The Copper Age in the lands of Antequera (Málaga): Introduction to the settlement patterns and social dynamics

Antequera (Málaga) is home to one of the most important Neolithic and Copper Age megalithic landscapes in Europe, as proven by its recent declaration as a World Heritage Site by unesco on July 15th 2016. This declaration highlights the need to push ahead in the research of the Neolithic and Copper Age periods, when the megalithic phenomenon developed and the three large Antequera megaliths, Menga, Viera and El Romeral, were built. In this paper, stemming from an on-going research project, we present a synthesis of the evidence available for the study of the Copper Age settlement patterns and social dynamics in the Lands of Antequera. Departing from a comprehensive review of the existing literature an assessment is made of the settlement patterns, subsistence economy, exploitation and exchange of abiotic resources, monumentality and burial practices of this time period. The aim is to formulate a preliminary framework of analysis of the cultural and social context in which the construction of El Romeral, the largest tholos monument known in Iberia, took place.