The status of imported Barremian-Bedoulian flint in north-eastern Iberia during the Middle Neolithic. Insights from the variscite mines of Gavà (Barcelona)

Abstract

Barremian-Bedoulian flint from the Vaucluse region (western Provence, SE France), is traditionally considered one of the most significant chrono-cultural markers of the Chasséen culture during the Middle Neolithic (end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th millennium BC). Diffusion of Provençal flints became massive during the first half of the 4th millennium BC, penetrating in several neighbouring cultural spheres such as the Sepulcros de Fosa culture in north-eastern Iberia. The integrated study of the lithic assemblages from the variscite mines of Gavà (Barcelona) and its contextualization within the Sepulcros de Fosa culture in north-eastern Iberia have revealed unexpected complexity in the modes of consumption, use and status of imported Barremian-Bedoulian industries in north-eastern Iberia during the 5th to 4th millennia cal. BC transition. Local communities within this region, already controlling extraction and regional diffusion of variscite ornaments, exerted control over the fluxes of Vauclusian flint south of the Pyrenees, where it had a triple status (functional, symbolic and both). In addition, the results provide complementary data to better understand relevant aspects of the nature and organisation of Barremian-Bedoulian flint exploitation and early supply systems at the Provençal producing sites during the later phase of the Chasséen culture.

Management systems of adhesive materials throughout the Neolithic in the North-West Mediterranean

“…An intensification of exchanges and craft specializations has been documented during the formation of the Chassey complex. The Southern Chassey is part of this general development, as particularly evidenced by the circulation of lithic raw materials: Bedoulian flint, eclogites and jadeitites (Binder, 1998;Borrell et al, 2019;Pétrequin et al, 2003), hyaline quartz (Brisotto, 1999;Rostan, 2005Rostan, , 2007, and obsidian (Binder et al, 2012;Vaquer, 2006). The study of the lithic industries found at Giribaldi during these periods also testifies to the importation of quartz and green rocks (eclogites, jadeites) from the Alps (Binder, 2016)(Fig.…”

Pottery use in the mining site of variscite Mines de Gavà (Barcelona, Spain) during the 4th millennium BC based on organic residue analysis

“…Generally, vessels were used to process fats from animal or vegetal origin. Likewise, other vessels have been proposed to be used for the illumination of the dark galleries either in a funerary context, as in mine 84 (Borrell et al, 2019), and during the extraction works of the variscite, as the container of mine 41. The hypothesis proposed, derived from a pioneering study in this area, should undoubtedly be contrasted with new studies that would expand the sample set in other different mines from this site.…”

Prácticas ganaderas y minería neolítica: nuevos datos de las minas de variscita de Gavà (Barcelona)

“…Evidence of flint knapping and micro-perforators have been recovered in the fill of some mines, suggesting that variscite beads were produced on site (Villalba et al 1986;Bosch and Estrada 1997;Bosch et al 1999). Analysis of the spatial distribution of the (Villalba et al 1986: 22-23 Gavà variscite suggests that specialization in the extraction and processing of the mineral was for the production of beads for exchange (Villalba et al 1986(Villalba et al , 1997Bosch and Estrada 1997;Edo et al 1997;Blasco et al 1998;Domínguez-Bella 2004;Weller and Fíguls 2007;Borrell et al 2015Borrell et al , 2019Bosch 2019).…”

“…During the post-cardial Middle Neolithic, variscite beads circulated through complex distribution networks, and have been documented as prestige goods in Neolithic burials in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula and part of southern France (Bosch and Estrada 1997;Weller and Fíguls 2007;Borrell et al 2015Borrell et al , 2019. In addition to this specialised activity, other subsistence activities have also been documented in the mines of Gavà, such as animal husbandry involving the four main domestic species: cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and pig (Sus domesticus).…”

“…The Neolithic transition in the Western Mediterranean is characterized by major changes in economic strategies, including the development of exchange networks for the circulation of mineral resources as a consequence of the high degree of systematization, organization and specialization of mining production (Collet 2004;Consuegra et al 2004;Galiberti 2005;Borrell y Bosch 2012;Borrell et al 2015Borrell et al , 2019. The working of flint mines is well attested in the Neolithic: Casa Montero in Spain (Consuegra et al 2004;Díaz-del-Río et al 2008), Defensola in Italy (Galiberti 2005), Spiennes in Belgium (Collet 2004), and Jablines in France (Bostyn and Lanchon 1995).…”