What the study found
The study found that traditional shape-based identification was often unreliable for the fragmented ivory and bone remains from La Beleña. Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), a protein-based identification method, identified all ivory samples as African elephant ivory and corrected several earlier misidentifications.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that current ivory identification and provenance protocols should be revised, and that open-access reference databases should be expanded. The study suggests that integrating biomolecular methods, especially proteomics, offers a more reliable way to trace prehistoric exchange networks and understand the cultural significance of ivory.
What the researchers tested
The researchers analyzed 119 osseous and ivory fragments from the necropolis of La Beleña in Córdoba, Spain, dating to the second half of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. They combined macroscopic and microscopic observation with ZooMS, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction.
What worked and what didn't
Morphological criteria had significant limits in a highly fragmented assemblage. FTIR had limited ability to distinguish ivory from bone or one elephantid species from another, and aDNA produced too little endogenous material for analysis. ZooMS worked best in this study, identifying all ivory samples as African elephants and revealing that both transverse and longitudinal tusk exploitation were used; the objects were deposited as decorated finished items, consistent with funerary practices at other Iberian Chalcolithic sites.
What to keep in mind
The abstract describes challenges specific to fragmented prehistoric material, so the findings are limited to this kind of context. It also notes that aDNA was not useful here because of insufficient endogenous material, but it does not provide broader limits beyond the methods and sample set described.
Key points
- Traditional morphological identification was unreliable for the fragmented La Beleña assemblage.
- ZooMS identified all ivory samples as coming from African elephants (Loxodonta).
- FTIR could not clearly separate ivory from bone or distinguish elephantid species well.
- Ancient DNA extraction produced insufficient endogenous material for analysis.
- The ivory objects were deposited as decorated finished items, and both transverse and longitudinal tusk exploitation were observed.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- ZooMS identified ivory provenance in fragmented La Beleña remains
- Authors:
- M. Navero Rosales, N. W. Wang, S. Brown, M. Luciañez Triviño, P. Pečnerová, J. Santana, F. J. Rodríguez Santos, M.D. Camalich Massieu, D. Martín Socas, M. Murillo-Barroso
- Institutions:
- Banco Santander (Spain), Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Lund University, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de La Laguna, Universidad de La Laguna, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, University of Copenhagen, University of the Basque Country, University of Tübingen
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-06
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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