La Cultura de Las Motillas de La Manchatestigos del evento climático 4.2 ka cal BP

Abstract

Recent investigations indicate that the culture of the “motillas” – the Bronze Age settlements of La Mancha – may be the oldest evidence for large-scale water management in Europe. The archaeological and paleo-environmental data suggest a close relationship between the location of the “motillas” and the geological landscape. “Motillas” were built during the 4.2 ka cal BP climate event, at a time of environmental stress. The construction of wells that reached the local water table to access groundwater was a successful solution that lasted almost a millennium and was an important technological development that shaped the emergence of more complex and hierarchical societies in the region. The Holocene is a dynamic geological period in terms of climatic fluctuations. One of the most important of these dynamics, with global impact, is the aforementioned 4.2 ka cal BP climate event, which has been related to the collapse of diverse civilizations around the world. This event, in the Iberian Peninsula, occurred at the transition between the Copper Age and Bronze Age in La Mancha (as well as in other regions of the Peninsula). It was characterized by marked aridity, with a more intense phase, between 2,000 and 1,800 cal BC, during which there was a decrease in rainfall and an increase in temperature. The Bronze Age culture of the “motillas” of La Mancha constitutes a unique adaptation of the inhabitants of the territory to this climatic situation.