- Los Millares
Los Millares is the name of a Chalcolithic occupation site 17km north of
Almería , in the municipality ofSanta Fe de Mondújar ,Andalusia ,Spain . The population of Los Millares in ancient times has been estimated at approximately 1000. [Peter Neal Peregrine, Melvin Ember, Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Human Relations Area Files, inc - 2002]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 byLuis Siret in the succeeding years. Further excavation work continues today.The settlement itself was surrounded by three concentric walls [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-348349/Los-Millares Encyclopedia Brittanica online] ] with four
bastion s;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 ofcopper smelting.Pottery excavated from the site included plain and decorated wares includingsymbolkeramik bowls bearingoculus 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 theNeolithic to theBronze Age . [ [http://www.andalucia.com/province/almeria/millares/home.htm Almeria Province: Millares] ] The Los Millares culture eventually came to dominate the Iberian peninsula.Relationship to other prehistoric cultures
Los Millares participated in the continental trends of
Megalith ism and theBeaker culture . Analysis of occupation material andgrave goods from the Los Millarescemetery of 70 "tholos "tomb s withport-hole slab s has ledarchaeologist 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 neighbours. The Los Millares civilisation was replaced circa 1800 BC, with the arrival of Bronze by theEl Argar civilisation, whose successor culture is embodied in the contemporary culture ofVila 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 andNeolithic finds atCabrera . [C. Michael Hogan, "Los Silillos", the Megalithic Portal [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17974] ]ee also
*
European Megalithic Culture References
External links
* [http://millares.almeriaenred.com Virtual visit to the archaeological place of Los Millares]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
