The Megalithic Phenomenon and the Architecture of Anxiety
We are going to be looking at the megalithic phenomenon from southwestern Europe through to the Middle East. Rather than trying to establish a chronological trail, we will be looking at why the Mesolithic and Neolithic people expended so much energy into building dolmens, passage graves and stone circles. We will find that, when the society is stressed, people tended to resort to monumental building in stone. This project tears up the map showing a chronological spread of megaliths and proves that the megalithic phenomenon occurred spontaneously at different times in different places.
1: The Megalithic Phenomenon - Introduction
Investigating the Megalithic Phenomenon as the Architecture of Anxiety. Prehistoric societies from Europe to the Levant ...
Read the article »2: Megaliths of Brittany
Driven by demographic stress, Neolithic tribes in Brittany built megaliths to claim territory and anchor ancient trade r...
Read the article »3: Megaliths of Northern Spain
Trapped between the Cantabrian mountains and the Atlantic, Northern Spain's Neolithic communities built massive megalith...
Read the article »4: Megaliths of Southern Portugal
Discover how severe climate shifts and the birth of the Mediterranean summer drove Neolithic farmers in Portugal to cons...
Read the article »5: Megaliths of Southwestern Iberia
How Copper Age communities across Extremadura and Andalucia weaponised architecture against climate stress and prestige ...
Read the article »6: Megaliths of Southern Spain
Explore Copper Age Iberia's "Architecture of Anxiety." Trace the shift from Antequera's megaliths to the militarised col...
Read the article »7: Megaliths of the Islands
Explore how the prehistoric populations of the Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Malta used megalithic architect...
Read the article »8: Megaliths of the Maghreb
How did the 3000 BCE climate shock forge the Maghreb's megaliths? Discover how trapped Saharan pastoralists used stone d...
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