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Microanalytical study of copper ores from the Chalcolithic settlement of São Pedro (Portugal): Copper production in the south‐western Iberian Peninsula
Author(s) -
Valério P.,
Cardoso I. P.,
Santiago M.,
Araújo M. F.,
Alves L. C.,
Gonçalves M. A.,
Mataloto R.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12514
Subject(s) - malachite , copper , hematite , goethite , metallurgy , copper mining , arsenic , peninsula , geology , chalcolithic , mineralogy , geochemistry , chemistry , geography , materials science , archaeology , bronze age , organic chemistry , adsorption
Copper ores recovered at the third millennium bce settlement of São Pedro, Portugal, were characterized by micro‐Raman spectroscopy, micro‐energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (micro‐ EDXRF) and micro‐particle‐induced X‐ray emission spectrometry (micro‐PIXE). The collection shows the common presence of secondary copper minerals (malachite, pseudomalachite and libethenite) combined with iron oxyhydroxides (hematite and goethite), while arsenic‐rich minerals are absent and, therefore, can be excluded as the source of arsenical copper. Overall, these copper ores suggest a primitive technology involving the exploitation of the superficial zone of ore bodies and reliant on the fortuitous finding of arsenic‐rich sources to produce the arsenical copper alloy frequently present among metallic collections of the Iberian Peninsula.