East meets west in the 6th millennium: Mesolithic osseous tools and art from Sise on the Latvian seaboard

A collection of 141 bone and antler tools and debitage pieces recovered from the River Užava at the village of Sise constitutes the largest Mesolithic osseous assemblage in western Latvia. Radiocarbon dating of 12 pieces suggests that most of this collection dates from the 6th millennium calBC. We present a general analysis, highlighting typical and unique tool forms, ornamented and sculpted pieces, and assess the corpus in a wider geographical context. Predominant in this rich and diverse collection are heavy duty antler tools: various forms of adzes, axes and hammers as well as sleeves, made either from shed antler or antler of hunted animals. They include two pieces classifiable as T-axes. Spear- and arrowheads as well as daggers are also present, Along with chisels, wedges, awls and other tools. Artistic representations include five sculpted and engraved objects. The heavy duty red deer antler tools have parallels in the region south of the Baltic Sea, whereas the bone projectile forms are familiar from Kunda and Narva Culture sites of the East Baltic; the closest similarity is with osseous assemblages from coastal western Ļithuania.“People in a dynamic landscape: tracing the biography of Latvia’s sandy coastal belt”, lzp-2018/1-0171; NERC/ ORADS grant NF/2017/1/4 Latvian Council of Science, lzp-2018/1-0171 NERC, NF/2017/1/

Priedaine: A Neolithic Site at the HEAD of the Gulf of Riga

The Neolithic site of Priedaine in Jūrmala was excavated on a small scale in 2007–2008, yielding an assemblage of Comb Ceramics, along with unique wooden implements and fragments of pine-lath fishing structures. The environment and subsistence resources are indicated by plant macrofossil remains and a small faunal collection. Located by a palaeolake and also very close to the sea, the site, dated to c. 3700–3500 cal BC, would have been oriented towards aquatic resource exploitation. However, it had a wider range of functions, as indicated by the evidence of flint and amber processing.Key words: Neolithic, pottery, fishing gear, plant macro-remains, faunal remains, lake, coastal settlement.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v23i0.129

Adaptations and transformations of hunter-gatherers in forest environments: New archaeological and anthropological insights

Like any other living being, humans constantly influence their environment, be it intentionally or unintentionally. By extracting natural resources, they shape their environment and also that of plants and other animals. A great difference setting people apart from all other living beings is the ability to construct and develop their own niche intentionally, and the unique tool for this is cultural behaviour. Here, we discuss anthropogenic environmental changes of hunter-gatherers and present new palaeoecological and palynological data. The studies are framed with ethnoarchaeological data from Western Siberia to gain a better understanding of how different triggers lead to coping mechanisms. For archaeological implication, we use two Mesolithic case studies from Germany: One of them focuses on hazelnut economy around ancient Lake Duvensee, and the other broaches the issue of selective roe deer hunt and its consequences at the site of Friesack. We address the archaeological evidence from the perspective of active alteration and its consequences, starting our argumentation from a perspective of niche construction theory. This approach has rarely been applied to early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Northern Europe even though the available data render possible to discuss human–environment interaction from such a perspective. It is demonstrated that archaeological research has tools at hand that enables to detect anthropogenic niche construction. However, the ethnoarchaeological example shows limitations and archaeologically invisible triggers and consequent results of human adaptations. The critical revision of such perspectives based on empirical data provides a better understanding of social and environmental transformations in the early- and mid-Holocene

U. Schmölcke, J. Meadows, K. Ritchie, V. Bērziņš, H. Lübke, I. Zagorska (2015), Neolithic fish remains from the freshwater shell midden Riņņukalns in northern Latvia. Environmental Archaeology DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1749631415Y.0000000011

The Neolithic site Riņņukalns in the Lake Burtnieks/River Salaca area in northern Latvia is the only freshwater shell midden in the eastern Baltic Sea area. An excavation carried out in 2011 revealed an intact stratigraphy with alternating layers of unburnt and burnt mussel shells and yielded various kinds of archaeological finds, among them several thousand fish remains. To get an impression of the fish species and specimens caught by the Neolithic settlers, and to look for a temporal development in the fish species composition, we analysed fish remains from different sections and layers. The results, both archaeozoological and stable isotope data, give evidence for a change in the relevance of fish species during the period of use, and they also provide an impression of the former river and lake hydrology in the vicinity of the midden. The Stone Age landscape seems to have been very similar to the present situation, so that the study area has been an extraordinarily stable ecosystem for more than 5000 years. Comparisons with the results of recent monitoring programmes, with long-term changes since Medieval times, as well as with written sources from the 18th century, show that the fish species community is almost unchanged since the Stone Age. This underlines the importance of the region in nature conservation

Important safety aspects to be considered in the reorganization of urban junctions

In dem vorliegenden Forschungsbericht wurden Sicherheitsaspekte von Straßenknoten in Städten untersucht. Gegenstand der Untersuchungen waren umgestaltete Knotenpunkte, bei denen Elemente der neuen Richtliniengeneration bereits baulich realisiert worden sind. Diese "Neuentwicklungen" beziehungsweise auch "Wiederentdeckungen" von Knotenpunktelementen beziehungsweise Knotenpunktformen, bei denen die Leichtigkeit des Verkehrsablaufes nicht als übergeordneter Gesichtspunkt vorangestellt ist, wurden nach fünf Typen unterschieden: - Knotenpunkte in Form von Kreisverkehrsplätzen, - Knotenpunkte mit Materialwechsel, - Knotenpunkte mit Niveauunterschied (Teilaufpflasterung), Knotenpunkte mit Mittelinseln anstelle der Linksabbiegespur (bei Erhaltung der Linksabbiegemöglichkeit), Knotenpunkte, bei denen die Rechtsabbiegespur, der Ausfahrkeil oder die Dreiecksinsel entfernt wurden (Eckausrundung für Rechtsabbieger). Die Untersuchungen erfolgten an insgesamt 12 Fallbeispielen aus dem Bereich höher belasteter Sammel-, Hauptsammel- oder Hauptverkehrsstraßen, wobei jeder Knotenpunkttyp zumindest zweimal besetzt war. Den Schwerpunkt der Untersuchungen zur Beurteilung der Verkehrssicherheit bildeten Analysen des Unfallgeschehens, die als Vorher-Nachher-Vergleiche durchgeführt wurden, so dass Aussagen über Veränderungen der Verkehrssicherheit vor und nach der Umgestaltung der Knotenpunkte möglich wurden. Daneben erfolgten Beobachtungen des Verkehrsablaufes, um die Ergebnisse der Unfallanalysen gegebenenfalls zu überprüfen und um auch Aussagen zu Sicherheitsaspekten zu ermöglichen, die sich bisher nicht im Unfallgeschehen widerspiegeln. Die Beschreibungsgrößen zum Verkehrsablauf wurden durch Erhebungen der Verkehrsstärke, Geschwindigkeitsmessungen und Video-Beobachtungen des Interaktionsverhaltens ermittelt. Neben generellen Verbesserungen im Sinne der städtebaulichen Integration aufgrund der Umgestaltungsmaßnahmen zeigen die Untersuchungsergebnisse überwiegend günstige Entwicklungen der Verkehrssicherheit und einen durchweg störungsarmen Verkehrsablauf. Aufgrund erheblicher Gestaltungsunterschiede typgleicher Knotenpunkte muss die Interpretation der Untersuchungsergebnisse jedoch auf den Einzelfall bezogen bleiben.In this research report the safety aspects of urban junctions are investigated. The study dealt with reconstructed junctions incorporating elements of the new generation of design standards. These "new developments" or what may also be referred to as "rediscovery" of junction elements or junction forms where the ease of traffic flow had not been an aspect of paramount consideration were subdivided into five different types: - junctions in the form of traffic circles - junctions incorporating different road materials - partially speed-tabled junctions - junctions with centre isles instead of a turn-left lane (maintaining the possibility of left turns) - junctions at which the turn-right lane, the turn-off wedge, or the triangular island had been removed (flared edges for the cars turning right). A total of 12 case studies including roads, such as highvolume collector roads, main collector or major roads, and at least two junctions of each of the types above was conducted. The studies to assess traffic safety concentrated on accident analyses in the form of before and after comparisons. It was thus possible to obtain information on the changes in traffic safety caused by the reconstruction of the junctions. In addition there were traffic flow observations to check the results of the accident analyses and enable information about the safety aspects to be obtained which were not reflected by the accidents. The traffic flow parameters were obtained by traffic volume surveys, speed measurements and video observations of interaction behaviour. Aside from the general improvement of the aspect of urban integration brought by the reconstruction measures, the research findings also indicate predominantly favourable road safety developments and relatively undisturbed traffic flows throughout. Based on considerable design differences even in the case of identical junction types, the interpretation of the research findings is restricted to single cases only

T formos rago kirviai Lietuvoje - neatskleista vidurinio holoceno medžiotojų-rankiotojų technologija

Šiame straipsnyje pristatomas vienas iš charakteringiausių mezolito ir neolito medžiotojų-rankiotojų įrankių – T formos rago kirvis. Tokie kirviai gaminti iš tauriojo elnio (Cervus elaphus) rago ašies, pašalinus pokarūninę ataugą ir suformavus skylę mediniam kotui. Mūsų duomenimis, Lietuvos teritorijoje kol kas žinoma dešimt šio tipo kirvių iš aštuonių radaviečių. Dauguma radinių yra pavieniai, rasti sausinant šlapynes ar kasant durpes. Tik dviejose archeologinėse gyvenvietėse – Daktariškės 5-ojoje ir Palangoje – rasta T formos kirvių. Kirvis iš Palangos senovės gyvenvietės datuotas AMS metodu ir publikuotas anksčiau. Likusių devynių T formos kirvių iš Lietuvos teritorijos mėginiai buvo paimti vykdant tarptautinį radiokarboninio datavimo projektą. Šiame straipsnyje datavimui pakartotinai buvo paimti trijų T formos kirvių mėginiai iš Daktariškės 5-osios gyvenvietės ir vienas iš Ražiškių radavietės. T formos kirvis iš Daktariškės 5-osios gyvenvietės (EM 2245: 3081) yra seniausias šiame rinkinyje, datuojamas 5375–5213 cal BC. Kitas T formos kirvis iš šios gyvenvietės (EM 2245: 3080) ir kirvis iš Melnragės II radavietės yra šiek tiek jaunesni, datuojami atitinkamai 5210–4999 ir 5214–5009 cal BC. Likusių dirbinių datavimas rodo jų amžių maždaug iš 4700–3800 cal BC laikotarpio. Kirvis iš Šarnelės šiuo metu yra jauniausias šioje kolekcijoje. Ankstyviausiuose T formos kirviuose iš Daktariškės 5-osios radavietės ir Melnragės II radavietės yra ilgesnė pašalintos pokarūninės ataugos liekana, o ant dirbinių, datuojamų V tūkstantm. pr. Kr., to nematyti. Kai kuriuose tyrimuose taip pat teigiama, kad skylės forma gali būti vienas iš mezolito laikotarpio bruožų šių įrankių technologijoje. Eksperimentiniai tyrimai patvirtintų, kad T formos kirviai efektyviai naudoti medienai apdirbti, tačiau sulūžę jie kartais būdavo naudojami kitai, pavyzdžiui, gremžimo, funkcijai. Šiuo metu T formos kirvių šiaurinėse Rytų Baltijos regiono dalyse nerasta. Kol kas šiauriausi šio tipo dirbiniai yra du T formos kirviai iš Sisės (Sise) radavietės Vakarų Latvijoje.This paper discusses one of the most characteristic hunter-gatherer osseous implements - the T-shaped antler axe. These are made from red deer (Cervus elaphus) antler beam by removing the trez tine and creating a perforation for a shaft in its place. This type of axe is quite widely known in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic contexts of northern, western and central Europe. Until now, T-shaped antler axes have been only sporadically mentioned in research on Lithuanian prehistory. Ten T-axes are currently known from eight find locations, concentrated in western and southern Lithuania. These axes were mainly discovered as single finds during wetland drainage or peat extraction. Only two excavated sites contained T-axes in settlement refuse layers. This paper provides details of the find circumstances and technological features of all ten axes, as well as the results of AMS 14C dating. The dating suggests that this technology had already spread among hunter-gatherers in the territory of Lithuania as early as the second half of the 6th millennium, and continued at least until the transition to the 4th millennium cal BC. Keywords: Antler technology, AMS 14C dating, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Cervus elaphus, Lithuania