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A fragment of sperm whale tooth found in a pit at Valencina, a Copper Age site in southwestern Spain, gives archaeologists an unusual glimpse of how prehistoric people encountered and handled remains from a marine animal. The tooth’s context suggests it was deliberately deposited, but a ceremonial purpose—and the object’s exact meaning—remain interpretations rather than certainties.
Where the tooth was found
Excavators recovered the tooth in 2018 in the Nueva Biblioteca sector of Valencina, a large Copper Age archaeological site in southwestern Spain. It came from pit US-123, which was not a burial. The study describes it as the first sperm whale tooth of its kind reported from Late Prehistoric Iberia.
At the time of the paper’s publication in 2025, the authors identified Monte d’Accoddi in Sardinia as the only similar European example known to them. That comparison reflects the record as presented in their study, not a guarantee that no other example has since been found.
What the tooth can tell us about the whale
The specimen is incomplete, but its shape closely resembles teeth of the modern sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus. The researchers attribute it to an adult sperm whale, based on wear and a smoothed fracture with material loss that they interpret as having occurred while the animal was alive.
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The preserved upper half is 13.2 cm long and weighs 414 g, according to the authors. They suggest that the complete tooth may have been close to 25 cm by comparison with other teeth; that is an estimate, not a measurement of the missing portion.
Traces point to a journey from sea to shore
The tooth bears bioerosion traces associated with marine organisms, as well as possible shark bite marks. These features support the researchers’ reconstruction that it spent time on the seabed before later exposure in a coastal setting. People may then have collected and handled it before it reached Valencina.
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That sequence is inferred from the tooth’s surface, not a witnessed itinerary. The study also describes grooves near a transverse fracture and possible removal of material. Those marks could indicate human manipulation or reuse, but they do not establish what the tooth was made into or how it was used.
What its archaeological context suggests
The tooth was found in the upper third of pit US-123’s infill alongside pottery, lithic tools, and animal remains. The authors describe the fill as anthropogenic and homogeneous and interpret the assemblage as a structured deposit from a single event, probably ceremonial.
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That interpretation makes the find significant beyond its rarity: the pit context may indicate that people placed the tooth deliberately rather than simply discarded it. But the deposit does not reveal exactly what people believed about the tooth, why they selected it, or whether it had a practical or symbolic role. The authors discuss both reuse as raw material and the possibility of a symbolically charged object without resolving between them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the interpretation has limits
A whale tooth in an inland archaeological pit is evidence of human contact with a marine animal’s remains across distance and time. The surface traces, possible handling marks, and associated pit finds help researchers build a plausible account of its path and deposition. They cannot, on their own, prove a specific ritual, belief, or finished object.
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The open-access study by Ramírez-Cruzado Aguilar-Galindo and colleagues, published in PLOS ONE on May 14, 2025, includes the excavation context, analysis, and a downloadable 3D model: “From the jaws of the ‘Leviathan’: A sperm whale tooth from the Valencina Copper Age Megasite”.
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