Everything about Los Millares totally explained
Los Millares is the name of a
Chalcolithic occupation site 17km north of
Almería, in the municipality of
Santa Fe de Mondújar,
Andalusia,
Spain. The population of Los Millares in ancient times has been estimated at approximately 1000.
It consists of a settlement, guarded by numerous outlying forts and a cemetery of
passage grave tombs and covers around 5 acres (2ha). It was discovered in
1891 during the course of the construction of a railway and was first excavated by
Luis Siret in the succeeding years. Further excavation work continues today.
The settlement itself was surrounded by three concentric walls with four
bastions;
radiocarbon dating has established that one wall collapsed and was rebuilt around 3025 BC. A cluster of simple dwellings lay inside the walls as well as one large building containing evidence of
copper smelting.
Pottery excavated from the site included plain and decorated wares including
symbolkeramik bowls bearing
oculus motifs. Similar designs appear on various carved stone idols found at the site. Although primarily farmers, the inhabitants of Los Millares had crucially also learned metal working, especially the smelting and forming of copper, and the site is considered highly important in understanding the transition from the
Neolithic to the
Bronze Age. The Los Millares
culture eventually came to dominate the Iberian peninsula.
Relationship to other prehistoric cultures
Los Millares participated in the continental trends of
Megalithism and the
Beaker culture. Analysis of occupation material and
grave goods from the Los Millares
cemetery of 70
tholos tombs with
port-hole slabs has led
archaeologists to suggest that the people who lived at Los Millares were part of a stratified, unequal society which was often at war with its neighbours. The Los Millares civilisation was replaced circa
1800 BC, with the arrival of
Bronze by the
El Argar civilisation, whose successor culture is embodied in the contemporary culture of
Vila Nova de Sao Pedro in nearby Portugal.
Other
Iberian settlements in this region of a similar age to Los Millares include the
settlement of
Los Silillos and
Neolithic finds at
Cabrera.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Los Millares'.
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