BELL-BEAKERS IN IBERIA. In M. Almagro (ed) (2014): Iberia. Protohistory of the far west of Europe: from Neolithic to Roman conquest. Universidad de Burgos. Fundación Atapuerca: 113-124.

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IBERIA. PROTOHISTORY OF THE FAR WEST OF EUROPE:
FROM NEOLITHIC TO ROMAN CONQUEST
Published in:
BELL-BEAKERS IN IBERIA
RAFAEL GARRIDO PENA

A long-standing dilemma in European and Iberian
prehistory
The Bell-Beaker phenomenon is one of archae-
ology’s oldest and most controversial debates
1
. The
widespread dispersion of a variety of objects (ceram-
ics, weapons, copper tools, gold adornments, etc.),
found in Chalcolithic sites in much of Western Eu-
rope has always been difficult to explain. At the be-
ginning of the 20
th
Century, the first attempts focused
on cultural aspects, suggesting that they had been left
behind by ethnic, racial, or other groups familiar with
the ability to produce copper and gold, who used
these materials to trade and to subjugate the local
peoplethey encountered. Boch Gimpera and Castillo
located the origins of this people in the centre of the
Iberian Peninsula, initiating a fertile line of investiga-
tion that has produced a number of works
2
.
The appearance of more and more finds, along
with a better understanding of the chronology and
decorative styles of Bell-Beaker ware, meant that by
the mid-1960s other arguments and explanations be-
gan to emerge. Sangmeister synthesized these under
his “Reflux Theory”based on the postulation of a dual
origin of Bell-Beaker ware. This would see the first
appearance of a decorative style in the Tagus estuary
in Portugal, called Maritime or International, due to
its distribution and homogeneity, and from where it
would spread in a “flux”movement throughout much
of Western Europe. This culture would hybridize with
Chalcolithic cultures in central Europe, adopting a
series of items such as V perforated buttons, or wrist-
guards, which would be found in a “reflux”movement
dispersed throughout the south and west in the more
advanced phases of the phenomenon, creating dis-
tinct styles in each zone later on.
Harrison’s peninsula synthesis
3
developed this ex-
planation further, but the appearance of more accu-
rate dating techniques, such as C14, would dismantle
these models.
*
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, rafael.garrido@uam.es
1
Garrido, 2005.
2
Garrido, 2000: 5-8; Garrido et al., 2011: 109.
3
Harrison, 1977.
In the mid-1970s, Lanting and van der Waals put
forward the so-called “Dutch Model”, which located
the origin of Bell-Beakers at the Rhine estuary as
part of the Neolithic “Corded Ceramic Culture”of
the north and centre of Europe
4
. This model, which
was later very successful, is based on an uninterrupt-
ed cultural evolutionary sequence using C14 dating
of funerary contexts. This theory has been accepted
until recently when work based on dating from all
over Europe and applying the calibration of dates,
has shown that the picture is not so simple
5
.As a re-
sult, several authors are once again looking for the
origins of Bell-Beakers in the Iberian Peninsula, and
in particular in central Portugal
6
, an area that has
produced some of the biggest concentrations of finds
in all Europe.
Nevertheless, all this work, despite defending dif-
ferent hypotheses, shares a theoretical background
by identifying Bell-Beakers with a “culture”, an eth-
nic group whose origins can be speculated on. That
said, since the 1970s, and thanks to the pioneering
work of Clarke
7
, other writers have chosen to inter-
pret the spread of this phenomenon by investigat-
ing the economic and social structure of European
Chalcolithic groups. As Clarke notes, we are not
dealing with Bell-Beaker groups, but peoples with
Bell Beakers and the material they left behind in-
clude special objects of high social value that would
have circulated through exchange networks in a
Europe undergoing economic transformation and
where new social hierarchies were emerging. The
leaders of these societies would have attempted to
strengthen their position by displaying these objects
as ritual paraphernalia consisting of luxury ceram-
ics, weapons, and adornments, all of them emblems
of prestige and power.
Sherratt incorporated Clarke’s theories with an
interesting nuance that would have important re-
percussions about the possible alcoholic content of
Bell-Beaker pottery
8
. These containers could only
4
Lanting y van der Waals, 1976.
5
Müller y Van Willingen, 2001.
6
Salanova, 2005.
7
Clarke, 1976.
8
Sherratt, 1987.
Bell-Beakers in Iberia
Rafael Garrido Pena
*

IberIa. ProtoHIStorY oF tHe Far weSt oF euroPe
114
have been used for very important beverages, to be
consumed at ceremonies with a high social value, a
role that alcoholic drinks would have fulfilled per-
fectly, particularly in societies lacking permanent
political institutions, and where they would have
been very useful for recruiting new members. In
recent years the development of laboratory tech-
niques has led to the identification of alcoholic re-
mains in many Bell-Beaker pots found in the Ibe-
rian Peninsula, particularly different types of beer
9
.
There now seems to be widespread consensus that
Bell-Beakers are not symbols of a “culture”or eth-
nic group, but objects of high social value that
were used throughout exchange systems at a key
moment in the recent prehistory of Europe and
the Iberian Peninsula.
The main components of the Bell-Beaker “pack”
This collection of objects that forms what is
usually called the Bell-Beaker pack”is made up of
a series of highly standardized types that appear to-
gether recurrently in the same archaeological con-
text (Fig. 1):
Pottery
Pottery makes up a smaller group of standardized
forms, particularly the Bell-Beaker pot with its sinu-
ous profile, capable of holding around one litre and in
1:1 proportion between the diameter of the mouth
and the total height, ideal for managing the consump-
tion of liquids. Alongside is the carinated-bowl, a wide,
low vessel in 3:1 proportion and that could hold be-
tween 1.5 and 2.5 litres, clearly used for the presen-
tation and consumption of solids. Next to these are
a collection of bowls, small receptacles for individual
consumption, probably used to distribute the contents
of Bell Beakers and carinated-bowls. Exceptional are
the Bell-Beaker cups, which have been found only in
El Acebuchal (Carmona), the central area of Portugal
(Sao Pedro do Estoril, and Cascais)
10
, and then along
the Tagus at finds in places such as El Ventorro (Ma-
drid), El Alto del Romo (Cuenca), or more recently
and complete at Humanejos (Parla, Madrid), for ex-
ample.
All the objects have fine walls, around 5 mm thick,
and are carefully made and finished with complex,
detailed decoration. In some cases, the decoration is
filled with white paste made of ground bone, as has
9
Rojo et al., 2006; Garrido et al., 2011.
10
Gonçalves, 2005.
Figure 1. Representation of a warrior wearing elements
of the Bell Beaker set (Rojo et al., 2005; Drawing: Luis
Pascual).
been shown by recent laboratory analysis
11
, and which
highlights it against the dark background of the re-
cipient. The oldest styles have corded impressions, and
are found in limited and peripheral areas of the Penin-
sula, as well as the Maritime (Fig. 2) and are made by
11
Odriozola y Hurtado, 2007.

bell-beakerS In IberIa
115
comb impressions, sometimes with shells, with bands
filled with oblique and plain tracing, which are found
throughout the Peninsula, and particularly concen-
trated in central Portugal. Later on, geometric designs
are added to the classic Maritime designs, eventually
creating a style that has been called geometric pointillé
(“puntillado”) because it shows the impression made
by comb, but with a wider range of motifs. This was a
kind of transitional style toward later regional ones.
Later regional styles have been created through
impressed techniques (traditionally thought to be
incised) using a non-stippling pattern that has been
given different regional and local names (Palmela,
Salamó, Carmona, and above all Ciempozuelos)
12
(Fig. 3A). While older styles such as the Corded or
Maritime respond to standardized decorative schemes
throughout Europe, particularly the succession of
bands filled with oblique tracing in alternating direc-
tions, those from Ciempozuelos and others from the
same period are instead based on local and regional
designs, although they are surprisingly regular and
standardized. Employing repertories of relatively
smaller geometric motifs, and normally of no more
than three to a vessel, they are combined to form
complex ornamental designs following very regular
templates that are often successive, while others are
clearly endowed with central symmetry.
It is worth mentioning the existence of a deco-
rative variety that along with the characteristic geo-
metric motifs, incorporates others that are figurative
(schematic deers, soliforms, etc.) that are directly
linked to the world of schematic rock art or idols,
known as “Symbolic Bell-Beakers”(Fig. 3B). Many
exceptional examples have been found in the penin-
sula of this curious type, in locations such as the bowl
from Las Carolinas, and the carinated-bowl from El
Camino de la Yeseras, both in Madrid, or the bowls
from Ciavieja and Los Millares, in Almería, or those
from Palmela, Tituaria, and Castro de Portucheira, in
Portugal.
Neither should we forget the presence in these
settlements of large storage vessels with Bell-Beak-
er decorations, which despite their size also exhibit
significant standardization in their ornamentation,
which tends to employ repetitive designs and for-
mats, perhaps indicating their use for fermentation
or for consuming beverages that would be ingested
from a standard-size vessel. In fact, a recent find at
the Carlos Álvarez rock-shelter (Soria) contained
residue of wheat beer.
Finally, there is also undecorated Bell-Beaker pot-
tery, which despite lacking any ornamentation repli-
12
Harrison, 1977.
Figure 2. Maritime Bell Beaker from La Sima barrow, Miño
de Medinaceli, Soria (Rojo et al. 2005. Photography: Ale-
jandro Plaza, Museo Numantino, Soria).
cates exactly the same forms to be found in the deco-
rative repertory (Bell-Beaker vessels, pots, bowls, etc.,)
with the pottery found in many funerary contexts. For
this reason they are known as the Plain Style.
Copper weapons and tools
Among the tools worth highlighting are bi-pointed
copper awls and flat axes, the last could also be used as
weapons, just as undoubtedly the tanged knives/dag-
gers and spear heads of Palmela type (Fig. 4A). These
were all made from copper, sometimes with a signifi-
cant amount of arsenic (particularly the daggers), the
addition of which does not seem intentional to judge
from the results of metallurgical tests. The first bronze
implements only appear occasionally in peninsular Bell-
Beakers, for example at the site of Bauma del Serrat del
Pont, Gerona. During this time it appears that the use
of copper spread throughout the peninsula, but with-
out being associated with any important technologi-
cal changes from the preceding Chalcolithic era. Pot-
furnaces and crucibles are still being used for smelting,
sometimes with Bell-Beaker decoration, such as those
found at El Ventorro (Madrid), Son Matge (Mallorca),
or Bauma del Serrat del Pont (Gerona), for example
13
.
13
Rovira y Delibes, 2005.

IberIa. ProtoHIStorY oF tHe Far weSt oF euroPe
116
Among the methods used to fix heads to shafts
during this time was tongue and groove, while in
other areas of western Europe the first riveting ap-
peared, a much more efficient way of joining a tool
to a shaft that would be the most common system
used during the Bronze Age. As would be the case
with bronze implements toward the end of this peri-
od, and then only rarely, we see riveting in particular
kinds of halberds as those of Carrapatas type, which
are related to a recent Bell Beaker burial find at a
funeral site of Ciempozuelos style in Madrid (Hu-
manejos). The later tanged daggers made during the
Bell-Beaker period had bigger blades in proportion
to the tongue, which became smaller and that would
eventually be replaced by rivets. The dagger found
at Almeida de Sayago, Zamora, northern Spain, uses
both systems, a tiny tongue and two rivets
14
; a pre-
cursor to the technological innovations that would
come in the following centuries.
Gold ornaments
Gold working during this period spreads, as has
been shown by the finds at sites such as Fuente Ol-
medo, which include diadems or headbands, as well
as the typical square or rectangular plaquettes, which
predominate, along with necklace beads. These are
14
Delibes, 1977: 72-73.
Figure 3. Bell Beaker pottery: A, Ciempozuelos necropolis, Madrid (Photography: Museo Arqueológico Nacional). B, Inter-
nal and external view of the Beaker bowl of Las Carolinas, Madrid (Photography: Museo Arqueológico de la Comunidad
de Madrid).
all made from alluvial gold, meticulously beaten
from thin strips. These would have been associated
with organic material that have since been lost, par-
ticularly small plaquettes that were sometimes com-
bined to form complex headdresses such as that re-
cently found on an individual buried at the Camino
de lasYeseras site in Madrid. Another exceptional
item is the gold wristguard found at Vila Nova de
Cerveira, at Viana do Castelo, in Portugal.
Other items of important symbolic value
This category includes neither pottery, nor metal-
lic objects frequently found in the context of Bell-
Beakers, giving fundamental clues within this com-
plex phenomenon; such as archers’wristguards and
bone and ivory V-perforated buttons.
Archers’wristguards are made of rectangular
plates, usually of stone, with perforations along the
edges, and whose name comes from the widely ac-
cepted explanation of their use (Fig. 4B). It is be-
lieved that they were worn on the inside of the fore-
arm, as has been shown from funeral sites, to dampen
the impact of the bow’s string. It is common to find
flint arrowheads at funeral sites. Bows are featured
on the anthropomorphic stele found at the Beaker
Swiss site of Petit Chasseur. The bow and arrow was
the most common weapons used by Chalcolithic
groups, both for hunting and war.

bell-beakerS In IberIa
117
The V-perforated buttons were used for personal
adornment. They are so called for the curious system
by which they were attached to clothing. There are a
variety of standardized types, such as hemispherical,
conical, tortoise type, truncated cones, pyramid, etc.,
and were made from bone or ivory. Recent labora-
tory analysis
15
has shown that in some cases the ivory
comes from Africa,which illustrates the extent of
trading systems during this period.
The distribution of these buttons in tombs, such
as those lined up in Cave 1 at Sao Pedro do Estoril
in Cascais, Portugal
16
, suggests a clear link to cloth-
ing. These would have been ceremonial garments of
great value, perhaps like those on the anthropomor-
phic stele at Petit Chasseur, with detailed decoration
such as that found on Bell-Beaker vessels.
In short, these Bell-Beaker items form a standard-
ized group of types recurrently found in the same
contexts throughout Western Europe during the
second half of the third millennium cal BC. That
said, some of these are essentially peninsular, such
15
Schuhmacher y Banerjee, 2012.
16
Gonçalves, 2005: 117.
Figure 4. Bell Beaker items from La Sima barrow, Miño de Medinaceli, Soria: A, Daggers of copper; B, Palmela points of
copper; C, Stone wrist-guards (Photography: Alejandro Plaza, Museo Numantino, Soria).
as the carinated-bowls, which have only been found
at sporadic sites in Sicily or the South of France, or
spearheads of the Palmela type, which while abun-
dant in the Iberian Peninsula, are rarely found be-
yond southern France or North Africa, or the sym-
bolic Bell-Beaker pottery, which are exclusive to the
peninsula.
Chronological and geographic context
Bell-Beakers occupied the Iberian peninsula dur-
ing the second half of the third millennium cal BC
(2500-2000 cal BC), although some C14 dating al-
lows us to extend this period to between 2700-2600
at the lower end, and 1900 cal BC forward. That said,
this timeframe can vary considerably depending on
the region: in areas such as the southeast of the Iberi-
an peninsulait continues into the second millennium
cal BC (2000-1900 cal BC), which is traditionally
considered the Early Bronze Age.
It is harder to establish the internal chronol-
ogy of this phenomenon, because the available
absolute dating procedures have their limits when
it comes to detailing relatively short periods, and
more so in the C14 calibration curve, which can

IberIa. ProtoHIStorY oF tHe Far weSt oF euroPe
118
be very irregular. Traditional dating establishes two
main periods:
– The Maritime or International Style of late
pan-European distribution and chronology.
– Regional Styles (Salamó, Carmona, Palmela,
Ciempozuelos), which came later.
It is difficult to establish the time limit between
both, given the limits of current dating methods, but
they could be anything between 2300-2200 cal BC.
Furthermore, local Bell-Beaker styles overlap those
of the Maritime type, as has been shown from a
number of archaeological sites in the peninsula. That
said it is important to point out that Maritime Bell-
Beaker styles never appear together with later styles
in closed funeral contexts.
Epi Bell-Beaker decorative styles have been iden-
tified in some peninsular areas that are similar to the
Bell-Beaker, but with important differences, above
all in the organization of decorative designs. These
occupy the final phase of the Bell-Beaker sequence,
well into the second millennium cal BC. This is the
case, for example, of the so-called ArbolíStyle of the
northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, or the Dornajos
style of La Mancha
17
.
Regarding the geographic distribution of Bell-
Beakers throughout the Iberian peninsula, we can
currently say that it is to be found in every region,
those where it was least known, such as Galicia
18
,
Cantabria
19
, or Extremadura
20
.That said, we can ar-
gue that the largest concentration of finds has come
from central Portugal, clearly extended along the
course of the Tagus basin. In general, there are more
sites in the interior of the peninsula, concentrated
along the main communication routes of the Tagus
and Duero valleys. This shows that there was a dense
network of exchange routes throughout the peninsu-
la during the third millennium cal BC that preceded
the appearance of Bell-Beakers, but that developed
and expanded with it.
Archaeological contexts: living spaces and tombs
We can safely say that there is no such thing as
a Bell-Beaker settlement or tomb, because, as indi-
cated above, we are not talking about a “culture”,
but a phenomenon that affects different groups or
“cultures”, and therefore, the contexts in which it ap-
pears are many and varied, particularly in a region as
17
Garrido, 2000: 131-136.
18
Prieto y Salanova, 2011.
19
Ontañón, 2005.
20
Hurtado, 2005.
large as the peninsula. We can distinguish two main
categories: living spaces and tombs.
Living spaces
There is a wide range of types of Chalcolithic pe-
ninsular settlements, and the Bell-Beakers impact on
them is equally diverse. From the end of the fourth
millennium to the beginning of the third millennium
cal BC we see the appearance of large, walled set-
tlements in the southeast, such as Los Millares, or
atZambujal, in central Portugal, as a result of major
economic and social change. Around the middle of
the third millennium, these population centres begin
to incorporate Bell-Beaker elements, albeit in small
amounts (5% of material found so far), and in general
limited to small areas, very often centred in elevated
zones of such hubs (acropolis). This has been inter-
preted as testimony to increased political instability
at times of crisis and conflict. In another area of the
early Chalcolithic period, the southwest of the pe-
ninsula, the Bell-Beaker phase is also present at large
enclosures, such as Valencina de la Concepción, in
Seville; or La Pijotilla, in Extremadura
21
, for example.
This Bell-Beaker phase also sees a notable reduction
in the occupied area, and at the same time, an in-
crease in differences between clans, to judge from the
funerary contexts in the neighbouring necropolis.
In other regions of the peninsula manifestations of
social complexity are much less clear, as there were
far fewer of them. Settlement patterns during the
third millennium show no signs of hierarchy or cen-
tralization in major population centres. Settlements
are largely fragmented, along the lines of small liv-
ing areas, whether caves or permanent spaces such
as camps, which are found throughout the peninsula,
sometimes alongside small enclosures, and never cov-
ering more than a hectare, except in the case of the
Camino de Yeseras site in Madrid, which extends over
20 hectares, and was probably a central location
22
. In
these sites we find small amounts of Bell-Beaker items
(1- 5%) such as pottery, although in the nearby El
Ventorro site, there are the remains of huts, alongside
evidence of metallurgy and faunal remains
23
.
Finally, we should not forget the recent discovery
of important settlements with Bell-Beaker material
close to the lagoons of Villafáfila in Zamora (Molino
Sanchón, Santioste), and that have been interpreted
as places where salt
24
, a key product for humans and
domestic animals, was mined.
21
Hurtado, 2005.
22
Liesauet al., 2008.
23
Garrido et al., 2005.
24
Guerra et al., 2011.

bell-beakerS In IberIa
119
Tombs
There is an even greater variety of funerary
structures. Up until a few decades ago it was com-
monplace to link individual burials in pits with
bell beakers contrasting with the collective graves
of earlier periods, but today we can say that this
is an excessive simplification. Individual tombs ex-
ist from the beginning of the Neolithic age, while
collective pantheons do not disappear either in the
Chalcolithic or Bell-Beaker periods, although it is
true that there is a notable decline in the number of
individuals buried inside compared to the megalith-
ic monuments of the Neolithic age. It now seems
that these are small family pantheons belonging
to lineages or parent groups that exercised power,
given the concentration of items found in them. In
the case of the artificial caves in central Portugal
(Grutas de Quinta do Anjo en Palmela, Alapraia or
San Pedro de Estoril)
25
, and other such structures
recently discovered in the Tagus basin, such as Valle
25
Gonçalves, 2005.
de lasHigueras in Toledo
26
, and the Camino de
lasYeseras
27
and Humanejos
28
(Fig. 5), which have
produced spectacular funerary finds combining fine
Bell-Beaker ware along with copper weaponry, gold
work and the characteristic wristguards and bone
and ivory V-perforated buttons.
There are obviously also individual graves that
have yielded rich finds, such as those in Villabuena del
Puente, in Zamora, or Fuente Olmedo, in Valladolid,
under small mounds of stone and with one of the rich-
est Bell-Beaker contexts in Europe, which along with
the ceramic trio in the Ciempozuelos Style, includes
a gold diadem, a wristguard, a flint arrowhead, and a
spectacular collection of copper weapons, consisting
of a tanged dagger and 11 Palmela-type spearheads
29
(Fig.6). Much more recent is the discovery of individ-
ual Bell-Beaker tombs at La Vital, in Valencia
30
.
26
Buenoet al., 2005.
27
Liesauet al., 2008.
28
Flores y Garrido, en prensa.
29
Delibes, 1977: 62-68.
30
García y otros, 2013.
Figure 5. Bell Beaker grave of Humanejos, Parla, Madrid. (Photography: Sara Genicio Lorenzo; Courtesy of Raul Flores
Fernandez).

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But alongside this, is also common during this
periodthe reuse of Neolithic and Megalithic graves,
which were a focus of symbolic activity.This reuse
is particularly intense in regions with an important
megalithic past, to the extent that these are the
predominant Bell-Beaker grave type, such as in the
Zamora-Salamanca area of the Castilian plateau, or
in Andalusia, for example
31
. One of the most spec-
tacular of these is at La Sima, Soria, which was aban-
doned after a complex, two-phase funerary sequence
with two Neolithic phases in which the corbelled
stone chamber (a tholos) was used collectively. More
than a thousand years later, a range of tombs accom-
panied by Bell-Beaker grave goods (FIGURES 2 and
4) just in the entrance to the chamber without pen-
etrating it, of which only two have been preserved
intact
32
.
La Sima appears to be a model for others, and is
similar to many other megalithic tombs throughout
the peninsula. The presence of Bell-Beaker material
in megaliths used to be interpreted as proof of so-
cial and ideological continuity, understood in terms
of uninterrupted funerary sequences over millennia.
But the recent excavation of many monuments and
the availability of C14 dating of Neolithic bones now
allows us to see that these burial sites, were not used
continuously, but instead were abandoned, often for
hundreds of years, and then reused. The use in each
period depends on different circumstances, as well
as the social and ideological contexts. In the case of
Bell-Beakers, their use could be attributed to a desire
by emerging leaders of fragile social structures to le-
gitimate their claim to rule.
A different case altogether are the cemeteries at
the larger peninsular Chalcolithic population centres,
such as the tholostype tombs at Los Millaresin the
southeast, or at La Pijotilla, in Extremadura
33
, which
were used during the Bell-Beaker period, which giv-
en their chronological proximity, suggest a clear case
of social and ideological continuity. It would appear
that these groups of leaders adopted these as symbols
of power, using them up until the beginning of the
Bronze Age, when new forms of social organization
appeared to possibly replace them.
Two other interesting examples illustrating the
funerary diversity of this period are worth mention-
ing: the Tres Montes tomb, Navarra, and Valdeprados,
Ávila. The first is an untypical wood and stone struc-
ture along the lines of “the house of the dead”that
was then torched and destroyed. The second is a
small grave that housed a secondary burial accom-
31
Lazarich, 2005: 361.
32
Rojo et al., 2005; Garrido et al., 2005: 416.
33
Hurtado, 2005: 328-329.
panied by rich Bell-Beaker funerary grave goods that
included gold and copper weapons (daggers and
Palmela spearheads). The immense majority of the
Bell-Beaker inhumations were carried out in primary
foetal position, which means that this case can be
explained as the transfer of the remains of somebody
who died and was buried somewhere else and then
transported for exceptional reasons to their final rest-
ing place, where they were discovered anatomically
disconnected.
Despite their diversity, Bell-Beaker tombs share
some common characteristics. In general they are set
apart, or make up small necropolises, but rarely of
more than a dozen structures. The number of indi-
viduals per tomb is small; rarely more than five, even
in small pantheons. It would seem, therefore, that
a small minority of these people used them. These
groups would have controlled access to the exotic
raw materials found in the grave goods (gold, ivory,
and even cinnabar, which would have been sprin-
kled on the bodies). In recent years, discoveries at
places like Camino de Yeseras have yielded tombs
from the same Bell-Beaker period but without grave
goods, which suggests that there were major differ-
ences in the way people were buried, depending on
their social status. That said, there must have been
many more tombs or funeral spaces for the rest of
the population, and perhaps the surprising find of
a Chalcolithic collective burial chamber at Camino
del Molino in Caravaca, Murcia, holding more than
1,000 individuals
34
, is a good example of the type
of pantheons where the majority of the population
were buried.
At the same time, there are differences of wealth
within the grave offerings found in Bell-Beaker
tombs: while some have just a few ceramic items that
repeat the same combinations, such as the Ciempo-
zuelos pottery trio, sometimes wristguards are found,
while others have yielded costly copper weapons and
gold and ivory ornaments. The bodies are laid out in
the foetal position. Men, women, and children have
been found in these tombs. That said, although there
is no hard statistical evidence, but it appears that the
majority of bodies were male, with far fewer women,
and very few children. But the few that have been
found, such as in Aldeagordillo, Ávila
35
, raise the
question as to whether some of these figures were
trying to create hereditary power structures (inher-
ited status).
Recent calcium and phosphorous isotope analy-
ses have produced interesting data about the diet of
the individuals found in Bell-Beaker tombs, reveal-
34
Lomba et al., 2009.
35
Fabian, 1992.

bell-beakerS In IberIa
121
Figure 6. Objects found in the Bell Beaker tomb of Fuente Olmedo, Valladolid. (Delibes 1977).

IberIa. ProtoHIStorY oF tHe Far weSt oF euroPe
122
ing different dietary patterns, for example meat,
although vegetarian diets seem to predominate;
some family groups have been found to have eaten
fish
36
.
Finally, we should mention some interesting re-
cent finds, which are not strictly speaking tombs, but
bear many similarities. These are a series of small bar-
rows such as Morcuero (Gemuño) Ávila, or El Alto
III (Fuencaliente de Medinaceli), Soria, where Bell-
Beaker material has been found; in the case of the
Soria site, of great wealth, where not only ceramic
items, but also gold pieces have been found. No
bones were present, and this cannot be attributed to
decomposition, but instead to ritual
37
. Perhaps these
were cenotaphs or places where special ceremonies
took place. The mounds do not always yield buried
objects, but instead could be landmarks that indicate
important points in the landscape, where a tomb is
located, or in these cases specifically, for their social,
ritual, or ceremonial value.
Bell-Beakers in its social and ideological context
In short, there is a convincing body of evidence
that suggests that Bell-Beakers did not consist sim-
ply of everyday receptacles belonging to this or that
culture or racial or ethnic group, but instead a ritual
pottery that was highly prized, and into the making
of which a great deal of care and trouble had gone,
given its decorative designs, fine workmanship and
standardized designs
38
.This ceramic set was part of a
successful combination of weapons, ornaments and
receptacles used for food and drink rituals linked to
important occasions. These were ritual parapherna-
lia that would be exhibited by certain people over
the course of their lives, and that would accompany
them into the afterlife. These funerary items would
always be carefully chosen to project a certain image
of the deceased to the wider community. In reality,
they were used not so much to highlight the social
position of the departed, but of his family, and their
aspirations to inherit power.
Metal weapons, on occasions found alongside
flint arrowheads, provide an image of a warrior and
his military authority. Palmela-type spearheads and
tanged daggers reinforce this: they were items that
few in these societies could have had access to. Orna-
ments would have given their owner prestige as well,
given that they too were made with exotic materi-
als such as gold and ivory. Ownership would have
36
Trancho y Robledo, 2011.
37
Garrido et al., 2011: 122-124.
38
Garrido, 2000.
made it clear that these people were in contact with
long-distance exchange networks, which would have
given them considerable prestige.
As valuable specialized creations, Bell-Beaker
pottery would be part of a collection used repeat-
edly in ceremonies, where food and alcoholic bever-
ages (above all beer) would be consumed, something
that not all in society would be able to do. Through
these complex rituals, these figures would manage
to recruit others to their cause. These rituals would
take place not just at funerals, but at settlements, par-
ticularly on special occasions, through the develop-
ment of hospitality rituals and festivities (Fig. 7), all
of which has been well documented in ethnographic
works on similar societies. This would explain the
limited appearance of Bell-Beaker ware in small set-
tlements.
Analysis of the composition of the clays used to
make Bell-Beaker pottery over recent years shows
that in many cases there are clear differences in the
technology used to make smooth pottery, but they
also indicate that only a small percentage of Bell-
Beakers were imported
39
. In the vast majority of
cases, local clays were used, which means we have
to explain the spread of complex decorative designs,
standardized forms, etc. This is most likely due to the
movement of people, but not necessarily migratory.
Instead, it could be due to intermarriage as part of
political and social strategies (pacts, alliances, etc,),
linked to the possible existence of individual travel-
lers, all of which could explain the spread of many
Bell-Beaker items, as well as the symbols and ideas
associated with them.
The Europe of the middle of the third millenni-
um BCE was undergoing economic transformation.
Humanity had developed agricultural techniques,
including animal husbandry, over the course of the
Neolithic period, creating surpluses that had to be
managed, which in turn led to models of social or-
ganization that created inequalities. Some regions of
the Iberian peninsulahad already seen the creation
of important population centres, while long-distance
exchange networks were connecting Iberiawith cir-
cuits where exotic materials such as ivory, could be
obtained
40
.
All this explains the rapid incorporation of Bell-
Beaker elements in these social circuits as another
component used as power symbols. This doesn’t
mean that all European or peninsulargroups had the
same type of social structures, and there was notable
diversity. But Bell-Beakers are present in all of them
39
Clop, 2007; Jorge, 2009.
40
Schuhmacher y Banerjee, 2012.

bell-beakerS In IberIa
123
because they were undergoing a process of transfor-
mation, albeit at different degrees, and within these
societies, the growing inequality needed to be justi-
fied through symbolic acts and rituals.
In regions such as the southeast and south-
west, we are likely talking about leaderships where
inequality was permanent, but in other areas, it
is more appropriate to use Hayden’s concept of
“transegalitarian”societies, which are changing from
an egalitarian to a hierarchical model
41
. This is be-
cause in these regions there is no evidence of either a
clear centralization nor of power being inherited, but
instead of notable instability and conflict. This is per-
haps why Bell-Beakers survive longer in some than in
others, in some cases up until the Early Bronze Age,
and were necessary in a still-unstable social context,
whereas in the Southeast, for example, the El Argar
group had already appeared, associated with more
complex and stable political forms.
41
Garrido, 2006.
All in all, the Bell-Beaker phenomenon cast a
long shadow over the recent peninsular history.
The development of such intense and continuous
processes of social interaction connecting large ar-
eas of western Europe with new forms of under-
standing and expressing power through the display
of metal weapons, hospitality rituals using special
vessels, along with other symbols of prestige and
personal success, and particularly well expressed in
funeral rites. In fact, some of these items, such as
wristguards, V-perforated buttons, or cups, contin-
ued to be used by groups in the peninsula during
the Bronze Age. The large truncated conical pots of
the middle and final part of the Bronze Age, which
some writers have associated with banquets, where
large amounts of meat was served and consumed,
have their origin in Bell-Beaker carinated-bowls.
Many decorative designs from such characteristic
archaeological sites such as Cogotas I at the end of
the Bronze Age, are clearly from the Bell-Beaker
repertory.
Figure 7. Ritual scene of a hospitality banquet with Beaker pottery (Rojo et al., 2006. Drawing: Luis Pascual).

IberIa. ProtoHIStorY oF tHe Far weSt oF euroPe
124
Less clear is the impact of these centuries of in-
tense contact and exchange of materials, people,
and ideas on other important areas such as symbol-
ism and language. Both of these key aspects of the
past challenge what archaeology is able to unearth,
but it is nevertheless clear that exchange takes place
between people, and that they must be able to un-
derstand each other. In short, the impact of the Bell-
Beaker phenomenon was important and long-lasting,
and after centuries of close relationships, associations
and similarities were created that were only erased
after long periods of time.
3