The enigmatic prehistoric schist “croziers”: about a piece from Lapa da Galinha (Alcanena)

Abstract

Regarding the "crozier" collected at the beginning of the 20th century in Lapa da Galinha (Alcanena) which, due to its unique morphology, was valued by Manuel Heleno in the perspective of such similar pieces symbolically representing the polished stone axe, this and other alternatives are discussed, making comparisons with the known specimens, object of recent inventory work carried out by the author. It was concluded that the geographical distribution of these pieces is limited almost exclusively to the Portuguese territory and, especially, to Alto-Alentejo region, associated with the funerary megalithic monuments that exists there. Four distinct groups were identified and characterized, based on the typology of the decorative patterns and their organization. With the exception of the few specimens from the Atlantic domain, with particularities that are identified and described in this paper, the rest of the specimens are almost exclusively decorated on one side, which corresponds to the orientation of the "head" of the "crozier" to the left. This regularity was for the first time duly valued within the scope of the functional use of the prototypes, represented by these votive productions.