Son Matge
The rock shelter ( Abri ) of Son Matge is located on the "Puig de sa Bombarda" near Valldemossa , on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca . Archaeologists Guillem Rosselló Bordoy and William H. Waldren carried out numerous excavations here between 1968 and 1975.
The prehistoric finds dating back to the Bronze Age (1870 ± 120 BC) include skeletal remains of Myotragus balearicus , an extinct goat species that has been native to the Balearic Islands since the Pliocene (5.3 to 1.8 million years ago) . These most recent skeletons (also found in the Cova de Muleta in 1908) show that the cave goat was probably exterminated around this time. The fragments were taken to the Deià museum.
The strong animals, which reached 60 cm shoulder height and weighed up to 70 kg, had short, sharp horns: their lower incisors were extremely large, similar to beavers.
Finds
From the second half of the 2nd millennium BC There are finds of simple ceramics , typical prism-shaped and pyramidal bone heads with V-shaped perforation, bronze awls and an ivory comb with geometric incisions. Another main find was the "Dama de Son Matge" (Lady of Son Matge), a small, highly abstract stone sculpture with a detached head and recessed eyes from the second half of the Bronze Age (from 1200 BC), which is a little reminiscent of the Statuary memorials reminiscent of Iberian and Occitan tradition.
Son Matge also buried a talayotic head with a bronze sword, along with thousands of human remains that were covered with burnt lime and provided with additions. These include vessels with unknown contents, jewelry, some weapons and tools. This type of burial began on the border between the Bronze and Iron Ages (around 800 BC) and continued into the 1st century AD.
literature
- J. Aramburu, C. Garrido, V. Sastre: Guía Arqueológica de Mallorca. Olañeta Editor, Palma de Mallorca, 1994, pp. 216-219.
- Mark Van Strydonck: From Myotragus to Metellus . A journey into the prehistory and early history of Mallorca and Menorca. LIBRUM, Hochwald 2014, ISBN 978-3-9524038-8-4 , p. 43–47 (Dutch: Monumentaal en mysterieus - Reis door de prehistorie van Mallorca en Menorca . Leuwen 2002. Translated by Jürgen K. Schmitt).
- Guy De Mulder, Mark Van Strydonck: Un descubrimiento imprevisto: nuevos hallazgos de cerámica en Son Matge . In: Bolletí de la Societat Arqueològica Lul liana . Volume 68, 2012, pp. 15-25 (Spanish).
Coordinates: 39 ° 41 ′ 38.1 ″ N , 2 ° 37 ′ 37.3 ″ E