Islamic settlement in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

This article reviews some of the major archeological research and resulting current debates that center around the nature of the formation of Islamic society in the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula from the seventh century A D through the later Middle Ages. Over the last two decades, archeology has played an increasingly important role in working out the details of how thi s great cultural transformation occurred and has led to considerable revisi on of historical interpretations of the medieval period in the western Medi terranean region. On a more general anthropological level, research in both regions presents a remarkable potential to contribute to the literature an the archeology of ethnicity, and to research into the impact of changing r eligion and ideology on such diverse areas of human activity as household o rganization, gender relations, settlement location and spatial organization , and ceramic production and distribution.