Recent Prehistory Enclosures

Between 1994 and 2003 I published some reflections on the validity of different approaches to the interpretation of the so-called 'fortified settlements' or 'walled enclosures' of the 4. th to the 2. nd millennia BC in the Iberian Peninsula. It seems opportune to publish some of these papers again, if only in part, but this time in English. The first was originally published in 1994, and presented for the first time a different perspective on the theme. In the present version the inventory and a final section have been omitted, and the absolute dates have been calibrated. The second, originally published in 2002, is part of a longer article on the history of the site of Castelo Velho de Freixo de Numão. The chapter published here is a reflection on the multifunctionality of the site in the context of contemporary walled enclosures in the Peninsula. The third and shortest text, as yet unpublished but circulated in the archaeological community, is a summary of a paper presented at an international round table held on the 15 th and 16 th May 2003 at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Oporto, on the subject " Late prehistoric walled enclosures ". The three texts capture three stages in the personal development of an alternative view of late prehistoric walled enclosures in the Iberian Peninsula. This view calls for a dual interpretative strategy: an approach to these places within the hermeneutic framework of the anthropology of space, and their specific evaluation, including the chronological-cultural context and the interpretative systems employed in Europe for these generally similar and contemporary sites.

The complex architectural design, numerous deliberate depositions, and the finds suggest that the circular enclosure of Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Saxony-Anhalt, was used as a place for various social practices, performances and ritual activities. It is one of the few sanctuaries from the late 3rd millennium BC in central Europe. Of particular importance are several flat graves and 29 shaft-like pits containing offerings or disposed ceremonial paraphernalia. The “regular” graves respect the enclosure’s layout. They only contained the skeletal remains of males of mainly adult age. The formal burial within the enclosure was probably not something granted to everyone. In contrast to this group are female, infant and juvenile individuals that were thrown into the aforementioned deposition shafts. Most of them miss body parts and some skeletons bear multiple perimortal trauma. The evidence indicates that these individuals were treated impiously and that some were killed.
The gendered burial practices in the Pömmelte enclosure not only show that it served as a place to reinforce social order. They also indicate that this included gender specific violence. Contextual information suggests these acts of violence were legitimized by their ritual meaning, but may equally be the result of intergroup conflicts for non-ritual reasons. While this remains unclear, evidently the victims of gender specific violence were meaningful in the ritual activities carried out in the enclosure. Integrating the evidence, it may be concluded that the archaeological record possibly tells a story about the Honoured and the Sacrificed.

In face of an insufficient research of the circulation and consumption of molluscs and shells in transregional interaction networks, the present paper questions the presence of these faunal remains in the ditched enclosures of Perdigões, not in terms of subsistence (in this case irrelevant), but rather in an ideological perspective of consumption in the context of the social role played by exogenous products in large aggregation centres of inner Alentejo region.
An inventory and taxonomic classification are presented and a diachronic and contextual analyses is developed, highlighting the scarce, but growing, consume of molluscs and the importance conceded to the use of some shells, underlining the preponderance of the imported material. The comparing with other regional available collections shows the specific character that these faunal remains may represent in Perdigões in the context of the interregional network integrated by this site.

In the last decades, the discourse on the subject of Prehistoric ditched enclosures from the Iberian SW underwent various changes, ranging from its theoretical interpretation – residential spaces vs. temporary ceremonial spaces – to its terminology – settlement (povoado) vs. enclosure; indeed, both aspects are intrinsically related.
As far as Portugal is concerned, and though it may be argued that those changes resulted from the identification of new data in the archaeological record, that process never took place. What really happened was a huge increase in the number of identified sites, which was not duly followed by the publication of the corresponding monographs.
The scarce number of works focusing on the comprehensive analysis of the empirical data gathered at those locations has been showing that sites delimitated by ditches are residential and permanent settlements (e.g. Ponte da Azambuja 2), and that the only element that tells them apart from the so-called povoados is their architecture (namely the presence of delimitating ditches).
This paper aims at reflecting on the interpretive model that regards these sites as exclusively ceremonial places. The proposed reflection is based on a critical review of the specialized bibliography and on the available empirical data. Several issues are approached, including i) architecture, ii) material culture and iii) the subsistence strategies identified at the referred sites, in order to assess whether the presence of a ditch is enough reason to change the interpretation of such settlements as residential sites.

This paper presents the preliminary results for six archaeological sites, of the several excavated by ERA Arqueologia, S.A., in the context of the impact assessment project of water supplying network of Alqueva dam promoted by EDIA. S.A.. Empirical data is considered to be quite revolutionary to regional Recent Prehistory, namely concerning sites with negative structures (pits, hypogeum and ditched enclosures). A set of problems that can be addressed through those archaeological contexts is discussed, namely regarding the Archaeology of Death, the temporality of certain
sites and its meaning, and the debate on the interpretation of this kind of negative structures (such as ditched enclosures and “fields of pits”).

Since 1975 the site of "Las Pozas" has named the Copper Age in Spanish Northern Plateau. In the last decade several causewayed enclosures dated to this period have been discovered. This new situation has led us to revise the foundational site using remote sensing techniques. The infrared images have allowed us to distinguish two overlapping enclosures at "Las Pozas": a north one with three interrupted ditches and a southern group composed of two circles. This paper describes the characteristics of both enclosures using as well the information provided by 1979 and 1987 excavations. We believe this discovery certifies that causewayed enclosures were a common feature in the Douro Valley during the Copper Age.

This paper will discuss the use of the double-ditch system of Porto Torrão as a prehistoric hydraulic system. Based on its specific features, this hypothesis is applied to the excavated sections on the left bank of the stream that runs across the archaeological site.

Through the presentation of the faunal studies from two enclosures dated to the late Prehistory of Por-tugal, Castanheiro do Vento and Perdigões, we intend to show how vertebrate taphonomy, studied taking into account the archaeological context of the assemblages, can introduce important data into research on Iberian enclosures. Introdução Uma coleção faunística corresponde aos restos de animais vertebrados e invertebrados que são recuperados nos contextos arqueológicos. Devido à sua natureza, que permite uma preserva-ção mais duradoira, os restos dos animais vertebrados (i.e. ossos e dentes) são mais comuns nos contextos arqueológicos. Após a sua identificação anatómica e taxonómica, poderá obter-se a lista de espécies animais com o qual as comunidades do passado que ocuparam o local interagiram. A complexidade do comportamento humano permite o estabelecimento de várias relações com o espectro animal que co-habita com o Homem, desde a obtenção de alimento (i.e. consumo de carne e outros produtos animais) até ao compartilhamento do espaço doméstico com animais de companhia. O papel do especialista será pois, através do registo faunístico e sua integração no contexto arqueológico, tentar reconstituir a natureza dessas relações. Nessa tarefa assume particular importância a avaliação tafonómica. A tafonomia é um conceito importado da geologia que significa o estudo das leis do enterra-mento. Passa a ser aplicado aos estudos arqueofaunísticos a partir dos anos sessenta do século XX, a partir do desenvolvimento das correntes teóricas processualistas. Aplica-se à fauna, e aos ecofactos em geral, ao estudo das alterações aplicadas a um determinado organismo após a sua morte. Isso quer dizer que os estudos de tafonomia se aplicam em zooarqueologia à observação de todas e quaisquer marcas de manipulação após a morte do animal, desde a morte e desarticu-lação da carcaça até à recuperação do contexto arqueológico. A abordagem tafonómica tem como objetivo o estudo das alterações das superfícies ósseas e dentárias como sejam as marcas de manipulação antrópica, mas também os efeitos das alterações físicas e químicas provocadas pela exposição aos processos naturais próprios do meio ambiente como a meteorização, a diagénese, o transporte fluvial e eólico entre outros, ou a manipulação por outros animais (como carnívoros, roedores, rapinas, etc.). Estas abordagens permitem tirar ilações muito importantes para a reconstituição da biografia dos conjuntos faunísticos começando pela determinação do(s) agente(s) acumulador(s) da coleção em apreço. A investigação levada a cabo em Castanheiro do Vento e nos Perdigões colocava à partida questões que permitiram a aplicação de abordagens iminentemente tafonómicas às coleções fau-nísticas recuperadas. Por um lado, Castanheiro do Vento, que revelou uma coleção constituída exclusivamente por restos de animais vertebrados, maioritariamente mamíferos, mas com uma