The Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean, Spain) were the last islands of the Mediterranean Sea to be colonized. This happened at the end of the III millennium cal BCE by settlers related to the Bell Beaker phenomenon. During most of the II millennium BCE, during the Bronze Age, they were settled by groups more or less homogeneous, known as Naviform (boat-shaped) societies. In the isle of Formentera, prehistoric human occupation is associated with insularity factors, including an extreme environment. Cap de Barbaria II is one of the biggest open-air naviform villages occupied during this period in Formentera, where different funerary sites such as Ca na Costa or Cova 127 have been also investigated. Recently, multidisciplinary archaeological research conducted within these sites revealed specific trends and suggested adaptation of the economic behaviour of these settlers to an environment poor in resources. In this sense, aspects such as innovation, diversification, and intensification in the use of resources characterized the subsistence and technological patterns developed by the prehistoric inhabitants of Formentera. Here, I will present new data from different archaeological and paleoenvironmental studies in order to reveal subsistence patterns and social practices from this particular archeological context in comparison with the rest of the archipelago.

Ponencia expuesta en el Workshop All hands on Deck: a dialogue between island archaeologies (2021) celebrada en Las Palmas del 1-4 de diciembre.

Peer reviewed