The phenomenon of Iron Age cave burials in the Central Cantabrian region (Spain): the case of Fuentenegroso, Asturias

Abstract

Funerary practices in the Atlantic Iron Age tend to be elusive, featuring distinctive manifestations such as cave burials. Compared to the British and North Atlantic, the Cantabrian area in the Central Cantabrian region (Spain) is scarcely studied, despite the numerous examples of cave use. We work here with the remains found in Fuentenegroso Cave (Peñamellera Alta, Asturias, Spain) as a paradigmatic example of this phenomenon. producing a holistic study that combines analysis of the cave itself with the archaeometry of the human and animal remains found there. One female skeleton (16–20 years) dated to the eighth–fifth centuries BC was found in anatomical connection with two caprines and a roe deer, and wearing two bronze bracelets. Fauna was not contemporary. Genetically, she shows a North Iberian profile with a high proportion of Steppe ancestry and mitochondrial haplogroup U5a1, typical of Western European Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Stable isotope analyses (d13C, d15N, d34S) indicate a millet-based diet with low protein intake and strong marine influence. Within the broader context of Iron Age cave use in the central Cantabrian region, these results support interpretations of the deposit as either interpersonal violence or, more plausibly, a ritual deposition, whether a formal burial or a votive offering.