Mercedes Murillo-BarrosoUniversity of Granada | UGR · Department of Prehistory and Archaeology
Mercedes Murillo-Barroso
PhD
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November 2008 - February 2013
Publications
Publications (88)
Taking as a point of departure the in-depth analysis and description of an exceptional discovery, consisting of a large hammered gold sheet decorated with embossed motifs from the well-known Chalcolithic settlement of Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain), this article presents a general appraisal of the social and ideological role of gold in...
The extraction of silver has traditionally been considered as one of the main incentives for the Phoenician expansion throughout the M editerranean and their settlement in I beria. In this paper, we approach the organization of silver production in I beria during the E arly I ron A ge through the study of the evidence of production currently availa...
Big narratives on the role of metallurgy in social change and technological innovations are common in archaeology. However, informed discussion of these issues requires a contextualised characterisation of metallurgical technology at the local level in its specific social and technological contexts. This paper approaches early metallurgy in Iberia...
Metals, Minds and Mobility seeks to integrate archaeometallurgical data with archaeological theory to address longstanding questions about mechanisms of exchange, mobility and social complexity in prehistory. The circulation of metal has long been viewed as a catalyst for social, economic and population changes in Europe. New techniques and perspec...
Provenancing exotic raw materials and reconstructing the nature and routes of exchange is a major concern of prehistoric archaeology. Amber has long been recognised as a key commodity of prehistoric exchange networks in Europe. However, most science-based studies so far have been localised and based on few samples, hence making it difficult to obse...
The transition from arsenic copper to tin-bronze in ancient metallurgy has long been attributed to the superior physical and mechanical properties of tin-bronze. However, recent archaeometallurgical studies have cast doubt on this theory, suggesting that the functional and productive advantages of tin-bronze over arsenical copper may not be as clea...
Objects of personal adornment from Late Antiquity have been extensively studied in the Iberian Peninsula since the 19th century, when the first funerary contexts from that period began to come to light. However, only partial information was available with regard to their production process and chemical composition. This came from the archaeometallu...
This paper presents the analytical study of the metal objects from the Siret Collection held by the British Museum. X-ray Fluorescence has been conducted to determine their elemental composition and by lead isotope analysis (by MC-ICP-MS) to determine their origin. We combine this new data with extant analyses to discuss and reinterpret the role of...
Our understanding of Chalcolithic settlements in southern Iberia
(c. 3200–2200 bce) has changed dramatically in recent decades.
Instead of clearly bounded and dense settlements, archaeology is
establishing a range of site types, some sparsely settled, some quite
large. Such varied settlement typology is now understood as being
part of a thriving p...
Las dificultades para determinar su número real, el material concreto en el que fueron realizados o la cronología exacta de su deposición, hace de los objetos de adorno un campo de estudio enormemente complejo. Quizás por esta razón, buena parte de las aproximaciones anteriores a estos objetos se centraron en su caracterización y proveniencia así c...
This paper examines the use of galena, beginning in the Middle Paleolithic, before the onset of metallurgy in the Iberian Peninsula, and shows that it was a well-known raw material during the Neolithic, both in funeral and in household contexts. The identification of probable provenance suggests a non-long distance movement, with the Molar-Bellmunt...
Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélago...
The occurrence of Baltic amber through Europe has traditionally been associated to the spread of the Bell Beaker culture during the 3rd millennium BC. In Iberia, this phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the southern half. Here we present an amber bead recovered in a Late Neolithic funerary cave (3634–3363 cal BC) from northeastern Iberia where...
El Argar (Antas, Almería) es el yacimiento de referencia para el estudio de la Edad del Bronce en la península ibérica. Los ajuares de las más de 1000 tumbas excavadas muestran la diversidad social de los inhumados. Este trabajo analiza su distribución espacial considerando las múltiples variables del ritual funerario en relación a su ubicación. El...
The expansion of Baltic amber through Europe has traditionally been associated to the spread of the Bell Beaker culture during the 3rd millennium BC. In Iberia, this phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the southern half. Here we present an amber bead recovered in a Late Neolithic funerary cave (3634 − 3363 2σ cal BC) from northeastern Iberia w...
Aproximación a las labores mineras de la Prehistoria Reciente y de la Protohistoria en el Valle del Alto Guadiato (Córdoba) ANTIQVITAS-2022-N.º 34 (pp. 37-50) ISSN: 1133-6609-M.H.M. Priego de Córdoba Aproximación a las labores mineras de la Prehistoria Reciente y de la Protohistoria en el Valle del Alto Guadiato (Córdoba) DANIEL PÉREZ-L'HUILLIER, P...
El presente libro recoge diez investigaciones que tienen por objeto el estudio de la tecnología cerámica y metalúrgica en diversos periodos cronológicos, a través de materiales procedentes de distintas regiones y de muy diversa naturaleza formal y funcional. Con ella, los editores han querido recoger casos de estudio que supongan una aportación a l...
Contrary to copper ore resources, tin is scarce in southeastern Iberia. However, tin is essential to produce the copper/tin alloy called tin bronze. The rst use of this alloy in the so-called El Argar Culture is detected in its later phases (from 19001800 calBC), although it never constituted the predominant alloy. The absence of metallurgical d...
El ámbar fue un material altamente valorado por la sociedad romana, sobre todo en época Julio-Claudia, según las fuentes escritas. No obstante, son pocas las piezas conocidas de este material en la Hispania romana. En el presente trabajo damos a conocer nueve objetos de ámbar de diverso tipo precedentes de dos lotes recuperados en la antigua August...
El Oppidum de Sierra Boyera representa un hito en la investigación del Norte de Córdoba en cuanto a Protohistoria se refiere, ya que se podría considerar la primera excavación de este periodo que se ha efectuado en dicha región. El trabajo que aquí se expone es una contextualización geográfica y geológica, del sitio, así como una recopilación de lo...
Nuevas evidencias sobre el inicio de la metalurgia en el País Valenciano: el yacimiento calcolítico de Sanxo Llop (Gandía, Valencia) Se presentan nuevos datos sobre la actividad metalúrgica en el término de Gandía obtenidos en las excavaciones de las parcelas de Sanxo Llop durante los años del 2010 al 2016. El trabajo recoge la información sobre tr...
This paper presents the study of a sword found in Talayot del Serral de ses Abelles (Puigpunyent, Mallorca). The remarkable state of conservation of this sword and the fact that it is the only item of its kind documented in the 21st century in an archaeological excavation make it an exceptional find. The main purpose of this research is to characte...
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 loc...
In this paper, we propose a new model of innovation and social value of metallurgy in the
Iberian Peninsula taking into account the process followed in the Balkans and Central Europe during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. We base this on the results of the Cerro Virtud Neolithic site excavated in the Almería province in southeastern Spain. This
mod...
This study is based on archaeometallurgical material recovered at Lisnacaheragh and Lisnamanroe, Garranes. Ó Ríordáin’s excavation of Lisnacaheragh led to the discovery of hundreds of crucible fragments,
some moulds and slag fragments in a ‘black layer’ in his Site D trench, which he interpreted as evidence of a non-ferrous metal workshop (Ó Ríordá...
One of the qualities of metal is that it can be recycled. The greater or lesser use of recycled metal is conditioned, among other factors, by
the availability of raw materials and the demand for consumption, but other socio-economic factors also affect the overall volume of recycled metal used in each historical periodo In order to validate the sca...
El papel de la metalurgia en las comunidades de la Edad del Cobre del Sureste de la península ibérica es una cuestión recurrente en la investigación arqueológica en Europa occidental. A partir del análisis de isótopos de plomo y elementos traza de restos arqueometalúrgicos, este artículo aborda la organización territorial de la producción metalú...
Resumen: La aleación de cobre con estaño aparece por primera vez en el sureste de la península ibérica en época argárica. En el presente estudio realizamos una recopilación de todos los análisis de composición publicados con el fin de valorar la frecuencia y el uso de esta aleación. Los datos muestran que algunos objetos como las alabardas nunca se...
Iberian ‘warrior’ stelae have captured the imagination of researchers and the public for more than a century. Traditionally, stelae were considered ‘de-contextualised’ monuments, and research typically focused on the study of their iconography, paying little or no attention to their immediate contexts. As a result, despite the large number of these...
This paper presents trace element compositions and lead isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS of 34 copper ore samples from the Internal Zone of the Betic Range, Southeast Spain. Samples were collected during a fieldwork campaign in the mines of Cerro Minado, Pinar de Bédar, Sierra Cabrera and Sierra Almagrera/Herrerías. Most samples are copper oxide miner...
La aparición en escena de un nuevo depósito compuesto
por siete hachas planas en Yunclillos (Toledo) permite ampliar la escasa muestra de un tipo peculiar de utensilio, caracterizado
por su gran tamaño y por su reducido perfil. Se analiza el fenómeno de los depósitos de hachas planas en la península ibérica y pese a la ausencia de un contexto arque...
El artículo recoge el debate sobre la invención única o múltiple de la metalurgia y el papel del metal en el desarrollo social de la Prehistoria europea, con especial mención del caso de la Península ibérica. Aunque las posiciones mayoritarias aceptan que para la mayor parte de las sociedades europeas el metal en sus primeras fases no tuvo una repe...
La presencia de objetos exóticos en contextos arqueológicos y los intercambios a larga distancia que estos implican es uno de los temas que despierta más interés en la discusión arqueológica. En este artículo presentamos el estudio de una cuenta o colgante hallado en contextos neolíticos de la Cueva de los Cuarenta (Priego de Córdoba). Se trata del...
Portuguese amber has received very little attention from the paleontological and geological points of view. To our knowledge, only twelve amber outcrops or amber-bearing areas have been detected in Portugal. The first outcrops were cited in times as old as 1867 and 1910, and although some of them were considered Jurassic in age, most likely the amb...
Raw data of all samples analysed.
(XLSX)
Tierras de Antequera is located between the two main research foci of the Iberian Late Prehistory: the Southwest and the Southeast. This peripheral nature, coupled with a shortage of metallurgical evidence in the area, contributed to generalize the idea that Malaga was systematically importing metals from other regions. However, the Project Investi...
Presentamos los resultados de los análisis llevados a cabo por Espectroscopía de Infrarrojos por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR) de una de las cinco cuentas de ámbar recuperadas en el sepulcro megalítico de La Velilla. Según ellos, puede considerarse que el ámbar recogido en esta sepultura –al menos el correspondiente a la cuenta analizada- no tiene...
Ancient technology is usually described and defined by that element that remains in the archaeological record. So, it is frequent that the main information comes from big sites or from areas where the economic activity is well defined. However, less common activities or even small scale activities are not always well identified due to the small qua...
We present a detailed response to Professor Pernicka's critique of our paper entitled “Iridium to provenance ancient silver”. We have concluded that Pernicka's hypothesis, which suggests that elevated levels of iridium in ancient silver artefacts is a consequence of silver deriving from the cementation (parting) process, does not account for the av...
Trace levels of iridium in ancient silver artefacts can provide information on the sources of silver-bearing ores as well as the technologies used to extract silver. A geographically and chronologically disparate legacy dataset, comprised of Near Eastern objects from the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires (1st Millennium AD) and coins circulating aroun...
Trace levels of iridium in ancient silver artefacts can provide information on the sources of silver-bearing ores as well as the technologies used to extract silver. A geographically and chronologically disparate legacy dataset, comprised of Near Eastern objects from the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires (1st Millennium AD) and coins circulating aroun...
La Zona Arqueológica de Valencina de la Concepción-Castilleja de Guzmán (Sevilla) constituye uno de los sitios más importantes para el estudio de la Edad del Cobre en la península ibérica y Europa occidental – para una perspectiva general del estado actual de la investigación en el mismo ver Vargas Jiménez, 2004a; 2004b; García Sanjuán, 2013. Tanto...
Se presentan nuevos datos sobre la composición de las 3 botellas de plata del Tesoro de Villena (Alicante).
La presencia de oro en la composición es un rasgo inusual en la plata prehistórica, no solo de la península
Ibérica, sino de todo el ámbito del Mediterráneo con la excepción de Egipto. Sin embargo, esta aleación Ag-
Au podría responder en la...
El origen de la metalurgia es probablemente una de las innovaciones tecnológicas más significativas y más
debatidas de la Prehistoria en Eurasia. A grandes rasgos son dos los elementos que han determinado el
interés de este tema. Por un lado el debate sobre la posibilidad de un origen múltiple frente a perspectivas
difusionistas que postulan un úni...
Resumen: La excavación del tholos de Montelirio, ha sacado a la luz la que es sin duda la mayor colección de objetos de ámbar de la Prehistoria Reciente de la Península Ibérica con diferencia. En total se han documentado más de 250 cuentas y colgantes, en su mayoría directamente asociados a restos humanos. En este capítulo se presenta un estudio de...
Resumen: Durante las campañas de excavación del tholos de Montelirio se recuperó un conjunto de 18 fragmentos laminares de oro con y sin decoración repujada entre los que destaca una lámina con decoración oculada. En este capítulo presentamos una descripción detallada de todos los fragmentos áureos recuperados en Montelirio, analizándolos en el mar...
Cultural contact, exchange and interaction feature high in the list of challenging topics of current research on European Prehistory. Not far off is the issue of the changing role of monuments in the making and maintaining of key cultural devices such as memory and identity. Addressing both these highly-debated issues from a science-based perspecti...
Castillejo del Bonete is a cave adapted as a funerary monument during Late Prehistory. Various well-preserved metal objects were recovered from the site, both within and outside the graves.
This paper presents a catalogue and analysis of the metal objects recovered before the end of 2012, and comprises results obteined from archaeometallurgical st...
The objective of this study is to provide insights to the origin of the lead present in the 10th c. AD Islamic city of Madinat al-Zahra, both as metal and as a component of the copper-based alloys, as well as a first approach to technological details related to the production of these materials. Recycling lead is a common practice, but, nonetheless...
Se propone, a partir de datos tecnológicos, la posibilidad de que en la Península Ibérica se hubiera producido un fenómeno de innovación metalúrgica independiente. Se contrastan los datos con la información disponible en otras áreas europeas que hubieran permitido una difusión de ese conocimiento. A las cuestiones tecnológicas se añaden, en apoyo a...
Tradicionalmente se ha asumido, desde una perspectiva evolucionista, que la adopción del bronce se debía a unas cualidades físicas y mecánicas superiores a las del cobre arsenicado. Sin embargo, recientes investigaciones permiten cuestionar que la aleación de bronce supusiera inicialmente una mejora funcional. Así, análisis metalográficos
y de micr...
Se han documentado más de 700 objetos de plata de la cultura argárica del Bronce Medio. Esta cifra contrasta
con la realidad europea del II milenio AC, donde la plata es muy escasa. Esto se ha explicado tradicionalmente por la dificultad de extraer plata de minerales complejos mediante la técnica de copelación y la relativa abundancia de plata nati...
The use of silver in south-eastern Iberia during the Bronze Age (c. 2250–1450 cal BC) is conspicuous in the so-called El Argar Culture. Trace elements detected in the compositional analyses of the objects coupled with the absence of cupellation residue reveal that native silver or silver chlorides (mainly cerargyrite) were used as resources.
In th...
Copper ores from the Montsant Area (Tarragona, Spain) and their use during Bronze Age
In the last three decades, the Iberian Copper Age or Chalcolithic (ca. 3200–2200 cal B.C. ) has probably been the period that has generated more scientific controversy within southern Iberian Late Prehistory. The diversity of theoretical approaches applied, the wealth of problems under discussion, and the constant opposition of interpretations aime...