A study in PLOSONE shows that bone remains from the Cuevadelos Mármoles cave were modified for use as tools in rituals rather than for consumption during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods.
The University of Cordoba is involved in an international study documenting postmortem bone modifications that are not related to consumption. Many bone remains deposited in prehistoric caves have cuts and marks that science sometimes attributes to human consumption. A study proposed by Rafael Martínez Sánchez, a researcher at the University of Córdoba, and led by Zita Laffranchi and Marco Milella from the University of Bern (Switzerland), together with other researchers from different research centers, has just been published in the journal PLOSONE. This study advances our understanding of Neolithic funerary rituals by documenting how prehistoric societies modified human bones for use.
Research methods and results
To do this, researchers analyzed the remains of more than 400 individuals. The bones were discovered in Cuevadelos Mármoles (caves) in Priego, Córdoba and are kept in the town's Archaeological Museum and contain the remains of both adults and pre-adults. By studying high-resolution molds using electron microscopy, the team found that many of the marks on some of the bones were consistent with a cleaning process in which the bone remains were used as tools rather than (at least in principle) for consumption.
As Martínez Sánchez explains, it is difficult to determine whether the marks on the bones correspond to one use (tools) or another (food), especially since these remains were deposited on the cave surface rather than buried, so they may have experienced other types of petrological modifications (animals, trampling...) over the years. However, the study does not believe the marks on the bones indicate they were used to harvest soft parts for consumption. Instead, they are thought to demonstrate a more careful cleaning process consistent with the tool's purpose. The bones found included a pointed fibula, a modified tibia and a skull.
historical background
In addition, carbon-14 dating of 12 remains showed that the cave was used as a funerary site in three periods: around 3800 BC, 2500 BC, and around 1300 or 1400 BC. The first of these periods coincides with the Neolithic Age and was also the period when domed stone tombs for collective burial became common. Therefore, this is a time of great concern for ancestors. This overlap between the first burial period in the cave and the beginning of the Megalithic Age, coupled with the fact that marks on the bones do not appear to be consistent with consumption, strengthens the team's view that the remains were crafted into tools for use at a specific time.
As Martínez Sánchez said: "There seems to be an idea of gathering the dead in one place, cleaning the remains and using the bones as tools, perhaps related to some kind of ritual that took place inside the cave."
Through this study, the team succeeded in confirming that the handling method of the bones was most likely not related to consumption, but to more complex factors. It would appear that the bones were used for ritual and cultural purposes after being deposited. Martínez Sánchez said: "We had no idea that bodies would still be stored in this cave during this period."