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10. ELITE, CITIZENS AND SLAVES
Detail of AY21, with the bones of the baby highlighted.
General view of tomb AY21 depicting the remains of a woman and a newborn baby. ELITE, CITIZENS AND SLAVES
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Thanks to other investigations, we know that bearing halberds means belonging to the Argaric ruling class12. Only 10% of the population belonged to this elite who, over time, made their rights inheritable13. The rest were people with certain social rights or “citizenship” (50%) and servants or slaves (40%). In the second phase of La Almoloya, burials of all these groups have been documented. Tombs AY21 and AY24 are a good example of the offerings that were deposited in the funerary rituals of individuals with citizenship rights.
The first one, AY21, contained the remains of a woman and a baby. Both were buried simultaneously, as their limbs appeared entwined: the woman’s right arm is resting on the baby’s head, while one leg of the baby rests on her right leg. The two bodies were oriented in the same direction and with semi-flexed legs, but the new-born rested on his left side, while the woman lay on her back with the limbs to the right.
Dagger found in AY21 with remains of textile adhering to the blade.
5 cm
The offerings included a copper awl found on top of the baby’s remains, near to the woman’s right elbow. Here, we also found a copper dagger and the bones of two meat portions of a sheep. Throughout the Argaric, copper awls only appear in female tombs. The typical grave goods of these women include, besides the awl, a knife or dagger.
Another burial of the Argaric “intermediate class” is AY24. It is a very interesting tomb because the large stone tomb contained a wooden “coffin” whose traces have been preserved.
It is, again, a double tomb. The remains of the man buried first were moved to make room for a woman who, as expected, lay on her right side. The grave goods were formed by the well-known association of dagger and awl, in addition to two pottery vessels and a portion of meat.
On the left, AY24 with the roofing slabs fallen inside the tomb.
