0018 - Cinnabar

Cinnabar is an exogenous item at Perdigões and at the inner Alentejo region. It circulates there at least since the late Middle Neolithic (recorded at the hypogeum of Quinta da Abóbada). At Perdigões, it is present during the Chalcolithic in tombs 1 and 2. Usually it appears in funerary contexts, spread over human remains and votive materials, as part of the ritual procedures.

Cinnabar over human mandible in Tomb 1 (Photo copyright Miguel Lago / Era Arqueologia)

Cinnabar, as the origin of Mercury, seems also responsible for the Mercury contamination of many people that have their remains in the site. Used in rituals, possibly inhaled or even eaten, or in tattoos or body paintings, cinnabar might be the responsible for the high concentrations of mercury in many human bones. The isotopic studies already done show that the cinnabar found at Perdigões had its origin at Almaden mines, in Ciudad Real, around 350km away.

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