Los emplazamientos topográficos de poblados durante el Tercer Milenio A.C. en la Europa Occidental: Líneas comparadas entre Cataluña y la Provenza

Abstract

In several European regions, an abrupt change in settlement pattern dynamics was thought for years to be contemporaneous with the spread of the Bell Beaker phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to propose a comparative analysis on topographic locations based on third millennium BCE settlements in two nearby Mediterranean regions: Catalonia (northeast Spain) and Provence (southeast France). These domestic establishments contain a significant amount of Bell Beaker pottery, amongst other artefacts, which balances its classical renown in sepulchral environment. Questioning the presence of these specific remains in these domestic deposits, the Bell Beaker overlapping the various local traditions, still appears as a crucial issue. The study reveals some changing trends in settlement choices for the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition in these two North West Mediterranean regions, but underlines at the same time, the lack of reliable classification frameworks to produce any historical discourse about the spread of Bell Beakers.Keywords: Topographic locations, late third millennium BCE, Bell Beaker, Catalonia, Provence