Journal of Neolithic Archaeology
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Steinkuhlenberg. A fortified Bernburg domestic site near Derenburg
No full textDie befestigte Bernburger Siedlung auf dem Steinkuhlenberg bei Derenburg ist seit der mehrjährigen Ausgrabung durch die Universität Halle in den 1960er als wichtiger Fundplatz des mitteldeutschen Spätneolithikums bekannt. Zusammen mit weiteren Siedlungen, mehreren Grabanlagen und zahlreichen Menhiren ist sie Teil einer herausragenden spätneolithischen Siedlungslandschaft im Nordharzvorland. Das mehrfache Grabensystem umschließt eine Fläche von ca. 2,5 ha, die überbaute Fläche beträgt 3,2 ha und die Gesamtlänge der Gräben 1482 m. Ausweislich der Keramik in den Gräben sind diese im Verlauf der Bernburger Besiedlung allmählich verfüllt worden. Auf 2000 m² Untersuchungsfläche wurden 113 Gruben und 253 Pfosten dokumentiert und ca. 17.500 Keramikfragmente sowie über 1400 Tierknochen geborgen. Die fundführenden Gruben und die Pfostengruben lassen sich in sechs Cluster größerer Dichte zusammenfassen, die als Aktivitäts- und Wohnareale von jeweils ca. 250 m² gedeutet werden. Die Pfostengruben ergeben aber nur in einem Fall einen rechteckigen Hausbefund. Die erneute typochronologische Analyse des Fundmaterials offenbart die Heterogenität des Fundensembles und bestätigt die bisher Gliederung in zwei Phasen. Neu ist die Phasenkartierung, die eine Reduktion und Agglomeration der Besiedlung auf dem Plateau vor dem südlichen Steilabfall erkennen lässt. Die erstmalige Analyse der Funde unter funktionalen Gesichtspunkten weist auf eine Differenzierung der Grubeninventare nach Tätigkeitsbereichen hin. Es deutete sich eine Mülltrennung in die Bereiche Konsumption versus Produktion und eher häuslichen gegenüber gemeinschaftlichen Charakters an. Grubeninventare dieser Wirtschaftbereiche, die mit domus und agrios umschrieben werden können, sind in allen differenzierten Aktivitäts- und Wohnarealen vertreten. Die Analyse der Besiedlungsstruktur und des Fundmaterials weist auf individuelle aber gleichberechtigt wirtschaftende Wohneinheiten hin, deren innere Verbundenheit durch die integrativ wirkende Arbeitsleistung des Umfassungsgrabens unterstrichen und nach außen deutlich sichtbar dargestellt wird.The fortified settlement of the Steinkuhlenberg is an important archaeological site of the Central German Late Neolithic period (Bernburg, 3.100–2.800 cal BC) and has been investigated in several excavations conducted by the University of Halle between 1960 and 1966. Holding several settlements, grave sites, and numerous menhirs, it forms part of an outstanding settlement area in the Neolithic landscape of the northern Harz foreland. The enclosure is formed by two surrounding and several adjacent ditches, encompassing an interior area of approximately 2.5 ha, a superstructed area of 3.2 ha and a total ditch length of 1,482 m. Relying on the pottery finds, the ditches of the enclosure were gradually filled during the Bernburg colonisation of the settlement. On the excavation area of 2,000 m² 113 pits and 253 postholes were documented, revealing about 17,500 fragments of pottery in total, and more than 1,400 animal bones. The pits with finds and the postholes can be grouped in six clusters of higher density that are interpreted as distinct areas of activity or yards of app. 250 m². Unfortunately, only one rectangular house could be reconstructed by the related postholes. The new typochronological analysis of the pottery again reveals the heterogenity of the find contexts and confirms the previously outlined two phases of the Bernburg settlement. As a new result, the spatial distribution of the two phases shows a reduction and agglomeration of the settlement on the plateau near the southern steep slope. A first-time analysis of the findings regarding their functional origin indicates towards a differentiation of the pit inventories according to the different activities. This development can be attributed to processes of production versus consumption, with each either taking place in a more private or collaborative context. Find inventories belonging to these economic spheres, which may be described as domus and agrios, are present in every reconstructed activity or living area. The analysis of the settlement structure and the finds indicates individually operating, yet equitable yards. Their social cohesion is underlined by the collective act of building the enclosure and its function as a visible border.
Architectural differentiation on a Trypillia mega-site: preliminary report on the excavation of a mega-structure at Nebelivka, Ukraine
Get PDFFor over a century, excavations on Trypillia sites in Ukraine and Moldova, as well as on Cucuteni sites in Romania, have revealed few obvious signs of architectural differentiation among the huge numbers of domestic houses. Now, for the first time, a new generation of geophysical prospection methods used to investigate mega-sites has revealed uncommonly large Trypillia structures which merit the name ‘mega-structures’. The first three such mega-structures were identified in geophysical prospection in 2009 at the mega-site of Nebelivka, Kirovograd Domain, Ukraine. This article provides a preliminary report on the excavation of the largest mega-structure in the summer 2012 season. This building, covering an area of 600m2, must rank as one of the largest structures ever built in prehistoric Europe
High precision Tripolye settlement plans, demographic estimations and settlement organization
Get PDFHigh precision geomagnetic plans of Tripolye mega-sites were recorded by a German-Ukrainian project 2011-2013. Here, detailed geophysical plans and their archaeological interpretation are presented. In combination with ethnological information on household sizes the new plans enable the formulation of models on social organization and population sizes of the mega-sites
Archaeometric Analysis of Pottery Technology in the Funnel Beaker Culture. A Case Study: Tannenhausen, East Frisia (Germany)
Get PDFThe analysis of pottery fragments reveals detailed information about the technology used in the different regions of the Funnel Beaker Culture. This will make an important contribution to the reconstruction of communication networks. In the project presented here, various analytical methods were used to investigate technological aspects such as the raw material and temper. These investigations showed that crushed granite was the predominant tempering agent. The analysis of thin sections of sherds from the megalithic tomb at Tannenhausen, in the District of Aurich (East Frisia, Germany), indicated that the vessels found in the tomb were all locally produced in the same pottery tradition
The Network of Style - An analytic study of style and pottery from two causewayed enclosures
Get PDFThis article will discuss the ceramic styles of the early Middle Neolithic Djursland. It argues for a new local style in the area, called the Blakbjerg-Brokhøj style, named after two causewayed enclosures that form the basis of this article. This style draws inspiration from the Virum style, which is characterized by massive decorations of whipped cord, but also includes many new MN I elements such as vertical bands and zipper patterns. It is further argued that this style co-existed with a more general MN Ia style and that these two stylistic appearances supplemented each other in the social network of the Funnel Beaker culture (FBC). An interpretation of this double stylistic appearance will be presented
Settlement Growth as a Fractal
Get PDFThis article deals with a model describing the growth of settlements as a fractal. Long-term settlement growth is a result of nonlinear relations between socio-economic development and population size. Our model explains the scaling in settlement populations, the demographic constants, and the conditions for the formation of small centers in the hierarchy of central places
Beyond the settlement grid: investigating social differences through archaeobiology in waterlogged sites
Get PDFWaterlogged sites represent an invaluable source of archaeological data. Houses dated to exact calendar years by dendrochronology yield countless artefacts and well preserved organic remains. In 150 years of research, a wealth of economic, environmental and chronological information on the circumalpine Neolithic and Bronze Age has been accumulated. The social historical potential of these sites has however been largely neglected, which is in part due to widely held preconceptions on prevailing social conditions drawn from common knowledge rather than research. Due to uniformly large houses arranged in rows, communities are generally perceived as being egalitarian and economically uniform. In an interdisciplinary case study of the Swiss Arbon Bleiche 3 settlement on Lake Constance, the vast potential of the archaeobiological data from waterlogged sites for investigating social issues is explored. Statistical analyses of animal bones and botanical remains reveal several distinct economic strategies and/or dietary preferences, suggesting the existence of a socially diverse settlement community. Our results not only generate multifaceted social data but also contradict a number of preconceptions on lakeside communities. Methodologically, it becomes clear that archaeozoological and archaeobotanical remains are differentially biased by taphonomic processes and sampling strategies. These systematic differences will have to be addressed in further studies
Neolithisches Erdwerk oder Gelifluktionsloben? Archäologische und geowissenschaftliche Forschungen an einem geomagnetischen Befund aus Holzhausen, Ldkr. Oldenburg
Get PDFNear Holzhausen in the District of Oldenburg, geomagnetic anomalies were detected by geomagnetic surveys. In view of the size and the concentric shape that emerged from the anomalies, the resulting structure was interpreted as an enclosure. To confirm this assumption, an archaeological excavation was carried out in 2010 and 2011. Due to the fact that the anomalies and the structure could not be satisfactorily explained by this, additional pedological and geological investigations were conducted. The result that the anomalies were generated by geological structures shows that the interpretation of geomagnetic measurements – in spite of good analogies – is limited without further field investigations
AG Steine – Definitionen zum Silexmaterial des Neolithikums in Norddeutschland
Get PDFSince 2009, various research groups within the framework of the Priority Program 1400 “Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation” have investigated the material legacy from societies of Funnel Beaker times in North Central Europe. Especially for this time period, stone tools are an essential source material for the analysis of local and regional phenomena. A basic guideline for material processing in the Priority Program is the use of a common, overarching classification system for artifacts. The starting point is the recording system “Systematische und digitale Erfassung von Steinartefakten” (SDS) that was developed by Anselm Drafehn, Marcel Bradtmöller and Doris Mischka (Drafehn et al. 2008) for the comparative, regional and cross-project recording of stone tools. During its application in connection with local material, it became obvious, however, that it was necessary to adjust the herein established classification. In the following, definitions for flint material, which originated from the efforts of the working group “AG Steine”, will be introduced
Publikationen zum Grabungsprojekt
No full textNachfolgend ein Überblick über die bisherigen Publikationen zu den Untersuchungen in Calden. Für einige Artikel und zwei Vorträge ist der Text (ohne die zugehörigen Abbildungen) abrufbar.The following list offers an overview of all project-related publications. For some articles and presented papers the text (in German) is available