The earliest Baltic amber in Western Europe
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
Springer Nature
Fecha
2023-08-31Referencia bibliográfica
Murillo-Barroso, M., Cólliga, A.M. & Martinón-Torres, M. The earliest Baltic amber in Western Europe. Sci Rep 13, 14250 (2023). [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41293-0]
Patrocinador
Social and Exchange Networks in the Argaric Society PID2022-137494NB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 101021480, 792130, HAR2011-23149 H2020; European Research Council ERC; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MICINNResumen
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 more than 12 individuals had been buried. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results of four samples revealed their complete resemblance with Baltic succinite reference spectra. Despite being a single bead, this finding provides the earliest evidence for the arrival of Baltic amber to the Mediterranean and Western Europe, before the Bell Beaker phenomenon and more than a millennium earlier than traditionally thought. This finding has implications for our understanding of early exchange networks of exotic materials, and their associated social structures.