Megalithic and outdoor art. Defining territorial boundaries in producer groups of the Iberian Peninsula

Continuing an investigation line based on the study of the Iberian megalith ic art, the authors propose the analysis of the location of the graphics fo r delimiting the occupied territories in the Peninsular recent prehistory. The argument departs on the basis that from the graphic point of view, as w ell as from the technical point of view, the art developed inside megaliths is basically akin to that developed outside in painted shelters or in engr aved rocks in the open air. So we can delimit a megalithic style on various supports located in concrete areas of the territory. These zones are not r andom, but they have been chosen by their economic and symbolic meanings an d, as such the location of the graphics reflects a visible system for marki ng territories. This proposal is centred on a location model for graphics i n relationship to the occupation of the landscape in the peninsular south-w est, during the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic. (C) 2000 Editions scientifi ques et medicales Elsevier SAS.