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Megaliths of the World (Paperback)
Luc Laporte, Jean-Marc Large, Laurent Nespoulous, Chris Scarre, Tara Steimer-Herbet
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R4,940
Discovery Miles 49 400
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Megaliths of the World brings together the latest research on
megalithic monuments throughout the world. Many of these sites are
well known, others less familiar, yet equally deserving of close
attention. Megalithic monuments in different regions of the world
are far from being a single unified phenomenon, having varied
chronologies, and diverse origins, but they all share a certain
family resemblance through their common characteristic: the
deployment of large stones. No fewer than 150 researchers have
contributed 72 articles and inserts, providing a vital region-by
region account of the megalithic monuments in their specialist
areas, and the current state of knowledge. The insights offered in
these volumes emphasize the particular character and significance
of these apparently inanimate stones. The use of such large blocks
must surely have been an expression of power or prestige, yet the
size and materiality of the stones themselves opens up new
perspectives into the meaning and symbolism of these monuments, the
places from which the blocks were derived, and the way they were
manipulated and shaped. Megaliths of the World takes the reader on
a fascinating journey, offering new insights through encounters
with megaliths and megalithic traditions that will often be new and
unfamiliar. Highlighting salient themes, it provides a compendium
of detailed information that will be vital to anyone interested in
the phenomenon of megalithic monumentality.
Indonesian Megaliths: A forgotten cultural heritage' highlights
aspects of Indonesian culture which are currently misunderstood and
sometimes threatened by destruction. Although they are relatively
recent in origin, the Indonesian megaliths offer similarities to
their counterparts in the Middle East and Arabia: they reflect the
rise to prominence of local chiefs in a context of acculturation
which prompted the need to build megalithic monuments to bury the
dead, and to honour, commemorate and communicate with ancestors. In
societies of oral tradition, these stones punctuate the landscape
to transmit the memory of men and social structure from one
generation to the next. Based on scientific documents (articles,
archaeological reports) and field visits, this new exploration
clarifies various elements of the Indonesian megaliths, including
their function in the daily life of the tribes and the use of
certain stones for musical purposes (lithophony). In Nias, Sumba
and Toraya, the megalith tradition is still alive and
ethno-anthropological studies of these three regions provide a
unique chance to complement the archaeological perspectives on
megalithic monuments abandoned for several centuries in the rest of
the Archipelago. The book includes numerous photographs documenting
the monuments which were taken during the author's stay in
Indonesia (2010-2013).
A corpus of 270 cemeterues containing around 25,000 burials have
been recorded in the Levant and western Arabia dating to the 4th
and 3rd millennium BC. This volume presents a discussive inventory
of some of these sites, arranged according to construction type.
These grave monuments with their stone-built superstructures are
compared in terms of the construction techniques employed, the
grave furniture or internal layout, finds, the form of the
monument, their distribution and situation. Speculation on what
type of society, whether nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, made
such monuments is presented at the end. French text.
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