Talaiotic culture
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The Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period is the name used to describe the society that existed on the
Origins
Up until the end of the 20th century, it was theorized that the Talaiotic Culture arose out of interaction between new peoples from the eastern
However, archaeological excavations conducted at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries have established that the talaiots were built much later –at the beginning of the
History
The first evidence indicating the development of this culture appeared at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, when island society was threatened by population increases, inefficient food production, and limited living space. Agricultural techniques that the first inhabitants had brought with them a millennium before in the
The Talaiotic Period in Majorca
The first great monuments on Majorca from this period are the Layered
At the beginning of the first millennium BC, talaiots began to proliferate on Majorca, either appearing in isolated fashion as a territorial boundary stone, or in towns, but mostly grouped together in ceremonial centers. In Majorca, these ceremonial centers were as abundant as the towns themselves. Some of them consisted of small groups of stone structures (talaiots, tumuli), scattered across the island, and frequently serving as boundary stones between the towns. Some of these ceremonial centers consisted of a line of up to seven stone structures across a distance of more than half a kilometer. The abundance of these centers serves as evidence of their importance: most likely they were where frequent disputes were resolved, and where various festivities were celebrated. The centers also served as a seasonal and economic calendar (economic activities such as sowing, harvests, hunting), in which the young people of various towns could meet (thus guaranteeing outbreeding).
Sanctuaries also existed on the island, recognizable because their two rear corners are rounded. Sanctuaries situated within the towns were small, and their interiors had only a single column, which was more or less centered. The sanctuaries in the countryside were much bigger (10–15 m.) and tended to have many pairs of columns.
The funerary monuments of Majorca were varied, a characteristic similar to the previous age: burials were made in natural caves and in hypogea. The Talaiotic hypogea were much bigger than those from the Bronze Age, sometimes with column excavated from the surrounding rock, and the enlargement of these columns provided a reason for enlarging the hypogea themselves. A large cemetery was also built, the Necropolis of Son Real, unique to Majorca and Menorca. The Necropolis served as a cemetery in which the tombs were similar to small talaiots, and were either circular or square-shaped. Small "navetas" can also be found in the Necropolis. Despite the Talaiotic preference for burials to occur in hypogea, during the time of the Talaiotic Culture a novelty was introduced: the burial of a body with lime.
A 3,200-year-old well-preserved Bronze Age sword was discovered by archaeologists under the leadership of Jaume Deya and Pablo Galera on the Mallorca Island in the Puigpunyent from the stone megaliths site Talaiot. Specialists assumed that the weapon was made when the Talaiotic culture was in critical comedown. The sword will be on display at the nearby Majorca Museum.[1]
The Talaiotic Period in Menorca
The reorganization of Menorcan society into chieftainships and towns occurred on similar lines to societal changes on Mallorca, although some Menorcan towns were much larger than Majorcan ones, indicating, perhaps, the existence of stronger social changes or tensions. The variety of monuments on Menorca (besides talaiots) constructed from the end of the Bronze Age and throughout the Iron Age, surpasses that found on Mallorca. At the end of the 2nd millennium BC, there appeared tombs known as “navetas.” They were built with Talaiotic techniques, but were also drawn from a very ancient tradition that contains many similarities to the tradition of the construction of dolmens going back a previous millennium.
The construction known as the Taula is considered the most emblematic ceremonial monument of Menorca. It served as a sanctuary, and its enclosure had a horseshoe form, similar to those found on Mallorca but unlike the Majorcan variety, had a great central structure resembling a table (“taula” means “table” in the Catalan language). The exact construction date of these sanctuaries is not known, although the enclosures could have existed throughout the Talaiotic, and the central monuments could belong to any date throughout the first millennium.
The first author who wrote about the Talayotic monuments of Menorca was
The end of the Talaiotic Period
The very factors that gave rise to the Talaiotic Period spelled its doom. Construction of talaiots ceased, and many of them were destroyed or converted for different uses. The nearby
Genetic profile
Five samples from individuals that were alive in the Talaiotic period were taken for genetic analysis; the individual found in the funerary monument of
References
- ^ Margaritoff, Marco (2019-09-20). "3,200-Year-Old Bronze Age Sword Unearthed On Spanish Island Of Mallorca". All That's Interesting. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
- PMID 32094539.
- PMID 34788096.
External links
- Talaiotic culture in Menorca. Megalithic monuments. Discovering Menorca
- Talayotic Menorca UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
- (in Spanish) La guía online de la prehistoria en Mallorca y Menorca
- (in Catalan) Museu arqueològic de Son Fornés, Mallorca
- (in Catalan, Spanish, and English) L'Arqueologia de Menorca - La Arqueología de Menorca - The Archaeology of Minorca
- (in Catalan) Patrimoni històric de Menorca
- (in Catalan, Spanish, English, and French) Talatí de Dalt
- (in Catalan, Spanish, English, and French) Son Catlar