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Megalithic Art and Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

George Eogan
George Eogan
Affiliation:
59 Brighton Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland
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Abstract

Megalithic art is associated with passage tombs in Atlantic Europe. But it is not found in all areas, rather it has a restricted distribution. In those areas where it occurs it is very often associated with large and, therefore, prestigious tombs. These tombs have a confined distribution within defined areas. It can be argued that such areas indicate tribal regions within which elite societies existed and where cohesion was provided by a leader, possibly in the form of a chief.

Résumé

L’art mégalithique est associé aux tombes à couloir en Europe Atlantique. Mais on ne le trouve pas dans toutes les régions, il a une répartition plutôt limitée. Dans les régions où il existe, il est très souvent associé à des tombes importantes et, de ce fait, prestigieuses. Ces tombes ont une répartition limitée dans des régions bien définies. On peut argumenter que de telles régions constituaient des régions tribales à l’intérieur desquelles existaient des sociétés structurées qui s’organisaient autour d’un leader, peut-être sous la forme d’un chef qui assurait la cohésion du groupe.

Zusammenfassung

Dieser Artikel stellt einen Vortrag dar, der als „Europa-Vorlesung“ 1998 gegeben wurde. Megalithische Kunst ist im Atlantischen Europa mit Ganggräbern assoziiert. Sie kann aber nicht in allen Gebieten gefunden werden sondern weist eher eine begrenzte Verbreitung auf. In ihrem Verbreitungsgebiet ist sie oft assoziiert mit großen und deshalb prestigeträchtigen Gräbern. Diese Gräber haben eine klar umrissene Verbreitung innerhalb definierter Gebiete. Es kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass es sich dabei um Stammesgebiete handelt, in denen Elite-Gesellschaften existierten, und in denen der Zusammenhalt von einem Führer, wahrscheinlich in der Gestalt eines Häuptlings, gewährleistet wurde.

Résumen

En la Europa atlántica, el arte megalítico aparece asociado con tumbas de tipo dolmen con pasillo. Pero no aparece de modo general en toda esta zona, más bien tiene una distribución restringida. En las zonas donde sí aparece, lo hace a menudo asociado con tumbas grandes y por lo tanto, prestigiosas. Estas tumbas tienen una distribución limitada a zonas definidas. Se puede decir que tales zonas constituyen territorios tribales en los cuales existían élites sociales y donde la cohexión era dada por un leader, probablemente un jefe.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 65 , 1999 , pp. 415 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1999

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