TY - CHAP

T1 - Iron Age Societies at Work

T2 - Towns, Kinship and Territory in Historical Analogy

AU - Ferández Gotz, Manuel

AU - Liceras-Garrido, Raquel

PY - 2019/4/23

Y1 - 2019/4/23

N2 - The last centuries BC were a period of profound changes across numerous regions of temperate Europe, witnessing the development of the fortified towns known as oppida and an expansion of socio-political networks and economic activities. In this paper, our aim is threefold: 1) summarize some current debates on Iron Age societal structures, 2) discuss the different levels of aggregation of Late Iron Age societies and their structuring through assemblies and central places and 3) introduce the historical example of the medieval “town and land”(villa y tierra) communities—administrative entities composed by different kinship groups—as a possible analogy that can help improve our understanding of the interconnections between kinship groups, towns and the rural world. Rather than providing clear answers or proofs for theoretical models, we have conceived this paper as a “food for thought” piece. The use of historical sources has been at the heart of Carole Crumley’s work for many years (eg Crumley, 1974). While we will never be completely sure about “how Iron Age societies worked”(or did not, to paraphrase the title of Hill’s 2006 paper), we should continue the endeavor of proposing new models based on an interdisciplinary approach.

AB - The last centuries BC were a period of profound changes across numerous regions of temperate Europe, witnessing the development of the fortified towns known as oppida and an expansion of socio-political networks and economic activities. In this paper, our aim is threefold: 1) summarize some current debates on Iron Age societal structures, 2) discuss the different levels of aggregation of Late Iron Age societies and their structuring through assemblies and central places and 3) introduce the historical example of the medieval “town and land”(villa y tierra) communities—administrative entities composed by different kinship groups—as a possible analogy that can help improve our understanding of the interconnections between kinship groups, towns and the rural world. Rather than providing clear answers or proofs for theoretical models, we have conceived this paper as a “food for thought” piece. The use of historical sources has been at the heart of Carole Crumley’s work for many years (eg Crumley, 1974). While we will never be completely sure about “how Iron Age societies worked”(or did not, to paraphrase the title of Hill’s 2006 paper), we should continue the endeavor of proposing new models based on an interdisciplinary approach.

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

SN - 9780815347750

BT - Historical Ecologies, Heterarchies and Transtemporal Landscapes

A2 - Ray, Celeste

A2 - Fernández-Götz, Manuel

PB - Routledge

CY - London

ER -