Premium
Investigating glass beads and the funerary rituals of ancient Vaccaei culture (S. IV‐I BC) by Raman spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Pinto J.,
Prieto A.C.,
CoriaNoguera J.C.,
SanzMinguez C.,
Souto J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of raman spectroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.748
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1097-4555
pISSN - 0377-0486
DOI - 10.1002/jrs.6049
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , raman spectroscopy , archaeology , cultural heritage , relevance (law) , chemistry , mineralogy , history , optics , physics , political science , law
Glass pieces were highly appreciated goods in the Protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The specialized production of these glass pieces seems noncompatible with local workshops, and therefore, they are proof of commercial relationships with other cultures with the technical capability to produce such pieces. However, detailed studies of glass beads of archaeological relevance are scarce, as these samples usually appeared without a clear historical context. Nevertheless, the archaeological site of Pintia (Padilla de Duero, Valladolid, Spain) is a relevant exception to this situation. About 600 pieces have been recovered by 2018, with a significant percentage found in closed tombs. In this work, a set of 15 representative pieces from the Vaccaei culture (IV‐I centuries BC) have been studied by Raman spectroscopy and ESEM/EDX. The combination of both techniques provided valuable information about the fabrication of these samples, identifying diverse features that could be related to different workshops or origins. In particular, the characteristics of a sophisticated bifacial pendant were found to be compatible with their provenance from Carthage. Also, some of the pigments employed on these samples were identified by Raman spectroscopy, finding lead oxides, calcium antimoniate, hematite, and Naples yellow. The diverse trousseaus and viatic offerings found in the Vaccaei tombs show the relevance and complexity of the funerary cremation rituals in their culture. The study by Raman spectroscopy of well‐preserved and thermally altered glass beads found in the same tomb allowed estimating the maximum temperature reached during the cremation in about 600°C, which confirmed previous estimations derived from the state of conservation of the bone remains.