The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal

92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) https://editorial.us.es/es/revistas/spal • https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 © Editorial Universidad de Sevilla 2022 • CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal EL ENTIERRO INDIVIDUAL “FERRADEIRA” DE HERDADE DO ÁLAMO (BEJA): FACETAS DEL CAMBIO SOCIAL A FINALES DEL III MILENIOA.C. EN EL SUR DE PORTUGAL António Carlos Valera Era Arqueologia SA. / ICArEHB Universidade do Algarve Calçada de Santa Catarina, 9c, 1495-705, Cruz Quebrada – Dafundo, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0001-5492-3810 AFP-3642-2022 (Responsable de correspondencia) Tiago do Pereiro Era Arqueologia SA. Calçada de Santa Catarina, 9c, 1495-705, Cruz Quebrada – Dafundo, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0003-2691-4583 AFQ-5827-2022 Sofia Nogueira Era Arqueologia SA. Calçada de Santa Catarina, 9c, 1495-705, Cruz Quebrada – Dafundo, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0002-6587-6340 ABH-3323-2022 Lucy Shaw Evangelista Era Arqueologia SA. / CIAS-Universidade de Coimbra / ICArEHB Universidade do Algarve Calçada de Santa Catarina, 9c, 1495-705, Cruz Quebrada – Dafundo, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0002-8718-5612 AFP-7159-2022 Anne-France Maurer Laboratory HERCULES – Évora University Largo Marquês de Marialva, 8, 7000-809 Évora, Portugal annefrance.maur[email protected]om 0000-0002-4997-5357 ACT-2473-2022 Cristina Barrocas Dias Laboratory HERCULES / Chemistry Department, School of Sciences and Technology – Évora University. Largo Marquês de Marialva, 8, 7000-809 Évora, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0002-1707-2209 S-6824-2016 Sara Ribeiro Geobiotec, Department of Geosciences, University of Aveiro. Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal sararibeir[email protected] 0000-0002-5074-5452 AFP-7048-2022 José Francisco Santos Geobiotec, Department of Geosciences, University of Aveiro. Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0003-4997-8264 M-7553-2017 Carlo Bottaini Laboratory HERCULES – Évora University / CityUMacau Chair in Sustainable Heritage Largo Marquês de Marialva, 8, 7000-809 Évora, Portugal [email protected] 0000-0003-2464-468X P-3670-2016 Abstract The individual burial of the Herdade do Álamo, located in Beja municipality, South Portugal, is presented along with its bioanthropological study, radiocarbon dating and isotopic approaches on diet and mobility. The results show a male, with a terrestrial diet and youth mobility, dating from the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC. The archaeometallurgical study of Carlos Valera, A., do Pereiro, T., Nogueira, S., Evangelista, L. S., Maurer, A. F., Barrocas Dias, C., Ribeiro, S., Santos, J. F., Bottaini, C. (2022): “The Ferradeira’ individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal”, Spal, 31.1, pp. 92-112. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 FECHA RECEPCIÓN 17/08/2021 FECHA ACEPTACIÓN 25/01/2021 93 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 the metal votive assemblage (one tongue dagger and three Palmela points) indicates a copper metallurgy with high values of Arsenic (As), typical of this period of transition. The burial is contextualized in a process of individuation of the funerary practices and in the “Ferradeira Horizon”, considered as a facet of the diversified funerary practices and of the complex social changes of the late 3rd millennium BC in the South of Portugal. Keywords Chronology, Isotopic approach, Bronze Age transition, Bell beakers, Copper metallurgy. Resumen Se presenta el entierro individual de la Herdade do Álamo, ubicada en el municipio de Beja, Sur de Portugal, junto con su estudio bioantropológico, datación por radiocarbono y enfoques isotópicos sobre dieta y movilidad. Los resultados muestran un varón, con dieta terrestre y movilidad juvenil, que data del último cuarto del 3º milenio antes de Cristo. El estudio arqueometalúrgico del conjunto votivo metálico (un puñal de lengüeta y tres puntas de Palmela) indica una metalurgia del cobre con altos valores de Arsénico (As), propios de este período de transición. El entierro se contextualiza en un proceso de individuación de las prácticas funerarias y en el “Horizonte Ferradeira”, considerado como una faceta de las prácticas funerarias diversificadas y de los complejos cambios sociales de finales del III milenio antes de Cristo en el sur de Portugal. Palabras clave Cronología, Enfoque isotópico, Transición a la Edad del Bronce, Campaniforme, Metalurgia del Cobre. 1. INTRODUCTION The “Ferradeira Horizon” is a concept developed by H. Schubart in the early seventies of the last century (Schubart, 1971) to designate a social-cultural setting in South Portugal, defined in opposition to the models established for the Chalcolithic of Portuguese Estremadura at the time (Gonçalves, 1989; Mataloto etal., 2013). In empirical terms, it is based on a type of funerary contexts identified in South Portugal and characterized by individual burials in different types of graves, with votive assemblages of polythetic nature comprising metal artefacts (usually weapons like tongue daggers and Palmela arrow heads or awls), undecorated pottery (when present) and sometimes archer wrist guards. In contrast, Estremadura burials from the same general period are mainly characterized by commingled, collective depositions within a diversity of funerary contexts, such as caves, hypogea or tholoi. When absolute chronologies were unavailable, “Ferradeira” was ascribed to the second quarter of the 2nd millennium BC, and subsequently retreated to the late 3rd / beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (Parreira, 1995; Soares and Silva, 1995). In the last decades, with the advent of radiocarbon dating of several contexts and Bayesian statistical approaches, it was considered to cover all the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, and contemporaneous to Bell Beaker phenomenon (Mataloto etal., 2013; Valera, 2014; Mataloto, 2017). Due to its filiation in a historical culturalist theoretical framework, the concept was strongly criticised during the eighties (Gonçalves, 1989), but it remained in use and, destitute of its former cultural connotations, is still considered to be useful (Mataloto etal., 2013; Valera, 2014). Its present utility rests, mainly, in the recognition of the strong identity of its empirical bases and in the fact that it seems to express a facet of the diversified and complex systemic changes that took place during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC in the Iberian Southwest, related to a breakdown of the social trajectory in course since the second half of the 4th millennium BC (Valera, 2015). Predominantly defined through mortuary contexts, it is the major expression of the re-emerging of individuation as a predominant practice in funerary rites in South Portugal (a practice that would prevail in the 2nd millennium BC), emphasizing the decay of the discourse of collectivism in death and expressing the social changes in course in the late 3rd millennium BC. 94 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 Nevertheless, the empirical bases of this trend still need a better characterization, as well preserved, adequately excavated, and dated burials, with bioanthropological and isotopic studies of the human remains, are still scarce. In this context, the recent excavation of an individual pit grave (Grave 1) in the Herdade do Álamo (Beja) with a votive assemblage typical of “Ferradeira” and its multidisciplinary approach (archaeological, bioanthropological, isotopic and archaeometallurgical studies) is an important addition to the knowledge and problematization of a still relatively obscure period of transition in the Iberian Southwest. 2. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT The Herdade do Álamo is located next to the Beja airport (Beja municipality and district), in the lower Alentejo region, South Portugal (fig. 1). The property was recently ploughed and planted with almond trees, affecting archaeological heritage. As mitigation measures, a set of surveys were carried out by Era Arqueologia SA. Figure 1. Location of Herdade do Álamo site in the Iberian Southwest (Map represented with the 3rd millennium coastline). 95 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 In one of those surveys, located at the edge of a platform overlooking the Álamo stream, a section of a ditch belonging to a Chalcolithic ditched enclosure was identified and excavated (Pereiro etal., 2021). This section showed an interruption, possibly corresponding to a gate, where a pit grave was located, just next to the northern limits of the survey (fig. 2). The pit had an ellipsoidal shape, with 1,35m long, 1,10m wide and 0,40m of maximum depth. It was filled with one deposit and demarcated by a row of stones at NE. At the bottom, an individual was deposited in foetal position together with a set of metallic objects (one dagger and three arrowheads). The infilling of this pit was partially cut by the ploughing that affected the skull of the individual, dividing it in two halves and bringing up some bone fragments. That same ploughing was responsible for the remobilization of another human skull that was deposited over the layer that filled the pit, suggesting that another grave might exist beyond the survey section. 3. BIOANTHROPOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION The individual in the pit grave corresponds to a primary deposition orientated North – South (20º-200º), in foetal position and with the skull turned to the left side (East). The left upper limb was flexed over the chest and the right was extended along the chest, with the hand over the right femur. The lower limbs were flexed to the left. This individual is a middle-aged adult (between 41 and 65 years old), based on the observation of changes in the auricular surface (Lovejoy etal., 1985), and sex diagnosis revealed to be male, based on the morphology of the pelvis and skull (Ferembach etal., 1980) and maximum talus length (Silva, 1995), Stature, measurements, Figure 2. The pit grave context of Herdade do Álamo and its location at the possible entrance of the Chalcolithic ditched enclosure. 96 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 estimated from the left radius, showed this individual would be with a height around 173.23 (±3.53) cm. Dental analysis shows ante-mortem tooth loss of FDI 35, 45, 46 and 47. Regarding tooth wear, there is a great variability of degrees present in the dentition. This may be due to ante-mortem tooth loss, since the teeth that show greater wear are contiguous to those that were lost during this individual’s life, which may have caused an overload for them. Regarding pathological analysis the right tibia showed a slight curvature of the diaphysis possibly as the result of an infectious process affecting the bone. A slight case of osteoarthritis was identified on both extremities of the right ulna. Hand phalanges also showed slight bone growth on the lateral and medial surfaces of the diaphysis. An oval orifice with rounded edges and a diameter of 4 mm was identified on the medial surface of the distal end of the right radius. Around this orifice no porosity or new bone formation was observed, although taphonomical alterations of the periosteum hindered a more specific diagnosis. No other pathological or morphological alteration were registered for this individual. 4. THE VOTIVE ASSEMBLAGE The votive assemblage associated to this individual comprised a tongue dagger and three Palmela arrowheads (fig. 3, tab.1). The dagger has a sub-triangular blade, with a “Eiffel Tower” shape, and presents a central vein that follows the general outline and the edges slightly marked. The peduncle has the edges slightly hammered, producing a rectangular section. The Palmela point (2) has an oval and elongated blade, with thin edges that follow the general shape. The peduncle is triangular with a rectangular section. The two other Palmela points are slightly different, but closer to each other. The shape of the head is ogival, with large and well demarcated edges. The rest of the body is triangular and undifferentiated from the peduncle, that is of rectangular section. The dagger and one arrowhead were deposited inside a depression at the base of the pit in front of the face of the individual and covered by one of the stones that delimited the grave in the Northeast side. The other two arrowheads were deposited behind the head of the individual (fig. 2). The metals were analysed to obtain their chemical composition. Analyses were carried out at the HERCULES Lab (University of Évora, Portugal), using a portable and handheld X-ray Fluorescence spectrometer, Bruker Tracer III SD model, equipped with a rhodium anode tube and a Silicon Drift Detector, according to the following working conditions; 60 second acquisition time; 40 kV, 12.5µA; Al/Ti filters (304.8 µm aluminium/25.4 µm titanium). Quantification was carried out through BCR-691 reference standards. Each object was analysed in two different areas, namely at both the extremities. Before being analysed, the metals were properly cleaned of surface corrosion. As expected, the four objects are made up of arsenical copper (Cu+>2% As), with arsenic ranging from 2.38% and 5.22%, and low impurities of iron. Other elements than Cu, As, and Fe were not detected (tab.2). 97 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 Figure 3. The metal assemblage present at the grave of Herdade do Álamo. Table 1 . Measures (in cm) of the metal artefacts. Object Maximum Length Maximum width Maximum thickness Stalk/Tongue thickness Tongue width Weight (g) Dagger 13.9 4.8 0.3 4.5 1.5 48 Arrowhead 2 12.1 2.2 0.3 5.9 x 17 Arrowhead 3 11.7 2.2 0.2 8.7 x 16 Arrowhead 4 11.1 .4 0.2 7.9 x 16 Table 2. Chemical composition of the metal artefacts (wt%); n.d: not detected. Object Lab ID Cu As Fe Dagger DAG-01-PED 97.46 2.49 0.05 DAG-01-PON 97.40 2.57 0.03 Arrowhead 2 ARR-02-PED 96.34 3.63 0.03 ARR-02-PON 94.74 5.22 0.04 Arrowhead 3 ARR-03-PED 97.46 2.54 n.d. ARR-03-PON 97.60 2.38 0.02 Arrowhead 4 ARR-04-PED 95.12 4.88 n.d. ARR-04-PON 95.33 4.67 n.d. 5. RADIOCARBON DATING AND ISOTOPIC DATA ON DIET AND MOBILITY A bone sample (left ulna) from the individual of Herdade do Álamo burial was dated at the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory of University of Waikato. As pre-treatment, the sample was cleaned, grounded, and decalcified in 2% HCl, rinsed and dried. Then it was gelatinised at pH=3 with HCl at 90 degrees for 4 hours, ultrafiltered and freezedried. The 98 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 obtained result was 3739±17BP, 2204-2041 cal BC 2σ, situating this individual in the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC (tab.3). Table 3. Radiocarbon date for the individual of Herdade do Álamo. Lab. Ref. Date BP Cal 2σ δ13C δ15N C% N% C:N Wk52161 3739±17 2204-2041 -19.22 9.69 43.47 15.39 3.27 Calibration curve IntCal20 (Reimer et al., 2020) The obtained results for δ13C (-19.2‰) and δ15N (9.7‰) are the expected for protein obtained mainly from a terrestrial C3-based diet (the radiocarbon result was calibrated accordingly – see Table 3). In fact, humans with a terrestrial C3 based diet generally yield δ13C values around -20/-21‰ and δ15N values between 5 and 12‰, while those with a maritime diet present δ13C and δ15N values around -11/-12‰ and 12 to 22‰ respectively, depending on the amount and trophic level of the marine protein consumed by the individual (Lee-Thorp, 2008). Results obtained from the individual of Herdade do Álamo are in accordance with the image provided by the data set available for individuals from inner Alentejo (South Portgal) dated from the second half of the 3rd millennium BC (tab.4 and fig. 4). To approach the level of mobility of this individual, two mandibular teeth (M2-FDI 37 and M3-FDI 38) were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr. The samples were analysed at Laboratory of Isotope Geology of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Around 20 mg of enamel from each tooth was collected using a drill with a diamond bit, in a lengthwise fashion from the crown tip to root in order to incorporate enamel from the entire time of crown formation. Samples were pre-treated with 1M Li acetate-acetic acid for 12 h to remove any secondary carbonates that might have introduced diagenetic strontium (Hoppe etal., 2003). Samples were then rinsed with Milli-Q water, vortexed and centrifuged for 5 min at 5000 rpm for four times or until the pH was neutral. Afterwards, they were dried overnight in an oven at 70 °C. The complete pre-treatment led to some sample loss. The results are expressed in Table 5. To define the local range, we resort to available isotopic data for two neighbouring sites: Bela Vista 5 (Valera, 2014), a diched enclosure with the exact same chronology of the individual of Herdade do Álamo and distancing only 3 km to SW, and Monte da Cegonha (Saragoça etal., 2016), a roman villae, located 16.5 km East (tab.5). The geology of Bela Vista 5 is the same as in Herdade do Álamo (Beja gabbro’s) and the geology around Monte da Cegonha is mainly constituted by diorites, being both formations integrated in the Beja old massif. The local range is manly defined by water and plant samples from Monte da Cegonha, established between 0.70826 and 0.71247 (2σ). The analysed humans from this roman site fell inside this range, as well as two of the three analysed animals and the human of Bela Vista 5, although this individual yields a 87Sr/86Sr value near the upper limit of the local range (fig. 5). The individual of Herdade do Álamo shows a value of 0.71523 for hism2 tooth, significantly distant from the local range, and a value of 0.71067 for his M3 tooth, fully integrated within the local range. This data suggests that the individual from Herdade do Álamo was living outside this area in his childhood (M2 is formed around 11-13 years), but, when M3 was formed (M3 is completely formed around 18-25 years) this individual was already living in Herdade do Álamo or in a region with a similar geological basement. 99 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 Table 4. δ13C / δ15N values of collagen from individuals of the second half of the 3rd millennium BC in inner Alentejo region. Site Structure SU. Sample Lab. Ref. δ13C δ15N Bib. Ref. Her. do Álamo Pit burial [618] Ulna Wk52161 -19.2 9.7 This study Perdigões Tomb 4 UE658 Lef tibia Beta-514884 -19.4 8.7 Valera, 2020a UE640 Left humerus Beta-514883 -19.1 8,8 UE642 Left tibia Beta-514881 -19.7 8.2 UE644 Left tibia Beta-514880 -19.8 8.4 UE647 Fibula Beta-517339 -19.4 8.5 UE644 Right femur Beta-517338 -19.7 8.3 Tomb 2 UE445 Left humerus S5 (E) -19.6 9.4 UE429 Left humerus S10 (J) -20.1 9.5 UE429 Left humerus S11 (K) -19.6 10.2 UE231 Right humerus S13 (M) -19.9 9.8 UE231 Left femur 73632 -20.4 9.5 UE261 Left femur 73633 -20.9 9.2 Cardim 6 Tholos [415] Inferior pre molar SANU-53101 -18.8 10.7 Valera etal.,. 2019a [415] Left femur SANU-53106 -18.9 9.9 [410] Mandible SANU-53039 -20.9 10.0 [412] Left femur SANU-53513 -19.3 10.1 [412] Left femur SANU-53512 -20.6 10.2 [412] Mandible SANU-53514 -19.1 9.0 [407] Upper pre molar SANU-53038 -18.5 7.7 [408] Left femur SANU-53037 -18.9 8.5 100 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 Figure 4. Plot of the δ13C / δ15N values of collagen from individuals of the second half of the 3rd millennium BC in inner Alentejo region. Table 5. Teeth 87Sr/86Sr data for the individual of Herdade do Álamo and for local area (teeth, plants, and water). Site Lab.Ref. Sample 87Sr/86Sr Error (2σ) Herdade do Álamo 21/100 Individual [618]M2 0.715228 0.000019 21/101 Individual [618] M3 0.710672 0.000024 Bela Vista 5* 20/154 HumanM2 0.712553 0.000014 20/151 Ovis / Capra 0.707181 0.000016 20/152 Medium size animal 0.709426 0.000021 20/153 Equus sp. 0.710207 0.000021 Monte da Cegonha** HMC7 Human enamel 0.7111 _ HMC8 Human enamel 0.7108 _ HMC11 Human enamel 0.7097 _ HMC13 Human enamel 0.7109 _ 14/259 Water 0.712385 0.000021 14/260 Water 0.712449 0.000030 14/261 Plant 0.710874 0.000031 14/272 Plant 0.710840 0.000026 14/262 Plant 0.711051 0.000023 14/263 Plant 0.710076 0.000018 107 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 the definition of “Ferradeira Horizon”, based in assemblages and materials present in around two tens of sites in the South of Portugal (Schubart, 1971), several other contexts have been ascribed to this concept, independently of its historical culturalism background. Being mostly funerary contexts that show or suggest individual burials, they occur in cist type tombs and in reused passage graves, but more rarely in pits. In this context, the Herdade do Álamo and Bela Vista 5 burials represent a higher diversification of the funerary architectonic solutions associated to this kind of votive assemblages. As to other aspects of the ritual, information is still scarce, namely regarding the human remains. In many situations they are absent or anthropological studies were not done, so general patterns cannot be deduced now, for instance, regarding age or sex. Even so, if “Ferradeira” appears to be a new funerary formalism under construction regarding individuality and votive assemblages, the available data show that the position of the body may vary (strait, as in Ferradeira graves, and in foetal position, as in Bela Vista 5 or Herdade do Álamo, following a Neolithic tradition that would be maintained during the Bronze Age) and that both man and woman are present and with weapons associated (as again Bela Vista 5 and Herdade do Álamo document). On the other hand, the permanence of collectivist practices and a multiplicity of contextual situations using “the old” can be observed. A situation that seems to reflect the progressive de-structuring of the old Neolithic social, cosmogonic and ontological frameworks and a transitional context, where what is fading away and what will become dominant coexist in the funerary world. In this context, the individuality of the “Ferradeira” contexts represents what would become the dominance in the second millennium BC, expressing, in the funerary rituals, the social changes occurred in the late 3rd millennium BC. Finally, the issue of mobility. In face of the present available data it is hard to value the isotopic results obtained for the male of Herdade do Álamo and the female of Bela Vista 5, both adults, buried 3 km away and providing radiocarbon dates practically identical. They are the only individuals analysed for 87Sr/86Sr for the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal. If the female of Bela Vista 5 seems to be local, the results for the male of Herdade do Álamo shows mobility in youth, indicating a possible foreign origin to the local area. A movement, though, that might not have represented a grate displacement, since the values that fell out of the local range are, for instance, within the local range of Perdigões enclosure (Valera etal., 2020b), just 50km northwest. However, only with much more individuals analysed for this period and region these results may be properly valued. The approach to regional human mobility in the Late Prehistory of the South of Portugal has just recently started, with a first study of 69 individuals of Perdigões and some from local megalithic monuments (Valera etal., 2020b). A high degree of short and medium range mobility was detected for Perdigões during the Chalcolithic (second and third quarter of the 3rd millennium BC), results that must be valued having in consideration the nature of the site, interpreted manly as ceremonial aggregation centre, integrated in a large-scale interaction network, and with a significant capacity of attraction of people. Theoretically, it is expectable that, by the end of the 3rd millennium BC, the disruption of the Chalcolithic settlement networks in South Portugal and its substitution by more disperse and transitory sites, difficult to identify in the archaeological record, corresponded to an increase in the patterns of regional and local mobility. But that assumption remains to be tested. 108 92-112 ISSN: 1133-4525 ISSN-e: 2255-3924 SPAL 31.1 (2022) The “Ferradeira” individual burial of Herdade do Álamo (Beja): facets of social change in the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal António Carlos Valera et al. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/spal.2022.i31.04 CONCLUSIONS The study of the Herdade do Álamo grave joins a set of analytic studies that provide new relevant data for the approach to the social and cultural settings of the late 3rd millennium BC in South Portugal. This burial integrates a “version” of the funerary practices of the period, formalized by a renewed concept of “Ferradeira”, destitute from its original historical culturalist theoretical framework, and restricted to designate specific assemblages, mainly (but not exclusively) of funerary nature. These practices are characterized by individual burials, associated to a polythetic assemblage comprising copper tools (daggers, arrow heads, awls), wrist guards, and undecorated pottery (some with beaker shapes). The assemblage present in the Herdade do Álamo burial was composed exclusively by weapons (a dagger and three Palmela points). Their chemical analysis is consistent with the known data for metallurgy from the second half of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, confirming that this is a period that can be considered a transition step between purer copper-based metallurgy, typical of the earlier Chalcolithic contexts, and a more accentuated arsenical copper production from the Middle Bronze Age. Its placement at the entrance of an earlier Chalcolithic ditched enclosure follows a pattern of reuse of past meaningful places and monuments, that seems to be an important aspect of the funerary practices of this period of accelerated social change, with contradictory tendencies that characterize the complexity of the process. It expresses a new ideological discourse associated to the individuation and to the specificities of the votive assemblages, where the intentional exclusion of the beaker decoration must be intended as a statement and not just as a simple cultural particularism. Founding and acknowledgements To NIA-ERA Arqueologia for research support. To the Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) for financing the radiocarbon dating. To Rui Mataloto, for his comments on a preliminary version of the paper. Archaeometallurgical analyses were funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the project UIDP/04449/2020(HERCULES Laboratory). To the reviewers for their comments to improve the paper. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES Almeida, N. and Valera,a.C. (2021) “Animal consumption and social change: the vertebrates from Ditch 7 in the context of a 2diachronicapproach to the faunal remains at Perdigões enclosure (3400-2000 BC)”, Archaeofauna. International Journal of Archaeozoology, 30. https://doi. org/10.15366/archaeofauna2021.30.005 Aranda Jiménez, G. (2014) “La memoria como forma de resistencia cultural. Continuidad y reutilización de espacios funerarios colectivos en época argárica”, In: E. 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