Bone tools for the deceased: Approaches to the worked osseous assemblage from the Bronze Age funerary cave of Biniadris (Menorca, Spain)

Around 3400 years ago, extraordinary funerary practices and rituals were practiced at Biniadris Cave, located on the side of a cliff face on the island of Menorca (Spain). Both women and men of different ages were buried inside this natural cavern measuring approximately 10m2. Thanks to the preliminary fieldwork carried out during 2014, a wide range of personal objects comprising personal objects and clothing came to light in addition to the human bones. At present, among them, there is an assemblage of fourteen V-perforated buttons, at least eleven of which are made from bone and at least three from wild boar tusk. All these items display a great uniformity in their morphology in terms of what could be seen when they were worn. There is, however, no standardization regarding the width and placement of the perforations. Following microscopic analysis, it is clear that these were personal objects used over the long-term and placed with the dead as dress accessories during the funeral ritual itself. Furthermore, the use of ochre as an additional decorative element was observed, covering most of the surface of these buttons.