Abstract
A group of beads from the artificial cave of La Molina (Lora de Estepa, Sevilla) and Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona) were made from a biogenic raw material and intentionally covered by a layer of resin. This is the first time this type of treatment has been documented on elements of adornment in the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The composition and nature of the coatings are analysed and the symbolic role of such alterations and imitations of prehistoric adornments is discussed.
Highlights
Since the Upper Palaeolithic, the unique translucent reddish-yellow colour of amber has made this resinite sought after for personal ornamentation, e.g. beads, pendants, charms. . . [1], conferring on an important symbolic value in European Prehistory
The use of beads covered by tree resin has been documented for the first time at the artificial cave of La Molina (Lora de Estepa, Sevilla) and Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona), dated in the third and second millennia BC respectively
Organic materials acquired and available in the environment were used both for the cores and the coating. This is especially clear in the way Cardium shells were used at the coastal site of Cova del Gegant and most likely seeds at La Molina
Summary
Since the Upper Palaeolithic, the unique translucent reddish-yellow colour of amber has made this resinite sought after for personal ornamentation, e.g. beads, pendants, charms. . . [1], conferring on an important symbolic value in European Prehistory. Since the Upper Palaeolithic, the unique translucent reddish-yellow colour of amber has made this resinite sought after for personal ornamentation, e.g. beads, pendants, charms. The utmost importance to prehistoric societies of colour categories and their impact to show, emphasize and materialize codes, metaphors and narratives has been highlighted by several authors [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Altering the genuine colour of raw materials or products by means of technically controlled processes to obtain a desired effect seems to have been a usual practice in past societies, this technical behaviour has been occasionally recorded and studied. Colour modification practices in personal ornaments goes back to the Upper Palaeolithic, when in Franchthi Cave (Greece) perforated shell beads were thermally altered to obtain black hues [11]. During the Neolithic much more complex processes of thermal colour
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