Propylaeum

The typology established by Rafael von Uslar in the 1930s as well as the typology and chronology concerning Rhine-Weser-Germanic ceramics (1.-3. century a.d.) are both revised thoroughly in this book. Findings that support the typology and chronology are being organized and serialized (correspondence analysis) at the same time. The study is based on the complete template and the nuanced workup and classification of the ceramics from three imperial settlements in East Westphalia – Enger, Hüllhorst and Kirchlengern – as well as the reanalysis of related ceramics from complexes already published that mostly originate from settlements, too. This type of chronology allows for a more precise dating of settlements of the Roman Empire. On the basis of the ceramics the order of houses and adjoining buildings in the three settlements Enger, Hüllhorst and Kirchlengern have been sketched and dated. The settlement history of the three places has been reconstructed as well.

Additional infomations you find here:

doi:10.11588/data/10016

In 1981 Sherrat presented his model of a „Secondary Products Revolution“. He tried to that social and societal changes emerged in the Neolithic Period of the Old World when the usage of animal “secondary” products was introduced in the 4^th millennium BC. Sherratt considers the usage of animal force (pulling of carts/ploughing and riding) as well as the production of cheese and wool as forms of these “secondary” products. As a result of his revolution he argues that two societal forms arose: on the one hand settled crop farmers and on the other hand nomadic cattle breeders who lived in conflict and symbiosis with the farmers.

Sediments from a pingo scar, a relic from the last glaciation, in the province of Drenthe (the Netherlands) are studied for their content of pollen and macroscopic remains. On the basis of nine pollen diagrams, the author reconstructs the vegetation from the Preboreal up till the present. Special attention is given to the beginning of the Neolithic, which marks the beginning of agriculture. A model is developed which describes changes in human-influenced pollen types during the Neolithic in pollen diagrams from Pleistocene areas near the North Sea coast.
The so-called Neolithic Occupation Period (NOP) is divided into three phases, which represent three different types of farming economy. By means of high-resolution 14C dating, the three phases are correlated with archaeological cultures. Phase NOP-1, characterized by small-scale arable farming and livestock foddering with leaves and twigs, is dated to 4050-3450 cal BC, which is in the period of the Swifterbant Culture. This shows that the first farmers on the Drenthe Plateau belonged to the Swifterbant Culture. Phase NOP-2, characterized by more large-scale, grass-based stock keeping, is connected with the Funnel Beaker Culture. Phase NOP-3, in which agriculture was concentrated in smaller areas, is contemporary with the Single Grave and Bell Beaker Cultures. 

Prestige and prestige goods were crucial for social processes in Neolithic societies. The sociological and cultural-anthropological term definitions in the various examples in this volume illustrate this fact: Beginning with the Levantine Aceramic, the £atal Hüyük in Anatolia and Spondylus Jewelry of the Linear Pottery culture the study leads up to the non-megalithic monuments of Denmark and the Corded Ware culture of the mid-Elbe and Saale region. In each case it is shown that, even without directly looking for “prestige goods” in the archeological material, “prestige” for certain groups of people can be reconstructed from the prehistoric sources. Neolithic societies functioned between the poles of informal prestige accumulation and regulated creation of ranks. Hierarchies are the basis for initial stratification: Social structures of the Neolithic Age become visible.

Since the time of the first Neolithic societies, humans have processed the corn of the crops into flour by means of querns. Domestication and breeding of animals as well as cultivation and processing of crops constitute the basis of agrarian living. Initially within the past fifteen years, fundamental aspects of plant processing could be clarified. Research on grinding stones and hones contributes to the understanding and knowledge of Neolithic forms of economy and social organisation. Recent more or less regional studies provide new data that enable conclusions on exchange systems of raw materials, of economic basics and on the social and symbolic meaning of grinding stones.

The articles published in this issue result from a conference held in September 2007 at the 13th annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in Zadar (Croatia).

The essays show that a global overview of querns contributes significantly to the interpretation of status and function of a settlement site.

In her MA thesis Ursula Tegtmeier assembles the prehistoric ploughing traces from northern Germany and the Netherlands that were known until 1987. In the context of her studies she conducted ploughing experiments with her fellow students and archaeologists. The interpretation of results obtained, as well as an extensive literature survey make out integral parts of this publication. This important work is rounded off with a comprehensive catalogue.

Bayern ist ein Schlüsselgebiet in der Diskussion des Übergangs vom Mittel- zum Jungpaläolithikum. Die in den immer eisfreien Korridor zwischen skandinavischem und alpinem Eisschild eingebettete Donauebene verbindet als ein wichtiger eiszeitlicher Wanderungsweg die reichen Fundregionen des späten Mittel- und frühen Jungpaläolithikums in Südwesteuropa einerseits und Mittel- und Osteuropa andererseits. Mit Fundstellen des spätesten Mittelpaläolithikums, des frühesten Aurignaciens und des Gravettiens bietet sich hier die einmalige Gelegenheit, bisherige Erklärungsmodelle für eine der spannendsten Kapitel der Menschheitsgeschichte - der Ausbreitung des modernen Menschen - zu überprüfen.

With this bibliography the DGUF work group “Archaeology in the Schoolbook” offers a compilation including specialized literature as well as books for children and young adults. It is intended for authors of schoolbooks, teachers, museum pedagogues, students and interested laymen.

The directory with comments by specialist researchers is organized into eras, themes and at times federal states and covers topics concerning the Paleolithic and Middle Ages. It is a well-structured reference book for everybody in search for an easy introduction to the pre- and ancient history of Middle/Central Europe.

In Roman times, hooded cloaks were highly valued and widespread garments because of their weather resistance. This study, however, illuminates more than the classical questions of all archaeological studies by typology, chronology, material and distribution. It is focused on a hitherto neglected aspect of this everyday object: its role in social communication. The historical and archaeological source material is analyzed with regard to the following questions: Are there persons or groups of persons whose habitus (in the sense of the French sociologist P. Bourdieu) include hooded cloaks? Which actors can be identified? Do they use special shapes of cloaks for that purpose? In what situations do they wear the garment and what messages do they convey? Where do the meaning assignments used come from? How do the actors deal with them? The areas under investigation are Italy and the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire during the period of the late Republic up to the Late Antiquity.

This publication reports the results of the archaeological investigation of the prehistoric burial cave Mebrak 63 in Dzong valley, a high mountain valley in the Nepal Himalayas. 15 authors describe the excavation and present the interpretation of the complex archaeological findings and remains in ten chapters. In the appendix primary data are included: tables, the catalogue and plates of the archaeological finds.

Co-operation between archaeology and anthropology, textile archaeology, archaeo-botany and dendro-archaeology made it possible to reveal to a great extent the meaning of the prehistoric grave chamber and to come close to the people who were entombed in the collective burial cave in the last millennium before the Christian era. The analysis of the findings which, due to their preservation, are so far unique, provides insight into the way of life and the wide spread exchange and trade links of the prehistoric pastoralists.

Cemetery for males, cemetery for females or “optical” illusion? Male or female? Cultural phenomenon or a fallacy caused by source material? Since the long 19^th century these questions go hand in hand with research on graves and graveyards of the early Roman Imperial period between the Elbe and the Oder.

The study at hand summarizes the course of previous discussions and delivers an extensive examination of this controversial issue, that has been debated over for about 150 years, by analyzing over 7.000 single findings from over 300 sites. The study furthermore brings potential interpretations and explanatory models into focus and thus moves beyond the realm of archaeological research.

Comparative analysis of ethnological studies

For the first time a comprehensive comparative evaluation of ethnological studies about the relevance of gender in funeral rites is being presented. The study gives insight on the diversity of arrangements and meanings of gender specific funeral rites and on the “interaction” between life and death expressed by the rites.

Interplay between political, economic and social factors

Reconsidering and linking back to the early Roman Empire it becomes clear that conceptions of cultural “gender” affected funeral rites at that time considerably, but they by no means determined them single-handedly. Despite the sometimes vague and diffuse source material, it can be argued that a complex interplay between political, economic and social factors needs to be considered in order to interpret and explain the regional diversity as well as the historical changes observed concerning rites for grave goods.

At the same time, however, there is some evidence that the gender concept gathered from the funeral rites possibly was influenced by external factors – threats, elite formation, increase in “prosperity” – and was subject to considerable changes in the course of the early Roman Imperial period.

In his biography of Gabriel de Mortillets (1821-1898) Günter Junghans traces back the life and work of this versatile French scholar. This study, including the analysis of extensive original sources at the Department for Pre- and Early History at the University of Saarbrücken and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, not only allows Junghans to emphasize the well-known contributions of Mortillet for research on the Paleolithic Age, but furthermore enables him to concentrate this biography on the “homme politique”.

From 1964 to 1972, the "Prehistoric Flint Mines Working Group" of the Dutch Geological Society, Limburg Section, conducted excavations in the Neolithic flint mine of Rijckholt-St. Geetruid. The excavations based on a nearly 150 metres long tunnel driven through the Neolithic mining area. On both sides of the tunnel, the prehistoric galleries were followed over a length of ten metres. 75 square metres of shafts and 1.526 square metres of galleries were examined on a total area of 2.436 square metres.

However, the actual mining site is significantly larger: Underground mining stretched over an area of approximately 8 hectares. Flint was mined in an area of about 25 hectares while flake was located in an 25 hectare area. The archaeologists documented all discovered shafts and galleries in detail. Furthermore, they unearthed animal bones and snail shells as well as a human skull. The excavations provided more than 14.000 artefacts. Radiocarbon dating suggested an age between 3.970 and 3.700 BC. However, the local mining activities may have lasted until 3.400 or even 2.650 BC.

The present publication describes the applied excavation methods. Moreover, it attempts to reconstruct prehistoric mining techniques. The calculation of the absolute amount of flint (14-16 million kg of an 8 hectare mining area) and the number of shafts (about 2000) suggest that the soil still contains more than 400.000 stone artefacts.

The goal of Jutta Klug’s dissertation is to indicate possibilities and limits of interpretations of settlement history based on archaeological site maps. The Amöneburger valley as a geographically closed settlement area in the Hesse Depression provides the best requirements for this study.

Maps depicting sites and findings from the Paleolithic Age until the Roman Imperial Period are presented and interpreted with regard to their possible significances for settlement history.

The significance of findings in the uplands from the Neolithic Age has caused controversial discussions since the 1950s, because only stone finds, especially single finds of stone ax blades, were known. Numerous further sites were discovered over the decades. These included stone devices from the Neolithic Age that indicate the existence of settlements. With this, there is increased evidence that these finds do not stem from losses or remains of hunting patrols, nor are they artefacts (thunderbolts) that had been moved back in historical times.

In 1954 Marschall, Narr and von Uslar created a map of the Bergisches Land which included only few Neolithic archaeological sites. Since then “laymen” researchers have found hundreds of prehistoric sites the sources of which have not been evaluated yet in a summarizing manner. Of the 975 prehistoric sites that are presented in the catalogue of this work 400 of them also comprise Neolithic stone artefacts. In addition to this almost 100 single finds of flint ax blades are included.

In this archaeological landscape the author examines a transect from the Rhine Plain to the Bergische Hochflächen (Bergische Upper Plains), embeds the Neolithic finds in their chronologic and topographic contexts and links them to Mesolithic places. This results in a mid- to late-Neolithic settlement of varying intensity. The sites clearly are located where the best soil is available. In contrast, the mixed Mesolithic-Neolithic sites distinctly display a different topography where soil quality apparently seems to have been of minor relevance for the selection of respective locations. The single finds of flint axe blades that have been so controversy discussed in research history signify the close surroundings of these settlements. With this, varying and possibly complementary prehistoric economic systems become apparent.

This publication originates from Andreas Heege’s Dissertation „Hambach 500 – Villa rustica und früh- bis hochmittelalterliche Siedlung bei Niederziet, Kreis Düren“ [Hambach 500 – Villa rustica and settlement of the early to high Middle Ages in Niederziet, District of Düren] completed in 1992. Since the medieval ceramics research in the Rhineland was in urgent need of a new localization and the text at hand is a completed chapter of the dissertation, the publication as such detached from the material collection of “Hambach 500” was reasonable.

The Catholic parish church of St. Vitus in the Schmiechen district, town of Schelklingen (Alb-Donau district), in its current appearance is a mixture of different eras, from Gothic to modern. Archaeological investigations carried out in the course of a redesign and extension in 1990 and 1992 revealed a number of predecessor buildings, the earliest of which can be dated to the 9th century. The first church building, which in turn was erected on a pre-existing cemetery and on foundation remains of unknown date, was followed by several high and late medieval construction phases before the church was greatly expanded in the present by lateral additions. A special feature for a church in a rural area is the small barrel-vaulted crypt built in the 12th century as part of an extension. The finds recorded during the excavation inside the church, especially the pottery, are a valuable addition to the hitherto rather sparse material available for the region in question. Thus, the present investigation is an important building block for the research of the rural church landscape of southeastern Baden-Württemberg.