Symbolism, Exchange and Differential Grave Building Efforts during the Neolithic of the North-eastern Iberian Peninsula. The Necropolis of Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús 1-2: An Example of Unequal Objects and Grave Goods Distribution

Abstract

One of the elements that defines the so-called "Pit Burial Horizon" is the presence within certain burials of a set of tools and ornaments which were made of exogenous materials or which their acquisition and processing required an enormous investment effort. Chronologically, we stand at end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th millennium cat. BC, a period that stands out due to the relevance of its funerary structures, usually burial chambers containing a single individual. In this paper, we will identify the type of raw materials that travelled long distances during this lapse of time, recognise and explain who the receivers of those instruments and ornaments were. The best known archaeological site of this period is Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús, which will serve as an example to examine this topic. This is a context with a considerable potential, not only due to the number of burials (more than 170 in Bòbila Madurell-Can Gambús), but alsto because of the substantial number of grave goods and instruments made with exogenous rocks.