Talaiotic culture
Its name is derived from the talaiots, which are the most abundant and emblematic structures from the prehistoric period of the Balearic Islands.
The Talaiotic Culture arose at the same time that the crisis caused by the Sea Peoples was occurring, which had revolutionized societies in this part of the Mediterranean until the 13th century BC.
The first evidence indicating the development of this culture appeared at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, when island society was threatened by population increases, inefficient food production, and limited living space.
This technique resulted in a rapid deterioration of fertile land, and may be the main cause for the almost completely meat-based diet of the islanders towards the end of the Bronze Age.
At the beginning of the first millennium BC, talaiots began to proliferate on Majorca, either appearing in isolated fashion as a territorial boundary stone, or in towns, but mostly grouped together in ceremonial centers.
The abundance of these centers serves as evidence of their importance: most likely they were where frequent disputes were resolved, and where various festivities were celebrated.
The funerary monuments of Majorca were varied, a characteristic similar to the previous age: burials were made in natural caves and in hypogea.
A 3,200-year-old well-preserved Bronze Age sword was discovered by archaeologists under the leadership of Jaume Deya and Pablo Galera on the Mallorca Island in the Puigpunyent from the stone megaliths site Talaiot.
Five samples from individuals that were alive in the Talaiotic period were taken for genetic analysis; the individual found in the funerary monument of Naveta des Tudons (Ciutadella), dated between 904-817 BC, had Y-chromosome R1b-P312, his autosomal components were ~65% Anatolian farmer, ~15% Western hunter-gatherer, ~20% Yamnaya.
[2] Two individuals of the collective burial cave Es Forat de ses Aritges (Ciutadella) had the Y-chromosome R1b-M269, another the derived clade R1b-P312, and another the subclade R1b-Z195.
