The Balearic Islands experienced different cultural developments during the prehistoric and protohistoric periods. While Mallorca and Menorca were home to the Talayotic Culture (first millennium BC), Ibiza and Formentera were important Phoenician and Carthaginian colonies.
The Bronze Age (1700-900 BC) was characterized by the development of megalithic architecture, featuring navetas (collective cemeteries) or naviform (boat-shaped) dwellings.
During the first phase of the Talayotic Culture (Talayotic I, 900-500 BC), tower shaped monuments and defensive systems were built in some of the settlements, along with shrines that remained in use until the Roman conquest. Both cremation and inhumation were practiced, and objects made of iron and ivory and faience necklaces from the Phoenician trade routes were common.
The second phase (Talayotic II, 500-123 BC) was marked by the appearance of wheel-thrown pottery and the consolidation of religious architecture (shrines and taulas or T-shaped stone monuments). The Punic presence was reinforced in the fourth century BC.
The Roman conquest (123 BC) did not wipe out the Talayotic culture, which endured until the dawn of the Common Era.
Clay vessels, 7th-4th century BC, Son Mari (Mallorca) and Cave of Son Morro (Manacor, Mallorca).
Photos: Füsun Kavrakoğlu, National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, 2026.
Clay vessels, Talayotic culture, Menorca.
In Talayotic settlements, characterized by cyclopean architecture (built by overlapping raw stones, supported one on the other, without the use of mortar), adjoining dwellings formed concentric rows around communal buildings protected by sturdy walls. Tower-shaped monuments (talayots and stepped structures) were built for control purposes and visual communication between settlements, which were situated on high ground and lacked an urban structure. The houses were oval-shaped with a hearth in the middle, and the focal points were the ceremonial buildings (towers) and shrines.
The talayots may also have been used for ritual activities associated with the worship of a deity or sacrifices of domestic animals. Around 700 BC the construction of these towers ceased and the dwellings adopted a rectangular plan.
Animal husbandry was the basis of the economy and the diet consisted of meat and milk, complemented by produce that was mostly gathered rather than cultivated. There are hardly any farming tools from the Talayotic period, but axes and chisels for masonry, woodcarving and building are common.
Information panels of National Archaeological Museum, Madrid.
Costitx Bulls, Alicia Rodero Riaza, National Archaeological Museum, pp. 50.
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