Journal of Neolithic Archaeology

The Chronology of Danish Dolmens. Results from 14C Dates on Human Bones

Karl-Göran Sjögren, Anders Fischer — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0100

The thousands of dolmens and long barrows spread across the Danish landscape are the earliest long-lasting expressions of architectural monumentality in Scandinavia. A series of new AMS dates on human skeletal material from several of them leads to a clarification of the generations-long debate on the relative chronology and typological evolution of this group of monuments. Earthen long barrows were raised from ca. 3700 cal BC. That is at least two centuries later than the arrival of such elements of the Neolithic world as funnel beaker pottery and domestic cattle to the region. The practice of using large stones (megaliths) for burial chambers was present by 3600 BC. Classical Urdolmen were built alongside various types of more complex dolmen chambers during the period ca. 3600–3400 BC, after which passage grave were erected.

Ginnerup Revisited. New Excavations at a Key Neolithic Site on Djursland, Denmark

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0100

New excavations of an enclosure-related site at Ginnerup on Djursland, Denmark, in 2020 resulted in the identification of several features containing depositions of marine shells. One of these, A4, is a natural depression with a fill comprised of four consecutively deposited layers, forming an undisturbed stratigraphy, dated by several ¹⁴C dates to between c. 3150 and 2950 BC. The oldest layer contained finds from phase MN A Ib of the Funnel Beaker culture, while the remaining three layers yielded finds from the latest Funnel Beaker culture on Djursland (MN A II/III, Ferslev style) with an upwardly increasing content of Pitted Ware culture elements, thereby allowing the emergence of this culture in Denmark to be followed for the first time. Preservation conditions for organic material were excellent due to a content of marine shells, mainly from oysters and mussels, in all layers. In this preliminary account, a survey of the material culture in the four layers is presented, together with ¹⁴C dates, zoological investigations of mammal and fish bones, isotope analyses (d¹³C, d¹⁵N and d³⁴S) and aDNA analyses of mammal bones and examinations of plant macro-remains. The abundant bones of wild horses also hold a huge potential for zoological and genetic studies, the results of which can qualify the ongoing debate about the rewilding of horses in present-day Europe.

Materialities, Space, Mind: Archaeology of Visual Cognition

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

A perceptual study of different styles of prehistoric Galician ceramics (from 6000 to 2000 BP) conducted by eye-tracking, underpins the material engagement of mind by showing that the visual world fosters the entanglement between doing, seeing, and designing through history. This text examines how materializations of human practices relate to cognition and to socio-cultural contexts. By combining evidence on the relationship between material culture and perceptual reactions, our text aims to understand the entanglement between the mind, objects and the world. We apply measurable and numeric techniques, providing an archaeometric approach to cognitive topics by combining neurosciences with interpretive and reflective research. This research provides new insights into the material culture, contributes to the understanding of the relationship between mind and the material world, and accounts for the transitive engagement between the way of thinking, seeing and making things. Thus, the text contributes to an understanding of the material forces driving perception and thought.

Seal Hunters, Fishermen and Sea-voyagers: Late Middle Neolithic (2600–2400 cal BC) Maritime Hunter-Gatherers in the Baltic Sea Archipelago at Tråsättra, Sweden

Magnus Artursson, Niclas Björck, Karl-Fredrik Lindberg — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Large scale excavations of Neolithic settlements and cemeteries along the Swedish east coast and on the islands of Gotland and Öland in the Baltic Sea during the last 30 years have produced a large amount of new information concerning the Funnel Beaker Culture, the Pitted Ware Culture and the Battle Axe Culture. Excavations of large areas in a number of sites have given us a much deeper understanding of how these societies were organized, how people made their living and how they buried their dead. Large scale studies of palaeoecological remains, lipids in ceramics and isotopes in animal and human bones have given us new information concerning differences in diet and economy, and studies of genetic material have produced new essential knowledge of ethnic and cultural affiliations. The excavation at Tråsättra covered the whole area of a permanent hunter-gatherer settlement that can be related to the late Pitted Ware Culture, ca. 2600– 2400calBC. This gave us the opportunity to study the organization of the settlement, economy and diet, craftsmanship and ritual activities in detail. Also, finds of a large number of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic clay figurines, a cult building with ritual deposits and a small cemetery made a unique analysis of religious and ideological aspects of the hunter-gatherers in the archipelago of the eastern middle part of Sweden during the late Middle Neolithic B possible.

Thin Section Petrography of Neolithic Pottery from Northeast India

Pankaj Singh, Sukanya Sharma, Jayanta Jivan Laskar — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Twenty nine potsherds from nine Neolithic sites of Northeast India have been analysed using thin section petrography. The primary objectives of this article are to determine their provenance, to investigate the production techniques of Neolithic pottery and to understand the technical skills of the ancient potters of the studied region. Based on their mineralogical content and the composition of the matrices, the pottery samples have been classified into eleven fabric groups. The analysis of the fabrics showed dissimilarities in the processing and production of ceramics which were otherwise very similar at first sight. The dissimilarities provided indications of the clay sources and the occurrence of natural and artificial temper/inclusions, e.g., organic or inorganic substances used by the Neolithic potters of Northeast India during manufacturing processes. In all fabric groups, we found ironbearing materials which show that the ancient potters used local clay to make pottery because the soil in this region contains a high amount of ferruginous substances. The results also confirmed that the analysed pottery was probably fired below 800 °C under an oxidizing atmosphere and also revealed the use of non-plastic inclusions, such as sand, quartz and organic materials during pottery production.

A Map of European Megaliths

Johannes Müller, Clemens Kruckenberg, Ralph Großmann, Julia Luckner — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100

As part of a request from the “European Megalithic Routes” organization to its Scientific Advisory Board for a comprehensive map of European megaliths, an attempt was made to produce the corresponding map using existing publications on megalithic tombs. As a result, 17409 published megalithic tombs were mapped. This endeavour forms the basis for a continuous and necessary improvement of a map of European megalithic sites, especially regarding the architectural classification of the individual megaliths.