Archaeological Evidence for Islamic Uses of Megalithic Structures in al-Andalus (CE 711-1492)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

At the time of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the landscape was dotted with countless ancient sites, including megalithic monuments constructed between the 6th and 3rd millennium BCE. Were these sites ignored, defaced, or destroyed, as they dated to the time before Muhammad (Age of Ignorance/ jāhilīyah), or is there archaeological evidence for engagement with these ancient remains? This paper summarizes the available archaeological evidence for Islamic uses of these most durable and visible of ancient structures on the Peninsula through the presence of artifacts and dated human remains. Little research has been conducted on this question, and despite the many challenges to this study, I suggest that this exploration has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the materiality of these monuments and their ability to shape Islamic societies and practices thousands of years after their construction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32192