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Lives of Stone, Lives of People: Re-Viewing the Engraved Plaques of Late Neolithic and Copper Age Iberia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Katina Lillios*
Affiliation:
The University of Iowa, USA
*

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.

Pendant plus d'un siècle, les préhistoriens ont abordé les plaques gravées en pierre du néolithique récent et du chalcolithique ibérique (3000–2500 av.J.-C.) d'un point de vue monolithique et idéaliste, en les considérant comme représentations d'une déesse mère. La plupart d'entre eux n'ont pas tenu compte ni de la variabilité de ces plaques, ni de leur méthode de réalisation, de l'organisation de leur fabrication ou de leurs biographies. Cet article présente de nouvelles interprétations des plaques ibériques basées sur le premier catalogue complet en ligne – le Engraved Stone Plaque Registry and Inquiry Tool (ESPRIT) (Lillios 2004) – qui contient les données de plus de 1100 plaques, toutes uniques, provenant de plus de 200 sites du Portugal et de l'Espagne. Les analyses de la matière première des plaques, de leur style, de la chaîne opératoire et de leur répartition dans l'espace laissent penser que les différents types de plaques avaient des fonctions et des significations spécifiques, qui évoluaient avec le temps. Deux espèces de plaques, les plaques classiques et les plaques biomorphiques simples, sont étudiées dans cet article. Dans leurs formes diverses, les plaques ibériques semblent avoir été les témoins durables de l'identité de groupes locaux et régionaux et pourraient avoir contribué à légitimer et maintenir une idéologie basée sur des différences sociales héréditaires durant le néolithique récent et le chalcolithique de la péninsule Ibérique.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Mehr als ein Jahrhundert lang haben Prähistoriker die gravierten Steintafeln des späten Neolithikums und der Kupferzeit auf der Iberischen Halbinsel (3000–2500 v. Chr.) aus einer monolithischen und idealistischen Perspektive als Darstellungen der Muttergöttin betrachtet. Die meisten von ihnen haben dabei die Variabilität, ihre Herstellungsweise, die Organisation ihrer Produktion oder ihre Biographien nicht gewürdigt. Auf der Basis des ersten umfassenden Online-Kataloges der Tafeln, des Engraved Stone Plaque Registry and Inquiry Tool (ESPRIT) (Lilios 2004), der Informationen zu mehr als 1.100 einzelnen Stücken von über 200 Fundplätzen in Portugal and Spanien enthält, präsentiert dieser Aufsatz neue Interpretationen der Iberischen Steintafeln. Analysen von Rohmaterialien, Stil, Herstellungskette und räumlicher Verteilung deuten darauf hin, dass verschiedene Tafeltypen verschiedene Bedeutungen und Funktionen hatten, die sich im Laufe der Zeit verändert haben. Zwei Tafeltypen, die klassischen und die einfachen biomorphen Exemplare, werden in diesem Aufsatz behandelt. In ihren verschiedenen Formen scheinen die iberischen Steintafeln dauerhafte Aufzeichnungen regionaler und lokaler Gruppen-Identitäten gewesen zu sein und könnten zur Legitimierung und Fortsetzung einer Ideologie ererbter sozialer Unterschiede im späten Neolithikum und der Kupferzeit auf der Iberischen Halbinsel beigetragen haben.

Desde há mais de um século que o tema das placas de xisto decoradas do Neolítico final e do Calcolítico da Península Ibérica (3000–2500 BC) tem sido abordado pelos pré-historiadores sob uma perspectiva monolítica e idealista, em que as placas são vistas como representações da DeusaMãe. As respectivas variabilidade, técnica de fabricação e biografia só muito raramente foram objecto de tratamento. Neste artigo, propõem-se novas interpretações das placas ibéricas baseadas num catálogo on-line exaustivo, o Engraved Stone Plaque Registry and Inquiry Tool (ESPRIT) (Lillios 2004), o primeiro do seu género, com mais de 1100 entradas para outras tantas placas provenientes de mais de 200 sítios de Portugal e Espanha. A análise da matéria-prima, do estilo, da cadeia operatória e da distribuição espacial sugere que aos diferentes tipos de placas correspondiam funções e significados também eles diferentes, e que os mesmos terão mudado ao longo do tempo. Discutem-se fundamentalmente dois tipos de placas: as Clássicas e as Biomórficas. Nas suas diversas formas, as placas ibéricas parecem ter constituído registos duráveis da identidade dos grupos humanos, tanto a nível regional como local, e podem ter contribuído para a legitimação e perpetuação no Neolítico final e no Calcolítico da Península Ibérica de uma ideologia de transmissão hereditária da diferenciação social.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Sage Publications 

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