Maritime Havens in Earlier Prehistoric Britain

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 125-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bradley ◽  
Alice Rogers ◽  
Fraser Sturt ◽  
Aaron Watson ◽  
Diana Coles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Coastal Change ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
New Model ◽  
Isostatic Uplift

It is widely accepted that between the beginning of the Early Neolithic period and the end of the Early Bronze Age different regions of Britain were connected to one another by sea, but little is known about the nature of maritime contacts before plank-built boats developed during the 2nd millenniumbc. This paper considers a series of coastal sites, some of which were first settled from Mesolithic times. From the early 4th millennium they were also associated with artefact production and the use of imported objects and raw materials. Their distribution focuses on the region of isostatic uplift in northern Britain where the ancient shoreline still survives. It is considered in relation to a new model of coastal change which suggests that these locations were characterised by natural havens sheltered behind islands or bars. The sites can be compared with the ‘landing places’ and ‘beach markets’ discussed by historical archaeologists in recent years.

The chronology of the Mariupol-type cemeteries of Ukraine re-visited

Antiquity ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (292) ◽  
pp. 356-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ya. Telegin ◽  
I.D. Potekhina ◽  
M. Lillie ◽  
M.M. Kovaliukh
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Mesolithic

Recent results of radiocarbon analyses from sites in Ukraine suggest that a revision of the chronology of the Late mesolithic and early Neolithic is required. The subsequent Neolithic period up to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (c.3000 cal BC) should be divided into two separate periods, the Neolithic and Neo-eneolithic.

MEGALO NISI GALANIS (6300–1800 bc): CONSTRUCTING A CULTURAL SEQUENCE FOR THE NEOLITHIC OF WEST MACEDONIA, GREECE

2019 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Michael Fotiadis ◽  
Areti Hondroyanni-Metoki ◽  
Alexandra Kalogirou ◽  
Yannis Maniatis ◽  
Anna Stroulia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
History Of ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Early Phases

Scores of Neolithic sites have been excavated in west Macedonia since the 1990s, yet the majority are relatively short-lived installations, lacking high-resolution stratigraphies and sequences of radiocarbon dates. Megalo Nisi Galanis, a large mound in the Kitrini Limni basin, near modern Kozani, is a rare exception to that pattern. Systematically surveyed and excavated in 1987–9 and 1993, this site covers a large part of the Neolithic period in a stratified, radiocarbon-dated sequence capped in places by thin deposits of the Early Bronze Age. We present here the critical details of that sequence and relate them to evidence from other, recently excavated sites in west Macedonia. Megalo Nisi Galanis was first settled in the Early Neolithic (late seventh millennium bc), was intensively occupied until the early phases of the Final Neolithic (around 4500 bc), and continued to be inhabited, albeit sparely or intermittently, until the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age, about 1800 bc. By the end of occupation, the mound covered more than eight hectares and rose up to five metres above the surrounding landscape. We attend closely to features of that landscape that are likely to have played an important role in the history of occupation of the site and Kitrini Limni in the course of the Holocene.

The Prehistoric Occupation of Carradale, Kintyre

1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Carter ◽  
Richard Tipping
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Flood Plain ◽  
Valley Floor ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
River Erosion

Summary A concentration of archaeological features at Achnasavil, Carradale, which has been recorded since 1985, is being rapidly destroyed by river erosion. Limited excavations were carried out in 1991 in order to date and characterise the nature of the site. Four periods of activity have been identified: cultivation in the Neolithic period; an occupation in the early Bronze Age; a domestic settlement in the late Bronze Age; and an Iron Age occupation. A programme of morphological mapping and dating of valley floor terraces in lower Carradale showed that the present day flood plain of the Carra Water was created by the early Neolithic period and the morphology of the valley floor has changed little since that time.

scholarly journals Exchange networks from close-up: The case of Lipari obsidian

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vianello ◽  
Robert Howard Tykot
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Explanatory Model ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

A systematic study on obsidian tools in Calabria and Sicily carried out by the authors have revealed the uniqueness in the patterns of production, exchange and consumption of Lipari obsidian. The study has concentrated on the Middle Neolithic primarily, with other Neolithic and Bronze Age contexts recognised at a later stage in the research since many contexts, especially in Sicily, have been excavated by pioneering archaeologists, some over a century ago, or were mislabelled. The chronology is Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, with very few materials dating Middle Bronze Age. A review of chronological contexts is in progress, which spans from the 6th millennium BC to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. The typology of obsidian tools is very homogenous, the vast majority of used tools are small blades, bladelets and sharp flakes; there is negligible variance across time; and Lipari obsidian is preferred over other sources. The patterns of the exchanges are also unique, revealing two major types of redistribution of obsidian, one particularly intriguing because it is quite organized with a single source in Lipari, prominent and reminiscent for its stability and reach of Bronze Age redistribution dynamics associated with hierarchical societies. We present here some observations on patterns substantiated by the archaeological record, and consider possible scenarios that can explain them. This work provides an update on progressing research and reveals aspects that will need further investigation, focusing on the patterns identified so far and possible explanations. More work is certainly needed to produce a working model, but the unusual patterns deserve some attention on their own, unencumbered by an overarching explanatory model. In particular, we want to assess the Neolithic redistribution pattern suggestive as typical of hierarchical polities, and contextualize it to the specific situation of Neolithic Lipari.

Figurines of the Anatolian Early Bronze Age: the assemblage from Koçumbeli-Ankara

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 85-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Çiğdem Atakuman
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Near East ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
The Social ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Social Landscape ◽  
Social Concerns ◽  
Third Millennium Bc

AbstractThrough analysis of a figurine assemblage from the site of Koçumbeli-Ankara, this study aims to re-evaluate the origins, meanings and functions of the Early Bronze Age (third millennium BC) anthropomorphic figurines of Anatolia. Conventional typological approaches to figurines are often focused on their origins and sex; however, such approaches hinder an understanding of the context of the norms of production, display and discard within which the figurines become more meaningful. Following an examination of breakage patterns and the decorative aspects of the Koçumbeli assemblage, a comparative review of figurine find contexts, raw materials and abstraction scales in Anatolia is provided, so that the social concerns underlying the use of these figurines can be explored. It is concluded that the origins of the figurines are difficult to pinpoint, due to the presence of similar items across a variety of regions of the Near East from the later Neolithic onwards. The sex of the figurines is equally ambiguous; while some human sexual features can be discerned, it is difficult to decide whether these features are ‘male’, ‘female’, both or beyond classification. Alternatively, the decoration, breakage and find contexts of the figurines suggest that the imagery was embedded in more complex perceptions of social status, death and social regeneration. The need for materialisation of these concerns in the form of the figurines could be related to the development of a new social landscape of interaction leading to political centralisation by the second millennium BC. Furthermore, the figurines were produced through a meaningful linking of particular raw materials and particular abstraction scales to particular use contexts, which seems to have shifted during the centralisation process.

scholarly journals Ancient genomes reveal social and genetic structure of Late Neolithic Switzerland

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Furtwängler ◽  
A. B. Rohrlach ◽  
Thiseas C. Lamnidis ◽  
Luka Papac ◽  
Gunnar U. Neumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Southern Central

Abstract Genetic studies of Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletons from Europe have provided evidence for strong population genetic changes at the beginning and the end of the Neolithic period. To further understand the implications of these in Southern Central Europe, we analyze 96 ancient genomes from Switzerland, Southern Germany, and the Alsace region in France, covering the Middle/Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. Similar to previously described genetic changes in other parts of Europe from the early 3rd millennium BCE, we detect an arrival of ancestry related to Late Neolithic pastoralists from the Pontic-Caspian steppe in Switzerland as early as 2860–2460 calBCE. Our analyses suggest that this genetic turnover was a complex process lasting almost 1000 years and involved highly genetically structured populations in this region.

scholarly journals Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age lithic assemblages associated with a cairn and other prehistoric features at Stoneyhill Farm, Longhaven, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, 2002-03

2011 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Ballin ◽  
Ian Suddaby ◽  
M Cressey ◽  
M Hastie ◽  
A Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Lithic Technology ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Lithic Assemblages

Prehistoric remains were recorded by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in 2002-03 during a programme of fieldwork at the landfill site within the boundaries of Stoneyhill Farm, which lies 7km to the southwest of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. These included a clearance cairn with a Late Bronze Age lithic assemblage and a burial cairn, with Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age lithics and Beaker ceramics. Other lithic scatters of similar date had no certain associations, although pits containing near-contemporary Impressed Wares were nearby. Additional lithic assemblages included material dated to the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. What may be proto-Unstan Wares in an isolated pit were associated with radiocarbon dates (barley) of the first half of the fourth millennium bc. These findings represent a substantial addition to the local area's archaeological record and form an important contribution to the understanding of lithic technology and ceramics in earlier prehistoric Scotland.This paper is dedicated to the memory of Ian Shepherd, whose site visits enlightened this and other projects undertaken by one of the authors (IS).

scholarly journals Recycling in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age: evidence of flint recycling at Ein-Zippori, Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoni Parush ◽  
Richard Yerkes ◽  
Bar Efrati ◽  
Ran Barkai ◽  
Gopher Avi
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Separate Paper ◽  
Lithic Assemblages ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear

This paper presents a new techno-typological analysis of a sample of small flakes that were produced through recycling from discarded blanks at the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age site of Ein-Zippori, Lower Galilee, Israel. This study shows that the systematic production of small flakes from previously discarded blanks was not related to a scarcity in raw materials, but rather to specific decisions concerning the types of tools needed to complete necessary tasks. These results are supported by use-wear analysis noted briefly here and presented in more detail in a separate paper. The results indicate that recycling was a significant lithic production trajectory during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Recycling also contributes to the variability in lithic assemblages from those cultural periods.

scholarly journals Neolithic Thessaly: radiocarbon dated periods and phases

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 34-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agathe Reingruber ◽  
Giorgos Toufexis ◽  
Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika ◽  
Michalis Anetakis ◽  
Yannis Maniatis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Central Greece ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
The Bronze Age

Thessaly in Central Greece is famous for settlement mounds (magoules) that were already partly formed in the Early Neolithic period. Some of these long-lived sites grew to many metres in height during the subsequent Middle, Late and Final Neolithic periods, and were also in­habited in the Bronze Age. Such magoules served as the backbone for defining relative chronolo­gical schemes. However, their absolute dating is still a topic of debate: due to a lack of well-defined se­quences, different chronological schemes have been proposed. New radiocarbon dates obtained in the last few years allow a better understanding of the duration not only of the main Neolithic pe­riods, but also of the different phases and sub-phases.

An Early Neolithic Grave and Occupation, and an Early Bronze Age Hearth on the Thames Foreshore at Yabsley Street, Blackwall, London

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 215-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Coles ◽  
Steve Ford ◽  
Andy Taylor ◽  
Sian Anthony ◽  
Rowena Gale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Natural Sand ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Marked Decline ◽  
Sand And Gravel

Excavation on the Thames floodplain in London revealed traces of Early Neolithic occupation and burial on a sand and gravel bar beneath alluvium. A large expanse of peat also buried by alluvium was recorded between these finds and the modern river Thames suggesting that the occupation was situated on or close to the foreshore. A single grave cut into the natural sand contained a poorly preserved crouched inhumation, possibly of a woman. The burial was accompanied by a fragment of carinated bowl, a flint knife, and other struck flints. A radiocarbon date from an oak retaining plank within the grave of 5252±28 BP (4220–3970 cal BC: KIA20157) makes this burial one of the earliest from the British Isles and the earliest known for London. A scatter of struck flint and pottery predominantly of Early Neolithic date was recovered from adjacent areas of the sand. A nearby hearth contained fragments of Early Bronze Age pottery pointing to later prehistoric activity nearby. Charred plant remains indicate both the collection of wild plant foods and cultivated cereals in the Early Neolithic. Radiocarbon dating of the adjacent peat deposits indicated their rapid growth within the Middle Bronze Age with a marked decline in woodland cover at the start of the sequence and a rise in grassland and herb species. Cereal pollen then briefly became a significant component of the sequence before declining to more modest levels.

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