RT Journal Article
T1 From the jaws of the “Leviathan”: A sperm whale tooth from the Valencina Copper Age Megasite
A1 Ramírez Cruzado, Samuel
A1 Cáceres Puro, Luis Miguel
A1 Toscano Grande, Antonio
A1 García Sanjuan, Leonardo
AB During the excavations undertaken in 2018 at the Nueva Biblioteca sector of theValencina Copper Age mega-site, in south-west Spain, an exceptional sperm-whaletooth was found inside a non-burial pit. This remarkable object is the first of its kindever found for Late Prehistoric Iberia. Due to its rarity and importance, a multidisciplinarystudy was carried out, including photogrammetric 3D modelling, as well astaphonomic, paleontological, technological and contextual analysis. This led to a fullcharacterisation of the artefact through the analysis of its bioerosion traces, anthropogenicmarks, depositional context and socio-cultural background. The ensuingdiscussion covers the history and processes the tooth went through from the death ofthe animal and disposal on the seabed, through the disarticulation of the tooth to itscollection in a coastal environment and its subsequent use and deposition in the pit
PB Public Library of Science
SN 1932-6203 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-05
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25544
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25544
LA eng
NO Ramírez-Cruzado Aguilar-Galindo, S., Luciañez-Triviño, M., Muñiz Guinea, F., Cáceres Puro, L. M., Toscano Grande, A., Díaz-Guardamino, M., Vargas Jiménez, J. M., Schuhmacher, T. X., Martínez Sánchez, R. M., Guillamón Dávila, S., Rodríguez Vidal, J., & García Sanjuán, L. (2025). From the jaws of the “Leviathan”: A sperm whale tooth from the Valencina Copper Age Megasite. PLOS One, 20(5), e0323773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323773
NO We would like to thank Juan Carlos Castro Jiménez for his kind restoration work on the tooth. We would also like to thank the Museum and Council of Valencina de la Concepción and the Research Group RNM-293 of the University of Huelva. We would like to thank as well Manolo Toscano, Teodosio Donaire and Cristóbal for their help doing the tests that were carried out in the electron microscopy lab of the University of Huelva
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026