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23-503: The civilization of El Argar extended to all the current-day Spanish province of Almería , north onto the central Meseta , to most of the region of Murcia and westward into the provinces of Granada and Jaén , controlling an area similar in size to modern Belgium . Its cultural and possibly political influence was much wider. Its influence has been found in eastern and southwestern Iberia ( Algarve ), and it likely affected other regions as well. Some authors have suggested that El Argar

46-594: A World Heritage site by Unesco in 1989. In one of the shelters of the first settlers of the peninsula, the Coat of the Beehives (Abrigo de las Colmenas), there remains a human figure with arms outstretched holding an arc above its head. According to legend, this picture represents a covenant made by prehistoric man with the gods to prevent future floods. It is the earliest depiction of the Almerían Indalo , which

69-469: A moderate scale. Furthermore, they constructed a large necropolis and exported metal figures and pottery to a large part of the peninsula. The equally influential culture of El Argar appeared later, during the Bronze Age . They developed a characteristic form of pottery, the vaso campaniforme ("beaker") that spread throughout all of Northern Spain. Their cemeteries were more advanced with respect to

92-537: Is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia , Spain. It was named after the Arab ruler of Taifa, Banu Al-Miri . It is bordered by the provinces of Granada , Murcia , and the Mediterranean Sea . Its capital is the homonymous city of Almería . Almería has an area of 8,774 km (3,388 sq mi). With 701,688 (2014) inhabitants, its population density is 79.96/km , slightly lower than

115-766: Is home to two of the most important cultures of the Metal Age in the peninsula: Los Millares and El Argar . The earliest known city, Los Millares, dates to the Copper Age and is strategically located on a spur of rock between the Andarax River and the Huéchar Ravine (rambla de Huéchar), in the southern part of the province. It was a town of more than a thousand inhabitants, protected by three lines of walls and towers, and had an economy based on copper metallurgy, agriculture, animal husbandry, and hunting on

138-621: Is one of the most important observatories of Spain. In Tabernas there is a solar energy research centre, the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA). France 's Michelin operates an industrial research centre in Cabo de Gata . An estimated 7,000-10,000 immigrant fruit pickers live in toxic conditions in shanty towns next to fruit farms in the region, and are exploited by employers who pay them less than minimum wage and offer no PPE as mandated by law. The Paleolithic Age of Almería

161-499: The Alto Almanzora valley is fast becoming the regional megalopolis through high imports and exports and employment in local, national and international marble processing. All the tourist accommodations and construction throughout coastal Spain has driven high demand and brought huge modernisation. Small pueblos of agriculturalists have given rise to computerised machining factories. The German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory

184-593: The Andarax River and Almanzora River , which are located near Granada in the Alpujarras . The Benínar Reservoir , located near Darrical , provides part of the water needed in the production in greenhouses. Almería has very diverse and rich fauna. Animals found in Cabo de Gata and Níjar include the red fox , the Algerian hedgehog and reptiles such as the ocellated lizard , Timon nevadensis , and

207-529: The ladder snake . Birds characteristic of the Sierra de María-los Vélez include the crested lark , the calandria , and the common pipit , as well as birds of prey like Bonelli's eagle . Snakes and butterflies are common. The Parnassius butterfly stands out due to its endemic status. In the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de los Filabres there are also many birds of prey and protected mammals such as

230-469: The mountain goat , the European wildcat and the wild boar . Historically, Almería was an important exporter of minerals (especially iron, lead, and fine marble) and grapes. The most important economic activity is now greenhouse farming. Millions of tons of vegetables are exported to other European countries and other parts of the world each year. Tourism is also a key sector of the economy, due to

253-677: The 1960s. Because of the demand for these locations, quite a number of Western towns were built near the Tabernas Desert . Films such as A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More , and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly were shot here. Years later, the film of 800 Bullets was filmed in the same place. Large sections of Conan the Barbarian (1982), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , Lawrence of Arabia and Patton were shot there as well. The main rivers are

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276-594: The Spanish average. It is divided into 103 municipalities . The highest mountain range in the Province of Almería is the 50 km (31 mi) long Sierra de Los Filabres , a subrange of the Sierra Nevada . Europe's driest area is found in Almería and is part of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park . The arid landscape and climate of the province have made it an ideal setting for Western films , especially during

299-586: The best C-14 dating with 1330 BC (+/- 70 years). Many more C-14 dates have been published since the beginning of the twenty-first century. In recent publications, at least 260 such dates are cited altogether. There is now a widespread consensus that the emergence of El Argar can be dated at 2200 cal BC, although its end remains somewhat disputed. Various opinions place the end of El Argar at 15th-14th centuries BC. Province of Almer%C3%ADa Almería ( / ˌ æ l m ə ˈ r iː ə / , also US : / ˌ ɑː l -/ ; Spanish: [almeˈɾi.a] )

322-811: The culture of Los Millares and they had diverse agricultural production and animal husbandry. The rich customs and Fiestas of the denizens retain links deep into the past, unto the Umayyads , the Romans , the Greeks , and the Phoenicians . It became part of the Muslim Empire in 711. During the taifa era, it was ruled by the Arab Muslim Banu al-Amiri tribe from 1012 to 1038, briefly annexed by Valencia (1038–1041), then given by Zaragoza to

345-563: The first half of that century: Phase B begins in the sixteenth century BC. The main C-14 date is that of 1550 BC (+/- 70 years) in Fuente Álamo for the upper layer of El Argar B2 (with four layers underneath the lowest B phase). Other stratigraphic dates are somewhat more recent, but are not confirmed by C-14. El Argar B ends in the fourteenth or thirteenth century BC, giving way to a less homogeneous post-Argarian culture. Again, Fuente Álamo gives

368-447: The others excavated. The building above the grave appears to be a great hall, with benches along the sides that could seat up to 60 people. This suggests that the hall was used for politics. The grave and hall have been radiocarbon dated to approximately 1700 BC. The culture of El Argar has traditionally been divided in two phases, named A and B. Phase A started in the 18th century BC, with the earliest calibrated C-14 dates pointing to

391-413: The place of women in this Early Bronze Age culture. The women at this site were buried with numerous grave goods of silver, treasure that suggests that women held high status in the society. For instance, excavation of Grave 38 began in 2014, and it contains burial goods estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars and included a diadem . The burial was found below a unique building, when compared to

414-531: The sunny weather and attractive areas such as Roquetas de Mar , Aguadulce , El Ejido , Mojacar , Vera or Cabo de Gata . The principal industrial activity is in the Macael ( Comarca del Marmol ) canteras marble quarrying area in the Sierra de los Filabres region from Macael Viejo to Chercos, Lijar and Cobdar which produce in excess of 1.3 million tons. The Cantoria, Fines, Olula del Rio and Purchena area of

437-529: Was a movement of nostalgic attraction by the people of Mojácar . The people of Mojácar painted Indalos with chalk on the walls of their houses to guard against storms and the Evil Eye . It was Luis Siret y Cels , an eminent Belgian archaeologist, who described the rich prehistoric wealth of Almería, particularly that of the Metal Age . Siret said that Almería was like "an open-air museum". Indeed, Almería

460-634: Was a unified state. El Argar is the cultural center of the Early and Middle Bronze Age in Iberia . Metallurgy of bronze and pseudo-bronze (alloyed with arsenic instead of tin ) was practiced. Weapons are the main metallurgic product: knives , halberds , swords , spear and arrow points, and big axes with curved edges are all abundant, not just in the Argaric area, but also elsewhere in Iberia. Silver

483-604: Was also exploited. Gold had been abundantly used in the Chalcolithic period, but it became less common in El Argar culture. Discovery in 2014 of an especially rich grave and an associated building at La Almoloya have provided important details about the culture. The archaeological site is in a southeastern portion of the Iberian Peninsula. The richness of the burials of its women has led to some re-evaluation of

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506-826: Was characterized by small nomadic and hunter-gatherer groups. The oldest Paleolithic site is Zájara Cave I (Cueva de Zájara I) in the Caves of the Almanzora (Cuevas del Almanzora). The first villages and spaces dedicated exclusively to burials appear by the Neolithic Age, and even before the Upper Paleolithic Age. The cave paintings of the Cave of the Signs (Cueva de los Letreros) and twenty other caves and shelters of Los Vélez are dated to this era, and were designated

529-611: Was named in memory of Saint Indaletius , and means Indal Eccius ("messenger of the gods") in the Iberian language. Over the years, the Indalo has become the best known symbol of Almería. Some see this figure as a man holding a rainbow, but it might also be an archer pointing a bow towards the sky. The Indalo lent its name to the artistic and intellectual movement of the Indalianos led by Jesús de Perceval and Eugenio d'Ors which

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