Mobility, Transhumance and Prehistoric Landscape. A GIS Approach to the Archaeological Landscape of Almadén de la Plata in Andalucía, Spain. (original) (raw)
G. Robin, A. D’Anna y M. Bailly (Eds.) Fonctions, utilisations et représentations de l’espace dans les sepultures monumentales du Néolithique européen., 2016
ABSTRACT. The Spanish Northern Meseta, a region of Central Iberia, shows a rich and diverse megalithic heritage. The analysis of the 4 th millennium cal BC domestic and funerary archaeological record from this region offers strong evidence on Late Neolithic territorial, ritual and political behaviour. This paper tries to find out the role of the collective monumental tombs within these questions. Some this evidence relates to 1) the development of non-funerary activities at the megalithic monuments; 2) the relationship between megalithic monuments and the domestic life; and 3) the presence of lavish amount of grave goods in some of the analysed burials. It is argued that during the Late Neolithic in this region the megalithic monuments served as a milestone for many of the physical and symbolic social needs. RÉSUMÉ. La Meseta Nord espagnole est une région de l’intérieur de la péninsule Ibérique avec un patrimoine mégalithique riche et varié. Une analyse du registre archéologique, domestique et funéraire, du Néolithique final nous offre de nombreux indices sur le comportement territorial, rituel-religieux et politique des gens qui ont vécu dans cette région pendant le IV e millénaire calibré avant J.-C. L’objectif de cet article est d’étudier le rôle joué par les sépultures collectives monumentales à cet égard à travers des évidences archéologiques documentées relatives à 1) la pratique dans les scènes dolméniques de différentes activités rituelles nonfunéraires, 2) la relation entre les mégalithes et la vie domestique et 3) le somptueux de certaines funérailles développées dans ces monuments. De tout cela on tire que les tombes mégalithiques ont agi comme l’élément fondamental de référence pour beaucoup de nécessités, autant physiques que symboliques, de ces communautés.
2016
In this paper, we shall briefly describe the main features of Southern Iberian Final Neolithic and Copper Age enclosures, and will examine how they relate in space and time to Prehistoric funerary contexts. We will attempt to show how this relationship changed through time. In the 4th millennium BC, during the Final Neolithic, both megalithic tombs and ditched enclosures were built. However, very rarely they are close in space. In the 3rd millennium BC, coinciding with the Chalcolithic, necropolises of tombs (tholoi and hypogea) began to form around ditched enclosures of the period. However, this process only occurred at a few sites – the ‘mega-sites’.
Proceedings of the 2nd European Megalithic Studies Group Meeting (Seville, Spain, November 2008). The meeting of the European Megalithic Studies Group at Seville in November 2008 brought an international group of researchers together to consider two themes: the presence and significance of rare rocks, and the chronology of these monuments. While megalithic monuments are known to have been built mostly of locally available stone, their builders occasionally incorporated blocks that had been brought from a distance. These instances of ‘megalithic transport’ provide insight into the significance of both the stones themselves and their sources. Neolithic monuments may also contain ‘exotic’ stone in the form of special materials deposited with the dead, indicators of social and symbolic values. The second theme of the meeting, chronology, explored the temporal framework within which individual groups of monuments were built and the insights provided by recent dating programmes. Among these is the realisation that the construction of particular categories of monument may have been more limited in time than had previously been supposed. Papers in both themes address key issues of scale, cultural tradition and cultural exchange. Actas de la Segunda Reunión del Grupo Europeo de Estudios Megalíticos (Sevilla, España, noviembre 2008). El encuentro del Grupo Europeo de Estudios Megalíticos celebrado en Sevilla en noviembre de 2008 reunió a un grupo internacional de especialistas para examinar dos temas: la presencia y significación de rocas raras, y la cronología de estos monumentos. Aunque se sabe que los monumentos megalíticos fueron construidos básicamente con piedras localmente disponibles, sus constructores incorporaron ocasionalmente bloques que habían sido traídos de más distancia. Estos ejemplos de “transporte megalítico” proporcionan datos respecto al significado tanto de las piedras en sí mismas como de sus fuentes de abastecimiento. Los monumentos neolíticos pueden también contener piedra “exótica” en forma de materiales especiales depositados con los muertos, indicadores de valores sociales y simbólicos. El segundo tema del encuentro, la cronología, trató del marco temporal en el que se construyeron los grupos individuales de monumentos así como de las perspectivas posibilitadas por programas de datación recientes. Entre estas perspectivas se encuentra el descubrimiento de que la construcción de ciertas categorías específicas de monumentos pudo haber estado más limitada en el tiempo de lo que se había supuesto previamente. Las colaboraciones relativas a ambos temas tratan cuestiones clave de escala, tradición cultural e intercambio cultural.
"The Outstanding Biographies of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Spain."
Marta Díaz-Guardamino Uribe; Leonardo García Sanjuán and David W. Wheatley (Editors): The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Europe, 183-204. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015
Over the last decade, new questions have emerged with regard to the complex temporal patterns often seen in Iberian prehistoric monuments. A number of megalithic chamber tombs, menhirs, stelae or rock-art panels have been found to show that, as it occurs in other European regions, their lives were not restricted to the period of time in which they were built or manufactured, but, on the contrary, they extended well into later (or even much later) prehistoric, protohistoric and subsequent historical periods. In this chapter we discuss a number of examples of such patterns, that include successive physical transformations through the incorporation of new architectural or graphic elements and/or through the reorganization of previously existing ones, the accumulation of mnemonic artefacts, as well as layouts and orientations in special landscape settings.
2015
This volume explores the pervasive influence exerted by some prehistoric monuments on European social life over thousands of years, and reveals how they acted as nodes linking people through time, possessing huge ideological and political significance. Through the advancement of theoretical approaches and scientific methods, archaeologists have been able to investigate how some of these monuments provided resources to negotiate memories, identities, power,and social relations throughout European history. The essays in this collection examine the life-histories of carefully chosen megalithic monuments, stelae and statue-menhirs, and rock art sites of various European and Mediterranean regions during Iron Age, Roman, and Medieval times. By focusing on the concrete interaction between people, monuments, and places, the volume offers an innovative outlook on a variety of debated issues. Prominent among these is the role of ancient remains in the creation, institutionalization, contestation, and negotiation of social identities and memories, as well as their relationship with political ideology in early historic European societies. By contributing to current theoretical debates on materiality, landscape, and place-making, The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman, and Medieval Europe seeks to overcome disciplinary boundaries between prehistory and history, and highlight the long-term, genealogical nature of our engagement with the world. Contents PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Europe: An Introduction Marta Díaz-Guardamino, Leonardo García Sanjuán and David Wheatley 2. Before the Standing Stones: From Land Forms to Religious Attitudes and Monumentality Joyce E. Salisbury PART II: CASE STUDIES 3. Kings’ Jelling: Monuments with Outstanding Biographies in the Heart of Denmark Steen Hvass 4. Icons of Antiquity: Remaking Megalithic Monuments in Ireland Gabriel Cooney 5. Beowulf and Archaeology: Megaliths Imagined and Encountered in Early Medieval Europe Howard Williams 6. Myth, Memento and Memory: Avebury (Wiltshire, England) David Wheatley 7. Les Pierres de Memoire. The Life History of two Statue-Menhirs from Guernsey, Channel Islands Heather Sebire 8. Back and Forward: Neolithic Standing Stones and Iron Age Stelae in French Brittany Luc Laporte, Marie-Yvane Daire, Gwenolé Kerdivel and Elías López-Romero 9. Enduring Past: Megalithic Tombs of Brittany and the Roman Occupation in Western France Mara Vejby 10. The Outstanding Biographies of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Spain Leonardo García Sanjuán and Marta Díaz-Guardamino 11. Megaliths and Holy Places in the Genesis of the Kingdom of Asturias (North of Spain, 718-910 AD) Miguel Ángel de Blas Cortina 12. Life and Death of Copper Age Monoliths at Ossimo Anvòia (Val Camonica, Italian Central Alps), 3000 BC–AD 1950 Francesco Fedele 13. Biography of a Hill – Novi Pazar in South Western Serbia Staša Babić 14. What Happens When Tombs Die? The Historical Appropriation of the Cretan Bronze Age Cemeteries Borja Legarra Herrero 15. Roman Dolmens? The Megalithic Necropolises of Eastern Maghreb Revisited Joan Sanmartí, Nabil Kallala, Rafel Jornet, M. Carme Belarte, Joan Canela, Sarhane Chérif, Jordi Campillo, David Montanero, Xavier Bermúdez, Thaïs Fadrique, Víctor Revilla, Joan Ramon and Moncef Ben Moussa PART III: RECAPITULATION AND CONCLUSIONS 16. The Plot against the Past: Reuse and Modification of Ancient Mortuary Monuments as Persuasive Efforts of Appropriation Estella Weiss-Krejci 17. Piercing together a Past Richard Bradley
"The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Europe: An Introduction."
Díaz-Guardamino Uribe, M.; García Sanjuán, L. and Wheatley, D. W. (eds.): The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Europe, 3-17. Oxford. Oxford University Pres, 2015
The main aim of this book is to explore the active role that many prehistoric monuments, including rock art sites, played in social life during the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD on the basis on a wide thematic, chronological and geographic coverage. Although this book adopts a broad and inclusive theoretical approach,from a methodological point of view it draws inspiration from the biographical approach to the study of material culture (e.g. Kopytoff 1986; Gosden and Marshall 1999; Hoskins 2006). This approach has already been applied for some time by Anglo-American archaeologists,proving to be a useful framework within which to consider the active role of monuments and landscapes in social life (Chippindale 1987; Feld and Basso 1996, Bender 1998; Bradley and Williams 1998; Knapp and Ashmore 1999; Bradley 2000; Holtorf 2000–8; Bradley 2002; Gillings and Pollard 2004; Jones 2007; Rainbird 2008, Rubertone 2008; Parker 2009; Reneset al. 2013). It has, however, been far less widely explored by archaeologists belonging to other academic traditions in the broader context of European and Mediterranean prehistory. Therefore, a key contribution of this book is that authors from different academic traditions take a fresh look at this approach through different case studies and a range of different theoretical standpoints, enriching our view of the variety of archaeologies that are currently being made in different regions of Europe. In terms of chronological and geographic coverage, then, this volume transcends traditional period and place constraints. Case studies include later prehistoricand Roman periods, and follow the trajectories of monuments into the Medieval and even Modern periods of history, from Scandinavia to Tunisia, and from the British Isles to the Balkans. The chronology of each of these broad time periods varies, of course,from region to region and some do not even exist in some areas:this is the case of Ireland, which was beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empireand for which no ‘Roman period’ as such is formally defined.
Menga: Journal of Andalusian Prehistory, Monograph nº 1., 2011
"This book presents the papers and discussions held at the second meeting of the European Megalithic Studies Group (Seville, Spain, November 2008). This is therefore a cooperative, international book that brings together leading specialists from several European countries, including France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, and Spain. This volume revolves around two crucial aspects of recent research on prehistoric monuments: time (chronology) and matter (raw materials as used in both architecture and artefacts). Both topics have generated much discussion in recent years and form one of the main cutting edges of current research on prehistoric monuments. These two main themes have recently witnessed major advances thanks to the application of new scientific techniques to old and new archaeological problems. For the chronology theme, specific issues include the origin of prehistoric monuments, the limitations and advantages of newly available high-resolution dating techniques (such as AMS radiocarbon analysis of pigments, thermoluminiscence and OSL), and patterns of utilisation, re-utilisation and abandonment. For rare rocks, some of the specific issues covered by this book are rock selection, the frequency and type of rare materials (variscite, quartz, amber, etc.), trade and exchange, the manipulation of raw materials, the symbolic catchment of geological landscapes, and the sourcing of stones. The idea here is to explore the value, function and symbolism of the materials in their prehistoric context, their placement and positioning in relation to funerary structures (architecture) and human remains (individuals), and the evidence they provide for interregional interaction."
2013
The aim of this paper is to describe and reflect upon the functional aspects of the ritual reuse of Bronze Age monuments that occurred in southwestern Sweden in the Late Iron Age. The often very complex ritual behaviour cannot be labelled as traces of simple plundering. The archaeological record reveals that the large barrows and stone settings of the Bronze Age were systematically reused in the pre-Christian Iron Age rituals to such an extent that the tradition can be defined as a cultural pattern. Large trenches were dug into the monuments, depositions were made, meals were prepared, bonfires were lit, massive amounts of soil, turf and stones were rearranged, and secondary burials were conducted-activities that all took place in the "ancient" monuments. The labour invested in the pre-Christian Viking Age ritual reuse of the by then 2000-year-old monuments was extensive. The author means that the cultic and cultural pattern that appears in this ritual reuse of Bronze Age monuments can be interpreted as a Late Iron Age social strategy which focused on the necessity to create a history and thus confirm a specific Viking Age ideology. Through repeated ritual reuse of monuments a Viking Age population could create a memory and identity and thus raise social claims to a certain place. From a specific pre-Christian Viking Age worldview perspective, the constant manifestation and recreation of a past through ritual can be understood as traces of ideological resistance during a period characterized by an, in the end, unavoidable transformation of the pre-Christian world.
Monuments on the move. Assessing megaliths’ interaction with the North-Western Iberian landscapes
Megaliths – Societies – Landscapes Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe, 2019
Monuments as such implicitly have a perennial character and act as a presumed means for consecrating or marking out especial places. This would be the case with megalithic mounds, which add their funerary character to the afore- mentioned features. However, in recent decades an increasing emphasis has been placed on the relationship between megaliths and movement. This was initially understood in the simpler sense of a correlation between mound location and paths across the landscape, before later on taking on a more structural character, relating to the internal change (mobilisation) of the building components, with the incorporation of allochthonous materials into both the construction itself (vg. bringing in orthostats on non-local stones) and as a part of the grave goods. Accordingly, they appear to evoke more or less distant places and the displacements implied to gathering them in the framework of the tomb. Such observations can now be better substantiated in areas such as the Barbanza peninsula (Galicia, Spain), where a relatively thorough cat- alogue of megaliths is available, showing – to start with – that these are far from being bound to the high sierra, despite showing denser concentrations there. The enlisting of Geographical Information Systems and statistics will show how mounds are associated with transit routes and – more locally – with conspicuous areas more often than rock art sites, for instance. As a result, we may contemplate megalithic architecture not as something exclusively or mainly static but rather as dynamic and linked to a cognitive geography developed by communities in the Late Prehistory that carry on the exploitation of different landscapes and resources, from the very coast to the uplands.
The European Route of Megalithic Culture: Pathways to Europe’s earliest stone architecture
The European Route of Megalithic Culture serves as a platform for museums, Geoparks, scientists, and experts in tourism from Denmark, England, Germany, The Netherlands, and Sweden to underline the outstanding importance of the megalithic culture for European history, to rediscover and promote the tourism value of its monuments and, in this way, improve their protection as part of the common cultural heritage. The goal of the Association Megalithic Routes is to link together a selection of the oldest monuments of Europe by cultural routes which not only lead to the megalithic monuments but also highlight the manifold features of the surrounding landscape. Throughout Europe there is a close link between the origin of megalithic monuments and the early history of the cultural landscape: both begin at the same time and symbolise the first efforts of human communities to tame nature and shape the natural environment. The “Megalithic Routes” project is committed to the principles of “low-impact tourism” and refrains from any irreversible measures affecting the natural environment when developing opportunities for tourism. Priority is given to the use of existing roads and nature routeways as well as promoting mobility in harmony with nature and current social and recreational trends such as hiking and cycling. Moreover, museums and educational institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, charities, and public bodies are being encouraged to develop new cross-border collaborations in the field of youth education and European exchange programmes for children and young people on the subject of “Megalithic Roots”.