The work advances our understanding of the funerary rites that took location during the Neolithic by documenting how prehistoric societies customized human bones to make use of them.
Thanks to high-resolution molds that were studied with an electron microscope, the research group observed that many of the marks on some bones are suitable with a cleaning process brought out in order to utilize the bone stays as tools and not (at least, in concept) for intake.
View of the Marmoles cavern entrance from inside. Credit: J.C. Vera Rodríguez, CC-BY 4.0
As Martínez Sánchez discusses, establishing that the marks of the bones correspond to one use (tools) or another (food) is hard, especially because these remains were transferred on the surface of the cave, instead of being buried, such that they may have undergone other types of taphonomic modifications (by animals, trampling …) throughout the years. The research study, nevertheless, does not see the marks on the bones as recommending that they were utilized to obtain soft parts from them, for intake. Rather, they are seen as evidencing a more mindful cleansing process constant with their instrumental use. Found were a fibula with a pointed end, a customized tibia, and a skull.
Historic Context
In addition, carbon-14 dating of twelve remains has indicated 3 periods of funerary usage in the cavern: in 3800 BC, 2500 BC, and around 1,300 or 1,400 BC. This overlap between the first period of burials in the cavern and the beginning of Megalithism, together with the truth that the marks on the bones do not seem suitable with usage, strengthens the research study groups concept that the human remains were made to be used as instruments at an offered time.
As Martínez Sánchez argues, “It seems that there was the idea of grouping the dead in the same location, cleaning up the remains, and utilizing the bones as instruments, maybe associated to some kind of routine performed inside the cavity.”
With this research study the team has managed to corroborate a treatment of skeletal remains probably not connected to usage, however rather to more intricate elements. Thus, it appears that the bones were used for routine and cultural elements after their transferring. These ways of thinking apparently spanned a great period of time, from the end of the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, a time “in which we did not anticipate to find that bodies were still deposited in this cavity,” states Martínez Sánchez.
Reference: “As above, so listed below: Deposition, modification, and reutilization of human remains at Marmoles cavern (Cueva de los Marmoles: Southern Spain, 4000– 1000 cal. BCE)” by Zita Laffranchi, Marco Milella, Juan Carlos Vera Rodríguez, María José Martínez Fernández, María Dolores Bretones García, Sylvia Alejandra Jiménez Brobeil, Julia Brünig, Inmaculada López Flores, Juan Antonio Cámara Serrano and Rafael M. Martínez Sánchez, 20 September 2023, PLOS ONE.DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0291152.
As Martínez Sánchez discusses, developing that the marks of the bones correspond to one usage (tools) or another (food) is tough, particularly because these remains were transferred on the surface area of the cave, rather than being buried, such that they may have undergone other types of taphonomic adjustments (by animals, squashing …) over the years. The research study, nevertheless, does not see the marks on the bones as suggesting that they were utilized to acquire soft parts from them, for usage.
A PLOS ONE research study suggests that bone remains in the Cueva de los Mármoles cavern were customized for tool usage in rituals, rather than usage, over durations covering the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
The University of Cordoba has actually participated in an international study recording post-mortem bone modifications not connected to usage.
Numerous bone stays deposited in prehistoric caverns include cuts and marks, with the scientific neighborhood sometimes associating to their use for human consumption. A study provided by University of Cordoba researcher Rafael Martínez Sánchez, and led by Zita Laffranchi and Marco Milella at the University of Bern (Switzerland), together with other scientists from various proving ground, has just been released in the journal PLOS ONE. The work advances our knowledge of the funerary rites that happened during the Neolithic by recording how prehistoric societies customized human bones to make use of them.
Methodology and Findings
To this end, more than 400 remains were examined. Representing both grownups and preadults, they were discovered in the Cueva de los Mármoles (cave) in Priego de Córdoba, and are maintained in the towns Archaeological Museum. Thanks to high-resolution molds that were studied with an electron microscopic lense, the research group observed that a number of the marks on some bones work with a cleansing procedure performed in order to utilize the bone stays as tools and not (a minimum of, in principle) for consumption.