Small Houses of the Dead: A Model of Collective Funerary Activity in the Chalcolithic Tombs of Southwestern Iberia. La Orden-Seminario Site (Huelva, Spain)

Abstract

This study analyses the funerary activity of small collective tombs with a limited number of individuals in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Copper Age. These small burial spaces are one of the most frequent funerary manifestations and one of the most common forms of megalithic monumentality in the complex societies of this geographical area. The necropolis of La Orden-Seminario is put forward as a detailed case study, applying a multi-method approach that integrates the interrelated analysis of architecture, stratigraphy, funerary deposits, bioanthropological indicators, and chronological sequences. The research makes it possible to identify the overarching features that characterise these collective funerary activity: (a) the architectural and functional similarity between the hypogea and tholoi; (b) the periodic remodelling and reorganisation of the burial spaces; (c) the formation of superimposed funerary levels articulated in various phases; (d) the short periods of time in each level, with a concentration of 1–5 generations; (e) the coexistence of primary and secondary funerary deposits; (f) the low minimum number of individuals and the non-existence of dissymmetric practices according to sex and/or age; (g) the uniformity of the grave goods, the fragmentation of the objects, and the deposition of offerings; and (h) reuse during the Early Bronze Age.