Biweekly Colloquia: Nature, environment and monumentality in Neolithic Iberia: The case of Antequera (Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan / University of Sevilla)
May 08, 2023 from 04:15 PM to 05:45 PM
Leibnizstraße 1, room 204
Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan • University of Sevilla, Spain
"Nature, environment and monumentality in Neolithic Iberia: The case of Antequera"
Almost a quarter of a century ago, in his book An Archaeology of Natural Places (London, Routledge, 2000) Richard Bradley examined the cultural and social significance of natural places for European prehistoric societies. Since then, numerous studies have looked at the relationship between natural elements (rocky formations, water, cavities, etc.), ritual practice and monumentality. In this lecture, I will draw on Bradley’s seminal work to analyse the connection between nature and human made-monuments in Neolithic Iberia. The case study I will use is Antequera, in Málaga (southern Spain). Here, starting in the 5th millennium BC, Neolithic societies started to transform certain natural elements present in their environment in a process that, over two thousand years, would gradually lead to the creation of a remarkable landscape involving rocky formations, water elements, skyscapes, megaliths, rock art and natural cavities.
