Resin-coated beads in Iberian Late Prehistory (3rd–2nd millennia BCE)

Abstract

A group of beads from the artificial cave of La Molina (Lora de Estepa, Sevilla) and Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona) were made from biogenic raw material and intentionally covered by a layer of resin. This is the first time this type of treatment has been documented on elements of adornment in the Late Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The composition and nature of the coatings are analyzed and the symbolic role of such alterations and imitations of prehistoric adornments is discussed.