Stone Age (Archaeology)

A CLASH OF CULTURES IN OUR GENES by Carol P. Christ

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000... more I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000 years ago.  My father carries  the YDNA of the Indo-Europeans handed down from father to son since the time when his male ancestors invaded Europe about 5000 years ago. 

My female ancestors moved with the seasons as they gathered fruits and nuts, roots and greens to feed their families. Some of them may have blown red ochre around their hands to leave their marks in ritual cave-wombs.

"The Good, the Bad, the Weird": Stone Age and Early Metal Period Radiocarbon Dates and Chronology from the Karelian Isthmus, North-West Russia

by Oula Seitsonen

Co-authored with Kerkko Nordqvist, Dmitrij V. Gerasimov and Sergei N. Lisitsyn, published in Geochronometria 2012.

Archeologie doby kamenné v jižních Čechách. Současný stav bádání - Archäologie der Steinzeit in Südböhmen. Heutiger Forschungsstand. (in Czech with German short summary)

by Jaromír Beneš

in Czech with short German summary. Co-authored with O. Chvojka

Der Artikel bringt die Zusammenfassung der heutigen Kenntnisse über die Steinzeit in Südböhmen mit dem Verzeichnis der... more Der Artikel bringt die Zusammenfassung der heutigen Kenntnisse über die Steinzeit in Südböhmen mit dem Verzeichnis der grundlegenden Literatur. Die paläolithische und mesolithische Besiedlung dieser Region wurde vor einem Jahr in einer Synthese von S. Vencl und Koll. (2006) grundlegend zusammengefasst. Die ersten menschlichen Spuren können hier
in das mittlere Paläolithikum eingereiht werden (Abb. 5), die jedoch nur vereinzelte Artefakte repräsentieren. Dasselbe
gilt auch für die ältere Stufe des jüngeren Paläolithikums. Aus der mittleren Stufe des jüngeren Paläolithikums haben wir in Südböhmen bisher keine eindeutige Fundstelle. Erst die Kultur von Magdalénien in die jüngere Phase des Paläolithikums
stellt die erste stabile Besiedlung Südböhmens dar (Abb. 6). In dieser Zeit begann die intensive Besiedlung am Ufer des Teichs Řežabinec bei Putim – Ražice im unteren Otava-Gebiet, wo dann im Spätpaläolithikum und Mesolithikum die größte Besiedlungsdichte der ganzen Region belegt ist (Abb. 7-8). In den letzten Jahren begann die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit
zwischen den Archäologen und Paläobotanikern, die konkret in zwei aktuellen Forschungsprojekten realisiert wird: in den untergegangenen Seen des späten Glazials in Velanská cesta und beim Teich Švarcenberk (Abb. 1). Für die jüngere Steinzeit gibt es in Südböhmen nur wenige Funde, die vor allem Einzelfunde der Steinartefakte repräsentieren. Es wurden nur einige neolithische Fundstellen besser erforscht (Abb. 9): die Siedlungen der LnK bei Žimutice (Abb. 3), Dehtáře und Radčice und eine Siedlung mit einem Grab der StK bei Radčice (Abb. 4; Michálek – Pavlů – Vencl – Zápotocká 2000). Im Endneolithikum fehlen die Spuren der menschlichen Aktivitäten in Südböhmen fast völlig, die einzige Kultur mit stabiler Besiedlung zumindest in einigen Mikroregionen ist hier die Chamer Kultur (Abb. 10). Von
den anderen endneolithischen Kulturen kennen wir heute in Südböhmen nur Einzelfunde.

Prehistoric burned bone: use or refuse – results of a bone combustion experiment

by Tiina Äikäs

Co-authored with Samuel Vaneeckhout, Juho-Antti Junno & Anna-Kaisa Puputti. Published in Faravid 2010/34: 7–15.

Finnish prehistoric subsistence is often studied through the refuse fauna, which mainly consists of burned mammal... more Finnish prehistoric subsistence is often studied through the refuse fauna, which mainly consists of burned mammal bones. Most of these studies have provided us with the conclusion that during the Stone Age, subsistence strategy was based on large scale seal hunting. We performed a bone combustion experiment to evaluate whether the percentage of seal bones in prehistoric refuse faunas accurately represent the role of the seal in past subsistence economy. The results of these combustion experiments and further bone structural and densitometric analyses clearly demonstrate that the better preservation of seal bones probably considerably affects its representation in archaeological animal bone assemblages. According to our analyses there are clear differences between taxons in the burning and preservation capacities of the long bones. The fact that seal bone does not burn as good, and preserves better than bear and elk bones, might explain why we do find more burned seal bones from archaeological sites.

Prehistoric Lifestyles on Gotland: Diachronic and Anachronic Perspectives

by Paul Wallin

Co-Authored with Helene Martinsson-Wallin and Jan Apel. Published in Archaeologia Lituana Vol. 12:142-150. Vilnius University, Lithuania. 2011.

Österholm (1989) suggested that it was the same population group who inhabit Gotland territory from the Mesolithic... more Österholm (1989) suggested that it was the same population group who inhabit Gotland territory from the Mesolithic until the Bronze Age. She is of the opinion that the dramatic environmental changes were the decisive factor of the various lifestyle approaches and settlement patterns seen over time, a period of 7000 years. New research and diachronic and synchronic perspectives show that these patterns are not so simple and straight forward. Interactivity between changes in natural, social and cultural milieu are all driving forces at play in the lifestyle approaches, settlement patterns, social formations and external influences indicated on Gotland in prehistoric times.

Lundevågenprosjektet - gammelt nytt fra Norges sørspiss

by Gaute Reitan

Published in Vest-Agder-museet Årbok 2010 (Lista Museum Yearbook)

The Lundevågen Project - old news from the Southern tip of Norway:

The article briefly presents the... more The Lundevågen Project - old news from the Southern tip of Norway:

The article briefly presents the results from the archaeological investigations that took place due to industrial construction plans at the inlet of Lundevågen, just outside Farsund in the southernmost part of Norway 2006-2007. Two Bronze Age and Iron Age grave cairns and eight Stone Age sites were properly excavated, and another six Stone Age sites were sampled in a less thorough way. The Stone Age sites consist mainly of Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic artifact, but the project also yielded conseiderable finds from both Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.
Compared to the flat and bountiful central Lista area just Northwest of the project area, the peninsula of Skjolnes is cragged, rolling and hilly. In agricultural terms, Skjolnes is thus to be considered as rather marginal. The Stone Age sites are situated on small, flat terraces. The character of the local shoreline displacement curve is such that the same terraces have been preferred for repeated visits throughout the most of the Mesolithic and tne Neolithic. As such, most of the sites are mixed, and hence it is difficult to isolate a well established local chronology. The sites are also very rich in finds, and additionally most of them have been disturbed by farming ever since the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age transition. There are separate Stone Age chronologies in Western and Eastern Norway. As such, the Lista area constitutes an interesting border zone between the two parts of the country. The paper discusses the area's relation to the two chronologies and gives an image of the local development in a long-term perspective.

Time Out of Memory

by Jeffrey Cohen

Stensborg : Geofysisk och geokemisk prospektering av RAÄ 527,Grödinge socken, Södermanland. Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet. p 12. Stockholm:

by Andreas Viberg

Viberg A. 2008.

Archaeological prospection in the Swedish mountain tundra region. Mémoire du sol, Espace des hommes. Groupe des méthodes pluridisciplinaires contribuant à l'archéologie. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes et ArchaeoSciences. p 167-169.

by Andreas Viberg

Viberg A, Trinks I, Lidén K. 2009.

Arkeologi på Kalfjället : Geofysisk och geokemisk prospektering av RAÄ 1372:1 Sorsele socken, Lappland Stockholm: Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet. p 20.

by Andreas Viberg

Viberg A. 2010.

A Radiocarbon Database for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in Northwest Europe

by Daniela Holst

Co-authored with B. Weninger, K. Edinborough, M. Bradtmöller, M. Collard, P. Crombé, U. Danzeglocke, O. Jöris, M. Niekus, S. Shennan, R. Schulting

published in: P. Crombé, M. Van Strydonck, J. Sergant, M. Boudin, M. Bats (Hrsg.), Chronology and evolution within the Mesolithic of North-West Europe: Proceedings of an international meeting, Brussels May 30th–June 1st 2007. Brüssel 2009, 143-176.

We have collated an extensive regional radiocarbon database for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in Northwest Europe... more We have collated an extensive regional radiocarbon database for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in Northwest Europe in the age range 10,000 to 4000 yrs 14C-BP (i.e. 11.7 ka calBP to 5000 calBP). The database contains more than 4100 individual 14C-ages (each defined by its specific laboratory code), and
which are derived from c. 1000 different archaeological sites. The database is fully (95%) georeferenced and covers the countries Belgium, Denmark, England/Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland.

ZUR ENTWICKLUNG FRÜHMESOLITHISCHER ARTEFAKTPRODUKTION: HANDWERKLICHE TRADITION UND LANDSCHAFTSNUTZUNG AM DUVENSEE ( …

by Daniela Holst

published in "Archäologisches Korrrespondenzblatt 2008

Hazelnut economy of early Holocene hunter-gatherers: a case study from Mesolithic Duvensee, northern Germany

by Daniela Holst

published in Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 2010, 2871-2880

Throughout the greater part of human evolution in Europe, use of plant foods is invisible and thus might have played a... more Throughout the greater part of human evolution in Europe, use of plant foods is invisible and thus might have played a secondary role in nutrition. Ecological changes at the beginning of the early Holocene provoked innovations in early Mesolithic subsistence, focusing on the rich plant resources of the increasingly forested environment. High-resolution analyses of the excellently preserved and well-dated special task camps documented in detail at Duvensee, Northern Germany, offer an outstanding opportunity for case studies on Mesolithic subsistence and land use strategies. Quantification of the nut utilisation demonstrates the great importance of hazelnuts. These studies revealed very high return rates and allow for absolute assessments of the development of early Holocene economy. Stockpiling of the
energy rich resource and an increased logistical capacity are innovations characterising an intensified early Mesolithic land use, which is reflected in the stable tradition of uniform seasonal settlement patterns at early Mesolithic Duvensee. The case study reveals characteristics in early Mesolithic subsistence and land use that anticipate attributes of the Neolithic economy.

Zeittafel.

by Olaf Jöris

Jöris 2007: O. Jöris, Zeittafel. In: S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser / R. Höfer / O. Jöris (Hrsg.), GANZ ALT- die Archäologie des Eiszeitalters umgesetzt von Otmar Alt (Mainz), 102-103.

The Study of the Fauresmith: A Review

by David Underhill

South African Archaeological Bulletin 66 (193): 15–26, 2011

The Fauresmith is an enigmatic South African stone tool industry, or culture, which many believe to be transitional... more The Fauresmith is an enigmatic South African stone tool industry, or culture, which many believe to be transitional between the Earlier and Middle Stone Ages. However, there is no consensus on its content or in fact, universal agreement on its existence. Over the past few years, absolute dating has been undertaken on sediments containing material labelled as Fauresmith. This has challenged its transitional status, but also exacerbated its use as a chrono-temporal marker. This is further complicating an already confused issue. Attempts at clarifying the Fauresmith are still ongoing, and offered here is an
historical overview of its study since its first discovery. Presented is a review of the original classification proposed by Goodwin and Van Riet Lowe, its changing interpretation during the development of archaeology within South Africa, and the eventual abandonment of the termdue to its misuse. Attention shall then turn to the more recent resurrection of the term and the added levels of confusion that have arisen since this time. This review of the study of the Fauresmith can offer explanations as to how we have arrived at the present state of confusion, allowing us to move towards a firmer understanding of the Fauresmith and its place within the archaeology of South Africa.

A History of Stone Age Archaeological Study in South Africa

by David Underhill

Published in: South African Archaeological Bulletin 66 (193): 3–14

The development of Stone Age archaeology in South Africa has a long and chequered history. It is now over 80 years... more The development of Stone Age archaeology in South Africa has a long and chequered history. It is now over 80 years since the discipline was placed on a firm, international, scientific footing. Since then, several histories of its development have been produced, although most of these focus on the country’s rich ethnography, with few discussing the development of Stone Age archaeology in any detail. However, throughout its early history, the study of the Stone Age in South Africa was tied to international developments in archaeology and strong links existed withmanyof the world’s leading authorities. Unfortunately,
social and political developments in South Africa stunted the discipline’s growth, leaving it for many years in a formof limbo from which, I argue, it has still not fully recovered. What I present here is a review that largely follows an historical narrative of the development of Stone Age studies in the country, in which I highlight some shortcomings. Major issues discussed are a lack of accepted typological or terminological understandings of the evidence as well as the influence of individual workers’ own intuitive knowledge. It is hoped that realising the origins of these problems will aid in developing a comprehension of them. In
turn it is hoped that, just as the country’s Stone Age Archaeology is re-emerging onto the international scene, this shall allow fruitful discussions on terminology to re-emerge and the country’s vast wealth of material may begin to be understood in relation to the rest of the world, and in many cases in relation to other material within South Africa itself.

The prehistoric transformation of grain into ale: Magic, Ceremony, Ritual and more

by Merryn Dineley

By Merryn Dineley, BA, M. Phil & Graham Dineley, Craft Brewer

We wrote this for Orkneyjar in the winter of 2010, an excellent website for everything about Orkney Archaeology, Folk... more We wrote this for Orkneyjar in the winter of 2010, an excellent website for everything about Orkney Archaeology, Folk Lore and much more.

It includes a brief summary and discussion of some of the potential and existing archaeological evidence for malting & brewing in Neolithic Orkney.

Ongoing excavations at the Ness of Brodgar, by the stone circle on West Mainland Orkney, have revealed a complex of huge buildings, large drains, Grooved Ware vessels of all sizes and the femurs of many hundreds of cattle ... feasting on a huge scale, as well as many other activities.

Durrington Walls, a large 'settlement', 'feasting' or 'ritual' site not far from Stonehenge and also dated to the Neolithic, is also discussed.

"Women were the primary hoe agriculturalists, the nurturers and the main processors of food in the Neolithic. It follows that they first learned, practised and communicated the complex rituals involved in the successful transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale. Was this the first alchemy? Making ale from grain is an activity steeped in ritual. It requires specialised knowledge, skill and experience."

Tracking the Origin and Evolution of Human Populations In Arabia

by Michael Petraglia

Population Increase and Environmental Deterioration Correspond With Microlithic Innovations In South Asia Ca. 35,000 Years Ago

by Michael Petraglia

Trailblazers across Arabia

by Michael Petraglia