부산대학교 도서관

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 Gava 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: Neolithic, mining, variscite, beads, burial, grave goods, social hierarchy, osteoarchaeology
Introduction The Neolithic transition in the north-west of the Mediterranean Basin (5500-3500 cal BC) is characterised by the steady development of trade networks, particularly those involving abiotic resources (e.g. obsidian, [...]