The textiles of El Argar: towards a technical and contextual characterisation of the Bronze Age textile evidence from the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula

This paper compiles all the textile remains documented in El Argar contexts and analyses the technical characteristics of those studied to date in order to approach the techniques used, both in spinning and weaving, and the function they would have had in the contexts in which they were deposited. Their study as a whole allows us to infer, on the one hand, a high degree of standardisation in the production of yarns and weavings. This is observable in the almost exclusive use of vegetable fibres such as linen and the same spinning and weaving techniques in all the weavings, in the regularity of the diameter of the threads and the recurrence of similar weave densities. On the other hand, the association with artefacts which, above all, form part of the grave goods in tombs, allow us to assess the importance of their use in funerary practices, as well as to infer their functional- ity as possible shrouds, wrappings or even clothing.