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The Evolution of the Minorcan Pretalayotic Culture as Evidenced by the Sites of Morellet and Son Mercer de Baix

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2022

Ma Cristina Rita  and
Celia Topp
Ma Cristina Rita
Affiliation:
Museu de Menorca, Mahón, Menorca, Spain
Celia Topp
Affiliation:
Apartado 14, San Carlos, Ibiza, Spain
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Abstract

The cultural period immediately prior to the Talayotic phase in Minorca, the Pretalayotic, belongs to the Chalcolithic—Early Bronze Age and is represented by a series of megalithic monuments. When of a funerary nature, these consist of megalithic chamber-tombs in the eastern part of the island and of rock-cut graves of elongated plan in the western. So far, apart from the newly-discovered site of Morellet, no habitations are known in eastern Minorca and the new site appears to indicate that they were either of a seasonal nature or merely rock-shelters. In the western half of the island dwelling-sites are clearly evidenced by villages of habitation — navetas (navetiforms) such as Son Mercer de Baix which continued in use during the Early Talayotic period. It should be noted that although their method of construction would incline one to class them all as belonging to an identical Mediterranean cultural group, the finds indicate an autochthonous evolution which in time gave rise to the insular peculiarities, including some of a constructional nature, typical of Minorca.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , 1988 , pp. 241 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1988

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References

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