As a raw material, ivory has been used to manufacture a wide range of objects, normally associated with sumptuous material culture. In this article we explore the role played by ivory and ivory artefacts among early complex societies, and particularly its importance in the definition of identities among emergent elites. To this end, we make a thorough examination of the evidence from Copper Age Iberia, focusing on the mega-site of Valencina, in southern Spain. This site has provided what to date is the largest assemblage of prehistoric ivory in western Europe, with an estimated total of 8.8 kg, including finely crafted artefacts of unrivalled beauty and sophistication. Our study looks carefully at the technological, morphological and contextual dimensions of Copper Age ivory. As a result, we contend that the broad morphological variability together with the technological uniformity of this assemblage suggest that, while belonging to a common technological tradition, objects were deliberately crafted as unique and unrepeatable so that they could be used to create and maintain socio-cultural idiosyncrasies and ideological legitimation.

Given the absence of written records, the main source of information available to analyze gender inequalities in early complex societies is the human body itself. And yet, for decades, archaeologists have struggled with the sex estimation of poorly preserved human remains. Here we present an exceptional case study that shows how ground-breaking new scientific methods may address this problem. Through the analysis of sexually dimorphic amelogenin peptides in tooth enamel, we establish that the most socially prominent person of the Iberian Copper Age (c. 3200–2200 BC) was not male, as previously thought, but female. The analysis of this woman, discovered in 2008 at Valencina, Spain, reveals that she was a leading social figure at a time where no male attained a remotely comparable social position. Only other women buried a short time after in the Montelirio tholos, part of the same burial area, appear to have enjoyed a similarly high social position. Our results invite to reconsider established interpretations about the political role of women at the onset of early social complexity, and question traditionally held views of the past. Furthermore, this study anticipates the changes that newly developed scientific methods may bring to prehistoric archaeology and the study of human social evolution.

El uso del marfil en el Mediterráneo se remonta al Paleolítico, con un importante desarrollo durante la Edad del Cobre en el sur de Europa. Este artículo profundiza en la forma de explotación de los colmillos de elefante y en el proceso de fabricación de objetos de marfil durante la Edad del Cobre en la península ibérica. Se utiliza como muestra de estudio el mega-sitio de Valencina, en el sur de España, por la abundante y variada colección de marfiles que ha proporcionado. Este estudio examina en profundidad las dimensiones tecnológicas, morfológicas y contextuales del marfil de la Edad del Cobre. Como resultado, se observa una explotación estandarizada, orientada a la fabricación de soportes específicos, basada en el conocimiento y uso de las distintas partes del colmillo (huecas y compactas) de manera diferencial y muy específica. La principal forma de explotación es la longitudinal, es decir, la producción de placas, que permitía un mayor rendimiento de la materia prima. Además, este estudio ha revelado el único caso hasta ahora en la península ibérica de un procedimiento de aserrado por abrasión, y no con sierra (sciage au fil sablé), ampliando nuestro conocimiento sobre la artesanía de las sociedades prehistóricas.