3rd Millennium Cal BC Research Articles

Into the circle. Animal and human deposits in a new Upper Guadalquivir site from the beginning of the 3rd millennium Cal BC (Grañena Baja, Jaén)

In 2014 due to the projected layout of the Madrid – Jaén high-speed railway line, a preventive archaeological intervention was carried out on a hill near the Guadalbullón riverbed within the farmland of Grañena Baja (Jaén). During the work, a multi-sequential Late Prehistory occupation, starting from the mid-5th millennium and reaching the end of the 3rd millennium, was documented. The phase corresponding to the last quarter of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd millennium Cal BC stands out for the presence of circular features containing complete or partial human and domestic animal skeletal remains, in some cases, clearly related. The isotopic values of human collagen are relatively homogeneous (?15N = 9.0 ± 0.6; ?13C = -18.9 ± 0.4) and consistent with a diet based on proteins of animal origin.

The Chronology of Archaeological Assemblages Based on Automatic Bayesian Procedure: Eastern Iberia as Study Case

The purpose of this work is to show an automatic Bayesian procedure to obtain accurate chronological information of archaeological assemblages characterized by palimpsest or neither radiocarbon dates and whose temporal information comes only from bifacial flint arrowheads.In this work, a classification based on the Dirichlet-multinomial inferential process and its posterior predictive probability distribution are applied. Its purpose is to predict the chronological period of archaeological assemblages (levels or sites) based on the predictive probability distribution of each bifacial flint arrowhead types defined in the Eastern Iberia during the 4th and 3rd millennium cal BC. The results of this suggest that this approach is very useful to obtain accurate chronology when other archaeological information is not available or it is not defining.

Recession or Resilience: Evidence for Neolithic Agriculture in Updated Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions from Lairg, Sutherland

ABSTRACT A consistent theme in British prehistoric studies is a perceived lack of evidence for settlement and agriculture in the Neolithic (c.4000 cal BC – 2500 cal BC), which then increases in prevalence during the Bronze Age. This lack of evidence for Neolithic settlement and farming has been linked to a collapse of agriculture associated with population decline and climatic deterioration from c.3600 cal BC onwards, with population recovery and the resumption of widespread agriculture in the later 3rd millennium cal BC. Updated palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from Lairg, Sutherland, incorporating a high-resolution Bayesian chronology based on 14C dates from 20 samples indicate that mixed agriculture (including cereal cultivation) continued in this area during the proposed Middle – Late Neolithic agricultural recession described above. We suggest that an existing reliance on barley, which is more tolerant of cooler, wetter conditions than other cereals, and the use of well-drained sites within the landscape allowed cereal cultivation to continue in the face of climatic deterioration. We also suggest that a lack of high-resolution chronologies for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and a reliance on woodland clearance as a proxy for agriculture could potentially obscure pollen evidence for Middle and Late Neolithic farming. Issues of chronological precision in legacy datasets are addressed.

Bayesian classification for dating archaeological sites via projectile points

Dating is a key element for archaeologists. We propose a Bayesian approach to provide chronology to sites that have neither radiocarbon dating nor clear stratigraphy and whose only information comes from lithic arrowheads. This classifier is based on the Dirichlet-multinomial inferential process and posterior predictive distributions. The procedure is applied to predict the period of a set of undated sites located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula during the 4th and 3rd millennium cal BC.

Landscape and fuel management in the context of prehistoric and historical occupations of Cova des Moro (Manacor, Mallorca, Spain)

In this paper, the first results of charcoal analyses carried out at Cova des Moro (Manacor, Mallorca, Spain) are presented. This cave is an archaeological but also palaeontological site that provides information on endemic fauna (the extinct caprine Myotragus balearicus) before the arrival of humans and, later, the relationship between the first farmers and the landscape. Several human occupations in the cave have been documented, from the Chalcolithic (end of the 3rd millennium cal BC), the Bronze Age (2nd millennium cal BC) and, finally, the Almohad period (13th century AD), during which the cave was used for different purposes.The first results of charcoal analyses at Cova des Moro provide information about the natural plant communities exploited by humans for comparison with later sequences, enabling us to evaluate how humans managed this territory over time. The results point to the exploitation of Mediterranean woodlands with wild olive (Olea europaea), mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), green olive tree (Phillyrea), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), juniper (Juniperus) and rockrose species (Cistus), among others; these taxa would become the main elements of Mallorca's coastal landscape in later times, and it has been proven that they would already have been present as the island's natural flora at the time humans arrived there.

RADIOCARBON DATING THE 3RD MILLENNIUM BC IN THE CENTRAL BALKANS: A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE SEQUENCE

ABSTRACTLong-standing archaeological narratives suggest that the 3rd millennium cal BC is a key period in Mediterranean and European prehistory, characterized by the development of extensive interaction networks. In the Balkans for instance, the identification of such interactions relies solely upon typological arguments associated with conflicting local terminologies. Through a combination of 25 new radiocarbon (14C) dates and re-examination of the existing documentation, this paper defines the absolute chronology for groups which were previously only broadly framed into the 3rd millennium BC central Balkans (modern-day Serbia and North Macedonia). These absolute dates allow us to establish with greater clarity the chronological relations between different cultural groups that represent the main cultural units of the central Balkans sequence for the 3rd millennium cal BC: Coţofeni-Kostolac, Bubanj-Hum II, Belotić-Bela Crkva, Armenochori, and Bubanj Hum III. When comparing together the chronologies for material culture, funerary treatment of the body, and funerary architecture, there are no easily discernible patterns. We observe instead a complex mix of traits criss-crossing over a wide area encompassing the Pannonian basin, the central Balkans and the Greek peninsula.

The case study of Case Bastione: First analyses of 3rd millennium cal BC paleoenvironmental and subsistence systems in central Sicily

Archaeological investigations carried out at Case Bastione (Enna, central Sicily) provide a key insight into the cultural and environmental changes that occurred during the transition from the Copper Age to the Bronze Age. Preliminary data of an ongoing paleoenvironmental reconstruction through archaeobotanical analyses are here presented. The selective exploitation of vegetation, the adaptation of lifestyle to local resources, and changing climatic conditions are analysed using different on-site and off-site environmental and archaeological proxies. The environment around the site was constituted by mixed oak woodland. Dietary preferences were reconstructed through the analysis of carpo-remains. Isotopic values provide new data on the 4.2 ka BP event and its effects on vegetation in central Sicily. In a whole, first results from Case Bastione give new light to human choices of vegetal resources exploitation. Comparison of the local results with the regional pollen data support the hypothesis that the growth in population and settlement in the inland part of the island since the Late Copper Age may reflect changing climatic conditions in coastal areas.

Stone Age fishing strategies in a dynamic river landscape: Evidence from Veksa 3, Northwest Russia

The role of fishing in Stone Age hunter-gatherer societies of the European forest zone has been gaining importance as a research question over the last years. In order to better understand temporal developments in the role of fishing, changing strategies and their connection to environmental conditions, the study of multi-period stratified site holds good potential for working out a sound empirical basis. Multidisciplinary investigations at the site of Veksa 3 in northwestern Russia have substantially increased our understanding on the development of subsistence strategies of Stone and Early Metal Age populations in this region and on the changing role fishing played in this. For the Early Neolithic period (ca. mid-6th to early 5th mill. cal BC) evidence was gained from seasonal settlement remains within floodplain sediments at the bank of the river Vologda. Fish remains within the settlement structures represent kitchen remains (burnt bones) and processing debris (fish scales) with the dominant species being pike and cyprinids. The only evidence for fishing techniques are bone fish hooks which typologically are linked to Late Mesolithic practices in Northwest Russia. Isotopic analyses of ceramic food crusts attest to an increasing importance of pottery vessels in fish processing from the Early to the Middle Neolithic. For the Late Neolithic and the Early Metal Age period, almost one thousand years of intense regular use of the shallow water area east of the modern Veksa mouth for fishing with stationary constructions is attested to by rich waterlogged in situ remains. The wooden constructions encompass thousands of archaeological timbers, many of them upstanding posts with pointed ends, and several lath screens representing fich fences and fish traps, six of which have been excavated. Radiocarbon datings place the constructions within a time frame between the second half of the 4th and the third quarter of the 3rd millennium cal BC. They are associated with the lacustrine, shallow water phase identified in the palaeoenvironmental studies before the regime at this place changed to a fluvial character.

Step by step – The neolithisation of Northern Central Europe in the light of stable isotope analyses

There is a long lasting debate on the nature of the neolithisation process in the northern European lowlands and in southern Scandinavia. Early evidence of domesticates and crop cultivation indicate a transition to farming in this area during the late 5th millennium cal BC. However, there is limited information how this process took place and to what extent the new economy was adopted during the subsequent centuries. Here we present new results of more than 50 stable isotope samples of human remains (13C/15N) from northern Central Europe covering the period from the Mesolithic to the early Bronze Age. They show a high relevance of aquatic resources during the early Mesolithic. Food from marine and fresh water environments was also of considerable relevance during the late Mesolithic (6th/5th millennium cal BC). Aquatic resources were still important for parts of farming societies during the 4th millennium cal BC, especially around 3000 cal BC. Farming economy was introduced in all parts of the lowlands during the early 4th millennium cal BC, but it was not before the 3rd millennium cal BC that it became fully established on a general scale. Our results correspond well with archaeobotanic evidence. They also contribute important information to the discussion of palaeogenetic data, which provide evidence for autochthonous individuals with signals of hunter-gatherer ancestry in farming societies until c. 3000 cal BC.

The end of the world, or just ‘goodbye to all that’? Contextualising the red deer heap from Links of Noltland, Westray, within late 3rd-millennium cal BC Orkney

As part of a major international research project, The Times of Their Lives, a programme of radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling was undertaken to refine the chronology of activities in one small but important part of the extensive Late Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement on Links of Noltland on the island of Westray, Orkney. The selected area (Trench D) is well known for having produced, next to a wall, the remains of a heap of at least 15 red deer carcasses, on top of which had been placed a large cod, a gannet’s wing along with part of a greater black-backed gull, and a pair of large antlers. This remarkable deposit had been preceded by, and was followed by, periods of cultivation and the deposition of domestic refuse. Refined date estimates have been produced, based on 18 radiocarbon determinations obtained from 16 samples from Trench D (including nine newly obtained dates, three from individual deer in the heap). These clarify when, during this long sequence of activities, the deer were heaped up: probably in the 22nd century cal BC, around the same time as Beaker pottery was deposited elsewhere on the Links. This allows comparison between the dated activities in this part of the site with activity elsewhere on the Links and also with other episodes of deer deposition in 3rd-millennium cal BC Orkney. It encourages exploration of the possible reasons for what appears to be a remarkable act of structured deposition. The significance of an earlier, much larger scale deposit featuring cattle remains at Ness of Brodgar is discussed in exploring the nature of Orcadian society and practices during the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC.

Cremation Practices and the Creation of Monument Complexes: The Neolithic Cremation Cemetery at Forteviot, Strathearn, Perth & Kinross, Scotland, and its comparanda

Around the beginning of the 3rd millennium cal bc a cremation cemetery was established at Forteviot, central Scotland. This place went on to become one of the largest monument complexes identified in Mainland Scotland, with the construction of a palisaded enclosure, timber structures, and a series of henge monuments and other enclosures. The cemetery was established between 3080 and 2900 cal bc, probably in the 30th century cal bc, which is contemporary with the cremation cemetery at Stonehenge. Nine discrete deposits of cremated bone, representing the remains of at least 18 people, were identified. In most instances they were placed within cut features and, in one case, a series of cremation deposits was associated with a broken standing stone. This paper includes the first detailed assessment of the cremated remains at Forteviot and the features associated with the cemetery, and explores how the establishment of this cemetery may have been both a catalyst and inspiration for the elaborate monument building and prolonged acts of remembrance that occurred at this location over a period of almost 1000 years. The paper also outlines the parallels for Forteviot across Britain and, for the first time, draws together the dating evidence (including Bayesian modelling) for this major category of evidence for considering the nature of late 4th/early 3rd millennium cal bc society. The results and discussion have wide implications and resonances for contemplating the establishment and evolution of monument complexes in prehistoric Britain and beyond.

Faunal Introductions to the Balearic Islands in the Early 1st Millennium Cal BC

AbstractOnly domestic mammals (sheep, goat, cattle, pig, and dog) and two rodent species constituted the faunal package introduced to the Balearic Islands by the early settlers in the 3rd millennium cal BC. Later animal introductions in the archipelago were thought to occur by the end of the 1st millennium cal BC due to contacts with Punic merchants or, more than likely, to the Roman conquest of the islands. Recently, several faunal remains belonging to different vertebrates (red deer, chicken, and rabbit) were found in the Talayotic site of Cornia Nou (Minorca), in contexts that date to the early 1st millennium cal BC. A series of radiocarbon (14C) dates was made directly on samples of small species to exclude the possibility of infiltration into lower layers. The obtained results show that chicken and rabbit were already present on Minorca in the early 1st millennium cal BC. Chicken is recorded in Phoenician colonies in south Iberia as early as the 8th century cal BC. Rabbit, on the other hand, is indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula. These new faunal introductions recorded in Minorca could be related to the Late Bronze and Phoenician maritime activity.

Radiocarbon Chronology of Complexes With Seima-Turbino Type Objects (Bronze Age) in Southwestern Siberia

AbstractThis paper discusses the chronology of burial grounds containing specific Seima-Turbino type bronze weaponry (spears, knives, and celts). The “transcultural” Seima-Turbino phenomenon relates to a wide distribution of specific objects found within the sites of different Bronze Age cultures in Eurasia, not immediately related to each other. The majority of the Seima-Turbino objects represent occasional findings, and they are rarely recovered from burial grounds. Here, we present a new set of14C dates from cemeteries in western Siberia, including the key Asian site Rostovka, with the largest number of graves containing Seima-Turbino objects. Currently, the presented database is the most extensive for the Seima-Turbino complexes. The resulting radiocarbon (14C) chronology for the western Siberian sites (22nd–20th centuries cal BC) is older than the existing chronology based on typological analysis (16th–15th centuries BC) and some earlier14C dates for the Seima-Turbino sites in eastern Europe. Another important aspect of this work is14C dating of complexes within specific bronze objects—daggers with figured handles—which some researchers have related to the Seima-Turbino type objects. These items are mostly represented by occasional finds in Central Asia, however, in western Siberia these have been recovered from burials, too. The14C dating attributes these daggers to the end of the 3rd millennium cal BC, suggesting their similar timing to the Seima-Turbino objects. Further research into freshwater reservoir offsets in the region is essential for a more reliable reconstruction of the chronology of the Seima-Turbino phenomenon and the daggers with figured handles.

Agriculture and exploitation of wild plants at Chalcolithic (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) sites in Sardinia (Italy)

This paper present the results of archaeobotanical analysis carried out at two open-air sites dated to the first phase of the Copper Age, “Chalcolithic” (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) in Sardinia. The sediment was systematically floated, a total of 3142 l was sampled and 4014 charred plant remains were identified. Chalcolithic agriculture in Sardinia was primarily based on the cultivation of Hordeum vulgare, H. vulgare var. nudum and Triticum aestivum/durum. Possible cultivated legumes of Vicia/Lathyrus, Vicia/Pisum and cf. Pisum sativum were identified. Linum sp. was also present, which may have been cultivated and exploited in Sardinia by the Chalcolithic community. The diet of the Chalcolithic community was complemented by the consumption of edible fruits such as Ficus carica, Sambucus sp. and Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris. Typical Mediterranean shrubs such as Pistacia lentiscus, Juniperus sp., Cistus sp., Malva sp. and Thymelaea hirsuta were also found.

Bell Beaker and the evolution of resource management strategies in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula

This paper addresses the plain common pottery associated with Beaker contexts in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The detailed systematic study focuses on the pottery assemblage provided by one of the region’s most important settlements, San Blas (Badajoz, Spain), while comparisons are made with other important sites in the study area. By means of the stratigraphic, typological and statistical analysis of the data, the main patterns of change in this material culture throughout the temporal sequence are identified and the historical explanatory factors are inferred. Specifically, during the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC, an important change took place in the management of economic risk, which is materialised by a significant reduction in food storage and by the more immediate direct or indirect consumption of resources. We suggest that these patterns reflect a shift towards a short-term projection of the future, in a context with strong evidence of instability.

Late Neolithic Subsistence Strategy and Reservoir Effects in 14C Dating of Artifacts at the Pile-Dwelling Site Serteya II (NW Russia)

Radiocarbon dating and research into offset correction for freshwater reservoir effect were conducted at the pile-dwelling site Serteya II, located in the Dvina-Lovat' basin (northwestern Russia). Cultural layers of this site are situated underwater, hence the unique state of preservation of material culture of the 3rd millennium cal BC. 14C dating of different organic materials [wood, hazelnut (Corylus avellana), and elk bones] from this site allows their ages to be correlated and 14C age offsets caused by freshwater reservoir effects (hardwater effects) in the dating of materials such as organic crust, pottery, bones, and lake sediments to be estimated. Consideration of the late Neolithic subsistence strategy underpinning the archaeological finds from this site and analysis of lipid components in ceramic vessels, as well as the determination of 14C activity of modern aquatic and terrestrial samples, allows us to calculate the local freshwater reservoir effect and 14C age offset for charred food crusts from different ceramic vessels more precisely.

Once a Sacred and Secluded Place: Early Bronze Age Monuments at Church Lawton, near Alsager, Cheshire

Two round barrows were excavated in 1982–3 at Church Lawton near to the eastern edge of the Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain. One of the barrows was defined by a ring of nine glacial boulders and it is possible that these monoliths initially formed a free-standing stone circle. The remains constitute a rare example of the use of stone to enhance a Bronze Age barrow in the lowlands of central western England. Beneath the mound demarcated by the boulders were the burnt remains of a small, roughly rectangular turf stack associated with fragments of clay daub and pieces of timber. No direct evidence of burial was found within the monument. A radiocarbon date suggests that the structural sequence began sometime in the late 3rd–early 2nd millennium calbc. The other barrow was principally a two-phased construction and contained urned and un-urned cremation burials. A battle-axe was placed next to one of the burials. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the cremations and associated deposits indicate that individuals were being interred from the late 3rd or early 2nd millennium calbc, with the practice continuing until the middle of the 2nd millennium. The barrows formed part of a cemetery, consisting of three known mounds.

Wild fruit use among early farmers in the Neolithic (5400–2300 cal bc) in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula: an intensive practice?

The archaeobotanical record of 24 sites from the Neolithic period (5400–2300 cal bc) in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula is evaluated. Remarkable amounts of data have recently been obtained for the early and middle Neolithic phases. Most of the studied sites were dry and they only yielded charred plant material. Among dry sites, several types of context were evaluated: dwelling areas, hearths, roasting pits and byres. Material was also analysed from a waterlogged cultural layer of one early Neolithic lakeshore site, La Draga. Quercus sp. (acorns), Corylus avellana L. (hazelnuts), Pistacia lentiscus L. (mastic fruits) and Vitis vinifera L. var. sylvestris (wild grapes) were among the most frequently encountered fruits and seeds. Their presence in the archaeobotanical record clearly maps their past ecological distribution in the region. There are differences observed between the charred dry-land material and the waterlogged uncharred material. Wild fruits were mostly present in an uncharred state in La Draga. Therefore, their consumption could go unnoticed in dry sites when fruits were eaten raw or without roasting. Larger amounts of charred remains of certain wild fruits like acorns and hazelnuts found in mountain areas are highlighted as potential evidence of the regular practice of roasting, potentially indicating regional traditions. All in all, our results support an intensive wild plant use at least during the first 1,300 years of the Neolithic period. Evidence of wild plant food consumption becomes scanty towards the second phase of the middle and the late Neolithic (4th and 3rd millennium cal bc). This, however, might also be due to taphonomic reasons.

The Status Problem of Iberian Holocene Equids: New Data from Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

AbstractEquid remains are scarce and very fragmented in Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Evidence suggesting that horses were domesticated does exist, but it is often inconclusive, thus leaving the question unanswered. Today, DNA analyses have provided information about a, most likely Iberian, nucleus of horse domestication, making it crucially important to expand the database. The Holocene sequence (6th and 3rd millennium cal bc) of the Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has yielded 92 equid remains distributed in 12 Neolithic and Bronze Age levels. In this paper, we present the study of the equid remains from the Cueva de El Mirador from an archaeozoological perspective, giving indirect evidence of horse domestication. Our results vary widely and lead to open interpretations about horse domestication and how humans used these animals. This study of horse remains focuses on species identification and on determining how humans economically used these animals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A funerary perspective on Bell Beaker period in the Western Mediterranean. Reading the social context of individual burials at La Vital (Gandía, Valencia)

The discussion about social dynamics in recent Prehistory is supported by the study of funerary practices. The presence and significance of individual and collective burials in Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic societies in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula provides new evidence for the debate concerning the emergence of social inequalities in this region. Our contribution is based on the recent discovery and excavation of several individual pit burials in domestic contexts at the site of La Vital (Gandia, Valencia). The particularities of the identified burials (different ritual episodes) and their content (Bell Beaker pottery, metal objects, animal offerings) together with an accurate chronometric database allow us to consider several issues in relation to settlement dynamics, social networks and relationships for the period from the end of the 4th to the middle of the 3rd millennium cal BC in the central area of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula.