Summary
This presentation explores some of prehistoric Europe’s earliest monumental expressions: megaliths. Their construction fundamentally reshaped how societies engaged with space and landscape. However, this transformation was not sudden; rather, it was the outcome of a long process of domesticating space, one that began long before its material manifestation. Instead of seeking an origin story, we ask: what changed with megaliths? How did they alter spatial perception, structure human thought, and materialize evolving societal rationalities? Guiding this reflection is the life of a monument—its becoming, use, reuse, shifts in meaning, and the question of whether a monument ever truly ceases to be.Focusing on northwestern Iberia, we examine how monument-building intersects with broader cycles of transformation. Monumentality is not a single act of creation but the culmination of long-term interactions between humans and their environment. From “wild” monuments—striking natural features—to built structures that echo and transform them, from caves in mountains to burial mounds that emulate them, these spaces shape perception and social behavior, contributing to a structured order that both reflects and informs human cognition.This presentation integrates insights from ongoing research in the MILESTONE and Material Minds: XSCAPE projects, which investigate the cognitive and material dimensions of monumentality.