Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – A groundbreaking study led by the UAB at the sites of Puig Castellar and Ullastret offers compelling insights into the diverse cultural practices of Iberian communities in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. This research reveals that the ritual involving nailed heads was not a uniform symbolic expression across these communities. Instead, each settlement had its unique interpretation: some used external individuals as symbols of power and intimidation, while others prioritized venerating local community members.
Aerial view of Puig Castellar. © Museu Torre Balldovina
This study is particularly persuasive because it integrates bioarchaeological and isotope data, providing unprecedented direct evidence of human mobility patterns during the Iron Age in this region. By analyzing seven nailed skulls from two significant sites—Ullastret in Girona and Puig Castellar in Santa Coloma de Gramenet—the researchers have uncovered vital information about how these ancient communities interacted with their environment and each other.
This research not only enriches our understanding of historical human behavior but also highlights how varied cultural expressions can be within seemingly similar societies. It invites us to reconsider our assumptions about past civilizations, making it an essential contribution to both archaeology and anthropology.
Severed heads offer a rare window into the funerary practices of the Iberian world, providing an opportunity to study these communities. Given that cremation was the predominant burial ritual, leaving behind scant archaeological evidence, this practice stands out as particularly significant. It involved publicly displaying the skulls of select individuals after undergoing post-mortem treatment. Some recovered skulls even bear signs of nailing, with some still having iron nails intact.
This unique practice is crucial for understanding a culture otherwise shrouded in mystery due to limited physical records.
“Who were these individuals and for what were their heads used?” Traditionally, archaeologists have debated whether the skulls were war trophies — to intimidate their enemies — or venerated relics of important community members. These hypotheses, however, based on oral and ethnographic sources, have not yet been verified, nor has there been in-depth studies on the relationship between these groups and the land they inhabited.
“Our premise in approaching the study was that if they were war trophies they would not come from the sites analysed, while if they were venerated individuals, these would most likely be local”, explains Rubén de la Fuente-Seoane, archaeologist at the UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and first author of the study.
“Our results reveal that the individuals from Puig Castellar and Ullastret would not have been randomly selected. There would have been a homogeneous trend towards men in these rituals. However, the mobility and localisation patterns suggest a greater diversity, which could also imply social and cultural differences among the individuals of the two communities,” says the UAB researcher in a press release.
To conduct the study, the research team integrated bioarchaeology with the analysis of stable strontium and oxygen isotopes found in the dental enamel of seven severed male skulls from Puig Castellar and Ullastret. This was complemented by archaeozoological data and a comprehensive sampling of sediment and vegetation from nearby areas. By analyzing the strontium isotopes in these samples, researchers established a reference range for bioavailable strontium near each site. This enabled them to determine which individuals matched this range, thereby identifying whether they were local or not.
To conduct the study, the research team integrated bioarchaeology with the analysis of stable strontium and oxygen isotopes found in the dental enamel of seven severed male skulls from Puig Castellar and Ullastret. This was complemented by archaeozoological data and a comprehensive sampling of sediment and vegetation from nearby areas. By analyzing the strontium isotopes in these samples, researchers established a reference range for bioavailable strontium near each site. This enabled them to determine which individuals matched this range, thereby identifying whether they were local or not.
In Puig Castellar, the placement of skulls on walls has led researchers to hypothesize that their display was intended as a demonstration of power and coercion, both for internal control and as a message to external groups. In Ullastret, two local individuals’ skulls were discovered in a street setting, suggesting they might have been displayed on nearby walls or doorways. This supports the idea that these individuals could have been significant figures within the community, either revered or remembered by its people. Additionally, a third skull from Ullastret, possibly of foreign origin and found on an external wall of the settlement, may represent a war trophy.
One of the severed heads found at Ullastret. © MAC-Ullastret a De Prado
The study provides groundbreaking direct evidence of human mobility patterns during the Iron Age in northeastern Iberia. It offers new insights into how territories were organized in this region. Previous research indicated variations in resource exploitation among Iberian societies; this study further reveals distinct mobility patterns between Puig Castellar and Ullastret based on differing human values relative to each site’s environment. The faunal samples also indicate varied resource management strategies consistent with each settlement’s characteristics.
“This differentiation reflects a dynamic and complex society with important local and external interactions. Our study is a first approach to this archaeological problem using a method that is revolutionising the way we study mobility in the past. At the same time, it suggests that the selection of individuals for the severed heads ritual was more complex than initially thought”, indicates Rubén de la Fuente-Seoane.
The study underlines the importance of integrating bioarchaeological and isotope data to improve the understanding of social structures and human interactions in the past. “We have established a local strontium reference based on a rigorous protocol, applying in humans a pioneering methodology in Catalonia that, moreover, serves as a first step towards the creation of a Catalan map of bioavailable strontium. This will favour other future studies and the group of archaeologists studying mobility”, concludes the UAB researcher.
The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
