thumb|Reconstruction of fortifications

Los Millares is a Chalcolithic occupation site 17 km north of Almería, in the municipality of Santa Fe de Mondújar, Andalucía, Spain. The complex was in use from the fourth millennium BC () to the end of the third millennium BC () and probably supported around 1,000 people.

Site description

thumb|Model of a tomb

The site covers and comprises three concentric lines of stone walls, the outer ring the largest, running more than 200 meters (650 feet) with 19 'bastions' and a gate guarded by foreworks. The Millaran culture eventually came to dominate the Iberian peninsula.

The population of Los Millares has been estimated at 1,000 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 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 neighbors . The Los Millares civilisation was replaced around 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 São 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 .

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

thumb|Reproduction of a Millarense bowl with the typical eyes motif of the chalcolithic of SE Iberia|170x170px

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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|Remains of fortification walls

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See also

  • Bell Beaker culture
  • Castro of Zambujal
  • Castro of Vila Nova de São Pedro
  • Valencina de la Concepción
  • Tholos de El Romeral
  • Prehistoric Europe
  • Chalcolithic Europe
  • Argaric culture
  • Megalith, including other European megalithic cultures

References

  • Virtual visit to the archaeological place of Los Millares