Document details

Distribution and consumption of fluorite and translucent beads in the Iberian peninsula from 6th to 2nd millennia BC

Author(s): Garrido-Cordero, José Ángel ; Odriozola, Carlos ; Sousa, Ana Catarina ; Gonçalves, Victor S. ; Cardoso, João Luís

Date: 2020

Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/10539

Origin: Repositório Aberto da Universidade Aberta

Subject(s): Late prehistory; Iberia; Beads; Fluorite; Translucent minerals; Neolithic; Copper Age; Bronze Age; Raman spectroscopy; XRD; NIR; Prehistoria reciente; Península ibérica; Cuentas; Fluorita; Minerales translúcidos; Neolítico; Edad del Cobre; Edad del Bronce; Espectroscopia Raman; DRX; Espectroscopia en región visible y en infrarrojo cercano; Late prehistory; Late prehistory; Iberia; Iberia; Beads; Beads; Fluorite; Fluorite; Translucent minerals; Translucent minerals; Neolithic; Neolithic; Copper Age; Copper Age; Bronze Age; Bronze Age; Raman spectroscopy; Raman spectroscopy; XRD; XRD; NIR; NIR; Prehistoria reciente; Prehistoria reciente; Península ibérica; Península ibérica; Cuentas; Cuentas; Fluorita; Fluorita; Minerales translúcidos; Minerales translúcidos; Neolítico; Neolítico; Edad del Cobre; Edad del Cobre; Edad del Bronce; Edad del Bronce; Espectroscopia Raman; Espectroscopia Raman; DRX; DRX; Espectroscopia en región visible y en infrarrojo cercano; Espectroscopia en región visible y en infrarrojo cercano


Description

Translucent minerals were valued in prehistoric societies for their rarity and socially used as highly symbolic elements. This work addresses the use and nature of Iberian translucent beads. We present the results of chemical (Raman spectroscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and visible (Vis)/near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy) and contextual analyses and provide a review of the archaeological literature on the manufacture and use of translucent items during Iberian Late Prehistory. A total of 54 translucent beads from 47 sites, primarily burials, were analyzed; 33 were made from fluorite, while the remaining 21 were made of diverse translucent minerals (calcite, quartz and different silicates). The scarcity of translucent items in the archaeological record, the regional and supraregional scale of its exchange, and its recursive association to other valuables in singular contexts reinforces the idea that their owners/wearers enjoyed a high status.

Document Type Journal article
Language English
Contributor(s) Repositório Aberto
CC Licence
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