Los Canes Mesolithic burials: archaeothanatology

Abstract

Los Canes cave (Asturias, Northern Spain) is an outstanding site with traces of human occupation from the Solutrean to the Bronze Age. It consists of a very narrow cavity with three Late Mesolithic funerary structures, dating to the sixth millennium cal BC. The human remains found in these graves were studied in this paper from an archaeothanatological perspective. We considered the positions of the bodies and the causes of the displacement of several bones from their anatomical connections. This study discusses whether these inhumations correspond to primary or secondary burials. We conclude that they were primary graves, with traces of reuse in some cases. The dispersion of several bones may be explained by taphonomic factors and intensive utilization of the cave as a funerary space. Los Canes burials confirm the diversity found across the European Mesolithic funerary world and enhance our knowledge of the last hunter-gatherers in the Iberian Peninsula.