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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
The Chalcolithic settlement of Leceia (Portugal) has one of the largest collections of copper artefacts and metallurgical debris in the Portuguese Estremadura. However, the absence of ores and smelting remains suggests that local metallurgical operations were related to the production of artefacts. In fact, the metal assemblage includes several fragments of flat axes, most of them with traces of sectioning, which may have been used as ingots. In order to validate this hypothesis and to identify the copper sources used, elemental, microstructural and Pb isotope characterisation of five axe-ingots was undertaken. The assemblage turned out to be composed of copper with varying amounts of arsenic (0.08–2.94 wt%) and oxide inclusions (Cu2O and Cu-As-O). Some inclusions containing distinct contents of Bi, Sb and/or Sn were also identified, indicating the exploitation of different sources of copper ores. Pb isotope ratios displayed a cluster of four samples (206Pb/204Pb: 18.2378–18.3444) and one outlier with low radiogenic lead (206Pb/204Pb: 17.6625), signatures that compare well with those previously obtained for local artefacts and prills. Euclidean distances identified ore deposits in the Spanish provinces of Huelva and Cordoba as potential suppliers of copper, particularly the supergene copper ores from the mines of Rio Tinto, Cabezadas del Sandino, Preciosa and Quita Pellejo, all of which are located a considerable distance from the settlement of Leceia. Other probable copper sources are located in the mining districts of Linares-La Carolina and Los Pedroches, situated even further away from the Portuguese Estremadura. Consequently, the copper axe-ingots of Leceia, like the previously analysed local artefacts, provide evidence of long-distance trade relations with south-central Iberian Peninsula, which appear to be shared with coeval settlements in Estremadura, such as Vila Nova de São Pedro and Zambujal.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Ingots Elemental composition Pb isotopes Copper trade Chalcolithic Portugal
Contexto Educativo
Citação
VALÉRIO, P.; CARDOSO, J. L.; ALVES, L. C.; SOARES, A. M. M. (2026) - The supply of copper to the settlement of Leceia (Portugal) and the Estremadura region during the third millennium BC. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 74: 105960.
Editora
Elsevier