Ivory technology: tools, techniques and production modes in the Iberian Copper Age. Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville) as a case study

The use of ivory in the Mediterranean region dates to the Palaeolithic period, with a significant increase taking place during the Copper Age in southern Europe. This article explores, in-depth, the exploitation of elephant tusks and the processes behind manufacturing ivory objects during the Copper Age on the Iberian Peninsula. For this purpose, the mega-site of Valencina in southern Spain is used as a case study because of the abundant and varied collection of ivories it has yielded. The technological, morphological, and contextual dimensions of Copper Age ivory will be examined here. Standardised exploitation was observed, oriented towards the manufacture of specific types of blanks, based on the knowledge and use of different parts of the tusk (hollow and compact) in a differential and very specific manner. The main form of exploitation is longitudinal, that is, to produce plates, allowing for more efficient exploitation of this raw material. Furthermore, this study has revealed the only case so far in the Iberian Peninsula of a sawing process by abrasion, and not with a saw ("sciage au fil sable"), extending our knowledge of the craftsmanship of Prehistoric societies.