Some Abstraction for a Practical Subject: the Neolithization of Western France Seen Through Funerary Architecture

Abstract

This article discusses the establishment of the Neolithic in western Europe, and presents two models which integrate aspects of the Neolithic funerary structures of western France. One model presents a cyclical evolution of tombs in France, in which there is a transformation of the funerary space around the corpse (the grave itself). This includes the modification of the anatomical order of the skeleton which becomes dependent on this transformation of the enclosing space, delimited by architectural forms such as allées couvertes.The second model places emphasis on relationships which were observed in north-west Spain between the visual references inherent in any natural environment, and the location of the earliest monumental funerary structures. This model also emphasizes the location of these monuments in space, a location which seems to depend on human movement through the landscape.When applied to such a region as the Morbihan débartement of Brittany (famous for sites such as Carnac and Locmariaquer), the two models converge. Together, they contribute to a better understanding of the succession of cultural complexes through time; but above all they suggest a radical process of transformation which is without doubt connected to the emergence of the Neolithic.