A prehistoric jade axe from Galicia (Northwestern Iberia): Researching its origin

Abstract

The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain. This artefact-as other "Tumiac type" axes (long polished blades, generally butt-perforated)-would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a green-coloured rock for which there are sources in the western Italian Alps. In this paper, we have traced the possible archaeological origin of this artefact back by examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia. Furthermore, we have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and an elemental analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX) of both the Vilapedre axe and geological samples from several places at the Alps where prehistoric quarrying of greenstones has been reported. The aims were physicochemically characterizing the axe to provide information about its possible geological source. During our analyses, we have found significant compositional similarities between the Vilapedre axe and one of the geological samples coming from the Alps (Alp06). The results are therefore consistent with the alleged Alpine origin of this artefact. The presence of this axe in Northwest Spain, together with other evidence, such as the presence of objects of Iberian origin in Breton monuments, strongly suggests the existence of contacts between both regions of the Atlantic façade during the Neolithic onwards in which seafaring would undoubtedly have played an important role.

Full text

Journal of Lithic Studies (2021) vol. 8, nr. 1, p. 1-29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4336
Published by the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
ISSN: 2055-0472. URL: http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
A prehistoric jade axe from Galicia (Northwestern Iberia):
Researching its origin
Oscar Lantes-Suárez 1, Carlos Rodríguez-Rellán2, Ramón Fábregas Valcarce 3,
Arturo de Lombera Hermida3, Aida González Pazos 4, Pierre Pétrequin 5, Michel
Errera6
1. Unidade de Arqueometría y Caracterización de Materiales. Área de Infraestruturas de Investigación. Edificio
Cactus. Campus Vida. 15785. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
Email: oscar.lantes@usc.es
2. Departamento de Historia. Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon,
Portugal. Email: carlos.rellan@fulbrightmail.org
3. GEPN-AAT. Dpto. Historia. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Galicia. Spain. Email:
ramon.fabregas@usc.es, arturode.lombera@usc.es
4. Aida González Pazos. Unidade de Raios X. Área de Infraestruturas de Investigación. Edificio Cactus. Campus
Vida. 15785. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. Email:
aida.gonzalez@usc.es
5. MSHE C.-N. Ledoux, CNRS et Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Laure Nuninger
32 rue Mégevand. 25030, Besançon, France. Email: archeo.Pétrequin@free.fr
6. Musée Royal de l’Afrique centrale, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080, Tervuren, Belgique. Email:
michel.errera@africamuseum.be
Abstract:
The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by
archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of
France and Spain. This artefact - as other “Tumiac type” axes (long polished blades, generally
butt-perforated) - would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium
BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a green-coloured rock for which there are sources in the
western Italian Alps. In this paper, we have traced the possible archaeological origin of this
artefact back by examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia.
Furthermore, we have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and an elemental
analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX)
of both the Vilapedre axe and geological samples from several places at the Alps where
prehistoric quarrying of greenstones has been reported. The aims were physicochemically
characterizing the axe to provide information about its possible geological source. During our
analyses, we have found significant compositional similarities between the Vilapedre axe and
one of the geological samples coming from the Alps (Alp06). The results are therefore
consistent with the alleged Alpine origin of this artefact. The presence of this axe in Northwest
Spain, together with other evidence, such as the presence of objects of Iberian origin in Breton
monuments, strongly suggests the existence of contacts between both regions of the Atlantic
façade during the Neolithic onwards in which seafaring would undoubtedly have played an
important role.

O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
Journal of Lithic Studies (2021) vol. 8, nr. 1, p. 1-29 DOI:https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4336
Keywords: Jade Axes; Archaeometric analytical method; SEM-EDX; XRD; Lithics
Archaeometry; NW Iberia
1. Introduction
In 1908, Santiago de la Iglesia, a doctor and scholar interested in the prehistory and
archaeology of Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula), published a detailed account of his personal
collection of archaeological artefacts (de la Iglesia 1908). The Vilapedre axe, a finely polished,
butt-perforated greenstone axe head, stands out among the objects of such collection. The
immediate parallels for this artefact, the so-called Tumiac axes, are found not in the Iberian
Peninsula, but in Brittany (France), where they were produced during the local Neolithic
(around the middle of the 5th Millennium BCE). More interestingly, the sources of the raw
materials used for making such axes (jadeitite, omphacitite or fine-grained eclogite) are located
in the Italian Alps, hundreds of kilometres away from both Brittany and Galicia (Pétrequin et
al. 2012a).
For more than thirty years, the presence of this Tumiac type axe in Northwestern Spain has
been listed by archaeologists as evidence for long-distance connections along the Atlantic
facade of Western Europe during the Early Neolithic (Cassen et al. 2012; Fábregas Valcarce
1981; Fábregas Valcarce & Vázquez Varela 1982; Pétrequin et al. 2012b). The similar
macroscopic features of the Vilapedre axe and Alpine natural samples (Errera et al. 2012) led
one of us (P. P.) to argue for an origin in the South of Monviso massif (Cottian Alps), in the
primary outcrops of Vallone di Porco, between 1700 and 2400 m a.s.l., or from the Pô river
moraine -circa 400 m high (Pétrequin 2017).
In this paper, we have traced back the possible archaeological origin of this artefact by
examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia. Furthermore, we
have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and chemical composition analysis
(Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX) as well
as a macroscopic analysis of the Vilapedre axe together with geological samples from the Alps,
selected among the potential sources where prehistoric quarrying has been documented
(Pétrequin & Pétrequin 2007; Pétrequin et al. 2012c). Our main objectives were:
- To characterize, from a macroscopic and analytical point of view, the composition of the
Vilapedre axe and the geological samples.
- To compare the results obtained for both the archaeological and geological samples in
order to elucidate the possible origin of the Vilapedre axe.
1.1. State of the art regarding the definition and analysis of Jade
The origin of the name jade seems to be that of the Spanish “piedra de ijada” (“loin stone”;
Harlow et al. 2015) and it has been applied to different rocks, such as Na-pyroxenites,
serpentinites, nephrites or minerals such as fibrolite, etc. Here, the term is used mainly for Na-
pyroxenites. The “Na-pyroxenites” can be referred as jadeitites when they are composed mainly
of jadeite, omphacitites when the omphacite is the predominant mineral, mixed jades when
approximately equivalent amounts of jadeite and omphacite are present and “Na-pyroxene +
garnet rocks” if garnets also occur (Giusteto & Compagnoni 2014).
Morimoto et al. (1988) reviewed the nomenclature of the pyroxene group of minerals
according to the premises of the International Mineralogical Association; such review was
slightly modified by Rock (1990) later on, who classified them based on their mineral formula.
Morimoto and colleagues highlighted the Ca-Mg-Fe pyroxenes as one of the main subgroups:
these can form a quadrilateral system (named Quad), whose vertices are occupied by diopside
(CaMgSi2O6), hedenbergite (CaFe2+Si2O6), enstatite (Mg2Si2O6) and ferrosilite (Fe22+Si2O6).
These authors proposed a classification of the Na-pyroxenes based on a ternary diagram (Figure

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1), where the aforementioned group (Quad) is placed in one of the vertices, while the
jadeite (NaAlSi2O6) and the aegirine (NaFe3+Si2O6) are located in the other two. Omphacite
(Ca, Na) (Mg, Fe, Al) Si2O6, is located to the centre left of this diagram and it is usually
considered a mineral, since it has its own crystalline structure (Morimoto et al. 1988). It is a
major constituent of eclogite, usually forming from the metamorphism of basaltic rocks during
high-pressure to low-temperature metamorphism.
Jadeitite has a density ranging between 3,30 and 3,36 g/cm3 (though some New World
jades have densities as low as 3,0), omphacitite’s minimum is 3,33, while eclogite shows higher
values than all the others (Errera 2014). However, it is worth noting that, sometimes, jadeitites
and eclogites can display lower densities if retromorphism was important (chlorite and albite
neoblastesis, etc.).
Jadeitites and mixed jades can be found in different regions of Asia and America. In
Europe, jadeitite sources are found - for example - on the islands of Syros and Tinos (Cyclades,
Greece), in the Monviso and the Voltri Group and in the western Italian Alps (Bröcker & Enders
2001; Compagnoni et al. 2007, 2012; Giustetto & Compagnoni 2014; Harlow et al. 2015;
Pétrequin et al. 2012c, 2017a), and also in Norway and Brittany (Lozano et al. 2018). However,
so far, there is no evidence of metaophiolite exploitation in the European Neolithic outside the
Monviso and Voltri group areas (also in val Susa, but to a very lesser degree), where such
activities have been documented by two authors of this paper (P.P., M.E.). Prehistoric quarrying
of other greenstones (fine-grained eclogites) has been documented in the Baetic range, in
Southern Spain (Lozano et al. 2018). Regarding our study area –Northwestern Spain–, the
occurrence of jadeite minerals has also been described but only as a minor pseudomorph after
plagioclase in granitic veins of decimetric width existing among the granodioritic orthogneiss
of the Malpica-Lamego line (Gil Ibarguchi 1995).
Jadeitite and mixed jades have been the subject of many analytical studies, including
geological and physicochemical (Cameron et al. 1973; Cisowski et al. 2004; Clark et al. 1969;
Compagnoni et al. 2007; D’Amico et al. 1995; Delaitte et al. 2010-2011; Errera et al. 2012;
Franz et al. 2014; Gil Ibarguchi 1995; Harlow 1993; Harlow et al. 1994, 2011, 2012a, 2012b,
2014, 2015; Hirajima & Compagnoni 1993; Kempe & Harvey 1983; Knaf et al. 2017; Lü et al.
2014; Macke et al. 2010; McClure 2012; Medaris et al. 1995; Mendoza et al. 2015; Morimoto
et al. 1988; Ou Yang et al. 2011; Pétrequin et al. 2012a, 2017a, 2017c; Seitz et al. 2001; Taube
et al. 2004; Theye & Seidel 1991), archaeological (Cassen et al. 2012; Harrison & Orozco 2001;
Pétrequin et al. 2012a; Rodríguez Ramos 2011; Rodríguez Ramos & Pagán Jiménez 2006;
Surmely et al. 2001) and archaeometric, on Asian (Bishop et al. 1985, Chang et al. 2010; Cook,
2013; Franz et al. 2014; Harlow et al. 2012b; Ou Yang et al. 2011; Rösch et al. 1997; Wang
2011; Wen & Jing 1992; Yang et al. 2004), American (Foshag & Leslie 1955; García-Casco et
al. 2013; Harlow et al. 2006; Lange 1993; Ruvalcaba-Sil et al. 2008) and European samples
(Coccato et al. 2014; Compagnoni et al. 2007, 2012; D´Amico 2005, 2012; D´Amico et al.
1995, 2003; Domínguez-Bella et al. 2004; Domínguez-Bella et al. 2012, 2016; Errera et al.
2012; Giustetto et al. 2018; Giustetto & Compagnoni 2014; Lozano et al., 2018; Odriozola et
al. 2015; Pétrequin 2017; Pétrequin & Errera 2017; Pétrequin et al. 2012c; Querré et al. 2008;
Rapp 2001; Ricq-de Bouard & Fedele 1993; Spišiak & Hovorka 2005). In all these approaches,
information is provided regarding the nomenclature, the main and accessory minerals of
jadeitite and mixed jades, the techniques used for their analysis and archaeometric information
such as the identification of the source areas and the evidence of circulation of the artefacts
made of this raw material.

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Figure 1. Simplified ternary diagram of Na-pyroxenes. Q: QUAD; Wo: wollastonite; En: enstatite; Fs: ferrosilite;
Jd: jadeite; Ae: aegirine. Modified from Morimoto et al. (1988).
1.2. Alpine jades in prehistoric Western Europe
Jade has been highly valued for adornments or tools in Europe since prehistoric times:
polished axes made from Alpine rocks such as jadeitite, omphacitite or fine-grained eclogite
travelled across Western Europe during the 5th and 4th Millennia BCE over distances up to 1700
km (Figure 2). From the Italian Alps, where primary and mainly secondary deposits of these
rocks were exploited in the massifs of Monviso and Voltri Group during Neolithic times
(Pétrequin et al. 2012c), the long-distance transfers reached the Atlantic seashore and Great
Britain in the West, Denmark to the North, the Black Sea shores and the Turkish coast to the
East and –finally– Malta to the South (Pétrequin et al. 2012a, 2017b; Sørensen et al. 2017).
The choice of the Alpine jades by the prehistoric communities of Western Europe may be
explained by the rarity of these precious raw materials and by their physical characteristics: a
remarkable tenacity, a light-catching colour and fine-grained structure, allowing bright and
sometimes extraordinarily polished surfaces (Pétrequin et al. 2017a). An added value might lay
on the difficulty of quarrying at Monviso, between 1700 and 2400 m a.s.l. (Pétrequin &
Pétrequin 2007, Pétrequin et al. 2006, 2012d).
The production and distribution of Alpine axes has been intensively analyzed in the
framework of two research projects of pan-European scope funded by the French National
Research Agency (JADE and JADE-2 programs). The results led to the identification of more
than 2000 Alpine axes longer than 13,5 cm (Pétrequin 2017), the geological origin of many

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being traced mainly through spectroradiometric (Errera et al. 2007, 2012) or macroscopic and
XRD analyses (Pétrequin et al. 2012c).
Figure 2. Distribution of long Alpine jade axes in Western Europe (white circles). Green circles: Butt-perforated
Tumiac axes, as Vilapedre (green star). Red circles: Tumiac axes. Data base: P. Pétrequin. Mapping: E. Gauthier.
NASA - Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM 3 arc-seconds) version 2.1, USGS., ESRI Basemap Data
(licence MSHE C.N. Ledoux).
1.3. Alpine jades in the Iberian Peninsula
For a long time, it was assumed that, with the partial exception of Catalonia, the Iberian
Peninsula was barely reached by the jade network (Ricq-De Bouard 1996). Outside the
Catalonian lands, the few axes of alleged Alpine origin known in Iberia seemed to endorse such
a view. However, this impression has significantly changed after the research conducted in the
framework of the JADE projects, leading us to identify over forty presumably Alpine axes in
Spain and Portugal (Fábregas Valcarce et al. 2017). The Alpine origin of the rocks used for
making these artefacts has been suggested by means of spectroradiometric analysis in twelve
of the Catalonian samples (Vaquer et al. 2012). Two other pieces from the Spanish Meseta were
characterized as jadeitite by using XRF analysis; this same technique, together with XRD and

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μ-Raman Spectroscopy, reported –respectively– jadeitite and other related rocks for another
two axes from Western Andalusia (Domínguez-Bella et al. 2016; Odriozola Lloret et al. 2016).
In a recent work, Villalobos and Odriozola (2017) analyzed five axes from the Spanish Meseta
using Raman and UV-VIS-NIR. Their results suggest an Alpine origin in Monviso and Voltri
Group. Finally, an axe from Portugal was identified also as jadeitite through XRD and UV-
VIS-NIR Spectroscopy (Odriozola Lloret et al. 2015).
As elsewhere in Europe, most Iberian specimens come from insecure contexts, isolated
findings or old private collections (Domínguez-Bella et al. 2016; Fábregas Valcarce et al. 2012,
2017; Odriozola Lloret et al. 2016). In the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, though, some of
the Alpine axes came from burials (sepulture 83 of Can Badosa, Caserna de Sant Pau) ranging
from the end of the 5th to the mid-4th Millennium BCE (Molist & Gibaja 2012; Pétrequin et al.
2012a; Vaquer et al. 2012). In the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, no secure contexts have been
reported for genuine Alpine axes, although the presence of local imitations (namely, “Cangas”
type axes) in passage-graves suggests that these artefacts may have been deposited there at least
from the first half of the 4th Millennium BCE, therefore providing an ante quem yardstick for
their Alpine models (Fábregas Valcarce et al. 2012).
1.3.1. Vilapedre: An Alpine axe in Galicia (Northwestern Iberian Peninsula)
The existence of the Vilapedre axe (Figure 3: left) was revealed in 1908 by Santiago de la
Iglesia in a paper where he stated that the axe, “made on beautiful sea-green jasper”, was
“found in the Vilapedre parish (Vilalba)” (de la Iglesia 1908: 62), a council located in the
Northern part of the Lugo province (Galicia) (Figure 4: top left). As usual, this artefact lacks a
clear archaeological context, thus making imperative that –in addition to ascertaining its Alpine
origin– a thorough research of the circumstances of the find ought to be undertaken. This was
done in order to rule out a recent arrival to Northwestern Spain of the axe as a result, for
example, of the trade in antiquities (see Domínguez-Bella et al. 2016 or Odriozola et al. 2016
for similar problems with other Iberian axes).
According to Santiago de la Iglesia, the axe and other objects in his collection were donated
to him by Manuel Mato Vizoso, a scholar from Vilalba, who wrote extensively about the history
of this council. De la Iglesia gave no specific information about the exact spot within the
Vilapedre parish where this piece was found. Meanwhile, Mato Vizoso´s personal documents
kept in the archives of the Real Academia Galega do refer to his “inspection” of several mounds
and hillforts located in the vicinities of Vilalba (Mato Vizoso 1872?). This circumstance –
together with the documents lacking any reference regarding the purchase or trade of
archaeological artefacts from other scholars– seems to reinforce the idea of the Vilapedre axe
having a local origin.
However, the documents do not clarify if Mato Vizoso –like Santiago de la Iglesia–
personally carried out any excavation in mounds or if he merely inspected the remains of those
monuments looted or destroyed by local peasants. The latter seems to be the case of a mound
in the Guitiriz council (Lugo), where he recovered pottery, a mill, and other remains “left there
by those who conducted the excavations”. Less clear is the case of, among others, an
unidentified mound located in Vilapedre, where several pottery sherds “were recovered inside
the chamber”, these “were torn up, finding inside nothing but black, compact soil”.

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Figure 3. Comparison between the Vilapedre axe (left) and a perforated Tumiac type from the "tumulus de
Tumiac" (Brittany, France) (right). Photos P. Pétrequin and R. Fábregas.
Besides this unidentified monument, Mato Vizoso mentioned very few mounds located in
the Vilapedre parish. In his papers and notes, he only referred “three mounds distributed in a
South to North axis” located close to the small villages of Fraguas and Garea, and near to the
limits between the parishes of Vilapedre and Lanzós. According to his description, it is likely
that these are the mounds known nowadays as Bouza or Veiga da Garea. Three of them (Bouza
1 to 3) display an N-S distribution, and they are also located near to the two aforementioned
towns and to the limit with Lanzós (Figure 4: bottom). These monuments show evidence of
having been looted, but –unfortunately– Mato Vizoso did not specify if the Vilapedre axe was
recovered in any of them.
The looting of funerary mounds has been a very frequent practice in Northwest Spain for
at least the last 300 years. As a result, probably less than the 2% of the more than 3.000 Galician
catalogued mounds are intact nowadays. The 20 monuments located in the Vilapedre parish are
not an exception, most of them showing eloquent evidences of this kind of damage. Moreover,
there are references to the existence of at least another nine mounds that were destroyed in the
last 50 or 60 years (Figure 4: top right), most of them due to farming activities. Any of these or
other unknown archaeological sites could be the place from where the Vilapedre axe was
originally recovered, probably by local peasants from whom Mato Vizoso would have bought
it or –otherwise– being found by Mato Vizoso himself in the course of his “inspections” of local
monuments.

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Figure 4. Location of the Vilalba council and Vilapedre parish (Lugo) (top left). Catalogued mounds either
preserved (orange) or destroyed (white) (top right). Map showing the location of the Bouza or Veiga da Garea
necropolis (bottom). Mapping C. Rodríguez. LiDAR data (max.res. c. 0.5 points/m2) PNOA. Instituto Geográfico
Nacional. Spain. GRASS GIS v. 7.3.
The Vilapedre axe, together with other artefacts, was probably donated to Santiago de la
Iglesia by Manuel Mato Vizoso in the decade of 1890. Thus, in 1896, de la Iglesia publishes
one of the objects of his collection, a bronze dagger found in a mound in San Martín de Lanzós
(Vilalba), coming from Mato Vizoso. A year later, in 1897, de la Iglesia made a four day trip

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to different places in Northern Galicia, including Vilalba and, during this trip, he was in contact
with Manuel Mato Vizoso and it may be in this moment when Mato gave him the artefacts.
After de la Iglesia’s death in 1931, his collection was donated to the Santiago de Compostela
University, in whose Department of History it is kept today.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. The archaeological specimen
The Vilapedre axe (Figure 3: left) is a butt-perforated greenstone axe whose surface has a
glossy aspect due to an intense, fine polish. It has an elongated, narrow triangular shape, an
acute proximal end, sides almost rectilinear and a convex edge. Its cross-section is thin, with an
oval –almost lenticular– outline and the preserved length is 12,9 cm, its width 5,4 cm and its
thickness 1,2 cm. The proximal perforation has a rather uncommon biconical section with a
maximum and minimum diameter of 8 and 3 mm, respectively.
The raw material of the Vilapedre axe (hereafter MPVV) has a density –measured using a
hydrostatic balance– of 3,33 g/cm3 (dt: 0,00; C.V.: 0,11 %) compatible with a mixed jade and
other greenstones.
It is a rock with thin, discontinuous, whitish, partly wavy bands arranged parallel to the
schistosity of the raw material (Figure 5). Due to the existence of a slight patina generated after
millennia, the current colour is neither the observable on a fresh break, nor that showed by the
rock extracted at the original source. The original colour (under the patina) is a pale-milky to
light-bright-green, suggestive of the presence of slightly translucent omphacite. The
examination under x2 and x10 magnifications revealed the following characteristics:
-narrow fissures clogged with a medium bright-green raw material
-some whitish inclusions forming a “crown” around small reddish black nodules (rutile?)
(Figure 5);
-deformed garnets (determined by microscopic comparison with natural reference
samples) with a blurred contour and ranging between 1 and 3 mm in size (Figure 5). The most
characteristic examples marked with a white hexagon and
-other small garnets (0,2 to 0,4 mm) displaying hollow cores (Figure 5)

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Figure 5. Macroscopic detail of the Vilapedre axe and of several Alpine geological samples. White hexagons:
deformed garnets. White circles: hollow-core small garnets. Vilapedre images are shown at different scales. Photos
P. Pétrequin and O. Lantes.

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2.2. Geological samples
The petrological features and archaeometric data of many prehistoric jade axes suggest
that the raw materials on which they were made might have originated in the Western Alps
slopes (either from primary outcrops, secondary deposits in riverbeds and alluvial plains, or out
of Tertiary conglomerates). Moreover, there are clear archaeological evidences of prehistoric
quarrying in this area, mostly in the Monviso massif, including large concentrations of axe
rough-outs, hammer-stones and flakes (Pétrequin et al. 2007, 2012d).
Different geological samples of jade were collected from Monviso, taking into account
macroscopic similarities with the raw material of the Vilapedre axe and, above all, the evidence
–in those specific spots– of prehistoric activities related to the exploitation of Alpine jades and
the production of axe-heads, eight of them coming from the Cuneo district, and another (Alp30)
from Alexandria. These criteria make sure that the sampling was carried out in the most
important outcrops where prehistoric activity has been detected so far (Table 1, Figures 6, 7).
Naturally, we cannot rule out further surveys leading to the discovery of other sources whose
composition might have higher similarities to Vilapedre’s, but presently the geological samples
included in this paper offer a reliable representation of those areas of Monviso where prehistoric
activities have been reported.
Table 1. Description of the geological samples. Produced by P Pétrequin and O. Lantes.
Sample
Region
Site
Color
Texture
ALP1
Oncino
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Porco, vallone de
pale green
massive-
foliated
ALP3
Oncino
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Porco, vallone de
green
granoblastic-
foliated
ALP4
Sanfront
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Pô riv., Rocchetta,
morain
green
foliated-
granoblastic
ALP6
Revello
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Pô riv.
green
foliated
ALP10
Martiniana
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Pô riv.
pale green
foliated-
granoblastic
ALP14
Revello
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Pô riv.
pale green
foliated
ALP17
Sanfront
(Cuneo, Piedmont)
Pô riv.,
Rocchetta, morain
green
massive-
foliated
ALP30
Ponzone
(Alexandria, Piedmont)
Fondoferle, Orba riv.
green
massive-
granoblastic

O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
Journal of Lithic Studies (2021) vol. 8, nr. 1, p. 1-29 DOI:https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4336
Figure 6. Photographs of the Alpine geological samples. See Table 1 for details. A general similarity with a minor
variation in range can be observed from a petrographic point of view. Photos R. Fábregas and O. Lantes.
Figure 7. Location of the geological samples. Mapping F. Prodéo, ESRI Data and Maps (licence MSHE C.N.
Ledoux et NASA-SRTM).

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2.3. Experimental design
Archaeometric analysis is usually a complex task: the sampling of archaeological artefacts
for analytical purposes is often restricted, when not directly forbidden, by Heritage authorities.
Thus, assays are nearly always limited in terms of size or volume.
We have implemented a micro-sampling design oriented to obtain powder to be submitted
to chemical and mineralogical analysis, in a similar way to Marinova et al. (2018). Three
independent small areas - previously cleaned by polishing and located in mechanically induced
fractures during transport and use - were abraded using a diamond tool (1x2 mm). None of these
fractures were near areas of natural alteration. Since these modifications are barely visible to
the naked eye, they do not compromise the structural integrity of the piece or its future
exhibition. We used X-Ray powder diffraction (XRD) to identify and semi-quantify the
mineralogy and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy
(SEM-EDX) for the determination of the chemical composition of the samples. The geological
samples were subjected to the same micro-sampling protocol, choosing “freshly cut” surfaces
and avoiding alteration crusts as well.
2.4. Equipment and measuring conditions
2.4.1. X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD)
We employed a Philips PW1710 diffractometer with a vertical goniometer with Bragg-
Brentano geometry θ/2θ, generator with tube of 2,2 kW with Cu anode, graphite
monochromator and proportional detector PW1711/10. Some milligrams of the sample,
previously crushed, were deposited on a zero-background sample-holder (U-1.2rd, Gem Dugot:
Dana Smith, Princeton) trying to get randomly oriented crystal grains. The measurement time
for each sample was 3 seconds per step, between 2° and 65° 2θ and a step size of 0,02°. The
identification and semi-quantification were conducted on the DIFFRACplus EVA software
(Bruker AXS), combined with the HighScore Plus 2011 (PANalytical B.V.). The Reference
Intensity Ratio (RIR) (Chung 1974) was used for the semi-quantification.
2.4.2. Scanning Electronic Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray
Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX)
The equipment used was an EVO LS15 microscope, which works in variable pressure
mode, coupled with INCA microanalysis and a backscattered electron detector. The
measurements were conducted under the following conditions: 100 s for the spectra acquisition;
20,3 s for the photograph scanning, l-probe of 1 to 1,8 nA, 20 Kv of voltage, and an 8,5-mm
focus distance. The INCA detector was calibrated for the quantitative analysis using a cobalt
standard (Micro-Analysis Consultants, Ltd. Cambridgeshire U.K.). The powder sub-samples
(three for each sample, located in different areas) were deposited in a standard SEM sample
holder (metallic body covered by an organic sticker) without any SEM-shading. Five analyses
were conducted on each sub-sample (a total of 15 analyses per sample). Figure 8 (displaying
the sample ALP17, as an example) shows the aspect of the extracted powder and the area
analysed in each EDX analysis (rectangle A).

O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
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Figure 8. Electronic microphotography of the powder sub-samples extracted with the micromotor. A: size of the
scanned area analysed in EDX. Produced by A. González.
2.4.3. Statistical analysis
The statistical analysis was carried out with the SPSS Statistics software version 20
(IBM®). The main statistical methods used were ANOVA and hierarchical clustering, which
were applied to the chemical compositions with the data normalized to the concentration of
silicon. We used this normalization for improving the statistical analysis through the removal
of the carbon contribution from the sticker at the holder (the analysis area was multigrain and,
in the interstices, we received the carbon signal of the sticker of the sample holder). Regarding
the cluster analysis, the data were transformed into Z-scores. The intergroup linking was used
as clustering method and the Euclidean distance as measure of the interval. The elements
included in the analysis were Na, Mg, Al, P, S, Ca, Ti, Fe and Cu, some of them not related to
the crystal-chemistry of pyroxenes, as for example P (related to apatite), S (related to sulfides),
Ti (related to a Ti-bearing phase) and Cu (possibly related to chalcopyrite - CuFeS2, a sulfide)
but they were included to show similarities between samples.
2.4.4. Other determinations
A macroscopic analysis was conducted on the Vilapedre axe and on the geological samples
using a stereographic microscope. The rocks were preliminarily identified with Diffrac Plus
EVA as a poorly garnet-bearing Na-pyroxenite. Density analysis was conducted following the
method proposed for this specific kind of archaeological artefacts by Errera (2014).

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3. Results and discussion
3.1. Mineralogy
Except in samples Alp10 and Alp17, where only omphacite was detected (Table 2, Figure
9), jadeite and omphacite were the main minerals identified in the geological samples using
XRD. Some of these contain analcime, albite and clinochlore as secondary minerals, which
were probably formed during the retrogression of the rocks (also detected by D´Amico et al.
2003). The Vilapedre axe only showed the presence of jadeite (73 %, semiquantification in
weight) and omphacite (27 %), confirming it as a mixed jade. From a mineralogical point of
view, the results show that ALP06 and ALP03 were the analysed geological samples more
similar to our axe, since the three have a similar composition, based exclusively on jadeite and
omphacite (Table 2).
Table 2. Mineralogical semi-quantification obtained from X-Ray Diffraction. Besides, optical analysis revealed
the presence of garnets (deformed garnets or hollow-core small garnets) in both the archaeological and geological
samples. Produced by O. Lantes.
Sample
Jadeite
Omphacite
Analcime
Clinochlore
Albite
ALP01
64
19
17
-
-
ALP03
61
39
-
-
-
ALP04
51
45
5
-
-
ALP06
85
15
-
-
-
ALP10
-
100
-
-
-
ALP14
31
21
-
-
48
ALP17
-
100
-
-
-
ALP30
57
28
-
15
-
MPVV
73
27
-
-
-
3.2 Chemical composition
Table 3 shows the results of the EDX elemental analysis (five independent determinations
per subsample, five subsamples per sample). We must stress that we were interested in a global
composition, so that we measured polycrystalline areas to achieve it. The major chemical
components detected during the analyses were Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe, while the minor
elements identified were P, S, Ti, Cu and K. The major elements are characteristic of jadeite
and omphacite. Regarding the minor elements, Ti could appear in this kind of rocks as part of
a minor trace phase as rutile or titanite and K as phengite or K-Na paragonite (Harlow et al.
2015). P could appear as part of apatite (one of the accessory minerals in both omphacitite and
jadeitite). The presence of S, also rare, could be explained by its role as component of the
occasional pyrite, pyrrhotite or chalcopyrite. The occurrence of the latter mineral, together with
apatite, has been repeatedly reported in Alpine jades (D’Amico 1995, 2012; D’Amico et al.
2003). The detailed SEM exploration of the Vilapedre axe, in this case in individual grains, led
us to detect a very occasional presence of shining crystals or grains, interpreted either as La,
Nd and Ce phosphates (monazite) or as zircon (Figure 10), the latter already referred as a trace
mineral in Alpine jade (D’Amico et al. 1995, 2003, Pétrequin et al. 2012b). Cu is present in
small quantities in those samples with secondary minerals, such as oxides and sulphides, and
its presence in samples of jadeite and omphacite coming from the Alps has been referred by
Coccato et al. (2014).
We conducted an ANOVA test of the global chemical data finding no significant
differences between the sub-samples at a general level (Table 3 shows the average of the five
determinations in each sub-sample). This points out to a compositional homogeneity and it may
be seen as an evidence of the representativeness of our sampling strategy.

O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
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Table 3. Elemental composition. Mean value, expressed as the percentage in weight relative to Si, of the five
determinations in EDX defined for each sub-sample. The absence of superscripts means that the ANOVA test did
not detect significant differences between sub-samples (they belong to the same statistical group). Produced by O.
Lantes.
zone
Na
Mg
Al
Si
P
S
K
Ca
Ti
Fe
Cu
Alp01
1
0.402
0.040
0.413
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.095a
0.009
0.074
0.022
2
0.400
0.042
0.409
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.099ab
0.009
0.075
0.023
3
0.403
0.039
0.410
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.100b
0.013
0.074
0.023
Alp03
1
0.339
0.108
0.309
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.178
0.014
0.187
0.000
2
0.331
0.107
0.307
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.178
0.013
0.189
0.000
3
0.333
0.108
0.307
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.176
0.014
0.181
0.000
Alp04
1
0.321b
0.098
0.330
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.084
0.001
0.114
0.019
2
0.314ab
0.097
0.327
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.084
0.003
0.116
0.019
3
0.312a
0.097
0.326
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.084
0.004
0.117
0.017
Alp06
1
0.382ab
0.036
0.351
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.098
0.024
0.240
0.000
2
0.379a
0.035
0.352
1.000
0.001
0.000
0.000
0.098
0.022
0.237
0.000
3
0.385b
0.036
0.354
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.097
0.024
0.239
0.000
Alp10
1
0.221a
0.184a
0.227ab
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.385
0.024
0.090
0.000
2
0.219a
0.185a
0.225a
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.385
0.025
0.089
0.000
3
0.229b
0.189b
0.231b
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.383
0.023
0.091
0.000
Alp14
1
0.314
0.064
0.377
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.119
0.010
0.055
0.017
2
0.319
0.066
0.376
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.119
0.009
0.056
0.019
3
0.314
0.064
0.378
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.118
0.010
0.056
0.017
Alp17
1
0.255a
0.151
0.217
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.308a
0.021b
0.263
0.000
2
0.261b
0.152
0.216
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.302b
0.016a
0.255
0.000
3
0.255a
0.152
0.215
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.307a
0.014a
0.260
0.000
Alp30
1
0.298b
0.155c
0.282
1.000
0.011
0.050
0.000
0.210
0.045
0.398
0.021
2
0.293a
0.147a
0.282
1.000
0.009
0.051
0.000
0.214
0.124
0.319
0.020
3
0.299b
0.150b
0.285
1.000
0.011
0.049
0.000
0.213
0.122
0.313
0.020
MPVV
1
0.360
0.032
0.379
1.000
0.002
0.000
0.007a
0.072
0.011
0.137
0.000
2
0.362
0.032
0.382
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.008ab
0.071
0.010
0.140
0.000
3
0.359
0.032
0.379
1.000
0.004
0.000
0.009b
0.070
0.011
0.131
0.000

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Figure 9. Example of a diffractogram (zoom between 20 and 40 2θ) of some Alpine samples as examples of various Na-Px compositions. Alp04 (red) and Alp17 (black) samples
(superimposed). Orange bars: peaks corresponding to omphacite; red bars: peaks corresponding to jadeite. Alp17 does not show traces of jadeite. Produced by O. Lantes from
DIFFRACplus EVA software © PANALYTICAL.

18 O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
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Figure 10. Different trace minerals detected by SEM-EDX in the Vilapedre axe (MPVV). Produced by A
González.
3.3. Similarity between the archaeological artefact and the geological samples
A simple visual examination suggests, or at the very least does not contradict, an Alpine
origin for Vilapedre’s raw material, given the existence of several similarities between the
geological and archaeological samples. Such macroscopic analysis could allow also to
provisionally suggest a more specific source for the raw material, since the macroscopic traits
identified in the Vilapedre axe –in particular the garnets (Figure 5)– are akin to those
documented in geological samples from Monviso. Conversely, these seem to be absent in the
Voltri Group samples (Pétrequin et al. 2012b; Pétrequin & Errera 2017). The jadeite-omphacite

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association observed in the Vilapedre axe, with its characteristic schistose structure, is also well
represented in the Monviso samples collected to the south of the massif, regardless of whether
they are natural blocks, prehistoric axe rough-outs or debris of the workshops documented in
the area, but we ought to bear in mind that the Voltri group display, occasionally, a schistose
structure too.
The statistical analysis points to the Vilapedre item being more similar, from a chemical
point of view, to the geological sample ALP06, followed by ALP03 (Figure 11). Such results
are consistent with the similarities detected at a mineralogical level, therefore suggesting that
ALP06 –a decimetric block collected in the Pô River at Revello (Piedmont, in the Italian Alps)–
could be a raw material similar to Vilapedre’s. In addition to the analytical data, the external
aspect (green colour and flakiness) of ALP06 is the closest to MPVV among the samples
analysed for this paper. The presence of zircon as trace mineral points also towards an Alpine
origin of the MPVV raw material, since zircon has been referred as an important trace mineral
in Alpine jade (D’Amico 1995, Pétrequin et al. 2012b), both in Monviso and Voltri. Likewise,
apatite and –to a lesser extent– titanium minerals have been frequently identified as minor
phases of the Alpine jades (D’Amico 1995). The only difference between MPVV and ALP06,
detected in the performed analysis is the absence of K in the latter, maybe included in phengite
(Harlow et al. 2015), but this dissimilarity could be due to a lower concentration of this mineral.
Figure 11. Dendrogram of samples. -1, -2, -3: independent sub-samples obtained for each sample. In all cases,
sub-samples corresponding to the same sample are grouped together. This suggests a very similar and homogenous
composition of the subsamples. Produced by O Lantes from SPSS Statistics software version 20 (IBM®).

20 O. Lantes-Suárez et al.
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3.4. Vilapedre as evidence of prehistoric contacts between two Atlantic land ends?
Parallels for the Vilapedre axe cannot be found elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, but in
Brittany (France): research has shown the Gulf of Morbihan acting as a powerful attractor for
large polished blades within the distribution network of Alpine jades. Such artefacts were often
re-polished to create specific regional models: the so-called “Carnacean axes”, whose most
emblematic examples –the Tumiac type– are butt-perforated (Figure 3: right). Between the mid-
5th Millennium and approximately 4300 BCE, this coastal area of France delivered some
repolished Alpine pieces towards the Paris Basin, Germany and –as we suggest in this paper–
the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Cassen et al. 2012; Pétrequin et al. 2012b).
The presence of a Tumiac axe in Northwestern Spain has been repeatedly mentioned as an
evidence of the existence of links between the French and Iberian western outposts, starting at
least from the early 4th Millennium BCE (Cassen et al. 2012; Pétrequin et al. 2012b), an
hypothesis that is also supported by the presence of other Iberian artefacts (namely variscite
beads from Palazuelo de las Cuevas and Encinasola) amidst the grave-goods at several
sepultures of Western France, most of them found in the gigantic Carnacean tumuli around the
Morbihan gulf –Tumiac in Arzon, Mané er Hroëck in Locmariaquer, and Saint-Michel in
Carnac– (Cassen et al. 2012; Querré et al. 2008, 2012, 2015). Recent approaches (Cassen et al.
2019) have added Tumiac axes made on calcium amphibole/actinolite to the possible list of
artefacts exchanged between these two regions.
The peculiar spatial distribution of some of these objects, with few or no examples in
regions between Brittany and Galicia (Figure 2), has led several authors to point out the
possibility of direct contacts by sea between these two areas, which would provide interesting
insights on the possible development of relatively advanced seafaring techniques in Southwest
Europe as early as in the 5th millennium BCE (Cassen et al. 2019).
4. Conclusions
The mineralogical, chemical and macroscopic analyses have identified ALP06 –a
decimetric block collected in the Pô River at Revello (Piedmont, in the Italian Alps)– as the
closest to Vilapedre’s raw material among the geological samples analysed for this paper. Such
similarity, together with the fact that the selection of samples was conducted considering all the
archaeological data available for the potential source areas known in Western Europe to this
day, points out that it could be the probable raw material employed for manufacturing the
Vilapedre axe, perhaps from blocks close to Revello or others located in areas with similar
features, including primary sources higher up in the mountains. That said, other potential
sources appearing in the future may make further geological analyses necessary to tighten with
greater accuracy a precise location.
The determination of an Alpine origin for the Vilapedre axe is a significant contribution to
the study of the Prehistory of the Atlantic Façade, since it links two of its major “land-ends”
and stepping stones (Brittany and Galicia) within an exchange network that –from the Italian
Alps– reached most part of Western Europe. Although other Alpine axes had been previously
documented in the Iberian Peninsula, Vilapedre is the only clearly Carnacean axe of Morbihan
style found so far in the area. As other authors have repeatedly noted, this circumstance
reinforces the traditional hypotheses suggesting the existence of contacts between Brittany and
Galicia since, at least, the Neolithic period. Such a view is endorsed by the striking similarities
in certain artefacts, such as the unusual concentration of Cangas-type perforated axes in NW
Iberia, the Castellic pottery found in the passage-grave of Dombate or the presence of West
Iberian variscite in Breton tumuli; noteworthy is, too, the so-called “The Thing” carved on
Dombate’s uprights –also in other NW Iberian dolmens– that has been related to motifs found
in Breton megaliths (Cassen et al. 2012; Fábregas Valcarce et al. 2012).

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It is also remarkable the current absence of parallels for Vilapedre and other perforated
Tumiac axes in other regions of Spain or Portugal, namely in the whole Cantabrian strip,
perhaps hinting at the existence of direct sea contacts between Brittany and Galicia. Such a
peculiar distribution of material items seems to persist in later, Chalcolithic times, for Bell
Beakers are very well represented in Galician territory, while extremely scarce in neighbouring
Cantabrian regions and, again, quite present in Brittany with, furthermore, clear coincidences
as to the design and decorative techniques of the vessels (Blas & Rodríguez 2015; Prieto &
Salanova 2009).
With the necessary caveats linked to the difficult context of the piece, we would like to
propose the path followed by the Vilapedre axe: from the extraction and manufacture, probably
in the Western Alps, to its circulation towards the Paris basin and then to Brittany, where the
final polishing and perforation would have taken place. Finally, having lost its original function
as a working tool and becoming an item with a strong social or religious significance, the
Vilapedre axe would have departed the Gulf of Morbihan to reach the northwest of the Iberian
Peninsula, after completing a journey of more than 1.400 km.
Acknowledgements
The authors want to thank to Alfredo Rodríguez and Rubén Corral (Instituto de Cerámica,
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela) for determining the bulk density of the Vilapedre axe,
to Inés Fernandez Cereijo and Guillermo Zaragoza Vérez (Unidade de Raios X, RIAIDT,
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) for conducting the mineral semi-quantification of the
samples analysed in this paper and for the crystallographic comments, respectively. To the Real
Academia Galega for granting us access to Mato Vizoso’s personal papers and to the Instituto
de Estudos Chairegos for their help in collecting information regarding Mato Vizoso’s personal
papers. To the reviewers for helping us to improve this paper.
This work has been funded by the “JADE 2: Objets-signes et interprétations sociales des
jades alpins dans l’Europe néolithique, 2013-2016” project (ANR-12-BSH3-0005-01. Agence
Nationale de la Recherche), under the direction of E. Gauthier and P. Pétrequin and managed
by the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement, CNRS et Université de
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Besançon, France and it is also part of the RIAIDT (University of
Santiago de Compostela) scientific divulgation program.
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