Scientists from the Universities of Granada and Cambridge, in cooperation with the Government of Catalonia, have actually discovered the earliest pieces of Baltic amber in the Iberian Peninsula. This Baltic amber gradually became more widespread than regional amber varieties, reflecting its global desirability.
Scientists from the Universities of Granada and Cambridge, in partnership with the Government of Catalonia, have actually discovered the oldest Baltic amber fragments on the Iberian Peninsula. These findings recommend that this high-end product, widely used in worldwide precious jewelry and crafts, was being traded over 5,000 years earlier.
The research was led by UGR lecturer Mercedes Murillo-Barroso and included the cooperation of Marcos Martinón-Torres of the University of Cambridge and Araceli Martín Cólliga of the Government of Catalonia.
According to Murillo-Barroso, the work “allows us to state with self-confidence that the arrival of Baltic amber on the Iberian Peninsula happened at least in the 4th millennium BC, more than a millennium earlier than we believed, and that it was probably part of wider trade networks linked to the south of France.”
The Significance of Trade and Amber in Prehistoric Times
Trade is one of the lots of systems through which we establish social relations, and typically the things that are exchanged are not always customer products required to live, but rather ornamental, luxury, or symbolic objects. Often, especially in adverse conditions, having trade networks means having a network of shared support, but these trade networks can likewise generate social inequalities and relations of dependency, particularly if not all of the community takes pleasure in equivalent access to the networks or if the objects exchanged are unequal.
In ancient times, amber, a fossil resin, was definitely not a basic material required for the advancement of everyday life, however it was highly valued and was exchanged via the substantial trade networks that were established.
Making use of the numerous amber deposits on the Iberian Peninsula since the Upper Palaeolithic has been recorded and, thanks to research performed by archaeologists over the years, we understand that from the 4th millennium BC onwards Sicilian amber started to reach the Iberian Peninsula through Mediterranean trade networks. However, until now it was believed that Baltic amber did not reach the Peninsula until the 2nd millennium BC, at which point it would end up being the main raw material, replacing other kinds of amber such as Peninsular or Sicilian amber.
Proof from the Cova del Frare Site
In their research post published in the journal Scientific Reports, Mercedes Murillo-Barroso kept in mind: “We present the standard infrared spectroscopy analysis of an amber bead of Baltic origin discovered at the Cova del Frare website in a context dated between 3634-3363 cal BC.”
” The site, which is really remarkable, illustrates the shift between the Middle Neolithic of the Sepulcrand the Late Neolithic of Véraza”, explains Araceli Martín Cólliga, director of the excavations at the site.
” As there are no composed documents from prehistoric times, the only method to study human activity is through historical remains. To study the transport and exchange of materials, we utilize extremely exact analytical strategies, such as infrared spectroscopy, which give us a type of fingerprint of the amber deposits and items,” states Mercedes Murillo-Barroso.
Based on a large amount of information and this kind of analysis, integrated with other bodies of archaeological info, the research study verifies that Baltic amber showed up in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula as early as the Neolithic, which is “something that should be understood in the context of trade during this period of transition and modification, either by agents of a decreasing Sepulcres de Fossa culture, or by those who would set new cultural patterns at the end of the Neolithic, led by the Véraza groups of Catalonia and southern France, and not necessarily as direct contact with northern Europe.”
There is currently no proof of Baltic amber crossing the Ebro at such an early date into the southern Iberian Peninsula, where the usage of Sicilian amber was primary as an outcome of the Mediterranean networks.
The Global Value of Baltic Amber
The Baltic region is home to what is maybe the very best amber in the world for usage in precious jewelry. It was highly sought after in classical Rome and now sustains an entire market, for example in Poland. We now understand that it began to get here in Iberia as early as the 4th millennium BC, and that it slowly replaced Peninsular and Sicilian amber.
” This finding unquestionably has important ramifications for our understanding of early exchange networks of exotic materials and their impact on social structures,” discusses University of Cambridge professor Marcos Martinón-Torres.
Referral: “The earliest Baltic amber in Western Europe” by M. Murillo-Barroso, A. Martín Cólliga and M. Martinón-Torres, 31 August 2023, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-023-41293-0.
Scientists from the Universities of Granada and Cambridge, in partnership with the Government of Catalonia, have actually found the oldest pieces of Baltic amber in the Iberian Peninsula. The discover sheds light on ancient trade networks, suggesting a connection with southern France. This Baltic amber gradually ended up being more prevalent than local amber varieties, showing its worldwide desirability. The Baltic area is home to what is perhaps the finest amber in the world for use in precious jewelry. We now understand that it began to get here in Iberia as early as the 4th millennium BC, and that it slowly changed Peninsular and Sicilian amber.