Archaeologists at the University of Granada identified in Almería, Spain, the practice of cremation 4800 years ago, retreating in 1500 years the beginning of this funeral rite in the Iberian Peninsula.
Archaeological investigations in the Necropolis of Los Milanes in ABLA, in the Spanish province of Almería, showed that the funeral rite of cremation began 4,800 years ago, a millennium and a half before.
A scientific team from obtained these surprising results in the Los Milanes megalithic necropolis, locating more than 28,000 bone fragments in one of its tombs, belonging to about 20 individuals who were cremated and later deposited inside the monument.
The findings show that Cremation was practiced 1,500 years before what was thought And that, therefore, during the Calcolitic (copper age), the inhumation coexisted with cremation, demonstrating a hitherto unnoticed social and cultural complexity.
Fragmented bones and signs of fire
The necropolis of Los Milanes is located in ABLA, an enclave where 18 megalithic tombs were identified with circular or oval funeral chambers that served as places of collective burial.
Three of these tombs were excavated between 2023 and 2025 by a UGR investigation group responsible for this discovery, the EFE agency reported on Tuesday.
It is a set of highly fragmented anthropological samples, the vast majority of which do not exceed two centimeters in length, and with a wide range of colors, from brown to white, through black, gray and blue.
In addition, they present fracture patterns and changes in the shape of the bones that emphasize exposure to temperatures above 650 degrees Celsius.
Another interesting aspect is the clear difference in exposure to the fire of the left and right anatomical parts of the human body, since the heat affected the left side more, indicating a deliberate position of the body in the funeral pira.
Chemical analysis of remains reveals different cremation conditions in terms of temperature, presence of oxygen and fire exposure time.
The cyanamide found is related to the burning of bodies covered with some kind of shroud, and the evidence describes a funeral practice of cremation that must have occurred shortly after death, and the remains were later transferred to the chamber.
At least 21 individuals of all ages and both sexes were deposited in the funeral chamber, who died 4800 years ago, according to Carbon-14 dating (C14).
