Funerary sites during the Bell Beaker period in Galicia (Spain)

Abstract

The Galician archaeological record presents certain problems for the preservation of most types of organic remains, so we must explain the past based on inorganic materials. In particular, the Bell Beaker communities have been explained almost exclusively by the presence of Bell Beaker ceramics, excluding all sites that do not contain this cultural element. This paper will present a summary of the sites classified as funerary in nature in Galicia. The depositional characteristics, the degree of fragmentation of the vessels, their position in the sites and the grave goods will be considered in terms of biographical reconstruction. The conclusion is that while only a few of the Bell Beakers had a truly funerary role, their more significant function was to facilitate the ritualised appropriation of Neolithic space as material symbols of a communal 'Bell Beaker' identity, as opposed to metal grave goods which designated individual status