Abstract
The scope of this thesis is to examine the origin and
development of the bronze age cultures in the Iberian Peninsula,
from the beginning of Los Nillares until into the Argaric bronze age.
It was intended to include the whole Peninsula, excluding the
Balearic Islands, but, for various reasons, including the lack of
material, the main emphasis is on the southern part. The reason
for choosing this particular period was the fact that the area had
never been intensively studied as a whole in this connection, though
there are many studies on different aspects of it - for example, on
the megalithic graves, or on the Argar culture. It was felt that a new survey of the area, from the time of Los j'iillares until the
development of El Argar, would throw new light on the origins of the
different cultures, their relationships to one another, and their
development pattern.
Before commencing a study of the bronze age cultures, it was necessary to know what had happened during the neolithic in the
Peninsula and the thesis, therefore, commences with a brief discussion
of the neolithic cultures.
As the thesis concerned the bronze age cultures, especial
attention was paid to the bronze implements of the period, the
majority of which are unpublished stray finds, and distribution maps
were made of these in order to bring out main centres of metal
working in the different prehistoric periods.
