Journal of Archaeological Research· 2026Q1
Social Resistance in Bronze Age Iberia
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Peripheral communities in Early Bronze Age Iberia (ca. 2200–1550 BCE) actively resisted and negotiated interactions with the dominant El Argar formation, constructing a borderland characterized by economic autonomy and selective exchange.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Peripheral communities in Early Bronze Age Iberia actively resisted and negotiated interactions with the dominant El Argar formation.
- Resistance manifested as settlement atomization, enrockment, selective exchange of metals and ivory, and elevated interpersonal violence.
- These communities maintained economic autonomy and strategic interaction, actively constructing their borderland.
- Findings refine world-systems approaches by integrating local dynamics with macro-regional interactions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract This article contributes to current debates on interaction, expansion, and resistance in Bronze Age Europe and the Mediterranean by refining world-systems approaches through the analysis of large, uneven archaeological datasets. Focusing on Early Bronze Age Iberia (ca. 2200–1550 BCE), it examines interactions between El Argar, one of the most dynamic economic and political formations in prehistoric Western Europe, and the non-state communities occupying its northern periphery. Drawing on more than a century of archaeological research across an area in excess of 210,000 km 2 , the study combines statistical and spatial analyses of the distribution of the available evidence with archaeological interpretation. Results identify macro-regional north–south economic gradients alongside localised patterns of resistance and negotiation, revealing a long-lasting interaction zone characterised by settlement atomization, enrockment, selective exchange of metals and ivory, and elevated interpersonal violence. Rather than passive margins, peripheral communities actively constructed this borderland through economic autonomy, strategic interaction, and violent resistance. These findings refine world-systems perspectives while preserving the specificity of local dynamics.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Archaeological Research, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Archeology (Arts and Humanities)
ArcheologyArts and Humanities