Megalith
A megalith (from the Greek mega (μεγας), 'big' and lithos (λίθος), &# 39;stone') is a prehistoric shelter made with one or several stone blocks, large and uncut.
Megaliths are monuments such as tombs made of large blocks of stone built in Western Europe in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages between 2001 and 2023 BC. C. The adjective megalithic describes such structures, whose construction was carried out with an interlocking system that does not use mortar or cement. It has been used to describe buildings built by peoples from different parts of the world and at different times. A wide variety of large stones have been identified as megaliths, the majority being for non-funeral use, perhaps raised for religious purposes, as commemorative monuments or territorial markers. Among the best known megaliths are the dolmens, menhirs and cromlechs.
In Europe the construction of these structures began, mainly, in the Neolithic (although early Mesolithic-Epipaleolithic examples are known), as part of the transformations that accompanied the Neolithic agricultural revolution, being expanded during the Chalcolithic and the Age of Bronze. Large megalithic monuments are scattered throughout much of Western Europe, but the most important foci are in Britain, southern England and Ireland, and southern Spain and Portugal.
Introduction
Megaliths have been used for ca
wide variety of purposes, ranging from serving as markers of the limits of a territory or commemorations of past events, to being part of the religion of societies. Some of the motifs recorded in them, such as the cayado or the axes, appear to be symbols of political power, just as the heka cayado was a symbol of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Among the indigenous peoples of India, Malaysia, Polynesia, Africa and America the worship of these rocks or their use to symbolize a spirit or deity is a possibility to take into account. At the beginning of the centuryXX. some specialists believed that all megalits corresponded to a "megalytic culture" global (hyperdifusionism of Grafton Elliot Smith and William James Perry), but this theory was long ago discarded thanks to modern dating systems (Carbono-14, Dendrocronology, etc.). Nor is it already theorized about the existence of a European megalithic culture, although there were different regional traditions, even in areas so limited with the British Islands or the Iberian Peninsula.
Ancient stone complexes in Anatolia
At various sites in eastern Turkey (mainly at Göbekli Tepe, but also at Nevali Çori and Nahal Hemar) important ceremonial complexes dating from the 10th millennium BC have been discovered. C. (9500 BC), so they would belong to the incipient phases of the Neolithic. Their main characteristic is that they are made up of large circular structures that surround dozens of T-shaped engraved megaliths. Although they would be the oldest large orthostat structures known to date, it is not at all clear that any of the European megalithic traditions have derived from those. At Göbekli Tepe, four stone circles out of an estimated number of 20 have already been excavated; Some of these circles measure 30 meters from one side to the other. The stone pillars display reliefs of wild boars, foxes, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions.
Although its excavators have always considered it the oldest place of worship in the world, it has recently been theorized that it could be a residential complex containing ceremonial elements.
Africa
The region of southern Ethiopia still contains the largest concentration of megaliths on the African continent today. Some of these tombs or dolmens are very old, since they date back to the X millennium BC. C. Most, on the other hand, are much more recent, from the 1st millennium AD, numbering in the thousands (an estimated 10,000 has been estimated) in Shewa and Sidamo. Another of the regions with the greatest presence of megaliths is Soddo, south of Addis Ababa, where some 160 archaeological sites have been discovered to date, such as Tiya, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO..
The dolmens and menhirs of the Maghreb date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Among them, the most significant set would be the dolmen necropolis of Djebel Gorra, near the small town of Thibar (Tunisia), which has between two and three hundred megalithic graves. recognizable. In the Malian region of Niafunké, the Tundidaro site comprises more than 150 sunk stones. The driven stones protect graves in countries like Niger, Togo and Chad. In Senegal and The Gambia, the four large groups of megalithic circles found between the Gambia rivers, to the south, and Saloum, to the north, have been classified by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites (year 2006); Between the four they add up to 93 circles and about 1000 megaliths, having been dated between the III century B.C. C. and the XIV-XVI of our era. In the town of Bouar, in the Central African Republic, there are megaliths dating from the VI a. c.
Nabta Beach
In Nabta Playa, in the Nubian desert (south of present-day Egypt and 100 km west of Abu Simbel), from the 10th millennium BC. a great lake began to form. Around the 5th millennium B.C. C. the inhabitants of Nabta Playa built a supposed astronomical device that is considered by some researchers to be the oldest in the world, a thousand years before Stonehenge, although of much smaller dimensions. Some researchers believe that it was a prehistoric calendar that accurately indicated the summer solstice. Findings show that the region used to be occupied only seasonally, probably in summer, when the water from the lake would be used to water the herds. There are also five megalithic alignments that extend from a set of core stones. And besides this, there are other lithic circles in this region of the desert.
Middle East
Dolmens and menhirs have been found in large areas of the Near East: from present-day Aleppo in northern Syria to southern Yemen, passing through Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. There are also some on Charag Island (Iran) or in northern Iraq, with the highest concentration of dolmens located on both sides of the depression formed by the Jordan Valley, with a clear predominance on the eastern side. This occurs mainly in the Golan Heights, the Hauran and Jordan, which probably have the highest concentration of dolmens in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, by contrast, only a few dolmens have been identified, the majority in the Hijaz. Megaliths seem to be resurfacing in Yemen in small numbers and this could indicate the continuation of a tradition linked to those of Somalia and Ethiopia.
Europe
The basic types of European megaliths are the menhir and the dolmen, but their grouping, the combination of both or a greater complexity, give rise to a more varied typology in which we find alignments (such as that of Carnac, in France), cromlech (such as Stonehenge, in England) and corridor and chamber dolmens, abundant in Andalusia such as Antequera (Menga, Viera and El Romeral).
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The word menhir comes from Breton, a language in which it means "long stone" (from men or maen = stone and hir = long). It consists of a single megalith (monolith) driven vertically into the ground and a clearly funerary use cannot be assigned to it. Sometimes they appear grouped in rows, giving rise to an alignment; they can also be presented forming circles constituting then a cromlech, whose most sophisticated examples are the henges of England. There is also the type of statue-menhir, with a whole series of its own characteristics, being an anthropomorphic representation sculpted and/or engraved on a menhir.
More complex than the menhir is the dolmen, a term also from the Breton meaning "stone table" (from dol = table and men = stone). The dolmen is made up of two or more orthostats on which a horizontally placed slab rests. In Spain they are abundant, highlighting among others those of Laguardia (Álava), Tella (Aragón) and Pedra Gentil (Catalonia).
A more complex variety of this last type is the corridor and chamber dolmen, which consists of a corridor or gallery that leads to one or two chambers. Both the corridor and the chamber can present a regular or irregular plane; those with a regular corridor lead to a well-differentiated chamber, circular (as in the case of El Romeral) or square (Viera), which can be covered by megaliths or by a false vault, as occurs in Los Millares (Almería). Sometimes there is a secondary and smaller chamber located on the same longitudinal axis of the building and connected to the main one by another short corridor (El Romeral). In those with an irregular plane, there is no clear separation between the corridor and the chamber, the latter appearing to be a mere widening of the corridor; Unlike the regular ones, its roof is flat and is made up of large stones (Menga). In all cases, this type of construction was covered by a mound of earth several meters in diameter, which gives it the appearance of a cave, which is why, sometimes and popularly, they are called "caves", as it happens in Antequera.
Asian
Megalithic burials are found in Northeast and Southeast Asia, with the main concentrations on the Korean Peninsula, where usual estimates are around 30,000 for the entire peninsula, constituting about 40% of the dolmens of all the world. They are also found in Liaoning, Shandong and Zhejiang (China), the eastern coast of Taiwan, Kyūshū and Shikoku (Japan), Đồng Nai province in Vietnam, as well as areas of India and Pakistan. Certain megalithic traditions are still practiced today on the islands of Sumba and Nías, in Indonesia.
In India, megaliths can be dated from the 2nd millennium BC. C. until the middle of I a. C. (2000-500 BC). In Mongolia, the so-called deer stones are dated between the end of the 2nd millennium BC. C. and beginnings of I a. C. The dolmens of Korea are dated during the I millennium BC. C. and in Japan between the 7th and 2nd centuries B.C. c.
Northern Style
The megalithic traditions of Northeast Asia have their origins in Northeast China, especially in the Liao River Basin. The custom of building megalithic burials spread rapidly from this area to the Korean Peninsula, where the structure of the megaliths is geographically and chronologically distinct. The oldest ones are called northern style or mesa because they show a characteristic burial chamber raised above the ground and made up of heavy stone slabs that create a rectangular burial cist. An enormous stone placed on the flagstones crowns the burial chamber, giving it the appearance of a table. These constructions date from the early part of the Mumun ceramics period (1500-850 BC) and are distributed, with few exceptions, to the north of the Han River. Some north-style megaliths from the northeast from China contain grave goods such as Liaoning bronze daggers, which has prompted some archaeologists to interpret these burials as the tombs of chiefs or pre-eminent individuals (great men). However, whether as a result of grave robbery or intentional mortuary behavior, most northern megaliths do not contain grave goods.
Southern Style
Southern-style burials are distributed throughout the southern Korean peninsula. Most are believed to date from the late Early Mumun or Middle Mumun period. The scale of Southern-style megaliths is typically smaller than the of the northerners. The burial area of the meridionales consists of an underground chamber made in the same earth or lined with thin slabs. A solid stone placed over the burial area is supported by small propping rocks. Most of the Korean megaliths are of this type, with some archaeologists estimating that there could be between 15,000 and 100,000.
Like the northern ones, the southern megaliths contain few or no artifacts. However, a small number of them show refined reddish burnished pottery, bronze daggers, polished stone daggers, and jade ornaments. Southern burials are often found in groups, spreading out in lines parallel to the direction of streams. These necropolises contain burials that are linked together by low stone platforms made of large pebbles. Broken burnished reddish ceramics and charred wood have been found on such platforms, leading archaeologists to believe that they were sometimes used for ceremonies and rituals. The cap slabs of many southern megaliths bear carved cup-shaped markings., there being a few that show human and dagger representations.
Cover slab style
These megaliths are distinguished from the others by the presence of a burial pit, sometimes up to 4 m deep, lined with large pebbles. A large covering slab was placed over the burial pit without orthostats to support it. hold. This typology is the most monumental of the Korean peninsula and is distributed mainly along its southern coast. It seems that most of them date from the most recent period of the Middle Mumun (700-550 BC), and some may belong to the first part of the Late Mumun. An example found near modern Changwon, in a small Deokcheon-in necropolis, is Burial No. 1, which contains a solid rectangular slab and an earthen platform. Although archaeologists have been unable to fully recover it, the dimensions of its base are at least 56 x 18 m.
Current Indonesian Megalithic Traditions
The Indonesian archipelago is home to Austronesian megalithic traditions, past and present. These contemporary-era traditions can be found on the isolated island of Nías (off the west coast of North Sumatra), among the Batak in the very hinterland of North Sumatra, on Sumba Island in East Nusatenggara province, and among the Toraya from inland South Sulawesi. These traditions remained isolated and undisturbed well into the 19th century.
In Nías there were stone statues, stone benches for the chiefs and stone tables to exercise justice. The megaliths were necessary for the funeral commemorations of the hierarchies, so that they could be reunited with their pious ancestors in the afterlife. The erection of a megalith was the prelude to a ritual feast.
Different megalithic sites and structures can be found throughout Indonesia: menhirs, dolmens, stone tables, ancient statues and stepped pyramids, locally called Punden Berundak, have been discovered in various places in Java, Sumatra, Celebes and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The Punden pyramids and their standing stones can be seen at Pagguyangan Cisolok and Gunung Padang in West Java, the Gunung Padang site being the largest megalith in Southeast Asia. In the same province, the site of Cipari brings together monoliths, stone terraces and sarcophagi. The Punden pyramid is believed to be the precedent and basic design of the later structure. of the Hindu-Buddhist temples of Java after the adoption of such religions by the population: the Borobudur stupa from the 8th century o the temple of Candi Sukuh from the XV presents the stepped pyramid structure.
The Lore Lindu National Park of Central Sulawesi is home to traces of ancient megaliths such as ancient stone statues, located mostly in the Bada, Besoa and Napu valleys.
Mahdia Gonds from Maharashtra, India
A 2002 study mentions current megalithic practices among the Madia Gonds of Tehsil Bhamragad, in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India.
Melanesian
Megaliths are found in many parts of Melanesia, most notably in the Milne Bay province of Papua New Guinea, in Fiji, and in Vanuatu. But few excavations have been done so far and consequently little is known about their structures. The megalithic tomb of Otuyam, in Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands), has been attributed to approximately 2000 years old, which would indicate, despite the fact that there are very few megaliths dated, that such traditions are an old custom in the region. These constructions have been used to celebrate different rituals, such as funeral, sacrificial or fertility. Close to some megaliths there are locations suitable for performing dances. In certain places in Melanesia, these rituals are still celebrated in the same sacred places, since the beliefs are still alive, which has been one of the reasons for the stoppage of many excavations.
America
Stone spheres from Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, Central America, since 1939 more than 500 stone spheres have been discovered, mostly hard stones such as granodiorite and gabbros, with sizes ranging from 5 to 257 cm and up to 16 tons in weight, with the particularity that they have a high perfection of sphericity and polish, some also have sophisticated petroglyphs in low and high relief combined.
When the Spanish conquistador Juan Vázquez de Coronado was in the Diquís valley in 1563, he informed King Felipe ―with a letter dated July 2 of that year― in detail everything he saw and "collected", but He did not describe anything similar to stone spheres, so it is presumed that by then the "stone balls" they were hidden behind thousands of years of sedimentation in the valley.
Archaeologists have not been able to date their making, the way they were made, or their transport through fragile alluvial zones and even across the sea to islands and other places where there are no quarries. By association with ceramic remains, official archeology relates them to ceremonial uses between 300 B.C. C. and 300 AD. C., but the sculptural work has not yet been scientifically dated. Alternative researchers place them around 6000 B.C. C. and others by 12,000 B.C. C.
Stone spheres are deeply rooted in the collective unconscious in Costa Rica, being a pillar of their cosmogonic identity and have a rich ancestral mythology, which have fueled new universal myths cultivated by best-selling writers such as the Swiss Erich von Däniken, the Spanish writer Juan José Benítez, the Estonian Ivar Zaap or film productions such as Indiana Jones.
Some groups of spheres that are preserved or documented in their original position have been associated with constellations, astronomical events such as solstices, navigation routes that locate marine currents, and marking ceremonial or power sites.
Archaeological Park of San Agustín in Colombia
The archaeological park of San Agustín is one of the most important archaeological sites in Colombia, located in the south of the Department of Huila and was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1995. Several hundred monolithic sculptures have been found, which indicate that a culture flourished there since ancient times, which today is the object of study by scientific missions to establish the origins and peculiar features of this town.
This culture began in the 33rd century BC. C., in the seventh century B.C. C. is already a culture that presents a considerable development, according to carbon 14 dates of recently obtained organic samples associated with agriculture, ceramics, goldsmithing and sculptural art.
The archaeological park corresponds to the upper basin of the Magdalena or Wua-Ka-Ka-Ya River and its primary tributaries and that relates to several municipalities of Colombia and with a center in the municipality of San Agustín, in the Department of Huila in the eastern foothills of the Colombian Massif.
The park itself corresponds to a small area with the highest concentration of tombs of the total archaeological zone of greatest extension that reaches regions such as the National Archaeological Park of Tierradentro.
Mayan stelae in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador
The Mayan stela is a class of monument of the Mayan culture of ancient Mesoamerica, of which about 5,000 have been found. It consists of a tall carved stone and was often associated with low circular-shaped stones now called altars. The elaboration of these monuments spread throughout the Maya region during the Classic period (AD 250–900), and these stela-altar pairs are considered to be a hallmark of the Maya civilization of that period The sculptural tradition that spawned the stela emerged from a fully developed form and likely had woodcarving antecedents. The oldest stela to be found in its original place in the Maya lowlands was excavated in the great city from Tikal in Guatemala. During the Classic period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands erected stelae at its ceremonial center.
Maya stelae show wide stylistic variation. Many stelae are upright limestone slabs carved on one or both sides. Stelae from some sites show a more three-dimensional appearance in regions where the local stone allows it, such as Copán and Toniná.
One example is Quiriguá, an archaeological site belonging to the ancient Mayan civilization, located in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site, with an area of approximately 3 km², located along the lower course of the Motagua River, with its ceremonial center located 1 km from the north bank of the river. During the Classic Period of the Mayan civilization (200-900 AD), Quiriguá was located at the confluence of several important trade routes. The site was occupied from 200 AD. C. and the construction of the acropolis began around 550 AD. An impressive building boom began in the 8th century, until all building activity stopped around AD 850. C., with the exception of a brief period of reoccupation in the Early Postclassic (c. 900-c. 1200). Quiriguá shares its architectural and sculptural style with the nearby city of Copán, whose history is closely intertwined with that of Quiriguá.
Data
- It was once thought that the megaliths began in one place. Now the experts think they emerged from several areas.
- Menhirs They are large vertical stones. Sometimes they are alone; sometimes they are arranged in avenues or in circles.
- The largest existing menhir known is the Grand Menhir Brisé in Locmariaquer, near Carnac, France. This stone once had 20 m high and weighed 280 tons.
- The largest stone circle is located in Avebury in Wiltshire, south of England.
- The most famous stone circle is Stonehenge on the Salisbury plain, Wiltshire, which was built between the years 2950 and 1600 a. C.
- Some megaliths are aligned with surprising accuracy with astronomical events, such as the sunset of the summer solstice, and may have worked as calendars.
- It is believed that lifting such stones by requiring large teams of men working with huge wooden rollers, levers and ropes, but according to new studies these stones could not be carried by wooden rollers, levers and ropes due to the excessive weight of the stones, as some reached 100 tons.
- It is also believed that about 1400 years were required to build Stonehenge, but it is not. According to new studies the Stonehenge stones and their circles around them could date back more than 3,000 years ago. Stonehenge's stones were taken from one point to the other, traveling more than 300 km away, as well as crossing the sea and the rivers that cross the island of Great Britain.It is certainly one of the oldest and most magical buildings that symbolize the world, and that according to the theorists of the ancient astronauts it is believed that it has a strong connection with outer space and what surrounds it. With the help of the Gods, the people of the Stone Age in Britain built a ring of ditches and then gradually added giant stones from places that could be up to 350km away. The tallest stones are 9m tall and can weigh up to 120 tons. Stonehenge was both a temple and an astronomical observatory.
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