Archaeologists Uncover 23 Pyrenees Hearths Hinting at Early Copper Processing 6,000 Years Ago
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · May 19
Archaeologists Uncover 23 Pyrenees Hearths Hinting at Early Copper Processing 6,000 Years Ago
4 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · May 19
At 2,235 meters in the eastern Pyrenees, Cave 338 yielded 23 hearths packed with crushed, burned green mineral fragments, pointing to repeated prehistoric processing activity rather than brief stopovers.
Radiocarbon dates place the main use phases at about 5,500 to 4,000 years ago and around 3,000 years ago, while the oldest layer reaches roughly 6,000 years back.
Tests suggest the green stone may be malachite linked to copper production, and researchers said its thermal alteration shows the material was deliberately heated.
A child’s finger bone, a baby tooth, and pendants made from shell and brown bear tooth raise the possibility that the cave also had burial or symbolic functions.
The findings challenge the idea that high-altitude Pyrenees sites were only used briefly, and further excavation this summer may clarify the mineral’s source and the cave’s full sequence.
Why did ancient people bring children to a dangerous high-altitude copper camp over 5,000 years ago?
What drove prehistoric groups to repeatedly climb the Pyrenees for 2,000 years to process a single green mineral?