Vráble, Slowakei: Herausbildung und Niedergang des frühbronzezeitlichen Siedlungszentrums – Untersuchungen zu Wirtschaft, Sozialstruktur und politischer Organisation eines Sozialverbandes und seines Umfeldes

The history of the development and decline of any settlement, be it prehistoric or modern cannot be understood in isolation. Research at the Early Bronze Age site of Fidvár by Vráble (southwest Slovakia) and its connections within the greater scope of its surrounding natural and human environment in the Žitava River Valley has been strongly geared towards this idea. Recent survey work at the settlement site at Fidvár confirmed comparative surface survey results from 2008, but also extended our knowledge of the site to the northeast. Further surveying of potential sites south of Fidvár in the Žitava River Valley were supported by a rigorous programme of augering as well as geomagnetic and topographical surveys. Of the newly examined sites, the most spectacular discovery was that of the contemporaneous settlement site of Hul. There, a ring-ditch with an extent of 98 × 80 m was discovered. Its extent (covering 0,3 ha) dovetails perfectly with our current models for the size and operation of social units during the Early Bronze Age in this part of Europe. Probably housing a social group ranging between 60–80 people, Hul likely mirrors the settlement at Fidvár before its expansion

Die Toten der spätneolithischen Tellsiedlung von Okolište / Bosnien-Herzegowina: Massaker, Seuche oder Bestattungsbrauch?

The following paper deals with the human skeletal remains of at least 14 individuals that were found during excavations in 2004 and 2006 in one of the surrounding ditches of the late Neolithic tell settlement of Okolište / Bosnia-Herzegovina. Based on the archaeological findings and the anthropological analysis it is proposed that these human remains are rather not the outcome of specific burial practices but have to been seen in connection with a short-termed, though not punctuated event. However, it is not very likely that the dead are casualties of warlike operations; instead, we think it more probable that they fell victim to some kind of epidemic or famine. However, because of the poor preservation of bone in other parts of the ditch, it cannot be ruled out completely that the skeletal remains were the result of some kind of yet unknown burial practice

Kupres, Bosnien-Herzegowina: Von der Natur- zur Kultur- zur Rituallandschaft

In the last years surveys as well as palynological and geophysical prospections were carried out in the high plain of Kupres, Bosnia-Herzegovina. A newly available 14C-date suggests human usage of the plain already during the Eneolithic. During the Bronze Age the plain seems to have taken on a sacred aspect, as grave mounds were built, most of them visible from quite far away. This suggests a significant opening of the landscape, which is confirmed by pollen analysis. Two probably contemporaneous hilltop settlements were placed so that the largest part of the mounds was not visible from there

Süddeutschland: Siedlungsbestattungen der Hallstatt- und Frühlatènezeit

The project, funded by the German Research Council from 2010 to 2013, dealt with settlement burials of the Early Iron Age in south and southwest Germany. It set out to provide answers to the phenomenon that human corpses were deposited in settlement pits in apparently casual ways. The most likely explanation from archaeological observations and the results of isotope analyses seems to be a belief in „untimely“ deaths these individuals had suffered

The dead of the Dietersberg Cave, Germany: new insights into burial practices of the Iron Age from 14C-dates and stable isotope (C, N, O, Sr) analyses of human bones and teeth

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The provenance and depositional setting of the human remains in the Dietersberg Cave, located in the Franconian Alb in Southern Germany, are evaluated based on <jats:sup>14</jats:sup>C-dates and stable isotope analyses (C, N, O, Sr). Four basic scenarios are discussed: (1) human sacrifice, (2) ‘regular’ burial place for a small social unit, (3) special social group (e.g. slaves) and (4) special circumstances of death (e.g. fatal illness). Scenarios 1 and 2 are unlikely as the age distribution includes all ages and both sexes and the <jats:sup>14</jats:sup>C-dates of the human remains span most of the Iron Age which would result in an implausible small burial community. Stable isotope analyses also render the deposition of slaves (scenario 3) implausible because a high proportion of the individuals were probably of local origin and their diet was not fundamentally different from that of contemporary populations. The archaeological evidence points to a social bias (i.e. low social standing) as reason for deposition. However, the high numbers of apotropaic objects and of perinatals also suggest that scenario 4 might be plausible for at least some of the individuals. The cave was probably a place of deposition not only for one category of individuals but also for those whose burial in the ‘regular’ cemetery was not considered appropriate.</jats:p&gt

Communality and Discord in an Early Neolithic Settlement Agglomeration: The LBK Site of Vráble, Southwest Slovakia

Our research at the large LBK settlement site of Vráble, southwest Slovakia, revealed dynamics of social integration and antagonisms unfolding in an agglomerated, early farming community. During its lifespan from 5250 to 4950 bc , it constantly grew until around 5050 bc it was inhabited by about 70 contemporaneous longhouses. We found that Vráble consisted of markedly autonomous farmstead units that were held together by village-wide social institutions including sharing and communality. Nevertheless, from the beginning, a contradiction between particular farmstead and collective village and neighbourhood interests existed and rose. Towards the end of the village's existence, around 5075 bc an elaborate enclosure was constructed around one of the three neigbourhoods, actively blocking contact with the others. Along this enclosure, human bodies were deposited, showing a social categorization that we interpret as relating to social inequality. This rising level of conflict and emerging social inequality was, we argue, not sustainable under the conditions of early farming societies and led to the village's abandonment at 4950 bc

Temporal dynamics of Linearbandkeramik houses and settlements, and their implications for detecting the environmental impact of early farming

Long-held ideas concerning early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) settlements in central Europe have been thoroughly challenged in recent years, for example, regarding their internal organisation or the use-life of individual houses. These topics have now also been addressed with the help of large radiocarbon (14C) datasets. In the light of this discussion, we present findings of our ongoing research at Vráble in south-western Slovakia. Intensive prospection by fieldwalking, geophysics and sedimentology, complemented by targeted excavations and archaeobotanical investigations, aims to unravel social and temporal relationships between three adjacent LBK settlements. A total of 23 of the c.300 houses revealed by geophysical prospection have been dated. Bayesian chronological modelling of this dataset, comprising 109 14C ages from 104 samples, indicates that the three LBK settlements at Vráble coexisted, and that overall the LBK settlement lasted for c. 200–300 years. Our results imply a ‘short’ use-life for individual houses (median c.20–30 y), suggesting that relatively few houses were inhabited simultaneously. Our data suggest that the overall LBK population at Vráble might have increased over the course of occupation, but probably never exceeded 200–300 individuals, based on the number of houses that could have been occupied contemporaneously. We compare the Vráble evidence with Bayesian chronologies for other LBK sites, and discuss the implications of these findings for models of population agglomeration and recognising the environmental impact of early farming communities