Flintbek LA 3, biography of a monument

Abstract

The article consists of two main parts. First, the development and absolute chronology of the site Flintbek LA 3 is presented with a particular focus on the stragraphical situations and the building sequence of this monument. A model, based on Bayes’ – statistics has been choosen to calibrate the new AMS-dates within a sequence. Thereby, the well known cart tracks preserved under the last tumulus could be dated accurately to 3460-3385 cal BC. After a discussion of this quite young age, it is argued that the Flintbek traces still belong to the oldest evidence of the innovation of wheel and wagon in the world. Another part of the article concerns the meaning of the burial site Flintbek LA 3 and the shifts of its connotations through time. This is done by developing a model of a “cultural biography”.