Cinnabar provenance of Chalcolithic red pigments in the Iberian Peninsula: A lead isotope study

Rodríguez, Javier Caride; Montero‐Ruiz, Ignacio; Hunt-Ortiz, Mark A.; García‐Pavón, Evangelina

doi:10.1002/gea.21810

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Bands of cinnabar are present on a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (ninth-eighth millennium BC) child skull at Tel Abu Hureira in Syria 31 and a woman’s skull at Çatalhöyük in Turkey, where cinnabar was used not only in burial contexts but also as pigment in wall paintings 32 . Almadén de la Plata (Ciudad Real) in central Spain is one of the largest natural sources of cinnabar in the world 33 , and analytical studies have demonstrated this site as one of the main sources of cinnabar present at other archaeological sites 34 . The exploitation and use of cinnabar as a pigment in Iberian prehistory is a well documented phenomenon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary investigation reveals the earliest textiles and cinnabar-coloured cloth in Iberian Peninsula

Gleba

Bretones-García²,

Cimarelli

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Textile production is among the most fundamental and more complex technologies in human prehistory, but is under-investigated due to the perishable nature of fibrous materials. Here we report a discovery of five textile fragments from a prehistoric (fourth-third millennium cal BC) burial deposit located in a small cave at Peñacalera in Sierra Morena hills, near Córdoba, Southern Spain. These textiles accompanied a set of human remains as grave goods, together with other organic elements such as fragments of wood and cork, and some pottery vessels. They were characterized and dated using digital microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Two of the fragments described here are the oldest examples of loom-woven textiles in the Iberian Peninsula, dating from the second half of the fourth millennium cal BC. This correlates chronologically with the first appearance of loom weights in the archaeological record of this region. The more recently dated textile is the earliest preserved cloth intentionally coloured with cinnabar in the western Mediterranean. The Peñacalera finds are a key reference for understanding the development of textile technologies during the Neolithic and Copper Age in western Europe and beyond.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary investigation reveals the earliest textiles and cinnabar-coloured cloth in Iberian Peninsula

Gleba

Bretones-García²,

Cimarelli

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…[ 12 ] and Rodríguez et al . [ 73 ]. No permits were required for the analysis of geological samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interwoven traditions in Bell Beaker metallurgy: Approaching the social value of copper at Bauma del Serrat del Pont (Northeast Iberia)

et al. 2021

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Debates on early metallurgy in Western Europe have frequently focused on the social value of copper (between utilitarian and symbolic) and its purported role in the emergence and consolidation of hierarchies. Recent research shows that generalisations are increasingly untenable and highlights the need for comparative regional studies. Given its location in an intermediate area, the early metallurgy of Northeast Iberia provides an interesting case in point to explore the interaction between the well-characterised traditions of southern Iberia and southern France during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. Here the analytical study of seven Bell Beaker (decorated and undecorated) vessels reused as crucibles at Bauma del Serrrat del Pont (Tortellà, Girona) are presented. We employed pXRF, metallography, SEM-EDS and lead isotope analyses. The results show evidence for copper smelting employing a remarkable variety of ore sources, including Solana del Bepo, Turquesa and Les Ferreres mines, and an extra unknown area. The smelting vessels were manufactured using the same clay, which contained both mineral and organic inclusions. Our results are discussed with reference to all the evidence available for metals and metallurgy in the Northeast, and more broadly in comparison to southern Iberia and southern France, with special emphasis on issues of production organisation and social complexity. Taken together, our results support the notion that copper metallurgy played a predominantly utilitarian role in Bell Beaker societies and highlight idiosyncratic aspects of the metallurgical trajectory in the Northeast. Differences between territories challenge unilinear explanations of technological and social development after the introduction of metallurgy. Separate trajectories can only be explained in relation to area-specific socio-cultural and environmental factors.

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“…In Minami et al (2013), the accuracy of the isotopic ratios was of 0.1-0.3% and 0.3-0.6% with 206 Pb and 204 Pb as the denominator, respectively 15 . Rodríguez et al (2020) prepared the sample through the following procedures (in order): preliminary digestion by HNO 3 (1st day), removal of supernatant and rinsing of the residue with H 2 O, digestion with HF (2nd day), removal of supernatant, rinsing of the residue with H 2 O and XRD, digestion with aqua regia (3rd day), evaporation to dryness, ion exchange in hydrobromic acid, lead elution by HCl. Measurements were made using a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS).…”

Section: The Provenance Of the Pigmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…andRodríguez et al (2020). Other data on cinnabar ores have been further provided byJébrak et al (2002), on recrystallised pyrite andHigueras et al (2005) on cinnabar.…”

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confidence: 99%

Pigments — Mercury-based red (cinnabar-vermilion) and white (calomel) and their degradation products

Gliozzo

2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This article summarises the history of cinnabar, from its first uses in burials to modern oils on canvas. After a brief introduction on mercury and contamination issues, the article gets to the heart of the topic. First, mercury-based minerals significant for studying pigments, i.e. cinnabar, metacinnabar, hypercinnabar and calomel, are presented. Structural information and properties precede an overview of the geographic distribution of cinnabar deposits. The following section addresses the multiple uses of cinnabar, divided into funerary use, decorative use, lustre and Chinese lacquer production. The use of cinnabar for writing (ink), medicine and cosmetics is briefly described, and a shortlist of uncommon finds is further provided. The following section approaches inherent but less known topics such as cinnabar procurement, trade, production technology, application and alteration. An entire section is dedicated to calomel before concluding with an overview of the analytical methods for the characterisation and provenance investigation of cinnabar.

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Cinnabar provenance of Chalcolithic red pigments in the Iberian Peninsula: A lead isotope study

Cited by 34 publications

References 49 publications

Multidisciplinary investigation reveals the earliest textiles and cinnabar-coloured cloth in Iberian Peninsula

Multidisciplinary investigation reveals the earliest textiles and cinnabar-coloured cloth in Iberian Peninsula

Interwoven traditions in Bell Beaker metallurgy: Approaching the social value of copper at Bauma del Serrat del Pont (Northeast Iberia)

Pigments — Mercury-based red (cinnabar-vermilion) and white (calomel) and their degradation products

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