Third millennium BC ditched enclosures in central Iberia

Abstract

This article examines contextual data from three Copper Age ditched enclosures excavated between 1997 and 2001 in the middle Tagus basin. Calibrated radiocarbon dates suggest that they were all constructed and backfilled during the first half of the third millennium BC. Key characteristics are their heterogeneous topographic position, variable visibility, small size and high density of features and domestic refuse. All evidence supports their interpretation as small occupation sites. Finally, we discuss the role of ditched enclosures in their contemporary regional and Iberian context. We suggest that their variability is a result of diverse aggregation and fission dynamics characterisitic of segmentary societies.