Power on the hills. Warfare, symbolic violence and landscape in the eastern Iberian Iron Age

Mira, Ignasi Grau

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2018.12.004

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The use of viewsheds as an analytical tool is today well-established, and particularly in European archaeology [150]. Specific areas of interest have been the study of defensibility and landscape control in general [151][152][153][154][155][156]. In its simplest form, a viewshed provides a binary representation of visible and non-visible areas from an observation point [97].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing the Giara: A quantitative reassessment of movement and visibility in the Nuragic landscape of the Gesturi plateau (South-Central Sardinia, Italy)

Schirru

Vanzetti

2023

PLoS ONE

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The built landscape of Nuragic Sardinia is an exceptional case for geostatistical analysis, allowing for a discussion of long-held assumptions and ideas. The function of nuraghi (ca. 1700–1100 BCE), the most prominent settled monument of the Sardinian Bronze Age, has been addressed via a multiplicity of landscape approaches, mainly relying on intuitive assessments of their spatial properties: nuraghi were assumed as means of territorial control. The series of nuraghi crowning the mesa plateau named Giara of Gesturi (South-Central Sardinia) provides a significant case for the study of their relations with visibility and movement. Context-oriented GIS models based on viewsheds and least-cost paths have been devised as targeted tools. The results show a certain correlation between nuraghi and potential movement on the slopes, thanks to the selection of plateau morphologies such as outward crests. Anyway, nuraghi do not stand exactly at the most accessible points of the plateau. Nuraghi offered ample visual control, especially at large distances, but not specifically over the closest accessible ways. This suggests that the function of nuraghi is somehow connected to defense and visibility, but it is not explained directly by local territorial control: a role as landmarks and multifaceted monuments has likely to be envisioned.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing the Giara: A quantitative reassessment of movement and visibility in the Nuragic landscape of the Gesturi plateau (South-Central Sardinia, Italy)

Schirru

Vanzetti

2023

PLoS ONE

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Recent Research on the Archaeology of War and Violence

Scherer

2021

Annu. Rev. Anthropol.

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The mid-1990s through the first decade of the new millennium marked an increase in publications pertaining to war and violence in the ancient past. This review considers how scholars of the past decade have responded to that work. The emerging consensus is that war and violence were endemic to all societies studied by archaeologists, and yet the frequency, intensity, causes, and consequences of violence were highly variable for reasons that defy simplistic explanation. The general trend has been toward archaeologies of war and violence that focus on understanding the nuances of particular places and historical moments. Nevertheless, archaeologists continue to grapple with grand narratives of war, such as the proposition that violence has decreased from ancient to modern times and the role of war and violence in state formation and collapse. Recent research also draws attention to a more expansive definition of violence. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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Leadership in the Emergent Baekje State: State Formation in Central-Western Korea (ca. 200–400 CE)

Kim

2023

Open Archaeology

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The process of state formation is a social phenomenon closely connected with a polity’s external relationships. During peer–polity interactions, polities undergo social reorganization as they mutually influence each other. This study examines this process and argues that in central-western Korea, around 200–400 CE, hostile interactions among multiple polities weakened the power of ingroup members to level social differences and increased social complexity. When confronted with unfriendly outgroups, potential rulers could assume different social roles (e.g., diplomat, war leader, or trader) and utilize new social threats to demand and legitimize higher social status. Archaeological data from central-western Korea illustrate the community’s efforts to build a defense system and prepare for war. Autonomous agricultural communities rapidly realigned into a state system in response to external threats, presumably from historically documented hostile groups such as the Lelang commandery and Goguryeo. The decision to oppose neighboring polities likely enhanced the leaders’ ability to consolidate power, while the rulers of the Baekje (also spelled “Paekche”) state could employ various other means for self-aggrandizement throughout its history.

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Power on the hills. Warfare, symbolic violence and landscape in the eastern Iberian Iron Age

Cited by 3 publications

References 42 publications

Climbing the Giara: A quantitative reassessment of movement and visibility in the Nuragic landscape of the Gesturi plateau (South-Central Sardinia, Italy)

Climbing the Giara: A quantitative reassessment of movement and visibility in the Nuragic landscape of the Gesturi plateau (South-Central Sardinia, Italy)

Recent Research on the Archaeology of War and Violence

Leadership in the Emergent Baekje State: State Formation in Central-Western Korea (ca. 200–400 CE)

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