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Life and death in the Neolithic variscite mines at Gavà (Barcelona, Spain)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2015

Ferran Borrell ,
Josep Bosch  and
Tona Majó
Ferran Borrell
Affiliation:
Departament de Prehistòria, Mòdul de Recerca A, Campus Nord, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain (Email: [email protected])
Josep Bosch
Affiliation:
Museu de Gavà, Plaça de Dolors Clua 13, 08850 Gavà (Barcelona), Spain (Email: [email protected]; [email protected])
Tona Majó
Affiliation:
Museu de Gavà, Plaça de Dolors Clua 13, 08850 Gavà (Barcelona), Spain (Email: [email protected]; [email protected])
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Abstract

Mining has commonly been thought of as hard manual labour undertaken by the lower echelon of a hierarchical society, but was this always the case? Recent excavations of the variscite mines at Gavà have revealed burials contemporary with the peak of mining activity that represent a community of miners exploiting the subterranean resources for trade and manufacturing variscite beads with a nuanced symbolism. Skeletal evidence demonstrates the physicality of mining while grave goods reveal a community that worked collectively to mine, manufacture and trade goods, with miners themselves benefiting from the fruits of their labours.

Keywords

Neolithicminingvariscitebeadsburialgrave goodssocial hierarchyosteoarchaeology
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 343 , February 2015 , pp. 72 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd., 2015 

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