2
2. The Neolithic period and the Bronze and Iron Ages
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4. THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
A series of cultures emerged on the Iberian Peninsula during the Neolithic Period,
Bronze and Iron Ages, which were characterised by the
type of pottery
they made
and the
burial customs
they used.
Neolithic Period (6th millennium B.C.)
The arrival of agriculture is linked to the development of pottery culture. The
Cardial
culture
emerged in Levante and was characterised by the imprints of shells on the
pottery.
Regarding burial customs, the
Pit Grave culture
developed in Catalonia, where
corpses were buried in holes in the ground with stone sides.
Cave paintings
also appeared all over the peninsula. The style is similar to the Levante
paintings, but it is more schematic.
Copper Age (3000-1700 B.C.)
In this period, the
Bell Beaker culture
spread and was called this as pots were shaped
liked an inverted bell. The
Millares
culture
also appeared in Almería. This is the first
culture on the Iberian Peninsula which is associated with megalithic architecture. The
most characteristic construction is the
corridor dolmen
, a collective tomb consisting
of a passageway and a bigger chamber, covered with a tumulus (a mound of earth
or stones).
Reconstruction of a corridor dolmen (Millares culture)
Neolithic paintings in the Pla de Petracos cave, Alicante
Decorated
Cardial
pot
(National
Archaeology Museum, Madrid)
Bell beaker (National Archaeology
Museum, Madrid)
