‎Mari Yamasaki, Sonja Speck, Francesca Meneghetti (eds)‎
‎Limiting Spaces. The Attribution of Spatial Meaning through the Creation of Boundaries‎

‎, Brepols, 2025 Hardback, Pages: 187, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:69 b/w, 14 col., 4 tables b/w., Language: English. ISBN 9782503617497.‎

Reference : 70565

‎Summary This volume explores how boundaries were created, perceived, and experienced in past societies. Bringing together diverse theoretical and methodological approaches - from cognitive and processual to sensory and phenomenological - the contributors examine how spatial meaning is attributed through the creation and negotiation of boundaries. The volume is structured into three thematic sections: the first investigates how boundaries define and characterize space; the second focuses on the act of crossing boundaries and its role in shaping spatial significance; and the third examines the experience of boundaries, of their crossing, and of the spaces contained within them. Drawing on case studies from Prehistory to the Early Modern period, and spanning regions from Europe and Africa to Central Asia, the chapters reflect a wide range of archaeological traditions and perspectives. Through innovative analyses and interdisciplinary dialogue, this collection advances our understanding of how past societies organized, perceived, and interacted with space. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations 1. The Attribution of Spatial Meaning through the Creation of Boundaries: An Introduction Mari Yamasaki, Sonja Speck, and Francesca Meneghetti Part One. Delimiting Spaces 2. Conceptual Boundaries in Evolutionary Perspective: Peripersonality, Encapsulation, and the Extension of Neanderthal Worlds Paul Pettitt 3. Vertical Boundaries and the Conceptualization of Built Spaces: Insights from the Experience of an Egyptian Old Kingdom Tomb Sonja Speck 4. Defining Regional, Local, and Household and Activity Area Boundaries in Iron Age Saka Settlements and Mortuary Complexes in Southeastern Kazakhstan Claudia Chang 5. Limited Perfection: Regular Mediaeval Towns and Villages in Central Europe: Wandering of Ideas, Laws and Measures Maria Legut-Pintal, Krzysztof Fokt, Tomasz Kl r, and Anna Kubicka-Sowi?ska Part Two. Limits Between Spaces 6. On the Thresholds of Social Space in Swahili Towns of East Africa Monika Baumanova 7. On the Edge: Hyperrealism, Motivated Symbolism and Situated Iconography in Northwestern Iberia during the Late Iron Age Javier Rodr guez-Corral 8. Water Crossings as Structuring Elements in the Experience of Ancient Greek Sacred Space Andrew Farinholt Ward Part Three. Experiencing the Limit 9. Diving through the Mirror: The Liminality of Water Surfaces in Cultures across the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Mari Yamasaki 10. The Gates of the Cosmos: Liminality in the Architecture and Functions of Central European Neolithic Circular Enclosures (Rondels) Judit P. Barna and G bor Kalla 11. Boundaries, Entrances, and Placemaking: The Creation of Liminal Spaces at Castell Henllys Iron Age Fort, Wales Harold Mytum‎