In Iberian large ditched enclosures one of
the main patterns is the presence of exogenous materials that reveal that those
sites were integrated in large trade networks. Ivory, cinnabar, variscite,
amber, shells, some specific potteries, etc. These raw materials or objects
made of them are present in those large enclosures in regions where they do not
exist.
The questions are: is this evidence of
just trade? Or is it evidence of something else? For instance, of the social
importance of gift. It is possible that many of these ditched enclosures were
stages where potlatch type ceremonies might have been performed and the
exchange of rare exotic objects as gifts might have had a significant social
role.
High status stuff, like the people who own it people, behaves in complex way which it is difficult for archaeology to quantify.
ReplyDeleteI made my own list of the possible origin of material;
Made by the owner;
Traded;
Stolen/looted and taken as booty;
Gifted as a present, reward or dowry;
Inherited;
Won in a game of chance.
Marriages between elites represent movements of people and their household with aspects of their material wealth.
Among the higher status individuals, gifts could include people - slaves with skills to process such materials.
Another issue is the that most material culture is organic and is never detected.