Chapter 6-Q-A.docx

Bettelbühl necropolis: a Hallstatt Culture cemetery near the Heunenburg in Germany (Europe) which contains a barrow burial (dating to 583 BC) of an elite woman. Bronze Age: a period in the Old World characterized by the manufacture of bronze artifacts. In Europe, the Bronze Age is from 3000 to 800 c...

Bettelbühl necropolis: a Hallstatt Culture cemetery near the Heunenburg in Germany (Europe) which contains a barrow burial (dating to 583 BC) of an elite woman. Bronze Age: a period in the Old World characterized by the manufacture of bronze artifacts. In Europe, the Bronze Age is from 3000 to 800 cal BC. Beginning and end dates differ for various regions of Europe. Bruszczewo 5: an Early Bronze Age fortified site in a wetlands (lake/moor) context in Poland (central Europe). It was abandoned during the Middle Bronze Age and reoccupied during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age. Cardial Ware Culture: Early Neolithic farming groups (6400 to 4700 cal BC) with pottery decorated by using the edges of cockle shells. They spread into Europe along the Mediterranean route by sea-faring from Greece. Carnac: a series of 3,000 menhirs arranged as alignments during the Neolithic period in France (Europe). Causewayed enclosure: a European Neolithic construction characterized by a series of concentric ditches and banks with access (causeways) across the ditches to a central open area. One interpretation is that these were ritual centers for Neolithic communities. Chiefdom: a category of political organization that is described as a ranked society in which rank is inherited. Elites in a chiefdom live at central places, control densely populated regions, and have greater access to prestige goods and other resources. Dolmen: a Neolithic tomb found in Europe. It has a few standing megalithic stones topped with a capstone. Duvensee: a peat bog region in northern Germany with a series of Mesolithic sites showing targeted harvesting and processing of hazelnuts; the sites date between 8900 and 6500 cal BC. Ertebølle Culture: a late Mesolithic hunter–gatherer–forager group (5500 to 4000 cal BC) in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany (Europe) that lived in proximity to people with food-production economies. Funnel Beaker Culture: Late Neolithic groups in central and northern Europe (4500 to 2800 cal BC) who made pottery that had a globular body and an out-turned flaring rim. It is often interpreted as an interaction zone rather than a single culture. Hallstatt Culture: the early part of the Iron Age in Europe, from about 750 to 450 cal BC. It is found north of the Alps in central Europe and extends in an arc to the east and west of Italy. Hambledon Hill: a Neolithic causewayed enclosure in England (Europe) that has human skulls placed at intervals in one of the ditches. Heuneburg, the: a Hallstatt Culture proto-urban center in southern Germany with evidence of trade with the Mediterranean and lavish burials of elites. Iron Age: a period in Europe from about 800 to 59/51 cal BC. It is characterized by the manufacture and use of implements made of iron. La Tène Culture: the later part of the Iron Age in Europe, from approximately 450 to 59/51 cal BC, when much of Europe was conquered by the Romans. Lactose tolerance: most adults are not able to digest the milk sugar lactose without digestive issues. High frequencies of lactose tolerance in adults in some world populations, such as those descended from the Funnel Beaker Culture groups, shows natural selection for a gene in populations who had a cultural tradition of drinking milk. Linear Pottery Culture: Early Neolithic farming groups (5700 to 4500 cal BC) with pottery decorated with incised lines in a band. They spread into central and northwestern Europe along the Danube River and its tributaries from the Balkan Peninsula area. Long barrow: a communal earthen mound tomb built in Neolithic Europe. It has wooden or stone interior corridor into which the dead were placed over an extended period of time. Menhir: a single standing megalithic stone, put into place by Late Neolithic farming groups in Europe. Arrangements of several menhirs can be found marking avenues, as alignments, or circles, including henges. Oppida: the plural of oppidum; large, often fortified settlements of the Late Iron Age La Tène Culture. They are sometimes described as urban centers, although not all archaeologists agree with this interpretation. Passage grave: a communal earthen mound tomb built in Neolithic Europe. It has a stone passage with one or more burial chambers at the end of the passage into which the dead were placed over an extended period of time. Passo di Corvo: an Early Neolithic Cardial Ware Culture site on the eastern coast of Italy. Schöneck-Kilianstädten: a late Linear Pottery Culture Neolithic site in Germany (Europe) with evidence of the massacre of an entire community. Skateholm: an Ertebølle Cul-ture (Mesolithic) site in Sweden (Europe). It contains graves show-ing a diversity of burial positions, as well as dog burials treated in the same way as human burials. Different grave goods for adult males and females indicate gender distinctions. Starr Carr: a Mesolithic site adjacent to a lake in England. It dates between 8700 and 8400 cal BC. The site had excellent organic preservation, and recovered items include red deer antler frontlets, antler points, and a wooden platform/trackway. Stonehenge: a henge monument begun in the Neolithic period that underwent several changes from an initial bank and ditch surrounding cremation pits to the addition of the bluestones from Wales, the larger local sarsen stones, and an avenue. Urnfields: European Late Bronze Age cemeteries where thousands of people were buried in pottery urns after being cremated. Vedbæk: an Ertebølle Culture (Mesolithic) site in Denmark (Europe). It contains graves show-ing gender distinctions between adult males and females in grave goods, some dog burials, evidence for violent death, and a woman buried with her newborn child placed on a swan’s wing. European hunter-gatherer-foragers did not domesticate plants for subsistence, and had no domestic animals other than dogs. Food production was introduced by Middle Eastern colonists by cultural transmission. As food production expanded, changes in architecture, social organization, subsistence, and violent social encounters also occurred. Many trends from the Neolithic continued into the Bronze and Iron Ages. Iron Age lifeways were disrupted in many parts of Europe by the Roman Conquest. This chapter focuses mostly on central and northern Europe. See Timeline: Prehistoric Europe Early Holocene Hunter–Gatherer–Foragers With the beginning of the Holocene (9600 cal BC) warmer conditions and expanded forests were present in Mesolithic Europe. Sea levels were lower so England was connected to the rest of Europe. Some parts of northern Europe include peat bogs and waterlogged areas that preserve soft organic material. Duvensee is a peat bog region in northern Germany with a series of Mesolithic sites showing targeted harvesting and processing of hazelnuts; the sites date between 8900 and 6500 cal BC. Another Mesolithic site, Starr Carr in England, dates between 8700 and 8400 cal BC. The site had excellent organic preservation, and recovered items include red deer antler frontlets, antler points, and a wooden platform/trackway. European Mesolithic sites had well-developed trade networks. Travel was possible via boats, sleds, and skis. Also during this period, burial wealth and multi-burial cemeteries increased. Ertebølle Culture A late Mesolithic group that never adopted food production is Ertebølle Culture (5500 to 4000 cal BC) in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany (Europe). These were specialized hunter-gatherer-foragers who lived in proximity to people with food-production economies. Hierarchy and gender distinctions can be seen in burials of this period, including at: Vedbæk and Skateholm in Denmark and Sweden, respectively. Both of these sites show gender distinctions in burials, dog burials, diverse grave goods, and evidence of ritual including the scattering of red ochre over the hip areas of some bodies. Ertebølle culture disappeared around 4000 cal BC. Genetic evidence indicates the assimilation of hunter-gatherer-foragers into farming populations. Early Food Production Domesticates in Europe originated in the Middle East and include wheat and barley, sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. Spread of domestic plants and animals parallels spread of Middle Eastern groups from Turkey, Greece, and the Balkan Peninsula into Europe—based on genetic evidence. This was a gradual migration along two routes: one from southeast to west along the Mediterranean coast, the other from the southeast toward the northwest along the Danube Route. The migration of farmers may have been due to farmers’ increased fertility rates combined with a need for new land. Cardial Ware Culture Farmers travelling along the Mediterranean route are known archaeologically as Cardial Ware Culture (6400 to 4700 cal BC) with pottery decorated by using the edges of cockle shells. They spread into Europe along the Mediterranean route by sea-faring with their seeds and animals from Greece. Seafaring appears to have been through a leapfrogging process that skipped some areas. One example of Cardial Ware Culture is Passo di Corvo on the eastern coast of Italy (Figure 6.2). Cardial Ware limestone bracelets are found in the Linear Pottery Culture of northwestern Europe, indicating contact between these groups. Linear Pottery Culture The Danube Route into northwestern Europe was used by farmers known as Linear Pottery Culture (5700 to 4500 cal BC). These farmers used pottery decorated with incised lines in a band. They spread into central and northwestern Europe along the Danube River and its tributaries from the Balkan Peninsula area (Figure 6.3). Linear Pottery farmers built longhouses, farmed cattle, and settled in fertile floodplains. Gendered burial goods included grinding slabs, shell beads, combs, and freshwater shell ornaments with females and bracelets, buckles, adzes, arrowheads, and fire-making kits for males. Linear Pottery Culture also shows several community massacres dating to the later part of the culture, for example Schöneck-Kilianstädten in Germany. One explanation for this violence focuses on large populations combined with drought and resource shortages. As Linear Pottery Culture declines, it is supplanted in some parts of Europe by Funnel Beaker Culture. Funnel Beaker Culture The Funnel Beaker Culture of central and northern Europe (4500 to 2800 cal BC) is also named for distinctive pottery. Funnel beaker pottery had a globular body and an out-turned flaring rim (Figure 6.5). This grouping is often interpreted as an interaction zone rather than a single culture based on evidence of exchange including worked copper. Agricultural products included cereals, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. Innovations included the introduction of the plow from the Middle East and the development of cattle-drawn wheeled vehicles. During this period, dairy consumption over many generations led to natural selection for a lactose tolerance gene. This period also sees the beginnings of megalith construction in Europe. Neolithic Megaliths and Other Monument Building Beginning around 5000 cal BC, Neolithic societies in Europe began creating various megalithic monuments. Simple, single standing stones called menhirs sometimes occur alone, and other times in groups such as avenues or henges. A famous arrangement of menhirs is Carnac: a series of 3,000 menhirs stretching over ¾ mile arranged as alignments during the Neolithic period in France (see Figure 6.2). Another Neolithic construction is the Causewayed enclosure, characterized by a series of concentric ditches and banks with access (causeways) across the ditches to a central open area. Archaeologists interpret causewayed enclosures as ritual centers for Neolithic communities, for example the site of Hambledon Hill, where human skulls are placed at intervals in one of the ditches. Another megalithic structure of the European Neolithic is the dolmen, a tomb marked by several standing megalithic stones topped with a capstone. Other tomb structures include long mounds called long barrows and passage graves that served as communal tombs. A circle of menhirs surrounded by a bank and ditch is known as a henge. The first henges were made of wood. Construction of Stonehenge (Figure 6.8) began about 3000 cal BC with the ditch and bank, wooden posts, and large bluestones quarried in Wales. Rearrangements and continued construction at Stonehenge continued through the Bronze Age after 2470 cal BC. Stonehenge served a ritual use as a burial monument and is associated with 250 cremation burials from 3000 to 2500 cal BC. See Peopling the Past: Building Stonehenge Interpretations of Neolithic Megaliths and Other Monuments in Great Britain Megalith construction was labor intensive and has multiple, non-exclusive interpretations. One interpretation has to do with shifting territories over time in Neolithic Great Britain, with each territory being associated with a megaconstruction. Another explanation is rooted in landscape archaeology (see Chapter 1) and sees megaconstructions as connections between the domain of the living and the domain of the dead. Bronze Age Europe Though the dates for the Bronze Age in Europe are noted as 3000 to 800 cal BC, beginning and end dates differ for various regions of Europe and metalworking using copper alone began as early as 4500 cal BC. Use of monuments from the Neolithic continued into the Bronze Age. Bronze implements were rare during the Early Bronze Age but became increasingly common during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Resource Networks, Trade, and Exchange While agricultural tools and pottery could be made locally, trade items included copper and tin ore, bronze artifacts, amber, gold, furs, salt, shells, textiles, silver, glass, wool , and hides. Bronze artifacts included axes, daggers, spearheads, helmets, shields, rings, pins, bracelets, beads, and trumpets. Gold was worked from hammered sheets and was a prestige item. Trade routes may have been via land, river, or sea routes. Trade may have been individual exchange (particularly prestige goods) or via trading expeditions. Bronze Age hoards (see figure 6.10) are subject to multiple interpretations including storage of broken items for recycling, hiding items during conflict, or as ritual deposits. Social Life Gendered grave goods in the Bronze Age include swords and armor (males) and diadems and hair spirals (females) as sell as gendered clothing, ornaments, and jewelry. Some female graves are extremely rich in grave goods. Archaeologists have interpreted this as either a sign of female status or, in an older interpretation, that these were the wives of wealthy husbands. The political organization of Bronze Age Europe was varied, and included chiefdoms of varying scales. Most early Bronze Age sites were not fortified, with exceptions such as Bruszczewo 5 in a wetlands (lake/moor) context in Poland. Middle and Late Bronze Age sites saw increasing use of fortifications. Wealth inequality in the Bronze Age is rarely reflected in types or sizes of houses, but is suggested by grave goods (see Peopling the Past: Bronze Age Elites). During the late Bronze Age, cremation burials in the cemeteries of the Urnfields show few grave goods and little status differentiations. Warfare and Violence Violence in the Bronze Age is suggested by the prevalence of weapons, depictions in rock art (see Figure 6.13), and blade and shield notching consistent with battle. Archaeologists identify some individuals (usually male) as warriors based on grave goods. “By the Middle to Late Bronze Age, groups of warriors were associated with a warrior leader in the fortified settlements that became common throughout much of Europe” (Olszewski 2019: 191). See Peopling the Past: Violence, Ritual, or Both in the Bronze Age? Iron Age Europe The Iron Age period in Europe is defined as from about 800 to 59/51 cal BC, ending with the expansion of Roman influence. It is characterized by the manufacture and use of iron implements. Iron was in widespread use by cal 800/700 BC. Unlike Bronze, the raw material for iron (iron ore) can be found in many places. The increased prevalence of iron coincides with an increased use of military force to support taxation and land ownership, increased fortifications, and more people living in settlements. Hallstatt Culture Extending from north of the Alps toward the Mediterranean west of Italy and into southeastern Europe east of Italy (see Figure 6.14), Hallstatt Culture is the early part of the Iron Age in Europe, from about 750 to 450 cal BC. Pre-urban centers with elites controlling smaller surrounding settlement are sometimes called “princely seats.” These areas are locally diverse but include some similar elements such as lavish burials, trade goods from Greek, Etruscan, and Phoenician areas, and fortified hilltop locations. An example along the Danube River is the Heuneburg (see Figure 6.11), which may have been home to as many as 5000 people. Elites who controlled trade routes and central locations has wealth based on control of production and land ownership. Men identified as “princes” had lavish burials. Some women also had lavish barrow burials, as seen at the Bettelbühl necropolis, where the burial of an elite woman dates to 583 BC. La Tène Culture In the Late Iron Age (450 to 59/51 cal BC) “Celtic” culture (officially La Tène Culture) emerged, lasting until much of Europe was conquered by the Romans (see Figure 6.14). Elites of La Tène Culture were warrior/landowners focused on accumulation of wealth. They conducted raids with the aide of horse-drawn chariots, and had extensive trade networks through the Mediterranean. The largest site centers may or may not have constituted urbanization. The largest sites are called oppida (the plural of oppidum) and were fortified, sometimes referred to as towns. Other similar but non-fortified sites are called unenclosed agglomerations. Warrior-rulers were buried with lavish grave goods including horse fittings, chariots, wagons, weapons, shields, and other warrior equipment. By the late La Tène Culture period, coins were being minted and archaeologists have suggested that warrior-rulers were being replaced by aristocrats involved in administration and trade. See Further Reflections: Characterizing Social and Political Organization for a discussion of chiefdoms (societies where rank was usually inherited).