Journal of Neolithic Archaeology
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Das hallstattzeitliche Brandgräberfeld
No full textEine der größten Überraschungen des Calden-Projektes waren die zahlreichen Aktivitätsspuren späterer Epochen im Bereich des Erdwerks und des Grabes II. Sie waren vor Projektbeginn anhand der Lesefunde in diesem Ausmaß nicht erkennbar und belegen eine intensive Nutzung des gesamten Areals von der Errichtung des Erdwerks bis in die Eisenzeit hinein. Eine besondere Rolle spielt hierbei ein ausgedehntes Brandgräberfeld, dessen Zentrum offensichtlich bewußt im Bereich eines ehemaligen Zuganges in das Erdwerk hinein angelegt wurde.The construction of the enclosure was a starting point for several exclusively ritual activities in the whole area. The most impressive evidence for this is an early Iron-Age cremation cemetery (Hallstatt C1) in the northern and eastern parts of the enclosure (Areas E and L). 29 cremations, most of which were plough-damaged, were excavated in the 1990-91 season. A small mortuary structure in the centre of the cemetery, consisting of six posts, was - probably deliberately - placed in the middle of the Neolithic gateway
Das Neolithikum in der Schweiz
Get PDFNeolithic research in Switzerland is inseparably bound with its numerous lake side settlements. They were already discovered in the middle of the 19th century and became famous as „Pfahlbauten“. The concept of Neolithic Cultures that was developed in the 1930’s by Emil Vogt was undoubtedly influenced by contemporaneous ethnological thinking („Kulturkreislehre“). In his publications Vogt expresses the conviction that „Neolithic Cultures“ are identical with population groups, tribes or peoples. As modern methods of absolute datings did not exist at that time his observations were dependant on typological comparisons. Most importantly, he could not differentiate chronological gaps of several hundred years. Without natural scientific dating methods and relying solely on topography he developed the view that the evolution of ceramics in a region can only be explained by the immigration of foreign people. His proposed chronological chart, which was updated in the 1960/70’s, is still in use today. However, in our opinion it is antiquated.During the last two decades dendrochronology and C14 has offered a large number of absolute datings for the Neolithic period. This encourages us to follow new approaches of interpretation. Our concept is based on the well dated material of lake side settlements from Switzerland and Southern Germany. We propose a new time/space regionally defined chronological system that is primarily based on absolute dating taking also into consideration that different geographic regions show different evolutions. The idea of Neolithic „Cultures“ and associate folk behind them is abandoned and replaced by the neutral notion of „specific groupings of material finds („Fundkomplexgruppen“). Our proposed overview of the Neolithic in Switzerland elucidates more the gradual evolution of the archaeological material («Kulturwandel») in the 4th millennium BC on theSwiss Plateau. Influences reach this zone variably from Western or Eastern directions depending on the historic period of time we are looking at. The appearance of the Europe-wide discernible beaker phenomena (corded ware/bell beakers) in the 3rd millennium BC also calls for new models of explanation
Anmerkungen zu Klaus Albrecht - "Die Stele von Wellen: Mondkalender - Mondsymbolik?"
No full textIn einem Online-Artikel hat Klaus Albrecht die sehr regelmäßige Ornamentik der Stele von Wellen (Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hessen) als Reflexion neolithischer Mondbeobachtung, Kalender oder Mondsymbolik, gedeutet - eine sicher nicht unumstrittene These. Hier nun eine kritische Stellungnahme von archäoastronomischer Seite.In his online-article on the Wellen stele near Kassel (Hesse) Klaus Albrecht proposed an interpretation as a lunar calendar or - more generally - as a reflection of accurate Neolithic moon observations. Here now a reply from a strictly archaeo-astronomical point of view, in which the calendar hypothesis is rejected because of poor agreement between pattern of decoration and moon phases
Vom Leben mit dem Tod - Ein Graben zwischen Diesseits und Jenseits?
No full textLassen sich Erdwerksgräben als Grenzziehung zwischen Heiligem und Profanem oder - expliziter - zwischen Diesseits und Jenseits interpretieren? Oder ist die Idee eines Totenreiches, in dem die Verstorbenen nach dem Übergang weiterleben, in dieser Form nicht mit frühen religiösen Vorstellungen vereinbar? Der folgende Artikel untersucht diese Frage vor dem Hintergrund vorsokratischer Seelenvorstellungen.Are the ditch systems of causewayed enclosures to be regarded as boundaries between the Sacred and the Profane or between the realms of the Living and the Dead respectively? Pre-Socratic beliefs concerning the character of the "soul" might give helpful hints to what in Neolithic times was a commonly shared notion of the Beyond. It is argued here, that fully developed beliefs of the soul living on in a separate world are characteristic of later epochs
Das Erdwerk (2) - Funde, Chronologie, Nutzung
No full textSiehe [Zusammenfassung/ Abstract s. Das Erdwerk (1)]See [Zusammenfassung/ Abstract s. Das Erdwerk (1)
Rekonstruktion einer rituellen Landschaft
No full textWas ist eine „Rituelle Landschaft"? In einer eher allgemeinen Definition eine Region, deren Charakter zu einer bestimmten Epoche oder auch für lange Zeit von religiös motivierten Aktivitäten bestimmt wird und die im heutigen Fundbild durch eine Häufung von entsprechenden Objekten gekennzeichnet ist. Die wohl bekanntesten Beispiele sind die Salisbury Plain mit Stonehenge und das Morbihan mit Carnac. Ist eine entsprechende Prägung der Landschaft erst einmal vorhanden, können sich auch nachfolgende Generationen häufig diesem Sog nicht entziehen. Die Untersuchungen in Calden zeigen, daß rituelle Landschaften auch in wesentlich kleineren Dimensionen auf mikroregionaler Basis nachweisbar sind.The construction of the Calden causewayed enclosure marks the starting point for several exclusively ritual activities in its vicinity - dating from late Michelsberg to at least the late Hallstatt period and limited to a dry limestone ridge, peripheral to the potential settlement areas further to the East (stream valleys of the Calde and Esse). They are interpreted as component parts of a ritual landscape on a micro scale, forming a mediating "belt of ancestors" between the outer sphere in the West and the settlements of the "living" in the East
The Neolithic Palisaded Enclosure at Hindwell, Powys, Wales
No full textGegenüber den zahlreichen als Wall-Graben-Anlagen konstruierten Erdwerken bilden reine Palisaden-Einhegungen eher eine Ausnahmeerscheinung. Eine ungewöhnliche Vertreterin dieser Gattung ist das 1994 entdeckte Palisadenoval von Hindwell in Wales. Legten die Bewuchsmerkmale ein Grabenwerk nahe, so zeigen erste Ausgrabungen, daß der Befund tatsächlich aus aneinandergereihten Fundamentgruben für äußerst massive Eichenpfosten besteht, die auf einer Länge von 2,35 km eine Fläche von 34 Hektar umschlossen. Mit Hilfe von 14C-Messungen von verschiedenen Stellen des Palisadenrundes kann die Anlage um 2700 v. Chr. datiert werden.Neolithic systems of ditches, embankments and - sometimes - palisade structures represent the majority of the European causewayed enclosures. Enclosures consisting purely of palisades are quite an exception up to now, especially, if they are as monumental as the Hindwell site in Wales. What might well be interpreted as a single-ditch system from the air, turns out to be a "megadendric" structure of impressive dimensions, dating to the Later Neolithic
Das Erdwerk (1) - Befunde
No full textSeit mehr als einhundert Jahren wird die Funktion jungsteinzeitlicher Erdwerke leidenschaftlich und kontrovers diskutiert. Die beiden gegensätzlichen Pole - Befestigung oder Ritualplatz - stehen nach wie vor unversöhnlich nebeneinander, doch wird häufig übersehen, daß Erdwerk nicht gleich Erdwerk ist, hier also keine einheitliche Quellengruppe vorliegt. So liefern die detaillierten Untersuchungen in Calden auch keine Gesamtlösung der Erdwerksproblematik, geben aber einzigartige Hinweise zur Architektur und zum speziellen Kontext, in dem vor allem sehr große - monumentale - Anlagen errichtet wurden.The Calden causewayed enclosure consists of a double-ditch system, covering an area of 14 ha. Two parallel palisade trenches, accompaning the inner ditch, can be reconstructed as a wall, constructed of timber and earth. Access was possible at seven points (causeways), each of which was controlled by a wooden building of a similar ground plan, which would allow only one person at a time pass through into the inner range. The architecture of these gateways is unique in Neolithic Europe. The façade (front) of the enclosure faces towards south-west; a direct connection to a long distance track from the Hellweg zone to the Kassel basin, leading by in the direct vicinity, is highly probable. Several features underline the role of the enclosure as a place where ritual and mortuary activities were carried out in a context of representation, territoriality and communication towards the outer sphere.The use of the enclosure can be divided into three main phases: A - c. 3700 / 3600 BC: construction and first refilling of the ditches. Sparse late Michelsberg and Baalberge material. B - c. 3200 / 3000 BC: Re-use and re-cutting of the ditches, no more palisades. Horgen-like pottery of the older Wartberg Culture and some Tiefstich sherds (TRB-Westgroup). C - c. 2900 / 2000 BC: Continuous re-use of the ditches. In the uppermost part of the filling traces of the Single Grave Culture (Einzelgrabkultur)
RADON - Radiocarbon dates online 2012. Central European database of 14C dates for the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age.
Get PDFIn order to understand the dynamics of cultural phenomena, scientific dating in archaeology is an increasingly indispensable tool. Only by dating independently of typology is it possible to understand typological development itself (Müller 2004). Here radiometric dating methods, especially those based on carbon isotopy, still play the most important role. For evaluations exceeding the intra-site level, it is particularly important that such data is collected in large numbers and that the dates are easily accessible. Also, new statistical analyses, such as sequential calibration based on Bayesian methods, do not require single dates, but rather demand a greater number. By their combination significantly more elaborate results can be achieved compared to the results from conventional evaluation (e. g. Whittle et al. 2011).A second premise of RADON is that of „Open Access“. This approach continues to be applied in the international research community, which we welcome as a highly positive development. The radiocarbon database RADON has been committed to this principle for more than 12 years. In this database 14C data – primarily of the Neolithic of Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia – is collected and successively augmented
Das Kollektivgrab Odagsen I
No full textZwischen 1981 und 1984 untersucht, bildet das nichtmegalithische Kollektivgrab von Odagsen (I) ein Lehrbuch-Beispiel für den Bestattungsplatz einer Gemeinschaft, die nicht in die gängigen kulturellen Schubladen paßt. Einflüsse aus allen Himmelsrichtungen zeigen hier wie in den übrigen vorgestellten Anlagen, daß das Leinetal in der zweiten Hälfte des 3. Jahrtausends "zwischen den Kulturen" lag - und dadurch ein besonderes Gepräge erhielt.This non-megalithic grave, excavated between 1981 to 1984, exhibits a variety of cultural influences, which do not fit the pidgin holes of culture classification. It demonstrates that at this time the Leine River valley was a region "between cultures": Salzmünde/Bernburg in the East, Wartberg in the South and the TRB in the North and West. The chamber itself was a very long but narrow wooden construction with a tent-like roof, covered by earth. At the entrance in the south-east and at the back of the chamber in the north-west traces of megalithic stones were found. Radiocarbon dates and typochronology of the pottery indicate that the chamber was in use from c. 3200 to short after 3000 BC