"Landscape, Identity and Material Culture in "Tierra de Barros" (Badajoz, Spain) during the 3rd...

CHAPTER NINE

LANDSCAPE, IDENTITY AND MATERIAL

CULTURE IN “TIERRA DE BARROS” (BADAJOZ, SPAIN) DURING THE 3 RD

MILLENNIUM BCE

VÍCTOR HURTADO PÉREZ AND CARLOS P. ODRIOZOLA

Introduction

Modern theories of social identity have opened up a new path that approaches concepts of style and social boundaries (Gosselein 1998, 2000). These studies coincide in accepting the interactive, heterogeneous, and dynamic nature of the construction of an identity through the creation of a significant “Us” in opposition to a “Them” (Hernando 2002; Díaz-Andreu 2005; Gosselein 2000). These studies also look to detect, using various methodological and conceptual tools, this practice in the archaeological register.

This new focus, that considers identity as a process rather than an

entity, allows us to explore crucial aspects such as gender, social stratification, domination-resistance processes, cultural contact and migrations from a point of view that is more pragmatic and realistic than decades ago.

Any area of the material world is susceptible to expressing collective

or individual identities, seeing that the use of objects in the production of social strategies is not necessarily a conscious process. In spite of this, certain uses are related to deliberate expressions of identity, while on the

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contrary, others are so embedded in our values and cultural representations that they go by completely unnoticed, thus, forming a part of our habitus (Gosselein 2000). Of course, the question to contemplate (Stark 1998; Stark et al. 2000; Gosselein 1998, 2000) is whether there exist repetitive patterns that relate material culture and identity understood as a construction process, allowing us to identify social boundaries in Prehistory.

An important concept is that objects can acquire an endless amount of

significance throughout their manufacture and use seeing that they are passed on by the hands of individuals that belong to various social strategies and networks (Appadurai 1986). As the objects are passed on from hand-to-hand, they accumulate a history and acquire the capacity to tell numerous stories about the people who used them. This concept can be extrapolated in a simplified manner from the “chaîne opératoires” , or production sequences. For example, in the South of Cameroon, the potters process clay in a way that clearly identifies them as members of a specific community. They decorate vessels by using a technique that is shared by a larger group of individuals, and equally as limiting, they use the same ornamental tools and decorative motifs as an even larger group of individuals. They fire the vessels in ovens with fuels that closely relate to local/regional traditions and treat the vessels after they are fired with techniques and materials that are shared spatially and socially on an even larger scale (Gosselein 1998, 2000). Through this manner, identity construction acquires its specific meaning through the spatial distribution of its stylistic contents and the steps that are carried out during the manufacturing process (Gosselein 2000:189). Of course, not all individual cases fit into this ideal model, but the case of the potters in the South of Cameroon perfectly exemplifies the concept of “Technical Identity”. This concept includes specific facets of the social identity of the craftsman, and widely corresponds with a complex group of boundaries or social interaction networks that individuals have experienced.

Technology, identity and social boundaries

The mental conception of “us vs. them" will materialize the various identities, collective as well as individual, setting a standard of how things “should” be done, while conditioning the choice of production techniques and generating a chaîne opératoire that reflects this group of identities, as collected by O.P. Gosselein (2000) from the potters of the

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South of Cameroon. These craftsmen, who make up a community with their own identity, would have a technical style defined on the basis of various operational sequences, which are defined by the technical choices, and which could especially be followed and used to define the social boundaries/margins of that community. It will precisely be these technical choices that make up the specific operational sequences, differentiated between societies or social agents, which will define the social boundaries/margins.

The technical style, or technical identity, can be defined as the

combination of the production practices that a group uses in order to produce different goods (Lemonnier 1986). These practices consist of the interaction between techniques and human actions and the material context, social and ideological, in which these human actions take place. The production practices that characterize technical identity are a system of conducts and techniques that are directed according to the various human choices. Each technical process can be resolved by different means. Precisely, it will be the arbitrariness of the technical choice process that produces variability in the technical patterns of material culture.

It is true that the set of production practices shape technical identity

and that it is neither completely static nor unperturbed by external influences or the passing of time. If the technical choices that affect the segments or activities in the operative sequence are not neutral, some are susceptible to change while others are surprisingly resistant to it. Those that are resistant are what best define a community's technical style, and therefore its boundaries.

We should no regard the chaîne opératoires as monolithic or stagnant

functional systems, but rather as dynamic. The majority of the technical choices related to operational sequence processes are functionally equivalent. That is to say, they will allow the craftsmen to achieve the same objective, regardless of the choice selected. This means that the interdependence between various stages in the production process is scarce, in that the selection of a technical choice made in one stage will not automatically condition the technical choices associated with the following stages. The manufacturing process of, and use that is given to ceramic artifacts allows for an enormous amount of flexibility when selecting and processing raw materials. Consequently, changes can be


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made throughout the technical system without changing the result or placing the result in danger (see Gosselein 1998, 2000).

If culture played a relevant role in the technical pottery system, as it

in fact does (see Lemonnier 1993), all of the elements of this technical system should be structured along the same lines of symbolic and social standards and, therefore, should demonstrate internal cohesion without receiving external contributions. In the praxis, the traditions include elements from different origins, essentially depending on the respective histories of the social groups, what Gosselein (2000:191) calls “sociotechnical aggregates”: a mix of invention, borrowed elements and manipulations that demonstrate a tremendous tendency of redefinition by local individuals and groups. These aggregates unequally affect the technical system and the technical choices in so, that while some technical choices are immediately affected, or during the practice, others are tremendously stable to the change. This is because various components of the chaîne opératoire do not share a similar technical flow or involve various similar social interaction processes, in the sense that there are large differences in the potentially reproducible and modifiable technical behavior throughout time and space. It therefore reflects particular facets of identity and, at the same time, makes ceramic technology an especially attractive field in the reconstruction of social boundaries.

Landscape

Our objective is to attempt to characterize the social boundaries of the communities that occupied the Middle Guadiana River Basin (from here on MGB) during the III millennium BCE. In order to do so, we will focus on the Territory of Tierra de Barros (Badajoz, Spain) (from here on TTB), our analysis unit where social dynamics and interactions take place in the southwestern peninsula. The southwest includes various analysis units, or regions (i.e. Alentejo, Algarve, Estremadura (Portugal), Guadalquivir Valley, Middle Guadiana River Basin, etc.). Although each region has its own characteristics, they all share common elements, creating a macro-region that is differentiated from others on the Iberian Peninsula.

Surveys has been carried out in the MGB (Figure 9-1), which

includes the broad outline of the TTB in the Copper Age (Hurtado 1995, 1999; Hurtado and Mondéjar 2008), that supplements previous research

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done by J.J. Enríquez (990) in the Mérida region, where, to date, more than 150 settlements have been documented in this period. This research has provided a broad picture of how the population of the TTB would be in the III millennium BCE (Figure 9-1). Hypotheses have been developed in regards to the territorial organization based on spatial and typological analysis of the local settlements and material culture.

Geographically, the TTB is a homogenous and level landscape set on

a peneplain to the left of the Guadiana River. While this river delimits the region in the north and west, the foothills of the Sierra Morena do so in the south. Both geographic accidents act as geographic barriers that limit the landscape in both sectors, leaving the east as the only sector without geographic obstacles. Numerous streams and tributaries run through this very fertile land.

As observed throughout the studies that were conducted, the

occupation of the region followed a pattern: on one side of the territorial center, we find a disperse series of small 1 hectare (ha) settlements - always located next to fountains and streams. On the other side, to the east, the landscape continues to be flat with no apparent geographic delimits. In this sector of the territory, we can find a fortified population. Its north-south alignment could construct an artificial delimitation of the west side (Hurtado 1995, 1999, 2000a).

The fortified sites that delimit the territory take advantage of the most elevated points of the orography or small terraces by settling there. The majority of them concentrate in the southeastern angle of the territory where the landscape is formed by smooth elevations that permit certain visual control of the zone. An important natural access from the south of Tierra de Barros is located in this sector. The access runs through a valley that is weakened by two mountain ranges. Various fortified settlements are located within a short distance of one another on the peaks of these mountains.

The alignment of fortified sites in the periphery of the territory, which

artificially closes the west side, and a very homogeneous physiographic landscape that is geographically delimiting by natural barriers on the remaining sides, invite us to assume that this arrangement was intentional. By adding the existence of a large settlement and the arrangement of a group of small, open and evenly distributed settlements in the interior to the above mentioned, we can support the hypothesis of a


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territory organized by a hierarchical structure that is arranged around the central place of La Pijotilla (Figure 9-1. 3). This hypothesis, therefore, deals with a delimited territory and is supported by the absence of other fortified sites on either side of the fortified strip that makes up the north-south axis. That is to say, until now, none of the settlements located to the east of this arrangement are fortified, as indicated by the studies carried out in these regions (Enríquez 1990; Rodríguez 1986).

Figure 9-1. Distribution of Middle Guadiana Basin Chalcolithic settlements.

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Not all of the settlements along this border are the same size or type (Hurtado 2000a). The majority of the fortifications look for elevated points and high visibility and measure about 0.5 to 1 ha long. The largest of the settlements do not measure more than 3 ha. Only Cortijo Zacarias (Almendralejo) is larger than 3 ha (Figure 9-1. 10). La Sierrilla and El Moral (Figure 9-1. 15, 25), measuring 2 ha, are both defended by two lines of walls. All three of these places can be found 10 km from one another and are situated in a zone with a high density of settlements. The third type of fortification is even smaller in size. On the average they measures less than 0.5 ha and are situated in strategic locations, on occasion in isolated hills that dominate the plain and natural passes where the large amount of ash that can be observed in some profiles calls ones attention. These small locations can serve a more specific purpose, such as vigilance or entrenchment for other nearby settlements that are situated along the banks of the rivers. This could be the case of the small fortified settlement of Porto das Carretas in relation to the nearby settlement of Mercador (Figure 9-1. 51,52), located along the left bank of the Guadiana (Valera 2002), as well as others situated on the east line of the TTB, such as Cerro Berraco or Cerro de la Cruz, fortified and next to Molino Perdido (Figure 9-1. 12, 21), on a plain and along the river Guadajira.

An important piece of information to keep in mind, in regards to

distribution, is that the line of fortified settlements are situated near an important route that has served as a historic connection, from north to south, for the valleys of the Guadalquivir and the Guadiana. This route connects with another natural route from the southeast that links the mining region of Llerena-Azuaga with TTB. According to J.J. Enríquez, high settlements are strategically arranged along this route (Enríquez 1990).

A simple explanation for the fortification of the communities situated

on the boundaries of the TTB could be the simple fact that they were situated in the periphery of the territory and that they were, therefore, more exposed to assaults from hostile neighbors and passing groups. However, this interpretation would reveal a series of subtleties when defining the processes of expansion/resistance, where the study of material culture would contribute to clarifying local and regional identities and the specific relationships between them.

During recent years, we have been researching the possible reasons

for why these fortified settlements were constructed. In early publications,


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we argued that the concentration and distribution of these sites in the periphery could be interpreted, on one hand, as a diachronic accumulation of the communities that moved from the interior for economic or social reasons in the middle of the III millennium BCE (García Sanjuán and Hurtado 1997:141). On the other hand, the fact that changes occurred more frequently in the peripheral zones could be the result of higher permeability due to the continuous interactions with passing zones and neighboring territories.

Until now, the main theories offered to explain the appearance of

fortifications in the third millennium BCE were based on the increase of war, the protection of surplus, or, from a post-processualists point of view, based on ideological-ritual criteria. In general, all of these theories refer to locations with walls as independent units that are not related with one another, or rather, as “safes” (Barceló 1991), that were built to defend their contents. An additional theory offered is that they were built as “monuments”, or locations for ceremonial concentration. In some cases, the possibility has been kept in mind that these places fulfilled a determined function inside of an organized structure on a macro-spatial scale. For instance, they served as the control/defense of a territory.

Based on the information obtained in the archaeological excavations

that were carried out, the hypothesis of “safes” built in order to protect a raw materials supply zone, or as defense of particular resources such as metals, does not seems to have any foundation. Some copper mineralizing zones, where the majority of the fortified settlements lie, exist. However, the evidence found is insufficient and very little products or remains of metal production have been detected in excavation sites. In addition, there was no evidence found of the accumulation of food product surpluses, other abiotic resources, nor storage structures that could provide numbers in order to contemplate the necessity of defending any wealth in particular.

Excavations that were extensively carried out demonstrate that there

exist fortified locations that do not really correspond to defense strategy criteria, that are not completely fortified, or that the walls constructed at low levels were vulnerable.

In the small-fortified settlement of Las Mesas (0.8 ha) (Figure 9-1.

19) there are differences in the organization of construction, and the fortifications are reinforced by bastions in the west facing the river. In

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addition, one can observe that the wall was not constructed all at once: neither the canvas of the wall nor the bastions are identical in their construction systems. Moreover, each bastion has a different design (Figure 9-2).

An additional case is that of San Blas (30 ha), located along the bank

of the Guadiana River (Figure 9-1. 50). Its wall is unfinished and left open, leaving its most vulnerable side unprotected and its location at the lower slope of a hill reduces its capacity for defense.

P. Diaz del Río (2008) offers a recent explanation, as an alternative to

those previously based on coercion and symbolism. He considers the possibility that these constructions served as collective activities of a repetitive nature, founded on a network of mutual social support relationships in a tribal context where coercion would not be necessary. He expresses that these construction activities were not carried out all at once but at different times, in function with the capacity of certain social segments in order to mobilize the work force and a sufficient amount of production material to maintain it. This is supported by evidence that the constructions were the result of a series of wall and bastion aggregates that were sequentially executed, and not a product of previous planning. However, this suggestive explanation does not take into account the group of fortifications in one territory, or in our case, the high density of locations with walls and their distribution.

Figure 9-2. Construction in the small fortified settlement of Las Mesas.

The linear arrangement of the fortifications, their proximity and the visual relation, among others, are factors that have compelled us to determine the hypothesis that the settlements on the eastern strip of the TTB intended to protect their territory. On a smaller scale, the southeast territory of the peninsula around the center of Los Millares would be very


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similar. Thirteen small forts and watchtowers in its surrounding areas can be found at elevated points in order to protect the settlement and in a “muy especial los territorios de producción subsistencial de los Millares [...] ejerciendo una gran presión sobre las áreas de desplazamientos de las comunidades megalíticas del entorno1” (Molina and Cámara 2005:74). An additional idea on the fortifications in the territory, by R. Mataloto, on the other side of the Guadiana in the neighboring Portuguese Alentejo, values “la existencia de un contexto simbólico y escénico inherente a un espacio mentalmente organizado en torno a una identidad territorial materializada en una red de fortificaciones2” (Mataloto 2005).

In order to interpret boundaries and borders, it is essential to attend to

the analysis of the social formations that produces it, the organization of its internal dynamics and the center-periphery interactions.

In reference to the first point in a previous study (García Sanjuán and

Hurtado 1997), a conceptual framework was defined on how to interpret the process of establishing a social hierarchy and the use and notion of Common Social Hierarchy in relation to the TTB communities. This framework examines the structural elements that compose this model of complex social organization of a pre-state nature. Within its demonstrations in various spheres of economy, social production, territorial implementation and ideologies, evidence of an important increase in production and generation of surplus, a considerable increase in demography, hierarchical ordering of the settlements and a particular hierarchy between individuals have been revealed. In this model, the coercive power that the leaders hold is restricted and limited by the collective interests of the community. This assumes a basic difference between hierarchical societies and stratified or state ones that resemble the notion of “cazicazgo” used in Latin America (García Sanjuán and Hurtado 1997:139). Here, the figure of the “Big Man” takes on the functions of political and religious leadership in relation to the distribution of material resources and the maintenance of the inter-group cohesion. The leader does so by using, among others, religious practices that hold up the ideology of the parental foundation. According to K. Kristiansen, in the description of exchange networks in the tribal systems, the ritual will be the main integrating mechanism that sanctions all of the transactions, whether social, economic or military (Kristiansen 2001:95). The communalist ideology is especially expressed in funeral rituals and in the collective use of tombs, which is maintained until very advanced

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periods of the Copper Age. However, the presence of prestigious items in the grave goods of some individuals, as in the case of the tomb T3 of La Pijotilla (Hurtado et al. 2000), suggests differences in social status. Tomb T3 of La Pijotilla is contemporary of the Bell Beaker production of La Pijotilla (Odriozola et al. 2008). This would imply that since the second quarter of the III millennium BCE, the phenomena of social differentiation and individual hierarchization is being produced in the TTB.

This interpretation of the type of social formation of a pre-state nature

of TTB is considerably different than that demonstrated for the Guadalquivir Valley. In relation to the fortifications, it is necessary to point out that other fortified sites exist outside of the territory of TTB. While there do not appear to be fortifications in the east, they are known in the west (behind the Guadiana, on the Portuguese side) and towards the south, in the mountainous territories that make up the foothills of Sierra Morena. The mountain range of the Sierra Morena makes up the natural barrier that separates the basin of the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers, in the north and south respectively. The fortifications are mainly concentrated in the north, in the Guadiana Basin, on the contrary to the almost complete absence in the Guadalquivir Valley.

This valley has been interpreted as the geographic framework where a

taxed political state structured society lived (Nocete 2001). Analysis done by F. Nocete (2001) on the settlements in the Guadalquivir Valley is based on the idea that a state territory of a classist society under the control of the great Valencina (Seville) settlement, that influence extended to other regions in the periphery, is what would represent what he called the “territorio primado” (primed territory) (ibid. 95 and 136). Nocete agreed with the models of C.N. Gailey and T. Patterson (1998), proposed for a society based on the tributary system. He explains that the transformations, according to his judgment, occurred in the territorial arrangement of the southwest: The primed centers of the Guadalquivir valley maintained their dominance in the middle of the III millennium BCE. Subsequently, in the third quarter of the same millennium, a network of large macro-territorial centers would develop (Valencina, Porto Torrâo, La Pijotilla) between the Guadiana and Guadalquivir. The millennium ends with a more complex structure that produces the destruction of Valencina (while Porto Torrâo and Pijotilla remain) and the appearance of other intermediate centers in territories that were once part of the periphery (Nocete 2001:146). However, this explanation of the


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transformation process in the southwest does not correspond with the evidence provided in absolute dating in various settlements. In addition, the recent discovery of new, large sized settlements in the Guadiana (San Blas and Perdigôes) serves to break up the organization of this macro-territorial structure. This is so, because although they are identified as peripheral centers of second order, and that a greater atomization of these macro-territories was produced, absolute dating demonstrates that the spatial organization of these large settlements was consolidated at the beginning of the III millennium BCE. By any mean, in line with the author’s idea, we would have to consider “centros políticos independientes e interperiféricos a las grandes estructuras territoriales3” (Nocete 2001:146) that formed, at least, at the same time as the “prime centers.”

Aside from the interpretation of the existence of a state-type political

structure and an initial classist society in a period as early as the III century BCE (evidence of which is difficult to demonstrate and is not shared by many pre-historians), the matter is that various theoretic proposals reinforce the idea that different structured territories in the southwest exist around the large settlements of La Pijotilla, Valencina, Porto Torrâo or Alcalar. The distance between these settlements is surprisingly similar. Moreover, some of the territories possibly measure the same as others throughout this peninsular quadrant.

In regards to the internal dynamics of the territory (see Hurtado 1995,

1999), the occupation of the TTB occurred at the beginning of the III millennium BCE. At the second half of the IV millennium BCE, our region of analysis lacked practically of settlements. At that time, there were only indications of the occupation of megalithic groups (although there was a large scarcity of villages) that were distributed in the northern and southern zones of the Extremadura’s peneplain. These groups were located in ecologic/geologic surroundings of heights somewhat more elevated, surfacing rocks and land that was more adequate for an agro-pastoral economy. The few settlements that have been documented until now in our territory of study are mainly located around the Guadiana river zone, from where a strong occupation is produced of the interior lands of the TTB. The communities of the Copper Age begin to settle down next to the small rivers and streams that cross the region from north to south. This causes a dense colonization of the MGB and, consequently, a change in the landscape that now appears to be divided. The

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appropriation of rights to land in a closed space starts in this territory (Criado 1993:28).

Material culture patterning

In regards to the sphere of production and distribution of resources in the territory, on certain occasions, it has been mentioned that agriculture would basically be the main wealth in this zone. Numerous hand mills and the amount of storage structures detected in La Pijotilla (independent from the ritual silos) suggest a process of surplus accumulation. The existence of a considerable variety and amount of prestigious objects inform us on the activities that, as a central point, would develop the mechanisms of the accumulation-distribution of products in relation to the territory. The large variety and quantity of products that are gathered on this settlement, (such as ceramics, Bell Beakers, ivory vessels, metal objects, gold sheets, exotic products, etc.), in addition to it being the production place for the largest number of symbolic objects know on the Iberian Peninsula, leads us to the idea that this is not only the main political and economic location in the territory, but also a ceremonial center. It is an important reference point of the ideological and religious dimensions of the Copper Age settlements in all of the MGB.

The abundant production in La Pijotilla contrasts with the scarcity of

raw materials that exist in the interior of the territory. The interior must have had to get them from location further away. The main copper supply points are situated to the south, in the Sierra Morena foothills, especially in the Llerena-Azuaga region to the southwest. However, our recent research, dedicated to the abiotic resource supply systems in this region, has allowed us to discover small copper mines situated along the periphery. Although mineral samples have not yet been subject to lead isotope analysis in order to compare them with the findings on archaeological sites, evidence of the mines has been found to the south, near the Guadajira River, where the largest number of fortifications are gathered. At the moment, analytical work has focused on the west, in the nearby zone of San Blas, that may have been a supplier of this material to La Pijotilla. The analysis of lead isotopes done on various samples of metal production in San Blas and La Pijotilla indicates an isotopic relation between the two locations.

As previously mentioned, studying the technological variability in the

space leads us to the identification of social groups, whose social


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borders/limits are determined by identifiable patterns within the archaeological register. In order to do so, various analytical chemical techniques have been used to examine the differences in technologies associated with the production of ceramic goods between the territories that are arranged around the centers of La Pijotilla and Porto Torrâo and its periphery, San Blas and Perdigôes. We have placed emphasis on identifying and characterizing the techniques that leave a visible print as well as those that do not leave any visible trace because this reflects the different aspects of identity of the producer and the consumer (Arnold 1985; Gosselein 1992, 2000; Longacre 1991).

From the analysis of the variability of raw materials through the study

of chemical composition, by means of WD-XRF (Wavelenth Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence), on 103 ceramic fragments gathered on the sites of La Pijotilla, San Blas, Porto Torrâo and Perdigôes, a total of six compositional groups were identified using multivariate statistics (Hierarchical Cluster, Principal Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis). This can be interpreted as the fact that the existence of compositional variability in La Pijotilla (two groups) corresponds to the existence of two differentiated technical identities between themselves (Odriozola et al. 2008a). It also reveals that this phenomenon does not correspond with a time span, as demonstrated by the absolute dating of various Bell Beaker fragments belonging to the two groups (Odriozola et al. 2008). At the same time, we have seen that the pottery with “pastillas repujadas4” decoration (Hurtado and Amores 1982) recovered in the TTB all have the same chemical composition, indicating a possible distribution throughout the territory after its manufacture from one single center (Estrada et al. 1999).

The reproducibility of the technical choices made during the

selection, extraction, processing and firing processes of the raw material take place over a relatively large time span (Odriozola et al. 2008). This confirms that it is an aspect of the technical identity of communities that are highly stable over time and that the changes in segments of the Chaîne Opératoire are not frequent. As gathered by O.P. Gosselein (2000), individuals that can motivate or influence a change in the habits of the potters are restricted to those individuals that participate in the operative chain. Therefore, the adoption of new technologies would be frequent, basically, when a potter spatially relocated, changed supply sources or wanted to produce a new type of ceramics. This is the reason

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why the spatial distribution of these techniques reflects local/regional interaction networks.

Within this ceramic group of 103 fragments, 86% is locally produced;

that is to say, they belong to the technical system characteristic to the sites where they were found. Only 14% can be ascribed to technical systems form other sites that were studied. This 14% are mainly vessels decorated with international styles (Odriozola et al. 2008a), putting social interaction networks into practice on regional levels. These social interaction networks are active from the first moment in the Bell Beaker phase that corresponds to international styles. There is a possibility that social interaction networks were redirected towards other focuses of Bell Beaker digression.

Ceramic firing is an aspect of production that is similar to the

characteristics of selection, extraction and processing of raw material because it is an activity that is based on community, flexibility and contrary to change. This makes it a key aspect of the technical identity of the communities, equally reflecting local/regional interaction networks.

Ceramic firing is decisive in obtaining the desired color of a ceramic

piece. In San Blas, all of the regional style Bell Beaked vessels have a very similar color (CieLab* [42,17,10]). Only some vessels diverge from this standard color and in those cases, they are highly linked to the type of firing and not to the percentage of iron in the clay, as stated for the Bell Beaker productions of southeastern France (Covertini 1996). The percentage of iron in these Bell Beaker vessels can vary by more than 6% without altering the standard color (Odriozola 2007). This contrasts the idea that there is a scarce interdependence between different sequences in the operation chain. Evidence that only one technical system exists in San Blas is supported if we examine the firing temperature of bone inlayed Bell Beaker vessels. By means of physico-chemical transformations that inlayed bones suffered during the firing we can calculate vessels firing temperatures (Odriozola and Martinez-Blanes 2007), an average temperature of 777±54 ºC has been calculated for San Blas Bell Beaker productions. On this basis we can observe that all of the vessels from San Blas are processed by identical means in regards to raw materials and firing, allowing us to identify the vessels that were imported or exported from this location to other settlements in the TTB.


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At the same time, it has been confirmed that in La Pijotilla two technical identities existed in terms of the selection, extraction and processing of raw materials. These two technical identities can be found in firing, where two different customs were used when operating the ovens, a material reflection of the firing temperature of bone inlayed pottery, with an average temperature of 771±45 ºC and 820±15 ºC (Odriozola and Martinez-Blanes 2007). In addition, there is evidence of the fact that two highly standardized technical systems of ceramic production existed, implying a labor specialization within this macro-territorial center that, as observed in the case of the “pastillas repujadas”, would distribute ceramics throughout the TTB territory.

We have studied the type of inlay that is present in many of the incise

style Bell Beaker vessels. It turns out that for the MGB, specifically in the TTB, there is a very high volume of appearance of this type of inlay. In spite of this, we must keep in mind that the conservation of these fillings is very complicated and depends on the rainfall patterns and acidity of the ground. It is therefore probable that at least the majority of the incised styled Bell Beakers were decorated with white colored inlay. This was done in order to contrast with other regions in the peninsula such as Ciempozuelos (Madrid, Spain) (Blasco 1994), “conjunto cerámico PA 45.01” (Prieto Martínez 1998) Galicia (Spain), Valle del Guadalquivir (Andalucía, Spain) (Lazarich 1999), as well as European regions such as France (Constantin 2003).

From the study of 44 Bell Beaker vessels from 10 sites in the MGB

that were inlayed with white paste (Odriozola and Hurtado 2007; Odriozola and Martinez-Blanes 2007; Odriozola 2008), we were able to prove that 75% of these fillings are bone based and only 11.4% of the vessels are inlayed with calcium carbonate. The evidence that more than 50% of the vessels inlayed with CaCO3 have appeared in La Pijotilla, revealing decorations, colorations and finishes that are not typical of the zone (Odriozola 2007) and the appearance of a large number of objects made with ivory (perforated plaques and decorated vessels) reinforces the idea previously proposed by D.L. Clarke (1976). Clarke proposed the idea of a Beaker network where the distribution of prestigious objects was carried out from nodes of communication.

Initially, we thought that the use of bones, in detriment to other

technical choices such as calcium carbonate, would serve to define the technical identity of the TTB and, therefore, its social boundaries on the

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basis of the spatial distribution in opposition to neighboring regions such as the Meseta or the Guadalquivir Valley where the decorations are mainly made with CaCO3. However, recently we have confirmed that bone based decorations exist in Perdigôes and that in the zone of the Duero Medio (El Pago de la Calzadilla, Almenara de Adaja, Valladolid, (Odriozola, in press) the two technical systems coexist.

The fact that features of technical identity of the TTB appear in

Perdigôes should not seem strange, if, as we have seen in this settlement, it forms a part of the social interaction networks that develop between these two regions in accordance with Bell Beaker vessel exchange. We should also keep in mind that some of the vessels with bone based decorations come from San Blas and that both sites are peripheries of the macro-territorial centers, being, a priori, more permeable to technical influences.

These social interaction networks would exist since periods previous

to the Bell Beaker one, but it would precisely be in the Bell Beaker period when a Pan European dimension is adopted. Contact and exchange between the elite initially occur with the beginning of an individual hierarchization that coincides with the adoption of the Bell Beaker on behalf of the European elite of the Copper Age. With this adoption, an us would be represented, made up of the elite or outstanding members of these social groups who materialize their identity through a specific pottery style in order to differentiate themselves from the remainder of the group, whom they consider to be the them. As a result of the growing differences between members of the group and the increased socioeconomic complexity, the Bell Beaker “unifies” those who associate themselves with it (Hernando 2002: 160). As pointed out by A. Hernando (2002: 159-162), the identity of any person at this moment could not be individual because the degree of socioeconomic development is not sufficient enough to establish distance between an interior I and an objectified exterior reality using rational explanations. By these means, the socioeconomic differences of these trans-egalitarian societies (Hayden 1995) are demonstrated by narrowing the distance that separates them from a third party through material, social and identity differentiation with the country people of their group. Since these groups need to feel like a part of a community that reinforces them and gives them meaning, the separation in their own group is carried out by linking the group to another social group: their equals.


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One example can be observed in the case of the “limestone eyed idol” represented by different styles in the south-western peninsula, in the sense that it is possible to ascribe diverse variants to its distribution that exist in certain regions. Regardless of their common motive, each one identifies itself with a different stylistic and compounding tendency. Similarly, regions such as the Portuguese Estremadura, Algarve, Guadalquivir Valley and Middle Guadiana River Basin all use a certain way of representation in order to give shape to the same idea (Hurtado 2008). As proposed by some authors, this evidence could be used as an additional resource in defining cultural limits through material diagnosis (DeAtley and Findlow 1984).

Figure 9-3. Distribution of different types of “eyed idols” in the territories of the Southwest, according to Thiessen polygons as applied in the biggest settlements.

The stylistic analysis and its geographic distribution could be useful

in establishing territorial indicators, as demonstrated in primitive tribal societies (Hodder 1982). In our case, the “eyed idol” is a motif, made up of eyes, eyebrows and facial tattoos that have the same significance in all of the southwest despite the fact that it is stylistically represented or interpreted in different ways according to different geographic regions (Figure 9-3). It is possible that there is a conscious purpose in the differentiation with the intention of marking a territorial identity. This seems to be so when the number and concentration of specimens made in

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the same "style" are observed in a certain zone. The fact that other specimens typical of other regions are located in the zone does not invalidate the hypothesis. On the contrary, this validates the hypothesis, since it demonstrates the knowledge of other means of representation in spite of the insistence on the symbol standing out in accordance with a determined style of their own, with which the communities of that territory identify.

Figure 9-4. Distribution of “eyed idol” and “anthropomorphic figurine” types in the TTB. Line: ypothetical eastern limit of TTB territory.

The determination of stylistic variants permits other applications. The

recent findings of the fortified settlement of San Blas (Cheles, Badajoz) (Hurtado 2004), located along the Guadiana river and relatively far from Tierra de Barros, has allowed us to relate it to this territory through the analytic comparison of archaeological materials. Within these materials, an “eyed idol” appeared that is typical of the variant of the Cuenca Media del Guadiana. The presence of this idol in the periphery of the TTB, just at the boundary that marks the Guadiana river, which separates this zone and the Portuguese Alentejo, is interesting. To this regard, the hypothesis is determined that the central Alentejo is structured as another territory around the great settlement of Porto Torrâo, which constitutes the central location, while the Perdigôes would be a secondary peripheral center


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(Nocete 2001:136; Valera 2006). This last settlement is situated near the settlement of San Blas. However, findings produced in recent excavations reveal certain differences in the types and characteristics of the artifacts, which compel us to contemplate the possibility that these differences are due to the fact that we are dealing with two different territories.

The fact that the “eyed idol” is stylistically expressed in different

ways in each region coincides with the moment in which the communities are completely settled in defined territories, with an articulated pattern of implementation in function with centers of superior rank, where they demonstrate signs of territorial identity.

The “anthropomorphic idol” would be the last demonstration of the

dynamic process of symbolic representation in the repertoire of idols in the first productive societies and can be related to the appearance of the elite and social hierarchies. We are dealing with the least numerous of all symbolic demonstrations and those that require a longer amount of time and more abilities for the elaboration of all that are known between the IV and III millennium BCE, especially the work of figurines made from limestone. The lack of formal and stylistic differentiation throughout a large area, such as the southern peninsula, would support A. Hernando’s (2002) hypothesis that Bell Beaker pottery are representations that have the function of identifying the pre-eminent position of certain individuals within their social group and in the face of parallel groups of power. In addition, we must add the case of the idol that serves as a tool to legitimize its status and make it sacred, elevating the individual to a religious category. The individual therefore serve as an intermediary between the society and mythical beliefs while reinforcing their power. In spite of the repetition of this stylistic type in the southern peninsula, it is important to point out the peculiarity of the material with which the pieces are manufactured in this territory TTB. They are all manufactured with lithic material (limestone or marble in general), with the exception of one piece manufactured with bone or ivory. In the remaining regions of the south of Spain, the contrary occurs: almost all are of bone or ivory, with the exception of one that is produced with alabaster. In addition, the largest number of “anthropomorphic idol” figurines on the Iberian Peninsula has been found in the MGB. This leads to the idea that a concept of idiosyncrasy is an additional characteristic of the cultural identity of this territory. Recently, various anthropomorphic idols have been found on different settlements located outside of the line that delimits the fortified sites along the eastern strip of Tierra de Barros

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(TTB) (Figure 9-4). If we accept the pattern of a synchronized settlement and that the line of fortification did actually make up a territorial boundary, the appearance of new idols outside of this space could be due to the permeability of borders to cultural exchanges or, because they are meeting points between adjoining territories. It could also be explained by the simple phenomena of emulation that is established between neighboring regions, mainly with symbolic artifacts, and other prestigious objects, in addition to new technological advances. In the case of state borders, Lightfoot and Martinez (1995) highlight the presence of emblematic artifacts and other elements of iconography in the outlying areas of the main territory. It is obvious that this is due to other causes related to economic and political imbalances and dependencies that do not necessarily coincide with those that are applied to pre-state societies.

Endnotes 1 “very special way, the subsistence production territories of Los Millares [...] while carrying out a great deal of pressure on the movement areas of the megalithic areas of the surroundings”. 2 “the existence of a symbolic and scenic context inherent to a mentally organized space in relation to a territorial identity that comes to be in a network of fortifications”. 3 “the large territorial structures as inter-peripheral and independent political centers” 4 “pastillage repoussée” in french.

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