The first personal ornaments from the Late Prehistoric population of Los Castillejos at the Las Peñas de los Gitanos site (Montefrío, Spain)

Abstract

In this article, we present the results of the analysis of ornaments from the Los Castillejos population at the Las Peñas de los Gitanos site (Montefrío, Spain). These objects were recovered during archaeological excavations undertaken between 1991 and 1994. The items belong to stratigraphic phases 1 through to 19 and range from the Early Neolithic (5400 BC) to the Middle Chalcolithic (2550 BC). We carried out morpho-typological studies, raw material characterization, and traceology. On this basis, six morphological categories were defined. In turn, this has allowed us to date the manufacture of each of these types, and thereby to indirectly correct the dating of similar items found at other Andalusian sites lacking a fixed stratigraphic sequence. For example, this data permits us to suggest that many of these megalithic tombs were in use from the Final Neolithic onwards. Local raw materials were predominantly used in the manufacture of these items, although the presence of an ivory ornament demonstrates that the site was a part of Mediterranean exchange networks. We have mainly highlighted the final stages of manufacture as well as repair processes; we have also proposed way in which these ornaments might have been worn.