Iberia and its relations with the Mediterranean in later Prehistory (4th-2nd millennium BCE). A minimalist revision

Abstract

In the last decades several authors have proposed the existence of relationships between the east Mediterranean with Iberia in the 4^th, 3^rd and 2^nd Millennia BCE. This article revises the evidence, proposing that there is not definitive proof of contacts with the east Mediterranean until the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500 BCE). The article identifies the fragility of the stylistic comparisons that have underpinned previous analysis and presents alternative explanations to similarities in the archaeological records of Iberia and the eastern Mediterranean. The article also explores the important of indirect types of exchange for the understanding of the relationship between the Iberia and the Mediterranean through a model that identifies the Iberian communities as the key agents with a significant interest in materials from Africa and parts of the central Mediterranean.