Culto, sacrificio y simbolismo animal en Tartessos. Análisis arqueológico y paleobiológico de los registros de santuarios y necrópolis

Abstract

Tartessos has been traditionally considered an indigenous culture that experienced a superficial acculturation process derived from the trade with Phoenician settlers during the Iron Age. However, recent archaeological evidence suggests the cohabitation ofethnically and culturally distinguishable communities, which continuous interaction could have led to both a complex miscegenation process and a bidirectional acculturation. This seems to be perceived in religious contexts, particularly in funerary ones. In such context, the foundation of sanctuaries across the Mediterranean was a key strategy within Phoenician colonisation. These complexes, which present oriental features, were related to the exploitation and control of the landscape, and also constitutedmeeting spaces for different exchanges and agreements between their surrounding populations. Likewise, the management and redistribution of meat resources may have usually taken place in these sanctuaries through feasting rituals, in which the communitiesheld an active role as givers of offerings. Thus, animal sacrifice probably operated as a complex mechanism for social interaction and cultural reification developed upon a belief system of oriental tradition. This PhD is based on a systematic compilation and review of the faunal record gathered from sanctuaries and necropoli found in the Tartessian area. The main aim of its framework lies in the identification of economic and cultural patterns related to animal sacrifice, exploitation and consumption in the context of religious practices, in order to also assess to what extent such patterns are recognisable through the material record and hence could provide further evidence regarding the impact and changes resulting from Phoenician colonisation. Furthermore, it is intended to elucidate whether the faunal records from these kinds of contexts, according to their characteristics, constitute an ethnic-cultural bioindicator which may allow possible differentiation or identification concerning the presence and / or interaction with eastern populations.