A recent study disputes the idea that warrior groups with Eastern European ‘Steppe’ genetic roots violently replaced the male population in the Iberian Peninsula around 4,200 years ago, suggesting instead that these groups blended with local populations that were already in decline.
A study conducted by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Murcia (UM) questions the theory that warrior bands with ‘Steppe’ ancestry from Eastern Europe forcefully took over the male population of the Iberian Peninsula approximately 4,200 years ago. The study proposes an alternative scenario where groups with ‘Steppe’ lineage integrated with existing local populations that were already demographically weakened.
In their work published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the research team investigated societal and population changes in southeast Spain during the transition from the Copper Age to the Bronze Age. They particularly focused on a significant change during this period: the move from communal burials characteristic of the Copper Age to the singular and double interments typical of the Bronze Age El Argar society. The researchers analyzed a substantial set of radiocarbon (C14) dates from human remains found in these various grave types.
The initial finding from their analysis is chronological, indicating that the transition from communal to individual graves occurred swiftly. However, the second finding holds greater significance. Their examination of a large dataset of radiocarbon dates collected from human remains in southeastern Iberia revealed a peak in burials between 2550 and 2400 BCE, followed by a sharp decline around 2300-2250 BCE.
From a demographic standpoint, the authors interpret this data as indicative that the population in southeastern Iberia was already sparse, around 4,300 to 4,200 years ago, just prior to the arrival of groups with ‘Steppe’ genetic backgrounds. When people with Steppe ancestry appeared in the region, around 2200-2000 BC, they likely merged with the small local communities or settled in uninhabited areas, according to Rafael Micó, a UAB professor and co-director of the Mediterranean Social Archaeoecology Research Group (ASOME-UAB) involved in the study.
Alongside these findings, the team referenced previous archaeogenetic research showing little evidence of a ‘male bias’ in Iberian groups with Steppe ancestry. “This allows us to propose a different historical perspective, which does not depict an invading force of ‘Steppe’ warriors eliminating local men and establishing a male elite with exclusive rights to local women,” noted Cristina Rihuete Herrada, a UAB professor and co-author of the study.
A period of significant change with gradual ‘Steppe’ genetic integration
4,200 years ago, during the transition from the Late Copper Age to the Early Bronze Age, there were substantial social upheavals in Central and Western Europe. The origins of these shifts remain debated among archaeologists, with theories ranging from drought to violent migrations and the spread of diseases.
“In recent years, it has been proposed that populations known to have ‘Steppe ancestry’ migrated westward from the Black Sea region, utilizing new technologies such as horses and wheels, and violently invaded Western Europe,” explained Camila Oliart, a UAB researcher and co-author of the study. “Specifically concerning Iberia, it has been suggested that men arriving from the East had preferential access to women, leading to the discrimination or elimination of local males. This narrative, often sensationalized by media, may indeed be a rather premature interpretation.”
This recently published study provides a context that might greatly enhance the understanding of the shift from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age in southern Iberia about 4,200 years ago, especially in the southeast region. In the two centuries leading up to this period, the area’s social landscape was likely very different from that of a prosperous Copper Age. It might have involved smaller settlements and lower population densities. Thus, the collapse of the Copper Age around 4,200 years ago may not have been a sudden, widespread event affecting a robust society, but rather the result of two centuries of declining local dynamics.
This revised scenario does not include mass male fatalities or the domination of local women due to an alleged conquest, as the study indicates. “The inhabitants of southern Iberia were already significantly fewer in number by the end of the Copper Age and integrated with groups possessing Steppe genetic ancestry without the necessity for a large-scale invasion. We must start considering alternative explanations,” suggests Miguel Valério, a UAB researcher and co-author of the study. “While it is undeniable that violence was part of social life during the Copper Age, there is currently no proof that its decline was a result of widespread conflict among genetically distinct groups.”
The research team emphasizes the need for more precise radiocarbon dating and genetic analysis of human samples from the late Copper Age and early Bronze Age (El Argar) burials. “This data is crucial for a better understanding of the nature, scale, and pace of the changes that were occurring in the formation of Bronze Age societies,” they concluded.
For this study, around 450 radiocarbon dates from individuals buried in tombs spanning the Copper Age and Early Bronze Age were analyzed, including sites in Almería (La Atalaya, Las Churuletas, Los Millares, El Argar, El Barranquete, Fuente Álamo, Gatas, Llano del Jautón, Loma del Campo and Loma de Belmonte), Murcia (Camino del Molino), Granada (Cerro de la Virgen, Panoría), Jaén (Marroquíes Bajos), Seville (Valencina de la Concepción), and Évora (Perdigões).
In addition to Rafael Micó, Camila Oliart, Cristina Rihuete Herrada, and Miguel Valério, researchers at ASOME-UAB, the study also includes contributions from Eva Celdrán Beltrán and Joaquín Lomba Maurandi of the University of Murcia.
