The Iberian Peninsula
The Neolithic Period
The Bronze and Iron Ages
❚
The Bronze and Iron Ages is divided into three
periods: The
Copper Age
, the
Bronze Age
and the
Iron Age
.
❚
Metallurgy
consists of heating metals to shape
them into objects. Its discovery in 4000 B.C.
had very important consequences.
❚
During this period, agricultural production
increased,
towns
appeared and
trade
developed
.
❚
There were also numerous technological
advances, the division of labour began and
social differences
appeared.
❚
War made
the
position of women weaker
.
The men, who were the ones who fought,
began to control the decision making.
❚
Religion was based on the cycles of nature and
celestial bodies. The
male war gods
became
the most important.
❚
Megalithic architecture
developed, which
was made with enormous blocks of stone called
megaliths
.
❚
Around 8000 B.C.
agriculture
and
livestock
farming appeared in
the Near East. They also appeared in other parts of Asia and America.
❚
From that point, human beings changed from predators to
food
producers
.
❚
New tools were created and
advances were made in technology
.
❚
The new techniques allowed them to feed more people and
the
population grew
.
❚
The way of life changed significantly as a result of these changes.
This is why it is called the
Neolithic Revolution
.
The first sedentary societies
❚
Neolithic groups abandoned their nomadic
way of life and became
sedentary
, which
means they settled permanently in
villages
and
small settlements
.
❚
Agriculture and livestock farming created
new needs. To meet these,
craftsmanship
developed (basket making, ceramics and
cloth making).
❚
Neolithic
societies
were
egalitarian
.
Decisions affecting the community weremade
in meetings attended by all the inhabitants of
the settlement.
❚
Women
played an
important role
in
agriculture and livestock farming activities.
❚
Neolithic cultures worshipped their
ancestors
and
deified the forces of nature
.
❚
The most important deity was the mother
goddess.
❚
The
Neolithic Period
was characterised by the
Cardial culture
and the
Pit Grave
culture
. Cave paintings were made in a schematic style.
❚
In the
Copper Age
, the
Bell Beaker culture
spread and the first megalithic culture,
the
Millares
in Almería, appeared.
❚
During the
Bronze Age
, the
El Argar culture
developed in the southeast of the
peninsula and the
Talayotic culture
appeared on the Balearic Islands.
❚
The
Iron Age
began with the arrival of the
Celts
. They settled in the north and west
of the Iberian Peninsula. They coexisted with the
Iberians
, who inhabited the south
and the east.
Greek
and
Phoenician
traders established relations with them.
2. The Neolithic period and the Bronze and Iron Ages
39
2
KEY CONCEPTS
