Gold in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the 3rd Millennium BC

The presence of gold manufactures during the third quarter of the 3rd Millennium BC (c. 2500-2350 cal. BC) in the contexts of a settlement specialised in copper production such as Cabezo Juré, in the South-western mining region (Huelva, Spain), and in the contexts of a huge central site such as Valencina de la Concepción, in the agrarian region of the Lower Guadalquivir Basin (Seville, Spain), points to the widespread social use of gold in the period of maximum expression of the inter-settlement hierarchisation in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, its link with the social spaces of inequality expression and their relationship with a complex production system. Geochemical characterization by LA-ICP-MS, lead isotopes analysis by MC-ICP-MS and metallographic study suggest two differentiated and independent supplies of raw material systems (fluvial placers vs. mines and local vs. regional scale), with at least four source areas, the regional circulation of raw material or products and a manufacturing by a metallurgical technology linked to the copper production.