GIS-Based Approaches to the Study of Castro Architecture

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The term "Castro Culture" refers to a set of evidential trends encountered in the archaeological record of Galicia and northern Portugal from roughly 900 BCE – 200 CE. Conventional definitions of the Castro Culture rely heavily on the architectural characteristics of the castros, a type of hillfort which is thought to represent the primary form of settlement in the imagined "culture." The essence of the Castro Culture is therefore defined in part by the idea that castro communities held certain architectural practices in common, seen for example in their preference for circular forms and extensive stonework. Yet studies of castro architecture are few and far between, and many dimensions of the evidence remain unexplored. Here I apply GIS to the visible remains of a few castro sites in northwestern Portugal, providing new insight on the organization of space within these settlements. I explore the implications of my findings for discussions of concepts such as urbanism, "Romanization," and political power in the context of the Castro Culture. Ultimately this is an exercise in critical inquiry as well as in spatial analysis: What can we conclude from the form of these settlements, and how does it challenge conceptualizations of the Castro Culture?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26060