Animals for the Deceased: Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Bronze Age in the Castillejo del Bonete Site (Terrinches, Ciudad Real, Spain).

ABSTRACT: The 2978 faunal bone remains recovered from the Bronze Age levels at the Castillejo del Bonete site between 2005 and 2019 were analyzed in this study. In the main structure (Great Tumulus 1, Tumulus 2, and Tomb 5), the faunal bone remains were identified and interpreted as offerings in a funerary context. In Enclosure 4, a large building possibly dedicated to the celebration of wakes and rituals-including the eating of food and drinking-in honor of the deceased, the anthropic modifications on the bone surfaces indicate their possible consumption. The cave is constituted by four galleries with inhumations (in Galleries 2, 3, and 4) and pithoi (in Gallery 4). Wild and domestic animals were identified in the cavity, and the caprine (likely sheep) is the best represented taxa in the entire cav

SUBMITTER: Galindo-Pellicena MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11899635 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature