On the use of animal resources in the Madrid region during the 3rd millennium cal. BC: the faunal assemblage from Chalcolithic contexts at Sector 3 Las Cabeceras (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid)

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of a small faunal assemblage from Sector 3 at the archaeological site of “Las Cabeceras”, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid. The faunal remains were recovered from 32 pits dated to the Chalcolithic (first half of the 3rd millennium cal. BC.). The faunal spectrum is dominated by the main domesticates, followed by game species, among which red deer, equids and aurochs stand out. The dominance of adult and senile animals suggests the diversified productive orientation of the main domesticates (i.e., meat, wool, dairy products, traction, dung, etc.). In the case of pig, the absence of immature individuals and the ocurrence of quite old females may reflect an interest in the production of piglets to be exchanged among local or regional settlements. Also, it stands out the relative high frequency of wild large-sized herbivores in comparison with coeval sites located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula.