gems, variscite, Spain, Iberia, turquoise, callais, alpine jade, fibrolite, amber, jet, beads, archaeology, archaeogemology, analytical, advanced gemology, variscite, green beads, adornments, exchange, Neolithic, Bronze Age

We undertook an extensive review of the literature about the distribution of variscite and the other green stone adornments across western Spain. This region has a crucial importance for the understanding of this phenomenon, since two of the three main variscite mines, exploited during prehistory, are located there. Perhaps due to such importance, western Spain has been the scenario of an ongoing analytical effort, that – however –, has not yet been accompanied by a global, interpretative synthesis for this entire area. From a database of little more than 130 archaeological sites, from Neolithic to early Bronze Age, with green stone beads, we offer an inventory and a first quantification of the distribution of variscite and other green stone adornments across western Spain. This step is essential for achieving a basic understanding of the chronological evolution, regional differences and socio-economic processes that made possible the occurrence of intense mining activities and also the exchange of those trinkets across extremely long distances.