Next Article in Journal
Insights into the Metallogenesis of the Felsic Volcanic Hosted Mundiyawas-Khera Cu Deposit, Alwar Basin, Western India
Next Article in Special Issue
Editorial for Special Issue “Colours in Minerals and Rocks”
Previous Article in Journal
Mobilization of Au and Ag during Supergene Processes in the Linglong Gold Deposit: Evidence from SEM and LA–ICP–MS Analyses of Sulfides
Previous Article in Special Issue
Influence of Chemical Composition and Microvesiculation on the Chromatic Features of the Obsidian of Sierra de las Navajas (Hidalgo, Mexico)
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Minerals
Volume 12
Issue 3
10.3390/min12030368
minerals-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance

by
Yael Díaz-Acha
1,*,
Marc Campeny
1,
Lluís Casas
2,
Roberta Di Febo
3,
Jordi Ibañez-Insa
4,
Tariq Jawhari
5,
Josep Bosch
6,
Ferran Borrell
7,
Susana Esther Jorge-Villar
8,
Jean-Marc Greneche
9,
Esperança Tauler
10 and
Joan Carles Melgarejo
10
1
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Parc de la Ciutadella s/n, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
2
Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici C, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
3
Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC), Plaça d’en Rovellat, 43003 Tarragona, Spain
4
Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Lluís Solé i Sabarís s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
5
Centres Científics i Tecnològics, Universitat de Barcelona, Lluís Solé i Sabarís, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
6
Museu de Gavà, Plaça de Dolors Clua 13, 08850 Gavà, Spain
7
Spanish National Research Council (IMF-CSIC), Egipcíaques 15, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
8
National Research Center on Human Evolution, CENIEH, 09002 Burgos, Spain
9
Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans, IMMM UMR CNRS 6283, Le Mans Université, CEDEX 9, 72085 Le Mans, France
10
Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2022, 12(3), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030368
Submission received: 1 February 2022 / Revised: 4 March 2022 / Accepted: 11 March 2022 / Published: 17 March 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colours in Minerals and Rocks)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

In the Neolithic Gavà mines, variscite and turquoise were exploited for ornaments manufacturing, although some prospective pits and tunnels were dug on other similar greenish minerals such as smectite or kandite. A 3D study of the distribution of mineral phases allows us to determine the parameters involved in variscite colours. Methods are comprised of quantitative colourimetry, thin section petrography, SEM-BSE-EDS, EMPA, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. Mapping of the mines indicates that colour is not directly dependent on depth. Although variscite from Gavà is poor in Cr3+ and V+3 compared with gemmy variscite from other localities, the deep green samples content has the highest values of Cr3+. In the case of cryptocrystalline mixtures with jarosite, phosphosiderite, or goethite, variscite tends to acquire a greenish brown to olivaceous hue. If white minerals such as quartz, kandite, crandallite, or alunite are involved in the mixtures, variscite and turquoise colours become paler.
Keywords: colour; variscite; turquoise; phosphates; neolithic mines; Gavà colour; variscite; turquoise; phosphates; neolithic mines; Gavà

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Díaz-Acha, Y.; Campeny, M.; Casas, L.; Di Febo, R.; Ibañez-Insa, J.; Jawhari, T.; Bosch, J.; Borrell, F.; Jorge-Villar, S.E.; Greneche, J.-M.; et al. Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance. Minerals 2022, 12, 368. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030368

AMA Style

Díaz-Acha Y, Campeny M, Casas L, Di Febo R, Ibañez-Insa J, Jawhari T, Bosch J, Borrell F, Jorge-Villar SE, Greneche J-M, et al. Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance. Minerals. 2022; 12(3):368. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030368

Chicago/Turabian Style

Díaz-Acha, Yael, Marc Campeny, Lluís Casas, Roberta Di Febo, Jordi Ibañez-Insa, Tariq Jawhari, Josep Bosch, Ferran Borrell, Susana Esther Jorge-Villar, Jean-Marc Greneche, and et al. 2022. "Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance" Minerals 12, no. 3: 368. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030368

APA Style

Díaz-Acha, Y., Campeny, M., Casas, L., Di Febo, R., Ibañez-Insa, J., Jawhari, T., Bosch, J., Borrell, F., Jorge-Villar, S. E., Greneche, J.-M., Tauler, E., & Melgarejo, J. C. (2022). Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance. Minerals, 12(3), 368. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030368

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop