

B ibliography

Cartailhac, Castillo,

( continued-3)

E .

1 892.

Yurrita,

A .

s idad d e B arcelona , Cassany,

J .

' Monumentos Primitif des 1 928.

I lles Baleares',

and Maluquer d e Motas,

J .

1 949.

' La Cultura de

R evista d e l a S ocieded L uliana XV, pp.

Chaplin,

1 971.

R .E.

Childe,

B .V.

U niver-

' La Cultura d e Vaso Campaniforme'

Barcelona.

e n Cataluna'.

S eminar P ress ,

Toulouse.

' The Study of Bones

Londcn and New York,

1 957.

l a Lagozza

5 0-52.

f rom Archaeological

pp.

S ites'.

8 4-88.

' The Dawn of European Civilisation'.

P aladin P ress,

L ondon. C lark,

J .C.D.

1 954.

' Excavations of Star Carr.

S ite at S eamer Near S carborough, C larke,

R . M.

1 975.

' A Calibration Curve

A ntiquity XLIX, pp.

C oll,

Camps,

Rossello,

J .,

An Early Mesolithic

C ambridge P ress .

f or Radiocarbon Dates'.

2 51-266.

Camps,

Bordoy,

Yorkshire'.

G .,

Cantarelles,

Moll,

' Notas pas una Tipologia de

Sastre,

C ., J .

Plantalamor,

and Bonet,

Massanet,

Vallespir,

L .,

A .

l a Ceramica Talayoitca Mallorquina'.

1 969.

S ep-

a rata d e M ayurqa 1 1, Miscelanea de Estudios Humanisticos. Collcutt,

S .

1 979.

Colom,

G .

L uliana , Colom,

1 957.

W orld

' Analysis of Quaternary Cave S ediments'.

A rchaeology, R outeledge a nd K egan P aul, London, pp. ' Bibliographia d e

l as Baleares'.

2 90-298.

E studio G eneral

Palma de Mallorca.

G .

1 975.

' Sobre

l os Nuevos Nociones Generales

Sobre

la Evolu-

t ion Paleogeografica y Poblamiento d el Archipielago Balear desde e l Eocene a l Cauternario'. pp.

R evista B alear 28-39, Palma de Mallorca,

7 -34.

Colominas,

Roca,

J .

1 915.

' Sobre L 'Edad de Bronce a Mallorca'.

A nuari d e l 'Institut d 'Estudis C atalans 5 , Barcelona. Colominas,

Roca,

J .

L uliana ,

1 923.

Etnological

Colominas,

Roca,

M egalighicas

d es

J .

i

Prehistoria,

and Picart,

l ' Alt Ergell'.

C atalans 6 , Barcelona pp. Courtin,

J .

1 962.

' La Bronce de

M .

1 923.

' Sepulcres

en Cistes no .

A nuari d e l 'Institut d 'Estudis

' La Neolithique de

F rancaise .

Cosgrove,

and Cosgrove,

H .S.

Cambridge,

Vol.

l a Provence'.

1 924-1927.

of the Mimbres Valley Expedition'. vard University,

Barcelona.

4 7.

P rehistorique C .B.

l a Cultura dels Talayots d e

B oletin d e l 'Associaco C atalana d 'Arquelogica

I lle de Mallorca'.

M usee d e S ociete

' The Swart Ruin:

Report

P apers o f t he P eabody M useum ,

1 5, 7 39

No.

1 ,

pp.

1 00-103.

Har-

Bibliography

Crusafont,

( continued-4)

Pairo M .

1 966.

Palma de Mallorca,

Crusafont,

Pairo,

M .

dans

tragus batei,

s p.'.

Paris,

pp.

Cuerda,

J .

pp.

and Angel,

Mamifere Ruminant, n ov.

7 -12. Basilio,

J .

1 966.

' Un Myotragus,

l 'Ile d e Mallorca:

Myo-

C entre d e R esearch , A cademie d e S cience ,

2 014-2015. 1 966 and

1 974.

and Adrover,

Mallorca con D os

' Los Tiempos Cuaternarios en l as Baleares'.

R .

1 969.

P .E.,

Palma de Mallorca.

' Mandibula d e Myotragus d e e s Bufador,

Incisevos y Dos Premolars'.

C entro d e I nvestigaciones C ientificas , Damon,

Hno,

l e Villafranchien d e

S ociedadde H ostoria N atural d e B aleares, Cuerda,

Evolucion y Relaciones

B oletin d e l a S ociedad d e H istoria N atural d e

del Genero Myotragus'.

B aleares,

' Sobre e l Origin,

Long,

A .

and Wallick,

A cta G eoZogica H ispanica ,

Madrid,

E .I.

1 972.

pp.

9 9-103.

' Dendrochronological

P roceedings o f t he 8 th I nternational C onference o n R adiocarbon D ating , Lower Hutt City I , Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time S cale'.

pp.

4 5-59.

Daniel,

G .

H udson ,

London.

1 967.

Dehaut,

E .G.

' Megalithic Builders of Western Europe'.

1 920.

T hames a nd

' Les Antilopes Rupicaprines Pleistocene d es I les

C ontribucio P ulbicada a l es C ontribut ions a l 'Etude d e l a V ie V ertebree I nsulaire d ans l a R egion M editerr aneene O ccidentale e t P articulierment e n S argaigne e t C orse, Paris. Baleares

et d e

Desacheaux,

C .

l as

Sargaigne'.

1 961.

' Encepales d 'Artiodactyles Fossiles'.

T raite d e P aleontologie 4 , Vol. 1 , pp. Driesch von den,

L .

Peninsula Iberica'. Duplessy, 2 26,

pp.

Ensenat,

J .C.,

1 979.

Labeyrie,

Estrany,

J .

Lalou,

B .

1 958.

C .

H .V.

Estrany,

B .

1 963.

AmpuriasXXII-XXIII,

1 970.

N ature

' Noticias

s obre

Barcelona.

e l Hallazgo en Mallorca d e

I ncisas d e Estilo de Vaso Campaniforme'.

N acional d e A rquelogia , Barcelon, pp. Estrany,

B .

1 967.

C ongree

1 84.

' Apartacion a l Conocimiento de

t ivos Pobladores de Mallorca'. Mahon,

and Nguyen,

' Nuevo Hallazgo de Ceramico Arcaica c on

I ncisa en Mallorca'.

unas Ceramicas

Ensenat,

' C14 y Prehistoria d e l a

S eria U niversitaris, Madrid.

6 31.

Decoraction Ensenat,

and Morales A .

A rticle d e

1 805-1904.

l os Primi-

X C ongreso N acional d e A rquelogia ,

Minorca.

Ensenat,

Ensenat,

C .

1 976.

' Las P laquetas de P lomo Mallorquina'.

T rabajos d e M useo d e M allorca 1 9, Palma de Mallorca.

7 40

Bibliography

Evans,

J .D.

( continued-5)

1 973.

' Islands a s Laboratories of Cultural Change'.

E xplanation o f C ultural C hange, M odels i n P rehistory, L ondon,

pp.

Ewbank,

et a l.

T he

Duckworth,

5 17-520. 1 964.

' Sheep in the

I ron Age:

A Method of Study'.

P roceeding o f t he P rehistoric S ociety 30, London, pp. 423-436. Fernandez, vaciones

J .H.,

en e l

P lantalamor,

Massanet,

L .

and Toop,

S epulcor Megalithicos d e Ca Na Costa,

C .

1 974.'Exca-

Formentera'.

E studios d e P rehistoria B alear 1 , Palma d e Mallorca. Fernandez,

Miranda,

M .

and Waldren W .H.

Valldemosa y la P eriodisation de l as Analisis de Carbon

1 4'.

1 974.

' El Abrigo d e

S on Matge,

l a Prehistoria Mallorquina Mediante

T rabajos d e P rehistoria 3 1, Madrid, pp.

2 87-304. Fernandez,

Miranda,

Mallorca'.

B iblioteca P rehistorica H ispa i ia , Madrid.

M .

1 979.

Fernandez,

Miranda M .

and Waldren,

Taula de Torralba d e S alort, Font Obrador,

B .

1 967.

Forbes,

pp. Jr.,

W .H.

Minorca'.

1 979.

l a Prehistoria d e

' Excavaciones en la

P rehistoria .

Madrid.

' El Especimen Huesos Tallado en l as Necropolis

de Mallorca and Minorca'. Minorca,

' Secuencia Cultural de

X C ongreso N acional d e A rqueologia ,

Mahon,

1 27-134. A .

and Croeder,

Abstract S igns:

T .

1 979.

' The Problem of France-Cantabrian

Agenda f or a New Approach.

l edge

and Kegan Paul,

Frey,

O .H.

yot,

Seidlung von s"Illot,

1 968.

London,

Vol.

1 0,

No.

W orld A rchaeology , 3 ,

pp.

Route-

3 50-366.

' Weiter Bericht uber die Untersuchungen i n der TalaMallorca,

M adrider M itteilungen 9 ,

Heidleberg. Frey,

O .H.

Frey,

O .H.

S 'Illot, G eist,

G eist,

' Untersuchungen zu de Kleinfunden aus S 'Illot,

and Rossello,

Mallorca'.

V .

Mal-

1 966.

V .

1 966.

Bordoy,

G .

1 964.

' Ein Talayot-Seidlung

s e

M adrider M itteilungen 5 , H eidleberg and Madrid.

' The Evolutionary S ignificance of Mountain Sheep

E volution 20, pp.

H orns'.

pp.

1 969.

M adrider M itteilungen 1 0, H eidleberg.

l orca',

5 58-566.

' The Evolution of Horn-like Organs'.

B ehaviour 27,

1 75-214.

Giro,

P .

I X-X,

pp.

Giro,

P .

1 947.

' Nuevos Hallazgos Arquelogicos en e l Panades'.

A mpurias

2 53-268. 1 953.

' Un S epulcro Almeriense en e l Termino de Pachs'.

A mpurias XV-XVI, pp.

3 27-333.

7 41

Bibliography

Graves, i cus

W .

( continued-6)

and Waldren,

en l as Cuevas d e

Arquelogicos

A .

1 913.

1 967.

' El Yacimiento de Myotragus balear-

B oletin d e l a S ociedad d e H istoria N atural

en Mallorca'.

d e B aleares XII, pp. Grenier,

W .H.

S on Muleta y s u Relaciones con l os Niveles 5 2-59.

F ontemoing ,

' Bologne Villanovienne et Etrusque'.

Paris. Grosjean,

R .

Occidentale 6 5,

Paris,

Grosjean, Guerin,

1 961.

pp. R .

C .

' Les Baleares

Impressions

et L eur Rapport avec

1 966.

1 965.

' La Corse avant

l 'Histoire'.

' Gallogoral meneghinii,

G eologique, Faculties de Science,

2 1,

N .

2 pp.

A nthropolgie

4 91-501.

1 978.

1 1,

Paris

Rutimeyer

rine du Villefranchien d 'Europe Occidentale'.

Gutherz,

l a Mediterranee

s ur la Civilisation Talayotique'.

pp.

1 878,

un Rupicap-

D ocument d e L aboratoire

1 -350.

G allia P rehistoire

' Informations Archaeologiques'.

6 78-690.

Guilaine,

J .

1 967.

' La Civilisation du Vaso Campaniforme dans

l e

C entre N ational d e R esearch S cientifique,

Pyrennees Francaise'. Carcassone. Guilaine,

J .

pp.

1 970.

' Le Languedoc Occidentale,

Carcassone,

1 13-117.

Guilaine, i llon,

J .

1 972.

J .

Habermehl,

' L' Age du Bronze en Languedoc Occidentale,

1 970 K .H.

( Personal Correspondence). 1 961.

' Alterbestimmung bei H austieren P elztieren un

P aul P arey,

Bein Jagdbaren Wild'. Hack,

J .T.

1 942.

Harrison, London,

Vol. R .J.

pp.

Harrison, i n Spain', Harrison,

Hamburg.

' The Changing Physical Environment of the Hopi

I ndians of Arizona'. Cambridge,

Pous-

K linchsieck , Paris.

Ariege'.

Guilday,

3 5,

P apers o f t he P eabody M useum , No.

1 974.

1 .

pp.

Harvard University,

7 8-80.

' Origin of the Bell Beaker Cultures'.

A ntiquity ,

99-109-

R .J.,

Quero,

S .

and Priego,

A ntiquity 44, pp. R .J.

1 977.

C .M.

1 975.

' Beaker Metallurgy

2 73-278.

' Beakers

B ritish A rchaeological R eview , pp.

L e Groupe de Veraza,

L es C itation N eolithique d u M idi d e F rance .

Verazien'.

i n Britain and Europe. Supplementary S eries

F our Studies'. 2 6,

Oxford,

5 -14.

Harrison,

R . J.

1 980.

Western Europe'.

' The Beaker Folk,

Copper Age Archaeology

T hames a nd H udson, London. 7 42

i n

B ibliography

Harrison,

( continued-7)

R .J.

1 981.

' The

I berian Conference'.

U niversity o f K ent

( in press). H emp,

W .

London, Hooten,

E .A.

8 ,

No.

Jacobsen,

A ntiquaries J ournal 1 2,

' The Navetas of Mallorca'.

1 27-135. 1 920.

' Indian Village

S ite

P apers o f t he P eabody M useum ,

Ohio'. Vol.

1 932. pp.

a nd Cemetery Near Madisonville,

Harvard University,

Cambridge,

i n the Franchthi Cave,

1 969-1971.

1 .

T . W.

1 976.

' Excavations

H esperia 4 2, pp. 4 5-88 and 2 53-283. Jannoray,

J .

1 946.

' L'Habitat et la Necropole d 'Enserune,

L 'Exploration Archaeologique Recente'. pp.

d ' apres

l 'Academie I e t B .L .,

1 05-107.

K opper,

J .S.

and Waldren,

S ociety of Natural Kopper, Man'.

J .S.

Kurten,

B .

S ciences,

and Waldren,

D iscovery,

W .H.

1 967.

philadelphia,

W .H.

1 968.

Yale University,

1 968.

F rontiers,

' Myotragus balearicus'. Vol.

3 0,

pp.

1 05-107.

' Extinct Animal and Prehistoric

New Haven,

No.

2 ,

' Pleistocene Mammals of Europe'.

Vol.

3 ,

pp.

3 9-44.

W eidenfield a nd

N icolsen, London. Kuss,

S .E.

Lais,

R .

1 969.

1 940.

L eroi-Gourhan, Y ork,

pp.

Lilliu,

G .

( Personal

c orrespondence)

' Uber Hohlensediments'. A .

1 967.

Q uarta 33, Berlin, pp.

' Treasures of Prehistoric Art'.

and Biancofiore,

F .

1 959.

Mallorca'.

' Primi S cavi de Villagio Tala-

A nnali d ell F acolta d e L ettree d ell

U niversita d i C agliari 27, Sardinia, pp. G .

1 962.

d e S es Paisses, Lilliu,

G .

Nuraghi'.

A brams, New

5 13-514.

yotico de S es Paisses,

Lilliu,

5 6-108.

1 972.

' Cenno

1 -44.

s ui piu Recenti S cavi nel Villago Talayotico

S cavi S ardi 1 8, Cagliari, pp. 2 2-48.

Mallorca'.

' La Civilta dei Sardi da Neolitico a ll Eta d ei

A nnali d ell F acolta d e L ettree d ell U niversita d i C agliari,

S ardinia. MacNally,

L .

1 968.

Maluquer de Motes,

' Highland Year'. J .

and B osch,

Antiguo y l a F ormacion de Maluquer d e Motes,

J .

P an B ooks .

Gimpera,

P .

London.

1 945.

l os Pueblos de Espaha'.

1 949.

' La Cultura de

R evista d e l a S ociedad L uliana x v

( R.S.L.),

7 43

' El P oblamiento Mexico.

l a Lagozza e n Cataluna'. pp.

4 6-49.

Bibliography

( continued-8)

Maluquer de Motes,

J .

1 949.

' yasos de Boca Cuadrado e n Cataluha'.

R evista d e l a S ociedad L uliana x v , Maluquer de Motes,

J .

1 946.

A mpurias y n and VIII, pp. Maluquer de Motes, Necropolis d e

J .

( R.S.L. ) ,

pp.

5 0-52

' Las Culturas H allstatticas en Cataluha' 1 22.

1 951.

' Nuevo Camp d e Urnas en Cataluha:

l a Bovila Roca de Palleja'.

La

A rchivos E spaT iol d e

A rqueologia XXIV, pp. 204. McKerrell,

H .

1 972.

' On the Origins of British Faience B eads a nd Some

P roceedings o f t he P re-

Aspects of the Wessex-Mycenae Relationship'.

h istoric S ociety 38, pp. 286-301. Mills,

D .

1 974.

' Hypnomys morpheus:

Mascaro,

Pasarius,

an Osteological

S wedish N ational M useum ,

parative Rodentia'.

J .

1 967.

tudy a nd C om-

Stockholm.

' Corpus de Toponima de Mallorca'.

G ravicas

M iramar V , Palma de Mallorca. Morales,

A .

1 979.

' C14 y Prehistoria de

l a P eninsula I berica'.

S eria

U niversitaria, Madrid. Muhoz,

A .M.

1 965.

U niversidad d e B arce-

' Cultura Neolitica

l ona, Barcelona. Muhoz,

A .M.

Murray, Palol,

1 967.

M .

1 938.

de P .

de

de P .

' Una Necropolis de

B . Q uaritch 1 1. London..

l a Edad del Hierro Descubierta

A nales d el I nstituto d e E studios G erondenses , Barcelona.

and Maluquer de Motes,

la Necropolis d e Agullana'.

Pericot,

1 4-15.

' The Cambridge Expeditions'.

1 948.

en Camellera'. Palol,

' La Cronologia de Radiocarbono en l a P eninsula

P yrenae 3 , Barcelona, pp.

I berica'.

Garcia,

L .

1 973.

J .

1 944.

' Avance d e

l os H allazgos

A mpurias VI, Gerona.

' The Balearic

I slands'.

T hames a nd H udson ,

London. Petrie,

W . M.F.

1 912.

' The Foundation of the A lphabet'.

M cMillan ,

London. Piedrabuena,

Florit,

G .

1 962.

P lantalamor,

Massanet,

L .

vaciones en e l Abrige de

and Waldren, S on Matge'.

P rehistoria 5 , Madrid, pp. Pons,

Moya,

de Majorque,

J .

1 977.

' El Myotragus Coexistio c on l os Primeros

D iario B aleares,

Habitantes de Minorca'.

Palma d e Mallorca.

W .H.

1 976.

2 43-252.

' La Nouvelle E spece Myotragus

Baleares'.

' Campana de Exca-

Noticiaro Arquelogico Hispanico,

antiquus de

l 'Isle

K oninklijke N ederland s A kademie v an W eten-

s chappen , Amsterdam, Series B . Vol. 8 0. pp.

7 44

2 15-221.

Bibliography

Quimby,

( continued-9)

D .C.

and Gaab,

J .E.

1 957.

' Mandibular Dentition a s as Age

J ournal o f W ild L ife M anagement 2 1,

I ndicator i n Rocky Mountain E lk'. pp.

1 -34-

Ralph,

E . K.

and Michael,

H .N.

S equoia and Bristlecone Pine Absolute Chronology, Reed,

C .A.

I .U .

1 970.

MASCA Radiocarbon

Samples'.

Renoms,

and S chaeffer,

W .M.

1 972.

Field Museum of Natural Costa,

d e S abadell, Renoms,

V .

1 943.

Sabadell,

Costa,

V .

C .

1 973.

' Prehistoria'.

C .

J ohnathan C ape ,

and Clarke,

R .M.

J . W.F.

of Mallorca'. pp.

1 980.

1 974.

pp.

1 -88.

A nuari d el M useo

l a Ciudad d e

Sabadell,

2 4-37.

the Radiocarbon Revolution and

London.

' Problems of the Radiocarbon Cal-

' On Two New Micromammals

Geological

F ieldiana ,

pp.

A rchaeometry 1 6, pp. 5 -18.

endar and I ts Calibration'. Reumer,

Chicago,

Museo d e

Sabadell,

' Before Civilisation,

Prehistoric Europe'. Renfrew,

History ,

1 8-21.

A nuari d el M useo d e S abadell , Renfrew,

a nd

' The Coevolution of S ocial

' La Soccio de Prehistoria'. pp.

1 943.

f or

O lason , pp. 6 19-623.

Behaviour and Cranial Morphology i n Goat and Sheep'. Zoology,

Dates

Radiocarbon Variations

I nstitute,

f rom the P leistocene

U niversity o f U trecht , Utrecht,

4 73-482.

Robinette,

W .L.,

Jones,

D .A.,

Rogers,

G .

and Gashwiler,

J .S.

1 957.

' Notes on Tooth Development and Wear i n Rocky Mountain Mule Deer'.

J ournal o f W ild L if t M anagement 2 1, pp. Romer,

A .S.

P ress ,

Chicago,

Rossello,

1 962.

' Vertebrate Paleontology'.

pp.

Bordoy,

G .

Bordoy,

U niversity o f C hicago

4 73-482. 1 960-1961.

' La Facies

Cultura Pretalayotica Mallorquina'. R ossello,

1 34-153.

G .• 1 958.

' Cueva Natural'

A mpurias, pp.

en l a

2 63.

' Ceramica I ncisa en Mallorca,

S eparata d e

S tudi S ardi XV and XVI, Cagliari. Rossello,

Bordoy,

G .

1 962.

' Excavaciones en

Artificiales de S on Sunyer'.

l a Necropolis d e Cuevas

E xcavaciones A rquelogicas e n E spa i ia 1 4.

Madrid. Rossello,

Bordoy,

G .

1 964.

Yacimientos Arquelogicos'.

' Ses

Salinas,

avance a l Estudio de

s us

B oletin d e l a S ociedad A rquelogica

L uliana XXIII, Palma de Mallorca. Rossello, S 'Illot,

B ordoy,

G .

and Frey,

Mallorca tM adrider

O .H.

1 964.

' Ein Talayot-Seidlung s e

M illeilungen 5 , Madrid.

7 45

Bibliography

Rossello,

( continued-10)

Bordoy,

G .,

Norte de Son Real

Kopper,J.S.

- Figueral,

and Waldren,

Santa Margarita,

W .H.

1 967.

Mallorca'.

' Complejo X

C ongreso

N acional d e A rquelogia , Mahon, Minorca, pp. 83-85. Rossello,

Bordoy,

G .

and Mascaro,

Pasarius,

historicos de Mallorca and Minorca'. Ministerio de Ciencia, Rossello,

Bordoy,

G .

para e l Estudio de

del

Bordoy,

1 973.

1 974.

Bordoy,

' Imhotep,

Pre-

I niciales'.

Bases

C aja d e A horras y M onte

Palma de Mallorca.

and Waldren W .H.

Bosque de S on Matge,

Rossello,

' Monumentos

' La Cultura Talayotica en Mallorca,

s us Fases

G .

1 967.

Madrid.

P iedad d e l as B aleares , Rossello,

J .

C atalog° d el M use° d e M allorca ,

Valldemosa'.

G . , Cuenca,

Sanchez,

1 973.

' Excavaciones en e l Abrigo

P rehistoria 1 1, pp. P .

and Montaner,Pedro de,

S eparata d e M ayurga XII,

Hijo de Ptah'.

1 -86. A .

Palma d e

Mallorca. Rossello,

Bordoy,

G .

1 962.

' Ultimas Aportaciones a l Conocimiento de

C ongreso I nternacional d e C iencias P rehistoricas y P rotohistoricas, Rome, pp. 4 16-419. l a Cultura Pretalayotica Mallorquina'.

Roudil,

J .

and S olier,

M .

1 970.

' La Languedoc Orientale:

Final et l e Chalcolithique du Languedoc Orientale. Sauter, tion

M .

1 955.

' Sepultures

Palaefilliques'.

Sauter,

M .

T hames a nd H udson ,

1 976.

Savory,

H .N.

' Spain and Portugal,

T hames a nd H udson ,

S chmidt,

1 903.

' Tordos'.

t o the Roman Con-

London.

Peninsula'. H .

1 33-139.

' Switzerland from Earliest Times

1 968.

1 17.

a Cistes du Basin du Rhone et Civilisa-

S ibrum 1 1, pp.

quest'.

Le Neolithique

C arcassone, pp.

the Prehistory of the

I berian

London.

Z eitschrift f ür E thnologie . pp.

3 9-41

and 4 38-469. S chule,

W .

and P ellicer,

( Granada)'. Shepard, 6 09,

M .

1 966.

' El Cerro de

l a Virgen,

Orce

E xcavaciones A rquelogicas e n E spana 46, Madrid.

A .O.

1 965.

' Ceramics

f or the Archaeologist'.

Publication

C arnegie I nstitution o f W ashington , Washington.

S ondaar,

P .Y.

Aegean'.

O pera B otanica , No. 30. A . String, Evolution i n the Aegean,

pp.

' Paleozoology and the Pleistocene Mammals of the

6 5-70.

S ondaar,

P .Y.

Major Patterns pp.

1 973.

1 977.

' Insularity and I ts Effects on Mammal

i n Vertebrate Evolution.

6 71-707.

7 46

Evolution'.

P lenum P ublishers, New York,

Bibliography

( continued-11)

S tone,

and Thomas,

I .F.S.

Faience

L .C.

1 965.

' The U se and Distribution of

i n the Ancient East and Prehistoric Europe'.

t he P rehistoric S ociety 22, London, pp. S tuiver,

M .

and Waldren,

W .H.

1 974.

of Post Talayotic Lime Burials Suess, Time

H .E.

1 970.

1 973.

J .

N ature 255, pp. 475-476.

1 973.

Present'.

Radiocarbon Variations and

O lason , pp. 303-312.

' Similarity of Bones

and Antlers Gnawed by Deer

N ature 246, pp. 428-430.

to Human Artefacts'. Switzur,

t o the

I .U .

Absolute Chronology, A .J.

' 14C Carbonate Dating and the Age

i n Mallorca'.

' Bristlecone Pine Calibrations of the Radiocarbon

S cale f rom 5 400 B .C.

Sutcliffe,

P roceedings o f

3 7-84.

' Clarke's a Calibration Curve

f or Radiocarbon Dates'.

A ntiquity XLIX, pp. 251. Taffanel,

L .,

Taffanel,

I ncineration de Taffanel,

L .,

0 .

and Taffanel,

l a Pneinsula

Taffanel,

O .

J .

and Taffanel,

du . Primier Age du Fer a I nserune et dans

T oulouse, pp.

1 89-203.

Tarradell,

1 960.

d e

M .

la Peninsula I berica. Barcelona.

Tarradell,

1 964.

M .

I llot del Porros, 2 4,

J .

' Les Necropolis

a

1 958.

' La Poterie Grossiere

l a Basse-Valle du Rhone'.

' Problemas Neoliticas'.

d e B arcelona ,

1 958.

T oulouse, pp. 2 27-257.

I berique'.

Symposium d e Prehistorica

I nstitute d e A rquelogia d e l a U niversidad

' Excavaciones en e l Necropolis de S on Real y

Mallorca'.

E scavaciones A rquelogicoas e n E spa i ia

Madrid.

Tarradell,

M .

1 962.

' La Cultura de

l os

S epulcros de Fosa de Cataluha

S aitabi X , Barcelona.

y s us Relaciones con Valencia y Almeria'. Tarradell, c ion'.

M .

1 962.

Veiga Ferriera,

da,

S ociety ,

London,

Veny,

1 947.

C .

Mallorca'. Veny,

C .

Valencia, Veny,

' El Pais Valenciano del Neolitico a l a I berisa-

Ensayo de S intesis,

C .

O .

Vol.

U niversidad d e V alencia . P roceedings o f t he P rehistoric

e t

a l.

1 975.

4 1,

pp.

1 67-177.

' La necropolis

' Cueva d e Cometa dels M orts'.

Lluch,

A rchivo E spaZol d e A rquelogia , Madrid, pp. 46.

1 961. pp.

' Cueva dels Tossal Verts'.

Malbice,

S artabi XI,

2 01.

1 968.

' Las Cuevas

Consejo Superior d e

S epulcrales del Bronce Antiguo de Mallorca'.

I nvestigaciones Cientificas,

I nsituto d e P re-

h istorica E spaP iol d e M adrid . Vilaseca,

S .

1 947.

' El Campo de Urnas d e

l a Obagues d el Monsant'.

A rchivo E spanol d e A rqueologia 66, Madrid.

7 47

Bibliography

Waldren,

( continued-12)

W .H.

1 967.

pp.

' Informe Preliminar S obre Analisis d e Radiocarbono

X C ongreso N acional d e A rqueologia .

en Mallorca'.

Mahon,

Minorca,

7 5-82

Waldren,

W .H.

1 968.

' Mallorcan Chronology f or Prehistory Based on

Radiocarbon Method'. Waldren,

W .H.

Balearic

I slands'.

1 970.

Waldren,

W .H.

1 969.

P yrenae 3 , Barcelona, pp. 4 5-65. ' A Unique Prehistoric Bronze Weapon f rom the

D AMARC S eries 7 , Deya de Mallorca, Baleares. ' Beaker Ware

from the

D AMARC

I sland of Mallorca'.

S eries 6 , Deya de Mallorca, Baleares. Waldren,

W .H.

1 972.

Waldren,

W .H.

I slands'.

W .H. VI

c elona , pp.

Palma d e Mallorca,

XVII,

pp.

3 4-50.

' Excavations of the Rock S helter of S on Matge,

P rehistoria 1 1, Madrid

Valldemosa', Waldren,

1 973.

S ociedad

' Age Determination by Radiocarbon Method'.

d e H istoria N atural d e l as B aleares,

1 974.

' Prehistory and the Archaeology of the Balearic

Symposium of P eninsular Prehistory,

U niversity o f B ar-

3 1-38.

Waldren W .H.

and Fernandez,

Miranda,

M .

1 979.

' The Cultural and Chrono-

I nstituto E spak iol d e P rehistoria , Trabajos de Prehistoria 36, Madrid. l ogical Periodisation of the Prehistory of Mallorca'.

Waldren,

W .H.

S on Matge'. Vol.

1 1,

No.

1 ,

Waldren W .H. an

1 979.

Waldren,

pp.

1 980.

I nventory'.

University,

' A Beaker Workshop Area i n the Rock Shelter of

W orld A rchaeology',

Routledge and Kegan Paul,

London,

4 3-67. ' Radiocarbon Determination i n the Balearic

I slands:

D onald B aden P owell Q uaternary R esearch C entre, Oxford

Oxford.

W .H.

1 980.

' The

S ettlement Complex of Ferrandell-Oleza,

B eaker S ettlement from the Balearic

a

D onald U niversity o f O xford and

I slands of Mallorca'.

B aden P owell Q uaternary R esearch C entre, D AMARC S eries 8 , Deya de Mallorca, Baleares. Waldren,

W .H.

1 981.

F errandell-Oleza,

' Preliminary Report on the S ettlement Complex of

Valldemosa,

Mallorca.

( in preparation).

D AMARC

S eries 1 0, Deya de Mallorca, Baleares. Waldren,

W .H.,

Kerson,

C .

and Herz,S.

Pottery Firing Experiments'.

1 981.

' Pit and Mound Kiln

D AMARC S eries 1 2. Deya d e Mallorca,

Baleares.

7 48

I NTRODUCC ION

p or

SPAN ISH

P epa

TRANSLAT ION

Gasul I

ADDITIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to extend my s incerest gratitude t o B ruce R oss -S mith for his very valuable

s uggestions

work and to P epa G asu11 l ation of

i ts

i n the

r eading of the

f irst draft of this

f or her excellent and e ssential Spanish trans-

I ntroduction.

7 53

I ntroduccion

El propösito d e e sta t esis c iön a cerca de

e s aportar nuevos datos e i nforma-

l a e cologia y la cultura prehistörica balear a partir d e

dos

importantes

l ugares de ocupaciön arqueolögicos y paleontolögicos:

( a )

l a cueva de

S on Muleta

Matge

( 62-25' E,

pectivamente), visionales.

d e

r epresentan e l 1 960 y 1 980. l os

( 1)

1 )

l os

a l as que

Un r esumen d e

s us

e l

abrigo de Son

s ido publicados s e ha

i nformes pro-

l legado e stän basados

i nvestigaciones todos

Data y examina e stas dos madamente,

i mportantes obtenidas

e llos tratados

en e sta t esis.

s ecuencias e stratigräficas 1 00.000

excavaciones

s e demuestra

s istemäticas.

l a perduraciön d el endgmico rumi-

M yotragus h alearicus en Mallorca cuya extinciön se

suponia habia tenido lugar hace unos 4 0.000-20.000 y s e

a portan nuevos datos

a cerca d e

l os

plicaron l a extinciön d e dicho animal,

( 3)

ahos,

f actores que

i m-

ocurrida aproxi-

madamente en tom b a l

2 .200

Rectifica l a f echa d e

l a presencia humana m s antigua en

las

I slas Baleares:

a .C., ( 4)

l oca-

ahos d e antigüedad aproxi-

a travgs d e diversos mgtodos d e dataciön c rono-

mgtricos y d e Con e llo

de

autor y

l levadas a cabo entre

l as aportaciones mäs

s iguientes a spectos,

ante,

y ( b)

trabajos de campo realizados por e l

r esultado de

l es y s in paralelos,

( 2)

3 92-49' N )

( inventariados c omo SM y ABSM r es-

l os que ünicamente han

Las c onclusiones

exclusivamente en

i ncluye

( 62-20'E,

( Fig .

3 92-35' N )

unos

Ademas,

3 .000

g sta

af ios

s e

a .C.

s itua aprox.

antes de

examina y demuestra

hasta aprox.

e l

2 .000

hacia e l

5 .000

supuesto.

l a r elaciones especiales

i stentes entre el hombre y e l a .C.

l o

e x-

eotragus desde el 5 .000

a .C.,

resultado de

s u c ontem-

poraneidad. ( 5)

Realiza un e studio s obre

importante

s ecuencia d e

l os

investigados

s u contenido,

( Matge);

correlaciön desde e l ( 6)

l a

zonas de habitaci6n de uno de

A s u v ez, tambign

l a

e stablece

examina

4 .000 a .C.

hasta e l

animales

un momento tan antiguo como e l S e

c onfirma l a presencia de

lugares

a prox.,

fase

c ampaniforme

a .C.

a prox.

domesticos

( cabra,

en Mallorca,

en

2 .700 a .C.

c erämica campaniforme

d e ocupaciön i nvestigados,

a .C.

c ronologia y

1 .400

l a evidencia c erämica m s antigua y

i ntroducciön de

c erdo y ganado vacuno de pequeho tamaho)

( 7)

l as

l ugares de o cupaciön

entre e l

c on una evidencia adicional que tardia que va del

1 .700 a l

en l os

2 .000-1.700 s ugiere una 1 ,400

a .C.

aprox. ( 8)

Las excavaciones

r ealizadas

paciön i nvestigados mica c onsistente

( Matge)

en varios

en uno d e

l os

l ugares d e o cu-

han ofrecido evidencia c eräc entenares d e vasijas,

c or n-

pletas y f ragmentadas pertenecientes misma

fase

cronolögica

( entre e l

todas e llas a l a

1 .300 y e l

1 .000 a .C.,

aprox.). ( 9)

Los

lugares de ocupaciön mencionados han proporcionada

e l primer horno c erämico. d e

entre ( 10)

e l

1 .000 y e l

En uno de

l os

evidencias

( 11)

Este

c ontenia un gran nümero

f ragmentos de c erämica pertenecientes a una 8 00 a .C.

lugares de o cupaciön

f echas d e

y hierro)

en Mallorca.

Finalmente,

i ntroducciön del metal

e xisten

que n os ( cobre,

i nbronce

tambign e s producto d el presente trabajo

evidencia cronol6gica t raducida e n mgtricas,

i nvestigados

cronomgtricas y e stratigräficas-

dican l as

f ase datada

a prox.

l a majoria de

1 10

l ecturas

e llas procedentes de

l a

c rono-

l os

l ugares

d e ocupaciön aqui e studiados.

A pesar de que

e sta t esis

s e base,

en particular,

vestigaciön l levada a cabo en Muleta y Matge, nuestra atenciön a pequehas Marroig

( SMRG)

y e l

l os que el autor ha

" estaciones",

en l a i n-

dedicaremos parte d e

t ales comc

abrigo d e Muertos Gallard ( AMG)

l a cueva d e S on

y otros

realizado por otros pero que ofrecen todas l as garantias. parte de e sta t esis

s e basa en trabajos ya f inalizados,

yen tambign a lgunos Informes preliminares proyectos en proceso de

e studio.

Los

un programa de

s obre a spectos

E l

e studio

i nvestigaciön s in

en

t rabajo

La mayor

pero

i ncluimos porque

para c omprender nuestra investigaciön. despugs d e todo,

l ugares

i nvestigado personalmente o a travgs del

s e

i nclu-

concretos y

s on

importantes

s obre Mallorca e s, s oluciön d e c on-

tinuidad. Los dos

lugares

d e ocupaciön de Muleta y Matge

binaciön que no

s olo e s

ünica en Mallorca y en e l

s ino en cualquier

( 1)

l ugar del mundo.

Ambos

amplio y ,

l ögica de todas

por tanto,

l as Baleares.

r egistro prehis-

c on mayor duraciön c ronoJuntos ofrecen una s ecuen-

c ia e colögica y cultural de niveles casi s obre e l periodo que ( 2)

i nvestigamos

( fig .

s in

interrupciön

2 ).

At hos yaciemientos han proporcionado abundante de

r estos öseos de

f auna extinguida en l a

mente desarrollada de manera endgmica, antilope

M yotragus b alearicus .

t ificados a l o ( desda ( 3)

l as Baleares

Y e llo por varias razones:

lugares de o cupaciön c ontienen e l

törico mäs

f orman una c om-

r esto de

Ambos

l argo de

l a base d e lugares

mäs antigua de

1 0 m .

c uriosa-

e specialmente e l

En Muleta aparecen e stra-

l a s ecuencia hasta e l perfodo H oloceno).

i sla,

l a presencia humana

aproximadamente

a .C.,

y a su vez d emuestran

entre

e l hombre y e l

ü ltimo

evidencia

d e dep6sitos a cumulados

i ncluyen evidencias d e l a

i sla,

en torno a l

M yotragus b alearicus ,

l a base a limentaria i ndigena mäs

7 56

5 .000

l a e strecha r elaciön existente s iendo e ste

importante.

( 4)

Las estratigrafias d e ambos traslapan desde e l

lugares d e ocupaciön

5 .000 a .C.

aprox.

s e

en adelante,

y c on-

tienen materiales a rqueoldgicos que no t ienen precedentes en

l as Baleares,

f romando un corpus para futuras

encias cronolögicas y materiales. uaciön y f inalidad d e

l os dos

r efer-

A pesar d e que

l a s it-

a sentamientos d ifiere

l o

que nos proporciona una evidencia combinada d e gran i ntergs t anto g eneral c omo e specifica f orman una " norma"

d e a contecimientos

importante

cronolögicos para parte d el

Cuaternario y todo e l Holoceno. E sta tesis e llo,

trata d e a spectos

tanto e col6gicos

como culturales.

s e dedica un e spacio considerable a l a r eferencia,

y c omentarios de

l os

r egistros d e

l a f auna

f ösil de

que abarca varios milliones d e af ios.

De t odos modos,

c omentarios

s e

inicio d e

l os

i nvestigados,

lugares

r efieren a l momento d e

El 6nfasis,

e l

hace aprox.

2 50.000

l as

e specificos.

t rabajo La

i nclu-

informaciön y d escripciön

e stratigrafias d e Muleta y de materiales

anteriores a l

s e ha realizado d ebido a s u importancia

i ntrinsica,

a senta-

no

s olo de

e ste ünico y s in precedente

lugar de ocupaciön s ino tambi6n por l a

naturaleza

l ugares.

una breve

s imilar d e

ambos

i ntroducciön s obre

g eneral y s obre

El

autor cree que presentar s ölo

l a evidencia de

a spectos anteriores

l os registros

a l a sentamiento de

d e Muleta s erfa d estruir l a importancia r eal de r ica

s ecuencia estratigräfica del

l ugar,

valor como e stratigrafia s inparalelos

Ademäs, Muleta,

que

gos.

futuros

f ösiles en

l os depösitos

l a poco c orriente y

alterando con e llo

su gran

l ocales ni universales.

i nterrumpir y s eparar

l a s ecuencia e stratigräfica d e

incluye l os niveles paleontolögicos y s us materiales,

s eria alterar gravemente una posible fuente de l os

l os

e stratigraffas d e

t iempo y e l e spacioo dedicados en e ste

s iön en e sta tesis d e numerosas dataciones, miento,

I slas Baleares

l a mayoria d e

af los.

a l os datos paleontolögicos r esponde a motivos d e

l as

l as

Por

d escripciön

investigadores

i nteresados en e l

Tal como demuestran l as

por e l autor,

i nvestigaciones

es en cuevas y abrigos donde

r eferencias a l a lcance d e

e studio d e cuevas y a briefectuadas en e stas äreas

l os

futuros

i nvestigadores

e ncontrarän l a evidencia d e

la ocupaciön baleärica m s antigua.

c onsiguiente,

s eria r elfexiön por parte d el

un momenta de

d rä en evidencia que

en c aso de constatar

Por

l ector pon-

l a presencia d el hombre d el

M esolitco o Paleolitico Superior en l as

I slas Baleares,

y e conomia s in duda e starä basada en e l

M yotragus b alearicus, ya que

6 sta fue

l a fauna mäs

d e ahos,

y tamb An que

t allada a brigos,

s obre a l

l as

encontrados en

a sentamiento d e Matge, S egün e l autor,

j ustifican la inclusiön en e sta t esis, Muchos d e

s edimentolögicas y otras l ögica,

tales

l iminares,

como

l os

l os

l os

contextos d e

s erä de

e stos

una d escripciön detallada y amplia d e a l a sentamiento.

i nformaciön amplia y d e-

e stratigräficos y s us materiales

como l os

i nvestigadores.

i slas durante varios millones

cualquier f uente de

contextos

tales

a nteriores

abundante d e

s u s ubsistencia

e n cueves y l os niveles

i ntrinseco valor para l os

f actores y s us posibilidades mäs que d e una l os

niveles

i ntroducciön,

e studios paleontolögicos,

e stadfsticas

r eferentes

e stadisticas

a l a dataciön o steo-

e studios biom tricos y otros,

y a lgunos e stän en proceso de evoluciön.

7 57

de

d e Muleta anteriores

s on t odavia preAlguna de

l as

i nformaciones mäs adecuadas que nos ofrecen s e

i ncluyen donde e l autor

cree n ecessario para apoyar s us hipötesis.

Hay que

r emarcar que en Muleta y Matge debido,

en gran parte,

a la amplitud de

l a

a las abundantes

dataciones cronol6gicas que nos han proporcionada,

puede documentarse

investigaciön l levada a cabo en dichos un periodo d e unos

l os r esultados e i nformacion obtenidos

2 50.000 af los.

l ugares y

La mayoria d e

s on t otalmente nuevos y o frecen

nuevas perspectivas para l a e cologia y l a cultura prehistöricas de Baleares.

l as

No todos estos datos e i nformaciön pueden aplicarse d irecta

e i nmediatamente Mallorca,

a otros

l ugares ya que por e l momento,

no existen materiales comparables.

dar e d emasiada

importancia s i t enemos

mente en l o r eferente a l os anteriores a l

tanto l os

s ido aplicados en estos inmediatos,

en cuenta esta t esis,

c ontextos d e

a sentamiento y d e

mdtodos d e anälisis,

s us

i ncluso en

A e ste hecho no hay que e special-

l os periodos d e Muleta y Matge

i nicios.

convencionales

Del mismo modo, como

l os

l os nuevos,

que han

l ugares de o cupaciön n o tienen paralelos locales

unicamente pueden encontrarse en otros

l ugares y s on muy

e scasos.

El autor cree que

l imitändose a unos pocos

lugares y e studian-

dolos con d etalle puede ofrecer un cuadro mäs detallado y c oherente que

e l que obtendria tras un e studio s uperficial

lugares de ocupaciön.

I ndudablemente,

mäs

l a ya l arga extension d e

s obre el t ema pero

impide.

Este t exto e s,

en c ierto s entido,

f iesto y c rear hipötesis g enerales, posible,

s olo

i nformaciön s egura,

correlativas y l imites factos de

De todo

e ste t rabajo nos

utilizando para e llo,

d entro de

" arco d e

con l as

durante

que

I slas Baleares

s e han intentado e stablecer

i nfluencia

i nmediate",

toda s u prehistoria.

l ejanos,

r elacionado

E l

autor c ree

l a nueva evidencia necesita un period° d e a similaciön por parte d e

otros

i nvestigadores,

mitirä que

s e

r ealice

l os r esultados de de

l o

r igidos para l os materiales y artemodos,

y sugerido posibles paralelos y comparaciones con materiales coma por e jemplo c on el

l o

un i ntento d e poner d e mani-

s in intentar e stablecer a sociaciones

g eogräficos

l as Baleares.

de un gran nümero de

s e hubiera podido e scribir mucho

1 980,

puede

pesar d e que

sus

y l a aproximaciön que ofrece

e ste trabajo per-

e ste

autor,

El

a l presentar

a ctividades arqueolögicas realizadas hasta f inales

trazar una

l as

importante proceso.

l inea continua de datos

e i nformaciön a

inventigaciones prosiguen y ya han s obrepasado e sta

l inea.

1 .

L ugares d e O cupaciön I nvestigados y E squema C ronolögico ( Figs . 2y 3 )

La organizaciön de e sta t esis ha orden d e

l os d escubrimientos,

mantenerse por concordar c on l os de de

e llas

( Muleta y Matge)

abarcan

prehistöricos

s on

l as l os

s iguiendo e l

c inco grandes periodos prehistöricos

l as Baleares propuestos por e l autor.

estaciones

s ido r ealizada

y s u orden cronolögico natural puede Cada una d e

l as

dos grandes

cuentan con un volumen d e t exto y c ada una

c inco d ivisiones de s iguientes:

7 58

la prehsitoria.

Los periodos

( 1 )

P eriodo a nterior a l A sentamiento, Pleistoceno hasta el 5 .000 a .C. Este periodo consiste en una breve d escripciön de

pecies animales a cerca d e

f ösiles,

s us origenes,

l legada d el hombre. exclusivamente de

( 11)

sus t ipos ancestrales y l o que

d esarrollo y ambiente e colögico a nterior a l a

Los materiales que

en las

P eri 'odo de Asentamiento A ntiguo,

I slas Baleares

v estigados. hombre

Tambi & I

con e l

3 .000 a .C.

i lustran e ste periodo provienen

l a cueva de Muleta.

Este periodo bre

s e

aprox.

5 .000-3.000 a .C.

s e r efiere a l a primera apariciön del homatestiguada en l os

lugares d e o cupaciön i n-

r efiere a l as cuestiones de c oexistencia d el

rumiante end & lico Myotragus baiearicus desde e l

aprox.

l as e s-

s e conoce

5 .000 a l

En e ste periodo l as evidencias d el hombre y M yo-

t ragus aparecen en las estratigrafias de los lugares investigados s in r estos

cerämicos.

E l autor considerä e ste periodo

l ugar de "pre"-cerämico,

ya que cree que

d ebe m s a la pobreza de e ste nivel d e

" a"-cerämico en

l a ausencia d e c erämica s e

c oncreto que a l desconocimiento

l a tecnologia c erämica. En e stos dos periodos,

l os dos

l ugares

d e o cupaciön mäs

una relaciön de ada en la

l a evidencia d etallada proviene de

importantes,

Muleta y Matge.

S e o frece

s us e stratigraffas y s e explica l a metodologia emple-

i nvestigaciön.

P eriod° P retalayötico ,

( III)

a prox.

3 .000-1.400 a .C.

Este periodo e stä principalmente r epresentado por evidencia y materiales hallados mente en a sentamientos a l aire

en cuevas y abrigos l ibre)

donde

l as

a ctivaded c onstructivas

Talayöticas megaliticas no s e han r ealizado todavia. c oetäneo al Neolitico y a l a cultura l ocal L os

lugares de ocupaciön utilizados

l ard y Marroig,

con breves

s ubdividirse de

( 1 )

E ste periodo e s

l as cuevas y abrigos.

s on Muleta,

r eferencias a otros

podido obtenir r esultados y datos periodo puede

de

Matge,

Muertos Gal-

l ugares donde

s e han

s usceptibles d e c omparaciön.

El

l a s iguiente manera:

F ase N eoll "tica A ntigua C erdMica ( NECP ), a .C.

l a

( tambi f t r eciente-

3 .000-2.000

aprox.

Esta f ase marca l a apariciön de

l a c erämica en Matge

j unto con r estos d e M potragus y animales dom6sticos hallados

en e l

l ugar d e habitaciön d el a sentamiento.

F ase C ampaniforme A ntigua

( 2)

1 .750

( EBP ),

aprox.

d el

2 .000 a l

a .C.

E sta f ase marca

l a presencia,

c iön de Matge , de un c ontexto campaniforme,

en e l

l ugar d e o cupa-

asociado con un a rea d e

vivienda y producciön campaniformes,

atestiguado por

c erämicas

j unto c on otros artefactos

l ares f ase

campaniformes d el

a l os hallados en l a evidencia

La evidencia de

l a a bundancia d e

l ugares d e o cupaciön continentales.

s ugiere

c erämica

t ipo EBP

l a

s imi-

En e sta

i ntroducciön d el primer trabajo del metal.

i ncisa en

l os

7 59

l ugares d e o cupaciön principales

( con dataciones de C .

1 4)

y s ecundarios

con materiales comparables) r esultados d e tados d e

( sin dataciones

s on examinados

l as dataciones

a tentamente

d e C .

1 4 pero

junto c on l os

c ronom6tricas absolutas y con

l os r esul-

l os analisis d e l as muestras de bronce provenientes d e

l os

l ugares de o cupaciön i nvestigados.

F ase C ampaniforme T ard i 7a ( LBP ),

( 3)

aprox.

d el

1 .700 a l

l a presencia,

e n Matge

1 .400 a .C. E sta y en otros

f ase

y de caräcter i ndlgena. metal,

s e caracteriza por

lugares de ocupaciön,

de niveles c on c erämica LBP t ardias

En e sta f ase existe evidencia de t rabajo d el

problemätica que hay que ver

corriente,

j unto c on s u uso,

(w )

P eriodo T alayötico , En e sta t esis,

approx.

talayöticas.

Puede

( 1 )

hasta e l momento) 1 4)

3 8 y 3 6)

l as

subdividierse en tres

l a Edad d el Bronce

c onstrucciones megalfticas

f ases:

E dad d el B ronce A ntigua ( EBA),

aprox.

Esta f ase

antigua

i ncluye

l a f echa mäs

de una construcciön Talayötica

procedente de uno d e

Pula - ( SP,37),

1 .400-800 a .C.

e ste periodo c omprende

balear en e l momento de mäximo apogeo de

C .

todavfa mäs

en e l period ( ) Talayötico.

y e s

l os

lugares

1 .400-1.300 a .C. ( disponible

( segün analisis d e

i nvestigados - S on S evera -

tamb An l a f echa mäs

t ardia

( 1.400 a .C.,

ABSM,

de utilizacion de Matge como lugar de habitaciön antes d e

convertirse,

a lrededor d el

1 .300 a .C.

en lugar de enterramiento.

esta gpoca aparece un e stilo c erämico complemente nuevo, algunos cambios en las aquellas d e

c ostumbres de enterramiento que difieren d e

l a f ase campaniforme tardfa. ( 2)

E dad d el B ronce m edia ( MBA), Esta

talayötico:

En

y s e observan

f ase demuestra e l

e s comün el uso d el bronce,

aprox.

1 .300-1.000 a .C.

apogeo d el perfodo cultural l os a sentamientos e stän e n s u

mäximo apogeo y presenta l os edificios m s e laborados.

Matge

f ue

c om-

plemente abandonado como lugar d e habitaciön y utilizado como n ecröpolis,

e stando en funciones

como tal durante unos

pueden e stablecer c ompariciones del

1 .200

con l a t ipologila de

ahos.

S e

l os artefactos

c ontenente europeo. • ( 3)

E dad d el B ronce T ardio ( LBA),

Esta f ase en otros

lugares,

este periodo,

tal

d e

s e caracteriza por

artefactos

como

l o

i ndican l os

tamientos continuan con vigor endo

l as

c on taulas.

d ive d e

E llo ocurre

anälisis

a ctividades

las

a f inales de e sta f ase, En a lgunos

c onstrucciones

a spectos,

t alayöticas.

7 60

d e C .

1 4.

c erämicas pünicas.

construcciön d e murallas d efensivas,

turas existentes y , arios

l as

1 .000-800 a .C.

l a i ntroducciön,

d e hierro.

mientos como S 'Illot aparecen a lgunas

aprox.

en Matge y

a f inales d e En a sentaEn

l os a sen-

c onstructivas,

i ncluy-

r enovaciön d e

l as extruc-

l a c onstrucciön d e

en e sta f ase

s e

s antu-

i nicia e l de -

C V )

P eri 'odo P ost-Talayötico ,

aprox.

El periodo Post-Talayotico yotico par diversos

f actores:

y s u uso g eneralizado, r amiento,

( c)

cambios

c erämica y otros

( b)

( a )

l a

8 00-Colonizaciön Romana

s e distingue del periodo Tala-

i ntroducciön g eneral d el hierro

ciertos cambios en

importantes en

a rtefactos,

y ( d )

l as

c ostumbres de enter-

l a t echnologia y e stilo de

declive uninterrumpido d e

i vidades constructivas Talayöticas y tradiciones. Gallard s on l os

lugares de ocupaciön mäs

l as

f ases

( 1 )

Este period ( ) puede

E dad d el H ierro A ntigua ( EIA), Esta e s una f ase d e l as

d e e ste

1 4 proviene d e Matge y nos

f enömeno de enterramiento

f echa mäs antigua hay que

c ido can l os l ogia a l os primeros

tipos

europeos

l a cual

en cal.

s e

s e pasa

La primera data-

s irve para conocer l a duraciön

l ocal.

1 975).

e l uso generalizado d el hierro.

8 00-600 a .C.

enterrramiento:

En dicho yacimiento,

s iruarla a lrededor del

( Stuiver y W aldren ,

l a f ase

aprox.

t ransiciön durante

c ostumbres de

i ncineraciones en l a t ierra a i nhumaciones

c iön de C .

s ub-

s iguientes:

produce un cambia radical en d e

a ct-

Matge y Muertos

importantes utilizados en

e ste trabajo para d emonstrar e stos a spectos. d ividirse en

l a

l as

6 90 a .C.,

En e ste perfodo

l a

a mitad d e

s e observa t ambi6n

Los artefactos presentan un gran pare-

c ontinentales contemporäneos.

artefactos aparecen vestigios de

fases

contactos c laros can e l mundo c läsico.

En l a t ipo-

anteriores

a l os

Aparecen par primera

v ez cuentas de vidrio a si c oma a lga d e plomo.

E dad d el H ierro M edia ( MIA),

( 2)

Esta f ase

c ontinentales.

indican un c omercio can

s imilares a l os t ipos

europeos

La e stratigrafia de Matge proprociona una s ecuencia f echas para e sta f ase.

constructivas de

r emodelaciön de

las

( 3)

l os

En e ste momento,

l as

a sentamientos parecen l imitarse a l a

c onstrucciones Talayöticas.

E dad d el H ierro T ardia ( LIA), En e sta

ados)

i tems que

a si c oma de artefactos

admirable y numerosas a ctivadades

6 00-400 a .C.

s e caracteriza par una presencia mäs g en-

e ralizada en los a sentamientos de e l mundo c läsico,

aprox.

f ase

s e continuan

aprox.

l os avances

4 00-123

a .B.

( antes mencion-

l levados a cabo en l os a sentamientos y otros yacimientos;

f in-

a liza can l a colonizaciön romana.

S e observa una a cusada d ecadencia

e n l a t echnologia c erämica l ocal,

s eguramente debido a l a f äcil dis-

pcnibilidad de

importadas que ya estaban presentes

en l as

cerämicas c läsicas

f ases anteriores.

2 .

S ituaciön G eogrdfica d e l os L igares d e O cupaciön I nvestigados

Hablando en t 6rminos

s implificados,

l a

f ormaciön d e

B aleares

s e produjo a t ray s d e diversos procesos

e ntales,

fuerzas

movimiento d el n iveles

c onstructivas d e montaf las

s uelo mediterräneo)

del mar.

La t eoria mäs

e i slas

t ectönicos

7 61

l a que

I slas

contin-

( en t rminos del

y e levaciön y descenso d e

a ceptada e s

l as

l os

s itua e n e l P lioceno

e l

i nicio d e

l a

tierra f irme

Esta que de

i ncluia

s eparaciön de

i b6rica

( fig .

actuales

i slas d e Mallorca y Menorca,

E l

creändose

tal c oma

l as

l as dos

conocemos en

En l as

l a masa d e

t ierra que

f ormaban Mallorca-

i slas d e Mallorca y Menorca,

e llos,

s istemas g eolögicos

c ompuesto por Formentera,

es bäsicamente una continuaciön de i nsula, mientras que el

s egundo,

i onada con l os movimientos

las

I biza y Mallorca

cadenas montahosas d e

i ntegrado por Menorca,

2 .1

l a Provenza,

s e extiende

en Francia.

L as I slas y D istancias d e I nterd 's

3 .740km 2 .

Dista de

l a P .

I b6rica

1 67 kms.

Menorca

7 02km 2 .

Dista de

l a P .

I b6rica

2 00 kms.

I biza

5 41km 2 .

Dista d e

l a P .

I bérica

9 2 kms.

8 2km2.

Dista de

l a P .

I bOrica

1 03 kms.

Mallorca

Formentera

3 .

l a pen-

aparece r elac-

orog6nicos d el norte y corresponde a l as

montaf las de Cataluha y parte del macizo de Ampurias que sur d e

mäs o m enos

l a a ctualidad.

I slas Baleares e stän presentes dos

Uno de

creando l a i sla

t ercer y ü ltimo proceso de ruptura s e produjo

con l a divisiön en dos de Menorca,

hacia e l

l a

4 ).

s eparaciön evidentemente a islö una gran masa d e t ierra l as

I biza-Formentera.

distintos.

l a entonces peninsula valenciana d e

( Co/om / 960)

Menorca dista del punto mäs

c ercano d e Cerdeha

3 40 kms.

Menorca dista del punto mäs

c ercano de Francia

3 70 kms.

el p jnto mäs Menorca dista d

c ercano del N .

3 20 kms.

de Africa

ercano d e Mallorca Menorca dista del punto mäs c

4 8 kms.

Mallorca dista del punto mäs

9 0 kms.

c ercano d e

I biza

M allorca

Las cuatro principales gran variedad t opogräfica. i sla ha s ido e l porque e s

entro d e

i slas que

f orman e l grupo presentan una

Hablaremos primero de Mallorca ya que d icha

l a mayor parte de

l a

i nvestigaciön,

y a demäs

l a que posee una mayor extensioön y un t erreno mäs variaäo.

Puede dividirse para

s u e studio en cuatro r egiones geogräficas

f ig : 5 ) . Dichas regiones son las s iguientes:

7 62

( ver

R egion 1 .

L as S ierras S eptentrionales

R egion 2 .

L a L lanura C entral

R egion 3 .

L as C olinas M eridionales

R egion 4 .

L a C ordillera N ord-oriental

R egion 1 .

3 .1

L as S ierras S eptentrionales

E sta r egion estä f ormada predominantemente por una c ordillera d e piedra cäliza j uräsica c orre

maxima de mente que

( Mioceno)

en direcciön SW-NE a l o 1 .445 m .

d el mar,

s e

que,

l arge de

en e l Puig Mayor.

en f orma d e l a c csta.

La c ordillera emerge d irecta-

f ormando e scarpados a cantilados

s umergen en e l.

E stas

columna vertebral,

Alcanza una a ltura

con profundas gargantas

caracteristicas hace que

l as aquas d e

l luvia s e precipiten räpidamente hacia e l mar,

arrastrando c onsigo

gran parte de

excepto

l a capa

s uperficial del

medidas para evitarlo. a ctualidad

( empezadas a construir por

muy escasa. a l a

t erreno,

Si no fuera por

l as t errazas

l os ärabes)

s i

s e toman

existentes

La e cologia d el P leistoceno y Holoceno antigui,

l legada del hombre,

Las räpidas

l a f ormaciön de desarrollo del

a gua procedentes d e

numerosas

cuevas

s uelo puede

depösitos de muchas

cuevas.

l as montahas

en l a piedra caliza.

s er una de

l as

causas d e

En e sta r egiön estän

de Muleta y el abrigo de Matge,

l a

anterior

d ebiö presentar un cuadro distinto del

corrientes de

en

l a agricultura s eria

La f alta d e

l a pobreza de

l ocalizados

a si como a lgunos d e

a ctual.

f avoreciö

l os

l os

la c ueva

l ugares

d e

o cupaciön e studiados.

La costa s eptentrional ofrece en e sta r egiön pocas posibilidades

d e anclaje excepto en l as areas d e S oller y Sant Vicent,

l os a cantilados norte que

s oplan d el Golfo d e Leön.

d e Lluch,

Escorca y Cüber

tanto o sas

s on r icos

E sta l as

l a c iudad d e l as montahas,

r egiön

s epara las

colinas d el I nca.

La

S .E.

de donde

En esta r egion,

s ierras d el

l os numerosos

N .E.

s e hallan numer-

A pesar d e que

las

en su g eomorfologla no hay

s e hah a

norte,

y l as montahas

anteriormente .des=

d el N .E.

S u c entro e s

l lanura e stä compuesta por un humus poco prol as precipitaciones que provienen d e

emergen rocas en l a

calizas

area mäs

agricolas y construcciön d e edificios, de

äreas

L a l lanura C entral

f undo producto d el arrastre d e i scas.

e llos

l as

s uelo y por

a ctivadad g lacial.

R egion 2 .

critas d e

y e l

l ugares d e a sentamiento.

a lcanzan a lturas considerables,

s ehales d e

3 .2

En a lgunos valles de

s e produjo e l d essarrollo del

en vegetaciön d e montaha,

c uevas y a lgunos

montahas

donde

f orman una formidable pared f rente a los vientos d el

" mares" y piedras

a pta para l as s e han

a sentamientos prehistöricos

l ocalizado l a mayoria a l

a ire

l a amplia bahla de Alcudia y Pollensa,

7 63

a ren-

a ctividades l ibre.

Hacia e l

f rente a l a

i sla

de Menorca, l adas

de

l a que dista 4 8 kms.

Ambas

en dpoca prehistörica e histörica,

facilitarlan e l desembarco y e l anclaje. una ciudad, Hacia e l

Pollentia,

S . W.

i slas

e stuvieron muy pob-

y poseen playas de arena que En l a actual Alcudia e xistiö

y un no despreciable puerto,

s e halla l a bahla de Palma,

a ctual capital balear,

Palma,

que

f ue

ambos romanos.

l ugar donde e stä ubicada l a

tambidn en

su t iempo una c iudad

romana.

R egion 3 .

3 .3

L as C olinas d el M eridionales

Estas colinas corren casi paralelas a las ales y s e a lzan por encima d e t ierra aparece ha erosionado

l a roca formando numerosas calas

en

1 908,

numerosos

zan una a ltitud de

5 49 m .

R egion 4 .

cuevas.

En e llas,

s ituadas en t om b a

En e l

Esta area f ue tambidn un c entro

s ituado en la c ima de

r estos petrificados de Aeotragus, l a caliza miocdnica de unas Sant P ere.

s ituadas

l ibre,

s e hallan cuevas bien protegidas,

f rente a l mar,

c erca d e

c omo S es Paisses,

S 'Illot y Sa Canova.

En l a c osta

s imilares a l as d e Menorca,

en donde existen buenos ancladeros).

3 .5

L os R ecursos d e A gua

En todavia de

l a actualidad, l as

l as montahas

yMinerales e n M allorca .

l os r ecursos de agua d e Mallorca dependen

fuentes naturales, de

l agos

a pesar d e

l luvia r ecogida d e

l os hombres y l os

l os

S egün e l

t ejados

d e

l lanuras

l as casas.

a si c omo d e pozos c entrales,

y d el

a gua

En dpocas prehistörica

animales debieron depender n ecesariamente d e las

f uentes naturales que, ualidid.

l a r eciente construcciön

artificiales y pantanos,

a ccionados por molinos de viento en l as de

( Pons 1 977).

l ocalizado r ecientemente otros

Esta r egiön e s rica en a sentamientos a l

S .E.

en

tales

l a cordillera

s e

concreta-

en s edimentos bien consolidados en

cuevas

aire

( lugar

y c ae

f rente a l a

f ösil mäs antiguo de M yotragus,

i n dicha cordillera e l autor ha

l a Colonia de

5 62 mts.

s ituados

En e stas zonas montahosas de caliza miocdnica

en Cap Farrutx,

Tambidn

importante

L a C ordillera N ord-oriental

ha hallado r ecientemente e l mente

i nterior,

par e jemplo Capocorp yell y Mitja Gran.

f ormando acantilados verticales,

i sla de Menorca.

l a

Lluchmajor a lcan-

Esta cordillera a lcanza una a ltura maxima de s obre e l mar

l arge d e

Dorothea Bate

fragmentos d e Aeotragus.

calizas miocdnicas

de a sentamientos prehistöricos,

3 .4

La E ste

c on muchas cuevas que

La erosion marina producida a l o

costa tambidn ha f ormado numerosas l as colinas

s eptentrion-

l a i sla.

formando t errazas por encima d el nivel d el mar.

aparecen r esguardadas. r ecogiö,

s ierras

l a plataforma caliza de

afortunadamente,

autor,

zados para conocer c omo

han

s iguen f uncionando en l a a ct-

s ido e scasos

s erian e stas

7 64

o nulos

f uentes

l os

e studios

r eali-

naturales en dpoca pre -

histörica e n comparaciön a coma a ctuales. J .

s e han adaptado a l as necesidades

Respecto a estos ültimos,

a lgunos

g e6logos

Cuerda y otros han r ealizado a lgunos t rabajos.

t opograffa a ctual d e l os

las

z onas montahosas,

cauces e scarpados d e

l os

t orrentes,

d renaje y l os manantiales no han t iempo.

verano e stan

l as

l lanuras.

s ecos y e l

En

s uperficie a travds de

l as

un e studio s istemätico de e ste

l os manantiales d e d e ocupaciön

l os barrancos

trabajo,

S erfa de gran utilidad r ealizar

f uentes mäs

antiguas De

en r elaciön c on

todos modos,

e ste no e s

aunque e l autor haya t enido en cuenta

aqua en r elaciön a l a s ituactiön de

l os

lugares

i nvestigados.

Los recursos mineros d e Mallorca y del e ares

e n

i nteramente d el

l a piedra caliza y que vuelve a l a

l os a sentamientos prehistöricos y abrigos. el prop6sito de

a bruptamente par

l a l luvia tanto hacia e l

l a a ctualidad,

f uentes. l as

s on extremadamente pobres.

Durante

resto d e

l as

i slas Bal-

l a guerra civil e spahola s e

l ocalizaron a lgunos yacimientos d e carbön de baja calidad que e xplotados durante

c obre pero evidentemente e ste no fue n ecesidades de

l as

g entes d e

i ertas r ecientemente

l a Edad d el Bronce.

l ocales.

s e utilizaba en l os pero

hasta e l

l ocales.

En e l

s iglo XIX d .C.,

d e e ste metal puede halladas

l ocales c ontrasta c on que

las principales dpoca prehistörica

desde

s e ha extrafdo a lga de plomo. l a existencia de

en tom b a l os

s iglos

La presencia

l as placas de plomo

IV y I II a .C.,

en c on-

La pobreza de recursos mineros

la abundancia d e objetos de metal e l perfodo prehistörico l ocal,

existentes en

y e ste e s un t ema

s e ha t enido en cuenta en diversas partes de esta t esis.

M enorca .

4 .

La

i sla d e Menorca no posee

a cteriza a Mallorca.

En conjunto,

c ontinuamente a l os vientos que particular de norte. l a

s iglos

c onvirtidndose en una de

l a Edad del Hierro Tardio.

l as Baleares durante

enterramientos ya en l os

a rea d e Binisalem,

justificar

f recuentemente

t extos d e

e l material mäs

l a Edad d el Hierro Post-

l a cal viva no s e empleö en la construcciön

l os tiempos actuales,

i ndustrias

l as

Evidencias descub-

La piedra caliza e s

c 6modo d e obtener y fue muy apreciado durante t alayotico l ocal:

Existe a lga d e

s uficiente para abastecer

s ugieren que durante e l periodo Calcolitico fueron

explotados yacimientos

V III ö VII a .C.,

f ueron

l a s egunda guerra mundial y que en l a a ctualidad

t odavia s e utilizan para l a obtenciön d e gas butano.

hasta

l a

i nferirse que e l

suministro d e aqua depende

a qua que ha quedado bloqueada en

Colom,

s ufrido variaciones durante bastante

Las montahas vierten l as aguas d e

mar coma hacia

cortadas

puede

coma G .

A partir de

i sla,

en el

l a d iversidad de paisaje que c are l paisaje

La mayor e levaciön e stä

l lamado monte Toro,

puede

d ividirse en dos amplias

6gica

( ver f ig .

e s monötono,

expuesto

s oplan d e distintas direcciones, d e

3 58 mts.

s ituada en e l d e a ltitud.

r egiones en base a s u

en

c ent r .o d e La i sla

f ormaciön g eol-

6 ).

R egion 1 .

L as F ormaciones S ecundarias d el N orte

R egion 2 .

L as F ormaciones T erciarias d el S ur

7 65

R egion 1 .

4 .1

Las

L as F ormaciones S ecundarias d el N orte

f ormaciones

de origen devönico. a l a

s everidad de

Leon.

l os

En c ondiciones

puede

s ecundarias

g ion t erciaria del

s ur. lugar,

l a costa d e e sta r egion

E l

s on tan numerosas

l ugar mäs

a pesar d e

c omo l as d e

d el norte.

T estudo G imnesicus ,

pösitos

s edimentarios d e unas grietas de piedra caliza.

puertos

estän s ituados

E l puerto de Mahon, Mediterräneo,

a ambos

extremos de

l a i sla:

E iudadela y Mahön.

e stä s ituado en e l extremo oritntal d e

de entrada de

s olo

en l os deLos d os mejores

descrito por; brd Nelson c omo e l major puerto d el

f ormö po una f alla entre s u

puede quedarse

En l a parte o cci-

e sta r egion c ostera Dorothea Bate encontrö restos f osilizados

tortuga terrestre d el Pleistocene,

en

Las

l a r e-

adecuado para enclar e s Fornells, e star r esguardado,

en verano aislado d ebido a l os vientos d e

t empestuosos d el Golfo d e

i naccesible por mar durante varios d ias.

pero

dental de

i sla e stä totalmente e xpuesta

c limäticas adversas,

e sta c osta n o

i ncluso dicho

l a

f recuentes vientos

s er completamente

cuevas y calas de

s on principalmente piedras c alizas

En e sta r egion

l a

i sla.

S e

l a r oca mioc & lica y devönica y t iene un paso

5 00 mts.

en

s u parte m s e strecha,

i nterior hasta a lcanzar 6 kms.

ensanchandose

d e un extremo a otro;

l lega a trav6s de un e strecho y s inuoso canal

en n _ s e

cuyas paredes han s ido

erosionadas por el mar f ormando una e specie d e plataforma f rente a l a costa oriental de Mallorca. pueden verse l os

l as

s ierras

a sentamientos

Ello e s debido , ausencia de

l ocalizados en e sta r egion d e

s in duda,

aqua,

a l as precarias

l a

i sla,

En dicha area tanto como

R egion 2 .

4 .2

ünicamente un cuadrante

Es

( 11amados barranchas ) c on,

r elativamente l os ü ltomos

t icos M .

e llos

G .

s ente i onal.

trabajo, La

ahos,

C .

playas

d e l os

l a presencia d e

c ortan la c aliza t erciaria

( Mioceno)

d e arena d e varios kms.

s ido explorados por

lados d e

l os barran-

l os

l ugares d e

excursionistas.

Veny ha r ealizado a lgunos trabajos Otros prehistoriadores G .

( por e jemplo,

Rossellö Bordoy,

y otros)

han realizado e studios

ademäs

en areas

i sla presenta una s erie d e colinas

l as cubre

l o que cabe,

t rabajo r ealizado e n e stos

F ernändez-Miranda,

c osechas para e l que

que

a veces,

F lorit P iedrabuena,

Massanet y M .

fueron util-

t ienen s ehales d e o cupaciönes prehistöricas.

e scaso e l

en Cales Coves.

S erra,

en

s ur s e distingue por

contienen cuevas visibles a ambos

todos

r eferimos a C ala

cuevas que

s e hah a r esguardado,

La c osta

ocupaciOn a pesar de haber En

nos

i n-

s ituado en e l N .W.

L as F ormaciones T erciarias d el S ur

f ormando cuevas y calas chas y casi

importante:

s e hallan una s erie d e

Aqui e l paisaje

Estos arroyos

f uertes

e sta r egion s on l as mäs

lugar d e habitaciön c omo d e enterramiento.

vientos del norte. arroyos

s ecundarias.

s uelo y a l a

c on e scasa vegetaciön d ebido a l a constante

tiene un asentamiento prehistörico i zadas

S on muy e scasos

f ormaciones

condiciones d el

Las äreas d el i nterior d e

f luencia de estos vientos. Morell.

en un dia d espejado,

a si c omo a l hecho de e star expuestas a l os

vientos del norte. des rticas de

Desde d icho puerto,

s eptentriionales d e Mallorca.

d e

d el

L .

M .

Murray,

P lantalamor

autor del pre-

e sta r egion m erid-

s uaves,

f orraje y en h as que pacen animales.

donde

c recen

La vegetaciön

e stä constituida predominantemente por prados

7 66

s istemä-

s ecos

y grupos d e olivos a rqueol6gicos, dolas

s ilvestres.

a d esplazar.

f undo,

Sus

duro y s eco,

t enlan

de

a menudo por entre

rafcces tal

a l a ir

l ibre,

t ran en e sta r egiön s eguir

l a l inea d e

d istintas, e l otro.

l os

l legän-

suelo poco pro-

f orma que e l autor ha vista coma bulldozers

casi imposible a si c omo

excavaciones

s us piedras,

s e extienden por e l

dificultades para l impiar e l

e olölogicas e s

ante

Los arbustos dificultan l as

introducigndose

campo.

s acarlas.

E l

En

l as excavaciones a rqu-

9 0% d e

l os

a sentamientos

l ugares d e o cupaciön en cuevas,

de calizas t erciarias. s eparaciön f ormada por

s e

encuen-

Su d istribuciön parace

l as dos

f ormaciones d e r oca

l as devönicas y j uräsicas por un l ado y l as miocgnicas por Las

s uaves colinas d e

l os perpetuos vientos del

s alado d e manera que

e sta

f ormaciön

norte.

cualquier

l a ünica protecciön a carrean a ire

i tem dejado en la i ntemperie durante

l a noche aparecerä cubierto d e humedad. e stärän totalmente

s on

E stos vientos Par e jemplo,

empapados por las mahanas,

l os vestidos

i ncluso en pleno verano.

L os r ecursos d e A gua y M ineraies e n M enorca

4 .3

LD S r ecursos de aqua en Menorca durante e l Pleistoceno y Holoc eno,

antes d e

Aparte de

l as

l a l legada del hombre, fuentes naturales y de

l a ünica evidencia que tenemos

no han s ido nunca e studiados. l as aquas d e

l luvia a cumuladas,

a cerca del modo en que

l os primeros

habitantes afrontaron e ste problema s on l os posibles pozos que descienden hasta e l utilizando e ste e l hombre.

t ipo de pozos que

Numerosas

s us alrededores. e llas

s ubsuelo a cuifero a ctual.

a rtificiales

Es normal empezar

s erfan ampliados posteriormente por

cuevas han s ido hallados en l os

En l a a ctualidad,

todavia a menudo

a sentamientos y s e encuentran en

enterramientos o han s ido utilizadas en gpoca r eciente coma d e-

pösitos,

apareciendo r ellenos

por e jemplo,

autor cree que d eh Salort, M edia.

d e

r estos de animales

( este e s

de Torre d e' n Gaumgs y Torralba de i l Salort), en un principio

f ueron d epösitos d e aqua.

una cueva artificial

fue r evestida d e

e l caso,

pero e l En Torralba

cal durante

l e Edad

Puede encontrarse aqua dulce en e l t ramo f inal d e muchas barr-

a nchas cuando a lcanzan e l mar, a bundantes cuevas naturales que prende porqug e stos

y cuando e stän en c onexiön c on f lanquean s us

l ados.

Asi

s e

l as com-

lugares eran apreciados por e l hombre primitivo

para vivir.

A pesar d e que en Menorca

l as e scasas

ducciön d e a limento para e s en La

c ondiciones d el

l os

animales,

l a a ctualidad la a ctividad mäs

i sla e s

manejo

s on

s uelo y d el hecho d e

l a t ierra cultivada s e utiliza bäsicamente para

f amosa por

s us products

l os pasatiempos

importante de

l äcteos,

f avoritos.

l a pro-

l a producciön agricola animal

S e ha

l a gente d el

c ampo.

y l a c rfa de c aballos y s u s ugerido que durante

e l

perfodo d e mayor a ctividad humana en gpoca prehistörica P ericot G arcia

1 972)

l a

i sla probablemente tuvo una vegetaciön mäs

bosques.

En e l Talaiot d e

d el uso d e d e

l argas maderas

St.

utilizadas coma

l os monumentos Talayöticos.

s iderable t odovia material

i ntactas,

t echo del

d espugs d e

d e dataciön

s oportes de

En dicho Talaiot,

f ueron utilizadas para r eforzar

b loques d e piedra en e l

abundante,

Agusti Veil puede hallarse

3 .000

i ncluso

l a evidencia

l as e structuras

vigas d e grosor c on-

l a colocaciön d e grandes

edificio.

En

ahos o mhas,

l a a ctualidad e stän y pueden

s ervir coma

cronomgtrica a pesar d e que dicho t ipo d e anal7 67

i sis todavia no ha s ido efectuado. mente

l a dataciön mäs

Ello nos proporcionaria probable-

f idedigna del momento d e c onstrucciön d e u n

Talaiot.

I biza y F ormentera .

5 .

A l as l a

i sla de

s ierras

C omentarios g enerales

i slas d e Mallorca y Menorca l es

I biza.

Geolögicamente

s igue,

en cuanto t amaho

r epresenta una continuaciön d e

s eptentrionales d e Mallorca.

En e sta t esis d icha

l as

i sla j uega

un papel

s ecundario y c reemos oportuno c onsiderarla c omo una dnica

r egiön.

Es mäs montahosa que Menorca,

l os Al

4 75 mts. i gual que

l as otras

i slas,

s us

costas

bahias pero con muchas menos calas, e l

anclaje,

s iendo

l os que

S an Antonio y l a capital,

s e

I biza.

e ste comercio del damente de

l os

la Edad del

i tems

s iglo VII

s iglos

cuevas y l ugares apropiados para condiciones,

Sta.

( todavia s in publicar).

a nivel argueolögico es

comerciaron a lgunos

aquella.

Eulalia,

S6lo r ecientemente han s ido hallados

e stablecieron los pünico en e l

gineses

S a Talaiassa a lcanza

e stän s urcadas por pequehas

r eunen mejores

r estos d el hombre prehistörico i nteresante

e l pico d e

y presenta m s vegetaciön y mäs manantiales que

l a capital,

6 54

a .C.,

El

I biza,

l ugar mäs

c iudad d onde

6 poca en que

l os

con Mallorca y Menorca.

carta-

S in embargo,

no fue r ealmente evidente hasta aproxima-

I II y I I,

cuando

l os

a sentamientos Post-Talayoticos

H ierro Tardio de Mallorca y Menorca

s e v ieron i nvadidos

por c erämica c läsica.

Formentera, de

l as

y Conejera,

l a c osta de

f rente a l a c osta S .E. San Francisco.

la menor

como Cabrera Formentera

l a poblaciön a ctual Tal

S u c iu-

Existen a lgunos cultivos,

pero

s on pescadores que venden sus pro-

ductos en

I biza.

l os pobladores de Formentera han s ido

c omo r esaltö Chamberlin en s u l ibro

j eros y e llo l es da una apariencia de

e s

tales

d e Mallorca).

Baleares, habitantes

I biza,

que una f ranja de arena c on playas d e dunas.

importante e s

la mayoria de

sur de

( el grupo incluye i slas menors,

s ituadas

no es much mäs dad mäs

s ituada a l

i slas mayores

ms

s obre l as

s iempre grandes via-

" cosmpolita"

que

l a de

l os

( Chamberlin , 1 927). Los r ecientes hallazgos d e ( Topp , 1 977) demuestran que tambi6n esta pequeha i sla

I biza

origen megalitico

tuvo a ctividades prehistöricas.

6 .

C omentarios g enerales

La

s ituaciön g eogräfica del

d esde e l p jnto de vista d e con la costa valenciana. ctualidad, l a costa.

Cada una de

f orman una s erie d e

antiguos pudieron Este

grupo de

i slas

l as

i slas,

" escalones",

tal

i nteresante

l a g eografia de

l as

e specialmente

c omo e stän e n l a

d e modo que

f äcilmente naveg4r de una a otra

a specto d e

e s

s u r elaciön c on l a peninsula,

l os navegantes

s in perder d e visita

i slas podria aplicarse

tambi6n a l a migraciön de animales debido a l as cortas d istancias existentes de

entre

l a e species

s i,

pero en r ealidad no

fösiles m s

antiguas.

7 68

s e ha e studiado

l a migraciön

Respecto a e llo, s uelo marino entre

e s

i nteresante

l as diversas

peninsula d e Valencia e I biza y entre mts.,

c onocer

i slas.

l as profundidades d el

La profundidad entre

l os

1 00 mts.

Estas profundidades

a l a navegaciön pero reflejan f actores que migraciön d e

la

f auna prehist6rica mäs

nuestro conocimiento

d el mar no a fectarian

i nfluirian en l a ruta d e

antigua de

l as

i slas

e special-

s obre e l period° anterior a l os asentamientos.

H istoria d e l a I nvestigaciön a rqueloögica e n l as I slas B aleares

7 .

La primera r eferencia histörica a cerca de i slas Baleares

f erencia a l

aparece

l os

e l e l

4 06 a .C.,

cartagineses para

de mercenarios balearicos

tales

l os monumentos

Dicho autor hablaba de

tuvo

autor a sociaba los monumentos mer Comit6 Arqueolögico d e l os

s iguiö,

en Palma.

1 880,

l as Baleares,

los

e studios

l os

"Monumentos

l as Baleares:

r elativa basada en l a r estos

L .C.

s e

Fergussön en 1 892

s obre

1 872.

A

r euniö por primera

I slas Baleares".

s iglo

s e via a crecentado e l

A .

i n-

l a primera c ronologia

Mayor r ealizö un catälogo d e

l os

c onocidos.

En

1 920

Bosch Gimpera,

a l crear e l

S ervicio de Excavaciones

Arqueolögicas , diö un paso d ecisove para s istematizar l as c iones.

dicho

f ormö e l pri-

l a Sociedad Arqueolögica Luliana,

Watelin publicö

t ipologia;

1 844

c on base cientifica publicando

En l a primera d 6cada de e ste t er6s por

Armstrong

dedicado a l a conservaciön y

Cartailhac en

antiguos realizados l as

J .

a

atribu-

E l primer tratado c läsico

l a f ormaciön de

Primitivos de

En

e scrito por J .

erudito Franc6s E .

vez

1 752,

1 653

r ealizado por Ramis y Ramis:

lugares de ocupaciön. en

El

1 818

lugar e n

E l primer e studio pre-

a l os druidas.

l a arquitectura megalitica fue l e

En

H istoria d e l a I sla d e M allorca .

histörico hispänico apareciö en

e studio d e

En l as

como Plinio y Estrabön

s u magnificencia,

y 6ndolos a l trabajo de gigantes y d emonios. publicö una

s e hace r e-

r eferencias.

La primera menciön de cargo de Binielis.

en 6 1

s us campahas en S icilia.

obras de otros historiadores y viajeros, t ambi6n aparecen otras

l os habitantes d e

en un t exto d e D iodoro;

r eclutamiento,

por parte de

Durante

e cciön d e J .

Entre Chamberlin, töricos d e

a lgunos ahos

Colominas y J .

i ba concretando

l as

Malverti.

1 925 y 1 934 diversos

l as Baleares.

r esultados

Al mismo t iempo,

cronologias y l as r elaciones

H emp y Kessler,

s e

Fue

i nvestiga-

s e efectuaron excavaciones bajo

eruditos

e jemplar e l bajo

fueron publicados en

7 69

l a d ir-

Bosch Gimpera

con e l Mediterr 'äneo.

extranjeros,

i nteresaron por

l a Cambridge Mission en Menorca, s us

5 00

i totragus, animal en el que estä basado la mayor parte de

mente e l

6 1

l os

y l a profundidad entre Mallorca y Menorca e stä en s u mayor parte

por debajo de

l as

l a a ctual

I biza y Mallorca s upera

tales c omo

l os problemas prehis-

trabajo

l levado a cabo por

l a direcciön de Margaret Murray:

1 932 y 1 939.

A causa de

l a guerra civil e spahola y de

l a mayor parte del

la visita l levada a cabo por e l tado un renovado Desde entonces, activo,

e studios ( 2

y l a Misiön

i taliana,

Durante

l a misiön a lemana, dirigida por G .

l os ültimos veinte

bajo

ahos,

Durante e stos ahos

i nvestigadores

zadas por L .

l ocales

Amords,

B .

l os

A dich r elaciön de eminentes

t ales

P .

A .

a rqueölogos locales a si l a

supervisados por G . trabajos r ealizados

Font Obrador y J .

r ealiMascarö

Arribas,

M .L. L .

M .

S erra Belabre,

G .

Pericot Garcia,

J .

Fernändez-Miranda,

M .

Veny.

La participaciön del i niciö

i n

autor en l os problemas d e

1 960 con e l descubrimiento de

roig y e l abrigo d e Muertos Gallard. animado a proseguir

s us

ha r ealizado otros

en

1 968,

l e

l a prehistoria

l a cueva de S on Mar-

Por aquel entonces e l author

i nvestigaciones por J .

A e stos descubrimientos

1 962 y f inalmente,

d ez-Miranda)

B .

de Palol,

Crusafont Pairö, L. Plantalamor Massanet,

en

d iriFrey,

i nvestigadoes pueden ahadirse numerosos

c omo:

Maluquer de Motes,

Tarradell y C .

Garcia.

una a le-

l a d irecciön

s e han r eunido bajo

l a l ista de

Enseha E strany,

arque6ogos

s e

bajo

i ndependientes i ncluye excavaciones

Pasarius.

balear

i slas.

Lilliu.

direcciön y colaboraciön del Museo de Mallorca,

J .

las

l a supervisiön de H .

como l os directores d e misiones extranjeras Rossell6 Bordoy.

aho,

s e ha mantenido

e l Deyä Archaeological Museum and Research Centre, autor,

Bellido,

En e ste

americanas,

l a William Bryant Foundation,

gido por e l

por

s obre

S ervicio Nacional d e Excavaciones

j unto con diversas misiones extranjeras

Woods,

1 950.

IV Curso de Ampurias diö como r esul-

i nter s e impetu en l os e l

mana y 1 i taliana): de D .

la I I guerra mundial,

trabajo s e viö paralizado hasta

Malverti y L .

s iguieron e l de

l a cueva d e Muleta

e l abrigo de Son Matge.

trabajos de campo que

incluyen

f ue

P ericot

Desde e ntonces

( junto con M .

F erän-

l a excavaciön todavia en curso del yacimiento Talayötico

de Torralba de' n Salort en Menorca y l a direcciön d e d el a sentamiento Pretalayötico y Talayötico d e

l as excavaciones

F errancell-Oleza,

en

Mallorca.

Durante tado diversos

l os ültimos veinte ahos, l os i nvestigadores han presen-

e squemas cronoldgicos,

propuesto por e l puestos por Lilliu

M .

i ncluyendo e l ü ltimo de e llos

1 960,

tales

l os mäs

como G .

Fernändez-Miranda

puestos por E .

cronolögicos, Cartailhac y J .

" Talayötico"

cultura balear tripartita de Talayötico,

l ocal).

importantes han s ido pro-

Rossell6 Bordoy

( 1979)

except en a lgunos a spectos

l imites

e l nombre

Desde

investigadores

( 1962),

e squemas, y a l os

autor.

y C .

Veny

c oncernientes

( 1973),

( 1968).

G .

E stos

a l a nomenclatura

no difieren de manera r adical de l os proColominas Roca

i c l icho autor

i ntrodujo

en e l vocabulario cientifico para describir Generalmente ha

l a

s ido a ceptada l a divisiön

l a prehistoria balear en l os periodos Pretalayötico,

y Post-Talayötico,

aunque

en l os ü ltimos d iez ahos a lgunos

i nvestigadores han i ntentado concretar major dicha c lasificaciön.

El mayor cronologia de ducciön del en que e l

i ncentivo para e l cambio,

l a prehistoria balear,

uso de

e n

l o que r especta a l a

ha e stado motivado por

l a dataciön por radiocarbono.

autor aplicö en

s us

l ugares

7 70

i nvestigados

l a

i ntro-

A partir d el momento e ste m&todo d e data-

c iön para l a

1 965 ,

1 966 ,

i nterpretaciön de

1 967 ,

1 968,

l os horizontes e stratigräficos

1 972 y 1 980)

( Waldren

s e han r evisado muchos puntos

d e vista r especto a l os problemas de l a prehistoria belear ( Pericot G arcia 1 973 , R ossellö B ordoy y W aldren 1 973 , M . F erndndez-Miranda y W aldren 1 976 , y F erndndez-Miranda 1 979). Recientemente tamb Mn ha s ido r econocida

l a utilidad de

e n contextos de

l a P .

aplicaciön de d icho m f todo de dataciön

( Ferndndez-Miranda 1 978 y A lmagro-Gorbea

I Mrica

1 978).

R esumen d e l os E squemas C ronolögicos A ctuales

8 .

Esta

i ntroducciön pretende

informar a l

gaciön l levada a cabo en las Baleares, pasado coma en e l presente. l os diversos e squemas toria local que d e l os

l ector

i lustrarän las

empleados para dividir l a prehis-

d iferencias

a contecimientos prehistöricos t eniendo en cuenta

i nmediatas

causa de

empleo de

l a f ormaciön d e

apartado

l a

entre

Posteriormente con e l

1 de dicha

cada uno

interpretaciön de s e

c om-

e squema cronolögico

i ntroducciön.

S e

la dataciön por radiocarbono ha s ido

l os

d esde el punto de vista d e unos de otros),

locales.

s u nomenclatura,

d el autor ya apuntado en e l observarä que e l

la i nvesti-

Para e llo exponemos un breve r esumen d e

cronolögicos

l os e squemas utilizados en l a a ctualidad para

pararän,

s obre

tanto en e l pasado como en e l

esquemas cronolögico mäs

l a cronologia a ctual,

l a

r ecientes ( aunque,

d ifieran muy poco

pero dificilmente e stablecen comparaciones,

s ugieren

paralelos o i ntentan r elacionar l os datos y l a evidencia material d e l as Baleares con l a amplia perspectiva d e I bgrica,

La critica mäs nuevas

cronologias

importante que plantea e l

l ocales y l as m s antiguas

a c onsiderar e l problema balear c ome a ctitud no c omporta r iesgos;

la P .

materiales que

e strictamente

i nsulares,

e stas

insular.

Esta

l os desarrollos

pero e xisten muchas

l ocales

evidencias

i ndican una i nfluencia exterior producto de contactos y

c omercio con otros

c ontextos.

y c ontacto f orman un en Occidente y que

" arco de

s e

E l

autor cree que e stas areas de c omercio

i nfluencia i nmediata"

extiende d el

l os Pireneos y Provenza. l a mayor parte,

S .W.

y e l E . de

Una zona geogräfica d e S i no toda,

i ntento mäs

s ituada bäsicamente

l a P .

I Mrica hacia

i nfluencia que existiö

la prehistoria balear.

Los e squemas cronolögicos que exponemos s entan e l

autor a cerca d e

s e debe a l a t endencia

realmente muchos d e

pueden considerarse puramente

durante

l a prehistoria d e

o c on el todavia mayor contexto europeo.

a continuaciön r epre-

s erio propuesto en l os ü ltimos veinte ahos.

E l

p rimero de ellos es el resultado de la excavaciones de un asentamiento f ortificado,

S es Paisses,

1 959 a 1 962,

y s us hipötesis para una c ronologia e stän basadas

en Mallorda.

Fue

excavado por G .

Lilliu d e en l a

i nterpretaciön e stratigräfica y en l as dataciones por radiocarbono obtenidas

en una s erie de

zonas d e habitaciön d el poblado.

l ogia estä basada en l a e stratigrafia de dos edificios casa

3 )

en l as

que

( casa

s u excavador r econodiö tres n iveles:

7 71

La c rono 1 2 y

Talayötico

I

Casa

1 2

Casa

f echa C .14 9 50

3

a .C.

+ 1 10

( sobre

la

roca natural) ( sobre l a r oca

anterior a l 8 00 a .C.

natural) Talayötico

I I

Aprox.

7 00-400 a .C.

Talayötico

I II Aprox.

4 00-200 a .C.

La

s egunda

Rossell6 Bordoy

d e

l as nuevas

( 1973).

basado gran parte de

cronologias ha s ido propuesta por G .

En e lla el autor d el presente trabajo ha

su e squema cronolögico

ciones y experiencias de campo ). en detalles cronolögicos,

( tambidn en s us excava-

Este e squema y e l

s iguienta,

e xcepto

s on bastante distintos d el e squema d el autor

con grandes diferencias en l a nomenclatura y s ubdivisiones.

E l

e squema

cronolögico de Rossellö Bordoy e stä subdividido en c inco apartados:

Periodo Pre-talayötico

aprox.

5 .000-1.400 a .C.

Talayötico I

aprox.

1 .400-1.000 a .C.

Talayötico

I I

aprox.

1 .000-

8 00 a .C.

Talayötico

I II

aprox.

8 00-

5 00 a .C.

Talayötico

IV

aprox.

5 00 b .c.

hasta l a c oloni-

z acioön r omana

El obra d e M . i odos

t ercero

y ü ltimo d e

Fernändez-Miranda

l os nuevos e squemas

( 1979)

c ronolögicos

y e stä f ormado por

Hombre precerämico

I I.

aprox.

5 .000-2.000 a .C.

aprox.

2 .000-1.700 a .C.

Bronce pretalayötico

aprox.

1 .700-1.500 a .C.

Talayötico

I

aprox.

1 .200-

8 00 a .C.

Talayötico

I I

aprox.

8 00-

1 00 a .C.

Horizontes d e c erämica

l a

i ncisa

S egün opiniön del autor,

e stos

e squemas

cronoldgicos

d entes y s e basan en l os acontecimientos prehistöricos bien existen datos detallados. dataciones

excellentes tales

Uno d e

E l

absolutas que posee para l as

autor c ree que

lugares de o cupaciön d e

l o que ya

s e ha d icho,

paralelos

con e l

d e

l as

importante

l os

s obre

l os que

correlaciones y r elaciones I bdrica.

Ademäs,

lugares de ocupacihon y materiales

en s i misma,

s e puede

I ntentarä no

s 6lo com-

e s mucho

s ino tambidn e stablecer y s ugerir posibles

e xterior ,

influencia y c ontacto con l a P .

homogdnea de

l ugares d e ocupaciör i

e staciones baleares, i slas,

e s

c on l as

I slas Baleares y con l as

e stratigrafias y s us materiales d e

c omo Muleta y Matge y de otras l os

S i

l os objetivos prioritarios d e e sta t esis

r ealizar un e squema cronolögico mäs ambicioso. parar

s on pru-

l ocales,

cronomdtricos y materiales para r ealizar e squemas

l a de proponer un e squema mäs detallado. 1 00

e s

c inco per-

s iguientes: I .

mäs

l os

c on

l os

f ocos

l a naturalaza l ocales,

aunque

e s bastante monfona d ebido a l a f alta d e un

7 72

contexto y de una perspectiva mäs d e aventurarse

E l

fuera de

t exto que

l as

s e expone

Es

a c ontinuaciön

tulos d edicados a l a descripciön, dos

amplia.

c ueva de Muelta y s eguidamente

e l

paciön que

cronolögico.

s e descubri6

s e ha dividido en capi-

importantes:

.brigo d e

lugares de o cupaciön es natural;

r imiento y e l

l a n ecesidad

e stratigraffas y c ronologia d e

l ugares de ocupaciön i nvestigados m s

e stos

imperativa

i slas Baleares.

primero

S on Matge.

l os

l a

El orden d e

s igue e l orden de

s u d escrub-

Muleta e s no s ölo e l primer lugar de ocu-

s ino tambi6n l a e staciön c on l a evidencia

e stratigräfica m s antigua.

No obstante, grafia y c ronologia,

antes de describir e l abrigo d e Matge, i ncluyo en capitulo

a l a sentamiento en base d e

l os diversos

damente en l os e ste

ap6ndices

sobre

y un r esumen

r ealizados que aparecen explicados d etalla( Vol.

I I).

La i nclusiön d e e ste capftulo en

t exto de ha r ealizado con e l

f in de exponer

l a importante evidencia e colögica del period ( ) ant-

erior a l a sentamiento, e sta

s u e strati-

s obre e l perödo anterior

a l a nueva evidencia de Muleta,

e studios

lugar concreto d el

l os detalles

( I)

que

s 6lo e stä presente en Muleta

( debido a que

i nformaciön e colögica e stä r elacionada ünicamente con e l perfodo

anterior a l a sentamiento de Muleta no e s n ecesario r ealizar posteriores descripciones de e ste material y evidencia ). en contacto a l que

l ector con l os

antecedentes

aparecerän en l a descripciön d e

tructura d el periodo d e abrigo d e Son Matge: t ema de capitulo

Los

Tamb Mn s irve para poner

ambientales y e colögicos

l a evidencia que conforma l a e s-

a sentamiento antiguo y s u presencia en e l

s u d escripciön,

e stratigrafia

y cronologfa es e l

I II.

lugares menores como Muertos Gallard,

e stratigraffas de e stos

lugares de ocupaciön menores o s ecundarios

l os

Las d escripciones y

s in excesivo detalle en gran parte d ebido a que

e stratigrafias y horizontes que

I II.

s on

f inal del

e stän r ealizadas

capftulo

Marroig y Puig

d escritos brevemente a l

c orrespondientes

a l os

mayores d e Muleta y Matge. s tan s i c ) d e uno o dos

cronol6gicos

s on much menos

sus

complicados

l ugares de ocupaciön principlaes o

Los

lugares d e ocupaciön s ecundarios con-

contextos estratigräficos y c on una evidencia

material much menor.

En e l esquema cronolögico ciön de No

t odos

I V )

s e hace una d escrip-

c on s us

s ölo presenta una r elaciön _mäs d etallada que

s ecciön

1 d e

tados de

e sta

i ntroducciön

l os anälisis

tarlas

i ndividuales y e l

en cualquier momento d e

af los d el d e

l a aparecida en la

s ino que ofrece detalles de

l a l ectura d el

1 A ) aparece un i nventario complete f echas

f ases y evidencias.

cronom f tricos d e cada period ( ) y de

l os datos aparecen en tablas

l os

( capftulo

los periodos cronolögicos,

William H .

t exto

( en e l A l Andice

y tablas d e conversi f t de

j unto c on otros e studios

Waldren,

Dr.

Fil.

Oxford,

7 73

Pitt Rivers Museum

I nglaterra.

1 982.

l as

c ronom f tricos.

( OXON )

Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research C entre, University de Oxford,

f ases;

l ector puede consUl-

j unto c on tablas d e conversidn para

c alendario Bristlecone P ine,

r adio carbono baleares,

l os r esul-

s us