The Composition of the São Brás Copper Hoard in Relation to the Bell Beaker Metallurgy in the South-western Iberian Peninsula

Valério, Pedro; Soares, Joaquina; Araújo, Maria de Fátima; Alves, L. C.; Silva, Carlos Tavares da

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/34997

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Authors

Valério, Pedro

Soares, Joaquina

Araújo, Maria de Fátima

Alves, L. C.

Silva, Carlos Tavares da

Abstract(s)

A large ceramic vessel was discovered at São Brás (southern Portugal) containing a metallic hoard from the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age period. These weapons and tools were characterized by microanalytical techniques as being composed of copper with varying arsenic contents (2.2± 1.6 wt%) and minor amounts of lead, bismuth and iron. The collection shows a clear association between daggers and copper with a higher arsenic content, which can be explained by the high status of these silvery alloys. Finally, the compositional distribution of the hoard was compared with the metallurgy of the Bell Beaker and non–Bell Beaker communities inhabiting the south-western Iberian Peninsula.

Keywords

Iberian Peninsula Chalcolithic Bell Beaker Material culture Arsenical Copper Micro-EDXRF Micro-PIXE

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/34997

Citation

Valério, P., Soares, J., Araújo, M. d. F., Alves, L. C., & Tavares da Silva, C. (2018). The Composition of the São Brás Copper Hoard in Relation to the Bell Beaker Metallurgy in the South-western Iberian Peninsula. Archaeometry. doi: 10.1111/arcm.12422