Prehistoric paleodemography: A methodological review based on the study of some collective tombs in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The anthropological analysis of human remains is indissociable from the study of any funerary structure, since bioarchaeological studies offer enormous possibilities for explaining the populations of the past and, in particular, their demographic regime. This work analyses different paleodemographic proposals of collective graves or funerary ensemble from Recent Prehistory, perhaps the contexts in which this type of study encounters the greatest difficulties. The aim is to highlight and compare the methodological and interpretative solutions proposed for the selected studies. In any case, it is evident that demographic analysis applied to collective burials in Recent Prehistory offers a better comprehensive understanding of these mortuary spaces as well as the possibility of confronting comparisons based on the unity of method.