United In Life And Death: Neolithic Megalithic Tomb In Spain – Examined

The collective graves of the Neolithic period were made mostly of stone and were large enough to hold many bodies in a communal space.

The megalithic tomb in Alto de Reinoso, Burgos differs from this in only one respect, say anthropologists at the University of Basel and archaeologists from the University of Valladolid.

The burial chamber had originally been made from wood over which a stone mound was erected afterwards. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the tomb was used by a community living between 3700 and 3600 AD and spanning about three to four generations. At least 47 bodies have been found.

“While the lower layer has been relatively well preserved, numerous disturbances have been observed in the upper layers such as missing skulls, which could be due to a certain kind of ancestral worship,” says Prof. Manuel Rojo Guerra, from the University of Valladolid, Spain.

Way of life revealed

In order to examine the Neolithic community’s way of life, researchers used modern methods to collect individual data such as age, sex, body height, disease, stress markers and signs of violence. This data was also supplemented by information about diet, area of origin, mobility and familial relationships.

“This is the first study that presents a detailed picture of how Neolithic people were connected in life and death,” says lead author Prof. Kurt W. Alt, visiting professor at the University of Basel.