Halberdiers and Combat Systems in the Argaric

Abstract

Summary The Argaric halberd is a specialized weapon for hand‐to‐hand combat, with its full development in the south‐east of the Iberian Peninsula between 2000 and 1800 cal BCE. This paper deals with the Argaric combat system and the factors that drove this type of confrontation, given the social order, the active and passive archaeological traces present in these weapons and their effects on the human body. This pragmatic order of directing interpersonal violence had three patriarchal socio‐political implications: the domestication of the body through the discipline of instruction and combat, a ritual of identification represented in funerary practices and a symbol of power, but only available to a small number of men. The Argaric halberdiers occupy an intermediate position in the transition between an armed man and a soldier, probably intersecting with the figures of the hero and the warrior. In Supporting Information Annexe 1, we develop a morphological description, based on the system of hafting the Argaric halberds and, in Annexe 2, we present the funerary contexts with interesting data for the combat system.

Emblems and spaces of power during the Argaric Bronze Age at La Almoloya, Murcia

“…Two portions of the left forelimb of a bovine older than four years at death, also place grave 38 among the most distinguished burials of El Argar (Aranda & Montón 2011; Lull et al . 2017). Portions of limbs from domestic herbivores are common funerary offerings, but those from cattle were usually reserved for elite individuals (Liesau & Schubart 2004; Aranda & Montón 2011).…”

“…This possibility is further supported by the recognition, in the funerary ritual, of adulthood at a younger age for girls compared with boys, and by the interment of some elite warriors of the middle Argar phase ( c. 2000–1800 cal BC) in graves where a woman had been previously buried (Lull et al . 2016, 2017). Recent excavations at Almoloya, municipality of Pliego, Murcia, approximately 90km north of the eponymous site of El Argar, have provided new evidence concerning the organisation of this society (Lull et al .…”

Clases de armas y armas de clase: hachas metálicas en conjuntos funerarios argáricos

“…2. A partir de ahora, utilizaremos las siguientes abreviaturas para una serie de objetos argáricos: ALB (alabarda), HAC (hacha), PÑ (puñal o cuchillo), BZ (brazalete), PD (anillo, pendiente o espiral); en cuanto a los yacimientos: AR (El Argar), de combate basado en el uso combinado de estas dos armas (Lull et al 2017b).…”

Armies in the Early Bronze Age? An alternative interpretation of Únětice Culture axe hoards

“…Kienlin 2008: 293-312). Daggers could also serve as both weapons and tools, but halberdscontrary to previous thinking-were probably used exclusively as weapons (O'Flaherty 2007;Dolfini 2011;Horn 2014: 174-222;Lull et al 2017). Given the limited size of their shaft holes, double axes were probably status symbols, rather than weapons.…”