Raw material procurement and selection in Southeast Iberia's early metallurgy

The role of metallurgy in the Copper Age communities of the Iberian Southeast is a recurrent question of archaeological research in western Europe. Based on lead isotope and trace element analyses of archaeometallurgical remains, this paper addresses the territorial organisation of metallurgical production during the Copper Age (3100-2200 cal BC) in the Vera Basin (Almeria, Spain), the region with the earliest metallurgical evidence in western Europe. This paper comprises the study of materials from the three main settlements with metallurgical activity in the area (Las Pilas, Santa Barbara and Almizaraque), as well as some metal objects from these and other sites (La Encantada I, Loma de Belmonte and Las Churuletas 1). The results support a model of small-scale regional production whereby settlements exploited the resources of their nearby surroundings (up to 30 km as the crow flies). However, metallurgical exploitation prioritised mineralisations rich in arsenic and other elements, even when other sources were more readily accessible: for the case of Las Pilas, the exploitation of Pinar de Bedar sources instead of Sierra Cabrera, closer to the site; for the cases of Santa Barbara and Almizaraque, the sources of Cerro Minado. The possibility that Almizaraque and Las Pilas also exploited the minerals of Herrerias, although to a lesser extent, remains open. Broader exchange networks are indicated by the data from finished objects, from which greater mobility can be inferred.