Únětice Culture Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Osady i cmentarzyska ludności kultury unietyckiej z Wojkowic st. 15 i Ślęzy, st. 13 w powiecie wrocławskim, Early bronze age Únětice culture settlements and cementeries at Wojkowice, site 15, and Ślęza, site 13, district Wrocław, Śląskie... more

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- Únětice Culture, Unetice culture
- by Jerzy Romanow (1941-2012)
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- Medieval Archaeology, Funnel Beaker Culture, Neolithic, Early Iron Age

Cultural change or continuity? – Central Germany in the 23rd century BC
This paper looks at cultural relationships in Central Germany from the 24th–22nd century BC, with particular focus on the region of Saxony-Anhalt. At this period, four cultures were represented in the region: in the north, the Single Grave Culture; in the south, the Corded Ware Culture and the Bell Beaker Culture; and in the middle, the Schönfeld Culture, which acted as a barrier, blocking or inhibiting the spread of the other three cultures northwards or southwards. In order to trace the effect of cultural dynamics, chronologies for the individual cultures were developed, built on earlier attempts but, with the exception of the Schönfeld Culture, not completely congruent with them. Tested against radiocarbon dates, these were then used to construct maps showing distribution over time. Only when this typo-chronological approach is taken, based on scientific data, does it then become possible to deploy all the available archaeological material for maps of this type. Taken together with the archaeological finds, the maps demonstrate that the Corded Ware Culture (2825–2200/2125 BC), having reached its zenith in the 25th century BC and 24th century BC, began to decline and to lose its identity in the 23rd century BC. Conversely, the Bell Beaker Culture (2575–2200/2125 BC) experienced a steady expansion from the colonial settlements established in the 26th century BC, an expansion which gained in intensity in the 24th century BC and reached its maximum extent in the 23rd century BC. Since the Corded Ware Culture communities did not migrate, they must have been assimilated by the Bell Beaker Culture. The same process repeated itself after 2200 BC with the appearance of the Early Bronze Age Únětice Culture, which quickly established itself and whose spread northwards led to the increasing marginalisation of the Late Neolithic communities. Expansion and assimilation are said to be characteristic of segmentary societies. This process can only be effected by warfare. That these Late Neolithic cultures were warrior societies is shown by the weapons buried as grave goods with the deceased. At the same time, the burial ritual, which clearly separates males and females and indicates different ideologies for the two sexes, suggests the existence of social groups based on gender, with the males organised as warrior groups. The latter were obviously led by powerful warriors, for whom we might borrow the epithet “Great Men” from the terminology of Melanesian ethnology. In the 20th century BC these warrior-leaders succeeded in attaching bands of warriors to themselves by bonds of allegiance, thus forming power bases upon which to establish chiefdoms.

In Prague-Miškovice, a cemetery of the Únětice culture (UC) with a total of 44 graves was excavated between 1999 und 2001. The C14 dates range across the entire course of Central
Europe’s Early Bronze Age – from the proto-Únětice phase to the “post-classical” phase of the UC. The high point of the mortuary activities occurred between 2000 and 1750 BC
(classical UC). Archaeometallurgical and archaeological studies of the finds (chisel, axe, dagger blades, pins, rich amber ornaments, sea shells, etc.) reflect cultural relationships ranging from the Baltic to the Alpine region. It is to be assumed that the people of Central Bohemia during the classical UC, due to their excellent geographic location in regard to traffic routes, profited from trade in metals and amber.
The monograph brings the complex multidisciplinary analysis of the whole archaeological and anthropological material from the cemetery including the bayesian modelling of the 14C-dates, strontium and oxygen isotopy, lead isotopy, phosphate soil analysis and many others.

- by Michal Ernée and +4
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- Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology)

This article utilises skeletal evidence (n = 57) from settlement features and graves at Unterhautzenthal, Lower Austria, to outline our methodological approach to researching motherhood in prehistory. Unterhautzenthal includes the grave of a pregnant teenager, a triple burial of a woman with two children and a family grave of a man, woman and baby; additional women's graves include remains of neonates and young children. Comparing archaeological context information with osteobiographical data allows us to draw inferences about the social status of women and the ways Bronze Age motherhood was conceptualised. The archaeological approach includes a gender and age analysis of material culture and Social Index calculations. The osteological analyses include age at death, sex, body height, health indicators, and pathologies, with an emphasis on pelvic changes. Physical traces that may relate to strain through pregnancy and childbirth were explored in detail. In addition to morphological assessment of the entire skeletal collection, we applied tooth cemen-tum annulation analysis, 14 C dating, and δ 13 C/δ 15 N isotope analysis to selected individuals. These data, in conjunction with demographic modelling, enable us to draw conclusions about women's age at first pregnancy and the average number of children per woman, as well as the cultural and social context of motherhood.

A ground plan of the Únětice Culture was discovered during
the construction of the road B6n near Kleinpaschleben,
Anhalt-Bitterfeld district, in the summer of 2010. The chronological
classification was based on typological parallels as
well as the radiocarbon dating of a bovine tooth which was
recovered from a posthole (2132–1940 cal BC 2 σ).
It is a basically two-aisled house facing West-southwest-
East-northeast with an entrance in the southern external
wall. The extremities of the narrow sides of the building are
not preserved. The longhouse is approx. 23 m long and 5.5 m
wide, consistent with the usual dimensions of Únětice buildings
of the Březno type after M. Schefzik (2010). Comparable
longhouses of the Early Bronze Age are known from the entire
central area of Únětice Culture in central Germany, Bohemia
and Moravia.

- by Elena Revert Francés
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- Únětice Culture, Bronzezeit, Frühbronzezeit, Siedlungsarchäologie

Die Gliederung der archäologischen Gruppen im 3. Jts. v. Chr. basiert immer häufiger auf der Interpretation radiometrischer Daten. Aufgrund dieser Interpretation werden nicht nur die Laufzeiten der Kulturen bestimmt, sondern vielmehr auch typochronologische Aussagen getroffen. Im ersten Teil des Beitrages soll darauf aufmerksam gemacht werden, dass die Nutzung eines Einzeldatums als Anzeiger für einen frühen Beginn bzw. ein spätes Ende einer Kultur oder für die Beschreibung einer kulturellen Erscheinung kritisch betrachtet werden muss. Im zweiten Teil werden typochronologische Aspekte in Bezug auf die Inventare der entsprechenden Kulturgruppen vorgestellt.

- by Madeleine Fröhlich and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Bell Beakers (Archaeology)

The main argument of this contribution is the proposition that the funeral behavior of the central German Únětice culture was highly selective.On the basis of the known number of graves one can assume that only certain members of society had the right to be buried. This pattern mirrors a normative social practice. For the communities of the central German Únětice culture, the entombment in a grave even without any grave goods can be regarded as a privilege and feature of social distinction, whereas the major part of the population is not visible in the context of graves. Below the level of chieftains, i.e. regional rulers and a small group of specialists, there is no further representation of social rank by means of dress accessories or other equipment in the Únětice culture in the context of death. Women remain largely invisible in grave contexts as well.

- by André Spatzier
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- Religion, History, Archaeology, Metaphor

The settlement site in Bytomin (site no. 6, gm. Bytnik, woj. dolnośląskie / PL), at the outskirts of the modern town of Głogów in Lower Silesia, is located on a high fluvial terrace overlooking the old Oder River valley.
Right at the foot of the terrace a small watercourse – the Czarna River – flows. The excavations conducted in the years 2009-2013 revealed a multi-phase settlement with the earliest finds associated with the Neolithic Funnel Beaker culture and the youngest feature dated to the 13th century. However, the area seems to have been most densely inhabited in the younger Pre-Roman Iron Age, specifically in its A2 stage – according to the chronological system developed for the Przeworsk culture (Godłowski 1985, 13-40; Dąbrowska 1988, 14-62). This stage might be roughly dated to the latter half of the 2nd century BC and the first half of the 1st century BC. Additionally, at the neighbouring site of Bytomin (Bytnik) 1, only 300-400 m from the settlement, a multi-phase burial site was found. The cemetery, excavated in 2009, revealed 35 cremation burials, 30 of which date to the Hallstatt C period and five to the A2 phase of the younger Pre-Roman Iron Age (Kuźbik in prep.).

Burial sites of Únětice culture in Nové Zámky. This paper aims to publish a summary of previously known, yet so far unpublished Únětice culture grave findings from within the town limits of Nové Zámky, which unequivocally show a dense and stable settlement network in this microregion. There are presented inhumation burials documented during field excavations of the local regional museum (presently Ján Thain Museum) in the areas of Žofijská osada and Paneláreň as well as older rescue excavations of the Institute of Archaeology SAS in Nitra in the areas of Tehelňa and Ragoňa.

- by Jakub Godiš
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- Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Únětice Culture, Slovakia, Burial Grounds

An Early‑Bronze ‑Age settlement with an enclosure was unearthed in Brandýs nad Labem in 2007–2016. The settlement pits and the ditch yielded one of the richest collections of Early Bronze Age pottery in the whole of Bohemia. Since the previous knowledge about Early Bronze Age settlements is very poor, the site of Brandýs nad Labem offers a good opportunity to introduce the typology of settlement pottery and to sketch the possi‑bilities of chronology and their relation to the burials. On the basis of the poor evidence for the classic phase of the Únětice culture and numerous analogies in the Věteřov culture, is it possible to date the ceramic ensemble to the post ‑classic phase of the Únětice culture, which in some cases contradicts the radiocarbon dates.

Gegenstand der Studie ist ein einzigartiges Grab der Aunjetitzer Kultur, das in der Gemeinde Holubice in einem nur
teilweise freigelegten Gräberfeld ausgegraben wurde. In der ungewöhnlich geräumigen Grabgrube wurden die Überreste
eines erwachsenen Individuums männlichen Geschlechts bestattet. Das Individuum lag auf der linken Seite, seine
unteren Gliedmaßen waren stark angewinkelt. Die erhaltenen Schädelteile weisen Spuren einer ausgedehnten Verletzung
auf, wahrscheinlich einer Schnittwunde, die zu einem Schädelbruch führte. Der Charakter der Verletzung zeigt,
dass die Wunde chirurgisch behandelt wurde und lose Knochensplitter entfernt wurden. Das Individuum erlag seiner
Verletzung nicht und lebte noch lange nach dem Verletzungszeitpunkt. Die sterblichen Überreste wurden offenbar in
einem ausgehöhlten Baumsarg bestattet. Auf seiner letzten Reise wurde der Verstorbene mit einem Schieferwetzstein
und einem für die Aunjetitzer Kultur üblichen Bronzebeil mit nur leicht ausgeprägten Lappen ausgestattet. Teil der
Grabbeigaben war auch ein vollkommen einzigartiger Bronzedolch mit Heft. Der Gesamtfund wurde mithilfe der
Radiokarbonmethode
auf die Zeitspanne zwischen 1981 und 1772 v. C hr. datiert. Das freigelegte Grab ist nicht nur
aufgrund seiner außergewöhnlichen und relativ gut datierbaren Grabbeigaben einzigartig, es ist vor allem auch ein
Beleg der beachtenswerten medizinischen Kenntnisse der Träger der Aunjetitzer Kultur.

This paper deals with recent excavations near the Early Bronze Age Leubingen tumulus and the large building with a bronze hoard made of 100 pieces on its front found near Dermsdorf only 3.6 km away from the Leubingen mound. The Dermsdorf... more

- by Mateusz Jaeger
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Metallurgy, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology)

Religion, social identity and social formation processes are topics of great interest to the archaeological community. Regarding the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments of Central Europe, evidence from recent excavations at the Pömmelte enclosure in Central Germany suggests that circular or henge-like enclosures were monumental sanctuaries that served as venues for communal gatherings, ritual activities and performance. We suggest that such enclosures represent complex metaphors, possibly representing cosmological geographies, and that they also played important roles as communal structures in local identity formation and social regulation.

- by André Spatzier
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- Religion, Metaphor, Bell Beakers (Archaeology), Religion and ritual in prehistory

This is not the first time that questions relating
to defensive settlement are raised in
our series. Its 5th volume entitled "Defensive
Structures: from Central Europe to the Aegean in
the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC" was devoted to
similar issues. This should come as no surprise
because the question of defensive settlements,
especially those from the 2nd millennium
BC in Europe, attracts an entire
package of key issues determining cultural
development on our continent. By no means
do they concern only progress in the construction
of fortifications. For defensive settlements
carry considerable information on
settlement organization. What is more, they
reflect the process of social structure complexity
and enable studies of mechanisms
governing long-distance exchange and manufacture
of the most spectacular objects.
The authors of individual chapters in
this volume come from several countries:
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia and Sweden. They are seasoned
scholars with many publications to their
credit who actively participate in the most
important discussions on the significance
of the Bronze Age in Europe’s prehistory.
This panel of authors ensures—we are
deeply convinced — that this volume will
be yet another valuable voice in the important
discussion on the significance of defensive
settlements in Europe in the 2nd
millennium BC. Moreover, this research
makes us aware howmuch the inhabitants
of our continent had in common at that
time, regardless of where they lived: on
the Baltic, in the Carpathian Basin or in
the Aegean.

This paper concerns the alleged tinning of two Únětice bracelets from the Early Bronze Age excavated from a tumulus near Thierschneck in Germany. The objects are investigated non-destructively using a combination of microscopic examination, chemical analysis, and phase analysis. The results are assessed in terms of different tinning methods known in prehistory. Ultimately, the silvery-grey surfaces on the bracelets are interpreted as the consequence of inverse segregation that occurred during the casting of high-alloyed tin bronzes. Whether this casting effect was an accidental event or produced intentionally is discussed in the context of other Únětice metal artefacts.

- by Daniel Berger
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- Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Archaeometry, Archaeometallurgy

Studie autora byla vydána roku 1984 v časopise ,,Výběr - z prací členů historického spolku při Jihočeském muzeu v Českých Budějovicích" ( ročník 21, číslo 3) / The study published in 1984 in the journal ,,Výběr - from the works of members... more

- by Digital library Bohemia and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bronze Age Archaeology

The study was published in the journal,, Archaeological Monuments "in 1926 and the 1927th

After a long period of prosperity, the Únĕtice (2300-1600 B.C.) – a Central European Early Bronze Age culture – collapsed in few decades without obvious reason. Since Únĕtice was the first bronze metalworkers of Central Europe, we examine whether the reduced availability of bronze could have triggered this social collapse. We claim that it could have been so and provide a detailed analysis of two complementary reasons related to shortages of inputs - placer tin and fuel wood - used to produce bronze which could explain the demise of bronze production and the social collapse of the Únĕtice culture.

- by Serge Svizzero and +1
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- Economic History, Sustainable Development, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), History of Economics

The settlement of Bruszczewo was investigated by a German-Polish research team of archaeologists and specialists of various research fields whose work made this publication possible. The established interdisciplinary approach has become a hallmark of investigations at Bruszczewo. The fourth edited volume in this series on Bruszczewo presents results of the study of many source categories, documenting the multifaceted and highly developed economy and culture of the Early Bronze Age site. The information accumulated over the course of many years of archaeological investigations paints the picture of a community that survived with much success for several centuries. This can be viewed as the result of their ability to skilfully take advantage of a favourable location in the network of information and innovation circulation routes intersecting in Central Europe. Moreover, the community owed most of their success to the effective use of value-added aspects of their interaction with the natural environment that they had exploited.

- by Mateusz Jaeger
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeozoology, Settlement Patterns
- by Roderick B . Salisbury
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- History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Únětice Culture
- by Sven Conrad
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- Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Únětice Culture

Most explanations of social collapse highlight the ecological strain or the role of economic stratification but they hardly try to establish a link between the origins of prosperity and the causes of collapse. Our purpose is to establish such link, i.e. to provide an ex planation of collapse based on the origin of prosperity. For cultures of the Bronze Age, the prosperity came from metalworking, i.e. initially from a mining boom and then to the subsequent activities (bronze production) it allowed. In such context, the collapse can be the result of an economic crisis known in modern economic analysis as the " Dutch Disease " , a term that broadly refers to the harmful consequences of large increases in a country's income. Such explanation is particularly well suited to spell out the collapse of a Central European Early Bronze Age culture, the Únětice culture (2300-1600 B.C.).

The Burial of the Babino Cultural Circle in Tree-Trunk Coffins as a Manifestation of Pan-European Bronze Age Practice.
The paper is devoted to the practice of using funeral a tree-trunk coffin in the Bronze Age of Eastern Europe. Tree-trunk coffins were used for a short period, at the transition phase from Middle to Late Bronze Age (2000–1800 BC cal), in the burial mounds of one of the three cultures of the Babino cultural circle – the Dnieper-prut Babino culture. Chronological and geographical considerations suggest that this funerary fashion came from the west – from the midst of Early Bronze Age cultures of Central Europe, most likely Únětice culture.
Keywords: East Europe, Bronze Age, Babino cultural circle, Únětice culture, cemeteries, tree-trunk coffin.

After a long period of prosperity, the Únĕtice (2300-1600 BC) – a central European Early Bronze Age culture –collapsed without obvious reason. Thus, the academic literature has favored multiple explanations but without providing much evidence of the latter. Our aim is to provide an empirically grounded explanation consistent with the features of this culture. We claim that the 1600 BC collapse could be the result of simultaneous shortages of two main inputs of the bronze production process, namely tin and fuel. Periodical tin shortages are possible because Únĕtician were using tin alluvial deposits. Moreover, the production of bronze requires huge quantities of wood and charcoal used as fuel, leading to deforestation. Evidence of deforestation around 1600 BC is provided.

- by Clement Tisdell and +1
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- Ancient History, Ancient Civilization (Archaeology), Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Únětice Culture
- by Mateusz Jaeger and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Pottery (Archaeology), Typology

Atypical hillfort with minimal finds and unusual fortifications. The hillfort is located on a very flat hill top not suitable for fortification. It is located near the fortified hilltop settlement Culture "štítary". This suggests that the hillfort served a completely different purpose.
KW: hillfort, tin , oremountains , Krušne , knoviz , unetice , culture , hradiště , Hradišťany , Krušné Hory ,

The literature explaining social collapse mainly focuses on factors such as wars, climate change or disease, as exemplified by numerous examples of collapses which have occurred during the Late Bronze Age in the Near East and in the South-eastern Mediterranean region. This paper aims at demonstrating that collapse can also have economic reasons. Indeed, collapse may be the outcome of an economic growth process which is inherently unsustainable. More precisely, we claim that several ancient societies collapsed because the form of economic development which they relied on eventually proved to be unable to sustain their standard of living. It is believed that the Únĕtice societies – central European Early Bronze Age - were among those that collapsed for that reason. A simple model is presented to demonstrate that, in this agricultural economy, the introduction of bronze mining and metallurgy led to unsustainable development and its subsequent collapse.

- by Serge Svizzero and +1
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- Economic History, Economic Development, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Mining

Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today (CRAFTER) (Fig.1) es un proyecto financiado por el programa Europa Creativa, de la Agencia Ejecutiva en el ámbito Educativo, Audiovisual y Cultural (EACEA) destinado a proyectos relacionados con el Año Europeo del Patrimonio Cultural 2018 . La Asociación de Amigos del Yacimiento Arqueológico de La Bastida (ASBA), con sede en Totana (España), lidera esta iniciativa en cooperación con otras siete organizaciones de cinco países europeos: Museo Regional de Paraćin (Serbia), Academia Húngara de Ciencias y el Museo Déri (Hungría), la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona y el Museo Ciudad de Mula ‒Ayuntamiento de Mula (España), el Museo Estatal de Prehistoria de Halle (Alemania) y la asociación EXARC (Países Bajos).

Kniha byla vydána roku 1966 v Českých Budějovicích / The book was published in 1966 in České Budějovice.

- by Digital library Bohemia and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bronze Age Archaeology
- by Mateusz Jaeger
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Ritual, Culture

Rebay-Salisbury, K., D. Pany-Kucera, M. Spannagl-Steiner, F. Kanz, P. Galeta, M. Teschler-Nicola, and R. B. Salisbury. 2018. 'Motherhood at early Bronze Age Unterhautzenthal, Lower Austria'. Archaeologia Austriaca 102: xxx-xxx. This article utilises skeletal evidence (n = 57) from settlement features and graves at Unterhautzenthal, Lower Austria, to outline our methodological approach to researching motherhood in prehistory. Unterhautzenthal includes the grave of a pregnant teenager, a triple burial of a woman with two children and a family grave of a man, woman and baby; additional women’s graves include remains of neonates and young children. Comparing archaeological context information with osteobiographical data allows us to draw inferences about the social status of women and the ways Bronze Age motherhood was conceptualised. The archaeological approach includes a gender and age analysis of material culture and Social Index calculations. The osteological analyses includ...

- by Fabian Kanz
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- History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Únětice Culture

Studie byla publikována roku 1946 v časopise Památky archeologické (42) / The study was published in 1946 in the Archaeological Monuments (Volume 42).

- by Digital library Bohemia and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bronze Age Archaeology

Studie byla publikována roku 1928 v časopise Památky archeologické / The study was published in 1928 in the journal Archaeological Monuments.