Landscapes of the “Coast of Death”: dolmen topographies of NW Iberia

Abstract

This paper investigates the landscapes of Neolithic communities found within Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), Galicia. Its goal is to uncover whether or not the megalithic monuments of a particular and coherent area of the south-eastern side of the Atlantic Façade are situated in relation to complex locational variables. In particular, in this paper, we explore the entirety of their surrounding horizon. For the very first time, we were able to demonstrate that very specific natural landscapes surrounding the dolmens of this region in Iberia were likely selectively drawn upon, expanding our understanding of the Neolithic of this area and the people's relationship with their natural world.

Keywords

• Megaliths
• Neolithic
• Iberia‌
• Atlantic Façade
• ‌landscape
• GIS