Show-Shared Worlds: revealing prehistoric shared worlds along Europe's Atlantic Façade

Abstract

This talk will discuss the Marie Curie project SHoW that is being carried out at Incipit from 2019-2021, as well as previous striking results that led up to this project. This project will produce insights into some of the most iconic representations of cultural remembrance in Europe, revealing the degree to which the people in regions across Europe possessed shared worlds. Specifically, it investigates the types of visual-scapes people chose for the erection of their megalithic monuments within and across regions, that clearly seem to have some kind of related megalithic tradition, but which is not yet understood. Focusing on the periods of intensive monument building in prehistoric Iberia (c. 4500-2500 B.C.) and Britain (3100-900 B.C.), innovative 3D technology, along with other interdisciplinary approaches, will assist in the reconstruction of past visual worlds of the megalith builders of Europe. By identifying and interpreting how megalithic monuments were used and placed, along with considerations of associated material culture, it will be possible to better comprehend the relationships or understandings between social groups from the 4th M BC until the late 2nd millennium. Initial results and previous outcomes from Britain, through to northern Iberia and France will be discussed.