This study presents a new isotope and element-composition database of copper ores from Mallorca and Menorca. The main goal of this paper is to characterize copper resources from the Balearic Islands and demonstrate how this database can contribute to furthering studies on the origins of archaeological materials from the Western Mediterranean. Using our isotope database in conjunction with supporting geological and archaeological background information, we present analyses of six archaeological metals from Mallorca’s Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods as case studies. Our results suggest that copper metal arriving to Mallorca during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age was mainly sourced from the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, Languedoc, and the neighboring island of Menorca. These findings show that despite the difficulties posed by these regions’ overlapping isotopic fields, such a database is still a useful tool for provenance studies in the Western Mediterranean.

本研究提供了来自马略卡岛和梅诺卡岛的铜矿石的新同位素和元素组成数据库。本文的主要目标是表征巴利阿里群岛的铜资源，并展示该数据库如何有助于进一步研究西地中海考古材料的起源。使用我们的同位素数据库以及支持的地质和考古背景信息，我们展示了对马略卡岛铜石时代和早期青铜时代时期的六种考古金属的分析，作为案例研究。我们的研究结果表明，在铜石器时代和青铜时代早期到达马略卡岛的铜金属主要来自伊比利亚半岛东海岸、朗格多克和邻近的梅诺卡岛。