La cueva sepulcral calcolítica del Cubío del Escalón (Matienzo, Cantabria) y el modelo de las pequeñas cuevas sepulcrales en Cantabria

• Peter Smith ; Jesús Ruiz Cobo ; Anabel Sanz ^[1] ; Lourdes Herrasti ^[1] ; Ignacio Castanedo Tapia ; Juan Corrin
  1. [1] Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi
• Localización: Munibe Antropologia - Arkeologia, ISSN 1132-2217, Nº 67, 2016, págs. 35-50
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • The Chalcolithic burial cave Cubío del Escalón (Matienzo, Cantabria, Spain) and the model of small burial caves in Cantabria
• Enlaces
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• Resumen
  • español

    El Cubío del Escalón es una pequeña cueva localizada en Matienzo, Cantabria, donde en el año 2009 se hallaron algunos restos humanos. Una intervención arqueológica cuatro años más tarde documentó los restos de un mínimo de seis individuos, cinco adultos y un niño. Prácticamente todos los huesos se encontraban en mal estado de conservación, debido a las remociones que el yacimiento había sufrido. Junto con los restos óseos, se recogieron unas pocas piezas de sílex, cerámica y fauna. Este sitio se encaja dentro de cierto modelo de cueva sepulcral que se usaba con frecuencia en el Calcolítico y la Edad del Bronce. El estudio de los yacimientos funerarios de ese periodo en Cantabria ha determinado que 55% de los mismos poseen una boca de menos de 2,5 m de ancho y su anchura media es inferior a los 3,5 m. Sin embargo, dentro de una diversidad de prácticas sepulcrales, en el mismo periodo también se utilizaban cavidades grandes, aunque las inhumaciones en cueva conocidas seguramente corresponderían a una parte pequeña de la población, por lo que podrían existir otros ritos.

  • euskara

    Cubío del Escalón izenekoa Matienzon, Kantabrian, dagoen kobazulo txiki bat da. Gizakien aztarna batzuk topatu zituzten bertan 2009. urtean. Lau urte geroago egindako lan arkeologikoak gutxienez sei banakoren aztarnak dokumentatu zituen: bost heldurenak eta haur batenak. Ia hezur guztiak kontserbazio-egoera txarrean zeuden aztarnategi hark jasandako harrotzeak zirela eta. Hezur-aztarna haiez gain, silexezko pieza bakan batzuk, zeramika eta fauna ere jaso zituzten. Tokia Kalkolitikoan eta Brontze Aroan maiz erabili ohi zen hilobi-kobazuloen nolabaiteko ereduan sar dezakegu. Kantabriako aldi horretako hilobi-aztarnategiak aztertzeak agerian utzi duenez, haietako % 55ek 2,5 m-ko zabalera baino txikiagoko ahoa dute eta haien batez besteko zabalera 3,5 m baino gutxiagokoa izaten da. Dena den, hilobiko ohitura ugari horien baitan, aldi horretan bertan barrunbe handiak ere erabiltzen zituzten. Dena den, ezagutu ditugun kobazuloko ehorzketa horiek populazioaren zati txiki batenak izango ziren seguru asko eta, ondorioz, baliteke beste erritu batzuk ere existitu izana garai hartan.

  • English

    Cubío del Escalón is the name of a small cave in the polje of Matienzo, Cantabria, north Spain. A small number of human remains were discovered there by the caving expedition in 2009 and four years later permission was obtained to carry out an archaeological excavation to recover these remains and others as the site was clearly being disturbed by badgers. The excavation recovered remains from a number of squares marked out in the final part of the central passage and in small spaces to the side. Sectors in Squares C and D had to be lowered to allow access to the spaces F and G, where many of the best preserved bones were recovered. These were generally in loose sediment containing stones, plant matter and animal excrement. However, a few bones were found in compact cemented sediment against the passage walls, where they had not been disturbed by the badgers. The anthropological study determined that these remains belonged to a minimum of six individuals, five adults and a child. Despite the poor state of conservation of most of the bones, it was possible to identify signs of osteoarthritis on a femur and rib. Other cuts and fractures are attributed to the post-depositional damage suffered by the remains. A small assemblage of pieces of flint, pottery and faunal remains is not particularly diagnostic and cannot be explained as grave goods with any certainty. A radiocarbon determination of a fibula yielded a date of 3645 ± 35 BP. This site can be included within a certain model of burial cave frequently used in later prehistory in Cantabria. Archaeological surveying in the Saja, Miera and Asón valleys in the region has studied 121 burial sites attributed to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has established that the mean width of the entrances of these caves is 3.5m and over 50% of them have entrances of under 2.5m width. In most cases, the inhumations took place in small passages. In this way, they differ from the sites used for non-funerary purposes, which often have entrances over 5m in width. It is possible that small caves were used because they would be easier to seal off, and in fact some of these entrances were covered by large boulders at the time of their discovery. El Escalón is thus comparable with other similar small burial caves excavated in the Camargo area, also in Cantabria, although these contained a greater wealth of grave goods, including arrowheads and ground stone axes. However, at the same time, within a diversity of funerary practices, large caves were also in use, with the burials often situated in small chambers to the side of the main passage. In any case, it is clear that the known total number of inhumations would represent a very small percentage of the population at that time.