In a forthcoming study to be published in The Journal of Anthropological Archaeology (June 2025), researchers unveil groundbreaking insights into the emergence of early female leadership and complex social organization at the Copper Age site of Valencina in southern Spain. Long overshadowed by more widely known prehistoric sites such as Stonehenge, Valencina is now being recognized not only for its scale and sophistication but also for the central role of women in its political, religious, and economic systems.

Located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River near modern-day Seville, Valencina was ideally situated between Europe and Africa at a time, circa 3000 BCE, when long-distance trade networks were expanding across Eurasia, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. Its geographic position and monumental architecture suggest that it functioned as a major hub for regional exchange and ritual activity.

Read more at: https://wildhunt.org/2025/05/unearthing-power-female-leadership-and-building-a-monumental-society-at-copper-age-valencina.html