Journal of Neolithic Archaeology 6 December 2019 doi 10.12766/jna.2019S.3 The Concept of Monumentality in the Research Article history: into Neolithic Megaliths in Western France Received 14 March 2019 Reviewed 10 June 2019 Published 6 December 2019 Luc Laporte Keywords: megaliths, monumentality, Abstract western France, Neolithic, architectures This paper focuses on reviewing the monumentality associated Cite as: Luc Laporte: The Concept of Monumen- with Neolithic megaliths in western France, in all its diversity. This tality in the Research into Neolithic Megaliths region cannot claim to encompass the most megaliths in Europe, in Western France. but it is, on the other hand, one of the rare regions where mega- In: Maria Wunderlich, Tiatoshi Jamir, Johannes liths were built recurrently for nearly three millennia, by very differ- Müller (eds.), Hierarchy and Balance: The Role of ent human groups. We will first of all define the terms of the debate Monumentality in European and Indian Land- by explaining what we mean by the words monuments and meg- scapes. JNA Special Issue 5. Bonn: R. Habelt 2019, aliths and what they imply for the corresponding past societies in 27–50 [doi 10.12766/jna.2019S.3] terms of materiality, conception of space, time and rhythms. The no- tion of the architectural project is central to this debate and it will be Author‘s address: presented for each stage of this very long sequence. This will then Luc Laporte, DR CNRS, UMR lead to a discussion of the modes of human action on materials and 6566 ‐ Univ. Rennes the shared choices of certain past societies, which sometimes inspire
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