Based on a project carried out from 1985-1992 investigating the history of Bronze Age communitities in the Upper Guadalquivir Valley of Jaen, this report explores the archaeological evidence for social hierarchies in the Bronze Age (2100-1100 BC) and, in particular, at the fortified site of Penalosa. The authors discuss the aims and background of the project, the local environment, and evidence for subsistence, technology, social relations and funerary customs at the site. Spanish text.