Allochthonous red pigments used in burial practices at the Copper Age site of Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla, Spain): characterisation and social dimension

Abstract

The use of red pigments linked to burial practices is widely documented in the Iberian prehistoric record and very often it has been traditionally interpreted as a ritual practice entailing the utilisation of local raw materials (iron oxides). Some research works, nevertheless, have also detected the use of red pigments which can only be interpreted as allochthonous. The red pigments spread over a single inhumation in a monumental Megalithic tomb surrounding Valencina de la Concepción Copper Age settlement was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray microfluorescence, micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. This approach allowed characterising the red pigments as cinnabar, mixed with tiny amounts of iron oxides. The presence of cinnabar, a product that was necessarily imported, in a context of an exceptional set of grave goods, suggests that the use of cinnabar was linked not only to ritual but also to practices related to the display of social status.

Mineral Pigments in Archaeology: Their Analysis and the Range of Available Materials

“…Emslie et al [209], report mercury poisoning probably associated with cultural use of cinnabar at the Neolithic site of Perdigões, near Evora in Portugal. Direct evidence comes from Rogerio-Candelera et al [210] who have excavated cinnabar, identified by Raman spectroscopy and XRD, in burial contexts from the Chalcolithic period (3rd Millenium BC) at Valencina de la Concepción, near Seville. The authors do not attempt to Provenance the source of cinnabar but Almadén, lying some 200 km to the NE is a likely source.…”

Raman spectroscopy of minerals and mineral pigments in archaeometry

“…Pigments covering human bones were identified as hematite and magnetite. Rogerio‐Candelera et al investigated red pigments spread over a single inhumation in a monumental Megalithic tomb surrounding Valencina de la Concepción, a Copper Age settlement. Cinnabar, mixed with small amounts of iron oxides, was diffusely found; its provenance and use for funerary purposes are discussed.…”

Integrated Analytical Techniques for the Study of Colouring Materials from Two Megalithic Barrows

“…Another discussion that is common in some studies is the pigment provenance (Jezequel et al 2011;Bonneau et al 2012;Domingo et al 2012;Rogerio-Candelera et al 2013). As the colourant minerals identified for Eireira and Leira das Mamas are very common in the region (Teixeira et al 1972;Pereira 1992), we can accept that these pigments were probably made using local materials.…”