Journal article
Lives of Stone, Lives of People: Re-Viewing the Engraved Plaques of Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia
European journal of archaeology, Vol.7(2), pp.125-158
2004
DOI: 10.1177/1461957104053712
Abstract
For over a century prehistorians have approached the engraved stone plaques of the Iberian late Neolithic and Copper Age (3000–2500 BC) from a monolithic and idealist perspective, viewing the plaques as representations of the Mother Goddess. Most have not addressed the plaques' variability, their method of manufacture, the organization of their production, or their biographies. This article presents new interpretations of the Iberian plaques based on the first comprehensive on-line catalogue of the plaques – the Engraved Stone Plaque Registry and Inquiry Tool (ESPRIT) (Lillios 2004) – which holds records for over 1100 plaques, each unique, from over 200 sites in Portugal and Spain. Analyses of the plaques' raw material, style, chaîne opératoire, and distribution over space suggest that different plaque types had different functions and meanings, which shifted over time. Two plaque types: the Classic plaques and the Biomorphic Simple plaques are considered in this article. In their diverse forms, the Iberian plaques appear to have been durable records of regional and local group identities and could have contributed toward legitimating and perpetuating an ideology of inherited social difference in the Iberian late Neolithic and Copper Age.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Lives of Stone, Lives of People: Re-Viewing the Engraved Plaques of Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia
- Creators
- Katina Lillios - The University of Iowa, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- European journal of archaeology, Vol.7(2), pp.125-158
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, UK
- DOI
- 10.1177/1461957104053712
- ISSN
- 1461-9571
- eISSN
- 1741-2722
- Number of pages
- 34
- Alternative title
- Lillios: Lives of Stone, Lives of People
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2004
- Academic Unit
- International Programs; Anthropology
- Record Identifier
- 9983984520102771
Metrics
16 Record Views