Beaker pottery in the Peñón de la Zorra (Alicante, Spain): Change and emergence of social complexity between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age

Abstract

This paper analyses the Bell Beaker pottery record recovered at the Peñón de la Zorra site. This study focuses on a number of variables, ranging from the morphological characteristics to the stylistic variability of this pottery. The significance of this unique set of decorated vessels can only be fully understood by also looking at the archaeological and historical contexts in which it was found, so other deposits and the territorial organization patterns noted in the Alto Vinalopó (Alicante, Spain) are also considered here.