New series of radiocarbon data on human bone for Zumacales dolmen (Simancas, Valladolid). Thinking about the temporality of the megalithic phenomenon in the Spanish Northern Meseta

This article analyses the funerary sequence of a megalithic monument in the Northern Meseta, "Los Zumacales" dolmen (Simancas, Valladolid). This site was previously dated to around the first half of the 4th millennium cal BC. Now, twelve radiocarbon dates by AMS, obtained from human bones, selected among the minimum number of individuals represented in the ossuary, are presented. The Bayesian modeling of these new dates offers a chronological framework for this site between 3846-3756 and 3627-3550 cal BC (I sigma), which overlaps with the first regional megalithic funerary series. It has also been possible to detect that most of the dates are concentrated in the first third of the 4th millennium cal BC, revealing a probably more intense use in its early stage. The analysis has also made it possible to identify an individual deposited at the beginning of the Chalcolithic period, something which, while considering the possibility of an incorrect date, would mean the recognition of a later reuse not previously documented.