Date:

The world’s oldest mercury poisoning revealed in Copper Age Iberia

A recent paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology and in which researchers from the University of Seville participate, explores the complex relationship between humans and mercury over time.

In this article, entitled “The use and abuse of cinnabar in Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia”, a team of 14 specialists in biology, chemistry, physical anthropology and archaeology have presented the results of the largest study ever carried out on the presence of mercury in human bone, with a sample of a total of 370 individuals from 50 tombs located in 23 archaeological sites in Spain and Portugal dating from Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age and Antiquity, thus encompassing 5000 years of human history.

- Advertisement -

The results reveal that the highest levels of mercury exposure occurred at the beginning of the Copper Age, between 2900 and 2600 BC. In this period, the exploitation and use of cinnabar increased considerably for social and cultural reasons. Cinnabar (HgS) is a mercury sulfide mineral that, when pulverized, turns into a powder of a striking and brilliant red color. Historically, this substance has been used to produce pigments in paint, being famous already in Antiquity (“Pompeian red”) or in modern art (known as “vermilion”).

It so happens that the largest cinnabar mine in the world, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is located in Almadén, in central Spain). The exploitation of the Almadén cinnabar began in the Neolithic, 7000 years ago. By the beginning of the Copper Age, around 5000 years ago, cinnabar became a product of great social value, with a character that was both sacred, esoteric and sumptuous.

In tombs from this period discovered in southern Portugal and Andalusia, cinnabar powder (often turned into a pigment) was used to paint megalithic chambers, decorate figurines or stelae, and to spread it over the dead. As a result, many people must have accidentally inhaled or consumed it, leading to unsuspected accumulations of mercury in their bodies. Levels of up to 400 parts per million (ppm) have been recorded in the bones of some of these individuals.

Taking into account that the WHO currently considers that the normal level of mercury in hair should not be higher than 1 or 2 ppm, the data obtained reveal a high level of intoxication that must have severely affected the health of many of those people. In fact, the levels detected in some subjects are so high that the study authors do not rule out that cinnabar powder was deliberately consumed, by inhalation of vapors, or even ingestion, for the ritual, symbolic and esoteric value that was attributed to it.

- Advertisement -

The results of this study provide scientific evidence of great value to expand future research on the complex relationship of human beings with mercury, one of the most peculiar mineral substances on our planet, and to learn about its uses and their consequences for human health. Find out more

UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE

Header Image Credit – Moha El-Jaw – Shutterstock

- Advertisement -
spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 7,500 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Underwater scans reveal lost submerged landscape

Researchers from the Life on the Edge project, a collaboration between the University of Bradford and the University of Split, has revealed a lost submerged landscape off the coast of Croatia using underwater scans.

Buried L-shaped structure and anomalies detected near Giza Pyramids

A geophysical study by archaeologists from the Higashi Nippon International University, Tohoku University, and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), have detected an L-shaped structure and several anomalies near the Giza Pyramids using geophysics.

Archaeologists search for traces of the “birthplace of Texas”

As part of a $51 million project, archaeologists have conducted a search for traces of Washington-on-the-Brazos, also known as the “birthplace of Texas”.

Archaeologists find moated medieval windmill

Archaeologists from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) have uncovered a moated medieval windmill during construction works of the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme in Bedfordshire, England.

Archaeologists find preserved Bronze Age wooden well

Archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have uncovered a well-preserved Bronze Age wooden well in Oxfordshire, England.

Bronze Age treasures stolen from Ely Museum

Thieves have broken into Ely Museum and stolen historical treasures dating from the Bronze Age.

Dune restoration project uncovers intact WWII bunkers

A restoration project to remove invasive plants from dunes in the Heist Willemspark, Belgium, has led to the discovery of three intact WWII bunkers.

Recent findings shed light on the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke

Ongoing excavations by archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have revealed new findings on the historical narrative of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke.