Early science and colossal stone engineering in Menga, a Neolithic dolmen (Antequera, Spain)
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Lozano Rodríguez, José Antonio; García Sanjuan, Leonardo; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco José; Álvarez Valero, Antonio Miguel; Arrieta, Jesús María; Fraile Nuez, Eugenio; García-Alix Daroca, Antonio; Montero Artús, Raquel; Martínez-Sevilla, FranciscoEditorial
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date
2024-08-23Referencia bibliográfica
José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez et al. , Early science and colossal stone engineering in Menga, a Neolithic dolmen (Antequera, Spain).Sci. Adv.10,eadp1295(2024).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adp1295
Sponsorship
“Megalithic Biographies: the Antequera Monumental Landscape in its Temporal and Spatial context” (HAR2017-87481-P) (2018-2021), National I + D. Plan of the Spanish Government; Olivine-Rich Beaches in Tenerife: “Effects on the Carbon Cycle and Influence on Marine Organisms,” (2022CLISA30) Caja Canarias Foundation and “La Caixa” Foundation; Proyectos Intramurales Especiales CSIC: GRANULO (2022301209); “Demography, Mobility and Society Among Early Complex Societies: The Iberian Mega-Sites of the 4th and 3rd Millennia BC” (DEMOS) (2024-2027), National I + D Plan of the Spanish GovernmentAbstract
Megaliths represent the earliest form of monumental stone architecture. The earliest megalithic chambers in
Europe appeared in France in the fifth millennium BCE. Menga is the oldest of the great dolmens in Iberia (approximately
3800 to 3600 BCE). Menga’s capstone #5 weighing 150 tons is the largest stone ever moved in Iberia as part
of the megalithic phenomenon and one of the largest in Europe. The research presented here proposes a completely
innovative interpretation of how this colossal monument was built. It comprises a geoarchaeological analysis
encompassing three major components: (i) the angles of the planes of each stone, (ii) the stratigraphic
polarity of each structural element, and (iii) the depth of the foundations. Our results show that Menga is a unique
example of creative genius and early science among Neolithic societies. It was designed as a completely original
engineering project, for which we know of no precedents in Iberia.