The Archaeology of the Iberian Peninsula

Energy regimes help tackle limitations with the prehistoric cultural‐phases approach to learn about sustainable transitions: Archaeological evidence from northern Spain

“…The Pleistocene/Holocene transition occurring at the end of the Younger Dryas ca . 11.7k cal a bp (Walker et al, 2012) abruptly marked the beginning of the Holocene interglacial, which resulted in abrupt shifts in human societies (Lillios, 2019; Roberts, 2014).…”

“…Although the Neolithic was marked by the expansion of sedentary economies, a continuity in previous subsistence strategies is well documented (Cubas et al, 2016; Fano et al, 2015). Hence, Neolithization was likely a long process characterised by the cohabitation of both Mesolithic and Neolithic communities for centuries (Arias, 2007; Lillios, 2019). To deal with such continuity we consider the Standard Solar regime as a gradual process, starting in the LGM ( ca .…”

“…In this work, we focus on the major transition from foraging to sedentary economies in Cantabrian Spain, which still bears many knowledge gaps for archaeologists and geoarchaeologists (Arias, 2007; Lillios, 2019). In this region, the hunter‐gatherer regime mainly includes Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies, and is acknowledged to end with the transition to the Neolithic, marked by the establishment of the first farming communities ca .…”

“…7000 cal a bp (Fano et al, 2015). However, key aspects of foraging economies remained after the Neolithization process (Cubas et al, 2016), creating a mosaic pattern of synchronous Mesolithic and Neolithic sites and cultures, the nature, duration and dynamics of which remain poorly understood (Arias, 2007; Lillios, 2019).…”

Women, residential patterns and early social complexity. From theory to practice in Copper Age Iberia

“…Starting c. 3200 BCE and spanning roughly 900 years, the Iberian Copper Age represents a period of true flourishing for early farming societies (the Neolithic in Iberia started c. 5600 BCE), characterized by the appearance of the first permanent settlements -including some very large ones (in the dozens or even hundreds of hectares) that have been termed 'megasites' -, agricultural intensification, surplus accumulation, craft specialization, social aggregation, large-scale monument-building, and a high degree of connectivity and mobility. A range of contributing factors has been proposed to explain the Iberian Copper Age social landscape, including economic intensification, political leadership, centralization, monumentality, competition, and inter-regional interaction (Díaz-del-Río et al, 2006;Chapman, 2008;García Sanjuán and Murillo Barroso, 2013;Cruz Berrocal et al, 2013;García Sanjuán et al, 2018;Lillios, 2019). Beyond underlying common trends, however, it is worth noting that Copper Age Iberia was also characterized by a strong element of variability in settlement dynamics, funerary practices or subsistence strategies, undoubtedly partly in connection with the region's geographic and ecological diversity.…”