Banquets at Iberian Argarics Peninsulawhere the horse meat achieved a particular value, they were part of a practice linked to food but also to the social hierarchy. These meetings functioned as public ceremonies during which bonds were strengthened and power displayed. Eating together reinforced belonging to the group and marked the position of those who could offer rare or expensive animals.
Horse meat, valued for its rarity and the effort required to raise it, symbolized prestige and power. The sacrifice of several specimens required resources thatand only certain sectors could meetr. The festivals thus became scenes of social affirmation, expression of abundance and opportunities to seal pacts or celebrate achievements. Its organization required planning, selection of animals and a space where the entire community could participate or, at least, witness the event. These types of celebrations, although linked to the food domain, also functioned as political instrument within the populations of the southeastern peninsula.
Horse meat, a luxury reserved for the richest sectors
The discovery of Penalosa confirmed this public and ceremonial dimension of food. In the colony’s acropolis, a team of archaeologists located a circular pit of slate and clay mortar full of animal remains. The study, carried out by specialists from the University of Granada and CSIC and published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences, documents more than 2,000 bone fragments deposited at the bottom of shaft E50.44.
The most represented species were the horse, the pig, the red deer, the cow and the rabbit. Researchers interpret that these are the waste of a great banquetdeveloped around 3,800 years ago, during the mid-Bronze Age. The elevated position of the venue and its proximity to the main settlements suggest that the meeting took place in a space reserved for the ruling groups.
Hypotheses about the reason for this banquet suggest several possibilities. Some authors propose a ritual linked to metallurgythe activity that gave prestige to Peñalosa for its role in copper production. Others think of a celebration linked to internal alliances or with the memory of high-ranking personalities. The matches with the species found in the Argaric tombs are partial, the event therefore seems to have had a function other than funerary. The unique character of the deposit and the abundance of horses, an unusual animal for daily consumption, reinforce the idea of ​​an extraordinary event prepared for strengthen group cohesion or display power to other colonies.
The Peñalosa excavations allowed us to observe in detail the social structure of The Argar. This celebration reveals that Bronze Age elites were not limited to controlling agricultural or metallurgical production, but used banquets as a political tool. Bringing residents together around the meat of a prestigious animal created bonds and dependencies. The presence of adult horses, slaughtered at least in groups of five, suggests a considerable expense. In addition, the distribution of the pieces between the participants could have served to affirm the hierarchy, by assigning each group a specific share. These data broaden the picture of a a more flexible and complex society than previously thought, where food acted as a means of negotiation and control.
Analysis of the bones shows careful disassembly and planned organization
The zooarchaeological analysis of the site completes the interpretation. 46% of the bones show cuts made with stone or metal tools, indicating a neat cut. Horses have the highest percentage of marks, with 60% of fragments affected. The variety of body parts represented shows that They consumed everything from pieces containing abundant meat to smaller fragments.perhaps distributed among different groups.
The researchers found that most of the animals were adults and there were virtually no burned bones, implying that the remains were thrown away after consumption and did not come directly from cooking fires. Some fragments retain traces of dog bitesconfirming that they remained exposed before being buried in the tomb.
The E50.44 deposit is, for the moment, a unique case in the Argaric register. Studying it allows us to imagine the scale of this banquet and the importance it acquired within the community. The gathering around horse meat in the upper part of the city marks a turning point in the understanding of the non-funeral rituals of the Iberian southeast. Archaeologists are convinced that The identification of this type of structure in other urban areas broadens the vision of a society which, almost four millennia ago, found a form of power and memory around the table.
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