Producción y circulación de la cerámica calcolítica en el sudeste de la península ibérica. El caso del cerro de la Virgen de Orce (Granada), un asentamiento central en el Altiplano Granadino

Resumen

Cerro de la Virgen (Orce, Granada) is an exceptional archaeological site serving to characterise southeastern Iberia's Chalcolithic pottery production as well as to delve into the role played by the Bell Beaker phenomenon in the cultural development of these human communities. This analysis therefore focuses on the Chalcolithic ceramic finds unearthed during the excavation campaigns directed by W. Schüle in the 1960s and 1970s as well as those of the intervention of 1986 within the framework of the ‘Millares Project’ (Schüle, 1966, 1980, 1986; Schüle and Pellicer, 1966; Molina et al., 2017 a). This pottery assemblage was selected because it is from a settlement considered to be of great archaeological interest as it is in the centre of the Granada highlands. It is located on a flat spur delimited by the Orce River and two ravines, located on the northeastern edge of the province of Granada about 150 km from the Province of Granada. It stands out due to its more than six meters of stratigraphy which can be divided into three prehistoric phases with a continuous occupation spanning the middle of the Copper Age to an advanced stage of the Bronze Age preceding the Late Bronze Age evidenced by many radiocarbon datings and statistical analyses (Molina et al., 2004; Molina and Cámara, 2009; Molina et al., 2014, 2016 b; Molina et al., 2017 a; Cámara et al, 2018). These aspects have rendered it possible, for the first time in the southeast of Iberia, to characterise the smooth and decorated Bell Beaker ware based on an assemblage from the same site spanning from the middle of the Chalcolithic (2500-2150 BC), to the transition to the local Early Bronze Age (2150-1900 BC). The methodology applied to the study revealed that the source of the clay to produce the ware stems for the most part from local outcrops in the vicinity of the archaeological settlement. Hence the Bell Beaker phenomenon at Cerro de la Virgen is not allochthonous. It likewise does not reflect a cultural rupture potentially linked to a massive arrival of a distinct Bell Beaker population. The study has identified that the sequence of development of Bell Beaker ware begin with a gradual introduction during phases I and II.1 (2600-2500 BC/2500-2350 BC) followed by a boom in production during phase II.2 (2350-2250 BC). Phase II.3-II.4 (2250-2150 cal BC), in turn, is characterised by a progressive decline prior to a practical disappearance in phases III.1-III.2 (2150-1900 BC). The typological analysis and sequential distribution of smooth and decorated ware offered very compelling findings on the assimilation of the Bell Beaker tradition in the eastern highlands of Granada. In this sense, it is evident that a rapid incorporation and a high degree of assimilation of Bell Beaker elements by the traditional forms of the Recent Chalcolithic took place in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is likewise clear that the symbolic value of this ware was not limited exclusively to the funerary context