Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01530-5

REVIEW

Inhumation and cremation: identifying funerary practices and 

reuse of space through forensic taphonomy at Cova Foradada
(Calafell, Spain)
Miguel Ángel Moreno‑Ibáñez1,2   · Palmira Saladié1,2,3 · Juan I. Morales1,2,4 · Artur Cebrià4 · Josep Maria Fullola4

Received: 25 July 2021 / Accepted: 21 February 2022 / Published online: 7 March 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022

Abstract
The study of human remains from the perspective of forensic taphonomy facilitates a holistic understanding of ancient
funerary behavior, and it is even more important when dealing with commingled assemblages. This is the case of Cova
Foradada (Calafell, Spain), where more than 2500 disarticulated, fragmented, and commingled human remains, both burned
and unburned, were recovered, belonging to at least 23 individuals. This study aims to reconstruct the taphonomic history
of the site and identify the funerary treatments applied. Radiocarbon dating indicates the use of the cave at the beginning
and end of the Neolithic, and taphonomic analysis has enabled us to differentiate a third period of funerary use. The results
of this study have revealed that burned and unburned remains present in the cave constitute two different accumulations
separated in time that were mixed due to multiple post-depositional agents and processes, including anthropogenic activi-
ties. The cremation pattern of the burned remains evidences the cremation of green bones, probably whole bodies, inside
the cave, representing an intermediate practice between collective burials and the individual cremation characteristic of the
Late Bronze Age. There is, therefore, repeated use of the same space with a sepulchral concept, from the Neolithic to the
Bronze Age, but involving different funerary practices: inhumation and cremation.

Keywords  Taphonomy · Collective burial · Commingled remains · Burned bones · Neolithic · Bronze Age

Introduction a tangential phenomenon that is tightly interwoven with

Funerary practices are one of the most intricate aspects
of modern human behavior. The social, symbolic, ritual,
and religious components of funerary behavior are clear.
The emergence and expansion of funerary practices are
* Miguel Ángel Moreno‑Ibáñez
miguelangel.moreno.i95@gmail.com
1
Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social
(IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades
URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
2
Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Història
i Història de l’Art, Avinguda de Catalunya 35,
43002 Tarragona, Spain
3
Unit Associated To CSIC, Departamento de Paleobiología,
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, C/ José Gutierrez
Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
4 the same sepulchral space over time.
SERP, Departament d’Historia i Arqueologia, Universitat
de Barcelona, C/ Montealegre 6‑8 (Edifici Raval),
08001 Barcelona, Spain
increased cognitive complexity in humans from different
species, evolving in parallel with art, language, and social
structuration (Mcbrearty and Brooks 2000; D’Errico 2003;
Rossano 2006; Pettitt 2011; Díez-Martín, 2014). When stud-
ying funerary practices, the most direct source of informa-
tion is the human skeleton itself. The larger the study sample
available, the more information can be extracted from the
populations practicing a given funerary ritual. For this rea-
son, collective burials, the most common funerary practice
in Europe from the Neolithic to Bronze Age, provide us a
great deal of information on the funerary treatment of the
dead, since these contain multiple individuals from a human
population. The simultaneous or successive accumulation of
bodies, sometimes with several dozens of individuals in the
same space, also makes it possible to study other aspects of
prehistoric human communities, such as the state of health
of entire groups, possible causes of death, and the reuse of
The first possible case of the deliberate accumulation
of bodies in a specific location with a funerary meaning is

13
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found at the Sima de los Huesos site, in Atapuerca (Bur-
gos, Spain). At least 29 pre-Neanderthal individuals, mainly
young, dated from around 430 kyr BP, have been docu-
mented from this site (Arsuaga et al. 1997, 2014; Bermú-
dez de Castro and Nicolás, 1997; Bermúdez de Castro et al.
2020). A similar interpretation was postulated for the assem-
blage discovered in Dinaledi Chamber, in South Africa,
where there were at least 15 individuals, dated between 335
and 236 kyr BP and belonging to the species Homo naledi
(Berger et al. 2015; Dirks et al. 2017). However, due to the
exceptional nature of these assemblages, their interpretation
is highly controversial, with arguments both for (Carbonell
and Mosquera 2006; Sala et al. 2015; Dirks et al. 2016) and
against them (Andrews and Fernández-Jalvo 1997; Val 2016;
Egeland et al. 2018) being considered evidence of inten-
tional funerary practices during the Middle Pleistocene.
It was not until the Neolithic that the practice of burying
several individuals in the same grave became widespread in
Europe (Rojo Guerra et al. 2012; Tomé et al. 2017). Double
and triple burials are known from the Upper Paleolithic (Pet-
titt 2011), but the successive burial of multiple individuals
in open sepulchers evidences an important change in the
concept of burial spaces, involving the collective reuse of
a grave by the members of a community. Indeed, collec-
tive burials are one of the most common funerary practices
seen from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, whether in arti-
ficial graves, megalithic constructions, or natural caves. In
the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, from the beginning of
the Neolithic, natural caves were used as sepulchral spaces.
However, such burials were very scarce at first, in the Early
Neolithic (c. 7500–6500 years BP), and most funerary con-
texts are simply scattered skeletal remains, frequently in a
secondary position (Garrido-Pena et al. 2012; Bosch 2016).
In the Middle Neolithic period, collective burials began to
take on greater importance, although concurrent with single
and double burials in pits or cists. It was during the Late
Neolithic and Chalcolithic (c. 5500–4300 years BP) when
collective burials became generalized across the northeast-
ern Iberian Peninsula, emerging as the main funerary prac-
tice, particularly in sepulchral caves, but also in megalithic
monuments, artificial caves, and mines (Arias Cabal 2012;
Garrido-Pena et al. 2012; Gibaja et al. 2012; Soriano 2016;
Tomé et al. 2017).
Beyond regional traditions, funerary behavior is very het-
erogeneous. One feature often associated with burial con-
texts is the use of fire. Burning bodies became a predominant
practice in Europe during the Late Bronze Age. The practice
of cremation reached northeastern Iberia as a standardized
funerary practice probably at the hand of the Urnfield cul-
ture, around 3000 years BP (Ruíz-Zapatero 1985; Blasco
1993; López-Cachero and Rovira 2016; Barandiarán et al.
2019), but burned human remains have also been found in
earlier funerary contexts, including the Paleolithic (Bowler
13
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
et al. 1970) and Mesolithic (Valentin et al. 2008; Borić et al.
2009), as well as in Neolithic and Chalcolithic collective
burials (Gatto 2002; Rojo Guerra and Kunst 2002; Cham-
bon 2003; Weiss-Krejci 2005; Agustí, 2014; de Becdelievre
et al. 2015; Silva et al. 2015; Santana et al. 2020). However,
the presence of burned bones is not always a funerary or
primary intention, especially when these remains appear
commingled with unburned bones in collective burial sites,
and they could be related to gaining space in the cave, for
hygiene purposes, or as a method of closing a tomb (Agustí,
2002; Pascual Benito 2002; Lorrio and Montero 2004; Cata-
roche and Gowland 2015; Díaz-del-Río et al. 2017).
Collective burials are frequently affected by various
taphonomic processes, increasing the fragmentation and
dispersion of the remains, and even altering the stratigraphic
sequence. For this reason, in commingled assemblages con-
taining both burned and unburned bones, it is inherently
difficult to differentiate whether the cremated remains are
the result of a less frequent funerary practice, if the fire
that affected the bones had no direct relation to the funer-
ary ritual, or if varied body treatments were practiced at
the same place through time. Taphonomic analysis of the
remains allows us to investigate these questions. Taphonomy
applied to human remains of forensic interest is referred to
as forensic taphonomy (Haglund and Sorg 1997; Beary and
Lyman 2012; Sorg et al. 2012; Pokines 2022b), although in
recent years, however, human remains from archaeological
contexts from different times have been studied from a foren-
sic taphonomic perspective (Churchill et al. 2009; Saladié
et al. 2012; Cohen et al. 2015; Robb et al. 2015; Sala et al.
2015; Konopka et al. 2016; Gómez-Olivencia et al. 2018;
Alt et al. 2020; Soficaru and Trinkaus 2020; Janković et al.
2021). It is a subfield of forensic anthropology, whose main
objective is to study all the changes that affected the human
remains from the moment of death, including possible skele-
tal trauma and pathologies, the decomposition of the bodies,
and environmental modifications (Haglund and Sorg 1997;
Schotsmans et al. 2017; Pokines et al. 2022). Taphonomy
applied to human remains complements anthropological
studies and allows us access to information that would not
otherwise be available, such as determining the origin of the
bone accumulation, site formation processes, and drawing
inferences about the mortuary practices of past populations.
Forensic taphonomy, although still not very common in pre-
historic cases, has been applied to human archaeological
remains from different chronologies: fossil hominins from
the Lower and Middle Paleolithic (Arsuaga et al. 1990;
Andrews and Fernández-Jalvo 1997; Pickering et al. 2004;
Saladié et al. 2012; Sala et al. 2014, 2015, 2016; Kappelman
et al. 2016; Gómez-Olivencia et al. 2018; Sanz et al. 2018),
to the European Upper Paleolithic (Andrews and Fernán-
dez-Jalvo 2003; Bello et al. 2015; Marín-Arroyo 2015; Sala
and Conard 2016; Soficaru and Trinkaus 2020), Neolithic
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
(Beckett 2011; de Becdelievre et al. 2015; Robb et al. 2015;
Meyer et  al. 2018; Santana et  al. 2019; Alt et  al. 2020;
García-Sagastibelza et al. 2020; Marginedas et al. 2020),
Chalcolithic (Blasco et al. 2014; Silva et al. 2015; Díaz-del-
Río et al. 2017; Belcastro et al. 2021; Janković et al. 2021),
and Bronze Age (Armentano et al. 2014; González-Rabanal
et al. 2017; Papakonstantinou et al. 2020).
The purpose of this paper is to holistically study the com-
mingled accumulation of human remains recovered from
Cova Foradada, from the perspective of forensic taphonomy.
The main question we seek to answer is whether the cre-
mated remains present at the site belong to the same accu-
mulation as the unburned bones or if, in contrast, they rep-
resent two different assemblages related to different burial
events separated in time. Anthropological study and tapho-
nomic analysis will allow us to evaluate the documented
funerary behavior in Cova Foradada in a diachronic way.
Cova Foradada: the site
Cova Foradada is located in the northeast of the Iberian Pen-
insula, close to the town of Calafell (Tarragona, Spain). It
is a small cave of karstic origin, about 14 ­m2 and 2.5–3.0 m
high, located 110 m.a.s.l., and 1860 m from the current
coastline. The cave consists of two chambers at different
levels, separated by a travertine ramp. Water erosion gave
rise to the openings to the outside, which are circular, and to
which it owes its name (“the perforated cave”) (Fig. 1a). This
is the main entrance, and it also has an upper and smaller
entrance (Fig. 2). In 1997, the accidental discovery of a cra-
nium and other human remains by local hikers was reported
in the local press. Subsequently, two rescue excavations
took place, in 1997 and 1999, to recover the most superficial
remains. From then on, the programmed excavations began,
intermittently, until 2017. The sepulchral assemblage was
completely excavated in 2012.
The archaeological layers yielding the funerary assem-
blage were found in the lower and main chamber. The doc-
umented sequence runs from the beginning of the Upper
Paleolithic, at the base, to the use of the cave during the
Middle Holocene, at the top. The stratigraphy comprises
four principal units. Unit I, excavated until 2012, includes
the accumulation of human remains (Cebrià et al. 2007,
2011; Oms et al. 2016; Morales et al. 2019; Moreno-Ibáñez
et al. 2021). This stratigraphic unit is composed of sandy
sediment, with pebbles and boulders, and a significant
presence of charcoal and ashes. Two layers were differenti-
ated in this unit: Ia and Ib. The former constitutes the most
superficial part of the unit, and is more heterogeneous and
dustier, with less compact sediment, and with infiltrations
of some modern and sub-actual materials. The latter con-
tains most of the archaeological remains of the sepulchral
Page 3 of 31 57
assemblage, with greater homogeneity and without modern
materials. The whole unit has a stratigraphic thickness of
about 60 cm and is highly affected by bioturbation. Three
14
C dates of dental pieces provide a chronology from 5060
to 4400 years cal. BP (Table 1), culturally within the Late
Neolithic–Chalcolithic period, and two dates gave a time
range of 7166–6980 years cal. BP (Table 1), representing the
Early Neolithic Cardial culture (Morales et al. 2010; Oms
et al. 2014, 2016). Unfortunately, due to the high degree of
combustion, no successful 14C dates were obtained from the
cremated remains.
Unit II corresponds to a short Late Upper Paleolithic
occupation, and Units III and IV constitute the most com-
plete and best-preserved stratigraphic sequence of the site,
from Gravettian to Châtelperronian period (Morales et al.
2016, 2019; Rodríguez-Hidalgo et al. 2019).
Material
The study assemblage consists of human remains recov-
ered from Unit I of the stratigraphic sequence. However,
due to the bioturbation caused by small mammals, mainly
rabbits, human remains have occasionally been recovered
from the infilling material in burrows cutting down into the
lower units (8.3%); however, they all putatively belong to
Unit I. For this reason, the material has been analyzed as
the “human assemblage,” independently of its exact loca-
tion within the site at the time of its recovery. A total of
2790 skeletal remains have been analyzed, most highly frag-
mented. Among these, we differentiated two different groups
according to whether they were thermally altered or not: the
unburned collective burial, and the cremation assemblage.
Burned and unburned bones were found dispersed and disar-
ticulated throughout the cave with no clear spatial distribu-
tion pattern (Fig. 1b and c). In this unit, elements of material
culture were also found, some of them possibly related to
grave goods, chronologically spanning from the Early Neo-
lithic to the Bronze Age. Fragments of cardial pottery, flint
arrowheads (foliate and barbed-and-tanged), flint blades, a
stone axe, steatite beads, and pottery fragments attributable
to both the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age have been
found (Cebrià et al. 2011; Oms et al. 2016). These elements
have been taken into account for a better understanding of
the chrono-cultural context of the human remains, as well
as for the comparison of this site with others in the same
geo-chronological environment.
The unburned collective burial includes 1360 unburned
bone remains. All of these have been identified anatomically,
although not always sided. Indeterminate fragments, such
as tiny splinters of long bones or small fragments of spongy
bone, have not been considered as it was not possible to
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57 Page 4 of 31 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

Fig. 1  Location of Cova Foradada in the Iberian Peninsula and exterior view of the cave (a). Horizontal distribution of unburned and burned
bones (b). Transverse profile (Y-axis) with unburned (blue) and burned (red) human remains (c)

determine with certainty whether these were actually human
remains.
The cremation assemblage consists of 1430 remains.
Unlike the collective burial assemblage, in this case, the
unidentified specimens have been considered in the analysis
to enable a better understanding of the thermal alteration
process, including diaphysis fragments of indeterminate long
bones and very small unidentified fragments. If this assem-
blage does represent a funerary context of cremation, the
most plausible hypothesis is that the small splinters showing

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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 5 of 31 57

Fig. 2  Different views of Cova Foradada, showing the lower and elevation. Photographs of the interior of the cave and the travertine
upper entrances. Upper (a) and front (b) views of internal morphol- ramp, from the main entrance (c), and the smaller and upper entrance
ogy of the cave from photogrammetric 3D model, colored by relative (d)

Table 1  Radiocarbon dates Layer Sample Taxa Technique Reference 14C age Cal BP Cal BC p (95%)
of human remains from Cova
Foradada Ib Bone Homo AMS OxA-23529 4375 ± 31 4938 ± 56 3110–2870
Ib Bone Homo AMS OxA-23539 4016 ± 29 4483 ± 40 2610–2450
Ib Bone Homo AMS CNA-1648.1 4376 ± 32 4941 ± 50 3110–2870
Ib Tooth Homo AMS Beta-578069 6140 ± 30 7053 ± 73 5240–4960
Ib Tooth Homo AMS Beta-248524 6200 ± 40 7097 ± 69 5290–5010

thermal alteration belong to the group of human remains;
this is even more likely when considering the scarcity of
faunal remains with thermal alterations.
Methods
Different characteristics were considered for the anatomi-
cal representation and quantification: element, siding (left
or right), portion (1, 2, 3, 4, and/or 5, from proximal to
distal), aspect (anterior, posterior, medial, and/or lateral),
landmarks, age and sex estimation, fracture pattern (in the
case of long bones), surface modifications (including color
changes in the case of burned remains), and the presence
or not of pathologies. Several quantification indices were
applied: number of specimens (NSP), number of identified
specimens (NISP), minimum number of elements (MNE),
minimum number of anatomical units (%MAU), and mini-
mum number of individuals (MNI) (Binford 1978; Grayson
1984; Klein and Cruz-Uribe 1984; Bunn 1986). To iden-
tify the specimens, we used various osteology and physi-
cal anthropology manuals (White et al. 2011; Nikita 2017),

13
57 Page 6 of 31
reference sources focusing specifically on sub-adult indi-
viduals (Scheuer and Black 2000; Gilsanz and Ratib 2005;
Schaefer et al. 2009; France 2017), and the reference collec-
tion of Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució
Social (IPHES-CERCA, Tarragona, Spain). Following the
method proposed by Saladié et al. (2011a), we calculated
the MNE, taking into account the overlapping of long bone
portions and aspects. The MNI was calculated using hand
bones, due to the high number of these elements found at
the site. The %MAU represents the abundance of bone ele-
ments and portions in an assemblage, relating the MNE to
the actual presence of each bone in the skeleton (i.e., cra-
nium: 1, femur: 2, ribs: 24). This index was used to check a
possible relationship between the presence and/or absence
of certain skeletal elements and their mean mineral density.
The %MAU represents the greater/lesser presence of each
skeletal remain, and when this is related to the average vol-
ume (g/cm3) of each element and portions, it is possible to
interpret whether there is a differential anatomical represen-
tation caused by some taphonomic agent (Lyman 1994). To
do so, we followed the data of Suby (2006), to calculate a
linear regression between the %MAU and the average vol-
ume of each element (g/cm3).
Projections of the recovered material were performed,
both horizontally and 1-m-wide vertical profile, to observe
its spatial distribution using ArcGIS 10.4.1 (Desktop,
Engine) software.
To estimate the age-at-death of the individuals, a combi-
nation of different classic methods was used, to obtain the
most accurate age range possible. In the case of sub-adult
individuals, the stages of tooth development and dental erup-
tion were the most commonly used methods used (AlQahtani
2009). Bone size and the state of fusion were used (Scheuer
and Black 2000; Schaefer et al. 2009; France 2017), espe-
cially the hand bones from the unburned assemblage, due
to their abundance (Gilsanz and Ratib 2005), and metric
methods were also used with complete long bones (radius
and femur) (Maresh 1970). In the case of adult individuals,
tooth wear (Lovejoy 1985; Brothwell 1991) was employed,
as well as morphological characteristics of the innominate
bone, which is one of the most widely used and reliable
skeletal elements for estimating age-at-death, especially
the phases of modification of the pubic symphysis (Brooks
and Suchey 1990; Dudzik and Langley 2015), and auricular
surface (Lovejoy et al. 1985; Buckberry and Chamberlain
2002).
Sex estimation was only possible in some unburned bones
due to the high degree of fragmentation of the assemblage.
When possible, we employed both metric and non-metric
methods. In the first case, we used different femur (Mall
et al. 2000; Soni et al. 2010; Spradley and Jantz 2011), tibia
(Spradley and Jantz 2011; Šlaus et al. 2013), and humerus
(Spradley and Jantz 2011; Soni et al. 2013) measurements.
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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
In the second, we used cranial morphology (Buikstra and
Ubelaker 1994; Walker 2008; Petaros et al. 2017), the shape
of the distal epiphysis of the humerus (Falys et al. 2005;
Vance et al. 2011), and the morphology of the innominate
bone, especially the width and depth of the greater sciatic
notch of the ilium (Bruzek 2002; Walker 2005) and the
shape of the pubis (Klales et al. 2012). Estimating the age-
at-death and sex of individuals is directly related to the study
of funerary practices carried out by a population, such as
possible intentional selection of individuals, or to the iden-
tification of the mortality pattern (natural or catastrophic) or
a given human community. This information has also been
fundamental for the calculation of the MNI, in addition to
the search of fragments belonging to the same bone (MNE),
or the search for bones belonging to the same individual (by
pairs or by joint contiguity).
Bone surfaces were examined macroscopically, using a
stereomicroscope (OPTECH HZ), between 15 and 45 × mag-
nification. When we needed to visualize smaller modifica-
tions, we used a digital microscope (HIROX RH-2000). We
followed the method proposed by different researchers for
documenting the modifications caused by carnivorous ani-
mals, such as pits, punctures, scores, furrowing, and crenu-
lated edges (Binford 1981). Furrowing is the destruction of
cancellous bone through the action of carnivores. This modi-
fication is frequently documented on the epiphyses of long
bones, although it can occur in any cancellous or compact
bone. We differentiated between light, moderate, and heavy
furrowing, depending on the intensity of cancellous bone
loss (Saladié et al. 2011b). When there is intense consump-
tion of long bone epiphyses, scooping-out occurs, exposing
the medullary cavity (Binford 1981). In addition to the type
of mark produced, the location of the tooth marks on the
bones and the type of tissue affected were also taken into
account (Selvaggio and Wilder 2001; Domínguez-Rodrigo
and Piqueras 2003), mainly to differentiate the size of the
carnivore that had acted on the assemblage (Andrés et al.
2012). The tooth marks were measured using a digital cali-
per (length and width for pits and punctures, and width for
scores). The tooth mark measurements from the Cova Fora-
dada remains were compared with several actualistic stud-
ies on different carnivorous animals that could have acted
at this site. According to the fauna present in the Middle
Holocene in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, the taxa
considered were brown bear (Saladié et al. 2011b), wolf,
dog and fox (Andrés et al. 2012), and wild boar (Saladié,
2009). An error bar graph representing the mean of each
taxon and the 95% confidence interval and a MANOVA
test were performed to compare the differences between the
tooth marks on burned and unburned bones. The fragmenta-
tion of the assemblage was analyzed following the standards
of Bunn (1983) and Villa and Mahieu (1991) in terms of
the preserved circumference and length of the long bones,
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
as well as the delineation, angle, and surface texture of the
fractured edges, principally to differentiate between green
and dry fractures. Peeling on ribs was documented for the
same reason (White 1992; Pickering et al. 2013).
Post-depositional modifications were also documented
according to the methods and descriptions of several
researchers. We identified modifications of vegetal origin,
in the form of root etching and root staining (Behrensmeyer
1978; Binford 1981; White and Hannus 1983; Lyman 1994;
Pokines and Baker 2022; Schultz and Dupras 2022), fungal
attack (Nicholson 1998; Sharmin et al. 2003; Domínguez-
Rodrigo and Barba 2006; Pokines and Baker 2022), inde-
terminate chemical corrosion, probably related to soil pH
(Gordon and Buikstra 1981; Fernández-Jalvo et al. 2002;
Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews 2016; Pokines and Baker
2022), subaerial exposure or weathering and other fissures
(Hill 1976; Behrensmeyer 1978; Shipman 1981; Andrews
and Cook 1985; Pokines and Spiegel 2022), carbonatation
and dissolution (Courty et al. 1989; Tibbett and Carter 2008;
Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews 2016; Schultz and Dupras
2022), trampling and other abrasions (Shipman and Rose
1984; Andrews and Cook 1985; Behrensmeyer et al. 1986;
Olsen and Shipman 1988; Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews
2003; Blasco et al. 2008; Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. 2009;
Pineda et al. 2014), manganese oxide precipitation (Potter
and Rossman 1979; Hill 1982; Northup and Lavoie 2001;
López-González et al. 2006; Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews
2016), and rodent gnawing (Shipman 1981; Fernández-Jalvo
and Andrews 2016; Pokines 2022a). To compare the fre-
quencies of each taphonomic modification in the two bone
assemblages, burned and unburned, we performed a two-
sample t test between proportions and multiple correspond-
ence analysis. Bone surface modifications provide us with
information on the environmental conditions to which the
bones were exposed, enabling us to reconstruct the tapho-
nomic history of the site.
We found different types of pathologies affecting bone
and dental remains, which we identified using various
sources on paleopathology (Aufderheide and Rodríguez-
Martín, 1998; Ortner 2003; Mann and Hunt 2005; Roberts
and Manchester 2010). It is important to identify these
Fig. 3  Cremation degrees
(Cáceres et al. 2002). Degree
1, partially and slightly
burned (brown on a localized
area). Degree 2, low-intensity
cremation (brown). Degree 3,
carbonized (black). Degree 4,
initial calcined (gray). Degree 5,
calcined (white)
Page 7 of 31 57
conditions to differentiate them from other bone alterations
caused by taphonomic processes. Paleopathology informs
us about the state of health of the population buried at the
site, as well as possible causes of death for the individuals.
It can be also useful to differentiate individuals during the
MNI calculation or to discern a possible funerary practice
reserved to a specific type of population (i.e., sick, healthy,
murdered, or executed). Finally, some pathological condi-
tions may influence the taphonomic preservation of particu-
lar skeletal remains.
Among the fire-induced modifications documented, one
of the most evident is the color change. To analyze these
remains, we used the five-degree classification of Cáceres
et al. (2002) (Fig. 3), including all intermediate combina-
tions: slight and partially burned (degree 1: brown on a
small part of the surface with the rest of the bone being
its original color); low-intensity burned (degree 2: brown);
carbonized (degree 3: black); initially calcined (degree 4:
gray); and calcined (degree 5: white/blue). The first two
degrees of cremation are characterized by the preservation
of an important part of the organic component. From degree
3 (carbonized) onwards, the bone loses its organic compo-
nent until only the mineral part (hydroxyapatite) remains
(degree 5, calcined). We also took into account the color
distribution across bones with multiple colorations (continu-
ous change, opposite colors, or “sandwich-type” distribu-
tion) (Téllez 2018). Multiple coloration is a characteristic
of heterogeneous or irregular cremation in terms of fuel,
oxygenation, and temperature. To estimate the temperature
reached during the combustion, we used the reference tables
of Ellingham et al. (2015) and Ulguim (2015). In addition,
color and temperature can correlate imprecisely (Krap et al.
2017), so the reference tables of experimental studies on the
cremation process were used to make a general temperature
estimation. Finally, we recorded the presence of other fire-
induced modifications on the bones, such as the different
types of fissures and fracture patterns (Gonçalves et al. 2011;
Schmidt and Symes 2015; Thompson 2015), bone warping
(Gonçalves et al. 2011, 2015; Vassalo et al. 2016), and the
“brown heat line” (Keough et al. 2015; Schmidt and Symes
2015; L’Abbé et al. 2022). Fissures related to the heating
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57 Page 8 of 31 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

of the bone by fire were differentiated from fissures caused Table 2  Quantification of the analyzed material (NISP, percentage,
by post-depositional humidity changes. There are various MNE, MNI, and %MAU) from the unburned collective burial assem-
blage
types of thermal fissures (longitudinal, transverse, curved,
patina, delamination, and step fissures), and these are found Element NISP % MNE MNI %MAU
in bones burned to degree 2 or more (Schmidt and Symes
Cranium 28 2.1 5 5 49.5
2015). Fissures related to humidity changes always follow
Mandible 3 0.2 3 3 29.7
the longitudinal or anatomical axis of the bone, and occur
Teeth 235 17.3 216 17 66.8
in the post-depositional phase, in dry bones, and involve a
Hyoid 10 0.7 6 6 59.4
slight elevation of the fissure edges (Fernández-Jalvo and
Vertebra 114 8.4 46 8 19
Andrews 2016). Analyzing the fire damages was also useful
Sacrum 2 0.1 2 2 19.8
for differentiating between the cremation of dry and green
Coccyx 14 1 7 7 69.3
bones (Cáceres et al. 2002; Gonçalves et al. 2015; Godinho
Rib 86 6.3 16 3 6.6
et al. 2019; Lemmers et al. 2020; Monetti et al. 2021; Evans
Sternum 8 0.6 3 3 29.7
et al. 2022).
Innominate bone 10 0.7 6 5 29.7
Clavicle 1 0.1 1 1 4.9
Scapula 5 0.4 2 1 9.9
Results Humerus 11 0.8 8 7 39.6
Radius 6 0.4 4 3 19.8
Unburned collective burial Ulna 1 0.1 1 1 4.9
Carpals 107 7.9 106 15 65.5
Anatomical representation and quantification
Metacarpals 50 3.7 45 12 44.5
Hand phalanges 291 21.4 283 17 100
In the remains from the unburned collective burial, all skel-
Femur 7 0.5 4 4 19.8
etal regions were represented, with a predominance of the
Patella 8 0.6 7 4 34.6
smallest elements of the skeleton. According to the NISP,
Tibia 6 0.4 3 2 14.8
MNE, and %MAU, the most abundant elements in the
Fibula 3 0.2 2 2 9.9
assemblage were bones from the hands and feet, coccyx, Tarsals 101 7.4 96 14 67.8
and teeth, and the least represented were all the long bones, Metatarsals 45 3.3 35 9 34.6
mandibles, sacra, and clavicles (Table 2). Indeterminate metapodial 1 0.1 1 - -
There was a negative correlation between the mineral Foot phalanges 193 14.2 184 11 65
density of the bones and the %MAU obtained (Supplemen- Sesamoids 14 1 14 1 -
tary Information, Fig. S1). However, this result was not sta- Total 1360 100 1106 18 -
tistically significant. This is common in this type of assem-
blages with a limited number of bones, and it may be related
to a type II statistical error. The p value was p > 0.05, due to
the limited sample analyzed. The assemblage contained a Dental, congenital, infectious, osteoarticular, tumoral, and
large number of elements considered to have a low-survival indeterminate pathologies were observed, but this did not
potential according to Marean and Cleghorn (2003), includ- amount to serious health problems within the general popu-
ing small compact bones. lation. We also identified some traumatic injuries, including
At least 18 individuals were identified, including all age a perimortem cranial trauma as a cause of death for one
groups: 13 adults (more than 18 years old) and five chil- individual, representing a case of interpersonal violence
dren (SI, Fig. S2). Among the adults, one was over 50 years (Moreno-Ibáñez et al. 2021).
of age, 10 were over 18 but of indeterminate age, and two
young adults were aged around 18–20. The sub-adult indi- Carnivore modifications
viduals included one adolescent (10–13 years), two chil-
dren (5–8 and 2–4 years), and two infants (1–2 years, and A total of 100 bone fragments showed carnivore-induced
6–9 months). The MNI of the adults was calculated using modifications (7.4% of the total NISP) (Table 3). We found
the medial phalanx of the right second finger and the capitate pits (84%), furrowing (20%), scores (18%), scooping-out
of the left hand. In terms of sex, we identified at least two (4%), punctures (2%), and crenulated edges (2%) (Fig. 4).
adult females (MNI estimated through humerus) and three The carnivore activity affected all skeletal regions. Concern-
adult males (MNI estimated through innominate bone). We ing the NISP, the most affected bones were the phalanges
identified several bones and teeth with different pathologies, (1.5%). However, when we calculated the number of tooth
but the etiology of the majority could not be determined. marks per element, we found that the bones that were most

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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 9 of 31 57

Table 3  Unburned bones with carnivore tooth marks heavily affected by this modification were the least well rep-
Element Remains % NISP % element resented in the total NISP, such as the long bones, especially
chewed femora and tibiae.
In this assemblage, 37.9% of long bone epiphyses dis-
Cranium 1 0.1 3.6
played tooth marks, as did 7.1% of metadiaphyses (the
Teeth 1 0.1 0.4
proximal or distal end of the diaphyses, near to the epiphy-
Hyoid 1 0.1 10
ses). The preserved diaphyses did not show tooth marks. On
Vertebrae 5 0.4 4.4
the other hand, the ribs presented tooth marks both on the
Sacrum and coccyx 6 0.4 37.5
shaft and on the proximal and distal ends. Furrowing was
Ribs 14 1 16.3
observed on 20 specimens, 20% of them to a light degree,
Os coxae 3 0.2 30
35% moderate, and 45% heavy. All cases were on cancellous
Humerus 4 0.3 36.4
bone, such as long bone epiphyses, vertebral bodies, and
Carpals 7 0.5 6.5
compact bones.
Metacarpals 8 0.6 16
By comparing the tooth mark measurements observed in
Femur 4 0.3 57.1
this assemblage with different experimental studies, we can
Patella 4 0.3 50
infer that the pits were made by a small carnivore, probably
Tibia 3 0.2 50
a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (Fig. 5).
Tarsals 18 1.3 17.8
Phalanges 20 1.5 4.1
Total 100 7.4 7.8

Fig. 4  Modifications caused by
carnivores in the unburned col-
lective burial. Pits (a), puncture
(b), score (c), scooping-out (d),
crenulated edges (e), heavy fur-
rowing (f), moderate furrowing
(g), and light furrowing (h)

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57 Page 10 of 31 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

Fig. 5  Comparison between dif-

ferent taxa’s tooth marks dimen-
sions in the unburned collective
burial. Length and width on the
cortical bone (top), and length
and width on the cancellous
bone (bottom). S1: Saladié et al.
2011b. A: Andrés et al. 2012.
S2: Saladié, 2009

Table 4  Representation of complete elements in the unburned assem- Of the long bone fragments, 87.5% presented a com-
blage plete diaphysis diameter, while 12.5% preserved only
Element Complete % NISP % element between 1/3 and 2/3 of the section. All fragments with a
complete section (NISP = 7) also preserved one epiphysis;
Cranium 2 0.1 7.1 the fracture was located at the end of the diaphysis (on
Vertebrae 15 1.1 13.2 the metadiaphysis) in five cases and in the center of the
Rib 8 0.6 9.3
diaphysis in two cases (two tibia fragments that constitute
Innominate bone 2 0.1 20
the complete element). There were no remains with less
Sacrum 2 0.1 100
than 1/3 of the section preserved. In this case, we must
Coccyx 9 0.7 64.3
bear in mind the fact that no indeterminate long bone frag-
Humerus 1 0.1 9.1
ments were considered in the fracture pattern analysis as
Radius 1 0.1 16.7
they were found mixed with faunal remains and it was not
Carpals 99 7.3 92.5
possible to ensure their adscription to the human burial.
Metacarpals 30 2.2 60
In terms of diaphysis length, three fragments preserved
Femur 1 0.1 14.3
less than 1/4, three between 1/4 and 2/4, and two between
Patella 5 0.4 62.5
2/4 and 3/4.
Tarsals 68 5 67.3
From eight long bone fragments, 16 fracture edges were
Metatarsals 23 1.7 50
analyzed. The fractures with curved delineation were the
Phalanges 422 31 87.2
most frequent (68.7%), although transversal (18.7%) and
Sesamoids 14 1 100
longitudinal (12.5%) fractures were also documented. The
Total 702 51.6 79.9
most frequent fracture angle was oblique (68.7%), followed
by straight (25%) and mixed (6.2%). Finally, there were more
smooth fracture surfaces (62.5%) than jagged ones (37.5%).
Bone breakage All the fractured long bones, therefore, presented green frac-
tures, characterized by curve delineation, oblique angles,
In the assemblage, 702 complete bones (51.6%) were iden- and smooth textures (SI, Fig. S3 a–c), and two of them also
tified. Most of these were small and compact elements showed dry fractures, with transversal delineation, straight
(94.2%), such as hand and foot bones and patellae. On the angles, and a jagged texture. The 87.5% of the fractured
other hand, the low proportion of complete large bones, such long bones also presented carnivore modifications, including
as crania or long bones, is noteworthy (Table 4). pits, scores, and furrowing. Additionally, classic peeling was

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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 11 of 31 57

Table 5  Post-depositional Modification NISP %

modifications and their
frequency in the unburned Root staining 1067 78.5
assemblage
Fissures 601 44.2
Fungal attack 333 24.5
Carbonatation 212 15.6
Root etching 146 10.7
Trampling 102 7.5
Indeterminate 54 4
chemical cor-
rosion
Manganese oxide 30 2.2
Weathering 24 1.8
Dissolution 18 1.3
Polishing 4 0.3
Rounding 2 0.1
Rodent gnawing 2 0.1

documented on three rib fragments (3.5% of ribs, 0.2% of

the total NISP) (SI, Fig. S3 d–e).

Post‑depositional modifications

A wide variety of post-depositional modifications was

observed within the unburned assemblage (Table 5, Fig. 6).
In most cases, multiple taphonomic traces affected the same
bone, in various combinations.
Root staining was the most frequent modification docu-
mented (Fig. 6a), identified as brown or orange stains on
the bone surface, with a dendritic pattern. They were found
mostly dispersed on the bone surfaces, but in some cases,
it was generalized and abundant, affecting both sides of
the bones. Root etching, producing vermiculated U-shaped
grooves (Fig. 6h), was scarce and scattered in all cases.
Another biochemical modification was caused by fungal
action (Fig. 6i), which affected the bones in a concentrated
and not very abundant manner. Finally, we documented gen-
eralized indeterminate chemical corrosion, but which had
not caused intense destruction of bone tissue (Fig. 6j).
Exposure to subaerial weathering was recorded in slight
stages in all cases, with superficial cracking of the surfaces
and incipient cortical delamination (Fig. 6c). We also found
fissures related to alternating wet and dry periods (Fig. 6d).
Carbonate cementations evidence the presence of water
rich in calcium carbonate in the cave at some points dur-
ing its taphonomic history. In some cases, the carbonatation
of the remains was so abundant that it was not possible to
observe the bone surface itself (Fig. 6e). Dissolution was
also related to the presence of water at the site, together with
the acidity of the sediment (Fig. 6k).
Evidence of trampling was mostly recorded as striae of
variable length, with scattered and disordered disposition,
Fig. 6  Post-depositional modifications documented in the unburned
collective burial. Modern root etching (a), polished and rounded frac-
ture surface (b), fissure related to changes in humidity (c), weathering
(d), carbonatation (e), rodent gnawing (f), manganese oxide dispersed
as small dendritic black spots (g), vermiculations (h), fungal attack
(i), generalized chemical corrosion (j), dissolutions (k), trampling (l),
and rodent gnawing of smaller size (m)
and on one side of the bones only (Fig. 6l). Polishing and
rounding of bone edges were documented in a slight degree,
affecting the edges of the fracture surfaces (Fig. 6b).
The precipitation of manganese oxide was documented
with a dendritic pattern and not very abundant. Most cases
involved isolated black points, less than 1  mm in size
(Fig. 6f). On six of these bones, the manganese staining
was observed on the articular surface (20% of the speci-
mens with manganese and 35.3% of bones that preserve
some articulation).
Rodent gnawing was documented on two bones: in one
case, this was in the form of wide grooves on a humerus
mid-shaft (Fig. 6g), and the other involved very narrow
grooves on a rib fragment (Fig. 6m), probably related to a
smaller rodent.

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57 Page 12 of 31 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

Fig. 7  Carpal bone with a polished surface on a non-articular face. Macroscopic view (a), and digital microscope images (b, c) of the micros-
triae

Anthropogenic modifications Table 6  Quantification of the analyzed material (NISP, percentage,

MNE, MNI, and %MAU) from the cremation assemblage
On a lunate, we documented an intense polish on one of the Element NISP % MNE MNI %MAU
non-articular faces (the convex lateral side) (Fig. 7). This
Cranium 122 20.9 3 3 100
polishing consisted of a flat, smooth, and shiny surface.
Mandible 5 0.9 3 3 100
When we observed it with the stereomicroscope, at 40 × and
Teeth 19 3.3 16 2 16.7
100 × , no striae were visible (Fig. 7a). Observation using
Hyoid 1 0.2 1 1 33.3
the digital microscope revealed the presence of multiple,
Vertebrae 92 15.8 18 3 25
very narrow microstriae across the entire polished surface,
Sacrum 9 1.5 3 3 100
straight, parallel, and subparallel (Fig. 7b and c), typical
Rib 105 18 14 2 19.4
of polishing produced using a fine-grained abrasive surface
Sternum 4 0.7 1 1 33.3
(Villaverde 2001).
Clavicle 2 0.3 2 1 33.3
Scapula 7 1.2 3 2 50
Cremation assemblage
Os coxae 7 1.2 2 1 33.3
Humerus 19 3.3 2 2 33.3
Anatomical representation and quantification
Radius 7 1.2 2 2 33.3
Ulna 9 1.5 2 1 33.3
The cremated assemblage included elements from all skel-
Carpals 20 3.4 20 3 41.7
etal regions. More than half of the specimens (59.2%) were
Metacarpals 14 2.4 14 3 46.7
indeterminate bone fragments (NSP), while 40.8% were
Hand phalanges 47 8.1 44 3 52.4
anatomically identified elements (NISP, Table 6). Accord-
Femur 21 3.6 2 1 33.3
ing to the NISP and MNE, the best-represented elements
Tibia 23 3.9 2 1 33.3
were crania, ribs, vertebrae, carpals, and phalanges, and
Fibula 11 1.9 2 1 33.3
the least-represented were hyoids, mandibles, sacra, sterna,
Tarsals 8 1.4 8 1 19
and clavicles. No patellae or coccyges were found and there
Metatarsals 11 1.9 8 4 26.7
were only some carpals and tarsals. The %MAU supports the
Indeterminate metapodial 1 0.2 1 1 -
best-represented elements being crania, mandibles, and sacra
Foot phalanges 19 3.3 18 1 21.4
(Table 6). On the other hand, a regression analysis between
Total 583 100 188 5 -

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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 13 of 31 57

the mineral density of bones and %MAU showed no relation-
ship between the two values (SI, Fig. S1b).
The MNI of this assemblage was calculated as five: three
adults (more than 18 years old) and two children (5–10 and
2–4 years of age). The adult MNI was obtained using the
left fifth metacarpal and lunate bone. The age of the adult
individuals could not be calculated more precisely due to the
high degree of fragmentation of the remains. The sex of the
individuals could not be estimated either.
Carnivore modifications
Among the bone specimens analyzed, 26 displayed evi-
dence of carnivore tooth marks (1.1% of the total). Chewed
remains were poorly represented in the total assemblage; pits
(888.5%) and scores (23.1%) were identified.
Table 7  Burned bones with carnivore tooth marks
Element NSP chewed % NSP % element
The carnivore activity affects the best-represented ele-
ments in the assemblage, crania, vertebrae, ribs, metatarsals,
phalanges, long bones, and indeterminate bones. The bones
with the highest percentages of tooth marks on the number
of specimens of that element were fragments of metatarsals,
crania, and unidentified long bones (Table 7).
Two rib fragments presented tooth marks on the shaft
and sternal end, and the long bones correspond to three
fragments of diaphyses. No long bone epiphysis fragments
showed carnivorous tooth marks. A 20-mm-long fragment
of indeterminate bone was observed to have been affected
by gastric acids.
Tooth marks on burned bones, especially on cortical
tissue, showed higher values than for unburned bones,
involving medium-sized taxa, such as wolves (Canis lupus)
(Fig. 8). The reduced sample of tooth marks on cancellous
bone is noteworthy. Only five remains showed tooth marks
on spongy tissue, but we must also consider the greater
degree of destruction suffered by spongy bones when
exposed to fire.

Cranium 6 0.4 4.9 Bone breakage

Vertebrae 3 0.2 3.3
Rib 2 0.1 1.9 The assemblage of burned bones contained a low proportion
Metatarsals 1 0.1 9.1 of complete bones. Only 3.4% of the burned bones were
Phalanges 1 0.1 1.5 complete (Table 8). In all cases, these were small compact
Long bones 3 0.2 4 bones, particularly phalanges and carpals. It is common to
Indeterminate 10 0.7 1.3 find a high degree of fragmentation in cremation assem-
Total 26 1.1 2.1 blages, because of the effect of fire on bone tissue. In this

Fig. 8  Comparison between
different taxa’s tooth marks
dimensions in the cremation
assemblage. Length and width
on the cortical bone (top), and
length and width on the cancel-
lous bone (bottom). S1: Saladié
et al. 2011b. A: Andrés et al.
2012. S2: Saladié, 2009

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57 Page 14 of 31 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57

Table 8  Representation of complete elements in the cremation especially those carbonized with an external black or dark
assemblage gray color, trampling was more visible to the naked eye than
Element Complete % NSP % element on unburned bones due to the matt texture of the surface of
the thermally altered material. Slight polishing of the bone
Carpals 9 0.6 45
surfaces by abrasion (Fig. 9g) and the rounding of the edges
Metacarpals 2 0.1 14.3
were also recorded.
Tarsals 2 0.1 28.6
We documented the precipitation of manganese oxide
Metatarsals 1 0.1 9.1
with a dendritic appearance but in low abundance (Fig. 9f).
Phalanges 32 2.2 48.5
One of the bones had stains related to manganese oxides on
Total 49 3.4 8.3
the articular surface (a proximal phalanx of the foot).
The action of small rodents on the bones was also docu-
mented on one bone of the assemblage. This was a 22-mm-
case, 82.8% of the unidentified remains were smaller than long fragment of ulna mid-shaft, with gnawing in the form
20 mm, and 19.9% were smaller than 10 mm. of deep, narrow, parallel grooves along the interosseous crest
We documented fracture edges on 138 long bone frag- (Fig. 9h).
ments (9.6% of the NSP). The total number of fracture sur-
faces was 527 (Table 9). In all cases, the remains preserved Analysis of cremation
less than 1/4 of the length of the bone, and 89.1% preserved
less than 1/3 of their section. The most abundant fractures The analysis of the cremation pattern indicated a great vari-
had curve delineation (41.5%), although we also recorded ety of degrees and types of thermal alteration of the skeletal
a high proportion of longitudinal (31.9%) and transversal remains. The most frequent evidence involved different col-
(26.6%) fractures. The most common fracture angle was orations on the burned bones, characteristic of heterogene-
straight (41.7%), followed by oblique (34.9%), and mixed ous combustion, in several combinations. The degrees of
(23.3%) angles. Finally, there were more smooth (56.2%) cremation documented can be divided into two major groups
than jagged (43.9%) fracture surfaces. There was, therefore, with seven color combinations in each (Fig. 10). On the one
a combination of fractures typical of dry and green bones hand, there were those presenting a brown color across
(SI, Fig. S4). part or the whole surface, and, on the other, the group of
carbonized and/or calcined bones, with all their intermedi-
Post‑depositional modifications ate stages. The highest percentage of burned bones corre-
sponded to the more advanced stages of combustion, in the
Several post-depositional modifications were documented
(Table 10, Fig. 9). Root staining (Fig. 9a) and root etch-
ing had a scattered distribution and were found both on one Table 10  Post-depositional Modification NSP %
modifications and their
side and both sides of the bones. The fungal action was not
frequency in the cremation Carbonatation 344 24.1
very intense on the bones, in all cases affecting just one side assemblage
Root staining 185 12.9
(Fig. 9b).
Trampling 62 4.3
Fissures related to humidity changes were not very abun-
Fungal attack 20 1.4
dant in this assemblage, excluding similar fissures related to
Fissures 13 0.9
the cremation process. Carbonatation of the bones was the
Manganese oxide 11 0.8
most common modification in this assemblage. On some
Root etching 2 0.1
bones, the calcium carbonate was so abundant that extends
Dissolution 2 0.1
over the entire surface (Fig. 9c). Also related to the presence
Polish 2 0.1
of water in the deposit was the dissolution (Fig. 9d).
Rounding 2 0.1
Scattered striae caused by trampling were found, mostly
Rodent gnawing 1 0.1
on one side of the bones (Fig. 9e). On cremated bones,

Table 9  Types of fracture Straight Oblique Mixed

surfaces documented in the
cremation assemblage Smooth Jagged Smooth Jagged Smooth Jagged

Transversal 9.7% 9.9% 1.3% 0.6% 0.6% 4.5%

Curve 5.9% 3.6% 10.4% 7.4% 5.5% 8.7%
Longitudinal 9.3% 3.4% 11% 4.2% 2.5% 1.5%

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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 15 of 31 57

Fig. 9  Post-depositional modi-
fications documented in the
cremation assemblage. Modern
root etching (a), fungal attack
(b), carbonatation (c), dissolu-
tions (d), trampling (e), man-
ganese oxide spots (f), polished
and rounded fracture surface
(g), rodent gnawing (h)

Fig. 10  Cremation degrees’
combinations. Colors char-
acteristics of low-intensity
combustion on the left; colors
characteristic of high-intensity
combustion on the right

13
57 Page 16 of 31
second group (81.3% present degrees from 3 to 5 in differ-
ent combinations). It seems, therefore, that the fire acted on
most of the bones in the assemblage at a high temperature
(reaching more than 700 °C in the case of calcined bones)
and/or for long enough to destroy their organic component.
The remaining percentage (18.7%) presented mostly brown
coloration, related to partial exposure to fire, either due to
proximity to the heat source or the preservation of soft tis-
sues, and these did not attain high temperatures (less than
300 °C).
Considering the color distribution on the bone surfaces
(Téllez 2018), multiple cremations were evident in 57% of
the remains. The most common color combination was black
and white with an opposing distribution (22%), followed by
a “sandwich-type” distribution, in which the inner part was
black, and the outer part was white. In addition, it is impor-
tant to highlight the presence of the “brown heat line” on 15
remains (1.1% of the NSP). All the cases presenting this line
were bones with lower cremation degrees, 1–3 or 2–3, which
were only partially burned and carbonized.
The bones present other thermal alterations, including
the fracture edges. The 68.8% of the bones presented burned
fracture surfaces, 22% were unburned (fractured after crema-
tion), and 3% had mixed burned edges. Bone warping is a
thermal alteration produced by the intense action of fire on
the remains and it was documented in 1.1% of the assem-
blage, on calcined bones. Both warping and the brown heat
line are usually related to the green state of the bones at
the time of cremation. However, it is necessary to relate
these with the rest of the documented alterations, since by
themselves they do not indisputably indicate the pre-burning
condition of the bone.
Fissures related to thermal alteration were observed on
262 remains (18.3%), in some cases more than one type of
fissure simultaneously. Indeterminate bone fragments and
cranial fragments were not considered as it was not pos-
sible to distinguish between some types of fissures as these
could not be oriented and would have affected the calcula-
tion of proportions. We documented longitudinal fissures
Fig. 11  Cremation degrees by
anatomical regions
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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
(31.7%), patina (31.3%), curved fissures (25.2%), splintering
or delamination (16.4%), transversal fissures (14.5%), and
step fissures (6.1%). The higher the intensity of combus-
tion, the more of these fissures are found in the bones (they
lose their organic content and become more fragile and brit-
tle). Most of the remains exhibiting thermal fissures were,
therefore, carbonized and/or calcined. The distribution of
coloration according to anatomical regions showed no dif-
ferences between them, although axial skeleton presented
more calcined remains and the smallest proportion of bones
of degree 1 and 2 (Fig. 11).
Discussion
At the Cova Foradada site, a bone assemblage belonging to
a minimum of 23 individuals was recovered, 18 unburned
and 5 burned. Both sets evidence a pattern of natural mor-
tality, with no predominant age or sex groups, so there is
no discernible selection of individuals. Through the paleo-
pathological study of the unburned remains, different con-
ditions frequently found in the archaeological record were
documented, such as those related to diet and lack of oral
hygiene, to the mechanical movement typical of an active
life, and infections. Although the population present in Cova
Foradada does not seem to show an abnormal or highly seri-
ous state of health, it is important to consider that in the case
of sepulchral contexts of these characteristics, with disartic-
ulated and fragmented bones, it is not possible to determine
the etiology of most of the injuries. Different is the case
of a documented perimortem trauma, which represents an
episode of interpersonal violence, causing the death of that
individual (Moreno-Ibáñez et al. 2021). In the case of the
burned bones, their high fragmentation has not allowed us
to observe any pathological condition.
Different frequencies of post-depositional modifications
were documented between burned and unburned bones
(Table 11). Only in the case of polishing, rounding, and
rodent gnawing, there was no difference (p > 0.05), but we
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 17 of 31 57

Table 11  T test between Unburned Burned T test between proportions

proportions of post-depositional
modifications. The p values in Total = 1360 Total = 1430
bold letters indicate a significant
difference between both Nº % Nº % t value p value
assemblages
Root staining 1067 78.5 185 12.9 1207 2.20E-16
Fissures 601 44.2 13 0.9 758.28 2.20E-16
Fungal attack 333 24.5 20 1.4 334.09 2.20E-16
Carbonatation 212 15.6 344 24.1 33.794 2.87E-08
Root etching 146 10.7 2 0.1 153.68 2.20E-16
Trampling 102 7.5 62 4.3 12.05 5.18E-04
Indeterminate chemical 54 4 0 0 55.827 7.91E-14
corrosion
Manganese oxide 30 2.2 10 0.8 10.155 1.44E-03
Weathering 24 1.8 0 0 23.427 1.30E-06
Dissolution 18 1.3 2 0.1 12.11 5.02E-04
Polishing 4 0.3 2 0.1 0.22124 0.6381
Rounding 2 0.1 2 0.1 1.86E-29 1.00
Rodent gnawing 2 0.1 2 0.1 1.86E-29 1.00

must take into account the low general presence of these
modifications in both assemblages. Considering all the data,
it can be inferred that the two bone assemblages are sig-
nificantly different in terms of post-depositional taphonomic
modifications. It should be noted, however, that some of
these differences could be related to the different physico-
chemical properties of the thermally altered bones.
Fissures related to abrupt changes in humidity and the
alteration of the bone surfaces caused by weathering inform
us that the remains were exposed to subaerial weathering
during part of their taphonomic history. In the unburned col-
lective burial, the first of these modifications is more abun-
dant (44.2%) than the second (1.8%). However, it is not pos-
sible to infer the amount of time these bones were exposed
at the surface, since the reference work that we used is based
on an environment with a very different climate from that of
the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Behrensmeyer’s obser-
vations on the effects of subaerial exposure on mammalian
bones (1978) were carried out in the Amboseli Basin (south-
ern Kenya). According to Behrensmeyer, bones in the slight-
est weathering stage (bleached and cracked surface) would
have been exposed for 1 to 3 years. This is the most common
stage of weathering documented at Cova Foradada, with this
modification being shown only on one face of the bones. In
the case of Cova Foradada, apart from the fact that the site
is in an area with a Mediterranean climate, the remains were
inside a cave, although close to the entrance and in a light
area. Here, the bones were less exposed to the incidence of
certain atmospheric effects, such as sunlight. For this reason,
to reach the weathering stages described by Behrensmeyer
(1978), the bones would have had to be exposed for a longer
period than the reference cases from the Amboseli Basin.
It is not uncommon for human remains to be exposed on
the surface at a site with these characteristics. In European
collective burials during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, the
most common practice was to deposit the bodies inside caves
or megalithic tombs directly on the floor, without burying
them, so that they gradually decomposed and disarticulated,
being covered by sediment in the post-burial phase (Garrido-
Pena et al. 2012; Gibaja et al. 2012; Soriano 2016; Baran-
diarán et al. 2019).
Another modification evidencing the fact that the remains
were already disarticulated when they were covered with
sediment is the distribution of the manganese oxide stains.
The precipitation of this oxide is generally related to bacte-
rial action in humid and waterlogged environments, with
a pH close to neutral and under anaerobic conditions (Hill
1982; Northup and Lavoie 2001; López-González et al.
2006; Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews 2016). This modi-
fication is frequently documented in various sedimentary
environments, including caves (Potter and Rossman 1979;
Šebela et al. 2015). Manganese reaches the bones when it is
transported by water rich in this oxide, originating in the sur-
rounding calcareous rocks, due to a high sediment content
of soluble organic matter with citric, acetic, oxalic, or humic
acids (Hill 1982; López-González et al. 2006; Marín Arroyo
et al. 2008), and microorganisms may also be involved in
manganese precipitation (Thackeray et al. 2005), as they
release the manganese ion when utilizing the organic part
of complex molecules (López-González et al. 2006: 714).
There is only a slight presence of manganese oxide in Cova
Foradada. We could not infer whether these deposits were
produced due to water filtration or the action of microorgan-
isms or lichens prior to burial. Nevertheless, we were able
to observe a distribution pattern that includes the presence
of this oxide on all the faces of the bones and joint surfaces.

13
57 Page 18 of 31
This suggests that the skeletons were already disarticulated
when they were buried, at least to a large extent.
The dispersion of the remains may be related to other
agents acting before they were buried, including carnivo-
rous animals. This has been documented in the assemblage
through tooth marks and associated green fractures. The
skeletal elements most affected by tooth marks, consider-
ing their abundance in the total assemblage, are long bones,
sacra, and innominate bones. These are the least abundant
types of skeletal elements in the unburned collective burial,
besides the crania. The first question to ask is, therefore,
whether there is a direct relationship between the absence of
these bones and the carnivore action. Fewer small compact
bones would be expected as carnivores swallow these and
possibly regurgitate them outside the cave (Pickering 2001;
Esteban-Nadal 2012). Different studies on human remains,
and even those of other great primates, have documented
how carnivores often swallow entire fingers (Pickering and
Carlson 2004; Moraitis and Spiliopoulou 2010; Pokines
2022a). Other elements or portions can be chewed until
they completely disappear, giving rise to skeletal profiles in
which the articular bones and phalanges, but also the axial
skeleton, are missing (Marean et al. 1992). The unburned
collective burial of Cova Foradada does not present these
losses. Despite the scarce presence of axial skeleton ele-
ments, the diaphyses of the long bones are not preserved
either. These portions are characteristic in the accumulations
or assemblages affected by carnivore activity. Although the
assemblage was undoubtedly scavenged, probably involving
the consumption of some parts as well as the production of
the green fractures and the rib peeling, this is not the main
explanation for the loss of material observed at the site.
The high percentage of remains with root etching and
staining, especially teeth, evidence that this had a wide-
spread but slight effect on the assemblage. The action of
fungi is also slight, identified in the form of a localized
moldy and powdery white efflorescence (Nicholson 1998;
Pokines and Baker 2022), probably associated with the
action of roots, subaerial weathering, and even with the
humidity conditions during the storage phase of the remains
after their excavation. The high percentage of elements with
a low-survival potential (Marean and Cleghorn 2003) indi-
cates that the disappearance of long bones and crania, which
are considered to have a high survival rate, is not associated
with attritional processes either. One of the main character-
istics of this assemblage is, indeed, the elevated presence of
small elements.
According to the previous assessments, the most plausible
hypothesis is that human populations exerted an important
effect on the assemblage. The emptying of mass graves,
or the extraction of certain bone elements, has been docu-
mented at different sites across Europe (Chambon 2003;
Lorrio and Montero 2004; Duday 2009; Chapman 2010;
13
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
Lorentz 2010; Silva et al. 2015; Santana et al. 2015; Aranda
Jiménez et al. 2020; Booth and Brück 2020; Esparza Arroyo
et al. 2020; Mariotti et al. 2020). Extracting a considerable
portion of human remains from a cave, especially the larger
sized pieces, such as skulls and long bones, was the most
frequent practice (Chambon 2003; Chapman 2010; Aranda
Jiménez et al. 2020; Booth and Brück 2020; Mariotti et al.
2020). This action is identified by the anomalous absence
of certain elements, which cannot be explained taphonomi-
cally or due to the fact that the assemblage is a secondary
deposit. Indeed, according to Aranda Jiménez et al. (2020:
5): “The representation of small and fragile bones is con-
sistent with funerary rituals based on primary depositions
affected by selective removal of cranial and long bones.” The
Mailleton dolmen (Malesherbes, France) is a good exam-
ple of this, and has many similarities with the assemblage
from Cova Foradada. At the French site, the remains of long
bones and skulls are very scarce while, in contrast, there are
very numerous elements of the hands and feet, with the MNI
being obtained by using phalanges and carpals (Chambon
2003). Philippe Chambon (2003) interprets this elevated rep-
resentation of small remains as a result of the tomb being
emptied. At both sites, human action would have been the
main factor involved in the disappearance of these elements.
At Cova Foradada, the carnivores probably acted first. All
the long bones, innominate bones, and sacral fragments pre-
sent green fractures and/or tooth marks. If the large bones
were removed at the time of anthropogenic emptying, it is
likely that the humans left the smaller bones, such as the
hand and foot elements, along with the fragments of previ-
ously fractured large bones.
Another important aspect to consider is the purpose of
this emptying, although no robust explanation has yet been
postulated. This action reveals the reuse of the space, regard-
less of whether the motive was functional or ceremonial. If
the cave was emptied to make space for new corpses, part of
the skeletons of some individuals would be missing, but the
last ones introduced would be complete. Among the practi-
cal purposes for emptying or cleaning a collective burial,
several researchers have discussed hygiene or for making
space to be able to introduce new bodies, for example Duday
(2009); Weiss-Krejci (2011); and Aranda Jiménez et al.
(2020). Other researchers have pointed to ritual or symbolic
reasons in some cases, such as a “veneration of the ances-
tors” through their bone remains (Chapman 2010; Santana
et al. 2015; Esparza Arroyo et al. 2020). For whatever rea-
son, the result of this emptying has been documented at
several sites, with accumulations of crania, long bones, and
other large skeletal elements, and an almost total absence of
small bones, such as carpals and phalanges (Chambon 2003;
Liesau et al. 2014; Santana et al. 2015; Díaz-del-Río et al.
2017). Those are secondary deposits, and the skeletal profile
is the opposite of that seen at Cova Foradada. In this case,
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
we must also keep in mind the presence of an assemblage
of burned bones. The burned bones do not correspond to
the missing parts of the unburned assemblage. Among the
burned bones, there is a good representation of cranial and
long bone fragments, but the presence of the other anatomi-
cal elements is very similar (Fig. 12). However, if there were
a new use of the sepulchral space after the collective burial,
eliminating most of the previous skeletons would have been
a feasible scenario. Anthropogenic modern-day looting prior
to systematic excavation (Oms et al. 2016; Morales et al.
2019) and, to a lesser extent, the action of carnivorous ani-
mals are also a factor.
Within the unburned remains, due to its uniqueness, it is
worth noting the lunate of the right hand with intense polish-
ing on one of the non-articular faces. This type of modifica-
tion was not generated during the post-depositional phase or
by the digestion of bones by carnivores. Bones affected by
gastric acids are homogeneously polished or rounded, not in
a concentrated way on one face (Lloveras et al. 2008; Este-
ban-Nadal et al. 2010). Nor is this a modern modification
produced, for example, accidentally during the excavation
of the site or by subsequent handling. The polished surface
has the same diagenetic modifications as the rest of the bone
material on the site. The parallel and straight disposition of
the microstriae indicates that this modification was caused
by human action. The polishing was carried out manually
and mechanically using a fine-grained abrasive surface (Vil-
laverde 2001), mainly with a bidirectional movement paral-
lel to the longest axis of the bone. However, the purpose of
this modification is unknown.
The skeletal profile of the cremation assemblage shows,
in contrast, a more balanced representation of all the skel-
etal elements. Among these bones, there are a much greater
proportion of cranial remains and long bones than in the
unburned assemblage (Fig. 12). The high degree of fragmen-
tation of these remains is not surprising, due to the action
of the fire itself. Most of the long bones present dry frac-
tures, but there is also evidence of green fracturing. If the
bones had been burned fresh, or even with soft tissues, the
Fig. 12  Skeletal representa-
tion (NISP and NME) of the
unburned collective burial (con-
tinuous yellow line) and crema-
tion assemblage (blue dashed
line). The difference between
long bones and hand and foot
elements is less pronounced
among the burned remains than
in the unburned assemblage
Page 19 of 31 57
contraction generated by the fire would have resulted in a
fracture pattern similar to that seen in green bones broken
by other taphonomic agents (Gonçalves et al. 2011; Schmidt
and Symes 2015; Thompson 2015). The carnivores also
acted on the cremated remains, although to a lesser extent
than on the unburned assemblage. Their incidence on the
missing bone material is negligible. Fire would have been
the main cause of the green fractures documented, particu-
larly considering the low incidence of scavenging on this
assemblage. Of the post-depositional modifications, carbon-
ate concretions are the most abundant, while biochemical
modifications, such as the effect of roots and fungi, have not
resulted in significant destruction of the bones. Furthermore,
bone material does not appear to have been deliberately
removed by humans. Larger bones, like crania, humeri, and
tibiae, are also well represented. The lack of bone material
and the high degree of fragmentation of the assemblage are
closely linked to the action of fire, which reduced the bones
to small splinters and caused a significant part of the bone
material to be completely destroyed.
As can be seen, neither the skeletal representation nor
the post-depositional modifications coincide between the
unburned collective burial and the cremation assemblage.
This is also true of the carnivore tooth marks. The dimen-
sions of the tooth marks, in the form of pits, produced by
these animals evidence two different scenarios, particularly
through the size of the tooth marks on the cortical bone. It
should be remembered that tooth marks on cortical bone
provide the most reliable measurements for inferring the size
of the carnivore that produced them (Andrés et al. 2012).
In the unburned collective burial, we identified that a small
carnivore, such as a fox, had acted on the remains, while
in the cremated assemblage it was a medium-sized animal,
such as a wolf or dog. Comparing the length and width vari-
ance of the tooth marks, using a MANOVA test shows that
tooth marks on the cortical bone are statistically different
between the two assemblages (Table 12). Tooth marks on the
cancellous bone appear similar, or with no significant differ-
ences. However, when evaluating the statistical significance
13
57 Page 20 of 31
Table 12  MANOVA statistical test about differences between tooth
marks on unburned and burned bones
Type of bone Nº Unburned Burned
Unburned Cortical 86 p =  < 0.00001
Cancellous 113 p = 0.10496
Burned Cortical 46 p =  > 0.00001
Cancellous 5 p = 0.10496
of this information, it is important to consider the limited
sample of tooth marks on cancellous bone in the burned
assemblage (n = 5). The absence of tooth marks on the epi-
physes of burned bones could be related to the high degree
of destruction of the cancellous bone during cremation.
This makes it less likely that carnivores had access to these
elements, since they little nutritional value after burning.
Scavengers have accessed both burned and unburned bone
assemblages, although the size of the animal in each case
was different, and these were therefore disparate events. This
indicates that the cave could be accessed once the bodies had
been deposited inside, especially with regard to the burned
remains, since this involved a larger carnivore.
In the cremation assemblage, different degrees of com-
bustion were documented. The most abundant were calcined
and carbonized bones, especially a combination of two
colors (white and black), typical of heterogeneous crema-
tions. Partially burned bones have also been documented,
exhibiting brown coloration, typical of an incipient or indi-
rect cremation, either because of the distance to the heat
source or due to the remains being protected by soft tissue.
The first question that should be asked is whether the bodies
were cremated as part of a funerary treatment, based on the
maximum possible reduction of the remains by fire, or if,
on the contrary, their burning responds to motivations unre-
lated to symbolic or ritual meaning. It has been documented
at several sites that when human remains located in mass
graves are exposed to fire, the combustion intensity does not
usually generate the highest degrees of alteration, such as
calcination, and the cremation pattern has a heterogeneous
distribution according to the skeletal elements (Agustí, 2001,
2014; Cataroche and Gowland 2015; Robb et al. 2015; San-
tana et al. 2020; Evans et al. 2022). Hygiene or gaining space
in the sepulcher is some of the most common reasons for
these partial cremations, usually carried out on dry or nearly
skeletonized remains. In this way, some skeletal parts remain
unaffected, and there is no need to reduce the bones to small
splinters (Agustí, 2001, 2002, 2014; Lorrio and Montero
2004; Cataroche and Gowland 2015; López-Cachero and
Rovira 2016; Soriano 2016; Díaz-del-Río et al. 2017; San-
tana et al. 2020). In collective burials where the remains
show the highest degrees of combustion, the thermal altera-
tion is found across the whole osteological assemblage and
13
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
not only on some individuals or elements. These are collec-
tive burials that were burned completely, either for reasons
of space, hygiene, exceptional funerary treatment, or as a
way of closing a tomb (Delibes and Etxeberría, 2002; Pas-
cual Benito 2002; Lorrio and Montero 2004; de Becdelievre
et al. 2015; Silva et al. 2015).
In the cremated assemblage from Cova Foradada, the dif-
ferent cremation degrees are evenly distributed across the
various anatomical parts, with greater intensity seen on the
axial skeleton. We can therefore affirm that the thermally
altered remains belonged to individuals who were subjected
to complete cremations with a funerary intention, with very
high temperatures being reached, over 700 °C, as evidenced
by the high proportion of calcined bones and the presence
of fire-related warping. The presence of some intermedi-
ate colorations, such as brown or black, or several different
colors on the same bone, can be explained by the deficient
oxygenation of the combustion structure. To reach such high
temperatures, it is necessary to maintain the fire, preventing
it from being extinguished before the remains are calcined
(Schmidt and Symes 2015; Thompson 2015; López-Cachero
and Rovira 2016), which is further evidence of the funerary
intention of the assemblage.
In that case, we would expect to find evidence of the
bones cremated in a green state or even with soft tissues
attached. Indeed, we have documented several thermal modi-
fications characteristic of green bones. One of these altera-
tions alone does not constitute unequivocal evidence of the
pre-burning condition of the remains, but all the characteris-
tics must be evaluated together. Brown color has often been
related to the green state of the bone (Cáceres et al. 2002),
although recent studies associate a homogeneous brown
color across the entire surface of the bone with the indirect
effect of heat (Schmidt and Symes 2015; Téllez 2018), either
because the remains are located far from the heat source or
because they are buried under it. However, bones exhibit-
ing a homogeneous brown color (low-intensity combustion)
are very scarce in the assemblage. Much more frequent are
those with a combination of brown and black (Fig. 13a).
This cremation pattern may be related to the progressive
burning of bone tissue (Schmidt and Symes 2015; L’Abbé
et al. 2022), where the flames reached one surface of the
bone first, while another part may still have been protected
by soft tissue. In these lower degrees of cremation, we can
find the “brown heat line” (Fig. 13b), associated with green
defleshed bones (Symes et al. 2015; L’Abbé et al. 2022).
This produces a slower and more progressive cremation than
in dry bones, but not as gradual as in bones covered with
soft tissues. In the latter, we would expect to see a wider
color gradient between the burned and unburned areas and
not an intermediate line. In the cremation assemblage from
of Cova Foradada, more than 60% of the remains presenting
this thermal alteration are skeletal elements with a thin layer
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57 Page 21 of 31 57

Fig. 13  Thermal alterations
typical of green pre-burning
condition. Brown-black color
(degree 2–3) (a), “brown heat
line” (b), curved fractures (c),
curved fissure (d), transverse
fissures (e), warping (f), blue
stains (g), and pale-yellow
stains (h)

of soft tissue, such as the skull or hand bones. Irish et al.
(2015) documented the presence of the brown heat line on
the skull of a sub-adult individual who was cremated entire.
This is, therefore, not a feature unique to green defleshed
bones, but also of anatomical parts with very thin soft tissue,
almost exclusively skin, as is the case at Cova Foradada.
Other thermal modifications typical of remains with a
high organic content that reach high degrees of cremation
are curved fractures (Fig. 13c), curved and transverse fis-
sures (Fig. 13d and e), and warping (Fig. 13f). These types
of alterations are usually related to the contraction of muscle
tissues attached to the bone (Ubelaker and Rife 2007; Gon-
çalves et al. 2011; Symes et al. 2014). Some authors have
experimentally documented that dry bones preserving a high
collagen content can also crack and deform in a similar way
to fresh bones, with or without soft tissues (Gonçalves et al.

13
57 Page 22 of 31
2015; Vassalo et al. 2016). A high degree of fragmenta-
tion is also associated with the cremation of green bones,
which tend to break more as a result of their contraction
(de Becdelievre et al. 2015). In the Cova Foradada sample,
45% of the cremated remains analyzed are splinters smaller
than 20 mm. The same interpretation regarding the fresh
pre-burning condition of the bones is made in terms of some
additional colors produced by the cremation, such as blue
stains on black/gray bones (Fig. 13g) or pale-yellow stains
on gray/white bones (Fig. 13h) (de Becdelievre et al. 2015).
These characteristics must be evaluated together with all
the other alterations typical of burned green bones. We can
therefore infer that the bodies were in a fresh pre-burning
condition and/or with soft tissues when cremated. This is
also consistent with a funerary and ceremonial meaning.
We must also determine whether the cremated remains
represent to a primary or secondary cremation, in other
words, if the bodies were cremated inside the cave or in
another location. The type of material present in the assem-
blage suggests a primary position, because of the high con-
tent of small elements, such as hand and foot bones, and
the high proportion of indeterminate fragments smaller than
1 cm. When cremation is carried out on a pyre, the remains
that are later buried are normally collected selectively. For
this reason, secondary burial contexts are typically charac-
terized by the absence of smaller bone remains, be those
either complete elements or small fragments (Duday 2009;
Thompson 2015). We must also consider that the charac-
teristics of the pyre itself can cause “the appendages, par-
ticularly the hands and feet, to fall away from the body and
towards the edge of the pyre, or away from the pyre com-
pletely” (Squires 2015: 160). Different experimental studies
have emulated funeral pyres of the Bronze and Iron Ages,
and have shown this characteristic dispersion of bone mate-
rial (McKinley 1997; Noy 2000; Jonuks and Konsa 2007).
It is important to note that at the time of the burial use of
the cave, it was 2.5–3.0 m high, and the upper and smaller
entrance (Fig. 2) would have facilitated ventilation during
cremation.
Carroll and Smith (2018) performed an experimental
study using a sheep to observe the macroscopic differences
between bone material burned on an open-air pyre and in
a closed space, such as a metal container. The results of
this experiment showed that cremation on an open-air pyre
generates mostly uniform white coloration, due to the good
oxygenation of the fire. In the container cremation, although
high temperatures are also reached, the skeleton presents all
the degrees of cremation, with intermediate colors, charac-
teristic of deficient combustion with a low oxygen supply. In
the Cova Foradada cremation assemblage, only 29.4% of the
remains had a homogeneous white/gray color, while 42.3%
were bones showing a combination of black and white, and
13
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
14.4% black and brown. This, added to the presence of the
smaller skeletal elements, even of sub-adult individuals, and
a high percentage of bone fragments of less than 1 cm in size
(19.9%), suggests a primary cremation in the cave itself.
Considering the high degree of fragmentation of the
assemblage, it is difficult to infer the position of the bodies
at the time of burning. The axial skeleton has the highest
proportion of remains with white and gray coloration and the
least brown and black remains. In a hypothetical case where
the body is cremated face up with a heat source underneath,
the greatest intensity of combustion would be expected on
the vertebrae, followed by the ribs (Schmidt and Symes
2015; Thompson 2015). At Cova Foradada, not only does
the axial skeleton present a greater degree of cremation, but
if we compare the vertebrae with the ribs, we also observe
a higher intensity of combustion of the former. Although
the difference in cremation intensity between the axial skel-
eton and the rest of the skeleton is not drastic enough to be
considered a robust indicator of the face-up position of the
bodies, it is important to keep this possibility in mind.
It is also possible that, in this assemblage, the thermal
alterations typical of dry bones are related to a second
exposure to fire of already burned bones. These alterations
include transverse fractures and longitudinal and step fis-
sures. This possible scenario would consist of the crema-
tion of one or more bodies, reducing them to small remains
and causing the thermal alterations typical of green bones.
A later cremation would then generate further alterations
typical of dry bones. This has been observed in secondary
burials where the same space was used as a funerary pyre
for successive cremations. In that case, any remains of a
previous cremation that had not been collected would be
affected by the fire of the subsequent event, and could be col-
lected and incorporated into the grave mixed in with the later
remains (Lomba and Haber Uriarte 2016: 354). In addition,
if the cremations were carried out inside the cave, we should
not rule out indirect exposure to fire of previously buried
unburned remains. Some bones are very slightly affected by
fire, and these may belong to skeletons from the unburned
collective burial.
The entire assemblage of human remains is highly modi-
fied, by post-depositional taphonomic processes, the action
of carnivores, bioturbation processes, and human action. All
these processes have contributed to the loss of a great deal
of bone material, the disarticulation and fragmentation of
the remains, and a lack of stratigraphy that would allow us
to distinguish the different periods of use at the cave. We
do have a series of absolute dates from the human remains.
Three teeth from the unburned bone assemblage have been
14
C dated as being between 5060 and 4400 years cal. BP.
Culturally, these dates fall between the Late Neolithic and
the Chalcolithic in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula (Rojo
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
Guerra et al. 2012; Soriano 2016; Barandiarán et al. 2019).
For this reason, different authors prefer to refer to this
assemblage as Late Neolithic–Chalcolithic, or simply the
Late Neolithic (Oms et al. 2016; Morales et al. 2019).
The unburned collective burial includes at least one older
individual. Two dental remains were 14C dated as being
7166–6980 years cal. BP, in other words, within the Cardial
Early Neolithic (Morales et al. 2010; Oms et al. 2014). Some
fragments of cardial pottery were also recovered, support-
ing the absolute dates. As the human remains were found
mixed and fragmented, it has not been possible to determine
which bones correspond to the Cardial Neolithic and which
do not, so they have all been analyzed as a single group:
the unburned collective burial. However, according to this
data, it is possible to propose a sequential hypothesis for the
deposition, in which there was an earlier burial, involving
one or more individuals, carried out during the Early Neo-
lithic (Oms et al. 2016). This would have been subsequently
altered by the burial of multiple individuals in the Late Neo-
lithic–Chalcolithic. It was during this period that collective
burials were more abundant, linked to an increase in the use
of natural caves for this funerary practice (Arias Cabal 2012;
García-Sagastibelza et al. 2020). Finally, all these human
remains at this site had been mixed and disturbed both dur-
ing the funerary use of the cave and post-depositionally. It
is usual to differentiate periods of use in a collective burial
space through 14C dates (Duday 2009; Aranda Jiménez et al.
2020), especially when all the bones are fragmented and
commingled, as is the case of Cova Foradada.
No direct dating is available for the cremation assemblage
due to the intensity of combustion. It is therefore difficult
to assign it to any specific period. According to the results
of the taphonomic analysis and the Neolithic and Chalco-
lithic cultural context of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula
(i.e., Gibaja et al. 2012; Rojo Guerra et al. 2012; Bosch
et al. 2016; Capuzzo and López-Cachero 2016; Barandi-
arán et al. 2019), it is possible to conclude that the burned
and unburned bones present at the cave are two different
osteological accumulations, involving two different funerary
treatments. The taphonomic analysis revealed that the bodies
were cremated completely inside the cave with a funerary
purpose, probably successively, and at a different time to the
collective burial. Collective burials with burned bones from
this period have been documented at other European sites,
but these are generally partial cremations, usually carried
out on dry bones, and with a heterogeneous distribution of
cremation degrees according to skeletal regions (Delibes and
Etxeberría, 2002; Gatto 2002; Lorrio and Montero 2004;
Agustí, 2014; Cataroche and Gowland 2015; Soriano 2016).
In the case of collective burials containing burned bones in
the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, it is typical for not all
the elements to be burned and, when they are, the crema-
tion is partial, with a coloration gradation between brown
Page 23 of 31 57
and white, most having a slight or no warping and often
with no fissures (Agustí, 2014). In addition, some experi-
mental studies have revealed that human remains subjected
to this treatment were normally already skeletonized, dis-
articulated, and the fire affected them principally by prox-
imity (Agustí, 2014). As we have seen, at Cova Foradada,
the situation is different; the bones present predominantly
high degrees of cremation, with a homogeneous anatomical
distribution, there is greater affection of the axial skeleton,
and thermal alterations typical of green bones are present,
including curved fissures and warping.
The cremation of bodies with a funerary and ritual mean-
ing had become widespread in the northeastern Iberian Pen-
insula by the Urnfield culture (c. 3000 years cal. BP), hav-
ing arrived from central and western Europe (Ruíz-Zapatero
1985; Blasco 1993). This diffusion of funerary practices,
visible in the archaeological record, has also been recently
supported by paleogenetics, evidencing an important pop-
ulation change on the Iberian Peninsula during the Late
Bronze Age (Olalde et al. 2019). Cremation was the domi-
nant funerary practice during the second half of the Late
Bronze Age, and was consolidated even more during the
Iron Age (López-Cachero 2014).
In the Urnfield Culture, collective burials were aban-
doned, and the cremated remains were buried in ceramic
urns. However, the new funerary ritual was not adopted
quickly or homogeneously, and there was a situation of
transition during which both cremation and inhumation
were practiced simultaneously (Armendáriz 1992; Blasco
1993; Capuzzo and López-Cachero 2016; López-Cachero
and Rovira 2016), with the frequent reuse of previous col-
lective graves (Armendáriz 1992; Agustí, 2002; Lorrio and
Montero 2004; Duday 2009; Aranda Jiménez et al. 2020).
Some examples of this are the megalithic cemetery of Pano-
ria (Spain), used during the Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and
Early Bronze Age (Aranda Jiménez et al. 2020); Lumentxa
cave (Spain), with Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic, and
Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age burials (García-Sagastib-
elza et al. 2020); and La Boucle cave (France), used during
the Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic, and Late Bronze Age
(Duday 2009). In the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, several
natural caves with primary or secondary cremations from
the Bronze Age are known, such as Cova d’en Pau (Girona),
Bora Tuna (Girona), Can Sadurní (Barcelona), Can Mont-
many (Barcelona), and Forat de Conqueta (Lleida) (López-
Cachero and Rovira 2016). However, taphonomic studies
of this type of site are scarce, particularly on remains from
old excavations. At Cova Foradada, some ceramic remains
characteristic of the Bronze Age were also found (Cebrià
et al. 2011).
Considering all the data, the most likely hypothesis is
that the cremation of the bodies at Cova Foradada is from
a mid-advanced time within the Bronze Age, before the
13
57 Page 24 of 31
generalization of Urnfield necropolis. This is a period dur-
ing which the treatment of bodies with fire had already been
adopted, but the use of sepulchral caves persisted. This is
why we find the reuse of space at different times in Prehis-
tory with the same funerary concept but involving different
treatments of the bodies.
Conclusion
Cova Foradada contains an accumulation of human remains
corresponding to the use of this space as a burial sepulcher
from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Two different
assemblages were differentiated: unburned remains belong-
ing to a collective burial; and burned bones from to subse-
quent cremations. The collective burial corresponds to two
periods of use, differentiated according to radiocarbon dat-
ing. The cave was first used as a tomb in the Early Neolithic,
probably with just one or a few individuals, and then in the
Late Neolithic–Chalcolithic, the period associated with the
most extensive use of collective burials. A total of at least
18 individuals, of all ages and both sexes, have been deter-
mined for the two periods. The skeletal representation of
this assemblage, characterized by a large number of small
compact bones, such as phalanges and carpals, is mainly
due to the anthropogenic emptying of the cave after its use
as a sepulchral space, although other taphonomic agents also
contributed to this. The cremated remains correspond to at
least five individuals of different ages.
The human remains were found commingled and dis-
persed due to post-depositional processes. The main objec-
tive was to determine whether or not the burned remains
belonged to the same accumulation as the unburned bones.
The application of forensic taphonomy methods has allowed
us to attribute the burned and unburned remains to two dif-
ferent funerary practices separated in time. Documented
thermal alteration of the bones, such as curved fractures
and fissures, warping, and the “brown heat line,” informs
us of the green pre-burning condition of the bones, which
probably had soft tissues attached. The skeletal representa-
tion suggests that the cremations were carried out inside
the cave. The intention of burning the remains as much as
possible, reaching the highest degrees of combustion, is an
indicator of the funerary nature of this practice. Considering
the characteristics of the cremated bones, comparing them
with those from other sites, and the material culture found
in the cave, we infer that the cremations most likely took
place in the Bronze Age, probably at an advanced time dur-
ing this period. At around the beginning of the Late Bronze
Age, the practice of cremation began to spread throughout
the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The type of funerary
practice documented at this site is not the cremation of the
bodies and their burial in individual graves, as was common
13
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 57
in the Urnfield culture, but the primary cremation of the
bodies inside a cave. It is therefore likely that the cremation
practice documented at Cova Foradada corresponds to the
first steps in the adoption of this new funerary treatment, as
a transitional practice between collective burial and crema-
tion. By combining the radiocarbon dates and taphonomic
analysis, we were able to determine that the same burial
space had been utilized during at least three different time
periods: the Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic–Chalcolithic,
and Bronze Age. The cave maintained the same funerary use
over time, involving different cultures that applied disparate
treatments to the bodies. It provides a snapshot into one of
the most important changes in the funerary practices seen
during prehistoric times: the transition from inhumation to
the cremation of bodies.
Supplementary Information  The online version contains supplemen-
tary material available at https://d​ oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 007/s​ 12520-0​ 22-0​ 1530-5.
Acknowledgements  We would like to thank to the Cova Foradada
excavation team for their work at the site and for providing us with
the study material. We also thank Lloyd Courtenay for his help with
the statistics.
Author contribution  Miguel Ángel Moreno-Ibáñez—conceptualiza-
tion, investigation, formal analysis, methodology, interpretation, writ-
ing original draft, review, and editing.
Palmira Saladié—conceptualization and review original draft.
Juan I. Morales—conceptualization, funding acquisition, and
review original draft.
Artur Cebrià—funding acquisition and review original draft.
Josep Maria Fullola—funding acquisition and review original draft.
Funding  This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inno-
vación y Universidades (FPU18-02291 scholarship); Agència de Gestió
d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (SGR 2017–1040); Departament
de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (CLT009-18–00024); and
Universitat Rovira i Virgili, projects 2014, 2015, and 2016 PFR-URV-
B2-17 and 2018 PFR-URV-B2-91, framed in the Programa de Centros
de Recerca de Catalunya (CERCA), Generalitat de Catalunya.
Availability of data and material  All data will be provided if requested.
Code availability  The authors declare that the different software have
been used correctly to support the data and interpretations, complying
with all the field standards.
Declarations 
Conflict of interest  The authors declare no competing interests.
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