Search

The scientific study of Neolithic monuments holds fundamental keys to the analysis of early social complexity. This is often impeded by the challenges involved in understanding their temporality and, particularly, their initial construction dates. This problem is most severe in monuments that were not predominantly used for burial and went on to have long biographies in which activity in later periods obliterated the material record of the earliest phases. That was certainly the case of the Menga dolmen, part of the Antequera World Heritage site (Málaga, Spain), and one of the most remarkable megaliths in Europe, for which, after nearly 200 years of explorations and research, no firm chronology existed. The research presented in this paper shows how this problem was tackled through a multimethod, scientific, and geoarchaeological approach. The analysis of 29 fresh numerical ages, including radiocarbon determinations as well as optically stimulated luminescence, thermoluminescence, and uranium-thorium dates, led to the successful establishment of Menga's construction date and the subsequent contextualization of the monument within the social and cultural background it arose in. Placing the dolmen in the context of its time of “birth” introduces entirely new possibilities for its interpretation, both in terms of local and supralocal social and cultural processes.

Antequera in southern Spain is widely recognised as an outstanding example of the European megalithic phe- nomenon. One of its most remarkable features is the evident relationship between conspicuous natural for- mations and human-built monuments. Here, the authors report the results of their investigation of a tomb newly discovered at the site of Piedras Blancas at the foot of La Peña de los Enamorados, a limestone massif that dominates the Antequera plain. Excavation and multidisciplinary study, including geological, architectural and archaeoastronomical investigations, have revealed a complex funerary monument that is part natural, part built, part hypogeum, part megalith. The results emphasise the centrality of La Peña in the Neolithic worldview and encourage wider investigation of prehistoric place-making.

The investigation of the Iberian megalithic phenomenon has only recently begun to benefit from the expansion of the technical and scientific potential of modern archaeology. There are still very few Iberian megaliths for which high resolution scientific research has been carried out, providing detailed data on their design, uses and biographies. This paper presents the results of the multi-disciplinary study of the Palacio III tholos, part of a larger megalithic complex located in Almadén de la Plata (Seville). This study is based on a wide-spectrum methodology that integrates geoarchaeology, techno-morphological and functional analysis of portable material culture and graphic analysis, all combined within a meticulously contextual perspective. The results provide a wealth of data on how, through a series of carefully constructed cultural choices, this monument represents a true place of encounter between the locally available geological resources and other resources that were only accessible through contact with neighbouring communities. Whether in its raw state, finely carved in the form of engraved and painted sculptures or transformed into artefacts of high technical and personal value, the materiality of the stone in the Palacio III tholos acquires multiple cultural dimensions that only a modern scientific approach is able to reconstruct, Solo recientemente la investigación del fenómeno megalítico ibérico ha comenzado a beneficiarse de la ampliación del potencial técnico y científico de la arqueología moderna. Todavía son muy pocos los megalitos ibéricos para los que se han realizado investigaciones científicas de alta resolución, capaces de aportar datos detallados sobre su diseño, usos y biografías.En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio del tholos del complejo megalítico de Palacio III (Almadén de la Plata, Sevilla), abordado mediante una metodología multidisciplinar que integra la geoarqueología, el estudio tecnomorfológico y funcional de la cultura material portable y el análisis gráfico, dentro de una meticulosa valoración contextual.Los resultados aportan datos muy novedosos respecto a cómo, a través de una serie de elecciones culturales cuidadosamente construidas, este monumento representa un verdadero lugar de encuentro entre los recursos geológicos localmente disponibles y los recursos accesibles mediante contacto con otras comunidades.Bien en su forma bruta, bien labrada en forma de esculturas grabadas y pintadas o transformada en artefactos de alto valor técnico y personal, la materialidad de la piedra adquiere en Palacio III múltiples dimensiones culturales que solo a través de la moderna investigación científica es posible reconstruir.

Although much has been written about the use of information technologies for the management of archaeological resources at a national level, there has been little published discussion of the problems and opportunities that are apparent at the supra-national scale. In this paper, we consider the historical development and current state of database management systems and, more recently, geographic information systems in the management of archaeological information at a European scale. We review the development of archaeological inventories, from paper-based records to complex computer-based systems, and then consider the situation throughout Europe, taking account of archaeological needs as well as the administrative, social and political context. Our study reveals that, despite widespread acknowledgement of the advantages of such technologies, GIS has not been rapidly or consistently deployed. A very wide variety of systems and standards currently exists throughout the community, a situation which is explained through reference to the separate historical development of archaeological management structures in the different countries. We identify a number of common issues that recur wherever GIS has been applied to the management of archaeological inventories. Particular attention is drawn to historical and logistical issues, the availability of technological skills, geo-referencing, the spatial definition of the archaeological evidence and the definition of analytical concepts within archaeological management.

This paper presents the results obtained from a review of the archaeological record available for the prehistoric site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), one of the most important settlements of SW Iberia in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Two main variables, namely demography and metallurgical production, are examined in the light of both conventional and spatial statistical methods (with particular emphasis on significance testing) with the aim of assessing the wider issue of social complexity. Among the various conclusions emerging from this empirical study, two stand out. Firstly, neither the correlation between the total extension of the settlement and the complexity of its internal organisation, nor the spatial delimitation between domestic/productive and funerary practices is as straightforward as previously claimed. Secondly, no simple, clear-cut statistical patterns are found in the spatial distribution of human remains or metal objects. These conclusions provide the basis for a critique of currently held interpretations of Valencina de la Concepción as the political centre of an early state extending across the lower Guadalquivir valley., En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos en una revisión del registro arqueológico disponible del sitio prehistórico de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla, España), uno de los asentamientos más importantes del Suroeste de la Península Ibérica durante los milenios III y II ANE. A la luz de métodos estadísticos convencionales y espaciales (con particular énfasis en las pruebas de significación) se examinan dos variables principales, la demografía y la metalurgia, con el objeto de valorar la más amplia cuestión de la complejidad social. De las principales conclusiones obtenidas en este estudio destacan dos. En primer lugar, ni la correlación entre la extensión total del asentamiento y la complejidad de su organización interna, ni la delimitación espacial entre las prácticas doméstico-productivas y funerarias es tan simple como se ha propuesto anteriormente. En segundo lugar, no existen pautas estadísticas definidas o evidentes en la distribución de los depósitos de restos humanos y objetos metálicos. Estas conclusiones proporcionan la base para una crítica de interpretaciones recientemente propuestas que presentan a Valencina de la Concepción como el centro político de un estado temprano que se extendía por el valle del bajo Guadalquivir.