This book presents contributions from MegaTalks 2, (Portugal, 2015), part of the MegaGeo project which aimed to analyse the raw material economy in the construction of megalithic tombs in multiple territories, showing the representation of several prehistoric communities that raised them and their relationship with the surrounding areas.
The MegaGeo project, under the direction of the late Rui Boaventura, aimed to analyze the raw material economy in the construction of megalithic tombs in multiple territories, showing the representation of several prehistoric communities that raised them and their relationship with the surrounding areas.Following the meeting of the previous year, it was decided to hold Mega-Talks 2, which brought together national and international experts who have developed work related to Megalithism and Geology, in its various perspectives, from the funerary depositions to the raw material construction of the tombs, as indicators of mobility and interaction with the surrounding physical environment.Megaliths and Geology: Megálitos e Geologia presents contributions from Mega-Talks 2, held in Redondo, Portugal, on 19-20 November 2015.
Folklore and archaeology are traditionally seen as taking very different approaches to the interpretation of the past. This book explores the complex relationship between the disciplines to show what they might learn from each other.
Every generation has created its own interpretation of Stonehenge, but rarely do these relate to the physical realities of the monument. Rodney Castleden begins with those elements which made possible the building of this vast stone circle: the site, the materials and the society that undertook the enormous task of transporting and raising the great vertical stones, then capping them, all to a carefully contrived plan. What emerges from this detailed examination is a much fuller sense of Stonehenge, both in relation to all the similar sites close by, and in terms of the uses to which it was put. Castleden suggests that there is no one 'meaning' or 'purpose' for Stonehenge, that from its very beginning it has filled a variety of needs. The Romans saw it as a centre of resistance; the antiquaries who 'rediscovered' it in the seventeenth century saw a long line of continuity leading back into the nation's past. The archaeologists see it as a subject for rational, scientific investigation; The National Trust and English Heritage view it as an unfailing magnet for visitors; UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site, the cultural property of the whole of humanity. Lost to view amid competing interests over the millenia are the uses it has served for those who live within its penumbra, for whom Stonehenge has never been 'lost' or 'rediscovered'. It exists in local myth and legend, stretching back beyond history.
This book contains papers in both English and French. Proceedings of the XV World Congress UISPP (Lisbon, 4-9 September 2006) Series editor: Luiz Oosterbeek Volume 31 Session WS02
The study of paleocurrents, since 1963, is now a very routine part of sedimentology, and more and more such studies are finding use in other fields. Thus it seemed appropriate for us to review post-1963 developments and present them in a compact manner for the interested reader. Instead of rewriting a second edition, which thirteen years later we would organize in a completely dif ferent way, we have brought each chapter up to date with new material up to 1976. A new update supplement has in this edition been inserted after each one of the original chapters. We have stayed close to the original theme of paleocurrents-how to measure them and how to use them to solve geological problems ranging in scale from the hand specimen to the sedimentary basin and beyond. We have used many annotated references and tables to help pre sent this information to the reader. The reader will note that we have cited a few 1962 references - pUblications that appeared too late to be cited in the original 1963 edition. A few times we have also cited a reference which was included in the first edition. These are marked with an asterisk and hence do not appear in the new lists of references. We have been aided by many. In Cincinnati, WANDA OSBORNE and JEAN CARROL did typing and RICHARD SPOHN, the University's geological librarian, was very helpful in obtaining many references to the literature.
The Tiwanaku The city of Tiwanaku lies ruined in the rugged Andean steppe of Bolivia twelve thousand feet above sea level, the highest urban settlement of the ancient world. Its wide streets open towards ramparts of glaciated mountain peaks and the intense blue waters of Lake Titicaca. Gigantic stone sculptures and shattered architectural blocks suggest profound antiquity and the passage of great events, now lost and unremembered. Here, two and a half thousand years ago, a distinct society emerged which over the course of thirteen centuries developed one of the greatest civilizations and the first empire of the ancient Americas. This book, the first published history of the Tiwanakan peoples from their origins to their present survival, is a feat of scholarly and archaeological detection undertaken and led by the author. Alan Kolata draws together the evidence of historical documents from the time of the Iberian conquest, accounts and legends of the contemporary inhabitants, and the results of extensive excavations in order to provide a narrative covering three thousand years. In doing so he addresses and explains features of Tiwanakan culture that have long puzzled scholars: the origins of their uniquely massive architecture, the nature of their sophisticated hydraulically-engineered agriculture, their obsession with decapitation and the display of severed heads, and not least the reasons for their mysterious and sudden decline at the end of the tenth century. The book is illustrated throughout with photographs, maps and drawings, and is fully referenced and indexed. Although written to appeal to the nonspecialist and assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, this is a book of scholarly import, and likely to become the standard work for many years.
One hundred years ago it was discovered that the Stonehenge bluestones had come from a small area in West Wales. Since then, the stones have been at the centre of one of the greatest controversies in prehistory. Geologists and archaeologists have argued about how and when they were moved, and for what purpose.
This volume of 33 papers on the Atlantic region of Western Europe in the first millennium BC reflects a diverse range of theoretical approaches, techniques, and methodologies across current research, and is an opportunity to compare approaches to the first millennium BC from different national and theoretical perspectives.
The world's most artful and skillful stone architecture is found at Tiahuanaco at the southern end of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The precision of the stone masonry rivals that of the Incas to the point that writers from Spanish chroniclers of the sixteenth century to twentieth-century authors have claimed that Tiahuanaco not only served as a model for Inca architecture and stone masonry, but that the Incas even imported stonemasons from the Titicaca Basin to construct their buildings. Experiments aimed at replicating the astounding feats of the Tiahuanaco stonecutters--perfectly planar surfaces, perfect exterior and interior right angles, and precision to within 1 mm--throw light on the stonemasons' skill and knowledge, especially of geometry and mathematics. Detailed analyses of building stones yield insights into the architecture of Tiahuanaco, including its appearance, rules of composition, canons, and production, filling a significant gap in the understanding of Tiahuanaco's material culture.
