Beyond utility : Metal axes in the funerary contexts of El Argar in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula during the Bronze Age (2200-1550 cal BC)

The funerary contexts of the El Argar archaeological group constitute an exceptional source for understanding the socio-political organisation of the Early Bronze Age society (2200-1550 cal BC) in south-eastern Spain. The aim of this paper is to explore the link between the social value of the objects included in the tombs, with a special focus on the axes, and the ideological-political consideration of the individuals ritually associated with them. Through a group of tombs from the site of El Argar, Antas, Almería (Spain), and their comparison with those from other sites of the same archaeological group, while considering new lines of work such as the microspatial study of the tombs, we will update the interpretation of the data on Argaric tombs with axes and their importance in their social context. Next, we will show how axes with an originally practical function, either as a weapon or a tool, became important objects of communication in funerary scenarios. Finally, the important role that axes played in the symbolic distinction of male individuals, who sought to represent a concrete social figure and to reinforce it through a recurrent funerary composition, will be discussed.