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Center for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies
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Fingerprinting ceramics from the chalcolithic Santa Vitória Enclosure (SW Iberia)
Publication . Marques, Rosa; Rodrigues, Ana Luisa; Russo, Dulce; Gméling, Katalin; Valera, António Carlos; Dias, Maria I.; Prudêncio, Maria I.; Basílio, Ana Catarina; Fernandes, Paula G.; Ruiz, Francisco
The Santa Vitória Chalcolithic site (southern Portugal) prompts several questions related to
the provenance and production technology of artefacts. Archaeological ceramics from two sections of
Ditch 1 of the Santa Vitória site were studied by neutron activation analysis and X-ray diffraction
for the first time, with the main goal of contributing to the contextualization of the artefacts and
better understanding their production processes/technologies and the provenance of raw materials.
The results point to a local production of ceramics, since their mineral phases reflect the geological
contexts around the archaeological site. The mineralogical assemblage indicates a firing temperature
below 850 ◦C. Iron is the better discriminator of ceramics from both sections, which could be related
to the addition of different proportions of temper grains during the ceramics’ production. Although
trace elements do not serve as discriminating geochemical indicators for the analyzed samples, they
do imply a slightly higher heterogeneity in the composition of the ceramic paste from section 2. The
negative Eu anomaly found in two samples is in accordance with the lower contents of Na2O, related
to plagioclase weathering. Detailed studies on ceramics and potential raw materials are foreseen to
assist in discussing the role of this Chalcolithic archaeological site at a regional level.
The supply of copper to the settlement of Leceia (Portugal) and the Estremadura region during the third millennium BC
Publication . Valério, Pedro; Cardoso, João Luis; Alves, Luís C.; Soares, António M. Monge
The Chalcolithic settlement of Leceia (Portugal) has one of the largest collections of copper artefacts and metallurgical debris in the Portuguese Estremadura. However, the absence of ores and smelting remains suggests that local metallurgical operations were related to the production of artefacts. In fact, the metal assemblage includes several fragments of flat axes, most of them with traces of sectioning, which may have been used as ingots. In order to validate this hypothesis and to identify the copper sources used, elemental, microstructural and Pb isotope characterisation of five axe-ingots was undertaken. The assemblage turned out to be composed of copper with varying amounts of arsenic (0.08–2.94 wt%) and oxide inclusions (Cu2O and Cu-As-O). Some inclusions containing distinct contents of Bi, Sb and/or Sn were also identified, indicating the exploitation of different sources of copper ores. Pb isotope ratios displayed a cluster of four samples (206Pb/204Pb: 18.2378–18.3444) and one outlier with low radiogenic lead (206Pb/204Pb: 17.6625), signatures that compare well with those previously obtained for local artefacts and prills. Euclidean distances identified ore deposits in the Spanish provinces of Huelva and Cordoba as potential suppliers of copper, particularly the supergene copper ores from the mines of Rio Tinto, Cabezadas del Sandino, Preciosa and Quita Pellejo, all of which are located a considerable distance from the settlement of Leceia. Other probable copper sources are located in the mining districts of Linares-La Carolina and Los Pedroches, situated even further away from the Portuguese Estremadura. Consequently, the copper axe-ingots of Leceia, like the previously analysed local artefacts, provide evidence of long-distance trade relations with south-central Iberian Peninsula, which appear to be shared with coeval settlements in Estremadura, such as Vila Nova de São Pedro and Zambujal.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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6817 - DCRRNI ID
Número da atribuição
UIDB/04349/2020