THE LITHIC HOARD OF HYPOGEUM OF COLOS (ABRANTES, MIDDLE TAGUS VALLEY-PORTUGAL): SHADOWS OF RITUALS

Abstract

In this paper we are presenting the use-wear traces study of some Lithic artefacts from a cinerary funerary context of Colos. This funerary monument is an hypogea dug in a hillock of a pour quality granite. Culturally it is part of the Megalithic period, chronologically covering the Final Neolithic and the Chalcolithic. The lithic assemblage found in Colos has a very important symbolic value; in the hoard there are big lithic artefacts made in exotic raw material. Which means they were produced by specialized artisans and the exotic character of the raw-material used induce to hypothesize the presence of long-range commerce. The study of the use-wear traces of this lithic assemblage could clarify the funerary rituals and practices. The main queston of this paper is: these artefacts were prepared only to offer the deceased, or they were used on daily life tasks? In our opinion the use-wear analysis of the lithic assemblage allow to deduce that the lithic assemblage were made and in some cases used in order to celebrate funerary cultural processes.