An Undervalued Archaeological Resource: Social Aspects of Bronze Age Textile Production in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula - RUA
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European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021, 324–344
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
An Undervalued Archaeological Resource:
Social Aspects of Bronze Age Textile
Production in the Eastern Iberian
Peninsula
RICARDO E. BASSO RIAL1 , FRANCISCO JAVIER JOVER MAESTRE1 AND
JUAN ANTONIO LÓPEZ PADILLA2
1
Research Institute of Archaeology and Heritage, University of Alicante, Spain
2
Archaeological Museum of Alicante, Spain
According to Childe, the Bronze Age in Europe is thought to be the first ‘golden age’ in European history.
The development of metallurgy, clearly associated with the production of weapons, and the expansion of
exchange networks covering all types of goods are considered essential in the process of consolidation of
social elites, and, by extension, of social inequalities. The significance of textile production has, however,
been undervalued as a specialized craft and as a manufacturing process that creates cultural differences and
signals social inequalities. Being associated with domestic contexts rather than with specialized workshops,
textile production in the eastern Iberian Peninsula has been underestimated; it is addressed here, as is its
potential importance in societies immersed in a process of social stratification.
Keywords: textile production, Bronze Age, eastern Iberian Peninsula, linen, wool, esparto grass
INTRODUCTION other crafts in the processes of social
development, including, in our opinion,
Research into the development of Bronze textile production. Indeed, textile produc-
Age societies in Europe and the tion—especially weaving and sewing—
Mediterranean has emphasized the requires great skill and ability, as well as
importance of trade associated with the many hours of work. Such attributes are
development of metallurgy (e.g. Childe, usually associated with craft specialization
1958; Briard, 1997; Kristiansen & Larsson, and the technical division of labour.
2005; Earle et al., 2015). The presence of a While studies carried out in the Eastern
wide range of copper and bronze artefacts, Mediterranean and elsewhere in Europe
particularly weapons, in the archaeological have highlighted the economic and social
record has reinforced the image of the importance of textiles (e.g. Lucas &
Bronze Age as the period in which warrior Harris, 1962; Barber, 1991; McCorriston,
elites emerged and social stratification 1997; Killen, 2007; Gleba, 2008; Harris,
began (e.g. Gilman, 1981; Lull, 1983; 2012; Andersson Strand & Nosch, 2015;
Chapman, 1991; Harding, 2000). Frei et al., 2017; Bender Jørgensen et al.,
This perspective has, however, led to a 2018; Sabatini et al., 2018; Sabatini &
certain undervaluing of the importance of Bergerbrant, 2019), textiles have been
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/eaa.2021.15
Manuscript received 22 June 2020,
accepted 15 March 2021, revised 24 October 2020
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Basso Rial et al. ‒ Bronze Age Textile Production in Eastern Iberia 325
undervalued and gone almost unnoticed processing and treatment, and the produc-
on the Iberian Peninsula. Research con- tion of a wide variety of products. In add-
ducted in its south-eastern part has identi- ition, this is an activity that requires a
fied three cultural groups in the region: El large and varied number of tools, from
Argar, the Valencian Bronze Age culture awls and bone or metal needles to clay
and the Motillas or La Mancha culture spindle whorls and loom weights, and
(Figure 1). All developed between 2200 wooden warp-weighted looms. Their
and 1500 cal BC, with a diversity of occu- manufacture would in turn have required
pation sequences, and with different the participation of numerous craftspeople
degrees of social development observable (Costin, 2005, 2013). The labour and col-
in differences in the structure of settle- laboration required for these processes
ments, demographic concentrations, and would have needed efficient coordination
social practices. Among them, the best and planning by at least part of the com-
known is El Argar (Siret & Siret, 1890; munity or group.
Lull, 1983; Chapman, 1991; Lull et al., If these activities were undertaken
2009; Aranda et al., 2015) thanks to the within a household, extended family
long research history and the large quan- group, or lineage, the aim would have
tity and high quality of the excavations been to meet the needs of all the members
and studies undertaken there. The aim of of the group, with any surplus used in
this article is to evaluate the archaeological exchange for other goods. If, on the other
evidence for textile production and its hand, it was organized within an early
importance in Bronze Age societies in the class-based society, both the raw materials,
eastern Iberian Peninsula. whether processed or not, and the textiles
or even the finished garments, could have
served as tribute (Killen, 2007; Algaze,
THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS 2008).
Textile production, therefore, does not
Activities related to textile production in appear to have been an activity of little
the Iberian Peninsula have not usually importance. On the contrary, it brings
been taken into consideration in the dis- together a series of processes, sequentially
course to explain the emergence of pro- linked, including those that cover basic
cesses of specialization and the social needs but which also go beyond merely
division of labour, or the development of providing clothing. Clothing, but also
social hierarchies. We believe that it has insignia such as pennants, are elements of
been underestimated for a variety of group identification as well as supports for
reasons, including the scarcity of textile ideological and symbolic meanings; and
evidence preserved in the archaeological they continue to be used in present-day
record and because textile production, par- societies as elements of group or commu-
ticularly spinning and weaving, has been nity expression (Bender Jørgensen et al.,
considered a female and therefore a 2018). To produce textiles involves a wide
domestic activity based on ethnographic range of activities: cultivation, animal hus-
and ancient iconographic sources. bandry, the collection of wild resources,
The nature of textile production, and crafting (Gleba, 2008; Gleba &
however, implies the participation of a Mannering, 2012; Costin, 2013;
large number of people involved in the Andersson Strand & Nosch, 2015). These
multiple tasks associated with obtaining tasks require specific spaces for the storage
wool, flax, and other plant fibres, their of raw materials, as well as their treatment
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326 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021
Figure 1. Distribution of Bronze Age archaeological cultures of the eastern Iberian Peninsula.
and manufacture (Jover & López, 2013). address, including to what extent the pro-
Therefore, textile production entails a duction, exchange, and distribution of tex-
complex chain of processes which are con- tiles may have been under the control of
nected spatially, temporally, and techno- an incipient elite and how forms of appro-
logically. This requires careful planning priation of such goods may have been
and organization, from producing and carried out within domestic groups.
managing the raw materials, to making
the yarn, and the final processes of prepar-
ing the fabrics, fashioning, and sewing the EVIDENCE OF TEXTILE PRODUCTION
garments (Costin, 2013). Textiles would,
therefore, have been high-value goods Currently, there are more than a hundred
(Risch, 2002), especially considering the sets of archaeological records associated
time invested in their preparation. with textile production, which can be
Moreover, they could acquire an exchange grouped in two categories. The first
value, given their social role, in addition to encompasses funerary contexts, where the
their durability, quality, and ease of remains of linen fabrics used as shrouds or
storage and transport. to wrap metal objects deposited as grave
Among the eastern Iberian Bronze Age goods have been found (Alfaro, 1984,
societies, and particularly the Argaric 2012; Hundt, 1991). The second category
culture, there are various considerations to includes the household spaces within
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Basso Rial et al. ‒ Bronze Age Textile Production in Eastern Iberia 327
settlements, with evidence of implements between 0.3 and 0.5 mm predominate.
associated with textile production, such as Notable variations are also found in terms
loom weights, spindle whorls, thread coils, of density (threads per centimetre) and in
spools, spacers, and awls. Further evidence the number of threads of the warp with
includes the remains of flax stems and respect to that of the weft. Their number
seeds, and the charred remains of other is usually between 4/7 and 14/24 per cm2,
species, found on the floor of burned although a frequency between 12 and 14
houses (Jover & López, 2013). per cm2 is usually repeated (Alfaro, 1984;
Hundt, 1991).
There is very little evidence of possible
FUNERARY CONTEXTS fibre or fabric dyeing. One of the few exam-
ples of fabrics whose analysis revealed pig-
Almost all the garments and fabric frag- mentation remains was found in a burial in
ments recorded in the Iberian Peninsula Cueva Sagrada I in Lorca (Murcia). These
are made of linen (flax). One exception is fragments have a reddish colour obtained by
the possible wool cap and woven esparto the deliberate dyeing of the fabric with
grass leggings found in Grave 121 at the madder (Rubia tinctorum L.) (Alfaro, 2005:
El Argar-culture site of Castellón Alto in 237). The burial, dating to just before the
the province of Granada dated between Bronze Age, also contained a possible han-
1800 and 1600 cal BC. Here, a carbonized dloom with several fragments of linen
material was also found, perhaps the thread around it and a wooden stick, inter-
residue from the burning of a skein of preted as a spinning spindle, both deposited
wool (Contreras et al., 2000: 89; Molina as grave goods next to the textile remains
et al., 2003; Rodríguez-Ariza & Guillén, (Alfaro, 2005: 230–34). This is the only
2007: 67). These rare finds contrast with evidence of textile tools deposited in graves
almost one hundred recorded fragments of dating to the end of the third millennium
linen garments, shrouds, or sheets (Siret and the second millennium BC. Among the
& Siret, 1890; Alfaro, 1984; Hundt, more than one thousand Argaric graves
1991): currently, ninety-eight examples are investigated, tools directly associated with
known from twenty-two sites, almost all textile production (spindle whorls or loom
of which belong to Argaric contexts (Jover weights) are surprisingly absent. This is
& López, 2013). The only exceptions even more remarkable when compared to
outside the Argaric cultural area are frag- the evidence from Iron Age sites, in which
ments found in an infant burial in Cave clay whorls become one of the most import-
no. 9 of Monte Bolón in the province of ant items found in women’s graves (Rafel,
Alicante dated to around 1700 cal BC 2007).
(Soler et al., 2008; Jover & López, 2013) In Argaric female burials, it is however
(Figure 2) and a small fragment of fabric quite common to find tools associated
found in Stratum IV of dwelling VII in with textile production other than spindle
Cabezo Redondo, also in the province of whorls or loom weights. According to a
Alicante (Soler, 1987: 46). The great theory proposed some years ago by Risch
majority of the surviving linen fragments (2002: 75), some men’s social roles and
come from burial contexts, where they position in political decision making was
were preserved thanks to direct contact emphasized by their association with
with metal objects. Most have Z-twisted weapons, while the importance of women
threads and their thickness ranges widely in social production processes, specifically
between 0.2 and 1 mm, although those in connection with garment production,
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328 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021
Figure 2. Basket of esparto grass and linen fabric from Cave no. 9 at Monte Bolón.
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Basso Rial et al. ‒ Bronze Age Textile Production in Eastern Iberia 329
was signalled through their association DOMESTIC CONTEXTS
with metal awls, knives, and daggers
found in their graves. Women would have Little evidence of fibre remains has been
played fundamental roles in the economy recorded in domestic settings; but wool,
due to their association with textile activ- flax, and other plant fibres, such as rush,
ities. In this context, evidence of tooth bulrush and, above all, esparto grass, have
wear, in the form of incisors with U or V- nevertheless been recovered.
shaped grooves among some women Until now, wool has only been identified
buried at Cabezo Redondo (Romero, in Castellón Alto, in the form of a mass of
2016: 85–86) (Figure 3) and Castellón carbonized matter with a foam-like appear-
Alto (Lozano et al., 2020), has been inter- ance (Contreras et al., 2000: 89; Rodríguez-
preted as having been related to spinning Ariza & Guillén, 2007: 67). Rushes, on the
or to the processing of fibres. Similar evi- other hand, have been recorded on bobbins
dence has also been documented in other of thread stored at the settlement of
areas of the Iberian Peninsula (Fidalgo Terlinques in the province of Alicante
et al., 2019). (Jover et al., 2001) (Figure 4A and B).
Figure 3. Incisors with U- or V-shaped grooves belonging to a young woman buried at Cabezo
Redondo (Romero, 2016: 86). Photograph reproduced by permission of A. Romero.
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330 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021
Figure 4. A: set of rush fibre bobbins from Terlinques. B: detail of the thread on bobbin no. 9.
Another similar bobbin or spindle with yarn Mancha Bronze Age region. A similar
was documented at Motilla de Santa María situation is documented among finds of
del Retamar in the province of Ciudad Real esparto, which was not only used in rope
(Galán & Sánchez Meseguer, 1994: 99), making, basket weaving, and as a building
although in this case the fibres were not material, but also in fashioning garments
identified. (Molina et al., 2003).
Flax and esparto have been found in The archaeological record indicates that
almost one hundred archaeological con- esparto grass, which grows naturally in the
texts (Ayala & Jiménez, 2007; Jover & semi-arid climate of the south-east and
López, 2013: 166–67, fig. 20). Flax seeds east of the Iberian Peninsula, was the
have been recovered at a number of sites main fibre used in basketry (Figure 5) and
(Buxó & Piqué, 2008; Lull et al., 2015a, rope making (Jover & López, 2013),
2015b) and, to a lesser extent, as fibre and resulting in a wide range of items asso-
fabrics on sites such as El Oficio (Alfaro, ciated with storage and transport, agricul-
1984: 123) and Castellón Alto tural tasks, cattle husbandry, house
(Rodríguez-Ariza & Guillén, 2007: 63) in building, clothing, and footwear. Baskets,
the El Argar region, Cabezo Redondo mats, and ropes used in construction and
(Soler, 1987) in the Valencian Bronze Age as handles for ceramic vessels are among
region, and El Cerro del Cuchillo the best-preserved (generally charred)
(Hernández & Simón, 1993) in the La remains, although sandal soles have also
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Basso Rial et al. ‒ Bronze Age Textile Production in Eastern Iberia 331
Figure 5. A and B: basket of esparto grass containing cereals and bobbins, found in Terlinques.
C: detail of the crossed weft of raw and crushed esparto in the basket.
been documented in Cabezo Redondo in various tasks such as basketry, weaving,
(Soler, 1987: 78) and in Castellón Alto and sewing (Jover & López, 2013).
(Rodríguez-Ariza & Guillén, 2007: 69). Spindle whorls and loom weights are
Excavations carried out from the 1950s to the most common objects most directly
the present on numerous sites with associated with spinning and weaving that
chronological sequences from 2100 to survive in the archaeological record
1300 cal BC show their abundance and (Table 1). In the Iberian Peninsula,
quality (Soler, 1987; Jover et al., 2001; spindle whorls date back to the Late
Rodríguez-Ariza & Guillén, 2007; Jover Neolithic (López Mira, 1995), but their
& López, 2013). Esparto grass was clearly use spread throughout the south-east from
an extremely important raw material, even the third millennium BC onwards. There is
though its supply, selection, preparation, considerable variation in the form of
and manufacture were probably under- spindle whorls, in terms of morphology,
taken strictly at a household level. weight, and material. Clay, stone, antler,
Tools for producing textiles, such as and bone spindle whorls are all documen-
needles, bone and metal punches, copper ted. In the second millennium BC, most
knives and daggers, spacers, and spools, whorls were made of clay and the most
have also been found on several of the sites common shapes were discoidal and biconi-
mentioned above. These objects were used cal. Discoidal whorls, the most common
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332 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021
Table 1. Bronze Age periods in eastern Iberia with textile tools and products in radiocarbon-dated
contexts.
Main 14C-dated
Chronology Textiles and tools settlements References
2200–2100 cal BC Linen fabrics Cueva Sagrada I Alfaro, 2005
Wooden spindle
2100–1800/1750 cal Linen fabrics Tabayá Jover & López, 2013
BC Wooden spindle Terlinques Jover et al., 2001
Spindle whorls
Oblong and cylindrical loom weights Caramoro I Jover et al., 2019
(4 holes) Tabayá Jover & López, 2013
Tira del Lienzo Lull et al., 2015a
Rincón de Almendricos Ayala, 1991
Barranco Tuerto Basso, 2018b
Cabezo de la Escoba
Cerro del Cuchillo Hernández & Simón,
1993
Serra Grossa Basso, 2018b
Lloma de Betxí De Pedro, 1998
1750–1600 cal BC Linen and esparto fabrics Castellón Alto Molina et al., 2003
Cueva 9 Monte Bolón Soler et al., 2008
Wool fabrics Castellón Alto Molina et al., 2003
Spindle whorls Tabayá López Mira, 1995
La Almoloya Lull et al., 2015b
Terlinques Jover & López, 2013
Cylindrical loom weights (2 holes) Peñalosa Contreras, 2000
Castellón Alto Contreras et al., 2000
La Almoloya Lull et al., 2015b
1600–1300 cal BC Linen and esparto fabrics Cabezo Redondo Soler, 1987
Spindle whorls López Mira, 1995
Cylindrical loom weights (1 hole) Hernández et al., 2016
type from the Copper Age to the middle Castillo, San Antón de Orihuela, Tabayá,
of the second millennium BC, have been and Terlinques (Jover & López, 2013).
recorded at various Argaric sites, such as Generally speaking, spindle whorls are
Zapata, El Argar, and Fuente Álamo relatively rarely found on excavated Bronze
(Siret & Siret, 1890). Examples have also Age sites. It may be that some were made
been found on sites on the periphery of of wood or other perishable materials, or a
the Argaric area, such as at Cabezo spinning technique called splicing that did
Redondo (Soler, 1987: 112). Also not require a spindle was used (Basso,
included in this group are spindle whorls 2019; Gleba & Harris, 2019). Be that as it
made from deer antler (Basso & López, may, the situation changed significantly in
2019), which have been widely recorded the Late Bronze Age, and particularly in
from the middle of the second millennium the Iron Age, when whorls began to be
cal BC onwards, at sites such as Cabezo commonly deposited as grave goods in
Redondo (López Padilla, 2011) and La female burials (Rafel, 2007).
Almoloya in the El Argar region (Lull By contrast, loom weights are encoun-
et al., 2015b: 102). Biconical whorls, or tered far more frequently. They are usually
rarer examples with an irregular cross- made of clay and vary in shape (oblong,
section, similar to a bi-truncated cone, all ovoid, or cylindrical), size, weight, and
made of clay, have been found at El number of perforations (between one and
Argar, Cabezo Redondo, Laderas del four) (Jover & López, 2013; Basso, 2019).
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They are often found in variable quan- Tira del Lienzo (Lull et al., 2015a:
tities, in piles or in more isolated groups 194), Los Cipreses, and Lloma de Betxí
of fewer pieces, within domestic spaces or (De Pedro, 1998), these concentrations
in open areas on settlements. appeared in a single building. On other
It appears that warp-weighted looms sites, such as La Almoloya (Lull et al.,
were the most common type of loom 2015b: 104), Peñalosa (Contreras, 2000:
documented archaeologically (Alfaro, 129), and Cabezo Redondo (Soler, 1987),
1984: 94–106; Contreras et al., 2000). large concentrations have been recorded in
The discovery of groups of weights at several buildings, and in some of these, as
various settlements, some aligned and in Peñalosa, loom weights were found in
associated with burnt rectilinear timbers unequal numbers, in ten different locations
(Figure 6) and some even with spindle within the settlement.
whorls or remains of yarn nearby, has Significant differences become evident
enabled us to infer the presence of looms when the numbers of loom weights in the
and textile production areas in different concentrations are compared to the types of
contexts. However, the presence of a set of weights found. Generally, the large heavy
weights does not necessarily imply the loom weights with four perforations, which
existence of a loom. In some cases, the are earlier and date between 2200 and 1750
weights may simply have been stored, BC, appear concentrated in small groups of
while, in others, they may have been between two and ten weights (Basso,
reused to construct ovens or other struc- 2020). In some cases, however, as in Lloma
tures (Basso, 2018a). de Betxí (De Pedro, 1998) (Figure 8) and
More than twenty sites with concentra- Castell d’Almizra, clusters of more than
tions of loom weights are currently known twenty stacked loom weights have been
(Figure 7). On some of these, including found. These could be interpreted as stored
Figure 6. Concentration of loom weights found next to a carbonized beam in Cabezo Redondo.
Photograph reproduced by permission of M.S. Hernández.
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Figure 7. Distribution of archaeological sites with loom weight concentrations.
weights, rather than indicating the position and with fewer perforations. Often groups of
of a loom (Basso, 2018a). more than twenty weights have been found.
From 1800/1750 cal BC onwards, we Observing this change has led us to consider
begin to see changes in the morphology, size, the number of loom weights required to
and weight of the loom weights, and in the operate a warp-weighted loom. In the case of
numbers found together. These later weights large oblong loom weights, recent studies
tend to be cylindrical, smaller and lighter, suggest that no more than about ten weights
Figure 8. Concentration of oblong loom weights from the settlement of Lloma de Betxí. Photograph
reproduced by permission of M.J. De Pedro.
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were required (Basso, 2018b: 61, 2020), through archaeology, it is essential to char-
whereas many more smaller and lighter acterize the ways in which these commu-
weights, such as those frequently used from nities organized their production and
c. 1750 cal BC onwards, would have been consumption, understand how activity
needed to create a textile of a similar size. areas were structured and associated with
Cabezo Redondo, one of the few domestic units, and document the distri-
Bronze Age sites to have been extensively bution of goods inside settlements and
excavated, has yielded the greatest amount within a region.
of information on the subject of loom The presence of spindle whorls, loom
weights. Here, various concentrations of weights, looms, and graves containing the
cylindrical weights have been found in remains of garments or linen cloth in
many buildings, and in open spaces used many excavated settlements, regardless of
for circulation (Soler, 1987; Hernández their size, location, or economic standing,
et al., 2016) (Figure 9). Of particular note suggests that the processes associated with
are two groups of about fifty loom weights spinning, weaving, and making textiles
associated with carbonized timbers in two were normal everyday tasks, some of them
dwellings, House XVIII and within the seasonal in nature (Bender Jørgensen
circulation space close to House XXVII. et al., 2018: 71–73). We therefore do not
Another group of thirty-six weights was believe that there was craft specialization
found in House XV. Groups of weights or specific storage sites in the eastern
associated with carbonized timbers have Iberian Peninsula in the Bronze Age, in
also been recovered in Castellón Alto contrast to the situation in other parts of
(Contreras, 2000: 129) and El Rincón de the Eastern Mediterranean and
Almendricos (Ayala, 1991: 174). Mesopotamia (McCorriston, 1997; Killen,
Concentrations of loom weights have 2007; Nosch et al., 2012). To date, we
also been found next to entranceways; as have no evidence for the existence of
at Peñalosa, next to the entrances of exchange systems, although it is presumed
houses IV and VI. The entrance of the that these did exist. Nor is it possible to
latter house is directly connected to a yard suggest how production was organized, for
that produced evidence for metallurgical example whether each domestic group was
production (Contreras, 2000: 132, note 2). self-sufficient and produced its own tex-
This association of groups of loom tiles and garments, or whether some activ-
weights with passageways, open spaces, and ities, including textile manufacture, were
with some of the larger buildings in the set- managed collectively within each settle-
tlements, where a number of other produc- ment, or even whether textile production,
tion activities took place, is quite common. distribution, and exchange were largely
Another good example is provided by controlled by the elite, given the social
Building H1 at Tira del Lienzo (Lull et al., value of fabrics.
2015a: 194): there, loom weights were found It appears that, in extensively excavated
alongside grinding tools, various vessels, and settlements, only a few areas (generally no
silverwork (Delgado-Raack et al., 2015). more than two or three) show clear evi-
dence of activities associated with textile
production. This would speak against
DISCUSSION individual households being self-sufficient
(Jover et al., 2020), since it indicates a
When attempting to gain an insight into concentration of textile production only in
the everyday life of prehistoric groups certain areas of each settlement.
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Figure 9. Cylindrical loom weight from Cabezo Redondo with suspension wear.
Nevertheless, these few textile production depositional and post-depositional history
areas are not sufficiently large to indicate of the contexts excavated.
specialized workshops; moreover, they Studies of the faunal remains from both
share space with other household produc- small and large settlements indicate an
tion and consumption activities. To better intensive use of the secondary products
resolve such questions of spatial organiza- derived from domestic livestock, including
tion, we must first endeavour to acquire wool (Andúgar & Saña, 2004; Rizo,
more and better-quality data on the 2009), even though flock management was
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https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2021.15Basso Rial et al. ‒ Bronze Age Textile Production in Eastern Iberia 337
not exclusively geared towards the produc- somewhere within the domestic space.
tion of wool. This suggests that the com- Furthermore, and even more importantly,
position and management of herds was these large groups of weights may also
probably controlled by each domestic or indicate the spaces where the domestic
family group and designed to meet their groups stored possibly all of their textile-
wide-ranging needs, at least in part. making equipment, to be deployed among
The flax stems and seeds from most of members of communities when textile
the extensively excavated settlements indi- production was required (Basso, 2018b,
cate that the cultivation of flax was prob- 2020).
ably widespread, taking advantage of the The same may also be true for the
favourable growing conditions in the manufacturing areas. The best example of
south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. We the possible centralization of the produc-
therefore propose that there was a high tion of implements associated with textile
level of use of other plant fibres, such as work is found in El Argar. Here, the Siret
esparto, reed, and rushes for basketry, brothers excavated two groups of 600
ropes, construction material, and clothing. loom weights—500 and 100, respectively
These plant species are abundant, easily —which had been abandoned during the
and widely accessible in many areas of the firing process (Siret & Siret 1890: 157).
south-eastern Iberian Peninsula and were Although they were small and light loom
therefore likely to be available to domestic weights, the numbers found greatly
or family groups and communities. exceeded the number of weights required
It should thus not be surprising that for a loom, even a large one.
looms or other evidence of textile produc- Vicente Lull (1983: 255) interpreted
tion have been found in almost all types of this as clear evidence of labour specializa-
sites: farms or villages located on the tion. Without ruling out this interpret-
plain, such as Rincón de Almendricos and ation, we believe that this at least indicates
Los Cipreses (Ayala, 1991), small fortified the concentration and centralization of the
settlements, such as Caramoro I (Jover means of production, either during the
et al., 2019), medium-sized settlements manufacture of these weights or their sub-
with clearly diverse production activities, sequent storage for later distribution
such as Castellón Alto (Contreras et al., within the household or community
2000) and Peñalosa (Contreras, 2000), (Basso, 2018b: 61).
and large central settlements such as El On several extensively excavated sites,
Argar (Siret & Siret, 1890) and Cabezo including Peñalosa (Contreras, 2000: 129)
Redondo (Hernández et al., 2016). and Tira del Lienzo (Lull et al., 2015a),
The oblong loom weights with four textile production areas shared the same
perforations can provide us with a number space as other craft activities of high social
of interesting insights. Taking into value, such as metallurgy and jewellery
account the seasonality of textile produc- production. There is also evidence that
tion (Bender Jørgensen et al., 2018: 71– loom weights were stored in large build-
73), the fact of finding these loom weights ings where cereals were processed and
in large groups, and in numbers that far stored, as in Lloma de Betxí (De Pedro,
exceed what would be required for just 1998). The finding of a loom alongside
one vertical loom, leads us to consider that evidence of grain processing and other
the looms were not permanently set up craft activities within the largest room at
and that elements of the loom, such as the El Cerro del Cuchillo (Hernández &
weights, would have been stored Simón, 1993) constitutes a further
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https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2021.15338 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (3) 2021
example. This tendency to concentrate particularly esparto grass, were employed
activities in a single building or room that in the manufacture of items associated
appears to be associated with greater with storage, transport, protection, fur-
control over textile production processes, nishing, footwear, etc. This clearly shows
coincides in time and space with marked the importance of the crafts associated
changes in space management within set- with textile production in the activities
tlements (López Padilla & Jover, 2014). and everyday lives of those Bronze Age
This period of change observed in set- communities.
tlements seems to coincide with a progres- The procurement, exchange, and distri-
sive standardization among certain textile bution of wool and linen, both fundamen-
tools, such as loom weights and spindle tally associated with weaving, and of
whorls. Around 1800/1750 cal BC, oblong esparto grass and other similar plant fibres
loom weights disappeared, as new types used in basketry and rope work, have
emerged. Cylindrical loom weights began several social and economic implications.
to dominate the archaeological record, at Wool may have been obtained on a
first with two perforations, finally giving domestic scale by communities or kinship
way to a single central perforation. groups raising small flocks of sheep. In
Concurrently, biconical ceramic spindle this sense, the absence of large flocks,
whorls became common. All these techno- necessary for a supra-domestic consump-
logical changes indicate not only a major tion (Sabatini & Bergerbrant, 2019), leads
standardization in textile tools but also the us to propose that wool production was
introduction of improvements in textile limited to the household sphere and less
production and, possibly, a higher degree developed than the production of bast
of craft specialization. fibres. We also contend that specialized
labour did not exist in Bronze Age eastern
Iberia, nor did the levels of production
CONCLUSIONS and exchange operate on the same scale
as, for example, in Mesopotamia
More than a century of archaeological (McCorriston, 1997; Algaze, 2008), Egypt
research on the Bronze Age in the eastern (Lucas & Harris, 1962; Vogelsang-
Iberian Peninsula has led to the definition Eastwood, 1992), the Aegean (Killen,
of different archaeological cultures, with 2007; Militello, 2007), or even some parts
differing degrees of social and economic of Europe, such as northern Italy (Sabatini
development. Among these, the Argaric et al., 2018). Rather, the textile production
culture stands out for the size of its settle- in our area of study appears to be related
ments, the investments made in large-scale to an incipient gender-based division of
infrastructure works, and a marked degree labour (Lozano et al., 2020) that arose
of ritual behaviour (Lull, 1983; Cámara, within kinship groups and that, at best,
2001; Aranda et al., 2015). had the potential to promote small-scale
The archaeological evidence shows that, exchange processes.
throughout the eastern Iberian Peninsula, The production of linen, with flax prob-
there was an in-depth knowledge of the ably cultivated from the third millennium
properties of plant and animal fibres used cal BC onwards in numerous parts of the
to make clothing, basketry, and ropes. Iberian Peninsula, appears to have fol-
Linen and wool were used to create tex- lowed a similar trajectory. Flax production,
tiles for clothes, covers, and bags; while transformation, and exchange may have
other fibres such as bulrushes, and been more frequent than indicated by
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research conducted so far, as this has steps towards controlling their production
focused more on non-perishable objects and distribution.
than on the products of weaving. Research
elsewhere in Europe and Mesopotamia
(Barber, 1991; Gillis & Nosch, 2007; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Algaze, 2008), clearly shows that the pro-
duction of clothing played a prominent This research was developed within the
role in the economy of late prehistoric Prehistory and Protohistory Research
societies undergoing processes of social Group of the University of Alicante
and political stratification. The scarce but (Spain) (VIGROB-098) and undertaken
significant evidence that we have been able within the framework of the research
to gather in the south-eastern Iberian project ‘Social and frontier spaces during
Peninsula attests to this. the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the
Textile production would only later Eastern Iberia Peninsula’ (HAR2016-
become a full-time specialized activity in 76586-P), funded by the Ministerio de
the eastern Iberian Peninsula, with the Economía y Competitividad de España.
improvement in transport and the rise of We would like to thank María Pastor
social demands and differentiation. Quiles and Dan Miles for revising our
Alongside the continuing household pro- text.
duction of fabrics and basketry to meet
local needs, specialist craftspeople began to
emerge. They specialized in the production
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