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9 Meanings and Functions of Enclosed Places in the European Neolithic: A Contextual Approach to Cult, Ritual, and Religion
Article first published online: 16 APR 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1551-8248.2012.01041.x
© 2012 by the American Anthropological Association
Issue
Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association
Special Issue: Special Issue: Beyond Belief: The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual
Volume 21, Issue 1, pages 130–146, March 2011
Additional Information
How to Cite
Biehl, P. F. (2011), 9 Meanings and Functions of Enclosed Places in the European Neolithic: A Contextual Approach to Cult, Ritual, and Religion. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 21: 130–146. doi: 10.1111/j.1551-8248.2012.01041.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 16 APR 2012
- Article first published online: 16 APR 2012
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- [archaeo-astronomy;
- contextual analysis;
- cult place;
- enclosure;
- European Neolithic]
ABSTRACT
This chapter reevaluates theories and methodologies applied to the archaeology of religion stressing the symbolic meaningfulness of material culture, place, and landscape. In a case study—the Neolithic circular enclosure of Goseck in Germany—a contextual approach is used to highlight that ritual practices function both at a community and at an individual level, and as social and communicative acts. The chapter also demonstrates that ritual practice ought to be contextualized with the material culture and the place associated with it in order to better understand and theorize its complex meaning in prehistoric religious life.