BRONZE AGE INHUMATIONS IN CERAMIC URN IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER TAGUS BASIN: A COMPARATIVE POINT OF VIEW

Prehistoric urn burials in the inland Tagus valley are characterised through the known examples in the area and three new ones at the site of Las Mayores (Toledo), for which archaeometric data have recently been obtained. The information obtained allows a reflection, first on their relationship with other parts of Iberia, especially the Argaric world, where such burials are well known. In second place, their identification within the regional sequence is assessed, as they are characteristic of the Bronze Age but foreign to ProtoCogotas communities. Pithoi burials did not enjoy a tradition in inland Iberia and their great variability does not allow social considerations at the community level. This practice is only comprehensible within the small family circles of the segmentary societies that characterised the Bronze Age in the area.