Repository logo
 
Publication

The use and abuse of cinnabar in Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia

2021Journal article Restricted access
Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorEmslie, Steven D.
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Ana Maria
dc.contributor.authorValera, António Carlos
dc.contributor.authorVijande Vila, Eduardo
dc.contributor.authorMelo, Linda
dc.contributor.authorCurate, Francisco
dc.contributor.authorFidalgo, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorInácio, Nuno
dc.contributor.authorMolina Moreno, María
dc.contributor.authorCambra‐Moo, Oscar
dc.contributor.authorGonzález Martín, Armando
dc.contributor.authorBarroso‐Bermejo, Rosa
dc.contributor.authorMontero Artús, Raquel
dc.contributor.authorGarcía Sanjuán, Leonardo
dc.date.accessioned2022-01-19T18:17:11Z
dc.date.available2022-01-19T18:17:11Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractIn this study, total mercury (THg) was analyzed in archaeological human bone from 23 sites dating to between the Middle Neolithic and the Antiquity. A total of 370 individuals from individual or collective burials was sampled, mostly using cortical bone from the humerus. These individuals were recovered from over 50 different funerary structures ranging from tholoi, pits, caves, and hypogea. Although cinnabar (HgS) is a likely cause of mercury poisoning and toxicity for people exposed to this mineral from mining or use as a paint or pigment, not all sites investigated here had cinnabar associated with the burials or other excavated areas. We found unusual levels of THg in many of the sampled individuals that we assume were caused by exposure to cinnabar in life, and not by diagenetic processes or other exposures to mercury such as through diet, which would only cause negligible accumulation of THg in bone. Our data, based on the largest sampling ever undertaken on contamination of human bone through archaeological evidence, provide a baseline for additional research on cinnabar and its use in Prehistory. Moderate to high levels of THg in human bone are mainly associated with societies dating from the second half of the 4th to late 3rd millennia B.C. (Late Neolithic to Middle Chalcolithic) in southern Iberia. By the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, the use of cinnabar decreased significantly and became minimal or absent. The use and abuse of cinnabar appears to have been pervasive throughout the above-mentioned period and particularly between c. 2900-2300 B.C. This occurred in connection with the high symbolic and probably sacred value of the substance, which was sought after, traded, and extensively used in a variety of rituals and social practices.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/oa.3056pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn1047-482X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/17515
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherWileypt_PT
dc.relationCaminhantes da Planície Alentejana: perscrutando práticas funerárias, mobilidade e dieta das populações humanas da região de Beja entre o Calcolítico e a Idade do Ferro.
dc.subjectFunerary sitespt_PT
dc.subjectHuman cortical bonept_PT
dc.subjectLate Prehistorypt_PT
dc.subjectTotal mercurypt_PT
dc.subjectToxicitypt_PT
dc.titleThe use and abuse of cinnabar in Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberiapt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleCaminhantes da Planície Alentejana: perscrutando práticas funerárias, mobilidade e dieta das populações humanas da região de Beja entre o Calcolítico e a Idade do Ferro.
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/POR_CENTRO/SFRH%2FBD%2F130165%2F2017/PT
oaire.citation.titleInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeologypt_PT
oaire.fundingStreamPOR_CENTRO
person.familyNameValera
person.givenNameAntónio
person.identifier.ciencia-id8117-9E53-B540
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-5492-3810
person.identifier.scopus-author-id44261524700
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.rightsrestrictedAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication58824f61-0881-4548-9b91-77f47d22166a
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery58824f61-0881-4548-9b91-77f47d22166a
relation.isProjectOfPublication84df2c8d-949d-416c-928e-ca1ccaa99f7a
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscovery84df2c8d-949d-416c-928e-ca1ccaa99f7a

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Intl J of Osteoarchaeology - 2021 - Emslie - The use and abuse of cinnabar in Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia.pdf
Size:
1.13 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

ICR2-Artigos (em revistas ou actas indexadas)