Approach to the demographic study at the Castillejo del Bonete site (Terrinches, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.) through the teeth

Abstract

Castillejo del Bonete (Terrinches, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) was a sacred site on the southern edge of the Castilian plateau during the Chalcolithic and the Bronze age. This place was built over a collective burial cave, which extends over 35 linear meters and it divided into four galleries (Benitez de Lugo, 2014). Human rest have been recovered from individual graves, as well as from the four galleries. The objective of this study is to establish a demographic profile of the population buried in the three of galleries (2, 3 and 4) through the analysis of their permanent dentition. The total dental sample of these three galleries is 786 teeth (479 permanent and 307 deciduous). We first determined the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Second, we conducted a basic approximation of age, classifying individuals as adults (represented for fully formed teeth and deciduous teeth) and non-adults (represented for permanent teeth in process of formation). The estimation of sex was based on equations provided by Viciano et al. (2013), specifically those based on permanent canines. The MNI of adult individuals is 25, represented by the left upper first incisor. The MNI for non-adult individuals varied from six (represented for the left upper second incisor in formation) to 28 (represented for the deciduous right upper second incisor and canine). Thus, the total MNI is 53 individuals. Sex could be estimated in 19 individuals (4 non-adults and 15 adults). While all four teeth belonging to non-adult individuals were sexed as males, among those belonging to adults, five were identified as male individuals and ten to female individuals. In conclusion, this study has provided us with the opportunity to approach demographics through the analysis of age and sex distribution in galleries 2, 3, and 4 of the Castillejo del Bonete site, emphasizing the significant number of non-adult individuals present in these galleries.