Barbara Fritsch - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Barbara Fritsch
Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zu... more Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine neue Chronologietabelle, die für einzelne Regionen differenziert werden kann, zu erstellen. Der Vergleich zwischen Skandinavien und Nordmitteleuropa eröffnet die Möglichkeit, unterschiedliche Entwicklungen in einem gemein-samen Zeitrahmen aufzudecken. Summary Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronological chart of regional developments. The comparison between Scandinavian and North Central Europe-an periodisations offers the possibility to identify different developments in a synchronized time frame.
Since 2009, a Priority Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) deals with the Funnel Beak... more Since 2009, a Priority Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) deals with the Funnel Beaker Period in Northern Germany, focussing, in a holistic approach, on the conjunction of social structures and the erection of monuments. To this end, evidence for subsistence patterns, social organisation, communication and networks are considered in a diachronic perspective. Spatial structures and chronologies are re-evaluated and adjusted in the light of new excavation results, scientific data and statistical analysis, environmental and economic data are presented and discussed. Several new fieldwork projects are introduced, and their results are combined into the frame of an overall picture of Funnel Beaker societies which are to be described as a complex mosaic of regionally diverse patterns, different sequences of temporal change and distinct spheres of social interaction. Finally, a discussion of the role of monuments in social reproduction together with considerations towards demo...
In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000–4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural... more In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000–4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500–4,900 calibrated B.C.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced ...
The megalithic tomb Ludelsen 3 was excavated in 2007 within the frame of the project „Megalithic ... more The megalithic tomb Ludelsen 3 was excavated in 2007 within the frame of the project „Megalithic landscapes of the Altmark“. A complex architectural and depositional history of one of the earliest Funnel Beaker chambered cairns (ca. 3600 cal BC) was decoded. Both early to late Funnel Beaker activities as well as a Single Grave burial could be reconstructed. The architecture and functional change was synchronised to changing local environs. The building ground was subject to deforestation und reforestation activities, related to differential ritual activities. Forest covered the surroundings of the megalithic tomb and the monument itself during most parts of the Neolithic. Accordingly, the tomb could not function as a territorial marker. In spite of a wide range of ritual activities as documented inside the chamber and at the surrounding mound, the number of deposited items is limited. This is in clear contrast to ritual activities at passage graves, within which larger assemblages o...
Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronologica... more Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronological chart of regional developments. The comparison between Scandinavian and North Central European periodisations offers the possibility to identify different developments in a synchronized time frame.
Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern... more Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern Europe seems a desideratum. The DFG-Priority Program 1400 “Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation” is currently working on the Neolithic of the northern European plain. One important aim is to record and analyse the archaeological evidence within the working region in a systematical way. As a first step, an account of all megaliths available is of crucial importance. The map presented here reveals remarkable spatial patterns that may serve as a starting point for further research.
Archäologie in Sachsen-Anhalt, Sonderband 16, 2012
Allgemeines Am Nordrand der fruchtbaren Lösszone Mittel-europas bzw. am Südrand der norddeutschen... more Allgemeines Am Nordrand der fruchtbaren Lösszone Mittel-europas bzw. am Südrand der norddeutschen Altmoränenlandschaft befindet sich am Unterlauf der Ohre die Region Haldensleben-Hundisburg. Bedingt durch diese naturräumliche Grenzsituation sowie die siedlungs- und verkehrsgünstige Lage entstand eine einmalige Fundlandschaft, die eine intensive Siedlungstätigkeit durch alle Epochen widerspiegelt.
Megaliths – Societies – Landscapes Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe, 2019
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliograf... more Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie. Detailliertere Informationen sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar.
Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine ... more Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine neue Chronologietabelle, die für einzelne Regionen differenziert werden kann, zu erstellen. Der Vergleich zwischen Skandinavien und Nordmitteleuropa eröffnet die Möglichkeit, unterschiedliche Entwicklungen in einem gemeinsamen Zeitrahmen aufzudecken.
Im Rahmen des Projektes Megalithlandschaften der Altmark wur-de 2007 der Großdolmen Lüdelsen 3 ... more Im Rahmen des Projektes Megalithlandschaften der Altmark wur-de 2007 der Großdolmen Lüdelsen 3 ausgegraben. Eines der frühes-ten Großsteingräber des nordmitteleuropäisch-südskandinvischen Trichterbecherkreises (ca. 3600 v. Chr.) präsentierte sich mit einer komplexen Bau-und ...
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, 2011
Studies of patterns of activity in human skeletal remains have grown in number over the last few ... more Studies of patterns of activity in human skeletal remains have grown in number over the last few years. Different methods have been used to reconstruct activity patterns in past populations. In this review of the available literature the common themes of these studies have been isolated in order to show that many studies do not truly conform to the standards of the field. Inadequate sample size, too far-reaching conclusions and neglect of other possible explanations are among the problems easily recognised in the literature. Many assumptions are lacking a sound experimental basis, and it becomes increasingly evident that there are many more problems and limits of interpretations than have been usually acknowledged in the recent past. It also appears that many results, which have been interpreted in terms of sexual division of labour may, in fact, be expressions of the intrinsic sexual dimorphism of Homo sapiens and not culture-or population-specific peculiarities. Acknowledging the results of many studies from the field of sports medicine it appears doubtful that adult patterns of activity can truly be isolated from those which stem from the formative years of the human skeleton during the subadult growth period. A more cautious approach to the interpretation of data and a return to more basic research are needed to adequately address all the possibly confounding issues when trying to reconstruct patterns of activity from archaeological skeletal remains.
PLOS Biology, 2010
In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural... more In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable segment I and designed two powerful SNP multiplex PCR systems to generate new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals from a complete LBK graveyard at Derenburg Meerenstieg II in Germany. These results considerably extend the available genetic dataset for the LBK (n = 42) and permit the first detailed genetic analysis of the earliest Neolithic culture in Central Europe (5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.). We characterized the Neolithic mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity and geographical affinities of the early farmers using a large database of extant Western Eurasian populations (n = 23,394) and a wide range of population genetic analyses including shared haplotype analyses, principal component analyses, multidimensional scaling, geographic mapping of genetic distances, and Bayesian Serial Simcoal analyses. The results reveal that the LBK population shared an affinity with the modern-day Near East and Anatolia, supporting a major genetic input from this area during the advent of farming in Europe. However, the LBK population also showed unique genetic features including a clearly distinct distribution of mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies, confirming that major demographic events continued to take place in Europe after the early Neolithic.
Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zu... more Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine neue Chronologietabelle, die für einzelne Regionen differenziert werden kann, zu erstellen. Der Vergleich zwischen Skandinavien und Nordmitteleuropa eröffnet die Möglichkeit, unterschiedliche Entwicklungen in einem gemein-samen Zeitrahmen aufzudecken. Summary Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronological chart of regional developments. The comparison between Scandinavian and North Central Europe-an periodisations offers the possibility to identify different developments in a synchronized time frame.
Since 2009, a Priority Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) deals with the Funnel Beak... more Since 2009, a Priority Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) deals with the Funnel Beaker Period in Northern Germany, focussing, in a holistic approach, on the conjunction of social structures and the erection of monuments. To this end, evidence for subsistence patterns, social organisation, communication and networks are considered in a diachronic perspective. Spatial structures and chronologies are re-evaluated and adjusted in the light of new excavation results, scientific data and statistical analysis, environmental and economic data are presented and discussed. Several new fieldwork projects are introduced, and their results are combined into the frame of an overall picture of Funnel Beaker societies which are to be described as a complex mosaic of regionally diverse patterns, different sequences of temporal change and distinct spheres of social interaction. Finally, a discussion of the role of monuments in social reproduction together with considerations towards demo...
In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000–4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural... more In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000–4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500–4,900 calibrated B.C.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced ...
The megalithic tomb Ludelsen 3 was excavated in 2007 within the frame of the project „Megalithic ... more The megalithic tomb Ludelsen 3 was excavated in 2007 within the frame of the project „Megalithic landscapes of the Altmark“. A complex architectural and depositional history of one of the earliest Funnel Beaker chambered cairns (ca. 3600 cal BC) was decoded. Both early to late Funnel Beaker activities as well as a Single Grave burial could be reconstructed. The architecture and functional change was synchronised to changing local environs. The building ground was subject to deforestation und reforestation activities, related to differential ritual activities. Forest covered the surroundings of the megalithic tomb and the monument itself during most parts of the Neolithic. Accordingly, the tomb could not function as a territorial marker. In spite of a wide range of ritual activities as documented inside the chamber and at the surrounding mound, the number of deposited items is limited. This is in clear contrast to ritual activities at passage graves, within which larger assemblages o...
Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronologica... more Old and new data from the Funnel Beaker societies have been collated to create a new chronological chart of regional developments. The comparison between Scandinavian and North Central European periodisations offers the possibility to identify different developments in a synchronized time frame.
Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern... more Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern Europe seems a desideratum. The DFG-Priority Program 1400 “Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation” is currently working on the Neolithic of the northern European plain. One important aim is to record and analyse the archaeological evidence within the working region in a systematical way. As a first step, an account of all megaliths available is of crucial importance. The map presented here reveals remarkable spatial patterns that may serve as a starting point for further research.
Archäologie in Sachsen-Anhalt, Sonderband 16, 2012
Allgemeines Am Nordrand der fruchtbaren Lösszone Mittel-europas bzw. am Südrand der norddeutschen... more Allgemeines Am Nordrand der fruchtbaren Lösszone Mittel-europas bzw. am Südrand der norddeutschen Altmoränenlandschaft befindet sich am Unterlauf der Ohre die Region Haldensleben-Hundisburg. Bedingt durch diese naturräumliche Grenzsituation sowie die siedlungs- und verkehrsgünstige Lage entstand eine einmalige Fundlandschaft, die eine intensive Siedlungstätigkeit durch alle Epochen widerspiegelt.
Megaliths – Societies – Landscapes Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe, 2019
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliograf... more Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie. Detailliertere Informationen sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar.
Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine ... more Dieser Artikel fasst alte und neue Daten für die Trichterbecher-Gesellschaften zusammen, um eine neue Chronologietabelle, die für einzelne Regionen differenziert werden kann, zu erstellen. Der Vergleich zwischen Skandinavien und Nordmitteleuropa eröffnet die Möglichkeit, unterschiedliche Entwicklungen in einem gemeinsamen Zeitrahmen aufzudecken.
Im Rahmen des Projektes Megalithlandschaften der Altmark wur-de 2007 der Großdolmen Lüdelsen 3 ... more Im Rahmen des Projektes Megalithlandschaften der Altmark wur-de 2007 der Großdolmen Lüdelsen 3 ausgegraben. Eines der frühes-ten Großsteingräber des nordmitteleuropäisch-südskandinvischen Trichterbecherkreises (ca. 3600 v. Chr.) präsentierte sich mit einer komplexen Bau-und ...
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, 2011
Studies of patterns of activity in human skeletal remains have grown in number over the last few ... more Studies of patterns of activity in human skeletal remains have grown in number over the last few years. Different methods have been used to reconstruct activity patterns in past populations. In this review of the available literature the common themes of these studies have been isolated in order to show that many studies do not truly conform to the standards of the field. Inadequate sample size, too far-reaching conclusions and neglect of other possible explanations are among the problems easily recognised in the literature. Many assumptions are lacking a sound experimental basis, and it becomes increasingly evident that there are many more problems and limits of interpretations than have been usually acknowledged in the recent past. It also appears that many results, which have been interpreted in terms of sexual division of labour may, in fact, be expressions of the intrinsic sexual dimorphism of Homo sapiens and not culture-or population-specific peculiarities. Acknowledging the results of many studies from the field of sports medicine it appears doubtful that adult patterns of activity can truly be isolated from those which stem from the formative years of the human skeleton during the subadult growth period. A more cautious approach to the interpretation of data and a return to more basic research are needed to adequately address all the possibly confounding issues when trying to reconstruct patterns of activity from archaeological skeletal remains.
PLOS Biology, 2010
In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural... more In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable segment I and designed two powerful SNP multiplex PCR systems to generate new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals from a complete LBK graveyard at Derenburg Meerenstieg II in Germany. These results considerably extend the available genetic dataset for the LBK (n = 42) and permit the first detailed genetic analysis of the earliest Neolithic culture in Central Europe (5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.). We characterized the Neolithic mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity and geographical affinities of the early farmers using a large database of extant Western Eurasian populations (n = 23,394) and a wide range of population genetic analyses including shared haplotype analyses, principal component analyses, multidimensional scaling, geographic mapping of genetic distances, and Bayesian Serial Simcoal analyses. The results reveal that the LBK population shared an affinity with the modern-day Near East and Anatolia, supporting a major genetic input from this area during the advent of farming in Europe. However, the LBK population also showed unique genetic features including a clearly distinct distribution of mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies, confirming that major demographic events continued to take place in Europe after the early Neolithic.
W. Haak/O. Balanovsky/J. Sanchez/S. Kochel/V. Zaporozhchenko/C. Adler/C. der Sarkissian/G. Brandt... more W. Haak/O. Balanovsky/J. Sanchez/S. Kochel/V. Zaporozhchenko/C. Adler/C. der Sarkissian/G. Brandt/C. Schwarz/N. Nicklisch/V. Dresely/B. Fritsch/E. Balanovsky/R. Villems/K. Alt/A. Cooper, Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities. PLoS Biology 8,11, 2010, 1-16.
Journal of Neolithic Archaeology, 2010
Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern... more Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern Europe seems a desideratum. The DFG-Priority Program 1400 Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation is currently working on the Neolithic of the northern European plain. One ...