Non-funerary commensality in the Argaric Culture

Archaeozoological analysis of Structure E50.44 from Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén, Spain)

Bibliographic Data

ID6433372
AuthorsLucía Tinoco Domínguez (0000-0001-9891-5476, Universidad de Granada, corresponding author), Marta Moreno-García (0000-0002-6735-9355), Marta MORENO GARCÍA (Institute of History), Auxilio Moreno Onorato (0000-0003-3730-2187, Universidad de Granada), Francisco Contreras Cortés (0000-0002-2997-2079, Universidad de Granada)
Year2025
Volume69
Pages105497-105497
Publication date2025-11-25
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105497
OpenAlexW7106578096
LanguageEN
References cited23

Structure E50.44 in Peñalosa shows communal dining in the Argaric Culture. • Taxonomic and taphonomic analyses evidence collective consumption of multiple species. • The number of horse remains and butchery marks suggest an extraordinary event. • Structure E50.44 offers new ways to study and review Argaric fauna. Acts of commensality are well recorded throughout the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as throughout the rest of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Moreover, meat played a fundamental role in marking social differences and strengthening communal ties in special celebrations laden with strong cultural, economic, political, and social connotations. Research on commensality associated with the Argaric Culture (2200–1550 BCE) of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula has focused almost exclusively on finds of faunal remains in funerary contexts. This study opens a new line of research on this phenomenon through the analysis of an exceptional faunal deposit (Structure E50.44) brought to light in the acropolis of the settlement of Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén). The feature consists of a circular masonry pit and filled for the most part with faunal remains. Taxonomic and taphonomic analyses of the finds have identified species common to the site, notably cattle, caprines, pig, red deer, wild boar, rabbit, and hare. However, the most notable characteristic is its predominance of horse. The presence of butchery marks, the rarity of bones in anatomical connection, the abundance of prime meat-bearing elements belonging for the most part to adults of all species, in addition to a lack of structure’s deliberate internal organisation, allow linking it and its fill to an act of commensality that very probably represented an exceptional event for the residents of Peñalosa.

Assemblage (archaeology · Fauna · Field (mathematics · Maya · Osteology · Paleoanthropology · Peninsula · Period (music) · Prehistory · Settlement (finance) · Statistical analysis · Stone tool · Taphonomy · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeological and Historical Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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