Journal of Neolithic Archaeology
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New Discoveries of Petroglyphs in Vangchhia: A Preliminary Study
Get PDFVangchhia is a small village in Mizoram, lying on the Indo-Myanmar border. Many engraved menhirs were discovered at Vangchhia during the course of exploration. Also, petroglyphs were found in four localities of this particular village. Though their number is very limited, they are very significant for study as they will reflect the cultural life of the people who carved these petroglyphs before the current inhabitants of the area arrived. In terms of subject matter, they are similar in style and theme to their engraved counterparts on the menhirs found in this village. These petroglyphs are made by applying the simple methods of engraving and carving on the exposed rock outcrops situated on the hill slopes overlooking the Tiau River, which flows about a kilometer to the east of the petroglyph sites. It is worth studying these petroglyphs to reconstruct the cultural history of Mizoram mainly before the introduction of Christianity in Mizoram, as the Mizos stopped the practice of engraving petroglyphs onthe rock surfaces after their conversion to Christianity in the 19th century. So this work has been taken up for discussion. This paper will discuss the form, subject matter and distribution of the rock art sites in this village and the probable purpose of these petroglyphs
Der Glockenbecher in Europa – eine Kartierung: The mapping of the Bell Beaker in Europe
Get PDFThis work is based on a study from 2015. It provides a cartographical visualization of the eponymous vessel of the Bell Beaker phenomenon, which occurred during the Eneolithic period across large parts of Europe. The frst goal of this work is to census the Bell Beakers and to provide a minimum number of the vessel. As not only whole vessels were taken into account but also sherds, a level-based certaintyclassifcation was used to accomplish this. The collected data is visualized via a series of GIS-based maps, mapping not only the different levels of certainty regarding the minimum number of Bell Beakers per region, but also a context-based differentiation of the material. This allows a distinction of the number of beakers found in graves and in settlements. In a fnal step, a density-based analysis was carried out, to fnd out the highest concentration of Bell Beakers in Europe. As a result, some regions can be identifed where this density is signifcantly higher than in others. 
The Chalcolithic–Bronze Age transition in southern Iberia under the influence of the 4.2 kyr event? A correlation of climatological and demographic proxies
Get PDFThe end of the third millennium BCE represents (not only) on the Iberian Peninsula the time of transition to the Bronze Age. At the same time this is the time of a general climatic event, the so-called 4.2 ka BP event, which can be observed (in different manifestations) in different regions of the northern hemisphere. By synchronizing cultural and climatic developments and above all by assessing demographic developments and their spatial development, a much-discussed connection between the two phenomena can be made plausible and opens the perspective for further, more detailed research on the interdependence between cultural, demographic and climatological processes. For this purpose, the results of aoristics, 14C sum calibration and the evaluation of the concentration of long-chain n-alkane homologues of terrestrial origin as precipitation predictor are combined, their correlation is presented and possible responses are interpreted from the mapping of the settlement system development. This article provides an initial overview of the current results
Neolithic and Bronze Age archery equipment from alpine ice-patches: A review on components, construction techniques and functionality
Get PDFThe alpine ice-patch sites of Tisenjoch (I), Schnidejoch and Loetschenpass (CH) brought to light the most complete archery equipments known from the European Prehistory. Bows were simple self bows made from yew (Taxus baccata) or elm wood (Ulmus sp.) of different types, but always of man-tall size. The manufacturing process can be described from several finds of unfinished bow blanks, as in the case of the Tisenjoch. Neolithic arrows were made from shoots of hazel (Corylus avellana), guelder rose (Viburnum sp.) or other hardwoods. They were straightened by heat and generally longer and thicker as modern sporting arrows for increased weight and penetration power. Their fletching of three split feathers was practically the same as it is still used today. Bowstrings are extremely rare in European archaeological sites, only two assured samples are known to date, coming from the Tisenjoch and the Schnidejoch ice-patches. They were made from animal sinew fibres which will not be preserved in non-frozen sites. Although there almost certainly was a need for a protective cover of the bow against bad weather, there is only one example of a Neolithic bow case known to date. The cover, made from water resistant birch bark and a little longer as the bow which was carried inside, was found on Schnidejoch. It incorporates a carrying system of leather straps which enabled the user to wear it over the shoulder, keeping the hands free for other tasks. It is supposed that other bow cases which very probably existed in the neolithic, were made from animal hide or leather which would not survive in waterlogged sites. That there were protective carrying devices for archery gear is testified by the leather arrow quiver found on Tisenjoch and by numerous ethnographic and historic examples
The Dark Ages in the North? A transformative phase at 3000–2750 BCE in the western Baltic: Brodersby-Schönhagen and the Store Valby phenomenon
Get PDFOn the Cimbrian peninsula, comprising the continental part of Denmark and part of northern Germany, the period 3100–2800 BCE is characterised by a decline in burial activity and by reforestation in some areas. Following the peak of megalithic construction by the Funnel Beaker societies and preceding new building activities by the Corded Ware societies, this period can be referred as the ‘Dark Ages’ of the north. Our analysis of this period within the context of a German Research Foundation Collaborative Research Centre (CRC 1266) project resulted in a new perspective on the role of settlement patterns associated with a ceramic type known as Store Valby. In addition to small domestic sites, such as Schönhagen LA 107 (Brodersby), which dominate on the western and southern parts of the Cimbrian peninsula, research has identified giant settlements to the west, from around 2900 BCE, and palisade enclosures to the east. Despite the diversity of regional developments in the western Baltic, we think that the general characterisation of these centuries as an independent phase of socio-environmental transformations can serve as a model for the entire region
Stolniceni – Excavation results from the 2017 campaign
Get PDFDuring extensive field work, different aspects of the large Tripolye settlement Stolniceni I in northwest Moldova were investigated by an international team. These investigations allow a reassessment of these population agglomerations from the first half of the 4th millennium BCE in Moldova and their comparison with more eastern Tripolye sites. The investigations carried out in 2017 included the completion of the archaeo-magnetic survey of the settlement and the targeted archaeological excavations of various types of contexts. Besides the investigation of a ditch enclosing the site and test trenches in different parts of the settlement, the excavations focused mainly on two areas in the north of the settlement: On the one hand, excavations were carried out in a pottery production complex, including the uncovering of a pottery kiln, several pits and a dwelling. On the other hand, one specific ‘ash-mound-like’ anomaly was investigated which are arranged in regular intervals at the periphery of the settlement. The archaeological excavations were accompanied by comprehensive archaeobotanical analyses, which provide an insight into the subsistence and wood selection in the settlement, as well as permitting environmental reconstructions. A larger series of 14C-datings proves the occupation of the settlement Stolniceni I over a longer period between about 3925 and 3700 BCE
Land-use and environmental history at the Middle Neolithic settlement site Oldenburg-Dannau LA 77
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The ‘Oldenburger Graben’ is an extended wetland area in Northern Germany with a rich archaeological heritage. Several settlements from Late Mesolithic to Late Neolithic were found along the former shore in elevations under the recent sea-level. Environmental reconstructions around the Middle Neolithic settlement site Oldenburg-Dannau LA77 enabled for a detailed reconstruction of the sea level development and the according environmental transformations. The general increase from values of -4 m at around 5500 cal BC to -2.5 m at around 3000 cal BC is described as a process of stagnation and transgression with strong influence on living conditions in the lowland area. A lake- and peat-landscape was drowned by the rising sea level and underwent a transformation into a marine environment. By the time the coastal erosion resulted in a damming of the former bay and a brackish lagoon lake developed that succeeded towards a freshwater system. The Middle Neolithic settlement of Dannau LA 77could be linked to a brackish-marine transgression phase. From c. 3500 until 2900 cal BC the results indicate local settlement activities including cereal cultivation with a short phase of reduced activities at around c. 3200 cal BC. During this time of occupation, the sandy elevation was still connected to the mainland. After c. 2900 cal BC the site became an island, the time when the local inhabitation ceased.
The comparison with other investigated sites in the Oldenburger Graben region shows a stepwise Neolithisation process with indications for single domestic animals occurring already in the Late Mesolithic and a transition to animal husbandry around 4100 cal BC, the beginning of the Early Neolithic (EN) Ia. Single Cereal-Type pollen grains also occur already during the Ertebølle-time but arable farming did not contribute substantially to the nutrition before c. 3800 cal BC, i.e. the EN Ib. Thus, the transformation of the subsistence economy was a stepwise process what supports the idea of an autochthonous Neolithisation process
Trypillia megasites west of the River Southern Buh: Preliminary results of Bilyi Kamin site investigation in 2018
Get PDFIn Bilyi Kamin, Ukraine, a Trypillia megasite of the Chechelnyk group west of the River Southern Buh was systematically investigated by high-resolution magnetometry, targeted excavations and radiometric dating. These new data make it possible to discuss afresh the significance of these large settlements and their relation to the already much longer intensively investigated megasites of the Southern Buh-Dnipro interfluve. The research confirmed that the settlement Bilyi Kamin had an extraordinary size of almost 100 ha and undoubtedly was of a carefully planned character. In order to realise a settlement of this size in the hilly landscape, enormous height differences within the settlement were accepted. Apparently, the intention to place three monumental integrative buildings on a promontory, widely visible from afar, played a decisive role. The study includes a detailed examination of the architecture and find materials of a dwelling. Compared to settlements of the Southern Buh-Dnipro interfluve, these investigations reveal, among other things, differences in waste disposal and similarities in architectural features. In the wider context, the newly obtained dating results from Bilyi Kamin seem to indicate that the peak of population concentration in Trypillia giant settlements in the region west of the River Southern Buh was already passed around 3800/3750 BCE. By contrast, this agglomeration process continued in the Southern Buh-Dnipro interfluve until about 3650 BCE. As possible reasons for these different trajectories differences in social organisation are taken into account
Manipur Megaliths: From Menhirs of Social Status to Commemoratives
Get PDFThough Manipur is a small hilly state of North East India, it is populated by various ethnic groups. The major ethnic groups are the Meeteis/Meiteis, the Naga tribes/Naga groups and the Kuki-Chin-Mizo groups. Each ethnic group consists of a number of smaller groups and has very rich cultural elements of megalithic traditions, which are transmitted from one generation to the next. From the time of yore, various megalithic structures have been raised by various communities on different occasions. The most common type of megalithic structure is the menhir. Here, the author will discuss the megaliths of some tribes which belong to the so-called Naga group. In the past, all the communities were animists and followed their own traditional religions. They performed various rites and rituals along with feastings and raised megaliths, particularly monoliths, the menhirs of social status. Nowadays, most members of the Naga group are baptized Christians and have abandoned their age-old tradition. In this paper, the author tries to highlight the most significant changes that have taken place after the acceptance of the new religion, Christianity, as far as material allows
Østbirk – a strategic settlement at the end of the Neolithic
Get PDFOver a period of more than 10 years, Horsens Museum undertook a series of excavations at Østbirk, north of Horsens. These resulted in an extensive and diverse body of evidence from a settlement area with scattered houses and an associated cemetery with barrows and flat-field graves. The two areas lay together within a melt-water valley that also framed their areal extent. In dating terms, the burial ground extends from the Single Grave culture to the early Pre-Roman Iron Age, while the settlement is restricted to the period from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age period IA (EBA IA). Neither the settlement nor the burial ground have been fully exposed, but collectively these two areas provide an excellent insight into a local agrarian community that, in the course of the Late Neolithic, developed under successive external cultural influences. In Late Neolithic I (LN I), these were, in the first instance, from the northern Jutish Bell Beaker environment, while in Late Neolithic II (LN II) they came from southern Sweden and the continental Únětice culture. The changes saw expression in not only a number of new artefact types but also in completely new grave forms and house types. In LN II, the latter included the hybrid house and the three-aisled longhouse, which both occurred together with the traditional two-aisled longhouse with a sunken floor.
Throughout the entire habitation period, the settlement consisted of small households that, via economic cooperation, were able to practise intensive arable agriculture aimed at producing an economic surplus. The special significance of arable agriculture is demonstrated, first and foremost, by the farmsteads\u27 utility- or economy buildings, and it was perhaps an increased need for these buildings that led to the development of new types of longhouses at the end of the period. The locality lay on one of the area\u27s important travel and communication routes and later, in the Bronze Age, a palisade was built across the mouth of the valley, probably to regulate or control movement through this natural bottleneck