The skeleton of a Copper Age person found at Valencina, Spain, dubbed the Ivory Lady
Research group ATLAS, University of Sevilla
According to molecular analysis of their teeth, one of the most prominent figures in a Copper Age Iberian society was female, not male as originally thought.
The Iberian Copper Age, which dates back roughly 4000 to 5000 years ago, is characterized by the emergence of copper smelting in what is now Spain and Portugal.
In 2008, archaeologists uncovered the remains of an individual at Valencina in southwest Spain, one of the largest Copper Age sites in Europe. This individual’s tomb was adorned with lavish goods, including an ornate rock crystal dagger and ivory objects such as an African elephant tusk.
This individual was also buried alone, which was uncommon during that time. “This suggests that the individual was probably the highest status of their time in the Iberian peninsula or even western Europe,” says Leonardo García Sanjuán at the University of Seville in Spain.
Initially, based on the analysis of the skeleton, researchers believed this individual was male and between 17 and 25 years old.
However, Garcia Sanjuán and his team have now determined through the analysis of tooth enamel that this figure was actually female. The presence of a protein called amelogenin, which is encoded by genes on the X and Y chromosomes, can reveal someone’s sex.
García Sanjuán and his team have named her the “Ivory Lady.” The absence of treasured objects in the burial sites of children from this era suggests that inheritance of wealth was not common in this society, and social status was not always predetermined by birth. Therefore, the researchers speculate that she must have attained her high rank, indicating that women may have had a more prominent role in Iberian Copper Age societies than previously believed.
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