Publication: Hierarchical organization and skilled workforces for constructing the Tartessic earthen building at Casas del Turuñuelo (Guareña, Spain)
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Date
2024-08-31
Authors
Cutillas Victoria, Benjamin ; Lorenzon, Marta ; Rodríguez González, Esther ; Celestino Pérez, Sebastián
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Publisher
Nature Research
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70374-x
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
© 2024 The Author(s). This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This document is the Published version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Scientific Reports. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70374-x
Abstract
This article presents the results of the geoarchaeological study of earthen building materials used in a Tartessic public building at Casas del Turuñuelo. The construction dates back to the fifth century BCE and is one of the monumental buildings of Tartessic culture, characterized by its complex architecture, prestige goods, and intentional destruction after a feast and animal sacrifice. We applied an integrated methodology combining macro and micro approaches to investigate earthen construction processes, such as techniques, labour organization, workers’ specialization, and environmental exploitation. The sample mainly consists of mudbricks, but we also include other forms of earthen materials such as mud plasters, mud mortars, and geological soils for comparison. In total, 64 samples from different building parts were studied through X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, thin-section petrography, and CHN analyses. The results reveal that the workforce involved in the construction process used different resources and presented different skill levels, but was centrally planned and organized. This study reflects on the communities’ knowledge of the environment, the logistic effort and technical skill employed in the building process, and the existence of strong political structures capable of managing the erection of the complex Tartessic buildings.
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Citation
Scientific Reports, 2024, Vol. 14 : 20286
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