Determination of Provenance by FTIR Spectroscopy, of an Amber Bead from the Megalithic Tomb of La Velilla (Osorno, Palencia)

Abstract

We present the results of the analysis through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) of one of the five amber beads recovered at the megalitic tomb of La Velilla (Osorno, Palencia). According to them, the amber from this tomb, or at least the bead under study, is not of exotic origin but it comes from local sources placed in Northern Iberia. In particular, it probably originated from the natural deposits of Cretaceous amber located in Cantabrian Spain. This fact, in tandem with what we already know about the origin of other items unearthed on the same site, is to confirm the integration of the Velilla's community in half and long-distance exchange networks of prestige goods.