Advances in Understanding Megaliths and Related Prehistoric Lithic Monuments G
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Pottery Technology As a Revealer of Cultural And
Pottery technology as a revealer of cultural and symbolic shifts: Funerary and ritual practices in the Sion ‘Petit-Chasseur’ megalithic necropolis (3100–1600 BC, Western Switzerland) Eve Derenne, Vincent Ard, Marie Besse To cite this version: Eve Derenne, Vincent Ard, Marie Besse. Pottery technology as a revealer of cultural and symbolic shifts: Funerary and ritual practices in the Sion ‘Petit-Chasseur’ megalithic necropolis (3100–1600 BC, Western Switzerland). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Elsevier, 2020, 58, pp.101170. 10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101170. hal-03051558 HAL Id: hal-03051558 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03051558 Submitted on 10 Dec 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 58 (2020) 101170 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Anthropological Archaeology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jaa Pottery technology as a revealer of cultural and symbolic shifts: Funerary and ritual practices in the Sion ‘Petit-Chasseur’ megalithic necropolis T (3100–1600 BC, -
The University of Bradford Institutional Repository
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Bradford Scholars The University of Bradford Institutional Repository http://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk This work is made available online in accordance with publisher policies. Please refer to the repository record for this item and our Policy Document available from the repository home page for further information. To see the final version of this work please visit the publisher’s website. Where available access to the published online version may require a subscription. Author(s): Gibson, Alex M. Title: An Introduction to the Study of Henges: Time for a Change? Publication year: 2012 Book title: Enclosing the Neolithic : Recent studies in Britain and Ireland. Report No: BAR International Series 2440. Publisher: Archaeopress. Link to publisher’s site: http://www.archaeopress.com/archaeopressshop/public/defaultAll.asp?QuickSear ch=2440 Citation: Gibson, A. (2012). An Introduction to the Study of Henges: Time for a Change? In: Gibson, A. (ed.). Enclosing the Neolithic: Recent studies in Britain and Europe. Oxford: Archaeopress. BAR International Series 2440, pp. 1-20. Copyright statement: © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2012. An Introduction to the Study of Henges: Time for a Change? Alex Gibson Abstract This paper summarises 80 years of ‘henge’ studies. It considers the range of monuments originally considered henges and how more diverse sites became added to the original list. It examines the diversity of monuments considered to be henges, their origins, their associated monument types and their dates. Since the introduction of the term, archaeologists have often been uncomfortable with it. -
The Lives of Prehistoric Monuments in Iron Age, Roman, and Medieval Europe by Marta Díaz-Guardamino, Leonardo García Sanjuán and David Wheatley (Eds)
The Prehistoric Society Book Reviews THE LIVES OF PREHISTORIC MONUMENTS IN IRON AGE, ROMAN, AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE BY MARTA DÍAZ-GUARDAMINO, LEONARDO GARCÍA SANJUÁN AND DAVID WHEATLEY (EDS) Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015. 356pp, 50 figs, 32 B/W plates, 6 tables. ISBN 978-0-19-872460-5, hb, £85 This handsome book is the outcome of a session at the 2013 European Association of Archaeologists in Pilsen, organised by the editors on the cultural biographies of monuments. It is divided into three sections, with the main part comprising 13 detailed case-studies, framed on either side by shorter introduction and discussion pieces. There is variety in the chronologies, subject matters and geographical scopes addressed; in short there is something for almost everyone! In their Introduction, the editors advocate that archaeologists require a more reflexive conceptual toolkit to deal with the complex issues of monument continuity, transformation, re-use and abandonment, and the significance of the speed and the timing of changes. They also critique the loaded term ‘afterlife’ as this separates the unfolding biography of a monument, and unwittingly relegates later activities to lesser importance than its original function. In the following chapter, Joyce Salisbury explores how the veneration of natural places in the landscape, such as caves and mountains, was shifted to man-made monumental features over time. The bulk of the book focuses on the specific case-studies which span Denmark in the north to Tunisia in the south and from Ireland in the west to Serbia and Crete in the east. In Chapter 3, Steen Hvass’s account of the history of research at the monument complex of King’s Jelling in Denmark is fascinating, but a little heavy on stratigraphic narrative, and light on theory and discussion. -
Recent Survey of a Megalithic Stone Alignment at Byse
Recent Survey of a Megalithic Stone Alignment at Byse Srikumar M. Menon, Manipal School of Architecture and Planning, Manipal – 576 104 Mayank N. Vahia, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai and Manipal Advanced Research Group, Manipal University, Manipal – 576 104 Kailash Rao M., Manipal School of Architecture and Planning, Manipal – 576 104 Introduction: Megalithic monuments are found in profusion in peninsular India (Moorti 1994, 2008) and are generally ascribed to the south Indian Iron Age (Moorti 1994, 2008; Sundara 1975), though recent studies have indicated that megalith construction may well date back into the middle of the Neolithic in south India (Morrison 2005). The term megalith (lit. “built of large stones”) initially arose because of the variety of forms built with boulders or slabs of stone which characterized the monuments of this cultural trait that were noticed early on. Later, the definition was enlarged in scope to include even excavations in soft rock built by similar cultures in regions that lacked boulders and quarries for stone slabs. A large fraction of the megalithic monuments were burials or memorial in nature, such as cist or chamber burials and dolmens, but several other monuments like stone alignments defy the archaeological imagination as to what their purpose could have been. Moorti (1994, 2008) has classified megaliths into sepulchral and non- sepulchral, based on whether or not human remains have been associated with them or not, with sub-divisions based on the form and construction of the monuments. However, this classification is not exactly watertight, with megaliths like menhirs (single standing stone, whether undressed boulder or quarried slab) taking on sepulchral connotations in present-day Kerala region whereas they are essentially non-sepulchral in Karnataka. -
How to Tell a Cromlech from a Quoit ©
How to tell a cromlech from a quoit © As you might have guessed from the title, this article looks at different types of Neolithic or early Bronze Age megaliths and burial mounds, with particular reference to some well-known examples in the UK. It’s also a quick overview of some of the terms used when describing certain types of megaliths, standing stones and tombs. The definitions below serve to illustrate that there is little general agreement over what we could classify as burial mounds. Burial mounds, cairns, tumuli and barrows can all refer to man- made hills of earth or stone, are located globally and may include all types of standing stones. A barrow is a mound of earth that covers a burial. Sometimes, burials were dug into the original ground surface, but some are found placed in the mound itself. The term, barrow, can be used for British burial mounds of any period. However, round barrows can be dated to either the Early Bronze Age or the Saxon period before the conversion to Christianity, whereas long barrows are usually Neolithic in origin. So, what is a megalith? A megalith is a large stone structure or a group of standing stones - the term, megalith means great stone, from two Greek words, megas (meaning: great) and lithos (meaning: stone). However, the general meaning of megaliths includes any structure composed of large stones, which include tombs and circular standing structures. Such structures have been found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America and may have had religious significance. Megaliths tend to be put into two general categories, ie dolmens or menhirs. -
Megaliths and Stelae in the Inner Basin of Tagus River: Santiago De Alcántara, Alconétar and Cañamero (Cáceres, Spain)
MEGALITHS AND STELAE IN THE INNER BASIN OF TAGUS RIVER: SANTIAGO DE ALCÁNTARA, ALCONÉTAR AND CAÑAMERO (CÁCERES, SPAIN) Primitiva BUENO RAMIREZ, Rodrigo de BALBÍN BEHRMANN, Rosa BARROSO BERMEJO Área de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Enrique CERRILLO CUENCA CSIC, Instituto de Arqueología de Mérida Antonio GONZALEZ CORDERO, Alicia PRADA GALLARDO Archaeologist Abstract: Several projects on the megalithic sites in the basin of the river Tagus contribute evidences on the close relation between stelae with engraved weapons and chronologically advanced megalithic graves. The importance of human images in the development of Iberian megalithic art supports an evolution of these contents toward pieces with engraved weapons which dating back to the 3rd millennium cal BC. From the analysis of the evidences reported by the whole geographical sector, this paper is also aimed at determining if the graphic resources used in these stelae express any kind of identity. Visible stelae in barrows and chambers from the 3rd millennium cal BC would be the images around which sepulchral areas were progressively added, thus constituting true ancestral references throughout the Bronze Age. Keywords: Chalcolithic, megalithic sites, identities, metallurgy, SW Iberian Peninsula INTRODUCTION individuals along a constant course (Bueno et al. 2007a, 2008a) from the ideology of the earliest farmers (Bueno The several works on megalithic stelae we have et al. 2007b) to, practically, the Iron Age (Bueno et al. developed so far shape a methodological and theoretical 2005a, 2010). The similarity observed between this long base of analysis aimed at proving a strong symbolic course and the line of megalithic art is the soundest implementation current throughout the 3rd millennium cal reference to include the symbolic universe of these BC in SW Iberian Peninsula (Bueno 1990, 1995: Bueno visible anthropomorphic references in the ideological et al. -
Neolithic Farmers in Poland - a Study of Stable Isotopes in Human Bones and Teeth from Kichary Nowe in the South of Poland
Neolithic farmers in Poland - A study of stable isotopes in human bones and teeth from Kichary Nowe in the south of Poland Master thesis in archaeological science Archaeological Research Laboratory Stockholm University Supervisors: Kerstin Lidén and Gunilla Eriksson Author: Staffan Lundmark Cover photo: Mandible from the Kichary Nowe site, photo taken by the author Abstract: The diet of the Stone Age cultures is a strong indicator to the social group, thus farmers and hunters can be distinguished through their diet. There is well-preserved and well excavated Polish skeletal material available for such a study but the material has not previously been subject to stable isotopes analyses and therefore the questions of diets has not been answered. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the cultures in the Kichary Nowe 2 area in the Lesser Poland district in southern Poland. Through analysis of the stable isotopes of Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulphur in the collagen of teeth and skeletal bones from the humans in the Kichary Nowe 2 grave-field and from bones from the fauna, coeval and from the same area, the study will establish whether there were any sharp changes of diets. The material from the grave-field comes from cultures with an established agricultural economy, where their cultural belonging has been anticipated from the burial context. The results from my study of stable isotopes from the bone material will be grouped by various parameters, culture, attribution to sex and age. The groups will then be compared to each other to investigate patterns within and between the groups. -
"Megalithic Culture" of South India Is Represented by Burials of Considerable Variety
183 CHAPTER- V PART A: TYPOLOGY The so-called "megalithic culture" of South India is represented by burials of considerable variety. Though the term "megalithic" as applied to this burial complex is inadequate because many structures such as dolmens or cists not even associated with burials are grouped under this term; and some urn and sarcophagus burials unassociated with stone structures qualified as 1 "megalithic" • Again the term "megalithic" is applied to all settlements which yield pottery and iron tools normally found in megalithic burials irrespective of whether these settlements or associated with burials or not. It would I think, be useful to consider a broad definition of the term "megalithic" i.e., as a socio-religious expression of burying the deceased in cemeteries, in graves (which would include primary, secondary and symbolic burial) which may or may not have lithic appendage. One should also note here that the use of iron broadly coincides with this period and forms an "adjunct of this culture" (Moorti 1994 : 1). Therefore some archaeologists prefer to use the term "iron age culture" instead of "megalithic culture". So far as the typological classification of megaliths in India are concerned the attempts of Wheeler (1948) and Krishnaswami (1949 : 35-45) are noteworthy. Later, Leshnik (1974 : 226-227), Agrawal (1982 : 226-227) and Allchins (1983 : 331-33) recognize five basic types of burials i.e., pit burials, urn and sarcophagi burials, rock cut burial cham hers, cist burials and stone alignments. Dikshit and Sundara include many more types like dolmen, menhir, to pi kal and kudai kal. -
Aerial Investigation and Mapping of the Newgrange Landscape, Brú Na Bóinne, Co
Aerial investigation and mapping of the Newgrange landscape, Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath The Archaeology of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Interim Report, December 2018 This interim report has been prepared to make available the results of ongoing analysis, interpretation and mapping work in advance of full publication. The report has been produced for use on the internet. As such, the high-resolution imagery has been compressed to optimise downloading speeds. Interpretation and opinion expressed in the interim report are those of the authors. Printed copies of the report will be made available as soon as is practicable following the release of this digital version. Adjustments may be made to the final publication text subject to the availability of information at that time. NOTE Virtually all of the sites featured in this report are located on private land. These are working farms with both crops and livestock. There is no entry onto these lands without the express permission of the landowners. Furthermore, the sites are mostly subsurface and can only be seen as cropmarks. There are extensive views across the floodplain from Newgrange Passage Tomb, which can be accessed via the OPW Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. Details of on-line booking for the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre and guided tour of Newgrange are available at: http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlands-eastcoast/brunaboinnevisitorcentre/ Cover image: View across the Geometric Henge, looking north towards Newgrange Farm. © Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht -
The Significance of the Ancient Standing Stones, Villages, Tombs on Orkney Island
The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 5 Print Reference: Pages 561-572 Article 43 2003 The Significance of the Ancient Standing Stones, Villages, Tombs on Orkney Island Lawson L. Schroeder Philip L. Schroeder Bryan College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Schroeder, Lawson L. and Schroeder, Philip L. (2003) "The Significance of the Ancient Standing Stones, Villages, Tombs on Orkney Island," The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 5 , Article 43. Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol5/iss1/43 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANCIENT STANDING STONES, VILLAGES AND TOMBS FOUND ON THE ORKNEY ISLANDS LAWSON L. SCHROEDER, D.D.S. PHILIP L. SCHROEDER 5889 MILLSTONE RUN BRYAN COLLEGE STONE MOUNTAIN, GA 30087 P. O. BOX 7484 DAYTON, TN 37321-7000 KEYWORDS: Orkney Islands, ancient stone structures, Skara Brae, Maes Howe, broch, Ring of Brodgar, Standing Stones of Stenness, dispersion, Babel, famine, Ice Age ABSTRACT The Orkney Islands make up an archipelago north of Scotland. -
Megalithic Astronomy in South India
In Nakamura, T., Orchiston, W., Sôma, M., and Strom, R. (eds.), 2011. Mapping the Oriental Sky. Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Oriental Astronomy. Tokyo, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Pp. xx-xx. MEGALITHIC ASTRONOMY IN SOUTH INDIA Srikumar M. MENON Faculty of Architecture, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal – 576104, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] and Mayank N. VAHIA Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, and Manipal Advanced Research Group, Manipal University, Manipal – 576104, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The megalithic monuments of peninsular India, believed to have been erected in the Iron Age (1500BC – 200AD), can be broadly categorized into sepulchral and non-sepulchral in purpose. Though a lot of work has gone into the study of these monuments since Babington first reported megaliths in India in 1823, not much is understood about the knowledge systems extant in the period when these were built – in science and engineering, and especially in mathematics and astronomy. We take a brief look at the archaeological understanding of megaliths, before making a detailed assessment of a group of megaliths in the south Canara region of Karnataka State in South India that were hitherto assumed to be haphazard clusters of menhirs. Our surveys have indicated that there is a positive correlation of sight-lines with sunrise and sunset points on the horizon for both summer and winter solstices. We identify five such monuments in the region and present the survey results for one of these sites, demonstrating their astronomical implications. We also discuss the possible use of megaliths in the form of stone alignments/ avenues as calendar devices. -
Archaeology of Mother Earth Sites and Sanctuaries Through the Ages Rethinking Symbols and Images, Art and Artefacts from History and Prehistory
Archaeology of Mother Earth Sites and Sanctuaries through the Ages Rethinking symbols and images, art and artefacts from history and prehistory Edited by G. Terence Meaden BAR International Series 2389 2012 Published by Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England [email protected] www.archaeopress.com BAR S2389 Archaeology of Mother Earth Sites and Sanctuaries through the Ages: Rethinking symbols and images, art and artefacts from history and prehistory © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2012 ISBN 978 1 4073 0981 1 Printed in England by 4edge, Hockley All BAR titles are available from: Hadrian Books Ltd 122 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7BP England www.hadrianbooks.co.uk The current BAR catalogue with details of all titles in print, prices and means of payment is available free from Hadrian Books or may be downloaded from www.archaeopress.com the neolithic monument of newgrange in ireland: a coSmic womb? Kate Prendergast Oxford University, Department of Continuing Education Abstract: This paper argues that the Neolithic monument of Newgrange, in common with comparable monuments known as passage- graves, functioned to facilitate womb-like ritual experiences and birth-based cosmological beliefs. It explores the evidence for the design, material deposits, astronomy, rock art and associated myth at Newgrange to suggest the myriad ways that birth-based ritual and cosmology are invoked at the site, and it locates this evidence in the context of the transition to agriculture with which such monuments were associated. Key words: Neolithic, Newgrange, monument, womb, womb-like, ritual, astronomy, winter solstice, re-birth, ancestors.