Developing computational approaches for the study of movement: assessing the role of visibility and landscape markers in terrestrial navigation during Iberian Late Prehistory

摘要

The topic of movement in archaeology has been extensively studied. Research on human\udmovement during prehistory has become in archaeology and anthropology one of the bases\udfor understanding the dynamics of social and economic relationships, technology, social\udidentity and territoriality, among many other important themes. Although archaeological\udinvestigations related to movement have increased in the last decade, the majority have\udusually relied on “static” evidence, that is, on the analysis of the materials or objects that are\udfound in specific sites, establishing the relationship between them and their points of origin\udor destination (Branting 2004). In recent years, using spatial technologies, more research\udhas aimed to investigate movement from a landscape perspective, in which more attention\udhas been paid to the processes that may have happened on journeys. Some of these\udstudies have directly or indirectly analysed the possible factors influencing the decisions\udabout which paths to take, the mechanics of movement and the archaeological evidence\udrelated to it (Llobera 2000; Fairén Jiménez 2004; Cruz Berrocal 2004; Fábrega Alvarez\ud2006; Fábrega Alvarez / Parcero Oubiña 2007; Llobera / Slukin 2007; Fiz / Orengo 2008;\udMurrieta-Flores 2010, 2012a; Mlekuzˇ 2010; in the current volume, Lock et al. and Mlekuzˇ\udamong others). In the specific case of Iberia, megalithic monuments are among the archaeological\udelements at a landscape scale that have been linked to potential patterns of movement,\udand it has been argued that, besides their symbolic and funerary meanings, they may\udalso have been utilized as landscape markers.