Interpreting the "megalithic art" of Western Iberia : some preliminary remarks

Abstract

This paper discusses briefly certain concepts as: prehistoric art, the megalithic phenomenon, megalithic art, and archaeological interpretation. It stresses the need to look at "megalithic art" as a structured whole, integrated in a certain kind of architecture, and not just as a series of particular "motifs". The most important "themes" of that art in Western Iberia are: the "skin skeuomorph", the "thing" and some subquadrangular motifs whose symbolic role may have been equally important. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures are considered to be minor elements of the megalithic conceptual world. We discuss the relationship between the themes and their localization in the general architecture of the megaliths, which shows that the most sacred zone of the chamber was the area near the backstone, at the far end of the passage grave, and also that, inside the megalithic construction the left side is more charged with signs than the right, suggesting another aspect of the topographic symbolism.