MONUMENTAL EARTHEN ARCHITECTURE IN EARLY

This volume presents proceedings from the session ‘Monumental Earthen Architecture in Early Societies: Technology and power display’, part of the XVII World UISPP Congress, held in Burgos (Spain), the 4th September 2014. The theme of the symposium is the archaeology of earthen architecture in pre- and protohistoric cultures, with an emphasis on constructive techniques and systems, and diachronic changes in those aspects. The main interest is in monumental architecture (not domestic), where it is better possible to appreciate the building strategies that show raw earth to be as noble a material as stone or wood, but with its very own characteristics which required the development of original solutions and construction techniques. The scope on monumental buildings also allows analyzing the political, social and economical factors that made such architecture a recognized expression of societal values and political power.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the XVII UISPP Congress Proceedings Series Edition (Luiz Oosterbeek)

Introduction (Annick Daneels)

Building Power: Earthen Monuments in the Construction of Elite Identities in Pre-Columbian North America (Melissa R. Baltus)

Political and Technological Significance of the Monumental Earthen Architecture of La Joya, on the Tropical Gulf Coast of Mexico (Annick Daneels)

Activity areas in two ceremonial centers of the Southern Brazilian Highlands: relations between architecture and function (Jonas Gregorio De Souza)

New data on the Neolithic ditches of the Tavoliere area (Apulia, Southern Italy) (Annamaria Tunzi & Tania Quero)

First test for luminescence dating of ancient mud-brick buildings from Northern Mesopotamia (Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez & Juan-Luis Montero Fenollós)

Traditional Architecture and Socio-Political Organization at Figuig Oasis, Morocco (Florencia Tatiana Azul Ultramar Ramírez-Rodríguez)