Although comparative exercises are used or applied implicitly in a large number of archaeological... more Although comparative exercises are used or applied implicitly in a large number of archaeological publications, they are often uncritically taken for granted. As such, the authors of this book have agreed to reflect on comparison as a core theme in archaeology from different perspectives, and different theoretical and practical backgrounds. The contributors come from different Universities and research contexts, and will approach themes and objects from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages, and present case studies from Western Europe, the Near East and Latin America. The different contributions will also relate archaeology with other disciplines, like Art Studies, Photography, Cinema, Computer Sciences and Anthropology and will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not only archaeologists and those interested in the area of social sciences, but for all those interested in how we, nowadays, construct the past.
2023 -Estado da Questão Coordenação editorial: José Morais Arnaud, César Neves e Andrea Martins , 2023
The walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. Foz Côa) is an intricate and labyrinthine con... more The walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. Foz Côa) is an intricate and labyrinthine constructed space characterised by a significant variety of structures. This paper focuses on large circular structures (GEC), which can be identified by their size and general ground plan. Through an analysis of these architectural units, this study hypothesises that these spaces hosted various activities, indicating the multifaceted and complex relationships between the site and the surrounding territory. The paper further explores the integration of the territory and the everyday lives of the communities within the enclosure through the formalisation and use of these spaces. From this perspective, the structures are interpreted as assembly areas - public spaces that manifest the territorial network of the enclosure.
Arqueologia e História. Revista da Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, 2017
Este texto tem como principal objetivo pensar a arquitetura em arqueologia. Propõe‑se estudar a a... more Este texto tem como principal objetivo pensar a arquitetura em arqueologia. Propõe‑se estudar a arquitetura como o gesto criativo que integra a construção e o uso do espaço, e cuja análise está entrançada nas condições de emergência dos edifícios pretéritos. Neste sentido, um conjunto de conceitos e relações serão equacionados como: habitação/construção e uso; as pequenas coisas como fazedoras de espaços, fragmento e tipo e tipologia. Esta análise parte do recinto murado de Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. de Foz Côa), datado do III milénio AC, e os exemplos apresentados não são apenas ilustrativos mas são as particularidades que permitiram estas mesmas reflexões.
GENDER TRANSFORMATIONS in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies (Edited by Julia K. Koch & Wiebke Kirleis), 2019
This paper aims to talk about the relationships between gender and space. First, I examine the id... more This paper aims to talk about the relationships between gender and space. First, I examine the idea of material space relations and gender through the work of the architect Peg Rawes and the philosopher Luce Irigaray, before presenting examples from Portuguese Chalcolithic walled enclosures, where gender roles are dependent on the interpretations of the built space, and the specific case study of Castanheiro do Vento, to question the fragmented character of these constructed spaces. I also present some examples of human burials in walled enclosures and anthropomorphic representations from late prehistory to question the fragmentation of the body and the ambiguity of the images. Lastly, I finish by concluding that the recent approaches to construction, to the use of space, and to the materials and contexts, including burials and engravings, seem to be telling us something about the construction of collective identities in prehistory, namely the concepts of fragmentation and ambiguity. This paper tries to question and understand the relationships between space and gender and will approach how space can be constructed in prehistory as well as how gender can be constructed in our understanding of past architectures.
Olhares sobre Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão: Revisitar um Recinto Pré-Histórico do Alto Douro Português (coord. Susana Soares Lopes), 2019
Este texto procura abordar os recintos murados da Pré-história Recente, tendo por base os estudos... more Este texto procura abordar os recintos murados da Pré-história Recente, tendo por base os estudos efetuados em contexto português e partindo da análise da arquitetura destes sítios. Apresenta as periodizações propostas e as problemáticas inerentes à analise da temporalidade de cada sítio e pro-cura questionar as múltiplas formas construtivas e modos de usar o espaço. Finalmente propõe-se discutir as possibilidades do tipo "recintos murados" em articulação com a singularidade de cada sítio particular.
This text aims to approach late prehistoric walled enclosures, mainly based on research conducted within a Portuguese context and through the study of the architecture of the sites. The periodization of the sites will be presented, and the problems involved in studying temporality at the "site level" will be addressed. The multiple ways of constructing and using space will also be questioned. Finally, the use of the typological designation "wal-led enclosure" will be discussed bearing in mind the singularity of each site.
Síntese dos trabalhos arqueológicos no sítio pré-histórico de Castanheiro do Vento (Vila Nova de ... more Síntese dos trabalhos arqueológicos no sítio pré-histórico de Castanheiro do Vento (Vila Nova de Foz Côa)
Fragmentation and Depositions in Pre and Proto-Historia Portugal, 2019
This text aims to approach structured depositions as assemblages that produce space, i.e., archit... more This text aims to approach structured depositions as assemblages that produce space, i.e., architecture. The interpretative context of structured depositions will be reviewed, paying particular attention to the Late Prehistoric Portuguese enclosures, and three specific contexts from the Chalcolithic walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento will be studied. It will conclude by establishing a set of relationships that emerge from the interpretation of these contexts as assemblages and as part of the architecture of the site.
A. Vale, J. Alves-Ferreira & I. Garcia-Rovira (eds.), Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology, New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017
During the first half of the twentieth century, comparative exercises attempted to establish sets... more During the first half of the twentieth century, comparative exercises attempted to establish sets of parallels in order to study the diffusion of specific cultures. However, with the advent of carbon dating in the 1960's, archaeologists like Colin Renfrew were able to question the contemporaneity of the similarities identified by culture-historical archaeology. Today, regardless of the theoretical framework, archaeology compares general plans in order to study possible contacts and networks of exchange and to study the general tendencies of ways of inhabiting enclosed spaces. However, it looks like the comparative method is widely used just to study patterns and regularities, or as a tool to emphasize the similarities between features that could fit in the same type, and less often as a way to stress the uniqueness of a context.
Although most comparative studies of the Chalcolithic walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula are the foundation of valuable archaeological synthesis, they seem to obscure the particularities of each element in being compared. Other comparative studies have been made which stressed the different contexts of use and meanings present in each site. However in some ways, this line of research seems to limit further comparison.
Recognizing the interesting and creative insights that the use of comparison in archaeology can bring us, how do we deal with the difference? Is it possible to deal with the singularities of what seems similar? If we study the general plans as the process of a formation and not as a finished form, as the drawing of growing and changing constructions rather than finished buildings, and as the result of practices of design and not as the concretization of a project, is it still possible to compare general plans? Or are we comparing the incomparable?
Resumo: A construção dos discursos explicativos acerca da Pré-história Recente pela Arqueologia t... more Resumo: A construção dos discursos explicativos acerca da Pré-história Recente pela Arqueologia tradicional assenta num conjunto de preconceitos dados como naturais (naturalizados) pela ordem patriarcal do mundo ocidental. Importa perguntar: será possível traduzir objetos em atividades e associar cada atividade a um sexo? Após décadas de crítica feminista e estudos de género, poderá a Arqueologia portuguesa continuar a perpetuar discursos de matriz androcêntrica? Como resgatar a mulher ao silêncio e às margens do discurso mas sem cair na tentação de reproduzir a sua imagem estereotipada (como mãe e deusa) no passado? Como construir um passado que fale de seres humanos?
The aim of this paper is to address some inherent principles of archaeological interpretation/exp... more The aim of this paper is to address some inherent principles of archaeological interpretation/explanation, which are usually taken for granted and go unquestioned in the practice of archaeology. The paper attempts to address the discipline as genealogy, the interpretative process as translation, and the study of each individual archaeological element as a paradigm.
A Arqueologia anglo-saxónica vive um momento de crítica às correntes pós-processualistas. As “nov... more A Arqueologia anglo-saxónica vive um momento de crítica às correntes pós-processualistas. As “novas” abordagens, apelidadas de “Arqueologia simétrica”, “Arqueologia das relações” ou simplesmente “Arqueologia das coisas”, têm como objetivo a interpretação do mundo (incluindo o “passado”) através das teias de relações entre coisas, seres não humanos e seres humanos. Na Arqueologia portuguesa, profundamente processualista, esta discussão não teve, até ao momento, qualquer repercussão. Pretende-se com este texto escrever acerca dos métodos, das implicações interpretativas mas também dos possíveis problemas destas novas perspetivas.
No contexto dos recintos murados da Pré-História Recente Peninsular, a nomenclatura “estrutura ci... more No contexto dos recintos murados da Pré-História Recente Peninsular, a nomenclatura “estrutura circular” é normalmente associada à esfera doméstica. Refere-se, geralmente, à ideia de casa, albergando todos os pressupostos inerentes a este conceito. No entanto, a neutralidade do nome “estruturas circulares” parece contrastar com a multiplicidade de abordagens possíveis. No sítio de Castanheiro do Vento (Horta do Douro, Vila Nova de Foz Côa) foi identificado um conjunto de estruturas circulares datado genericamente do IIIº /inícios do IIº milénio AC. Procura-se neste exercício apresentar estas unidades e sublinhar a sua diversidade contextual.
Although comparative exercises are used or applied implicitly in a large number of archaeological... more Although comparative exercises are used or applied implicitly in a large number of archaeological publications, they are often uncritically taken for granted. As such, the authors of this book have agreed to reflect on comparison as a core theme in archaeology from different perspectives, and different theoretical and practical backgrounds. The contributors come from different Universities and research contexts, and will approach themes and objects from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages, and present case studies from Western Europe, the Near East and Latin America. The different contributions will also relate archaeology with other disciplines, like Art Studies, Photography, Cinema, Computer Sciences and Anthropology and will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not only archaeologists and those interested in the area of social sciences, but for all those interested in how we, nowadays, construct the past.
2023 -Estado da Questão Coordenação editorial: José Morais Arnaud, César Neves e Andrea Martins , 2023
The walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. Foz Côa) is an intricate and labyrinthine con... more The walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. Foz Côa) is an intricate and labyrinthine constructed space characterised by a significant variety of structures. This paper focuses on large circular structures (GEC), which can be identified by their size and general ground plan. Through an analysis of these architectural units, this study hypothesises that these spaces hosted various activities, indicating the multifaceted and complex relationships between the site and the surrounding territory. The paper further explores the integration of the territory and the everyday lives of the communities within the enclosure through the formalisation and use of these spaces. From this perspective, the structures are interpreted as assembly areas - public spaces that manifest the territorial network of the enclosure.
Arqueologia e História. Revista da Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, 2017
Este texto tem como principal objetivo pensar a arquitetura em arqueologia. Propõe‑se estudar a a... more Este texto tem como principal objetivo pensar a arquitetura em arqueologia. Propõe‑se estudar a arquitetura como o gesto criativo que integra a construção e o uso do espaço, e cuja análise está entrançada nas condições de emergência dos edifícios pretéritos. Neste sentido, um conjunto de conceitos e relações serão equacionados como: habitação/construção e uso; as pequenas coisas como fazedoras de espaços, fragmento e tipo e tipologia. Esta análise parte do recinto murado de Castanheiro do Vento (V. N. de Foz Côa), datado do III milénio AC, e os exemplos apresentados não são apenas ilustrativos mas são as particularidades que permitiram estas mesmas reflexões.
GENDER TRANSFORMATIONS in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies (Edited by Julia K. Koch & Wiebke Kirleis), 2019
This paper aims to talk about the relationships between gender and space. First, I examine the id... more This paper aims to talk about the relationships between gender and space. First, I examine the idea of material space relations and gender through the work of the architect Peg Rawes and the philosopher Luce Irigaray, before presenting examples from Portuguese Chalcolithic walled enclosures, where gender roles are dependent on the interpretations of the built space, and the specific case study of Castanheiro do Vento, to question the fragmented character of these constructed spaces. I also present some examples of human burials in walled enclosures and anthropomorphic representations from late prehistory to question the fragmentation of the body and the ambiguity of the images. Lastly, I finish by concluding that the recent approaches to construction, to the use of space, and to the materials and contexts, including burials and engravings, seem to be telling us something about the construction of collective identities in prehistory, namely the concepts of fragmentation and ambiguity. This paper tries to question and understand the relationships between space and gender and will approach how space can be constructed in prehistory as well as how gender can be constructed in our understanding of past architectures.
Olhares sobre Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão: Revisitar um Recinto Pré-Histórico do Alto Douro Português (coord. Susana Soares Lopes), 2019
Este texto procura abordar os recintos murados da Pré-história Recente, tendo por base os estudos... more Este texto procura abordar os recintos murados da Pré-história Recente, tendo por base os estudos efetuados em contexto português e partindo da análise da arquitetura destes sítios. Apresenta as periodizações propostas e as problemáticas inerentes à analise da temporalidade de cada sítio e pro-cura questionar as múltiplas formas construtivas e modos de usar o espaço. Finalmente propõe-se discutir as possibilidades do tipo "recintos murados" em articulação com a singularidade de cada sítio particular.
This text aims to approach late prehistoric walled enclosures, mainly based on research conducted within a Portuguese context and through the study of the architecture of the sites. The periodization of the sites will be presented, and the problems involved in studying temporality at the "site level" will be addressed. The multiple ways of constructing and using space will also be questioned. Finally, the use of the typological designation "wal-led enclosure" will be discussed bearing in mind the singularity of each site.
Síntese dos trabalhos arqueológicos no sítio pré-histórico de Castanheiro do Vento (Vila Nova de ... more Síntese dos trabalhos arqueológicos no sítio pré-histórico de Castanheiro do Vento (Vila Nova de Foz Côa)
Fragmentation and Depositions in Pre and Proto-Historia Portugal, 2019
This text aims to approach structured depositions as assemblages that produce space, i.e., archit... more This text aims to approach structured depositions as assemblages that produce space, i.e., architecture. The interpretative context of structured depositions will be reviewed, paying particular attention to the Late Prehistoric Portuguese enclosures, and three specific contexts from the Chalcolithic walled enclosure of Castanheiro do Vento will be studied. It will conclude by establishing a set of relationships that emerge from the interpretation of these contexts as assemblages and as part of the architecture of the site.
A. Vale, J. Alves-Ferreira & I. Garcia-Rovira (eds.), Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology, New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017
During the first half of the twentieth century, comparative exercises attempted to establish sets... more During the first half of the twentieth century, comparative exercises attempted to establish sets of parallels in order to study the diffusion of specific cultures. However, with the advent of carbon dating in the 1960's, archaeologists like Colin Renfrew were able to question the contemporaneity of the similarities identified by culture-historical archaeology. Today, regardless of the theoretical framework, archaeology compares general plans in order to study possible contacts and networks of exchange and to study the general tendencies of ways of inhabiting enclosed spaces. However, it looks like the comparative method is widely used just to study patterns and regularities, or as a tool to emphasize the similarities between features that could fit in the same type, and less often as a way to stress the uniqueness of a context.
Although most comparative studies of the Chalcolithic walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula are the foundation of valuable archaeological synthesis, they seem to obscure the particularities of each element in being compared. Other comparative studies have been made which stressed the different contexts of use and meanings present in each site. However in some ways, this line of research seems to limit further comparison.
Recognizing the interesting and creative insights that the use of comparison in archaeology can bring us, how do we deal with the difference? Is it possible to deal with the singularities of what seems similar? If we study the general plans as the process of a formation and not as a finished form, as the drawing of growing and changing constructions rather than finished buildings, and as the result of practices of design and not as the concretization of a project, is it still possible to compare general plans? Or are we comparing the incomparable?
Resumo: A construção dos discursos explicativos acerca da Pré-história Recente pela Arqueologia t... more Resumo: A construção dos discursos explicativos acerca da Pré-história Recente pela Arqueologia tradicional assenta num conjunto de preconceitos dados como naturais (naturalizados) pela ordem patriarcal do mundo ocidental. Importa perguntar: será possível traduzir objetos em atividades e associar cada atividade a um sexo? Após décadas de crítica feminista e estudos de género, poderá a Arqueologia portuguesa continuar a perpetuar discursos de matriz androcêntrica? Como resgatar a mulher ao silêncio e às margens do discurso mas sem cair na tentação de reproduzir a sua imagem estereotipada (como mãe e deusa) no passado? Como construir um passado que fale de seres humanos?
The aim of this paper is to address some inherent principles of archaeological interpretation/exp... more The aim of this paper is to address some inherent principles of archaeological interpretation/explanation, which are usually taken for granted and go unquestioned in the practice of archaeology. The paper attempts to address the discipline as genealogy, the interpretative process as translation, and the study of each individual archaeological element as a paradigm.
A Arqueologia anglo-saxónica vive um momento de crítica às correntes pós-processualistas. As “nov... more A Arqueologia anglo-saxónica vive um momento de crítica às correntes pós-processualistas. As “novas” abordagens, apelidadas de “Arqueologia simétrica”, “Arqueologia das relações” ou simplesmente “Arqueologia das coisas”, têm como objetivo a interpretação do mundo (incluindo o “passado”) através das teias de relações entre coisas, seres não humanos e seres humanos. Na Arqueologia portuguesa, profundamente processualista, esta discussão não teve, até ao momento, qualquer repercussão. Pretende-se com este texto escrever acerca dos métodos, das implicações interpretativas mas também dos possíveis problemas destas novas perspetivas.
No contexto dos recintos murados da Pré-História Recente Peninsular, a nomenclatura “estrutura ci... more No contexto dos recintos murados da Pré-História Recente Peninsular, a nomenclatura “estrutura circular” é normalmente associada à esfera doméstica. Refere-se, geralmente, à ideia de casa, albergando todos os pressupostos inerentes a este conceito. No entanto, a neutralidade do nome “estruturas circulares” parece contrastar com a multiplicidade de abordagens possíveis. No sítio de Castanheiro do Vento (Horta do Douro, Vila Nova de Foz Côa) foi identificado um conjunto de estruturas circulares datado genericamente do IIIº /inícios do IIº milénio AC. Procura-se neste exercício apresentar estas unidades e sublinhar a sua diversidade contextual.
Can archaeology become a place of resistance in terms of becoming-revolutionary and becoming-ethi... more Can archaeology become a place of resistance in terms of becoming-revolutionary and becoming-ethical? In 1933, explicitly responding to Hitler's 'take-over of power', Vere Gordon Childe addressed the political reality of his time and asked: "Is Prehistory Practical?" Driven by his own unrest, he wrote that: "in 1933 it can hardly be alleged that Prehistory is a useless study, wholly remote from and irrelevant to practical life" (Childe 1933: 410), and it was by addressing his reality-his actuality-that he pointed to the political and ethical conditions of archaeology's place in contemporaneity. Thus, the issue raised in "Is Prehistory Practical?" encompasses not only resistance to the present but both the diagnosis of archaeology's inadequacy when facing its time and the creative prognosis for its actual becoming-other, even if that is uncertain. Whether in 1933 or now, Childe's question points towards the thought of resistance as a response that is both political and ethical. The thought of resistance resists representation as it is not simply the inverted image of power, and neither embodies a form of non-power, or is radically liberating. Resistance is a mode of existence: becoming-always and already. Resistance is an act of creation: political, ontological, aesthetical and ethical. Therefore, resistance is an inventive practice of new knowledge and meanings yet to come via diversity, multiplicity and the destruction of identity as representation. Resistance is untimely. In this sense, how can we make archaeology practical? How can we respond as present-becoming? How can we make it untimely? We are interested in critically approaching archaeology as a place for practical invention. As an always-experimental process of learning, in which materials from the past are an endless source of knowing and acting upon our historical conditions. We encourage contributions from different theoretical and political perspectives, and distinct chronologies.
Identity has always been a central issue in the interpretation of the archaeological record. If w... more Identity has always been a central issue in the interpretation of the archaeological record. If we look at the history of the discipline, we can identify different approaches to the question, " how can we recognize identities through material evidence? " In response, archaeologists have created many different areas of research, such as: social identity; ethnicity; gender; and the contemporary political use of cultural identities. These studies have allowed a better understanding of past communities and have contributed to the understanding of archaeologists as social and political actors mediating cultural diversity. Recently, identity as a concept to discuss the archaeological record seems to have been overshadowed by concepts such as networks, social and cultural contact, mobility, ritual, and the body. However, all these views are profoundly linked to identity through their exploration of different aspects of the dynamics of social identity. These perspectives, even if not foregrounding identity, have enlarged the understanding of the complexity and instability of the processes under which identities are created and negotiated, adding to archaeological research questions regarding the transversality, liminality, mutability, performativity, intermediality and fluidity of identity. In this session, we aim to re-approach the concept of identity by considering the contributions from different theoretical perspectives, different objects of analysis and different analytical methods. We welcome papers focusing on distinct aspects of material culture and chronologies, in order to enhance our ability to address identity from an archaeological point of view and to understand the elusive alterity of the past.
Comparison in archaeology is used in a multitude of ways and on various different levels, and in ... more Comparison in archaeology is used in a multitude of ways and on various different levels, and in some sense we are always comparing. We know that an object is a something and not something else because we can compare previous examples of objects to the object we are trying to understand. Whether we compare archaeological material between sites or general site plans, we establish correspondences of similarity and draw lines of connection between forms that can fit in the same morphological type, even when what we intend to do is compare to demonstrate the differences. Comparison necessitates the selection and hierarchy of archaeological features and things in order to structure what we are comparing. We compare in order to classify and to define parallels but also, and very often, in order to explain archaeological sites and objects as if the fixed form described by the archaeologist (by putting forward the similarities or studying the differences) brings with it its own explanation. If we take the walled enclosures of the Iberian Peninsula as an example, we can see that they have been interpreted as fortified settlements because of the similarity of their ground plans (although a comparative study by Susana O. Jorge problematized this approach in 1994). However, when we compare site plans (for example), are we just comparing the similarities of the architectonic devices or do we want to understand similar social practices which were materialized in comparable buildings? In many cases, the comparison of similar site plans is undertaken as a routine exercise in archaeology without a reflection on the methods and the limits of the exercise. This session aims to promote reflection on comparison in Archaeology, its methods, contexts of use and limits. We welcome papers that address these questions with more theoretical approaches as well by the presentation of particular case studies.
Este encontro foi pensado para assinalar a 20ª sessão do ciclo Seminários em Pré-história. A Arqu... more Este encontro foi pensado para assinalar a 20ª sessão do ciclo Seminários em Pré-história. A Arqueologia, a Arquitectura e a Arte, realizado desde 2014 na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto e enquadrado nas ações do Departamento de Técnicas e Ciências do Património (DCTP/FLUP), em colaboração com o CEAACP (entre 2014 e 2016) e o CITCEM (2017 e 2018).
Com esta mesa-redonda procuramos congregar todas as instituições envolvidas e chamar outras ligações. Para que, destas práticas, outras reuniões e associações possam emergir.
Identity has always been a central issue in the interpretation of the archaeological record. If w... more Identity has always been a central issue in the interpretation of the archaeological record. If we look at the history of the discipline, we can identify different approaches to the question, " how can we recognize identities through material evidence? " In response, archaeologists have created many different areas of research, such as: social identity; ethnicity; gender; and the contemporary political use of cultural identities. These studies have allowed a better understanding of past communities and have contributed to the understanding of archaeologists as social and political actors mediating cultural diversity. Recently, identity as a concept to discuss the archaeological record seems to have been overshadowed by concepts such as networks, social and cultural contact, mobility, ritual, and the body. However, all these views are profoundly linked to identity through their exploration of different aspects of the dynamics of social identity. These perspectives, even if not foregrounding identity, have enlarged the understanding of the complexity and instability of the processes under which identities are created and negotiated, adding to archaeological research questions regarding the transversality, liminality, mutability, performativity, intermediality and fluidity of identity. In this session, we aim to re-approach the concept of identity by considering the contributions from different theoretical perspectives, different objects of analysis and different analytical methods. We welcome papers focusing on distinct aspects of material culture and chronologies, in order to enhance our ability to address identity from an archaeological point of view and to understand the elusive alterity of the past.
Paper presented at the session Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology, TAG, Manchester, UK, 15-17 D... more Paper presented at the session Rethinking Comparison in Archaeology, TAG, Manchester, UK, 15-17 December, 2014
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which can be identified by their size and general ground plan. Through an analysis of these architectural units, this study hypothesises that these spaces hosted various activities, indicating the multifaceted and complex
relationships between the site and the surrounding territory. The paper further explores the integration of the territory and the everyday lives of the communities within the enclosure through the formalisation and use
of these spaces. From this perspective, the structures are interpreted as assembly areas - public spaces that manifest the territorial network of the enclosure.
representations from late prehistory to question the fragmentation of the body and the ambiguity of the images. Lastly, I finish by concluding that the recent approaches to construction, to the use of space, and to the materials and contexts, including burials and engravings, seem to be telling us something about the construction of collective identities in prehistory, namely the concepts of fragmentation and ambiguity. This paper tries to question and understand the relationships between space and gender and will approach how space can be constructed in prehistory as well as how gender can be constructed in our understanding of past architectures.
This text aims to approach late prehistoric walled enclosures, mainly based on research conducted within a Portuguese context and through the study of the architecture of the sites. The periodization of the sites will be presented, and the problems involved in studying temporality at the "site level" will be addressed. The multiple ways of constructing and using space will also be questioned. Finally, the use of the typological designation "wal-led enclosure" will be discussed bearing in mind the singularity of each site.
Although most comparative studies of the Chalcolithic walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula are the foundation of valuable archaeological synthesis, they seem to obscure the particularities of each element in being compared. Other comparative studies have been made which stressed the different contexts of use and meanings present in each site. However in some ways, this line of research seems to limit further comparison.
Recognizing the interesting and creative insights that the use of comparison in archaeology can bring us, how do we deal with the difference? Is it possible to deal with the singularities of what seems similar? If we study the general plans as the process of a formation and not as a finished form, as the drawing of growing and changing constructions rather than finished buildings, and as the result of practices of design and not as the concretization of a project, is it still possible to compare general plans? Or are we comparing the incomparable?
which can be identified by their size and general ground plan. Through an analysis of these architectural units, this study hypothesises that these spaces hosted various activities, indicating the multifaceted and complex
relationships between the site and the surrounding territory. The paper further explores the integration of the territory and the everyday lives of the communities within the enclosure through the formalisation and use
of these spaces. From this perspective, the structures are interpreted as assembly areas - public spaces that manifest the territorial network of the enclosure.
representations from late prehistory to question the fragmentation of the body and the ambiguity of the images. Lastly, I finish by concluding that the recent approaches to construction, to the use of space, and to the materials and contexts, including burials and engravings, seem to be telling us something about the construction of collective identities in prehistory, namely the concepts of fragmentation and ambiguity. This paper tries to question and understand the relationships between space and gender and will approach how space can be constructed in prehistory as well as how gender can be constructed in our understanding of past architectures.
This text aims to approach late prehistoric walled enclosures, mainly based on research conducted within a Portuguese context and through the study of the architecture of the sites. The periodization of the sites will be presented, and the problems involved in studying temporality at the "site level" will be addressed. The multiple ways of constructing and using space will also be questioned. Finally, the use of the typological designation "wal-led enclosure" will be discussed bearing in mind the singularity of each site.
Although most comparative studies of the Chalcolithic walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula are the foundation of valuable archaeological synthesis, they seem to obscure the particularities of each element in being compared. Other comparative studies have been made which stressed the different contexts of use and meanings present in each site. However in some ways, this line of research seems to limit further comparison.
Recognizing the interesting and creative insights that the use of comparison in archaeology can bring us, how do we deal with the difference? Is it possible to deal with the singularities of what seems similar? If we study the general plans as the process of a formation and not as a finished form, as the drawing of growing and changing constructions rather than finished buildings, and as the result of practices of design and not as the concretization of a project, is it still possible to compare general plans? Or are we comparing the incomparable?
The thought of resistance resists representation as it is not simply the inverted image of power, and neither embodies a form of non-power, or is radically liberating. Resistance is a mode of existence: becoming-always and already. Resistance is an act of creation: political, ontological, aesthetical and ethical. Therefore, resistance is an inventive practice of new knowledge and meanings yet to come via diversity, multiplicity and the destruction of identity as representation. Resistance is untimely. In this sense, how can we make archaeology practical? How can we respond as present-becoming? How can we make it untimely?
We are interested in critically approaching archaeology as a place for practical invention. As an always-experimental process of learning, in which materials from the past are an endless source of knowing and acting upon our historical conditions. We encourage contributions from different theoretical and political perspectives, and distinct chronologies.
If we take the walled enclosures of the Iberian Peninsula as an example, we can see that they have been interpreted as fortified settlements because of the similarity of their ground plans (although a comparative study by Susana O. Jorge problematized this approach in 1994). However, when we compare site plans (for example), are we just comparing the similarities of the architectonic devices or do we want to understand similar social practices which were materialized in comparable buildings? In many cases, the comparison of similar site plans is undertaken as a routine exercise in archaeology without a reflection on the methods and the limits of the exercise.
This session aims to promote reflection on comparison in Archaeology, its methods, contexts of use and limits. We welcome papers that address these questions with more theoretical approaches as well by the presentation of particular case studies.
Com esta mesa-redonda procuramos congregar todas as instituições envolvidas e chamar outras ligações. Para que, destas práticas, outras reuniões e associações possam emergir.