Valencina De La Research Articles

From the Mountain and the Sea: Provenance of the Stones of the Prehistoric La Pastora Tholos (Valencina de la Concepción, Seville, Spain)

La Pastora tholos is the most complete and characteristic megalithic monument of the Valencina de la Concepción-Castilleja de Guzmán mega-site. This monument was built using three types of rock, each with different functions and coming from three different places: Paleozoic quartzarenite, granite, and Tertiary calcareous sandstone. A detailed petrological study of the rocks of the tholos and outcrops of similar rocks in the surroundings has been carried out, locating the possible source areas in areas at least 30 km to the N of the monument for the quartzarenite, 15 km for the granite, and 15 km to the S for the sandstone. Therefore, the community that built the monument has a high knowledge of the nature by, which allows them to locate these resources, and a sufficient social organization to exploit them and move them to the mega-site. In this sense, the layout of the outcrops suggests the possible use of boats or rafts to facilitate their displacement, or at least part of their movement.

Investigating the Late Chalcolithic pottery production and consumption at Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, SW-Spain): An archaeometric analysis using petrographic and LA-ICP-MS techniques

This paper discusses the results of an archaeometric analysis carried out on undecorated Late Chalcolithic ceramics from Valencina de la Concepción, which is one of the largest and most important Chalcolithic settlements in the southern Iberian Peninsula. The purpose of the study is to contribute to the debate on the socio-economic organization and exchange networks of the site during the third millennium BCE in the Lower Guadalquivir Basin. Petrographic and chemical analysis by LA-ICP-MS of compressed ultrafine powder pellets were used to analyze selected ceramic samples (n = 42) from Valencina and reference clay samples (n = 62) from different locations in the Aljarafe plateau. This study sheds light on possible raw material sources, the choice strategy of raw materials, and certain aspects of production technologies employed for Late Chalcolithic ceramics found at Valencina de la Concepción.The archaeometric analysis revealed that a significant portion of the ceramics, especially plates and platters manufactured primarily using coarse clays, are largely non-local production. However, there was also a limited availability of local production. This study emphasizes the central role of Valencina in the exchange network of the Lower Guadalquivir Basin during the Late Chalcolithic period. This study further demonstrates the wide variety of clay resources available throughout the Aljarafe region and provides solid reference material for further archaeometric analyses of ancient ceramic materials in this region.

Gastrochaenolites as Palaeoenvironmental Information Traps: The Case of the Tholos of La Pastora (Valencina de la Concepción, SW Spain)

ABSTRACT In the Mio-Pliocene calcareous sandstone slabs used as capstones at La Pastora tholos in the Copper Age megasite of Valencina de la Concepción-Castilleja de Guzmán (SW Spain), marine bioerosion structures produced in the 3rd millennium BCE were recognised. In this work, we focus on the perforations made by the lithophage bivalve Petricola lithophaga, called Gastrochaenolites, specifically on its functionality as a ‘trap’ of sediment of the environment where they were produced and of which there are no observable outcrops. The microfaunal content consisting of planktonic and benthic foraminifera as well as ostracods was studied. It was possible to infer the palaeoenvironmental conditions of the place where the slabs were quarried, c. 4700–4600 years ago, which correspond to a wide marine bay. The presence of benthic foraminifera like Astrononium stelligerum, Elphidum crispum, Ammonia beccarii and ostracods like Loxoconcha elliptica and Cytherois fischeri implies that the sector of the bay had a water temperature of no more than 20°C, a bathymetry between 0 and 25 m of depth. Also, episodes of fluvial influence caused a variation in water salinity between 30 and 35‰, attested by the presence of euryhaline species of ostracods from low energy environments and clay substrates, thus confirming estuarine conditions.

El ámbar de la Cueva de los Cuarenta (Priego de Córdoba, Córdoba)

La presencia de objetos exóticos en contextos arqueológicos y los intercambios a larga distancia que estos implican es uno de los temas que despierta más interés en la discusión arqueológica. En este artículo presentamos el estudio de una cuenta o colgante hallado en contextos neolíticos de la Cueva de los Cuarenta (Priego de Córdoba). Se trata del único elemento de adorno presente en la cueva, en la que se ha documentado un número mínimo de 41 inhumaciones datadas a lo largo del IV milenio cal ANE. Se presenta la información contextual del hallazgo así como su caracterización arqueométrica mediante Espectroscopía de Infrarrojos por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR). El análisis de la pieza muestra que se trata de una cuenta de ámbar realizada con material foráneo, similar al empleado en las producciones de ámbar posteriores como las de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla). Al igual que en estos casos, se propone la procedencia exógena de la materia prima empleada, siendo Sicilia el origen más plausible a día de hoy, lo cual contribuirá al debate sobre las implicaciones que estos materiales foráneos pudieron tener en las sociedades prehistóricas peninsulares.

La población no adulta del asentamiento de la Edad del Cobre de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla): una aproximación demográfica, contextual y sociológica

A partir de la revisión de estudios previos y de la aportación de datos inéditos se realiza un análisis de la población no adulta del asentamiento de la Edad del Cobre de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla). En total se examinan 39 sujetos no adultos inhumados en contenedores funerarios de distinto tipo y repartidos a lo largo de la amplia cronología de este asentamiento. Como resultado se constata la alta variabilidad de la proporción de este segmento de la población en las estructuras funerarias de Valencina así como la existencia de indicios de un tratamiento diferenciado para el mismo. Como parte de la discusión se examina la asociación de estos individuos con tipos de contenedores funerarios, individuos adultos y ajuares, valorándose su significación demográfica y social.

Assembling the Dead, Gathering the Living: Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Modelling for Copper Age Valencina de la Concepci\xf3n (Seville, Spain)

The great site of Valencina de la Concepción, near Seville in the lower Guadalquivir valley of southwest Spain, is presented in the context of debate about the nature of Copper Age society in southern Iberia as a whole. Many aspects of the layout, use, character and development of Valencina remain unclear, just as there are major unresolved questions about the kind of society represented there and in southern Iberia, from the late fourth to the late third millennium cal BC. This paper discusses 178 radiocarbon dates, from 17 excavated sectors within the c. 450 ha site, making it the best dated in later Iberian prehistory as a whole. Dates are modelled in a Bayesian statistical framework. The resulting formal date estimates provide the basis for both a new epistemological approach to the site and a much more detailed narrative of its development than previously available. Beginning in the 32nd century cal BC, a long-lasting tradition of simple, mainly collective and often successive burial was established at the site. Mud-vaulted tholoi appear to belong to the 29th or 28th centuries cal BC; large stone-vaulted tholoi such as La Pastora appear to date later in the sequence. There is plenty of evidence for a wide range of other activity, but no clear sign of permanent, large-scale residence or public buildings or spaces. Results in general support a model of increasingly competitive but ultimately unstable social relations, through various phases of emergence, social competition, display and hierarchisation, and eventual decline, over a period of c. 900 years.

The gold of the Carambolo Treasure: New data on its origin by elemental (LA-ICP-MS) and lead isotope (MC-ICP-MS) analysis

The Carambolo Treasure (Seville, Spain), is a key collection of materials from the 1st Millennium BC Mediterranean. Besides the uniqueness, technical complexity and beauty of this assemblage of gold associated with the mythical name of Tartessos, the treasure has been at the epicentre of debates over the last 50 years regarding the Phoenician presence in the west and the origin of the first great western civilization. However, the absence of a precise archaeological context and systematic analyses aimed at identifying the source of the supply of gold have led to diverse and conflicting interpretations in terms of its functionality (ritual from a Phoenician temple versus ostentation of a palatial royalty), and origin (Atlantic vs Eastern Mediterranean).New chemical (by LA-ICP-MS) and isotopic data (Pb by MC-ICP-MS) are presented in this work, which provide an alternative interpretation. The results suggest that the origins of the gold may not be thousands of kilometres away, in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, but rather in the same region. We highlight geochemical similarities with the gold of the preceding 3rd Millennium BC civilization, with its main political and economic hub at Valencina de la Concepción, located just 2000 m from the Carambolo itself.

The Mega-Site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain): Debating Settlement Form, Monumentality and Aggregation in Southern Iberian Copper Age Societies

Study of the Iberian Copper Age has experienced a remarkable upheaval in the last two decades. The discovery in central and southwestern Iberia of a significant number of ditched enclosures, a site type almost unknown in this region until the mid 1990s, has opened up new lines of research. Particularly interesting is the existence of some exceptionally large sites. Largest of all is Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain), covering an area of 450 ha and featuring several outstanding megalithic monuments, thousands of pits and material assemblages revealing middle and long distance contacts. In this paper we discuss the implications of the Valencina mega-site for the study of settlement variability, monumentality and population aggregation as key phenomena in the rise in social complexity in Copper Age Iberia.

Algunos hallazgos votivos y suntuarios en hueso y marfil del yacimiento calcolítico de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla)

The Calcolithic site of Valencina de la Concepcion (Sevilla) presents an abundant record of sumptuous and votive objects made from different raw materials. The aim of this paper is to gather some of the artefacts made in bone and ivory which have been published since the twentieth century, to try to understand and to highlight some of the interpretations of this complex site of peninsular Southwest.

The allure of rock crystal in Copper Age southern Iberia: Technical skill and distinguished objects from Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain)

Rock crystal appears relatively frequently in Late Prehistoric Iberian sites, especially in the form of micro-blades and knapping debris. With some exceptions, however, these finds have seldom been looked into in any detail, and therefore little is known about the technology involved in the use of this material, its social and economic relevance or its symbolic significance. In this paper we examine a collection of rock crystal artefacts recently found at Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), one of the largest 3rd millennium BC sites in Western Europe. Among the objects included in this study are a long dagger blade, twenty-five arrowheads and a core, all of which form the most technically sophisticated and esthetically impressive collection of rock crystal material culture ever found in Prehistoric Iberia. Through the analysis of the procedures and techniques applied in the production of these objects, the chemical characterisation of the raw materials through Raman spectroscopy and RTI image processing and the careful assessment of the archaeological contexts in which they were found, this paper makes a robust contribution towards the study of the role of rock crystal in Copper Age technology and society. Recent research suggest that Valencina was a major node in the circulation of exotic materials such as ivory, amber, cinnabar or flint in Copper Age Iberia, which provides a very good background to assess the relevance of rock crystal as a traded commodity. In addition we discuss the role of rock crystal as a marker of status in large megalithic monuments, as well as its possible symbolic connotations.

A Reappraisal of Iberian Copper Age Goldwork: Craftmanship, Symbolism and Art in a Non-funerary Gold Sheet from Valencina de la Concepción

Taking as a point of departure the in-depth analysis and description of an exceptional discovery, consisting of a large hammered gold sheet decorated with embossed motifs from the well-known Chalcolithic settlement of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), this article presents a general appraisal of the social and ideological role of gold in Copper Age Iberia. The information available for this find, including both its context and its inherent characteristics, opens up new perspectives for research into the technology, use, sociology and symbolism of gold during this time period. We describe and analyse this unique item in detail, including the characterization of the raw material used and the manufacturing process (via SEM-BSE and LA-ICP-MS), as well as an extensive reconstruction of the graphic motifs that are represented, by using digital imaging processing techniques (RTI). We compare this find with the data currently available for the (approximately) 100 Chalcolithic golden artefacts (or fragments of artefacts) found in Iberia to date. Finally, we present an appraisal of the social and ideological framework in which gold was used in Copper Age Iberia, discussing its relevance in aspects such as the dynamics of social complexity, worldviews or artistic creations.

A Palaeodietary Study of Stable Isotope Analysis from a High‐status Burial in the Copper Age: The Montelirio Megalithic Structure at Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán, Spain

AbstractThis palaeodietary study presents carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from human and faunal skeletal remains from the Copper Age settlement of Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán, located in Seville, Spain. Montelirio, the only Valencina–Castilleja human group from which we have obtained reliable palaeodietary results, had a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources, including both plants and animals. The protein component of the diet consisted mainly of meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant protein from cereals and pulses. This study compares data from Montelirio, the Copper Age group from Valencina–Castilleja, with the published data from other Iberian Late Neolithic–Copper Age (LN‐CA) societies. This comparison reveals a homogeneous diet with some exceptions. Overall, the LN‐CA diet in the Iberian Peninsula consisted mainly of animal proteins from meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant sources from the characteristic agriculture of the societies of these periods. This study also demonstrates the minor use of aquatic resources from the Neolithic to the Copper Age period in the Iberian Peninsula. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Gold in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the 3rd Millennium BC

In the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, one of the main gold mining regions in Western Europe, the presence of the first gold products are noted in the archaeological records of 3rd Millennium BC megalithic tombs, at some distance from the mining districts. The lack of systematic programmes to analyse such archaeological gold finds has led them to being identified as ornamental finds, of undetermined chronology, linked to a simple manufacturing technology of hammering gold nuggets of an uncertain origin or from the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as items with a purely symbolic or ‘prestige’ value in the funerary practices of simple group-oriented or collaborative chiefdoms. But however, the first documentation, radiocarbon dating and systematic analysis of these products in settlement contexts has altered this interpretation.The presence of gold manufactures during the third quarter of the 3rd Millennium BC (c. 2500–2350 cal. BC) in the contexts of a settlement specialised in copper production such as Cabezo Juré, in the South-western mining region (Huelva, Spain), and in the contexts of a huge central site such as Valencina de la Concepción, in the agrarian region of the Lower Guadalquivir Basin (Seville, Spain), points to the widespread social use of gold in the period of maximum expression of the inter-settlement hierarchisation in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, its link with the social spaces of inequality expression and their relationship with a complex production system. Geochemical characterization by LA-ICP-MS, lead isotopes analysis by MC-ICP-MS and metallographic study suggest two differentiated and independent supplies of raw material systems (fluvial placers vs. mines and local vs. regional scale), with at least four source areas, the regional circulation of raw material or products and a manufacturing by a metallurgical technology linked to the copper production.

Marine bioerosion in rocks of the prehistoric tholos of La Pastora (Valencina de la Concepción, Seville, Spain): archaeological and palaeoenvironmental implications

In this study we examined the materials used in the building of the tholos of La Pastora located in the archaeological site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), which represents the largest settlement of the Guadalquivir Valley during the Third millennium BC. Three different types of rock were found: Palaeozoic sandstone-shale, which forms the walls of both the corridor and the chamber; Palaeozoic granite, which makes up part of the roof slabs; and Neogene calcareous sandstone, which forms the remainder of the roof and floor slabs, as well as the jambs, lintels and some blocks of the walls of the chamber. Intense marine bioerosion as a result of the activity of bivalves, annelids and sponges was observed in some elements of the calcareous sandstone. In fact, the remains of some of the tracemakers were unusually well-preserved, as was the case for the bivalve Petricola lithophaga, whose shells remain in many of their burrows. We infer that these bioerosion structures were formed in a shallow coastal environment (intertidal), and that bioerosion was possible until the few moments before its extraction as construction material. Thereby, the environment in which rock extraction took place was likely a coastal wave-cut platform, in which calcareous sandstone levels outcropped and stood out between clay layers. The radiocarbon dates obtained from these bivalve shells provide a time range between 4780 and 4400 cal yr BP (2830–2450 yr BC) as the highest probability for rock extraction and the subsequent building of the tholos. Thus, the date represents a “Terminus Post Quem” for the construction of the monument of La Pastora.

Ivory Craftsmanship, Trade and Social Significance in the Southern Iberian Copper Age: The Evidence from the PP4-Montelirio Sector of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain)

Because of its great potential to provide data on contacts and overseas trade, ivory has aroused a great deal of interest since the very start of research into Iberian late prehistory. Research recently undertaken by the German Archaeological Institute in Madrid in collaboration with a number of other institutions has provided valuable contributions to the study of ivory in the Iberian Copper Age and Early Bronze Age. One of the archaeological sites that is contributing the most data for analysing ivory from the Copper Age in southern Iberia is Valencina de la Concepción (Seville), which is currently the focus of several debates on the development of social complexity. This article contributes to this line of research by providing new, unpublished evidence and by examining the significance of ivory craftsmanship in commercial, social, and ideological terms. It also assesses in greater detail the prominent part played by luxury ivory items as an expression of social status and power.

The ivory workshop of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain) and the identification of ivory from Asian elephant on the Iberian Peninsula in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC

During excavations in the huge ditched enclosure of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), the main centre from the first hierarchical framework-settlement in the Guadalquivir Valley, a pit with remains of a context for producing ivory artefacts, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, was discovered in the large metallurgical nucleate workshops. Scientific (Optical Microscopy, FIRT and Raman Spectroscopy, C/N Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) analyses revealed that the ivory belonged to Asian elephants and the archaeological study, which was made in a specialized workshop context. In this paper we present the archaeological context, the study of the ivory artefacts and the state of research on ivory in the Lower Guadalquivir Basin during the 3rd millennium BC. In a parallel way, this paper discusses the significance of this workshop context in the configuration and function of the long distance circulation of raw material and the specialized craft areas in the first political centres.

Allochthonous red pigments used in burial practices at the Copper Age site of Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla, Spain): characterisation and social dimension

The use of red pigments linked to burial practices is widely documented in the Iberian prehistoric record and very often it has been traditionally interpreted as a ritual practice entailing the utilisation of local raw materials (iron oxides). Some research works, nevertheless, have also detected the use of red pigments which can only be interpreted as allochthonous. The red pigments spread over a single inhumation in a monumental Megalithic tomb surrounding Valencina de la Concepción Copper Age settlement was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray microfluorescence, micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. This approach allowed characterising the red pigments as cinnabar, mixed with tiny amounts of iron oxides. The presence of cinnabar, a product that was necessarily imported, in a context of an exceptional set of grave goods, suggests that the use of cinnabar was linked not only to ritual but also to practices related to the display of social status.

New evidence on the spatial organisation of the Valencina de la Concepción Copper Age settlement: geophysical survey between La Pastora and Montelirio

The major Copper Age settlement of Valencina de la Concepcion has been the subject of research interest over more than a century. The history of previous investigations at the site has resulted in a heterogeneous archaeological record that is particularly difficult and that displays significant gaps and problems. In this paper, we present the results of a geophysical survey carried out in December 2004 between the La Pastora and Montelirio sectors of this site in response to a proposed road development that was never put into practice, and which revealed several previously unknown features. These data are assessed in the light of the results obtained from the excavation carried out between 2007 and 2008 at the immediately adjacent sector of PP4-Montelirio , currently under study by us, where several dozen prehistoric features (both, non-megalithic and megalithic, funerary and non-funerary), were found. Altogether, this new evidence makes a significant contribution to the spatial interpretation of the Valencina de la Concepcion site, particularly as they convey the first-ever cartography of a large area of this settlement. From this evidence, a discussion is made concerning the density and diversity of the features identified both between La Pastora and Montelirio as well as at the PP4-Montelirio sector, their potential patterns and sequence. This raises questions regarding the traditional separation of the site into ‘settlement’ and ‘necropolis’ areas and contributes more generally to a better understanding of the spatial organisation of this large prehistoric settlement.

Amber Sources and Trade in the Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula

The use of amber is documented in the Iberian peninsula since the Palaeolithic. The procurement and trade of this fossil resin has often been considered in discussions of long-distance trade and the emergence of social complexity, but so far no comprehensive view of the Iberian evidence has been produced to allow a more overarching interpretive model. This paper presents the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) characterization of archaeological amber from three Iberian prehistoric sites: a necklace recovered from the megalithic site of Palacio III (Almadén de la Plata, Sevilla), a pommel from PP4 Montelirio (Valencina de la Concepción, Sevilla), and a necklace from the Muricecs de Cellers cave (Llimiana, Pallars Jussà, Lleida). Based on these new data and a review of the literature, we present an overview that outlines fluctuations in the use of amber since the Upper Palaeolithic and demonstrates long-distance amber exchange connecting Iberia with northern Europe and the Mediterranean region since the Chalcolithic period at least. We discuss changes in the origins and cultural use of amber and their implications for the consolidation of trade networks.

The Copper Age Settlement of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain): Demography, Metallurgy and Spatial Organization

This paper presents the results obtained from a review of the archaeological record available for the prehistoric site of Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain), one of the most important settlements of SW Iberia in the 3 rd and 2 nd millennia BC. Two main variables, namely demography and metallurgical production, are examined in the light of both conventional and spatial statistical methods (with particular emphasis on significance testing) with the aim of assessing the wider issue of social complexity. Among the various conclusions emerging from this empirical study, two stand out. Firstly, neither the correlation between the total extension of the settlement and the complexity of its internal organisation, nor the spatial delimitation between domestic/productive and funerary practices is as straightforward as previously claimed. Secondly, no simple, clear-cut statistical patterns are found in the spatial distribution of human remains or metal objects. These conclusions provide the basis for a critique of currently held interpretations of Valencina de la Concepcion as the political centre of an early state extending across the lower Guadalquivir valley.