Los Millares is a

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...

occupation site 17 km north of

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

, in the municipality of Santa Fe de Mondújar,

Andalucía Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

, Spain. The complex was in use from the end of the fourth millennium (c. 3000 BC) to the end of the third millennium BC (2000 BC) and probably supported somewhere around 1000 people. It was discovered in 1891 during the construction of a railway. It was first excavated by Luis Siret in the succeeding years. Excavations are ongoing.

Site description

The site covers and comprises three concentric lines of stone walls, the outer ring the largest, running more than 650 feet with nineteen 'bastions' and a gate guarded by foreworks. The road to the site is guarded by four smaller outlying stone forts. There is an extensive cemetery of eighty passage grave tombs.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was de ...

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 Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

smelting.

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

excavated from the site included plain and decorated wares including symbolkeramik bowls bearing

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...

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 The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The Los Millares

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

eventually came to dominate the Iberian peninsula. The population of Los Millares has been estimated at approximately 1000 in the timeframe 3200–2300 BC. The labor involved in its construction, the large volume of stones used, its geometric characteristics and sophisticated design all indicate multiple functionality, including defense and power.

Relationship to other prehistoric cultures

Los Millares participated in the continental trends of

Megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ism and the Beaker culture . Analysis of occupation material and

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

from the Los Millares

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

of 70 '' tholos''

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s with port-hole slabs has led

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

s to suggest that the people who lived at Los Millares were part of a stratified, unequal society which was often at war with its neighbors . The Los Millares civilisation was replaced circa 1800 BC, with the arrival of

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

by the

El Argar El Argar is an Early Bronze Age culture that was based in Antas, Almería, within modern Spain. It is believed to have been active from about 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C.Lull et al."Emblems and spaces of power during the Argaric Bronze Age at La Almol ...

civilisation, whose successor culture is embodied in the contemporary culture of Vila Nova de São Pedro in nearby Portugal. Other Iberian settlements in this region of a similar age to Los Millares include the

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

of Los Silillos and

finds at . Similarities between Los Millares architecture and the step pyramid at Monte d'Accoddi in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

have been noticed .

Conservation and access

The site has been protected by a heritage designation, currently Bien de Interés Cultural, since 1931. There is an interpretation centre at the site itself. Some finds are displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, and others at the

Museum of Almería The Museum of Almería is an archaeological museum in the Province of Almería. It has been a public institution since 1934, and moved to a new building in 2006. History In 1880, the Belgian engineer Luis Siret found Los Millares, a prehistor ...

Gallery

File:Cuenco soles M.A.N..JPG File:Cuenco oculado-Los Millares.JPG File:Cuenco Almizaraque M.A.N..JPG File:Vaso con decoración de ciervos. Los Millares, sepultura 7. Edad del Cobre - M.A.N.jpg File:Cuenco de Los Millares (M.A.N. 1976-1-MILL-7-6) 01.jpg File:Ídolo en forma de peine o peineta procedente del ajuar funerario de la sepultura 12 de Los Millares - M.A.N.jpg File:Ídolo placa procedente del ajuar de la sepultura 12 de Los Millares - M.A.N.jpg File:Ídolos tolva procedentes del ajuar funerario de la sepultura 40 de Los Millares - M.A.N.jpg File:Museoalmillares.JPG File:Cuentas de collar de hueso, piedra y concha. Los Millares, sepultura 12. Edad del Cobre - M.A.N.jpg File:Collares de variscita y ámbar. Calcolítico. Museo Arqueológico Nacional de España.jpg File:Los Millares. Vista aérea de la puerta principal o barbacana.jpg

References

External links