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A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith

A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith
A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith
The scientific study of Neolithic monuments holds fundamental keys to the analysis of early social complexity. This is often impeded by the challenges involved in understanding their temporality and, particularly, their initial construction dates. This problem is most severe in monuments that were not predominantly used for burial and went on to have long biographies in which activity in later periods obliterated the material record of the earliest phases. That was certainly the case of the Menga dolmen, part of the Antequera World Heritage site (Málaga, Spain), and one of the most remarkable megaliths in Europe, for which, after nearly 200 years of explorations and research, no firm chronology existed. The research presented in this paper shows how this problem was tackled through a multimethod, scientific, and geoarchaeological approach. The analysis of 29 fresh numerical ages, including radiocarbon determinations as well as optically stimulated luminescence, thermoluminescence, and uranium-thorium dates, led to the successful establishment of Menga’s construction date and the subsequent contextualization of the monument within the social and cultural background it arose in. Placing the dolmen in the context of its time of “birth” introduces entirely new possibilities for its interpretation, both in terms of local and supralocal social and cultural processes.
Bayesian modeling, Megaliths, Neolithic, Optically stimulated luminescence, Radiocarbon, Thermoluminescence, Uranium-thorium series
0033-5894
1-20
García Sanjuán, Leonardo
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Medialdea, Alicia
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Balsera Nieto, Verónica
de16b247-466b-41b5-9a96-e14584ff42a9
Athanassas, Constantin
d4b4d806-1dc4-481b-b37d-a696ac2d7051
Pike, Alistair
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Standish, Christopher D.
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Dias, Maria Isabel
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Rodrigues, Ana Luisa
22ac5a8e-c401-40a1-adba-b810deeff49f
Clavero Toledo, José Luis
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Wheatley, David W.
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Cintas-Peña, Marta
5ed18ed8-7487-4559-845f-7f2007141428
García Sanjuán, Leonardo
851f3de0-3c32-4ab8-beb0-bf743ae6a72e
Medialdea, Alicia
1e0a0d5f-e9f5-417d-90d9-2956fa8706ee
Balsera Nieto, Verónica
de16b247-466b-41b5-9a96-e14584ff42a9
Athanassas, Constantin
d4b4d806-1dc4-481b-b37d-a696ac2d7051
Pike, Alistair
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Standish, Christopher D.
0b996271-da5d-4c4f-9e05-a2ec90e8561d
Dias, Maria Isabel
7f693f82-7215-4eac-b1b7-fc3f6211e3aa
Rodrigues, Ana Luisa
22ac5a8e-c401-40a1-adba-b810deeff49f
Clavero Toledo, José Luis
5f6d7336-6290-410c-aa8c-215c39042650
Wheatley, David W.
58266ad0-4ea1-4b1b-a8c3-9fd902931828
Cintas-Peña, Marta
5ed18ed8-7487-4559-845f-7f2007141428

García Sanjuán, Leonardo, Medialdea, Alicia, Balsera Nieto, Verónica, Athanassas, Constantin, Pike, Alistair, Standish, Christopher D., Dias, Maria Isabel, Rodrigues, Ana Luisa, Clavero Toledo, José Luis, Wheatley, David W. and Cintas-Peña, Marta (2023) A multimethod approach to the genesis of Menga, a World Heritage megalith. Quaternary Research, 111, 1-20. (doi:10.1017/qua.2022.33).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The scientific study of Neolithic monuments holds fundamental keys to the analysis of early social complexity. This is often impeded by the challenges involved in understanding their temporality and, particularly, their initial construction dates. This problem is most severe in monuments that were not predominantly used for burial and went on to have long biographies in which activity in later periods obliterated the material record of the earliest phases. That was certainly the case of the Menga dolmen, part of the Antequera World Heritage site (Málaga, Spain), and one of the most remarkable megaliths in Europe, for which, after nearly 200 years of explorations and research, no firm chronology existed. The research presented in this paper shows how this problem was tackled through a multimethod, scientific, and geoarchaeological approach. The analysis of 29 fresh numerical ages, including radiocarbon determinations as well as optically stimulated luminescence, thermoluminescence, and uranium-thorium dates, led to the successful establishment of Menga’s construction date and the subsequent contextualization of the monument within the social and cultural background it arose in. Placing the dolmen in the context of its time of “birth” introduces entirely new possibilities for its interpretation, both in terms of local and supralocal social and cultural processes.

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Garcia Sanjuan et al 2022 A multimethod approach to the genesis of menga a world heritage megalith - Version of Record
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e-pub ahead of print date: 12 August 2022
Published date: January 2023
Keywords: Bayesian modeling, Megaliths, Neolithic, Optically stimulated luminescence, Radiocarbon, Thermoluminescence, Uranium-thorium series

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Local EPrints ID: 470780
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470780
ISSN: 0033-5894
PURE UUID: dbbaed35-66a2-4c4a-a3df-db3cbe67bcff
ORCID for Alistair Pike: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-8948
ORCID for Christopher D. Standish: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9726-295X
ORCID for David W. Wheatley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-704X

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Date deposited: 19 Oct 2022 17:09
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 01:52

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Contributors

Author: Leonardo García Sanjuán
Author: Alicia Medialdea
Author: Verónica Balsera Nieto
Author: Constantin Athanassas
Author: Alistair Pike ORCID iD
Author: Maria Isabel Dias
Author: Ana Luisa Rodrigues
Author: José Luis Clavero Toledo
Author: Marta Cintas-Peña

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