Exchange networks between the Rhone and Ebro valleys: A view from the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Since the middle of the fifth millenary cal BC and for a thousand years, the so-called «Sepulcros de fosa» culture is attested in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, approximately in parallel with the French Chassey culture. Only a few habitats were discovered and excavated so far, preventing a better knowledge of the subsistence patterns, of the organisation of inhabited spaces and of the economic strategies implemented by these populations. However, the funerary expressions of theses societies are abundant: to date more than 600 graves were identified. These funerary manifestations are characterised by larges necropolis gathering many burials, mostly individuals. These burials provided numerous grave goods including elements manufactured elsewhere from exotic raw materials, whose presence in the graves indicate a type of exploitation overstepping the frame of regional resources. Since the fourth millenary cal. BC, a significant increase of the number of grave goods and of the distance from the origin of the products is noticeable, amongst them flint from Provence, polished stone axes from several sources and Sardinian obsidian blades. The diffusion of these elements all along the Mediterranean axe connecting the Rhone and Ebro valleys, across distances over several hundred kilometres and under shapes resulting from specific manufactures according to constrictive technical norms, allows us to highlight the circulation of these productions, but also of the ideas and populations across an extended territory. Therefore, these burial contexts constitute a privileged frame to the study not only of funerary practices, but also of the relationships within these groups and with the neighbouring communities.