Ancestral memories and early medieval landscapes: the case of Sierra de Ávila (Spain)

Abstract

This paper focuses on early medieval funerary practices from a landscape perspective in central Iberia. Rock-dug graves constitute the most conspicuous remains in this region, but their informative potential has not yet been realized. The preliminary outcomes of an ongoing research project are presented here. This aims to contextualize such funerary cases by examining a mid-altitude mountain studyarea. Through the use of intensive archaeological surveying and geographic information systems, the paper characterizes two basic funerary types: isolated graves and rural disordered cemeteries, which responded to two social strategies led by local households. By recalling ancestorship, they constituted effective mnemonic resources, contributing to claiming rights and forging identities among these dispersed and predominantly small-scale herding communities.