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.

Sobre la base de un análisis del medio físico de Valencina y su entorno, los referentes presentados para la definición del enclave prehistórico, se fundamentan en la sistematización de los diferentes elementos arqueológicos, en su implantación espacial, así como su relación con una topografía sustentadora que hemos tratado de restituir. De ello resulta una propuesta de definición en la que partiendo de una probable área nuclear se distinguen de momento dos ámbitos principales, el de ocupación habitacional y productiva, así como el exclusivo de necrópolis, que valorados en su máxima extensión conjunta ocupan una superficie total de unas 468.80 hectáreas. ABSTRACT , On the base of an physical means analysis of Valencina and their environment, the references presented for the definition of the prehistoric place they are based in the systematizing of the different archaeological elements in their space installation, as well as their relationship with a supportive topography that we have tried to restore. Of it finds a definition proposal in which leaving of a probable nuclear area is di stingui shed at the moment two main environments, that of residence and productive occupation, and the exclusive of necropolis, that valued in their maximum combined extension they occupy a total surface of some 468.80 hectares.

Activity patterns at large prehistoric sites are often difficult to interpret, as they frequently combine productive, domestic and funerary components. Valencina de la Concepcíon, the largest of the Copper Age mega-sites in southern Spain, has proved particularly challenging in this regard. Macrolithic tool assemblages have been generally neglected in these debates but can provide specific insight into the nature and patterning of activities. In this study, 185 grinding tools from seven separate excavations across this 450 ha mega-site were subjected to multiple lines of analysis including quantification, morphology, raw material, use-wear and depositional context. A surprising feature of this assemblage is the high degree of fragmentation, with more than half of the items representing less than 25% of the original artefact and only a small minority of them (<10%) complete. The absence of intact quernstones is particularly striking. The results indicate a ritualization of deposition at Valencina, and throw new light on the interpretation of this complex site. Furthermore. they emphasize the central role that grinding technology should play in future discussion of European prehistoric mega-sites.

Resumen: En este trabajo se estudia un hacha pulimentada inédita excepcional depositada en el Museo de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla) en noviembre de 2010 y que formó parte de la colección personal de Francisco María Tubino y Oliva (1833-1888). Aunque la procedencia exacta de la pieza es desconocida, existen razones para pensar que podría proceder de algún yacimiento arqueológico de la provincia de Sevilla. Mediante la aplicación de dos técnicas analíticas diferentes (XRD, DCμRS), se identifica la pieza como jade-jadeíta de una pureza superior al 95 ml%, lo que implica su procedencia de los Alpes. En las conclusiones se realiza una valoración de la significación de esta pieza en términos de contactos a larga distancia en la Prehistoria Reciente ibérica. Palabras Clave: Prehistoria Reciente, Hacha Pulimentada, Jade, Espectroscopia µ-Raman, Difracción de Rayos X, Intercambio de Larga Distancia, Comercio Abstract: A polished axe donated to the Valencina de la Concepción Museum (Seville, Spain) in November 2010, and that had belonged to Francisco María Tubino y Oliva's (1833-1888) personal collection, is studied. Although the exact provenance of this object is unknown, there are reasons to think that it might have been found on some archaeological site of the Seville province. Through the application of two different analytical techniques (XRD, DCμRS), this axe is identified as a jade-jadeite of purity above 95 ml%, which necessarily implies it came from the Alps. In the conclusions a discussion of this artifact is made in terms of long distance contact in Iberian Late Prehistory.

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