Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age

By combining a multidisciplinary approach and an intensive program of scientific techniques, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (Zamora, Spain) in prehistoric times. During the Late Chalcolithic and the Early/Middle Bronze Age salt was obtained...

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Authors: Guerra Doce, Elisa, Abarquero Moras, F.J, Herrero-Otal, Maria, Homs, Anna, García Cuesta, José Luis, López Sáez, José Antonio, Piqué, Raquel, Delibes de Castro, Germán
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/368464
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/368464
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Holocene
Iberia
Chalcolithic
Bronze age
Salt
Brine boiling
Palynology
Geoarchaeology
Basketry
Experimental archaeology
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spelling Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze AgeGuerra Doce, ElisaAbarquero Moras, F.JHerrero-Otal, MariaHoms, AnnaGarcía Cuesta, José LuisLópez Sáez, José AntonioPiqué, RaquelDelibes de Castro, GermánHoloceneIberiaChalcolithicBronze ageSaltBrine boilingPalynologyGeoarchaeologyBasketryExperimental archaeologyBy combining a multidisciplinary approach and an intensive program of scientific techniques, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (Zamora, Spain) in prehistoric times. During the Late Chalcolithic and the Early/Middle Bronze Age salt was obtained by boiling brine from salt lagoons. In many parts of western and central Europe at the time the standard procedure for forcing evaporation usually involved the use of crudely fired clay vessels (briquetage) to concentrate brine, and then to mould salt. We suggest that the methods during the final stages of the process differed at Villafáfila, having found evidence of basketry and textiles, which may have been used in the step of crystallization/transport of salt in cake, instead of the small ceramic salt moulds which would be expected in such sites. The role of salt within the socioeconomic setting of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE in Central Iberia is also assessed. It is argued that the production and distribution of salt contributed significantly to the political economy, as elites controlled this activity, supporting the idea that salt was a prestige good that contributed to the accumulation of wealth. There is also evidence of ritual practices in the salt-processing areas, as human burials and animal sacrifices have been documented in the excavated sites.This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme (POCTEP, 2007–2013/FEDER), and by the Regional Government of Castilla y León, Spain (Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deporte-Junta de Castilla y León).Peer reviewedElsevierJunta de Castilla y LeónConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202420242024info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/368464reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108758Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/3684642026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
title Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
spellingShingle Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
Guerra Doce, Elisa
Holocene
Iberia
Chalcolithic
Bronze age
Salt
Brine boiling
Palynology
Geoarchaeology
Basketry
Experimental archaeology
title_short Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
title_full Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
title_fullStr Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
title_full_unstemmed Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
title_sort Brine-boiling not using briquetage? Technical, socio-economical and ritual aspects of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (central Iberia) in Late Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Guerra Doce, Elisa
Abarquero Moras, F.J
Herrero-Otal, Maria
Homs, Anna
García Cuesta, José Luis
López Sáez, José Antonio
Piqué, Raquel
Delibes de Castro, Germán
author Guerra Doce, Elisa
author_facet Guerra Doce, Elisa
Abarquero Moras, F.J
Herrero-Otal, Maria
Homs, Anna
García Cuesta, José Luis
López Sáez, José Antonio
Piqué, Raquel
Delibes de Castro, Germán
author_role author
author2 Abarquero Moras, F.J
Herrero-Otal, Maria
Homs, Anna
García Cuesta, José Luis
López Sáez, José Antonio
Piqué, Raquel
Delibes de Castro, Germán
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Junta de Castilla y León
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Holocene
Iberia
Chalcolithic
Bronze age
Salt
Brine boiling
Palynology
Geoarchaeology
Basketry
Experimental archaeology
topic Holocene
Iberia
Chalcolithic
Bronze age
Salt
Brine boiling
Palynology
Geoarchaeology
Basketry
Experimental archaeology
description By combining a multidisciplinary approach and an intensive program of scientific techniques, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of salt production at the Villafáfila lagoons (Zamora, Spain) in prehistoric times. During the Late Chalcolithic and the Early/Middle Bronze Age salt was obtained by boiling brine from salt lagoons. In many parts of western and central Europe at the time the standard procedure for forcing evaporation usually involved the use of crudely fired clay vessels (briquetage) to concentrate brine, and then to mould salt. We suggest that the methods during the final stages of the process differed at Villafáfila, having found evidence of basketry and textiles, which may have been used in the step of crystallization/transport of salt in cake, instead of the small ceramic salt moulds which would be expected in such sites. The role of salt within the socioeconomic setting of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE in Central Iberia is also assessed. It is argued that the production and distribution of salt contributed significantly to the political economy, as elites controlled this activity, supporting the idea that salt was a prestige good that contributed to the accumulation of wealth. There is also evidence of ritual practices in the salt-processing areas, as human burials and animal sacrifices have been documented in the excavated sites.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024
2024
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/368464
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/368464
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108758
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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