Burials

Burials. Cueva del Mirador.

A pit containing the remains of at least six individuals was discovered during the 1999 season at a level known as MIR-4. The most interesting aspects of this burial are the treatment of the corpses and the use of the site as a burial ground between previous and subsequent periods of human occupation and livestock stabling. Several Bronze Age burial types are known on the Spanish northern tableland apart from caves, including dolmens and individual pits dug in the ground. Scientists have interpreted this diversity of burial grounds in terms of social differentiation: dolmens were for segmentary societies with a group structure, while pits indicate a transition towards stratified societies. The site discovered in El Mirador, where six individuals are buried, seems to suggest that this was still a group society.

The treatment of the corpses left here is a more interesting aspect. Several parts of the skeleton are missing and the items present have several curious features. The smallest bones are missing, indicating that this was a secondary burial. The bones were defleshed with a sharp instrument, the long bones were fractured, the skulls split, with only the neurocrania (braincase) placed in the grave. Taken together, all this information is evidence of a clearly ritual purpose.