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Welt und Umwelt frühmesolithischer Jäger und Sammler. Mensch-Umwelt-Interaktion im Frühholozän in der nordmitteleuropäischen Tiefebene

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Abstract

The beginning of the Holocene is marked by extensive environmental changes in the northern European plain. At the same time, significant changes in the archaeological artefact inventories can be observed. In his dissertation Daniel Groß investigates aspects of human-environment-interaction and analyses under what kind of circumstances Mesolithic traditions spread into the area. To approach this, he uses environmental models which are derived from animal bones and palynological investigations. These are subsequently contextualized with the artefact inventories. Thus the influence of environmental factors on the selection of settlement sites is evaluated. Furthermore, prehistoric hunter-gatherers’ constraints to specific ecological niches are discussed with respect to the spread of Mesolithic industries in the area under consideration. Apart from these investigations the site Friesack 27a from the state of Brandenburg (Germany) is presented. Detailed stratigraphical analyses made it possible to differentiate four layer complexes which give the opportunity to examine diachronically artefact and environmental developments throughout the preboreal and boreal chronozone in the micro-region Friesack. Thanks to the extensive palaeoecological investigation which enable detailed environmental reconstructions, the site becomes a controlling role within the comparative analyses.

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... A few years ago these issues were addressed in detail in subject literature by Polish researchers specialising in this area (Kabaciński 2016;Kabaciński and Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2010;Kobusiewicz 1999;Schild 1996aSchild , 2001Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2011. The same transition has also been the subject of intense debate in the context of the North German Plain, that is, the westernmost segment of the Central European Plain (the western and northwestern sections of the Plain: Brinch Petersen 2009; Conneller et al. 2016;Crombé et al. 2009;Gramsch 1973;Groß 2014;Møller Hansen and Buck Pedersen 2006;Rozoy 1978;Sørensen et al. 2018;Street et al. 2001;Tolksdorf et al. 2009;Terberger 2004Terberger , 2006Weber et al. 2011;Zander 2016). ...
... According to many German scientists, the cultural Final Palaeolithic/Mesolithic division closely follows the climatostratigraphical boundary between the Pleistocene and Holocene, that is, the onset of the Holocene and of the Mesolithic are as good as synonymous, with radiocarbon dating showing that Final Palaeolithic cultures survived into the Preboreal being erroneous (Street et al. 2001, p. 393). The theory of migration of Final Palaeolithic hunters is considered to apply to the North German Plain as well (Groß 2014;Terberger 2004Terberger , 2006, with an impreciselydefined segment of Ahrensburgian hunters leaving this area and heading North in pursuit of reindeer herds, although such communities are presumed to still be present in situ in the early phases of the Preboreal (Groß 2014, p. 220;Terberger 2004, p. 44). However, the analysis of radiocarbon dates supports the thesis that for the vast expanses of the European Plain and neighbouring uplands, no uniform process-or Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. ...
... The dynamics of such changes are affected not only by local environmental conditions, but also by complex cultural and social relationships. The most recent literature on the subject appears to be dominated by the view that the transition from the Final Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic in the North European Plain was a complex process, involving the existence of human groups following different cultural traditions (Groß 2014;Sørensen et al. 2018;Zander 2016). Here D. Groß (2014, p. 219) draws upon earlier migration theories, according to which Ahrensburgian reindeer hunters followed that species north, while the forerunners of the Mesolithic-most probably from the Federmesser milieu-slowly drifted northward, following the Preboreal succession of woodlands. ...
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In this article we take a fresh look at the population dynamics of the Polish Plain in the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, using Bayesian analysis and modelling of radiocarbon dates, and contrast the results with data from the North German Plain. We argue against simple adaptationalist models and instead see the cultural landscape as a complex patchwork of old forms and the emerging new traits of the early Mesolithic. We argue that the Mesolithic directly follows the Final Palaeolithic on the Polish Plain, without the chronological hiatus of 150–300 years that is often assumed for that region; while, by contrast, the two cultural patterns—Final Palaeolithic and microlith-based Mesolithic—overlapped significantly in time on the adjacent North German Plain.
... However, for a variety of reasons, the complete processing of these important nds took many years and was only recently completed . The same applies to the neighbouring Mesolithic site Friesack 27a (Groß 2014). For the subsequent period of the Early Neolithic (Linearbandkeramik Culture), little was known from an archaeobiological point of view (macroremains of plants and animals) in the region (Cziesla 2010). ...
... 9200-8000 BC). The nd materials, including the animal remains, were examined by D. Groß as part of his dissertation (Groß 2014). In addition, plant remains from eight soil samples were examined by St. Wolters (2016). ...
... We thank all people, mentioned and unmentioned here, who were involved in this book and the different research projects, who helped by further pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the cultural remains and chronologies of the past. (Gross 2017) it is Friesack 4, excavated during the 1980s, which is famous for its extensive insights into the environment of early Holocene hunter-gatherers (Gramsch 1987;1990;2000;/20102011;2012;Gramsch et al. 2013). ...
... Parallel to the excavations and the subsequent analyses of the finds as well as investigations into the history of the surrounding landscape extensive environmental investigations were conducted, which today allow a detailed reconstruction of the local Preboreal and Boreal development of vegetation and hydrology. Thus, Friesack 4 was once situated on a small island of 6000 to 9000 m 2 , which was part of a large waterscape in an elongated valley surrounded by moraines covered with open birch and pine and later hazel forests ( Fig. 1; Gramsch 2000; Gross 2017;Jahns et al. 2016;Kloss 1987a;Theuerkauf et al. 2014). From the beginning of research archaeozoological analyses were integrated into the investigations, and first papers presented overviews and interpretations of the excavated remains of dogs, beavers, and birds (Teichert 1993a;1994). ...
... Friesack, located in the Rhinluch, a part of an ice marginal valley northwest of Berlin, is -due to excellent local preservation conditions and the enormous number of different archaeological artefacts and finds -one of the most valuable micro-regions in Central Europe with regards to Early Mesolithic habitation. Besides the neighbouring site Friesack 27a (Gross 2017) it is Friesack 4, excavated during the 1980s, which is famous for its extensive insights into the environment of early Holocene hunter-gatherers (Gramsch 1987;1990;2000;/20102011;Gramsch et al. 2013). ...
... Parallel to the excavations and the subsequent analyses of the finds as well as investigations into the history of the surrounding landscape extensive environmental investigations were conducted, which today allow a detailed reconstruction of the local Preboreal and Boreal development of vegetation and hydrology. Thus, Friesack 4 was once situated on a small island of 6000 to 9000 m 2 , which was part of a large waterscape in an elongated valley surrounded by moraines covered with open birch and pine and later hazel forests (Fig. 1;Gramsch 2000;Gross 2017;Jahns et al. 2016;Kloss 1987a;Theuerkauf et al. 2014). From the beginning of research archaeozoological analyses were integrated into the investigations, and first papers presented overviews and interpretations of the excavated remains of dogs, beavers, and birds (Teichert 1993a;1994). ...
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During the early Holocene the Mesolithic campsites at Friesack in northern Central Europe were located on an island amidst a wetland landscape: a swampy valley rich of reeds with generally slowly flowing water (with the exception of spring), forests dominated by birch and pine, sandy hills covered with pine, and open grasslands. Due to excellent preservation conditions thousands of mammal remains could be excavated in the refuse areas of the site Friesack 4 by B. Gramsch and his team between 1978 and 1989. 826 identified mammal remains derive from the oldest, mid-Preboreal layers of the station, 1200 bones from the following late Preboreal layers, and further 3082 remains from the subsequent early Boreal horizons. The main game species of the inhabitants of Friesack 4 were red deer, roe deer, and wild boar. Based on the bone weight, red deer was the most relevant and important species in all the Mesolithic stages of occupation. In the course of the c. 1500 years of habitation investigated on this site the economical relevance of wild boar increased gradually, whereas in particular elk lost its importance. Significantly, red deer hunting always focused on older juveniles or young adults. Based on the number of identified specimen, remains of roe deer dominate the mammal bone assemblage in all the occupation stages, and their frequency continuously increases from the oldest to the youngest Mesolithic horizon. Roe deer hunting occurred especially in May and June and was purposefully dedicated to young females. Similarly, hunting red deer was not focussed on strong, older deer, as at some contemporane-ous sites, but on young adults. Both species show that the hunter's strategy at Friesack 4 was in these cases not to get a maximum of food resources per hunting expedition, but rather to secure a successful hunt. In wild boar, in contrast, the analyses give evidence of a selective hunting of full-grown and quite old individuals, thus of wild boars for meat. Remarkably, the hunter's wild boar prey was nearly all female. A résumé of all seasonal indications concerning the mammal bones shows that Mesolithic people stayed at the location nearly exclusively in the months between May and October. There is no evidence for human presence during late autumn and winter/early spring. The portions of the body parts of the different game species show concordantly that the animals were slaughtered elsewhere. Friesack 4 was only the place of consumption. Partly, however, some valuable parts of the prey are missing at the campsite-potentially these parts were reserved for the successful hunters, who consumed them already at the kill site.
... In some cases they may have been hafted in pairs or with the addition of a central bone point to provide a leister as has been observed at other sites in Europe: one such pairing of barbed points was observed by Clark in situ (Clark, 1954, plate 12). Further evidence for the use of barbed points and harpoons related to fishing practices derives from a number of other Early Mesolithic ('Maglemosian') sites in north-west Europe: Holmegård, Lundby, Mullerup, Ulkestrup Lyng, Svaerdborg, Vinde-Helsinge and Ögaarde (in Denmark) and Duvensee, Friesack 4, Friesack 27a, Hohen Viecheln and Wustermark (in northern Germany) (Aaris-Sørensen, 1976; Broholm, 1924; Clark, 1948; Gramsch and Beran, 2010; Groß, 2014; Jessen et al., 2015; Noe-Nygaard, 1995; Robson, 2015; Rosenlund, 1980; Schuldt, 1961). In addition, fish remains were also encountered at the majority of these sites and are solely pike, or pike dominant. ...
... In addition, fish remains were also encountered at the majority of these sites and are solely pike, or pike dominant. However, wels catfish (Silurus glanis L., 1758), European perch (Perca fluviatilis L., 1758), tench (Tinca tinca L., 1758), carp (Cyprinidae sp.), common bream (Abramis brama L., 1758), common rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus L., 1758) and European eel (Anguilla anguilla L., 1758) have also been identified (Aaris-Sørensen, 1976; Broholm, 1924; Gramsch and Beran, 2010; Groß, 2014; Jessen et al., 2015; Noe-Nygaard, 1995; Robson, 2015; Rosenlund, 1980; Wundsch, 1961). In addition, there is a close correlation between pike remains and barbed points, similar to those found at Star Carr. ...
... More intensi ed research on Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (e.g. Brinch Petersen 2015;Boethius 2018;Conneller and Overton 2018;Cziesla 2015;Groß 2017;Groß et al 2018;Milner et al 2018;Sørensen et al 2018) shows that the previously rather uniform notion of cultural development in this period is starting to be understood as being more diverse and di erentiated than hitherto known. Consequently, Mesolithic traditions and varieties of culture are more reliably understood, though yet far from completely reconstructable. ...
Chapter
The objective of this paper is to understand networks, contacts and transmission of knowledge during the Late Mesolithic in the western part of the Baltic region. At this time, around 6500–4000 cal BC, a specific lithic technology focused on blade production, known as the handle core technology, is implemented by mobile hunter-gatherer groups, resulting in a wide distribution of similar finds throughout the area. In this paper, the distribution of handle cores in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Northern Germany will be used as a base for discussing mobility and interaction routes on a large spatial scale. The results show that contact networks in these areas have large spatial distributions, with cultural traditions possibly leading back to the early Mesolithic. Furthermore, several areas are defined that might reflect interaction centers and network corridors which have been extensively used during the Mesolithic.
... On present evidence, the first appearance of 'antler headdresses' is at the very beginning of the Holocene on the south-western margins of the North European Plain (e.g., Bedburg-Königshoven). Following the Preboreal Oscillation (PBO 1) it appears to spread to the North and Northeast (Star Carr, Hohen Viecheln, Berlin-Biesdorf, Plau: cf. Conneller & Higham 2015;Groß 2017) in association with all the features of lithic technology and faunal subsistence defining a 'classic' Mesolithic. In order to identify more precisely the ultimate origin of the 'antler headdress' phenomenon in particular, and probably of the Northern European Mesolithic overall, we suggest the need for more and suitable sites dated to the terminal Pleistocene and initial Holocene, which will probably be located at the north-western edge of the Central European Uplands. ...
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So-called ‘antler headdresses’ - red deer (Cervus elaphus) skulls with antlers specifically modified by humans - were identified early as a typical phenomenon of Early Mesolithic sites in the North European Lowlands. In addition to clearly processed pieces with artificial perforations, longitudinally split antlers and heavy processing of their surfaces, there are also pieces that have only one type of these modifications and others in which human processing is hardly demonstrable. Although comprehensive studies of these ‘headdresses’ have not until now been carried out, the various artefacts are often discussed functionally and interpreted prematurely. In recent years, the discovery of new finds at several sites has again intensified discussion of the typology, function and meaning of these artefacts. To provide a solid base for future discourses, we here present a synthetic study of the available material. A comparative analysis of the morphometric, zooarchaeological and technological features of individual specimens shows that certain characteristics often appear in combination. We propose to reserve the term deer antler ‘headdress’ to a subcat- egory of specimens which we suggest might indeed have best functioned as headgear. Since several of the deer skull artefacts do not show all the human modifications included in our definition, we adopt a polythetic classification of the term ‘headdress’. Under this definition we identify a total of seven ‘headdresses’ among those frontlets which could be examined, and note further probable specimens among published material unseen by us. In contrast to the conclusions of some other studies, new direct radiometric dates for the antler headdresses from Berlin-Biesdorf and Hohen Viecheln, together with recent chronological data for Star Carr and Bedburg-Königshoven suggest to us that ‘antler headdresses’ represent a phenomenon specific for the earliest Mesolithic of the North European Lowlands. Moreover, the presence of at least two or more of these artefacts at the better investigated sites suggests an important role for them in the rarely discernible social rituals of earliest Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, potentially as an aid to consolidating group/territorial identity.
... Thus, it falls within the suggested time span of a major expansion of Mesolithic traditions into the Northern European Lowlands (cf. Conneller/Higham 2015;Gross 2017). This expansion seems to be accompanied by the phenomenon of antler headdresses that so far had only been detected on Preboreal sites (Table 4; Wild et al. in prep.). ...
... Generally it is assumed that they were hafted onto wooden shafts for spearing or throwing (Robson et al. 2018), alternatively two or more could have been hafted together, as evidenced at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr in the United Kingdom (Clark 1954), or complemented with the addition of a central point to form a leister. Barbed and bone points have been recovered from a number of the Early Mesolithic sites listed in Table 1 -Sørensen 1976;Broholm 1924;Clark 1948;Gramsch/Beran 2007/2008Gross 2017;Jessen et al. 2015;Noe-Nygaard 1995;Robson 2015;Rosenlund 1980;Schuldt 1961). The most evocative description of their use is provided by Indreko (1934, 283;see Clark 1952), noting the presence of two barbed points at the eponymous site of Kunda in Estonia, where they were encountered impaling a northern pike (Esox lucius L., 1758), and were recovered from the skull and back of a large individual. ...
... Dating of notched and fine-barbed bone points from Schleswig-Holstein Contrary to the large-barbed bone points, the dating of which was long considered uncertain (Andersen/Petersen 2009), the attribution of notched and fine-barbed bone points to the Early Mesolithic has been out of question for a long time. This was partly the case due to their occurrence in stratified layers of Early Mesolithic sites such as Kunda (Grewingk 1884;Indreko 1936), Duvensee (Schwantes 1928), Star Carr (Clark 1954), Friesack 4 (Gramsch 1993;/2010 or Friesack 27a (Gramsch 1991;Gross 2017). Recently, however, direct AMS dating of individual specimens has also yielded older results, which date some of these already to the Late Glacial (Cziesla/Pettitt 2003;Smith/Bonsall 1991, 209). ...
Chapter
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The present study deals with notched and fine-barbed bone points from the area of today’s Schleswig-Holstein, including finds from the Gottorf Archaeological Museum ’ s collection, local museums’ collections and from private collections. In Schleswig-Holstein, such bone points were first recorded by G. Schwantes in situ at the Mesolithic Duvensee sites in the 1920s. About 20 years later, similar points were discovered by H. Schwabedissen during new excavations at Duvensee. Since then, they have been named ‘Duvensee points’ or ‘type 2’ points according to J. G. D. Clark’s typology (1936). A number of single finds have been found since then; however, excavations of early Mesolithic sites of substantive importance due to the preservation of organic cultural remains outside of the Duvensee peat bog are still lacking in Schleswig-Holstein. In general, notched bone points are associated with the early Mesolithic Maglemose culture in Southern Scandinavia and Northern Germany (Northern European lowland), but only a small number has been directly dated by radiocarbon analysis yet. The points presented here were classified metrically and morphologically, similar to the method presented in the study of points from Hohen Viecheln. Moreover, due to the importance of the material as a possible marker of social territories, a complete mapping of 49 finds from c. 30 sites was realised, and twelve points were directly dated.
... Thus, it falls within the suggested time span of a major expansion of Mesolithic traditions into the Northern European Lowlands (cf. Conneller/Higham 2015;Gross 2017). This expansion seems to be accompanied by the phenomenon of antler headdresses that so far had only been detected on Preboreal sites (Table 4; Wild et al. in prep.). ...
Chapter
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Five possible antler headdresses have been reported from Hohen Viecheln over the last 60 years. This paper will address and discuss these objects in the light of new findings and discoveries. In the end, one of the five artefacts can, while another one may be assigned to the group of headdresses. Besides the long-known bifacially worked headdress HV1 this paper presents a finding that remained undiscussed over the last decades (HV5). Both show clear affinities to finds from other sites via typology and techniques involved in their manufacturing. Finally, HV1 as predating all other directly dated finished objects at Hohen Viecheln sheds light on the pioneering phase of occupation at the site in the Late Preboreal chronozone.
... Generally it is assumed that they were hafted onto wooden shafts for spearing or throwing (Robson et al. 2018), alternatively two or more could have been hafted together, as evidenced at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr in the United Kingdom (Clark 1954), or complemented with the addition of a central point to form a leister. Barbed and bone points have been recovered from a number of the Early Mesolithic sites listed in Table 1 -Sørensen 1976;Broholm 1924;Clark 1948;Gramsch/Beran 2007/2008Gross 2017;Jessen et al. 2015;Noe-Nygaard 1995;Robson 2015;Rosenlund 1980;Schuldt 1961). The most evocative description of their use is provided by Indreko (1934, 283;see Clark 1952), noting the presence of two barbed points at the eponymous site of Kunda in Estonia, where they were encountered impaling a northern pike (Esox lucius L., 1758), and were recovered from the skull and back of a large individual. ...
Chapter
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Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic research has one of the longest traditions within archaeology, dating back to the 1820s and 1830s. However, a combination of site visibility and an emphasis on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition has meant that research has primarily been directed towards the Late Mesolithic Erte-bølle culture (c. 5400-4000 cal. BC) at the expense of the Early Mesolithic Maglemose culture (c. 9600-6400 cal. BC). Whilst fishing during the Ertebølle culture is well studied (Enghoff 2011; Ritchie 2010), fishing during the Early Mesolithic is rarely discussed in any detail. In this contribution we attempt to rectify this imbalance by collating all readily available data on fish remains and related technologies within the literature. Although our primary focus is the Early Mesolithic Maglemose culture of Southern Scandinavia, an area encompassing Denmark, Scania in Sweden and Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, we draw on contemporaneous sites within the broader region to provide a more nuanced picture of the exploitation of this important resource, fish.
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Human-environmental relations before agriculture can be revealed at archaeological sites through multi-method palaeoenvironmental studies, particularly at sites which have both dryland and wetland areas. Paliwodzizna 29 is such as site, being a series of pits and hearths at the edge of Lake Grodno in Central Poland. A combination of faunal analysis, lithostratigraphy, pollen, diaspores, charcoal and sedaDNA from the site revealed seasonal collecting type occupation based on the catching of pike (a superfood) in the spring in the early Mesolithic, but a different foraging-type pattern of occupation probably in the summer in the late Mesolithic. Subtle human impacts on the local environment are also seen, including probably burning of some woodland and reed-beds as well as localized soil erosion. This analysis reveals the potential of both such sites, and the combined methodology , for the testing of theoretical models of human mobility and activities in the Mesolithic.
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Time and timing are essential to many archaeological questions, especially when dealing with archaeo-cultural borders or transitions. In this paper, we address the transition from the Final Palaeolithic to the Early Mesolithic on the North German Plain with respect to chronological evidence. Based on several well-dated sites from the area, we aim to discuss preconditions and consequences for the spreading of Early Mesolithic technocomplexes. Furthermore, we highlight which problems have to be approached when dealing with this timeframe. It is shown that the onset of the Mesolithic in the area under consideration currently appears to date not prior to the Middle Preboreal, i.e. from ca. 9200 calBC onwards. The short cold spell, the Preboreal Oscillation, seems to coincide with a seizure between the hunter-gatherers of the Ahrensburgian and the aforementioned Early Holocene societies. It is made clear that the Pleistocene/Holocene border should not generally be parallelised with the Ahrensburgian/Early Mesolithic in the respective area.
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Im Fokus dieser Arbeit steht die Ausbreitung der frühen Mittelsteinzeit in die nordmitteleuropäische Tiefebene. In seiner Studie untersucht der Autor, welche ökologischen Kriterien für die Lagerplatzwahl in der beginnenden Mittelsteinzeit wichtig gewesen sind. Als Fallstudie wird in der Arbeit der Fundplatz Friesack 27a aus Brandenburg vorgelegt, der zugleich als Ausgangspunkt für die übergreifenden Analysen dient. An jener Station konnten bis zu sieben Siedlungsphasen unterschieden werden, die unter Zuhilfenahme umfangreicher paläoökologischer Analysen in ihre naturräumliche Umgebung eingegliedert wurden. Im Zusammenspiel von Literatur- und Fallstudie werden modellhafte Umweltrekonstruktionen entwickelt und mit Analysen von Fundspektren und Lagerplatzwahl verknüpft. So kann belegt werden, dass die Ausbreitung frühmesolithischer Traditionen im Arbeitsgebiet durch eine starke Ökoregionskontinuität geprägt war.
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Feedbacks between vegetation and other components of the climate system are discussed with respect to their influence on climate dynamics during the late Quaternary, i.e., the last glacial - interglacial cycles. When weighting current understanding based on interpretation of palaeobotanic and palaeoclimatic evidence by numerical climate system models, a number of arguments speak in favour of vegetation dynamics being an amplifier of orbital forcing. (a) The vegetation - snow albedo feedback in synergy with the sea ice - albedo feedback tends to amplify Northern Hemisphere and global mean temperature changes. (b) Variations in the extent of the largest desert on Earth, the Sahara, appear to be amplified by biogeophysical feedback. (c) Biogeochemical feedbacks in the climate system in relation to vegetation migration are supposed to be negative on time scales of glacial cycles. However, with respect to changes in global mean temperature, they are presumably weaker than the positive biogeophysical feedbacks.
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If radiocarbon measurements are to be used at all for chronological purposes, we have to use statistical methods for calibration. The most widely used method of calibration can be seen as a simple application of Bayesian statistics, which uses both the information from the new measurement and information from the 14 C calibration curve. In most dating applications, however, we have larger numbers of 14 C measurements and we wish to relate those to events in the past. Bayesian statistics provides a coherent framework in which such analysis can be performed and is becoming a core element in many 14 C dating projects. This article gives an overview of the main model components used in chronological analysis, their mathematical formulation, and examples of how such analyses can be performed using the latest version of the OxCal software (v4). Many such models can be put together, in a modular fashion, from simple elements, with defined constraints and groupings. In other cases, the commonly used “uniform phase” models might not be appropriate, and ramped, exponential, or normal distributions of events might be more useful. When considering analyses of these kinds, it is useful to be able run simulations on synthetic data. Methods for performing such tests are discussed here along with other methods of diagnosing possible problems with statistical models of this kind.
Article
Divided into two parts, the Lateglacial natural history of the Netherlands is reviewed. In the first part, aspects of the Lateglacial and Early Holocene vegetation, abiotic landscape and climate in The Netherlands are discussed. In this part, sub-divided into seven chapters, a critical evaluation is presented considering the relationships between climate, the abiotic landscape and the vegetation development in The Netherlands during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene. Several chapters have been prepared for publication in international journals. The second part consists of an atlas of the Lateglacial and Early Holocene landscape and vegetation in The Netherlands, together with an extensive review of available palynological data. Landscape and pollen distribution maps of (selected) plant taxa for different time-windows during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene in The Netherlands are presented. Iso-pollen maps and pollen abundance maps show the changes in vegetation composition and patterns in time and space. A selection of pollen diagrams from different regions with selected species is added. The review of the Lateglacial and Early Holocenc pollen diagrams in the Netherlands and adjacent regions gives a compilation of over 600 pollen diagrams from the period under consideration. This atlas with review of the available palynological data will be published separately.
Article
Over the past 10-20 years archaeologists have become familiar with the problems of potential ‘aberrations’ in the radiocarbon time-scale, arising from factors such as the varying rates of production of I4C in the upper atmosphere, or from the delayed cycling of ‘fossil’ carbon in the overall carbon reservoir. In some cases these aberrations can lead to dramatic ‘wiggles’ in the radiocarbon calibration curves, while in other cases (as, for example, during the Iron Age, around 700 BC) they can lead to substantial ‘plateaux’ during which measured radiocarbon dates show no detectable change over periods of several centuries (Pearson & Stuiver 1986; Stuiver & Pearson 1986).
Article
This article presents results from recent re-analysis of the faunal remains from Mullerup (Zealand), the first excavated site attributed to the Maglemose Culture (9600–6550 cal BC) in Denmark. All faunal remains and fragments related to the bone tool industry (pieces and waste) were studied together, in order to reconstruct the total exploitation of animal resources for dietary as well as ‘technical’ (non-dietary) purposes by Maglemosian groups. The detailed quantification of species, individuals, skeletal elements, as well as marks on the bone surfaces provides relevant data to reconstruct the relative contributions of the five main hunted species (ungulates) to subsistence and technical activities, such as bone tool production. The ungulates were exploited in different ways, depending on species, transport strategies, and raw material needs. This article particularly focuses on the acquisition of raw material for making bone tools and its influence on the whole carcass treatment. The reconstruction of the total exploitation of animal resources thus addresses important issues in Maglemose socioeconomic organization.
Article
Papers presented at "The 6th International Conference on the Mesolithic in Europe", Stockholm, 4-8 September 2000.
Article
Accumulation of sediments in the lake basins of the Starogard Lakeland, Northern Poland, an area which was entirely ice-covered during the last glaciation, started at different times, beginning during the Late Glacial. Sedimentation continued till the beginning of the Holocene (Preboreal). The principal factor causing the asynchronous start of the lake development was the variation in melting processes of buried dead-ice blocks. The preservation of dead-ice masses in some depressions until the Preboreal leads to the conclusion that the ultimate disappearance of permafrost in the study area occurred only at the beginning of the Holocene.
Article
This article presents new data on the changes in diversity and distribution in time and space of the mammalian fauna in Denmark throughout the Weichselian glaciation and the Holocene (ca. 115-0 kyr BP). Three different taphonomic pathways are recognized in the fossil assemblages. The oldest bone remains are found redeposited in glacial or glaciofluvial sediments belonging to the repeated advances and retreats of the Weichselian glaciers. The younger remains, which date to the time after the last glacial events (younger than ca. 17-16 kyr BP), are found in situ in lacustrine, fluviatile or marine sediments either in natural deposits or in man-made refuse deposits. In all, 77 terrestrial and marine mammal species have been identified and described in detail as regards first and last appearance data (FAD and LAD), number of dated remains (NDR) and the inferred time range in the Danish/south Scandinavian area. Analyses of the data show that the central European mammoth steppe fauna expanded northward into southern Scandinavia during all Weichselian interstadials. The dynamics of the fauna match the advances and retreats of the ice cap and are best explained as a combination of expansions and local extinctions of marginal populations. After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) a dramatic increase in species richness is seen between 15 and 11 cal. kyr BP followed by a decline towards a more moderate level between 11 and 9 kyr and a steady state in the last 9000 years with a mean richness of ca. 30 species. Two opposing processes, colonizations and extinctions, regulate the diversity and this also caused large changes in species composition with faunal turnover rates of 90% to 60% during the first 4000 years and 20% to 4% during the last 6000 years. These changes are analysed in relation to the climateinduced environmental changes and increasing human impact. It is shown that the expansion of herbivore populations was controlled by the rate of 'habitat migration' -the time lag in vegetational response to the climatic improvement and furthermore that the Younger Dryas setback induced a local extinction of several species around 12.6 cal. kyr BP. The large number of species (38) forming the peak during the 15 to 11 kyr interval was a mixture of species today considered as ecologically incompatible. The assemblages are referred to as a non-analogue or disharmonious fauna and it is explained as the result of individualistic responses by the species in accordance with their individual tolerance limits during environmental changes. Man-made habitat fragmentations after the introduction of agriculture and husbandry around 6000 BP and a steady increase in encounters with and persecution by a growing human population led to extinctions. At the same time, however, new species were attracted by the new open cultural landscape and by human habitations and activities. The transformation of continental Denmark into a group of islands and peninsulas around 8 cal. kyr BP led to further habitat fragmentations and to isolated and vulnerable island populations. An impoverished fauna is documented on the island of Sjælland which experienced a local extinction of four carnivores and two ungulates during the interval 8 to 7 kyr. The marine mammals are represented by 15 whale species, four true seals, the walrus and the polar bear. The oldest remains belong to cold-adapted species which were present in northern Denmark whenever an arctic-subarctic palaeo-Kattegat-Skagerrak existed during the Weichselian. The youngest, on the other hand, include temperate- and warm-adapted species and they have been spread more widely across the country and much further south in accordance with the Mid-Late Holocene transgressions creating the Inner Danish Waters.
Article
Periglacial aeolian sand sheets and dunes of the last glacial cover extensive areas of northwest and central Europe. Four sedimentary facies have been described that could be related to fluvio-aeolian and cryogenic processes, moisture content of the depositional surface and surface morphology. Factors that favoured sand-sheet and low-dune formation were the abundance of unconsolidated sediments, absence of topographic barriers, sparseness of vegetation cover and the high ratio of wind energy to sand availability. Three phases of prominent aeolian sand deposition have been distinguished from the Last Glacial Maximum to the beginning of the Holocene. Phase I (c. 28-18 ka cal B.P.) with predominant fluvio-aeolian deposition was related to permafrost conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. Phase II (c. 18-14 cal B.P.) represents the major period of sand-sheet or coversand formation at the waning stage of the last glacial (Late Pleniglacial and early Lateglacial). Phase III (c. 13-10 cal B.P.) with more localized deposition occurred in the later part of the Younger Dryas and early Holocene. It is stressed that the aeolian phases do not strictly coincide with glacial or stadial conditions. Climatic aridity, limited vegetation cover and delayed responses of the aeolian environment to climate change determine the timing of the aeolian phases.
Article
Wiessner's analysis of stylistic variation in San arrows entails valuable ethnoarchaeological observation and insight. But her evidence contradicts the iconological theory she imposes upon it, whereby San artisans are thought to purposefully invest their products with ethnic symbolism in order to transmit social information to various target populations. However, an alternative view, according to which the arrows simply exhibit the ethnic style latent in all isochrestic behavior (see Sackett 1982), is consistent both with their formal variation and with the commonplace ethnic symbolism that the San themselves are reported to read into them. This view also provides a more reasonable explanation than does the iconological theory of why stylistic distinctions fail to emerge among San bands engaged in risk-sharing strategies. In any event, isochrestism is the basic source of ethnic style in material culture. Iconicism is a special case and ought not be invoked unless specific expectations are met by the evidence.
Chapter
Complete conference volume online: http://www.yepat.uni-greifswald.de/geo/fileadmin/dateien/Publikationen/GGA/GGA_26_Kaiser.pdf ***** In the Berlin and Baruth ice marginal valleys there are archaeological indications for naturally resp. artificially caused changes of ground water-levels. At the Stone Age bog-site Friesack in the Berlin valley the different waterlevels are marked by sediments and layers of humificated peat whereas an Iron Age well in the Fiener Bruch of the Baruth valley and medieval wells in the ancient town of Friesack are indicating former ground water-levels far above the recent niveau. In the Berlin valley there is proof for a natural rise of groundwater-level of ca. 2,5-3,0 m in the Holocene, but the artificial lowering of the 17./18. centuries in the area was in the range of ca. 3 m. ***** Im Berliner und im Baruther Urstromtal liegen archäologische Indizien für natürlich und künstlich bedingte Grundwasserstands-Schwankungen während des Holozäns vor. Am steinzeitlichen Moorgrabungsplatz Friesack im Berliner Tal markieren sich Wasserstände mit Sedimenten und Humotorflagen, während Brunnenanlagen der Eisenzeit im Fiener Bruch im Baruther Tal sowie des Mittelalters in Friesack am Berliner Tal ehemals weit über dem gegenwärtigem Niveau liegende Grundwasserhochstände anzeigen. Im Berliner Tal ist während des Holozäns ein natürlicher Grundwasseranstieg von 2,5-3 m belegt, während die künstliche Absenkung im 17./18. Jh. hier ca. 3 m ausmachte.
Article
NOE-NYGAARD, N.: The Vig Bull. New information on the final hunt. Bull. geol. Soc. Denmark, vol. 22, pp. 244-248. Copenhagen, Novem-ber, 13th 1973. A re-examination of the famous Preboreal Bos primigenius skeleton from Vig, Denmark, revealed new evidence for the animal's mode of death. Besides the injuries described earlier, there are signs that the bull was pierced through both shoulderblades. The diameter of the holes indicates that the weapon was possibly a spear. The fractures are compared with that in a Boreal Bos shoulderblade from Graenge (Andersen & Møller, 1946). Nanna Noe-Nygaard, Institut for historisk Geologi og Palaeontologi, Østervoldgade 10, DK-1350 København K, Denmark. February 2nd, 1973. During the preparation of a forthcoming article on Mesolithic hunting in Denmark based on traces such as "shotholes" on bones and injuries contain-ing flint, the Bos primigenius skeleton from Vig, Odsherred, Sjaelland, was re-examined. This skeleton, dated to Preboreal time (Fredskild in Degerbøl, 1970), was described by Hartz & Winge (1906), who showed that flint frag-ments were embedded in the wounds in two different ribs, one healed and the other unhealed. This was interpreted to show that the animal was hunted at least twice. The re-examination revealed that, in addition to these wounds, both shoulderblades also appear to have been pierced. Another group of fractures has developed subsequently due to recent drying out of the bone. The Vig skeleton While re-inspecting the old skeleton from Vig, experience with other bones showing traces after hunting led me to check the shoulderblades. In both of the blades fractures were found which resembled a fracture previously described as a shothole (Andersen & Møller, 1946, p. 8, fig. 5), in a shoulderblade of a Boreal Bos from the bog Graenge-mose.
Article
Several well-delimited animal bone deposits were excavated in Lundby Mose, an early Maglemosian site (9600–6500 cal BC) located in South Zealand, Denmark. The hunting strategies, the butchering activities and the discarding processes involved in their formation were assessed by the means of a detailed archaeozoological analysis of the material. Each deposit was exclusively composed of elk (Alces alces) bones originating from one to three adult individuals, whose carcasses had been butchered directly on-site following standardized chaînes opératoires in order to supply the community with meat, bone marrow, hides and raw material for tool manufacture. This exploitation relies on the specific management of these resources between an immediate and a postponed consumption, as our study shows part of these were consumed on-site whereas others were likely to have been transported to a connected settlement site. Such patterns are well known from other Early Maglemosian sites (Skottemarke and Favrbo) and indicate that strong common cultural factors were involved in the exploitation of large ungulates from the very beginning of the Maglemose culture. The comparison with later classical Maglemosian data, despite the chronological gap, suggests that some of these features could apply to the whole length of the Maglemosian period and allows us to discuss mobility patterns.
Article
Im Havelländischen Luch kommen neben Niedermoorböden Sandgleye vor. Zum einen sind beide in der Landschaft vergesellschaftet, zum anderen gibt es eine Substratfolge Gley/ Niedermoor. In diesen Profilen ist die Wirkung von mittelholozäner Wärme‐ und Trockenperiode sowie vom nachfolgenden Grundwasseranstieg im Subboreal zu erkennen.
Article
Following a thorough review of high-resolution environmental archives, this paper aims at discriminating the factors determining the heterogeneous repercussion of the Lateglacial Younger Dryas in Central Europe. When examining the archaeological implications of human adaptation to the subsequent changes in the natural environment two divergent biotic regions are of special interest: the North European Plain and adjacent areas; and the Alpine foothills and surrounding mountain ranges. In these regions, two different archaeological technocomplexes (traditions) are found: the Tanged Point Complex and the Curve-Backed Point Groups. Considering the distribution of the archaeological sites witnessing changes in the material culture and subsistence pattern, the intensity of the environmental changes caused by the Younger Dryas is a decisive element. Settlement discontinuity during the Younger Dryas is questioned. Moreover, the potential existence of established social networks between the two regions expressed by comparable developments such as microlithization is considered. Finally, the authors assess whether the Younger Dryas acted as an accelerator or a brake in the process of regional diversification prior to the Early Mesolithic.