First evidence of prehistoric eclogite quarrying for polished tools and their circulation on the Iberian Peninsula

This research provides the first evidence of prehistoric quarrying of eclogitic rocks on the Iberian peninsula. Such metamorphosed basic igneous rocks are known to have been used in southern Spain and Portugal during late prehistory as a raw material for the making of polished lithic tools (axes, adzes, chisels, and hammers). These rocks were widely used primarily because of their tolerance to blow and friction due to their mineralogical and textural characteristics. We have identified two quarries within the Sierra de Baza Natural Park (Granada), in the Betic Cordillera of southern Spain: Rambla del Agua and Cerro de San Cristobal. The bedrock geology of these quarries forms part of the Mulhacen Complex Ophiolite Unit (Nevado-Filabride Domain), which discontinuously outcrops along a 250-km belt in southeastern Spain. Petrographic and geochemical analyses were conducted on raw materials from quarries in the Sierra de Baza and compared with archaeological materials from different sites in southern Iberia. These analyses allow us to specify the Nevado-Filabride-derived lithic source and define exchange networks. Archaeological sites around the studied quarries chronologically date their use between the early Neolithic and Bronze Age (similar to 5500-1500 B.C.).