Late Neolithic Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

- by Heine Iversen
- •
- Late Bronze Age, Late Neolithic, Arkeologi i Østfold

L'objet de cet article est de présenter les vestiges néolithiques mis au jour sur le site de Matzenheim « Le Lavoir » lors des fouilles de sauvetage menées par Antea-Archéologie en 2008. Le principal intérêt de cette découverte est d'éclairer le passé néolithique d'un secteur encore largement méconnu. Deux périodes sont représentées. La première correspond à une petite occupation du Néolithique ancien rubané. Parmi la poignée de fosses découvertes, une fente se distingue par son mobilier inhabituellement abondant pour cette catégorie de structures. Après un hiatus de près d'un millénaire, le site est de nouveau fréquenté et une tombe y est aménagée. Il s'agit de la première sépulture sûrement attribuée au Michelsberg ancien du Rhin supérieur. Outre sa datation, cette tombe se distingue par son architecture originale qui ne trouve pas d'équivalent en Alsace.

- by Anthony Denaire
- •
- Funerary Archaeology, Linearbandkeramik, Late Neolithic, Michelsberg

Human stature as a measurement for evaluating physical status is used by the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as bioarchaeologists. A reason for this is that only about 80% depends on genetic factors, while 20% depend on the environment. Bad living conditions decrease stature in a population.
Thiis paper aims to make a short review of earlier reports on stature in Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age Southern Scandinavia and to provide some new data. It is clear that stature in Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age Scandinavia was very high, equal to modern statures.

Με αφορµή την έκδοση Η Ελλάδα στο ευρύτερο πολιτισµικό πλαίσιο των Βαλκανίων κατά την 5 η και 4 η χιλιετία π.Χ., Μουσείο Κυκλαδικής Τέχνης, Ίδρυµα Ν. Π. Γουλανδρή. Αθήνα 2010. Ν. Παπαδηµητρίου (επιµ.) µε συνεργασία Ζ. Τσιρτσώνη,, 124... more

- by Kosmas Touloumis
- •
- History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Greek History

Новые радиоуглеродные даты позволили существенно скорректировать хронологию ымыяхтахской культуры позднего неолита Восточной Сибири и сугуннахской пережиточно-ымыяхтахской культуры бронзового века сибирского Заполярья. Ключевые даты для ымыяхтахской культуры были получены в последние годы для нижних культурных горизонтов многослойной стоянки Улахан Сегеленнях (Южная Якутия), а для сугуннахской культуры – на памятниках Нижней Индигирки, в том числе на стоянке Сугуннах. Согласно новым данным, ымыяхтахская культура относится к календарному промежутку 2960±60 – 1185±185 гг. до н.э., а сугуннахская пережиточно-ымыяхтахская культура – к 955±125 г. до н.э. – 335±205 г. н.э. Продолжительность ымыяхтахской культуры составляет около 1775 лет, сугуннахской – около 1290 лет.

- by Viktor Dyakonov
- •
- Bronze Age, Late Neolithic, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Yakutia
- by Heinz Gruber
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic
- by Pero Sinadinovski
- •
- Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic of the Balkans, Late Neolithic, Vinča culture

Аbstract: During the past century, an enormous corpus of raw data was collected through extensive archaeological fieldwork on the territory of the Central Balkans-pottery, stone tools, figurines, and many more. However, due to the fact that researchers have mainly been concerned with culture-historical problems, usually only a few diagnostic finds were published, while the major part of the collections often remained unstudied. In this paper, we address a particular artefact from the site of Crnokalačka Bara, near Ražanj (central Serbia) that represents a large leg, shaped like an animal foot, possibly belonging to a figurine or a vessel. Since the evidence of these finds in the Neolithic of the Central Balkans is extremely rare, the aims of the paper are to contribute to the identification of "omit-ted" archaeological artefacts, to be of illustrative use to other researchers encountering similar problems, and to offer some insights into the daily life of Neolithic communities. An overview of the site itself is also presented, followed by a brief description of its ceramic assemblage.

- by Marija Svilar and +1
- •
- Neolithic pottery, Late Neolithic, zoomorphic Figurines, Vinča culture

Diet and health during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Scandinavia have never been under systematic study. Still, high statures have been reported from osteologists, statures
that indicate good health. This article is based on a pilot study examining health changes in relation to dietary changes due to intensified agriculture and the possible Secondary Products Revolution as discussed by Sherratt in the early 1980s. Several different bioarchaeological methods for investigating health are applied to the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age graves
of Abbekås, southernmost Sweden, showing several parameters connected to health and viewing tendencies of health changes possibly connected to an agricultural intensification.

- by Anna Tornberg
- •
- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Health, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology)

The article presents some new finds of rare flint arrow-head-types from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, mostly dated to late-neolithic beaker-cultures

Med sina närmare fyrtio hus utgör Almhov den enskilda lokal i Sydskandinavien som innehåller den största koncentrationen av huslämningar från senneolitikum och äldre bronsålder. Den skiljer sig således från andra platser med bebyggelse från den här tiden. Almhov kan för den sakens skull inte betraktas isolerat i ett lokalt bebyggelseperspektiv. Platsen utgör endast en yta inom ett uppdragsarkeo logiskt projekt där arkeologiskt belagd avgränsning saknas. Som kommer att framgå visar kringliggande bebyggelse tydligt på detta. Avstampet för detta arbete tas i de omfattande platsanknutna rapporterna från de olika lokaler som behandlas här. I dessa finns mer specifik information om bland annat detaljer i huskonstruktioner, fynd, utgrävningsmetodik, provtagning och källkritiska as pekter som inte kommer att redovisas systematiskt i detta sammanhang.

- by Kristian Brink
- •
- Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Late Neolithic

Domuztepe is located 40 km to the south of Kahramanmaraş city center in the Turkish Eastern Mediterranean. After its discovery during a 1993 survey by an Anglo-American team, excavations began in 1995 until 2006 under E. Carter (UCLA) and continued by S. Campbell (University of Manchester) from 2008 until 2012. Since 2013, a Turkish team from Hacettepe University in Ankara has carried out the excavations under the directorship of H. Tekin.
The pottery of Domuztepe was classified into five main groups by the new team. The first group is composed of organic and sand-tempered rough clay. The second group is similar to the first group with regards to the production technique and surface treatment; however, the difference is mineral temper and tighter texture. The third group is the Dark Faced Burnished Ware. The fourth group is the Orange Fine Ware. The fifth group differs from others in paste quality and color. This group, named Fine Ware by the new team, consists mainly of painted examples known as the Halafian style in Near Eastern archaeology, painted with a very vibrant narrative scene. In addition to humans and animals, building and tree motifs have an important place in the narrative scenes.

- by Halil Tekin
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Prehistoric Art, Pottery, Neolithic pottery

La fouille de sauvetage réalisée sur le tracé de la future rocade ouest de la ville de Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) a permis de mettre au jour les vestiges d’un habitat et de trois inhumations multiples du Néolithique récent. Les défunts ont été enterrés dans des fosses de type silo à propos desquelles aucune observation n’a permis de déterminer si elles ont été creusées spécialement pour l’occasion ou non.
Le nombre d’individus inhumés varie de deux à quatre et dans chaque fosse les restes d’au moins un enfant côtoient ceux d’un ou de deux adultes. Les défunts ont été enterrés entiers et sans doute de manière simultanée ou dans un court laps de temps. Dans une des inhumations deux corps, dont seuls quelques os ont été recueillis, font cependant exception. Ils ont probablement été inhumés quelques temps après les premières inhumations.
Les positions des défunts sont marquées par une certaine diversité et il existe quasiment une position par défunt. Il est cependant possible de créer deux catégories opposant les individus placés en position accroupie avec les avants-bras repliés sur les bras, aux autres individus aux positions non codifiées donnant pour certains l’impression d’avoir été jetés dans les fosses. Cette différence dans les positions s’accompagne, dans une même fosse, d’une divergence similaire dans les orientations qui diffèrent d’un individu à l’autre.
Le mobilier recueilli comporte des vases, un collier composé de deux craches et d’un galet perforé ainsi qu’un gobelet en bois de cerf (Hirschgeweihbecher). L’attribution de ces inhumations à l’étape récente du Munzingen a été confirmée par une série de datations C14.

- by Anthony Denaire
- •
- Late Neolithic, Munzingen culture
- by Halil Tekin
- •
- Pottery (Archaeology), Late Neolithic, Samarran Culture, Hassuna Culture

The Palù di Livenza wetland lies at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau in the Pordenone area. The research directed by the Soprintendenza since 1981 have highlighted archaeological materials and wooden features of a Late Neolithic pile-dwelling site that is largely unexplored and preserves many archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. Thanks to the richness of deposits, Palù di Livenza is inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in the transnational serial property “Prehistoric pile-dwellings around the Alps” together with other 18 northern Italian localities. In 2013, the Soprintendenza have started a new phase of research in Sector 3 still ongoing. The new excavations intend to gain a better insight into stratigraphy to delineating the settlement phasing, to collect new samples for chronology, and finally to obtain new data regarding cultural and material development. The paper presents the results of the recent investigations in Sector 3, focusing on some peculiar findings. Il Palù di Livenza è un’importante area umida che si estende nella Pedemontana pordenonese alle falde dell’altopiano del Cansiglio. Ricerche archeologiche dirette dalla Soprintendenza e condotte sin dal 1981 hanno consentito di individuare materiali e strutture di un villaggio palafitticolo della fase recente e tarda del Neolitico. Tuttavia, buona parte del sito rimane ancora inesplorato, preservando così un importante archivio di dati archeologici e paleoambientali. Grazie alle sue potenzialità, Palù di Livenza è iscritto, assieme ad altre 18 località italiane, nella lista del Patrimonio Mondiale dell’UNESCO nel sito seriale transnazionale
“Siti palafitticoli preistorici dell’arco alpino”. Nel 2013 la Soprintendenza ha ripreso le ricerche
nell’area indicata come Settore 3, tuttora in corso, con la finalità di ricavare una stratigrafia affidabile del deposito necessaria a delineare le fasi di frequentazione, di disporre di nuovi campioni per la cronologia e di raccogliere nuovi dati sulla cultura materiale. Il lavoro presenta i risultati delle prime due campagne di scavo realizzate nel Settore 3, concentrandosi su alcuni ritrovamenti particolari.

Based on the Zsóa von Torma’s private collection, the early cultural stage, named Vinca-Turdas, of Vinca culture
(phases A and B) was defined. Later, was proved that the Turdas site provide only elements contemporary to Vinca
C phase and Turdas culture is a different cultural and chronological entity from Vinca A and B phases. The use of
correspondence analysis and the increased number of 14C dates available enables a much better overview on the
Late Neolithic chronology from Transylvania. Thus, it can be established that the Turdas culture is contemporary
to Vinca C2 until beginning of D phases and Turdas II phase = Iclod II phase.

The Polgár-Csőszhalom site fi rst became known to Hungarian and international archaeological scholarship in 1929. Following Ida Bognár-Kutzián's earlier excavation, the large-scale, complex investigation of the site was begun in 1989, whose main goal was a better understanding of both the site and its environment. The joint application of new research methods opened entirely new perspectives in archaeological research. Aerial archaeological photography, magnetometer surveys and geoarchaeological investigations combined with GIS modelling and fi eld surveys enriched the canvas of the Late Neolithic communities settling at Polgár-Csőszhalom and on Polgár Island with countless new details and hues.

- by András Füzesi and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Settlement, Settlement archaeology, Late Neolithic

Our information about the Late Neolithic period and the Early
Bronze Age in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern comes mainly from
graves, hoards and surface finds. Settlements, on the other
hand, in particular sites with house features, are known only
in very small numbers. Since the mid-199os, however, large-
scale excavations, conducted as part of major infrastructure
projects, have frequently uncovered both settlement features
and house ground plans, the latter usually found in isola-
tion, which have been dated to the Late Neolithic or the Early
Bronze Age. The house ground-plans were mainly of two-
aisled post-built structures whose construction methods had
varying, but easily recognisable, Scandinavian, north-west
or central German parallels. Another catagory of buildings
were pit houses, whose original use, however, is still unclear.
Additionally, and chiefly in areas close to the River Elbe, evi-
dence was found of wall trench structures, constructed either
with sill beams or with wall-posts. Although considerable pro-
gress has been made in recent years, settlements dating from
the Late Neolithic period and the Early Bronze Age are still
under-represented, with the result that our understanding
of house construction and land use in these periods is still
incomplete.

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study combining archaeology, osteology, and stable isotope analyses. The geological conditions and richness of megalithic graves in Falbygden is suitable for studies of Neolithic human remains. Nevertheless, the Late Neolithic period (2350–1700 BC) is poorly investigated. This paper explores new knowledge of the Late Neolithic megalithic population in Falbygden. In-depth osteological and archaeological studies focusing on a single gallery grave (Falköping stad 5) were conducted. Radiocarbon dating and carbon, nitrogen, and strontium isotope analyses of teeth from twenty-one individuals revealed the time of the grave’s use, as well as the subsistence and mobility practices of the buried individuals. The grave was already in use during the first part of the Late Neolithic and used into the second part of the period by individuals of different origin. Furthermore, the results indicated changing population dynamics in the Late Neolithic Falbygden, with increased human mobility, variability in subsistence strategies, and growing population density.

- by Anna Tornberg and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, Osteology, Health
- by Jakob Maurer
- •
- Late Neolithic, Ground stone tools, Lengyel Culture, Baden culture

This is the introduction to the edited volume "Warfare in Bronze Age society" published by Cambridge University Press. The introduction present the premise of the volume, an overview of past and current research, and introduces the articles of the volume. The book and ebook can be purchased here: http://www.cambridge.org/core_title/gb/500176

- by Christian Horn and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Violence

The thesis aims to put the draft into the practice for further substantial research into the sling missiles in the Near East which has been made in the prior bachelor thesis. The presented work will try to establish a first morphological means for the identification of sling projectiles in the archaeological record in the Near East. The main goal is to concentrate on the metric data and the functional design of projectiles in order to establish parameters which are characteristic only for sling projectiles. The necessary size, weight and form parameters, however, cannot at present be deduced from archaeological artefacts proper, because the identification of "rounded handy-sized objects of clay or stone RHO" (Kubíková 2013, 17) as sling projectiles is disputed and very different functions for the plain and ball-like items are proposed (cooking stones, tokens etc.). The central idea is to get to valid parameters after studying sling projectiles in a secure context, where their identification is unambiguous, namely in their use by recent-ethnographic societies. Studying the attributes of slingstones from the ethnographic contexts from Oceania and Americas, it is hoped that realistic size and shape ranges can be defined which could serve as a supporting tool when designating and interpreting small finds of stone or clay in the Neolithic Near East. The range margins, it is thought, in the first step, will permit to subtract from the archaeological record all RHO items that fall out of the size, weight and form range of ethnographically attested sling missiles. As a testing case, the ethnographically derived parameters will be applied to various kinds of plain clay balls that were found at the Late Neolithic site Tell Arbid Abyad (MU-ARBA Project, NE-Syria, 2007–2010). Beyond that much of the available archaeological information and photographs of slingstones, sling balls and sling projectiles are brought together to spur an archaeological comparison and which could help archaeologists with a correct identification of small artefacts.

- by Barbora Kubíková
- •
- Syria, Archaeology of Hunting, Sling, Late Neolithic

The paper is set out to present current evidence about the timing of cultural change from the Late Neolithic (henceforth LN) to the Copper Age (henceforth CA) in the northern and central Balkans. It also discusses the character of this cultural change and evaluates current models that offer ways of explaining and interpreting different processes at play. The LN and subsequent Early Copper Age (henceforth ECA) periods in this region as well as in many other regions of Europe have for a very long time been directly linked to various culture-historical labels. Hence, I will inevitably also discuss the extent to which archaeological cultures are the excess baggage of our disciplinary and regional archaeological histories, and whether they can in any meaningful way be used when modelling societal changes, such as the one discussed herein.

Monografija "Praistorijska nalazišta u aleksinačkoj kotlini: Evidencija i revizija starih podataka" predstavlja rezultat dugotrajnog rada na objedinjavanju svih raspoloživih podataka o arheološkim istraživanjima praistorijskih lokaliteta u Aleksinačkoj kotlini, koji je sproveden u sklopu projekata Arheološka prospekcija Aleksinačke opštine i Arheološka prospekcija donjeg toka Južne Morave. Osnovni cilj projekta je izučavanje odnosa između ljudskih naselja i okoline, odnosno interakcije između ljudi i okolnog predela u dijahronoj perspektivi. Jedna od glavnih težnji jeste sagledavanje primenjivosti različitih modela naseljavanja i uočavanje određenih pravilnosti u izboru mesta za naselje kroz različite praistorijske periode. S tim u vezi posebno je bilo bitno odrediti tačan položaj lokaliteta, čemu je u značajnoj meri doprinela revizija dokumenata iz muzejskih arhiva. Ona je podrazumevala i tumačenje rukopisa i kritičku procenu verodostojnosti podataka o arheološkim nalazištima. Napor autora da determinišu i u kulturno-hronološkom pogledu evidentiraju faze naseljavanja na nalazištima u Aleksinačkoj kotlini na osnovu arheološkog materijala, arhivske građe i publikovanih radova predstavlja temelj za buduća istraživanja u okviru projekta. Posebna pažnja je usmerena na geografske odlike regije i naseljavanje različitih mikro-predela i visinskih zona u cilju utvrđivanja obrazaca naseljavanja tokom različitih faza praistorije. Predstavljeno monografsko izdanje pokriva period od prvih istraživačkih saznanja o praistoriji Aleksinačke kotline do današnjih dana, čime je popunjena praznina, duža od jednog veka, tokom koje nije izdata ni jedna arheološka publikacija koja objedinjuje godinama gomilanu građu. Na taj način prikazano delo prezentuje niz korisnih podataka koji na prvom mestu pružaju uvid u položaj arheoloških nalazišta, objedinjujući pri tome i sve ostale relevantne podatke.

- by Petar Milojević and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Settlement Patterns

We present the results of the archaeological excavation in two open-air settlements dated between the middle of the IV and III millennium cal BC, practically only published testimonies in the right margin of the Ebro River (La Rioja, Spain). Both show common characteristics in their size (2-2.5 ha), organization and location criteria in an intermediate fluvial terrace, characteristics of segmental societies that built megaliths; also because the low number of archaeological materials that suggest a temporary and recurrent occupation. The settlement of Igay (Varea-Logroño, Spain) is chronologically located in the Late Neolithic (4750 ± 30 BP, 3637-3382 cal BC 2σ); the structural record is formed by 15 pits (storage pits, furnace, post hole and other indeterminate pits). Geometrical and retouching flat cover coexist as elements of lithic industry transition to the Chalcolithic, which could be placed ca. 3500 cal BC. Pottery are related to the Cameros megalithic stations, 20 km away and with evident contextual and chronological relation. The settlement is explained by the temporary exploitation of the resources in Ebro River fertile plain, with agricultural and hunting activities evidenced by hand querns and lithic arrowheads, respectively. Los Cascajos (Grañón, Spain) site is an open-air Chalcolithic settlement with an appreciable organization in disposition of the 32 negative structures documented. Approximately, 47% are combustion structures; the rest are interpreted as pits storage, post holes, indeterminate pits and a possible hut. Two almost continuous ditches delimit the nuclear area, inscribed on a small hill. In the archaeological site there are elements of transition to the Early Bronze Age, especially in the pottery repertoire. The lithic industry technique is laminar and with foliaceous; the absence of sickle and hand querns elements is striking, but in the settlement metal processing is present. The site is located chronologically at advanced Chalcolithic,
dating 4097 ± 36 BP (2866-2498 cal BC 2σ); it anticipates the features of regional Early Bronze Age (ca. 2400 cal
BC) without an abrupt rupture. The deficit of interventions in synchronic settlements in front of megalith tombs and cavity contexts requires diversifying the information at a regional scale to obtain more adjusted profiles of these communities.

- by Javier Jiménez Echevarría and +1
- •
- Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Neolithic, Late Neolithic
- by Ralf Lehmphul
- •
- Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Late Neolithic

Katalog der endneolithischen und frühbronzezeitlichen Hausgrundrisse in Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen.

- by Harald Meller and +1
- •
- Neolithic Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bell Beakers (Archaeology), Household Archaeology
- by Marija Svilar
- •
- Pottery (Archaeology), Textile Technology, Late Neolithic, Vinča culture

Polished stone axes and adzes are ubiquitously recovered during the process
of archaeological investigations at Neolithic settlements in the Balkans. Such artifact
types are most commonly interpreted as the everyday tools of woodworking, hide
processing, and/or tilling. However, Grebska-Kulow and Whitford (2016) have
previously presented evidence that these seemingly mundane objects might also have
been utilized in domestic rituals. At the Early Neolithic settlements of Ilindentsi and
Balgarchevo, located in the Struma River Valley of Bulgaria, several stone axes and
adzes were found placed below large storage vessels and ovens and/or were placed
directly on top of storage pits. We suggested that the latter contexts represent the
occurrence of ritual deposition. During more recent archaeological investigations, we
again discovered evidence to support our claim. At the Late Neolithic settlement of
Damyanitsa, two storage vessels found within buildings were found containing
numerous stone axes and adzes that had additionally been coated with ochre. In this
paper, we suggest that the latter is yet another example on the use of polished stone
axes and adzes in domestic ritual. In conclusion, we elaborate on the diachronic
characteristics of domestic ritual practices during the Neolithic Period in the Struma
River Valley, Bulgaria.

- by Małgorzata Gębska-Kulow and +2
- •
- Ritual Theory, Late Neolithic, Polished Stone Axes, Central Balkans

Relationships between local and micro-regional phenomena of the Late Neolithic and Copper Age are studied on the basis of archaeological research related to the natural environment at the site of Polgár-Csőszhalom in the Upper Tisza Region, Hungary. Following the collapse of the Late Neolithic socio-ecological system, its cultural elements formed new structures and resurfaced creating new equilibria in the area called Polgár Island around 4500-4400 cal BC. Consequently, there is a distinct continuity between material manifestations characteristic of the Late Neolithic and the Copper Age respectively. Meanwhile the new cultural integration also rcreated new qualitative traits, values and scales.

- by Pál Raczky and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology
- by Florian Eibl
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Ritual, Culture

In 1992, the member states of the Council of Europe co-signed the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage in Valletta (Malta) This has led to the development-led archaeology in many countries, also in the Netherlands, especially from 2001 onwards. But has Development-led archaeology been able to generate new knowledge about the past? Has increased prospection and excavation activity payed of? Should we continue in the same style, or should we formulate new kinds of research questions?
These are the kinds of questions that the present book aims to discuss. The main goal is to assess the gain in knowledge resulting from development-led archaeology, notably for remains of the period 2850-1500 cal BC: the Late Neolithic, the Early Bronze Age and the start of the Middle Bronze Age. We know this period very well from burial mounds and bronze hoards. Bronze objects and burial assemblages are widely discussed in international literature, for the Bell Beaker period even with the Netherlands as a typological role model. The question we raise in this book is whether development-led archaeology has confirmed this picture, or whether large scale excavations in ‘Malta-context’ have generated other types of evidence. Have we been able to detect houses from these periods, or settlements? Are these comparable for all regions or are there regional differences? Do we have indications for social stratification; for migrations?
The answers to such questions are hidden in the many reports that development-led archaeology has produced in the last 15 years. The problem is that so many site reports have been, that it is a large task to synthesise these data and translate them into coherent models. Therefor the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) commissioned the authors to go over all the data assembled in the last 15 years, present them to the wider public in a synthesised form, and answer a number of research questions. Because these data are published in Dutch language site reports, this book has been written in English to make the data available to a European (scientific) public. Relevant sites have all been summarised in Chapter 7, which therefore has become the central part of this publication. A synthesis of the Dutch data was formulated in Chapter 8, demonstrating that especially settlement evidence has dramatically changed our perception of the period. The traditional image based on burial data needs to be altered completely. This has implications for the international discourse on the Beaker period as well.
The book ends with a large number of methodical and theoretical avenues that can be followed to gain more knowledge in the next fifteen years of development-led archaeology. We plea for a far more integrated approach between all specialists involved in archaeological excavation and post-excavation analysis. Only then we will be really able to generate new knowledge about the past.

- by Harry Fokkens and +2
- •
- Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bronze Age Archaeology, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Settlement archaeology

H. Meller/N. Nicklisch/J. Orschiedt/K. W. Alt, Rituelle Zweikämpfe schnurkeramischer Krieger? In: H. Meller/M. Schefzik (Hrsg.), Krieg – eine archäologische Spurensuche. Begleitband zur Sonderausstellung im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte... more

- by Kurt W. Alt and +2
- •
- Neolithic Archaeology, Physical Anthropology, Corded Ware Culture, Late Neolithic

"Le passé de Sierentz est plutôt bien connu, notamment grâce aux nombreuses fouilles réalisées depuis la fin des années 70 dans la partie nord de la commune près de la petite chapelle de la Hochkirch (Tiergarten, Sandgrube, Zac HOELL). Le site des « Villas d’Aurèle » est lui situé au sud, il semblait donc intéressant de documenter une zone entièrement vierge de recherche. Qui plus est, le contexte topographique et géologique est sensiblement différent du secteur de la Hochkirch : on se trouve ici dans les premiers contreforts loessiques du Sundgau oriental.
A l’issue de l’opération d’évaluation, la problématique principale était de mieux appréhender l’occupation du Néolithique récent qui avait été repérée et qui se matérialisait principalement par un ensemble de fosses circulaires (dont une contenait des inhumations) et des fentes.
La fouille a permis la mise au jour de plusieurs occupations datant de différentes périodes, essentiellement néolithique mais aussi protohistoriques.
Le Néolithique moyen (groupe de Bruebach-Oberbergen) est représenté par trois fosses circulaires et surtout un ensemble de 34 fentes, incluant celles déjà repérées lors du diagnostic, dont l’organisation spatiale est inédite. Orientées sud-ouest / nord-est, elles sont disposées le long d’un couloir sud-est / nord-ouest d’une trentaine de mètres de large traversant la zone fouillée du nord au sud.
Objet principal de la problématique originelle, l’occupation du Néolithique récent repérée lors du diagnostic n’a été complétée que par cinq fosses circulaires dont une seule contenait une inhumation. L’étude de l’ensemble céramique qu’elles ont livré, associée à une série de datation au carbone 14, a permis d’alimenter la récente remise en question de la typo-chronologie de cette période.
La fin du Néolithique est marquée par quatre sépultures campaniformes. Disposées sur un axe nord-ouest / sud-est, elles contenaient les corps d’un enfant, d’une femme et de deux hommes. L’excellent état de conservation des tombes masculines a en outre permis la reconnaissance d’une architecture en bois. D’une manière générale, ce type de découvertes des années 60. Leur état de conservation et leur riche mobilier font des sépultures de Sierentz une découverte majeure de cette période dans la région.
Le site est ensuite occupé durant la Protohistoire, mais les indices qui ont pu être mis au jour lors de la fouille restent cependant assez réduits et la nature de ces occupations n’a pu être précisée.
Le Bronze final IIb est essentiellement représenté par un ensemble de 15 fosses circulaires et de fosses-silos. Certaines de ces fosses contenaient des dépôts de vases entiers et s’organisaient le long d’un axe sud-ouest / nord-est dans la moitié ouest de l’emprise. Six autres fosses et silos sont datés du Hallstatt D1. Il est possible que durant ces périodes, la zone d’occupation humaine principale soit plutôt à chercher dans la partie nord la commune.
Enfin quelques menus indices d’occupations postérieures, éventuellement romaines, ainsi qu’une probable aspergerie d’époque Moderne et/ou Contemporaine ont été mis en évidence"

- by Luc Vergnaud and +3
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- Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Chalcolithic Pottery, Chalcolithic Archaeology, Bell Beakers (Archaeology)