1. 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.
- Author
-
Guerra-Doce, Elisa, Abarquero Moras, F. Javier, Romero-Brugués, Susagna, Herrero-Otal, Maria, Homs, Anna, García Cuesta, José Luis, López Sáez, José Antonio, Piqué, Raquel, and Delibes de Castro, Germán
- Subjects
- *
BRONZE Age , *LAGOONS , *SODIUM sulfate , *BRACKISH waters , *ANIMAL sacrifice , *SALT - Abstract
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. • Archaeological evidence shows the production of salt at the Villafáfila lagoons by the late 3rd millennium BCE, during the Beaker period. • Brackish water was boiled in large ceramic vessels supported by clay or stone pedestals. • Techniques evolved during the Early Bronze Age, when pedestals were replaced by clay-walled kilns. • Absence of genuine briquetage, and of small ceramic pots used as salt moulds. • Possible use of baskets and textiles sacks as moulds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF