They soon realized that the individual was a prominent member of the community, as he was buried only in a chamber and in the Copper Age they buried the dead in a group. They also observed that for 200 years the area was a space of burial and worship, but that in 35 meters around the grave no one had been buried. So they believe that for at least 8-10 generations the community kept their memory.

There was no doubt that he was a high-status person. In addition, few tombs of children of the Copper Age have been found and no special objects have been found in them. This means that at that time the status did not come from the blood and that the person smoked in Valencina did it on his own. The valuable and curious objects found in the tomb also indicate their importance: the teeth of the African and Asian elephants, the amber that came from Sicily, the high-quality volcano, the ostrich egg shells, the rock crystal leaf and a dagger with ivory mango…

Researchers from the University of Seville, in collaboration with experts from Vienna (Austria), have recently conducted a more rigorous study of the traces of the leader of the Copper Age, with innovative techniques. In particular, dental enamel proteins of the deceased have been studied sexually dimorphic and the surprising result has been published in the journal Scientific Reports: The special person buried in Valencina was a woman. And they call her Lady of Mariz.

In the words of Marta Ribbons Peña, one of the authors of the research, the new scientific technique “represents a great leap in our knowledge of prehistoric societies, especially in the case of women and children, who have traditionally and unjustly placed themselves in the background”. The discovery has highlighted the need to rethink the role of women in the past and the prejudices that researchers have today.