0113 - Dating ditches and funerary practices

Tomorrow, at the VI Archaeological Meeting of Southwest Iberia, a paper will be presented about a radiocarbon sequence of dates for Perdigões set of enclosures.

“Valera, A.C, Silva, A.M. & Márquez Romero, J.E., “The temporality of Perdigões enclosures: absolute chronology of structures and practices”.

This sequence, of 34 dates, was obtained in the course of three projects integrated in the Global Programme of Research of Perdigões, coordinated by the NIA-ERA: a project of NIA-ERA aiming precisely to established the temporalities of the set of enclosures; a project of the Department of Anthropology of Coimbra University in collaboration with NIA-ERA dedicated to funerary practices in Perdigões; a project of the Malaga University developed in the NE gate of the outside enclosure.

The sequence reveals an occupation of more than a millennia, between 3360 and 2100 BC, corresponding to the Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic and transition to the Bronze Age. It also reveals a provisory image of progressive enlargement of the site during this time span and the progressive diversity of funerary practices, especially during the third millennium BC.

We will be coming back to this important chronological sequence during the meeting taking place in next November in Lisbon on enclosures and funerary practices.

And we hope to publish it next year.