RT Journal Article
T1 Funerary practices of cremation at the megalithic societies of South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Milanes
A1 Becerra Fuello, Paula
A1 Aranda Jiménez, Gonzalo
A1 Vílchez Suárez, Miriam
A1 Robles Carrasco, Sonia
A1 Milesi García, Lara
A1 Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, Marta
A1 Snoeck, Christophe
A1 Stamataki, Elisavet
A1 Lescure, Javier
A1 Sánchez Romero, Margarita
K1 Ritos y ceremonias fúnebres - Península Ibérica
K1 Cremación - Península Ibérica
K1 Yacimientos arqueológicos - Almería
AB The archaeological excavations undertaken at the Chalcolithic necropolis of Los Milanes have revealed a previously unknown variability in funerary practices in the south-eastern Iberia. For the first time, a megalithic tomb housed a large funerary deposit (28,740 bone fragments) of exclusively cremated human bone remains. For a comprehensive characterization of the funerary ritual, a cutting-edge multi-proxy approach has been undertaken including the osteological study of cremated bone remains, radiocarbon chronology, Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy in Attenuated Total Reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR), and carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope analyses. As a result, the cremation ritual consisted of multi-depositional events of at least 21 individuals chronologically concentrated in the first quarter of the third millennium, principally in the 28th century cal BC. The absence of charcoal/ashes in the funerary chamber and the underrepresentation of anatomical regions such as lower limb and trunk suggest that the cremation took place elsewhere and the bone remains were carefully collected and placed as secondary burial depositions. Different proxies including colour patterns, heat‐induced fractures, the presence of cyanamide in calcined bones would also suggest the cremation of principally complete corpses, burnt soon after death. The ritual of cremation coexisted with inhumations during the third millennium cal BC, suggesting a variability in the body manipulation that previously went unnoticed. Unlike inhumations, through cremation, bodies would have been reduced until being indistinguishable, transforming radically the nature of human beings and their ontological status.
PB PLOS
YR 2025
FD 2025-09-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/40080
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/40080
LA eng
NO Funerary practices of cremation at the megalithic societies of South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Milanes Becerra Fuello P, Aranda Jiménez G, Vílchez Suárez M, Robles Carrasco S, Milesi García L, et al. (2025) Funerary practices of cremation at the megalithic societies of South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Milanes. PLOS ONE 20(9): e0330771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330771
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 21 ene 2026