Baltic amber (also known as succinate) has been considered the finest amber in the world for thousands of years and has been eagerly sought after for use in jewelry since Roman times. Although there are other amber deposits in Europe, ancient people coveted this precious amber from the Baltic Sea, and new research reveals that it was transported to the westernmost part of the continent 5,000 years ago.
In a new study, researchers describe the discovery of a Baltic amber bead found in the Cova del Frare cave cemetery in Catalonia, Spain. This necropolis dates back to 3634 to 3363 BC and contains the remains of at least 12 prehistoric humans there, representing the earliest period when Baltic amber appeared on the Iberian Peninsula.
Using a technique called FTIR spectroscopy, the researchers were able to confirm that the bead's reference spectrum was significantly different from that of amber deposits in the Iberian region, but matched that of amber from the Baltic Sea.
In a statement, study author Mercedes Murillo-Barroso said: "This discovery gives us confidence to say that Baltic amber arrived in the Iberian Peninsula at least in the fourth millennium BC, more than a thousand years earlier than we previously thought, and that it may have been part of a wider trade network with strong ties to southern France." ”
Baltic amber originated in northern Europe and was widely used by the so-called funnel cup culture, which dominated present-day Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, and appeared in the fourth millennium BC. The material, which is commonly used to make buttons, beads and pendants, has been identified at various sites in France, dating back about 5,000 years, to the earliest Baltic amber samples in Western Europe prior to this study.
In Spain, researchers had previously found a Baltic amber bead in an "extremely luxurious" tomb in the Murcia region. The tomb belonged to a male individual between the ages of 35 and 40 and dates from between 1738 and 1534 BC and is until now considered the earliest confirmed example of Baltic amber on the Iberian Peninsula.
Based on previous discoveries, historians have believed that the introduction of Baltic amber began with the so-called bell cup culture, which began to prevail in Portugal in the third millennium BC. However, the discovery of Cova del Frare shatters this narrative, proving that the appearance of Baltic amber in the Iberian Peninsula predates much earlier than previously assumed.
"Although this is considered a bead, this discovery provides the earliest evidence that Baltic amber arrived in the Mediterranean and Western European regions, predating the phenomenon of the bell cup culture and more than a thousand years earlier than traditionally believed," the study authors wrote.
Based on the age of the bead, researchers speculate that it may have reached Spain through an ancient trade network of Mediterranean tomb cultures, which emerged in Catalonia during the Middle Neolithic period and then disappeared between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.