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Traditions in transition: A comparative study of the patterns of ertebølle lithic and pottery changes in the late mcsolithic ceramic phase at skateholm I, III and soldattorpet in scania
... Although they were the earliest ceramics ever produced in this area, their construction was elaborate enough to reveal a well-developed pottery craft with established principles regarding both the way vessels were shaped and the raw materials used (Hulthén 1977, 23-25;Stilborg and Bergenstråhle 2000). They also incorporated several technological developments before they were ultimately superseded by their successors of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the Early Neolithic (Stilborg and Bergenstråhle 2000). ...
... Although they were the earliest ceramics ever produced in this area, their construction was elaborate enough to reveal a well-developed pottery craft with established principles regarding both the way vessels were shaped and the raw materials used (Hulthén 1977, 23-25;Stilborg and Bergenstråhle 2000). They also incorporated several technological developments before they were ultimately superseded by their successors of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the Early Neolithic (Stilborg and Bergenstråhle 2000). ...
... Scanian Ertebølle ceramics have been studied previously to identify technical procedures and the nature of clays and temper used in their construction, by thin-sectioning and use of instrumental analytical methods available over the past century (Hulthén 1977;Stilborg and Bergenstråhle 2000). In recent years, advances in spectroscopy have allowed more precise identifications of the elemental, molecular and mineralogical contents of archaeological ceramics, with higher accuracy in the identification of major, minor and even trace elements (Cantisani et al. 2012;Centeno et al. 2012;Shoval 2017). ...
A combination of Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and portable X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (PXRF) were used on the clay fraction of Ertebølle ceramics from several Late Mesolithic sites in Scania, southern Sweden. This study aims to provide up‐to‐date information about clay types used during that period within the Scanian Ertebølle cultural unit, and to elucidate social aspects relevant to the organization of pottery production and the role of ceramics in the local societies. The results suggest similar clay preferences across the sites, site‐based pottery production using local clays, and zero mobility of ceramics between the sites. The chemical separation of the ceramics from the site of Soldattorpet into two compositional groups suggests possible multigroup occupation. The origins of aromatic hydrocarbons, extracted earlier from the ceramic matrix of the vessels during a lipid residue study, were also investigated, and a discussion is provided.
... Therefore, it is highly probable that our intermediate isotopic data represent aquatic resources with the local marine values of that time. Aquatic species with potentially more negative δ 13 C values, like salmonids (Salmonidae sp.), eel (Anguilla anguilla), herring (Clupea harengus) and pike (Esox Lucius), were identified in Löddesborg, along with freshwater fish, such as perch (Perca fluviatilis) and cyprinids (Cyprinidae sp.), possibly from nearby rivers and lakes in the interior (Jennbert, 1984;Kjellmark, 1903;Stilborg and Bergenstråhle, 2000). In Soldattorpet, the fish remains could not be identified to species level, but bones of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), whose stable carbon isotope values in the neighbouring site of Skateholm were found to have been much more depleted than in areas closer to the North Sea (Craig et al., 2006), were able to be distinguished (Kjellmark, 1903). ...
... Regular visits at the sites by mobile hunter-gatherers that subsisted on the local resources during their stay cannot be discounted. However, this would not explain why distinct regional groups of differently ornamented pots were observed from northern Germany to Denmark and the west and east of Scania (Stilborg and Bergenstråhle, 2000). Different hunter-gatherer groups circulating in the area would bring or produce on-site their own signature ceramics whilst moving from site to site, leading to pottery assemblages with mixed ornamentation variants, which is not archaeologically visible. ...
The Late Mesolithic Ertebølle and Narva cultures (6th-5th/4th millennium BC) in the southwest and eastern Baltic, respectively, shared similar vessel types, namely pointed-based pots and oval bowls. As a consequence, this phenomenon raised questions about inter-cultural connections across the Baltic and possible influence for the production of pottery from the Narva to the Ertebølle hunter-gatherers. Whereas the two pottery traditions were shown to be different with regards to raw materials and manufacture, in this study we further attempt a comparison on the basis of function using a lipid residue analysis approach. The aim is to examine whether typological analogies were based on common functional requirements. This paper presents new evidence for the use of Ertebølle ceramics in the southwest Baltic from the analysis of pottery samples from a number of coastal sites in southern Sweden (Scania) and eastern Denmark (Lolland). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-c-IRMS) analysis were performed on the absorbed lipid residues to determine their structural characteristics and the stable carbon isotopic composition of selected fatty acids. Results are discussed and compared with analogous published data of Narva ceramics from Estonia. Data from other coastal sites in Denmark and northern Germany are also included for wider comparison. Based on our findings, we conclude that despite little variability in the isotope values of residues, Ertebølle and Narva pots did not serve the same functional demands, and different motives led to their production. Whilst the Narva ceramics appear to have had a specialized role in processing aquatic products, the Ertebølle were more multipurpose vessels, used also for terrestrial animal and plant resources.
... The coarse clay is tempered with sharp-edged fragments of granite up to 3e4 mm in length. Nail and finger imprints on the rim occur occasionally on Ertebølle beakers in Ringkloster, Jutland and other sites (Stilborg and Bergenstråhle, 2000) as well as on vessels of the Funnelbeaker culture, but traditionally ornamentation of Ertebølle vessels has been described as sparse. ...
... But regional variations in the shape and the building techniques are already mentioned (e.g. Stilborg, 1999;Stilborg and Bergenstråhle, 2000). The ware colour is grey beige at the inner and outer surface as well as in the core. ...
The characterisation of prehistoric pottery fragments presents a quite complex task. In provenance studies, petrographic and chemical analyses of the ceramic materials are employed to investigate potential production areas in respect to the geolocial background. Moreover, also the production technology of the firing process, as well as the forming techniques used by the prehistoric potters are of great interest. Their investigation is most often accompanied by a destructive preparation of the samples. In this paper, we want to present high-resolution X-ray microtomography (μ-CT), a non-destructive and non-invasive method, as a supplementary research tool in the study of prehistoric pottery.Ceramic fragments from the Endmesolithic–Neolithic site Hamburg-Boberg 15 (northern Germany) were analysed by X-ray microtomography. μ-CT inspection combines quantification and shape analysis of fabric components by means of computer aided image processing. As the μ-CT method is sensitive to material densities, qualitative and quantitative analyses of different temper materials are possible. Furthermore, the μ-CT method permits the characterisation of the connectivity within the porous system, as well as the analysis of the orientation of the pore structures, which are indicative for vessel forming techniques. Although limited by the resolution of the reconstructed images, distribution analysis of heavy minerals in the clay matrix can offer distinctive features to discriminate various clay sources.Moreover, X-ray microtomography can be used to infer the nature of organic temper even with all plant remains completely burnt out during the firing process. The visualisation of the high-resolution true volume renderings and their detailed morphometric characterisation enables new avenues in the study of ceramic technology.
... evidence of the hb technique is visible on 11 sherds and of the U technique on 1 sherd (terminology cf. stilborg & Bergenstråhle, 2000). 1 the average wall thickness is 7.6 mm (mean 7 mm). Decoration was found on eleven of the described sherds and on nine sherds omitted from the technological description for weighing less than 5 g. the twenty decorated sherds indicate that decoration was varied (fig. ...
This article presents the results of an extensive coring programme and a test excavation at Wetsingermaar (province of Groningen, the Netherlands). The corings made clear that the archaeological site spans over 1.5 ha and is located on the waterfront of a submerged Pleistocene ridge. The test excavation yielded ceramics, flints and other stone material, and archaeozoological remains. On the basis of its cultural remains it is concluded that Wetsingermaar constitutes an early site of the Funnel Beaker Culture (Trichterbecherkultur, TRB), predating the Horizon 1 of Drouwen TRB as defined by Brindley (1988b). This early phase is termed pre-Drouwen TRB (cf Bakker, 1979: 115). The flint industry is similar to younger TRB assemblages, while the ceramic and archaeozoological evidence is difficult to interpret as a result of the fragmentary condition of the finds and the near absence of contemporaneous sites.
This paper stresses the importance of distinguishing between different categories of children in order to better understand their changing lives and their shifting relations with the adult world. The example is taken from the Mesolithic burial/settlement site of Skateholm at the southernmost coast of Sweden. By contrasting grave content and spatial arrangement of the site it is argued that the inhabitants recognised differences between infants (<1 year), younger children up to seven years, and older children between about eight to thirteen years. The children seem to have started to engage in the adult world by the age of seven or eight, and by the age of around fourteen years, their graves are inseparable from those of the adults. Individuals of the intermediate age-group, between the ages nine to thirteen, are completely missing among the burials. It is suggested that their absence is not singularly due to lower mortality rate, but rather that this age-span constituted a socially distinct transitional phase between childhood and adulthood.
This contribution presents the characteristics of the early phase of pottery from the Swifterbant culture (5000-4600 cal BC). The pottery derives from the Dutch sites Bronneger, Hoge Vaart, Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg and Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin. It concerns relatively coarse ware mostly tempered with stone grit and built-up with small coils using U-techniquc. Morphological evidence is rare due to the site characteristics (all but Bronneger are settlements). In general the pots are S-shaped, but open and closed forms arc found as well. The pots have round or pointed bases. The occurrence of knobs is another characteristic. Decoration is rare. There has been debate on the relations between Swifterbant and Ertebølle ceramics. It is concluded here that these should be considered to be two separate traditions. This conclusion is based on technological differences (U-technique for Swifterbant versus H-technique for Ertebølle), the absence of lamps in Swifterbant assemblages, and the relatively numerous Swifterbant assemblages (versus the limited numbers of vessels in Ertebølle sites) indicating a different role ceramics played in society. Furthermore, the earliest Swifterbant ceramics predate the ceramic Ertcbølle phase indicating that the inspiration for the Swifterbant ceramic tradition may not be found in the Ertebølle culture. It is proposed here that the Linear Pottery culture tradition was the source of inspiration. Functional analysis is needed to understand the role of this new type of material culture in the Late Mesolithic hunter-gather societies of the early Swifterbant culture.
The similarities in the pointed based vessels and elongated bowls, common to both the Narva pottery in the East Baltic and the Ertebølle pottery in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany, have prompted questions about connections across the Baltic. However, a comparative study of Neolithic pottery from Osa, Zvejsalas and Särnate in Latvia, relating to the Narva culture, and Ertebølle pottery from Vik, Skateholm and Soldattorpet in Scania, Sweden, highlights important differences between these pottery traditions. Thus, the pottery from Latvia is tempered with shell and other organic materials, whereas the Ertebølle ceramics mainly contain crushed rock. The H-technique of coil-joining, characteristic of the Ertebølle, has not been observed in the pottery from Latvia. On the other hand, the Latvian material shows extensive surface texturing by scraping or trimming, which is not a feature of the Ertebølle. The morphological similarities between Neolithic pottery from the East Baltic and the Ertebølle pottery might be regarded as superficial resemblances, which can perhaps best be explained in terms of similar functional requirements in a similar environmental and economic setting. The Narva pottery from Latvia may be part of an ancient and widespread circumpolar craft tradition - characterised by a combination of organic tempered fabric and striated surface - that appears to originate in the Far East. On the other hand, Ertebølle is a tradition in the making, one that builds on technological knowledge derived mainly from the south. It seems to be situated at the intersection between the circumpolar craft tradition, with which it shares shape elements on functional grounds, and a European pottery tradition (including Linear Pottery groups and Swifterbant), which supplied the basic technological knowledge. The study involved thin-section analysis as well as experimental replication. Experimental work on Neolithic pottery from Latvia indicated the importance of looking at a range of aspects in the vessel building technique, rather than focussing exclusively on the shape of the coil joints, which in the case of U- and N-joints may vary in different parts of the same vessel. Additional experimental study and microscopic comparisons of the experiments, as well as of prehistoric samples, are needed in order to better understand the scraping/trimming technique and more precisely estimate the percentage of shell/other organic temper in the fabric.
This paper will focus on the Ertebølle pottery in southern Sweden, which serves as an entry to a discussion of its role in the time in question as part of networks, creolisation, and in neolithisation. The interpretation of the meaning of the ceramics and the materiality gives further perspectives to interpret this early pottery handicraft, its technological conditions and artistic design. In this respect the Ertebølle pottery, and its grand and prolonged scientific interest, once again challenge preconceived notions of the interpretation of Stone Age societies, and the meaning of material culture in a wider social context.
Pottery production has long been viewed as an integrated part of the Neolithic package. Instances of ceramic production in hunter-gatherer contexts have been explained by influences from early farmers. This has also been the case for the ceramics of the Ertebølle Culture. Recently, however, the discussion has become more nuanced and alternative explanations have emerged. This article argues that a focus on the life cycle of the early ceramics as well as an understanding of technology transfer as a process of cultural transmission can potentially broaden the perspective on the uptake of ceramics technology by the hunter-gatherers of northern Europe. The chaîne opératoire of the Ertebølle ceramics is analysed and a model of how a technology moves from one social setting to another is presented. In the light of this work, different approaches to the introduction of ceramics in the western Baltic are discussed. It is argued that important elements of the Ertebølle pottery tradition came from the east via Baltic exchange networks. However, the tradition was not directly transferred, and important elements appear along the way. Whether some of these elements can be ascribed to agro-pastoralist groups in the south is still uncertain.
My intention in this paper is to outline the main features and principal aspects of contact and exchange among the later prehistoric hunter–gatherers (late Mesolithic and post-Mesolithic) in the Baltic Sea basin, which covers the southern and eastern reaches of Northern Europe, and to summarise the main advances in current research. The area broadly covered includes the Baltic Sea basin that has provided effective routes for communication between the coastal regions surrounding the Baltic Sea, central Baltic islands, and regions further away in the north European Plain, inland regions of Fennoscandia and Russia that could be reached by an extensive network of major rivers and lakes. Effective transport for negotiating these routes both in the summer and winter existed already from the early Mesolithic. Goods moved along these routes included a wide range of artefacts discussed in the paper. Geographically, exchange was organised at three levels: regionally, inter-regionally, and over long distances. Each mode of exchange was probably organised along different lines socially, and each served to implement wide-ranging social strategies for the general purposes of social reproduction, mate exchange and biological reproduction, as well as the spread of innovations. In the concluding section, I discuss the nature of contacts and consequences of exchanges between the early farming communities and the hunter–gathering groups within the framework of the core-periphery relations.
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