Ertebølle Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Langelands Museum har det marinarkæologiske ansvar for farvandene rundt om Fyn og den jyske østkyst fra grænsen til Vejle Fjord. Her er Det Sydfynske Øhav et af de bedst bevarede stenalderlandskaber i verden. I dag ligger det ganske vist... more

Langelands Museum har det marinarkæologiske ansvar for farvandene rundt om Fyn og den jyske
østkyst fra grænsen til Vejle Fjord. Her er Det Sydfynske Øhav et af de bedst bevarede stenalderlandskaber
i verden. I dag ligger det ganske vist under vand, men netop derfor kan man her finde hundredvis af
velbevarede bopladser, og gennem årene har Langelands Museum på sine togter med det gamle skib
”Mjølner” gjort mange spændende fund og opdagelser. Et af dem er bopladsen Falden i Helnæsbugten
– og herom fortæller museets ansvarlige for marinarkæologien, Otto Uldum.

The animal remains from an Early Ertebølle coastal settlement on Djursland in east-central Jutland, Denmark, were analyzed in order to learn more about subsistence practices during the Mesolithic. Bones were identified using comparative... more

The animal remains from an Early Ertebølle coastal settlement on Djursland in east-central Jutland,
Denmark, were analyzed in order to learn more about subsistence practices during the Mesolithic. Bones
were identified using comparative specimens, and size estimates for some fishes were produced through
regression formulae. Fish bones are a large part of the assemblage, and among them, fishes of the cod family
(Gadidae) were especially numerous. Although much of the mammal material was not identifiable because
it was highly fragmented, the bones that were identified belonged mostly to roe deer, red deer, and pig,
although aurochs, elk, and sea mammals were also present in appreciable numbers. Fur-bearing mammals
(except dogs) were absent. The several identified birds show a focus on waterfowl. In some respects
(especially the dominance of gadids among the fish and the numerous aurochs, elk, and sea mammal bones)
the assemblage is atypical for the Ertebølle of western Denmark as a whole. Similar assemblages from
Lystrup Enge and Norslund (also Dyrholmen I, although there are only few fish remains) are also from the
Early Ertebølle period, suggesting there is a chronological basis as to why they are distinct from the normal
western Danish Late Mesolithic pattern.

An International Conference on the Neolithization of the North European Plain

The subject of this publication is an analysis of new pottery inventories of post -LBK cultures from the area of Szczecin Heights. An important element of the collection is numerous vessels considered imports from the Rössen culture... more

The subject of this publication is an analysis of new pottery inventories of post -LBK cultures from the area of Szczecin Heights. An important element of the collection is numerous vessels considered imports from the Rössen culture environment. In the light of the presented conclusions, intensive occupation of this region began with the LBK population arrival. After the decline of this culture a hiatus occurred followed by the post -LBK culture. Inventories of the latter can be broadly classified as the Stroked Band Pottery culture (phase IV–V according to M. Zapotocka). In the pottery material from this period clear influences of the Rössen and probably Bischheim cultures can be seen. The absence of younger sites, chronologically corresponding to the Brześć Kujawski culture and nearby settlements of the Ertebøle in Tanowo seems to be a significant observation (although it cannot be excluded that it results
from the present state of research).

Tybrind Vig is a late Mesolithic (Ertebolle) coastal settlement, dated to the period 5600-4000 BC. The site has yielded some very important finds associated with fishing activity, probably the best preserved example from the Mesolithic in... more

Tybrind Vig is a late Mesolithic (Ertebolle)
coastal settlement, dated to the period 5600-4000 BC.
The site has yielded some very important finds associated
with fishing activity, probably the best preserved
example from the Mesolithic in Europe. Recently analysed
botanical samples from submerged cultural deposits
have provided evidence for the contribution of plants
to the subsistence diet of the inhabitants of Tybrind Vig.
The food plant remains are represented by the charred
fragments of parenchymatous tissue from roots of Beta
vulgaris ssp. maritima (sea beet), fragments of Quercus
sp. parenchyma (acorn), and shell fragments of Corylus
ave!lana (hazelnut). The possibility that the grains of
Glyceria fluitans (floating sweet grass) and stems of
Phragmites australis (reed) were collected for food
should not be excluded. In addition to the species identified
in the charred remains, an abundance of edible plant
seeds and fruits were represented in the waterlogged remains,
suggesting that a much broader range of food
plants was available in the area. These additional foods
could have included a large variety of wild berries and
other fruits, such as Rubus idaeus, R. caesius, Fragaria
vesca, Malus sylvestris, Cornus sanguinea, Crataegus
monogyna/laevigata, Sorbus aucuparia, Viburnum
opulus and Rosa spp. Several other plants could have
been gathered as green vegetables (Rumex crispus,
Urtica dioica and Cakile maritima), or could have been
utilized for both their greens and seeds (Chenopodium
album, Atriplex and Scirpus maritimus).

This article presents evidence of hunting from the late Palaeolithic to the early Neolithic periods in a macro scale area, when hunting was the major component of subsistence. A special focus is on the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition.... more

This article presents evidence of hunting from the late Palaeolithic to the early Neolithic periods in a macro scale area, when hunting was the major component of subsistence. A special focus is on the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition. Hunting activities can be identified in the archaeological record, for example, wild faunal remains, hunting lesions on bones and impact traces on lithic projectile points.
In the study area, which is today the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea, Palaeolithic people at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum were adapted to an open landscape with herds of reindeer, wild horse and other big game. They had created weapons and strategies, which were ideally suited for hunting in such circumstances. The change towards a warmer climate and forestation forced new adaptations, innovations and techniques. These changes during the Mesolithic are visible both in the remains of weapons and via the bones of hunted animals which are dominated by red deer, wild boar and aurochs. The transition from a hunter-fisher-gatherer to a farming way of life took place in this area during the centuries between 4100 and 3600 calibrated radiocarbon years BC. Similarly to other European regions, this fundamental change in society and cultural life lead to a decreasing necessity for hunting. However, in the southwestern Baltic Sea area, hunting remained an important part of human life-ways after the transition. Red deer and carnivorous species such as wolf and bear became more important during the Neolithic – a view seen in the faunal assemblages. During the Neolithic it is possible that hunting became a marker of social status.

The close connection between humans and dogs in the prehistoric past, often with a focus on a hunting relationship, has long been proposed, yet has rarely been evaluated. This thesis investigates parallels in environment, culture,... more

The close connection between humans and dogs in the prehistoric past, often with a focus on
a hunting relationship, has long been proposed, yet has rarely been evaluated. This thesis
investigates parallels in environment, culture, adaptation and dog mortuary phenomenon
among three complex hunter-gatherer groups in the early Holocene. Although dog
domestication appears to have occurred in the late Upper Palaeolithic, the first instances of
intentional, individual dog burials are not seen until after the Pleistocene-Holocene
Transition. These burials appear nearly simultaneously among culturally and geographically
unrelated early Holocene complex hunter-gatherers in three distinct locations: the midsouth
United States, northern Europe and eastern Japan; coinciding with the onset of significant
postglacial warming that triggered dramatic environmental change throughout the northern
temperate zone; specifically the establishment of temperate deciduous forests. Along with
this new environment came new ungulate prey species, and with the new prey species
important hunting adaptations by humans. Ethnozooarchaeological fieldwork conducted
with modern hunters in the United States and Japan, along with additional ethnographic
material confirms the use of hunting dogs in temperate deciduous forests as a preferred
method which yields improved results, in contrast to boreal forests or open tundra, where
dogs can be a detriment. In densely forested environments, prey species often rely on
concealment, rather than flight, to escape predators and human hunters. Dogs give vital
assistance to hunters in these conditions, performing superhuman tasks such as locating
concealed prey, tracking wounded animals, and bringing them to bay. This thesis presents a
previously unidentified link between the first worldwide occurrences of individual,
intentional dog burials and changes in hunting environments and prey species brought about
by early Holocene climate change.

Afro-Asiatic words in Germanic might reflect the Ertebølle culture

While agriculture has spread quite rapidly from the Levant to most parts of Europe during the sixth millennium, its adoption has been delayed to the fourth millennium in Northern Europe, an area inhabited by complex hunter-gatherers –... more

While agriculture has spread quite rapidly from the Levant to most parts of Europe during the sixth millennium, its adoption has been delayed to the fourth millennium in Northern Europe, an area inhabited by complex hunter-gatherers – mainly the Ertebølle culture. This hiatus leads to reject diffusion by migration or acculturation and to favor the integrationist approach in which explanatory models are describing contact between foragers and farmers and the shift to agriculture is relying on social competition between hunter-gatherers. We provide an alternative explanation of this shift, based on an economic mechanism related to trade between foragers and farmers. We demonstrate that the terms of trade of raw materials extracted and sold by foragers have a tendency to decline in the long term in relation to the food resources produced and sold by farmers. Neolithization of Northern Europe can therefore be viewed as the outcome of a long-term process based on trade in which hunter-gatherers get voluntary involved without forecasting that it will, in the end, constraint most of them to give up their way of life. Such explanation is consistent with the long period of contact between foragers and farmers provided by archaeological records and recent palaeogenetic studies.

In the coastal waters of Kiel Bay near the village of Strande (district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein) divers unexpectedly came across trunks of fallen oak trees at 6 m depth, which led to the discovery of a new submerged... more

In the coastal waters of Kiel Bay near the village of Strande (district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein) divers unexpectedly came across trunks of fallen oak trees at 6 m depth, which led to the discovery of a new submerged late Mesolithic site. During a preliminary excavation
in 2012, research divers uncovered a well-preserved coastal site, consisting of several organic sediment and silt layers with a large number of stone artefacts and organic finds. Wooden objects,
plant remains, bones of several marine and freshwater fish, marine and terrestrial mammals, water birds and fragmented human bones were found. Tree ring dating, radiocarbon dates of leister prongs
and human bones, and the artefact inventory pinpoint the site to the pre-pottery Ertebølle phase (5450–4750 cal BC). Sites of this time period are of particular interest as they are still rare in the south-western Baltic Sea area, where only very few sites have been examined in detail. To evaluate
the extent of the organic sediment and silt layers and their potential for preserving more finds, a survey project was executed in summer 2014 over a wider area around the excavation. This established a high potential for the recovery of additional finds and structures in the surrounding area, and further investigations at Strande are planned.

New excavations at the mid-Holocene Stone Age site of Dąbki 9 in northern Poland provided not only evidence for imported pottery vessels over distances of c. 900 km at c. 4000 calBC, but also a mammal bone assemblage which is unique in... more

New excavations at the mid-Holocene Stone Age site of Dąbki 9 in northern Poland provided not only evidence for imported pottery vessels over distances of c. 900 km at c. 4000 calBC, but also a mammal bone assemblage which is unique in its composition for the southern Baltic Sea area. Beaver (Castor fiber) is by far dominating, and altogether, primary fur-bearing species constitute 77 percent of the identified animal bones. Both the dominance of subadult game individuals in the dietary waste (wild boar, aurochs) and the distinct seasonality (between April and July) suggest a special function for the site. Since contacts to southern Neolithic cultures are proven, the furs could have been used as exchange goods.
Although people from Dąbki 9 were in regular contact with farming cultures, there is no evidence for husbandry at the site. Ancient DNA analyses of questionable bovid remains show that all successfully sampled remains are from aurochs and not from cattle. Therefore, it is assumed that Dąbki was part of the general development in the southwestern Baltic Sea coastal area with a successive onset of cattle husbandry concurrent with the appearance of the first funnel beaker about 4000 calBC.

This artcile adresse the influence of the Ertebølle culture in the research history of the Dutch Neolithic. It was used as analogy for two phases of newly discovered archaeological phenomena: the Vlaardingen culture (in the 1950's) and... more

This artcile adresse the influence of the Ertebølle culture in the research history of the Dutch Neolithic. It was used as analogy for two phases of newly discovered archaeological phenomena: the Vlaardingen culture (in the 1950's) and the Swifterbant culture (1960's-1970's).

The origin and further development of the Funnel Beaker Culture is one of the key problems in the studies of the middle Neolithic of Northern Europe. This paper presents and discuss new data from the Dąbki site (southern Baltic coastal... more

The origin and further development of the Funnel Beaker Culture is one of the key problems in the studies of the middle Neolithic of Northern Europe. This paper presents and discuss new data from the Dąbki site (southern Baltic coastal area), where Late Mesolithic and early Funnel Beaker Culture settlement of the Northern Group was studied over last 10 years. These data are starting point for discussion on the origin of FBC. The authors interpret the earliest appearance of funnel beaker in the Northern Group of FBC around 4200-4000 cal. BC as a stylistic phenomenon that spread quickly on the European Lowland. Only after 4000 cal. BC we may consider the FBC as a completely formed Neolithic farming culture

The origin and further development of the Funnel Beaker Culture is one of the key problems in the studies of the middle Neolithic of Northern Europe. This paper presents and discuss new data from the Dąbki site (southern Baltic coastal... more

The origin and further development of the Funnel Beaker Culture is one of the key problems in the studies of the middle Neolithic of Northern Europe. This paper presents and discuss new data from the Dąbki site (southern Baltic coastal area), where Late Mesolithic and early Funnel Beaker Culture settlement of the Northern Group was studied over last 10 years. These data are starting point for discussion on the origin of FBC. The authors interpret the earliest appearance of funnel beaker in the Northern Group of FBC around 4200-4000 cal. BC as a stylistic phenomenon that spread quickly on the European Lowland. Only after 4000 cal. BC we may consider the FBC as a completely formed Neolithic farming culture