Megasites in Prehistoric Europe: Where Strangers and Kinsfolk Met

by Bisserka Gaydarska, John Chapman

Overview

This is an Element about some of the largest sites known in prehistoric Europe – sites so vast that they often remain undiscussed for lack of the theoretical or methodological tools required for their understanding. Here, the authors use a relational, comparative approach to identify not only what made megasites but also what made megasites so special and so large. They have selected a sample of megasites in each major period of prehistory – Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages – with a detailed examination of a single representative megasite for each period. The relational approach makes explicit comparisons between smaller, more 'normal' sites and the megasites using six criteria – scale, temporality, deposition / monumentality, formal open spaces, performance and congregational catchment. The authors argue that many of the largest European prehistoric megasites were congregational places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009096607
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/27/2022
Series:	Elements in the Archaeology of Europe
Pages:	75
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.26(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Trypillia megasites, Ukraine; 3. Neolithic and Copper Age sites in the Balkans and Central Europe; 4. Neolithic and Copper Age sites in France and Iberia; 5. Bronze Age megasites; 6. Iron Age megasites – from Bil'sk to Bagendon; 7. Discussion and conclusions.