Abstract: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… Show more
“…Geophysical survey and excavations have revealed scores of pits and shafts, and a range of both small and large megalithic constructions and ‘artificial caves’ (or hypogea ) (Vargas Jiménez, Meyer and Ortega Gordillo 2012 ; Wheatley et al 2012 ; Mederos Martín et al 2016 ; Meyer and Goosens 2016 ). The site has become central to recent debates about social complexity in Iberia; recent publications include the proceedings of a conference devoted to the site (García Sanjuán, Vargas Jiménez et al 2013b ), a monograph presenting the study of the Montelirio tholos (Fernández Flores et al 2016 ), and a host of papers discussing metallurgy, craftsmanship and the exchange of exotic raw materials, notably cinnabar, amber, ivory, gold or rock-crystal (Nocete Calvo et al 2008 , 2013 ; Costa Caramé et al 2010 ; García Sanjuán, Luciañez Triviño et al 2013a ; García Sanjuán and Murillo-Barroso 2013 ; Rogerio-Candelera et al 2013 ; Murillo-Barroso et al 2015 ; Morgado Rodríguez et al 2016 ). Fig.…”
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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10963-018-9114-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
“…Geophysical survey and excavations have revealed scores of pits and shafts, and a range of both small and large megalithic constructions and ‘artificial caves’ (or hypogea ) (Vargas Jiménez, Meyer and Ortega Gordillo 2012 ; Wheatley et al 2012 ; Mederos Martín et al 2016 ; Meyer and Goosens 2016 ). The site has become central to recent debates about social complexity in Iberia; recent publications include the proceedings of a conference devoted to the site (García Sanjuán, Vargas Jiménez et al 2013b ), a monograph presenting the study of the Montelirio tholos (Fernández Flores et al 2016 ), and a host of papers discussing metallurgy, craftsmanship and the exchange of exotic raw materials, notably cinnabar, amber, ivory, gold or rock-crystal (Nocete Calvo et al 2008 , 2013 ; Costa Caramé et al 2010 ; García Sanjuán, Luciañez Triviño et al 2013a ; García Sanjuán and Murillo-Barroso 2013 ; Rogerio-Candelera et al 2013 ; Murillo-Barroso et al 2015 ; Morgado Rodríguez et al 2016 ). Fig.…”
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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10963-018-9114-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
“…Estas figurillas rituales muestran en Valencina una distribución que aclara muchos puntos importantes para nuestra hipótesis. Del conjunto hasta ahora conocido se ha publicado hace pocos años un catálogo muy completo por V. Hurtado (2013), al que puede añadirse alguna pieza dada a conocer con posterioridad (Murillo-Barroso et al 2015). La información que nos interesa de este corpus se encuentra dispersa en un amplísimo repertorio bibliográfico cuya cita excedería los límites del presente artículo.…”
Section: Valencina Como Necrópolis Mancomunadaunclassified
“…En estos casos las figurillas se ubican en las cámaras funerarias de los distintos hipogeos o en oquedades claramente vinculadas a diversas tumbas, y siempre formando parte de los ajuares mortuorios o de depósitos rituales relacionados con las sepulturas. En este límite sureste del yacimiento destacan dos piezas de oro interpretadas como "ídolos" aunque carecen de "tatuaje facial" (Murillo-Barroso et al 2015;Murillo-Barroso 2016: 287-308), pero también representaciones pictóricas de oculados, con posibles rasguños de duelo en algún caso, en los ortostatos 17 y 18 del hipogeo monumental de Montelirio (Bueno et al 2016: 371-373), que aquí no hemos contabilizado como "ídolos" por no ser estatuillas de bulto redondo aun tratándose de la de la misma manifestación funeraria, esta vez expresada en las paredes de la propia tumba. ISSN 0211-1608, ISSN Digital: 2530-3589 http://doi.org/10.15366/cupauam2018.44.001 CuPAUAM 44, 2018 El gran cementerio.…”
El yacimiento calcolítico de Valencina tiene unas características tan peculiares que difícilmente puede ser interpretado como un poblado más de los conocidos en el Sur de la península ibérica. Su enorme extensión, su registro arqueológico y la falta de estructuras claramente domésticas le otorgan una gran singularidad. Por otra parte, la especial abundancia de registro funerario contrasta con la ausencia del mismo en muchos kilómetros a la redonda, donde se conocen otros yacimientos. Estos rasgos nos permiten proponer que Valencina fue básicamente una necrópolis comarcal con sus posibles servicios anejos, y no un asentamiento propiamente dicho.
“…Además no hay traza alguna del proceso de perforación del botón. Por ello consideramos más plausible su fabricación a partir de una lámina, práctica conocida desde el Neolítico Final (Murillo-Barroso et al 2015). La lámina se embute en un alma (posiblemente de madera) con la morfología deseada, lo que genera líneas de deformación o pliegues en la superficie interior y exterior de la pieza.…”
RESUMENEn este trabajo se analiza el estrato XXV de la Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona), adscrito a la Edad del Bronce, y se destaca la problemática cronológica de este período. En este yacimiento encontramos decoraciones epicampaniformes del "Grupo del Nordeste", tradicionalmente atribuidas a un Bronce Antiguo, un osario colectivo datado por C14 en el Bronce Medio, ornamentos en ámbar/resina de amplia cronología y dos piezas áu-reas, muy escasas en el nordeste de la Península Ibérica, que vinculamos con el episodio sepulcral. Las piezas arqueológicas y la serie de dataciones radiocarbónicas nos proporcionan datos importantes sobre las redes de intercambio y los desplazamientos a lo largo de la fachada mediterránea de la Península Ibérica durante la Edad de Bronce.
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