Archäologische Deutungstopoi zu Befestigungsanlagen der Bronzeund Eisenzeit im Lichte ethnografischer Evidenzen

Abstract

The article presents the results of a project whose aim was to review the common topoi and patterns of interpretation of fortified settlements of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the light of ethnographic evidence. A survey of the ethnographic literature resulted in a collection of 183 cases, whose documentation includes not only the fortifications and their functions, but also the logistical and organizational background of their construction as well as information on the social structures and economies of the communities that built them. If one compares the findings obtained in this way with the archaeological interpretations, it becomes apparent that the latter unilaterally emphasize the role that fortifications are supposed to have played in the context of processes of centralization, hierarchization, elite formation, and concentration of power. They are thus based on strong presuppositions that are not empirically supported.