Tracing Mobility Patterns of Buried Species of the Late Iron Age Funerary Staggered Turriform of Son Ferrer (Calvià, Spain)

Abstract

This is the first mobility 87Sr/86Sr analysis in human remains made on the Balearic Islands. Eight human individuals buried at the same Late Iron Age funerary chamber of Son Ferrer site (Calvià, Mallorca) have been sampled for strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis (87Sr/86Sr and δ 18O). The study includes strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis of domestic mammals buried in the same Funerary Area (FA1) together with present-day vegetation and archaeological bone to assess the strontium isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr) around the site. All the results are compatible with the 87Sr/86Sr documented in Mallorca and, more specifically, with the surrounding bedrocks from the site. Humans, caprines, and dogs provided similar results and no significant differences are found between the species. The only exception is a caprine which shows seasonal movement through the period of enamel mineralisation. The isotopic information agrees with the previous studies, which proposed that Son Ferrer site was a symbolic place for the surrounding territory where people from the nearby villages were buried.

Keywords

• human mobility
• livestock mobility
• strontium isotopes
• oxygen isotopes
• balearic islands