The use of sperm whale ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal

Abstract

Scientific analysis were undertaken within a research project concerning ivory objects from the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of the Iberian Peninsula. In several of the analyses of objects from Portuguese Estremadura, especially V-perforated buttons, we could detect for the first time the presence of sperm whale ivory. This highlights the advantage and necessity of scientific analysis of ivory. It also clearly demonstrates that not all ivory used was ivory from African or Asian elephants, but we also did find ivory from the extinct Elephas antiquus, the hippopotamus and in this case sperm-whale. Thus, already in the Chalcolithic the raw material provenience was highly diverse, which in the absence of scientific analysis might lead to an erroneous interpretation of prehistoric exchange networks. Different methods, including optical microscopy, measurement of hardness and specific gravity, Micro-Raman Spectroscopy, elemental analysis and Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometry have been applied. In this paper we present these methods and the results, and we discuss about the implications of these results for the reconstruction of prehistoric economy and life in this region. Finally, taking into account the natural conditions as well as prehistoric and historic data of whale hunting and scavenging of beached animals, we conclude that the most plausible explanation for the presence of sperm whale ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal is the use of the teeth obtained from stranded animals. This interpretation is possible because of the human populations using this ivory are those living close to the sea and exploiting – among others– marine resources.<br><br>En el marco de un proyecto de investigación sobre objetos de marfil del Calcolítico al Bronce Antiguo en la Península Ibérica efectuamos análisis científicos. En varios de los objetos de la Estremadura portuguesa, en especial en los botones con perforación en V, detectamos por primera vez la presencia de marfil de cachalote. Así se demuestra claramente la ventaja y la necesidad de efectuar análisis científicos del marfil. No todo el marfil utilizado provenía de los elefantes africanos y asiáticos. Además encontramos marfil del desaparecido Elephas antiquus, de hipopótamo, y en este caso de cachalote. Así ya en el Calcolítico el origen de la materia prima era muy diverso, lo que en ausencia de análisis científicos puede conducir a una errónea interpretación de las redes prehistóricas de intercambio. Los métodos empleados fueron la microscopia óptica, la medición de la dureza y del peso específico, la espectroscopía Micro-Raman, el análisis elemental y la espectrometría isotópica de masas. En este trabajo presentamos estos métodos y los resultados. Además discutimos sus consecuencias para la reconstrucción de la economía y la vida de las sociedades prehistóricas de la región. Teniendo en cuenta las condiciones naturales y los datos prehistóricos e históricos sobre la caza de ballenas y el aprovechamiento de animales varados consideramos que la explicación más plausible de la ...

Archaeological Remains Accounting for the Presence and Exploitation of the North Atlantic Right Whale Eubalaena glacialis on the Portuguese Coast (Peniche, West Iberia), 16th to 17th Century

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Crafting Idiosyncrasies. Early Social Complexity, Ivory and Identity-Making in Copper Age Iberia

“…That was probably also the case of sperm whale teeth, used in the same way as ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal, even if these animals could only be seen near the coast and as beached specimens. Their size, mysterious life in the sea and the ability to see them up close due to beaching probably conferred on them a mythical meaning, as happened in medieval and even modern times (Schuhmacher et al 2013b). This could also explain the exchange of whale bones observed for the Magdalenian in the Pyrenean-Cantabrian region, besides the existence of technical reasons linked to their size (Lefebvre et al 2021).…”

Decoration composition of Iberian Iron Age ivory artifacts identified by no-destructive chemical analyses

“…Roth and Bortolaso (2008) have developed the INCENTIUS project, with the aim to distinguish the origin of ivory using microscopic, spectroscopic, and spectrometric analytical methods. Similar studies have been conducted, in order to explore the origin of some Copper Age ivory objects found in the Iberian Peninsula (Schuhmacher and Banerjee 2012;Schuhmacher et al 2013;Nocete et al 2013). Also, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses have been used in order to better determine the geographical origin of post-medieval ivory found in Amsterdam (Rijkelijkhuizen et al 2015).…”