An international research team, led by Dr. Samuel Ramírez-Cruzado Aguilar-Galindo, has uncovered an “exceptional” sperm whale tooth at the Copper Age site of Valencina de la Concepción de Guzmán.
The discovery, detailed in a recent study published in PLOS One, occurred at one of southwestern Iberia’s most significant prehistoric settlements, known for its megalithic monuments and numerous pits.
Deep inside one of these pits, archaeologists were astonished by a remarkable artifact from the distant past: a sperm whale tooth that had clearly undertaken an extraordinary journey to reach ancient human hands. Significantly, it marks the first such find in Prehistoric Iberia and only the second ever reported for the Western Mediterranean.
The find provides compelling new evidence that early humans exploited marine mammals for ivory, reinforcing a growing body of research that suggests our ancestors’ activities extended beyond land-based hunting and gathering to include coastal exploitation.
A long trip to reach the shore
Recognizing its “rarity and importance,” the study authors performed an exhaustive multi-disciplinary analysis to reconstruct the sperm whale tooth’s remarkable journey.
“It belongs to an old specimen,” Dr. Ramírez-Cruzado Aguilar-Galindo explained to Phys, “based on the wear visible on the labial side, and a smoothed fracture with loss of material on the lingual side that indicates that it was produced during the animal’s life.”
A comprehensive combination of photogrammetric 3D modeling, taphonomic, paleontological, technological, and contextual analysis vividly revealed the tooth’s arduous journey before its discovery.
After the animal’s death, for reasons still unknown, the tooth rested on the ocean floor. Evidence suggests it briefly became a meal for scavenging sharks, leaving distinct tooth marks on its surface. It was then colonized by sponges and gastropods before being buried in the seafloor. Eventually, a storm likely dragged it to the surface, where it remained until humans spotted it.
Intriguingly, markings on the tooth indicate Copper Age inhabitants of Valencia used a square-section awl or narrow chisel to remove its lower half. Archaeologists noted these modifications, alongside its unusual placement in a pit devoid of human remains – a puzzle for researchers.
Whale teeth were sacred
As Phys reports, a curious phenomenon emerged in Neolithic Europe: humans routinely disposed of valuable objects into pits, a practice appearing to be ritualistic rather than funerary.
At Valencia, large animals were frequently treated as sacred, with their remains even interred in the graves of socially prominent individuals. The study posits that ancient humans likely viewed the tooth as a prized object, intentionally placing it within one of these sacred pits.
“It was intended as a votive offering,” researchers confirmed.
Furthermore, human-induced fracturing on the tooth suggests it may have served as raw material for manufacturing ornaments. While no ivory artifact has yet been definitively linked to sperm whale teeth, recent years have seen a significant expansion of research into how prehistoric societies utilized marine resources.
The discovery of another sperm whale tooth at Monte d’Accoddi lends further support to archaeologists’ hypothesis that prehistoric humans walked along the shore and gathered precious materials like this one, which they then imbued with both sacred and economic value that researchers are just beginning to fully comprehend.
The study has been published in PLOS One.