early minoan colonization of spain
TRANSCRIPT
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W. Sheppard Baird
The Early Minoan Colonization of Spain
The author discusses the archaeological evidence for an Aegean Minoan maritimecolonization
of southeastern Ieria. The primary causal factor for this !as the development ofthe alloying
technology of arsenical copper. The alloy"s hardness and castaility made the!ood!or#ing tools
of the sa!$ o! drill$ and lathe possile. These tools set the stage for the inventionof the %rst
e&ciently produced plan#ed !ooden ships !ith #eels in the Aegean that set out onvoyages of
e'ploration early in the (th Millennia B.C. in search of the prestige metals of goldand silver
resulting in the )os Millares culture in southeastern Spain.
)os Millares *econstruction
Santa +e de Mond,-ar$ Almeria$ Andalusia$ Spain
The discourse egins !ith the %rst archaeological evidence of human travel on theopen sea
efore /// B.C. and continues !ith the development of the Aceramic Anatolianand 0atu%an
0eolithic pac#age$ the radiation of the Aegean 0eolithic pac#age$ the rise and fall ofthe
Millaren culture$ the Atlantic Tin trade !ith Britain during the Bronze Age$ and ends!ith the
catastrophic collapse of the Aegean El Argar culture in aout 123/ B.C.
The +irst Evidence of 4uman Travel on the 5pen Sea
efore /// B.C.
The earliest archaeological evidence of human transport over the rough open seathat is #no!n to
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me is the A#rotiri Aeto#remnos roc# shelter occupation site on the southern coast ofCyprus
6S!iny 7//18. The remains of the site associate humans !ith urnt ones of thepygmy
hippopotamus. Before this time Cyprus !as inhaited only y the indigenous9leistocene fauna.
While sea level !ould have een lo!er at this time the minimum distance from thecoast of
Cyprus to the mainland of Anatolia !ould still have een aout :3 #m. Theundeniale
deduction is that some form of raft or oat must have een used to transport thehumans to the
site. A#rotiri Aeto#remnos is dated to the late 9leistocene in the 1/th millennia B.C.
A raft is a device that relies on the ;oatation of the material 6typically !ood8 used toconstruct it.
+or any given carrying capacity a raft is much heavier and more un!ieldy !hencompared to its
oat e
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rough and stormy conditions of the open sea than !ell>uilt !ooden ones. S#inoats !or# !ell
enough in rivers and near land along the coast$ ut one split seam can e deadly!hen out at sea
far from land. It is possile that strong sea>!orthy !ooden oats sculpted !ith stonetools and
%re and stitched together !ith the %ers of hemp or ye! !ood !ere navigating theeastern
Mediterranean Sea !ell over 11$/// years.
The ?evelopment of the Anatolian Aceramic 0eolithic 9ac#age
11/// B.C. to :/// B.C.
The asic technological assemlage that comprised the 0eolithic pac#agedeveloped et!een
11/// B.C. and @/// B.C. in places li#e Tell es>Sultan 6ericho8 in the )evant amongthe
0atu%ans and 9inarasi in south!estern Anatolia. This !as an amazingly innovativeand
creative period in human recorded history. +or the %rst time large groups of peoplecame
together in an interdependent !ay to solve their prolems of survival and toimprove their
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formed in 3// B.C. in southeastern Anatolia and developed elaorate uildings!ith terrazzo
;oors. They used a!ls and %shhoo#s of cold>hammered native copper$ and sho! theearliest
evidence of the possile use of ;a' to !eave linen te'tiles. At aout this same time0evali Cori
uilt monumental stone structures that !ere proaly shrines. After /// B.C. Asi#li4yD#
ecame a real to!n surrounded y a city !all !ith a large osidian industry. 5verthe ne't 7$///
years these trends to!ard uranization culminated in the settlements of atal4yD# and Can
4asan in Anatolia.
atal 4yD# *econstruction
Fonya$ Tur#ey
While maintaining the Mesolithic practices of hunting$ %shing$ and gathering theyegan to
systematically cultivate crops of !heat$ arley$ rye$ ;a'$ legumes$ peas$ and vetch6faa eans8.
They domesticated sheep$ goats$ pigs$ and dogs and !ould egin the process ofdomesticating
cattle 6Bos Taurus8 !hich provided them !ith a stale and reliale source of food$ra! materials$
and laor for the %elds. The domestication of the large Anatolian Aurochs !ould ecompleted
sometime et!een :3// and :/// B.C. Their tool#it included ;int and osidianlades and
ladelets$ polished stone celts 6a'es8$ grinding stones and mortars$ and harpoonsand %sh hoo#s
of one. The Anatolians developed stone and mud ric# architecture$ as#etry$ and!or#s of
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leather and the 0atu%ans had stone shaft straighteners indicating the use of spearsor archery.
atal 4yD# Interior *econstruction
Fonya$ Tur#ey
CreditG BHla Stipich
The 5rigin of the Aegean Minoans
@/// B.C.
By @/// B.C. the 0eolithic culture at atal 4yD# that !orshipped the Motheroddess and
Sacred Bull spanned Anatolia from aynD in the east to 4acilar in the !est andoldly reached
over the sea to Fhiro#itia on Cyprus and$ more profoundly$ to the hill of Fephala6Fnossos8 on
the Aegean island of Crete. The Fnossos settlement near the coast of north>centralCrete
represents the origin of the Minoan civilization. Before this time Crete !as$ li#eCyprus efore
A#rotiri Aeto#remnos$ uninhaited y humans. There can e no arguments of any
indigenousdevelopment here. This is un
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At the time the %rst settlers set foot on Crete$ the island !as carpeted y vastancient forests of
old>gro!th Cypress trees. Many of them !ere over (/ meters in height !ith verythic# trun#
diameters. It must have een a very arduous and time>consuming tas# for!oodcutters to ta#e
do!n one of these trees !ith their polished stone a'es. Cypress is an e'cellent!ood for oat
uilding and is still used for that purpose today. It is relatively strong yet light and;e'ile and is
naturally repellent to insects. Its est feature from the point of vie! of a cre!man ofa Cypress
oat in distress out at sea is that the !ood ;oats in !ater. Jnder normal conditionsa Cypress
oat or ship !ill not sin#. A person alone out at sea far from land stands littlechance of
surviving$ ut if they could cling to their s!amped$ yet still ;oating$ ship they havea good
chance of eventually ma#ing it to safety.
The Aegean Sea has over 1$(// islands and islets$ many of !hich are !ithin sight ofone other.
This ma#es it a natural incuator for naval and maritime technologicaldevelopment. The strong
north !inds and uncompromising gales of the Aegean are !ell #no!n and musthave een
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+erriy Boat 4alf Scale *econstruction K 1// BC
0orth +erriy$ East Lor#shire$ England$ JF
They !ere proaly similar to the +erriy Boats from Britain dated to aout 1//B.C. They
!ere constructed of thic# Cypress plan#s sculpted !ith %re and stone tools 6a'e$adze$ chisel$
a!l$ etc.8 and stitched together !ith ye! %ers. Theoretically$ some of these strongdurale oats
could have easily e'ceeded 2/ meters in length and may have used a sail made ofanimal hide.
With or !ithout the use of the sail$ they !ere po!ered primarily y human muscle
!or#ing theoars and tiller. A 2/ meter ship of this type could have een propelled y !ell overthirty oars
and carried a cargo of 2/ to 3/ tons.
The *adiation of the Anatolian 0eolithic 9ac#age in the Aegean
@/// B.C. to :/// B.C.
By :// B.C. the Argissa settlement appeared in Thessaly on the mainland of
reece. It !assoon follo!ed y estalishment of Ses#lo in aout :3// B.C. together !ith theAraptepe>
Be#irlertepe settlement north of the Bay of Izmir in the eastern Aegean. Withinaout %ve
hundred years 6:3// B.C.8 of the settlement of Fnossos the Anatolian 0eolithicpac#age had
moved into the Mesara 9lain of south>central Crete. The seaport settlement of
Fommos !as
founded on the coast to the !est of the plain at aout this time. The settlements of0ea
0i#omedeia in northern reece and Faranovo in Bulgaria and Thrace appeared inaout :7//
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B.C. In the timeframe of :/// B.C. Emporeio on the island of Chios in the easternAegean !as
founded$ ut Fhiro#itia on Cyprus and 9inarasi in Anatolia seem to have eenaandoned.
4acilar in south!estern Anatolia !ould continue on for another 1$/// years ofoccupation efore
%nally collapsing. Also$ the 0eolithic 9ac#age reached the +ranchthi Cave settlementon the
Argolid ulf in the 9eloponnese in aout :/// B.C. +ranchthi Cave had eenoccupied for at
least 1($/// years efore the arrival of the 0eolithic.
The ?evelopment of 9ottery::// B.C. to :/// B.C.
9ottery egan to appear in Thessaly and Catal 4oyu# around :3// B.C. Theinvention of pottery
solved several prolems for the 0eolithic people. It enaled them to securely storelarge volumes
of !ater and other li
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:/// B.C.
The invention of pottery$ the domestication of cattle$ and the development of largedurale
!ooden ships completed the Aegean 0eolithic assemlage that !ould soon spill into
Europe
through e'ploration$ colonization$ and the assimilation of the local Mesolithicpeoples y t!o
main routes. The southern route !as predominantly ta#en y shipping from theAegean that
!or#ed their !ay !est along the northern coastlines of southern Europe using theMediterranean
Sea as a high!ay. The northern route rapidly spread into central Europe using the?anue river
asin as its high!ay. The southern radiation is #no!n as the Cardium 9ottery orCardial culture
after the incised Aegean pottery carried on their ships$ much of !hich !as imprinted!ith the
shells of the marine mollus# Cardium edulis.
The northern ?anuian e'pansion of the Aegean 0eolithic is mainly represented
initially y the
Faranovo culture and then y the almost simultaneous appearance in aout 3://B.C. of the
inca$ Cucuteni$ and )inear 9ottery cultures in southeastern Europe. All four of thesecultures
!ere ased on the Aegean 0eolithic pac#age and directly lin#ed to it. While theFaranovo$
inca$ and Cucuteni generally remained in the southeast$ the )inear 9ottery culture
led the
advance up the ?anue into central Europe. Mysteriously$ after a rapid advanceover the ne't
fe! hundred years the Aegean 0eolithic"s march to the northern coast of Europe!as suddenly
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halted and the southern route"s advance also stopped after reaching the Atlanticcoast of Ieria
69ortugal8. The only viale e'planation for this is that there must have een largepopulations of
Mesolithic people inhaiting the coastal regions of northern and !estern Europe thatactively
resisted any further colonization$ assimilation$ or acculturation 69rice 7///8.
The Aegean 0eolithic 6Cardial8 9ac#age arrives in Ieria
3:// B.C.
The %rst archaeological evidence of Aegean settlement in Ieria is the appearanceof shards of
Cardium incised pottery around 3:// B.C. 69rice 7///8. This pottery is also referredto as
Cardial or Impressed Ware. Cardium pottery has een found from the )evant in theeastern
Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast of Ieria 69ortugal8. When the Aegean 0eolithicpac#age
arrived in Ieria it included the same stone and one tools$ cultivated crops$ andreeds of
domesticated sheep$ pigs and cattle !hen it started its advance a fe! hundredyears earlier
6NilhOo 7//1$ 9ereira 7//:$ Fennett 7//:8. The settlement of the Ierian coastlinesseems to
have een a relatively non>violent process of oth pioneer maritime colonizationand inland
di=usion to the indigenous peoples until the sudden halt of its advance on theAtlantic coast.
0eolithic Cardium 9ottery$ )a Sarsa Cave
alencia$ Spain
The Ierian settlers lived in caves$ roc# shelters$ and open>air settlements li#e )a?arga in
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Catalonia 69rice 7///8 !ith structures estimated to e 2 to ( meters high !ithseveral hearths. In
Caecicos 0egros they uilt small structures made of stone and mud !ith roofs ofvegetation.
They used tools of one$ polished stone a'es$ !ood diggers$ sic#le lades$ andstone hand mills.
They produced stone pro-ectiles$ pottery$ as#etry$ leather !or#$ and produced ;our!ith their
mills. Te'tile production !as limited to small looms$ as evidenced y !eaving threadseparators$
similar to the ac#strap type.
The Age of 9ure Copper3// B.C. to (/// B.C.
Copper is one of the fe! metallic elements that e'ists in its pure form in nature60ative Copper8.
It is much more commonly found comined !ith other elements in the form of o'ideor sul%de
mineral ores. The o'ide ores include Azurite$ Cuprite$ and Malachite !hile the mostaundant
sul%de ore is Chalcopyrite. Tools of pure copper can e hardened y reheating6annealing8 and
hammering$ ut there is a limit to the degree of hardening that can e achieved. Acopper a'e
!ould have een superior to its polished stone e
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regular sharpening during usage !ould have een rehammering native copper and could have een carved !ith stone tools.Many o-ects of
cold>hammered copper have een found in CaynD in southeastern Anatoliaincluding a!ls and
%shhoo#s dated to aout 3// B.C. A single copper ead !as discovered in 0evaliCori that has
een dated from 3// to /// B.C. Asi#li 4yD# produced several copper eads6/// > @3//
B.C.8 made from rolled thin sheets of native copper 6LalPin 7///8. Several coppereads li#e
those at Asi#li have een unearthed at atal 4yD# dated to aout :@3/ B.C.6Mellaart 1:@8. A
1(.2 cm long copper a!l !as found in Balomir$ *omania in a conte't dated efore:/// B.C.
6Mulhy 1:8. All of this culminated in the discovery 6:/// > 3// B.C.8 of a largemace head of
cast native copper in the Anatolian settlement of Can 4asan 6LalPin 18.
Evidence of e'tensive copper !or#ing in a fully developed form has recentlyappeared in the
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0eolithic inca settlement of 9ro#upl-e in southern Seria. The unpulished site haseen dated
to 33// B.C. y archaeologist ul#a Fuzmanovic>Cvet#ovic from the 9ro#upl-eMuseum and
?usan Sl-ivar of SeriaQs 0ational Museum. This !as not -ust the cold>hammering ofnative
copper. It included the e'traction of copper o'ide ores from a mine located on theneary Mlava
river. The ores !ere transported to a local copper smelting !or#shop and melted forcasting. The
tools found included a chisel$ a t!o>headed hammer$ and an a'e. By comparisonthe copper
artifacts found at 4acilar in south!estern Anatolia in 32// B.C. !ere nothing morethan a fe!
eads and pieces of pins. It appears that the origin of organized metallurgy mayhave ta#en place
in the 0eolithic Bal#ans. Bet!een (3// and (/// B.C. Bal#an metal !or#ers !eremining
copper ores in underground shafts and galleries and they had discovered ho! tosmelt the sul%de
ores of copper as !ell. They !ere producing hundreds of a'es and adzes6Betancourt 7//:8. The
Bal#ans looms large over the entire Aegean 0eolithic period !ith respect to thedevelopment of
metallurgy.
Copper Ingot
Crete$ reece
Metallurgy developed at a later time on Crete. There is no evidence #no!n to me ofcopper$ or
any other$ mining on the island in ancient times. Copper>earing ores have eendiscovered in
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modern times ut they are very insigni%cant and uneconomical. All metals had to eimported to
Crete y ship either as mineral ores$ processed metal$ or %nished products.Chryso#amino is a
copper smelting site on the Bay of Miraello in northeastern Crete e'cavated in1:>@ !ith
dates eginning in (3// B.C. 6ohnson 1:8. The source of the ore smelted atChryso#amino
has not een de%nitively identi%ed y provenance studies 6Betancourt 7//:8. Thenearest
possile sources are )aurion in Attica and the island of Fythnos in the Cyclades. Thesite is an
isolated$ !inds!ept place ideal for smelting operations. The !ind !ould heat thefurnace and
lo! the fumes a!ay from the !or#ers. ?uring this period many ne! settlements!ere
estalished in the eastern part of the island and in the south>central Mesara plain.
The 9restige Metals > old and Silver
Besides )aurion in Attica$ Macedonia and Thrace are the only areas !here
signi%cant deposits of
gold can e found in reece. The Bal#ans have a relative aundance of gold andsilver ores
especially in southern and !estern Bulgaria and some areas of Seria. Silverdeposits are
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(3// > (/// B.C.
arna$ Bulgaria
old eads have een e'cavated in ?imitra in eastern Macedonia and are claimedto e from
33// to 373/ B.C. If con%rmed they could e some of the earliest gold o-ects yetdiscovered
6Betancourt 7//:8. A dis# of gold has een found at +telia on the northern coast ofthe island of
My#onos dated from 3/// to (3// B.C. 6+acorellis and Maniatas 7//78. 5-ects ofgold ma#e
their appearance in a very opulent !ay especially in the period from (73/ to (///
B.C. in theBal#ans. The arna necropolis on the eastern coast of Bulgaria has hundreds ofgraves. ust four
of the most lavish ones contained some 7$7// golden o-ects 6*enfre! 1:8. Thisis an
indication of the immediate and great value placed on gold y the elites of theperiod. Many of
these o-ects !ere dis#s and pendants of the Rring>idolR design !ith a perforation in
the center.
This seems to have een a common theme in the Aegean and Bal#ans at this time.
Many o-ects of gold and silver have een unearthed in the Aegean from (3// to23// B.C. This
!as the period !hen gold and silver metallurgy emerged to roustly developthroughout the
region. The evidence includes gold pendants from Theopetra cave$ Anavissos$ and
9latomagnoulia on the mainland of reece. Silver pendants appear in Alepotrypacave in the
Mani peninsula$ Amnisos cave on Crete$ and the cave of Euripides on Salamis. Ahoard of silver
-e!elry !as discovered in ournes in Central Crete in an Early Minoan I cemeterythat included
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racelets and 1: eads.
The Age of Arsenical Copper
(/// B.C. to 73// B.C.
Most of the Early Bronze Age !as actually an age of arsenical copper 6Betancourt7//:8 and the
distinction should e made for the sa#e of clarity. The advent of the controlledmi'ing of an
alloying element 6arsenic8 !ith copper in an e=ort to ma#e their tools harder !as agreat advance
in tool ma#ing. 0ot only did it ma#e their tools much harder$ the alloy melted at alo!er
temperature and its greater ;uidity made the casting of comple' and %nely shapedmolds
practical. This led to the realization that they could no! for the %rst time cast toolsli#e the drill
head and sa!s !ith sharp$ hard teeth for cutting !ood and stone that !ould standup much etter
in a production environment. This !as the eginning of a revolution in stone and!ood !or#ing
and especially ship uilding. The alloy of arsenical copper 6nominally 1 to :arsenic8 !as
related to the development of furnace technology and to the use of copper ores andnot native
copper 6)amert 1@8.
Standard !ith T!o )ong>4orned Bulls
Arsenical Copper$ 7(// 7/// BC$ Early Bronze Age III$ 0orth Central Anatolia
4. : 1U( in. 613. cm8
In Timeline of Art 4istory. 0e! Lor#G The Metropolitan Museum of Art
7///. 65ctoer 7//:8
+inds of arsenical copper have een made throughout the Aegean and especially onCrete > the
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island !ith no metals of its o!n. +our artifacts$ a dagger and three needles$surfaced in
Thaurrounia cave in Euoia !ith an average 2.17 arsenic content 6Mangou>Ioannou 18
dated to aout (/// B.C. 6Sampson 1:8. Some 1: artifacts !ith an arseniccontent of 1 to
: have een found in an Early Minoan conte't in 4agia 9hotia on Crete 6ale1/8. These
may e the earliest in the Aegean esides those in the Thaurrounia cave. 9oros$ aharor to!n for
Fnossos on Crete$ !as an important center for the production of arsenical copperduring the
Early Minoan period 6Betancourt 7//:8. ?aggers have een found in the Cyclades$4agia
Triadha$ and the 9yrgos cave associated !ith Early Minoan pottery. )ong daggers$sa!s$ #nives$
chisels$ and %shhoo#s have een recovered from the many tholoi on the Mesaraplain at this
time. 0ine artifacts !ith an average of 7. arsenic !ere discovered in9etromagoula in
Thessaly dated from 2@// to 22// B.C. 6ohnson 18. Eight artifacts from thepalace hoard of
Arslantepe level IA in eastern Anatolia sho!ed an average of (.1: arsenic64auptmann et. al
7//78.
Since the 1/"s the S#ouries foundry site on the Cycladic island of Fythnos !asassociated y
pottery and radiocaron dated charcoal found in the slag to the %rst half of 2rdMillennia B.C.
The lead isotope analysis of the ores and slag done at that time suggested that theR%ngerprintR
matched many o-ects found in the Cyclades and the copper ased artifacts foundin the Minoan
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Mesara toms 69latanos$ Maratho#ephalo$ 4agia Traidha$ Foumasa$ Falathiana$4agios
5nouphrios$ 9orti8 6ale 1/8 and those at 4agia 9hotia 6Stos>ale 18. But thiscame into
serious
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ship made y sculpting plan#s !ith the a'e and adze.
In the eginning they !ere proaly stitching the plan#s together !ith ye! orhemp$ ut in time
they invented or adopted the use of the o! drill and lathe so they could more
securely mate the
plan# edges of their hulls !ith loc#ed mortise and tenon -oinery. They !ould have tocut the
round holes for the inding pegs using a drill and cut the smoothly rounded sides ofthe pegs on
the lathe to %t them snugly into the loc#ing holes. This very strong !ood -oinerytechni
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!ould proaly need to e manned y something li#e 1// cre!men to maintain agood constant
ro!ing pace.
Minoan Miniature +rieze Admirals +lotilla +resco Shipping Scene
)ate Bronze Age 6)BA8$ 0eo>9alatial 9eriod
A#rotiri$ Santorini 6Thera8$ reece.
5nce the %rst of their large plan#ed Cypress ships too# to the seas there !asnothing any!here
else in the !orld that could compete !ith them either economically or militarily. TheAegean
Minoans !ere the %rst true masters of ship construction and the use of the
movements of the Sun
and 0orth Star6s8 to determine their latitude !ere !ell understood allo!ing them tocon%dently
navigate on the open sea. Their s#ills in navigation !ere not e'ceeded until ohn4arrisonQs
invention of the marine chronometer in the 1th century A.?. that allo!ed ships atsea to
accurately determine their positionQs longitude. The Minoan technological maritimeand naval
advantage !as so great that they !ould eventually come to dominate and imposetheir !ill on all
shipping in the entire Mediterranean Sea including the Blac# Sea. Their commercialshipping
!as proaly unopposed$ e'cept y pirates$ any!here they traveled in theMediterranean until
the massive eruption of the Theran volcano 6Santorini$ reece8 in aout 1:2/ B.C.
The Ierian 9yrite Belt
and
+irst Minoan Settlements in Southeastern Ieria
2// B.C. to 27// B.C.
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The !estern Mediterranean area is much more heavily mineralized than in the easte'cept in the
Bal#ans and northern reece. 5ver time their ships !ould have come to a place inthe !estern
seas that provided them !ith all the valuale mineral ores they had so little of andcould ever
desire. That place !as southern 9ortugal and Spain. This is the location of thereno!ned
geological formation #no!n as the VIerian 9yrite Belt. It is one of the most heavily
mineralized places on earth !ith an aundant supply of the prestige metals of goldand silver as
!ell as copper and tin that is still eing mined to this day.The ne! Cypress ships must have een a source of amazement !herever they !eresighted y
the coastal 0eolithic peoples. ?uring the time since the completion of the spread ofthe Aegean
6Cardial8 0eolithic pac#age$ local and regional coastal maritime trading !as activeas !ell as the
in;u' of ne! settlers every year from the eastern Mediterranean. The Minoans
proaly egan
e'ploring the shores of the Mediterranean for mineral ores et!een 2// and 2@//B.C. and
arrived on the eastern coast of Ieria during this time. At least one person on theseships of
e'ploration !ould have een #eenly oserving the eaches and rivers along thecoast for the
glittering signs of alluvial gold in the sands and sediments. If gold !as found at the
mouth of a
river they !ould #no! that some!here up that river !ould e the earingores that
produced it. The same !ould e true for silver !ith its mineral ores of Argentite andAcanthite
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and the rightly colored ores of copper 6Azurite$ Cuprite$ and Malachite8.
Aside from their ships$ the use of metals$ and their Mesaran Crete funerarypractices they !ould
have used the same 0eolithic agro>pastoral technological pac#age as the
indigenous Ierians.
When they surveyed the river asins of Almeria in southeastern Spain they foundeverything
they !ere loo#ing for. +or several centuries they proaly !ould have een satis%edto sift the
alluvial sediments for metals and estalished settlements in the river asin areas.Eventually$
they !ould have moved up to the inland sources of the alluvial metals to formpermanent mining
settlements and that"s e'actly !hat they did. By 27// B.C. many of the forti%edto!ns of the
Aegean Minoan colony 6)os Millares culture8 had een founded and all of them !eredirectly
lin#ed to mining operations or their defense 6Almizara Silver$ El Barranold$ El
Tara-al > old and Silver$ )os Millares > Copper$ )os 9ilas > old$ etc.8.
The Xuestion of the 5rigination of Metallurgy in Ieria
Before the early radiocaron dates for the Millarens !ere con%rmed$ many scholarsmista#enly
elieved that the culture !as the result of Mycenaean colonization and associatedtheir tholos
toms !ith the famous circular toms at Mycenae in reece from the )ate BronzeAge. The
Myceneans !ould not come onto the scene until much later. So it is understandalethat many of
today"s scholars elieve that Ierian metallurgy !as an independent invention ofthe indigenous
0eolithic people. But this can"t e correct.
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Besides the ovious selection of settlement sites directly associated !ith theEastern
Mediterranean prestige metals of gold and silver$ there appears to e no discernileperiod for the
e'clusive use of puri%ed copper y the Millarens as seen in the east !here it trulydid originate.
In aout 27// B.C. 5tzi the Iceman !as still using the old technology of pure copper6a'e head >
.@ pure copper8 !hile the Millarens !ere !or#ing !ith the advanced Aegeanalloy
technology of arsenical copper. This does not spea# !ell for the indigenousorigination of
Ierian metallurgy. While artifacts of relatively pure copper are found among theMillarens they
appear to e contemporaneous !ith those of arsenical copper. The Millarens seemto have
ypassed the RAge of 9ure CopperR and egan !ith$ at least$ a asic understandingof the alloy
technology of arsenical copper from the eginning. T!enty>seven copper artifactsfrom the )os
Millares site have een found to contain an average of 7.2 arsenic and si'teeno-ects from El
Malagon had a concentration of 1.@ arsenic 6)amert 1@8. The most proaleconclusion
from this evidence is that there !as no indigenous origination of metallurgy inIeria. It !as the
direct result of Minoan maritime e'ploration and pioneer colonization.
The Millaren Tholoi of Ieria
)os Millares Tholos Toms
Santa +e de Mond,-ar$ Almeria$ Andalusia$ Spain
Many of the to!ns and settlements of the Millarens had cemeteries consisting oftholos 6eehive8
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toms. )os Millares had a necropolis of some / tholoi uilt in the distinctive style ofthe Early
Minoans of the Mesara plain in south>central Crete that !ere used y the elites ofthe society.
The %rst evidence of tholos uilding techni
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The appearance of Minoan tholoi among the Millarens is certainly more than -ust acuriosity. The
idea of the spontaneous origination of this very uni
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cratered$ destroyed$ and polluted places on earth.
Apparently they found no metallic ores of interest south of the 9illars of 4erculesalong the
north!estern African coast. But the sediments of the northern coastlines of !estern
Europe
!ould have yielded the alluvial evidence of aundant metal ores. They may havediscovered the
gold$ silver$ and tin in Brittany in north!estern +rance efore ma#ing the discoveryof gold$ tin$
and other metals in south!estern Britain and Wales. Even though the superioralloying properties
of tin !ith copper !ere un#no!n at this time its availaility should have noted ythe e'plorers.
Also$ there !ere deposits of gold$ silver$ and copper in Ireland. The e'plorers mayhave
discovered the Canary$ Madeira$ and Azore islands and traveled far eyond$ ut I#no! of no
archaeological evidence to support this. 4o! far the Minoan voyages of discovery!ent north
from the 9illars of 4ercules along the coastlines of Europe can only a!ait futurearchaeological
evidence.
The )os Millares Culture
27// B.C to 7:// B.C.
)os Millares +orti%cations
Santa +e de Mond,-ar$ Almeria$ Andalusia$ Spain
The R)os Millares CultureR$ also #no!n as the RCulture of the ThousandsR$ eventuallycovered
an area of aout 7/$/// s
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the !est around the *io Tinto mines north of and including the modern city of4uelva on the
southern Atlantic coast. The to!n of )os Millares !as a large copper miningsettlement of over
1$/// people aout 1@ #m north of Almeria on the southeastern coast near Santa +ede Mond,-ar
that !as discovered in 11 y )uis Siret. It !as protected y several outpost fortsand used
concentric rings of defensive stone !alls. There must have een consideraleresistance to this
foreign incursion from the indigenous peoples.
)os Millares *econstructionSanta +e de Mond,-ar$ Almeria$ Andalusia$ Spain
The period of 2/// B.C. to 7:// B.C. !as the height of the Millaren Culture. There!as an
e'pansion of the to!n"s !alls and forti%cations. There is evidence of maritime trade!ith the
eastern Mediterranean from the remains of pottery$ hippopotamus ivory$ and ostricheggshells.
The distriution of accumulated !ealth !ould have een uneven from the eginningand led to
the development of social strati%cation and economic elites that -usti%ed theirstatus !ith rituals
and symolism. The hierarchical nature of the society !as demonstrated y theprivatization of
property and the presence of prestige o-ects found in the graves of the elite. Thereis evidence
for the e'istence of an early form of nation state !ith centrally controlledcommercial net!or#s.
The *ise of the Bronze Age
and
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+all of the Millarens
7:// B.C. to 77// B.C.
True ronze 6copper !ith : to 13 tin8 egan to rise to dominance over arsenicalcopper as the
metal of choice among the Aegean Minoans y 7:// B.C. and ecame one of theessential
ingredients of their economy. Many scholars elieve that the change to ronze fromarsenical
copper !as ecause of the arsenic"s poisonous e=ects on humans and this may etrue to an
e'tent$ ut ronze is a superior metal and is signi%cantly harder than arsenical
copper. Tin is rareand sparsely distriuted geographically relative to the sources of gold$ silver$ andcopper.
Cassiterite and stannite are the main mineral ores of tin. Cassiterite is the primary6o'ide8 ore of
tin and li#e gold can e found in alluvial settings. Stannite is a secondary sul%de oreof tin. The
ores of tin are very rare in the eastern Mediterranean. The only #no!n source of
cassiterite in the
area !as the mining to!n of Festel>ltepe in the Taurus mountains of south>central Tur#ey. It
!as occupied and supplying tin to the east from 27/ B.C. to 1(/ B.C. !hen theores ecame
uneconomical or ran out. Cassiterite !as aundant in the !est in places li#e centraland !estern
Ieria$ Brittany in north!estern +rance$ and especially Corn!all in south!estern
Britain.
?uring the period of 7:// B.C. to 7(// B.C. there !ere signs of stress eginning toappear in the
Millaren culture. Their forti%cations !ere reinforced and enlarged to their ma'imume'tent
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indicating violent encounters or !ar !ith the neighoring peoples from the !est andnorth of
them. It !as in this period that the %rst Maritime Bell Bea#er pottery appearedamong the
Millarens. The pottery spread
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over time spread north!ard along the Atlantic and Mediterranean maritime traderoutes into the
coastal regions of +rance$ Britain$ Ireland$ the 0etherlands$ ?enmar#$ and east!ardinto the
interior of central Europe. These !ere the people that erected the %rst stones atStonehenge in
aout 7:// B.C.
The earliest #no!n copper mining in the British Isles !as in Ireland at *oss Island inFillarney
in aout 7(// B.C. It is interesting to note that the three small #nife lades found inthe grave of
the Amesury Archer near Stonehenge in southern Britain dated to aout 72// B.C.!ere cast
!ith puri%ed copper that came from +rance and Spain. This is the same technologyused in 5tzi
the Iceman"s a'e head almost 1$/// years earlier. Britain !as still in the RAge of9ure CopperR in
72// B.C.$ ut y 77// B.C. ronze !as availale and in use. There !as$ essentially$no RAge of
Arsenical CopperR in Britain and y 7/// B.C. ronze !as eing used in Brittany andIreland. A
short time later the huge deposits of copper ore at reat 5rme near )landudno innorthern Wales
egan to e seriously mined in aout 1:/ B.C.
The El Argar Culture
and
Atlantic Tin Trade !ith Britain
ust as in modern times !here oil is a primary commodity necessary for thefunctioning of the
!orld economies$ tin !as a primary commodity in the Bronze Age. There !ere threesources of
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tin availale to the Aegean Minoans efore 1(/ B.C. > the tin from fara!aynortheastern
Afghanistan$ ores from the Festel>ltepe mines in south>central Tur#ey$ and thevast amounts
of tin in the !est 6Ieria$ Brittany$ and Corn!all8. In aout 1(/ B.C. the Festel>oltepe mines
shut do!n and tin from the !est ecame more important. The Minoans !ould havetotally
monopolized the supply of !estern tin into the eastern Mediterranean !ith theirnavy and
shipping.
The nearest tin ores availale to the Millarens in 7:// B.C. in Ieria !ere in theareas of
Cardenas and Madrid in central Spain 6mindat.org8. The stress that egan to uild inthe Millaren
society at that time may have een due to their attempts to gain access to theseresources of tin.
The Bea#er groups a=ected y this policy may have een highly resistant to anyincursions into
!hat they considered their lands. *ather than have the Millaren colony fall to itscomplete
destruction in 77// B.C. and e faced !ith the inevitale loss of Ieria"s vastmineral !ealth the
Aegean Minoans may have come to their aid militarily to sustain the ;o! of metals.An in;u' of
settlers from the urgeoning populations of the east may have reinforced thesurviving Millarens
to found the ne! settlements of the El Argar and advanced to secure the sources oftin in the
Ierian interior y military force.
9enalosa > El Argar +orti%ed To!n *econstruction
4uelva$ Andalucia$ Spain
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It could e -ust a coincidence ut the fall of the Millarens$ the rise of El Argar$ andthe %rst use
of ronze in Britain occur at aout the same time > 77// B.C. This may have eendue to the
eginning of a Minoan Atlantic tin trade !ith Corn!all in Britain 6the CassiteridesY8ased from
their Ierian El Argar colony to supply the mar#ets of the eastern Mediterranean.The Minoan
leadership in the Aegean !ould have to e strongly centralized$ uni%ed$ ande=ective in order to
implement these aggressive and sustained policies. They may have secured thesupply of metals
they desired ut the friction and hostility that had een long re!ing among theIerian Bea#er
peoples !ould have een greatly e'acerated and smoldered into an evolvingcon;agration.
The shutdo!n of the Festel>ltepe mines in 1(/ B.C. may have een due to theMinoans
;ooding the mar#et !ith cheap tin from the !est or the mines may have simply runout of tin.
Whatever the case the Minoans controlled the price of tin in the easternMediterranean until
something completely e'traordinary occurred. In aout 1:2/ B.C. the huge Theran6Santorini$
reece8 marine volcano in the south>central Aegean Sea e'ploded !ith suchcolossal violence
that it nearly destroyed the Minoans in the Aegean. The social dynamic constructed
on economicimperatives had continued to uild until the ule !as urst y the volcaniceruption that
changed the !orld.
Several decades after the eruption the Mycenaeans from mainland reececon
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surviving Minoans in Crete and assumed control of the !estern maritime tradenet!or#s of
metals from the !est. The Ierian El Argar !ere incorporated and continued tofunction as an
Aegean colony under the Mycenaeans. The Motillas 6forts8 of the Bronze of )evanteculture li#e
the Motilla del Azuer in )a Mancha !ere proaly Mycenaean era defenses for a VTin*oad
connecting the inland tin mines of Cardenas and Madrid !ith their ports in thesoutheast. The
Mycenaean El Argar era lasted for aout t!o hundred and %fty years until itscatastrophic
collapse in aout 123/ B.C.
W. Sheppard Baird
CreatedG une 7/$ 7//@.
JpdatedG ?ecemer $ 7//@.
BiliographyG
+. Molina$ . A. Camara$ . Capel$ T. 0a-era$ ). Saez. V)os Millares y la periodizaciZn de
la9rehistoria *eciente del Sureste. III Simposio de 9rehistoria Cueva de 0er-a$ 7//($ols. II y
III. 0er-aG 1(7>13.
9. ?iaz>?el>*io$ R+actionalism and Collective )aor in Copper Age IeriaR$ Traa-os de
9rehistoria :1$ n.o 7$ 7//($ pp. 3>.
The +oundation of the 4ellenic World. 0eolithic 9eriod in reece. 7//:.
T. ?ouglas 9rice. REurope"s +irst +armersR. 7///.
R9rehistoria > Calcolitico y Cultura de )os MillaresR. )os 5rigenes de Ieria.
TASF > The 4istory$ Archaeology$ Art and Cultural 4eritage +oundation > TAL 9ro-ect.
FuruPesme Cad. :@UB$ 2(2(3 FuruPesme$ Istanul$ Tur#ey.
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9hilip 9. Betancourt. RThe Chryso#amino Metallurgy Wor#shop and Its TerritoryR. The
American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 7//:.
oseph B. )amert. RTraces of the 9astG Jnraveling the Secrets of ArchaeologyThrough
ChemistryR. 1@.
oao Nilhao. R*adiocaron Evidence for Maritime 9ioneer Colonization at the 5riginsof
+arming in West Mediterranean EuropeR. 90AS$ 0ovemer 7/$ 7//1$ ol. $ 0o. 7($1(1/>
1(13.
*. . Fing$ S. S. 5zcan$ T. Carter. R?i=erential L>chromosome Anatolian In;uences on
the
ree# and Cretan 0eolithicR. Annals of 4uman enetics$ 7//$ @7$7/371(.
F. Aslihan Lener. RAn Early Bronze Age Tin 9roduction Site at ltepe$ Tur#eyR. The5riental
Institute and the ?epartment of 0ear Eastern )anguages and Civilizations.Jniversity of
Chicago.
+. 0ocete$ E. [le'a$ .M. 0ieto$ *. S\ez$ M.*. Bayonaa. RAn archaeologicalapproach to
regional environmental pollution in the south>!estern Ierian 9eninsula related toThird
millennium BC mining and metallurgyR. ournal of Archaeological Science olume27$ Issue 1/$
5ctoer 7//3$ 9ages 13::>13@:.
eremy B. *utter. RTholos Toms of the MesaraR. )esson :G The Early Minoan 9eriodGThe
Toms. Aegean 9rehistoric Archaeology. ?artmouth College.
Stuart S!iny. RThe Earliest 9rehistory of Cyprus$ from Colonization to E'ploitationR.American
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