Early Bronze Age Society Research Articles

Chronology and social significance of the "princely" barrow cemetery in Łęki Małe and the Central European Early Bronze Age.

The "princely" barrows of Łęki Małe, Greater Poland are the oldest such monuments within the distribution area of Únětice societies in Central Europe. While in the Circum-Harz group and in Silesia similar rich furnished graves under mounds have appeared as single monuments as early as 1950 BC, Łęki Małe represents a chain of barrows constructed between 2150 BC and 1800 BC. Of the original 14 mounds, only four were preserved well enough that their complex biographies can now be reconstructed. They included ritual activities (before, during, and after the funeral), and also subsequent incursions, including robberies. The long lasting barrow cemetery at Łęki Małe can be linked to a nearby fortified site, Bruszczewo. Together, Łęki Małe and Bruszczewo represent a stable, socially differentiated society that existed for no less than 350-400 years. Therefore, it can be argued that the Early Bronze Age societies of Greater Poland were extremely sustainable in comparison to those of other Únětice regions.

Kinship practices at the early bronze age site of Leubingen in Central Germany

With the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Central Europe ~ 2200 BC, a regional and supra-regional hierarchical social organization emerged with few individuals in positions of power (chiefs), set apart by rich graves with extensive burial constructions. However, the social organization and stratification within the majority of people, who represent the non-elite, remain unclear. Here, we present genome-wide data of 46 individuals from the Early Bronze Age burial ground of Leubingen in today’s Germany, integrating archaeological, genetic and strontium isotope data to gain new insights into Early Bronze Age societies. We were able to reconstruct five pedigrees which constitute the members of close biological kinship groups (parents and their offspring), and also identify individuals who are not related to individuals buried at the site. Based on combined lines of evidence, we observe that the kinship structure of the burial community was predominantly patrilineal/virilocal involving female exogamy. Further, we detect a difference in the amount of grave goods among the individuals buried at Leubingen based on genetic sex, age at death and locality but see no difference in the types of grave goods.

From Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age: A view from Abu Hof Cave 22 (Israel)

Archaeological cultural taxonomy is a practical necessity. It singles out more or less coherent patio-temporal entities and facilitates scholarly exchange and communication. However, these practical conventions tend to take an independent life of their own, and sometimes constrain creative research endeavors. It is well known that ―the name is not the thing‖. Archaeological cultural taxa are relatively flexible entities, not perfectly self-contained units. Despite this realization, change documented from one archaeological culture to the next is generally framed in term of ‗transition‘, a legacy of classic gradualism. This paper addresses the issues of change and the nature of the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age interface in the Southern Levant, from the vantage point of a small cave located in the Nahal Tillah valley in Northern Negev, Israel. Genomic and intra-site archaeological data suggest the situation to be a robust illustration of punctuated equilibrium, without evidence of continuity between the ending Chalcolithic and the emerging Early Bronze Age societies.

Interdisciplinary analyses of the remains from three gallery graves at Kinnekulle: tracing Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age societies in inland Southwestern Sweden

In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions.

Daily life and cultural appropriation in Early Bronze Age Canaan: Games and gaming in a domestic neighbourhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

ABSTRACT Discussions on daily life in Early Bronze Age society in the southern Levant often focus on subsistence or ritual phenomena, while aspects relating to entertainment and leisure are rarely discussed. This paper presents evidence for gaming behaviour, in the form of game boards and game pieces, that were recovered in the excavations of the Early Bronze Age (early to mid-3rd millennium bce) residential neighbourhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel. All the objects discussed are considered to be part of games (playing pieces, casting pieces, and boards) based on their resemblance to game boards and pieces published from various Early Bronze sites in the southern Levant (e.g., Arad, Megiddo, and Bab edh-Dhra), serve as the backdrop for: 1) a perspective on the social and cultural relationships reflected in these games; 2) an examination of the origins of the 'Senet/30 Houses' game; and 3) the appropriation of foreign cultural facets in Early Bronze Age Canaan.

Ancient genomes provide insights into family structure and the heredity of social status in the early Bronze Age of southeastern Europe

Twenty-four palaeogenomes from Mokrin, a major Early Bronze Age necropolis in southeastern Europe, were sequenced to analyse kinship between individuals and to better understand prehistoric social organization. 15 investigated individuals were involved in genetic relationships of varying degrees. The Mokrin sample resembles a genetically unstructured population, suggesting that the community’s social hierarchies were not accompanied by strict marriage barriers. We find evidence for female exogamy but no indications for strict patrilocality. Individual status differences at Mokrin, as indicated by grave goods, support the inference that females could inherit status, but could not transmit status to all their sons. We further show that sons had the possibility to acquire status during their lifetimes, but not necessarily to inherit it. Taken together, these findings suggest that Southeastern Europe in the Early Bronze Age had a significantly different family and social structure than Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age societies of Central Europe.

Past eruptions and future predictions: Analyzing ancient responses to Mount Vesuvius for use in modern risk management

The Campania region of southern Italy, dominated by Mount Vesuvius, is an enduring volcanic landscape which hosts a wealth of detailed information about human responses to past eruptions. This research taps into rich archaeological, geological, and historical data to bring together the past, present and future of Mount Vesuvius and the populations surrounding it. Records from the Avellino eruption (ca. 1900 BCE), and the Pompeii eruption (79 CE), their impacts, and associated social responses are examined here as two of the largest, most violent events of Vesuvius' eruptive history which impacted human populations. The social impacts of these eruptions are considered as valuable sources of information about worst-case-scenario events which should be utilized in contemporary risk management and emergency planning. The vulnerability and resilience of the Early Bronze Age and Roman societies who experienced the Avellino and Pompeii eruptions, respectively, are contrasted with potential responses of present Campanian communities to a hypothetical future eruption scenario. This work thus makes use of archaeological data from past disasters to engage with contemporary issues of emergency planning and risk management in the Vesuvius region of Southern Italy.

Evidence of innovation and social differentiation in burial practices in Early Bronze Age Moravia

Central European Early Bronze Age (EBA) society is distinguished by its greater variety of burial practices. Along with common grave burials in cemeteries, there is a significant increase in storage pit burials (PBs). PBs are assumed to be a minor deviation from common EBA burial practices. Based on archaeological and skeletal evidence found in contemporaneous pit and grave burials (GBs) within EBA settlements and cemeteries in Moravia, Czech Republic, we present an alternative view that PBs are a social innovation and evidence increasing cultural complexity and gender differentiation. Multidimensional scaling was used to visualise the degree of similarity of the archaeological data, and the relationship of health status to burial location was determined through cross-tabulation. Binary logistic regression was used to predict the odds of being buried in PBs or GBs. Our analyses indicate that in the Moravian EBA community, here are at least two archaeologically visible burial practices, each with different gender treatments. We posit that increased variation in burial practice evidences increasing social differentiation of males from females.

The Canaanean Blades from Tel Yarmuth, Israel: A technological analysis

L’analyse technologique du matériel de Tel Yarmouth offre de nouvelles perspectives sur la nature du débitage cananéen et sur la structure de cette production très élaborée en la replaçant dans la société de l’âge du Bronze ancien. L’étude détaillée de tous les éléments de la production, débris, produits bruts et outils, montre clairement l’utilisation de la technique de la pression au levier. La présence dans le site de toutes les phases de la chaîne opératoire, y compris la collecte et la réduction de nodules, le débitage des lames et la transformation des lames en outils, indique que la production avait lieu sur place. L’absence de preuves d’un atelier proprement dit suggère que les lames étaient importées comme biens d’échange depuis des ateliers hors site, probablement par les tailleurs, et produites sur demande par ces mêmes tailleurs. En considérant le savoir-faire et les connaissances impliqués, le nombre de lames que chaque spécialiste pouvait produire et la répartition des débris, aussi bien à Tel Yarmouth que dans d’autres sites, la reconstruction de cette production spécialisée et de son système d’échange suggère que seul un nombre limité de tailleurs était engagé dans la production des lames cananéennes.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF PIT-GRAVE CULTURE BARROWS IN THE VOLGA-URAL INTERFLUVE

Introduction The Pit-Grave culture spread on huge territory of Eastern Europe steppe from Kazakhstan and south Ural to the Dniestr region. The eastern Pit-Grave artefacts were found in the Volga-Ural interfluve and in the south Ural region on the territory of the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Samara, and Orenburg oblasts, Russia. The environmental conditions of the steppe existed on the most part of the territory and forest steppe--in the north (Fig. 1). Today, natural conditions are determined by the continental climate, which corresponds to hot summers with low precipitation and severe winters with a lot of snow. The flora of watersheds is typical for the Volga sheep fescue-feather grass steppe (the type of steppe where sheep fescue and feather grass flourish). Various kinds of meadow grass, bushes, and streamside forests grow in river valleys and gulches. The paleoclimatic conditions of the Pit-Grave culture are different to the modem climate. Eneolithic and Pit-Grave culture existed in the favourable natural conditions practically all the time. The precipitation was 50 mm higher compared to the humidity today. The environmental conditions and temperature drops were milder than we had in past decades (Spiridonova & Aleshinskaya 1999; Khokhlova et al. 2006; 2010; Khokhlova 2012). Many scientists think that the climate change and the emergence of aridity period coincided with the start of the Late (Poltavka) stage of the Pit-Grave culture and the Catacomb culture spread to the west of Volga (Demkin et al. 2006; Shishlina 2007; Khokhlova et al. 2010; Khokhlova 2012). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] V. V. Golmsten, P. S. Rykov, I. V. Sinitsyn, K. F. Smirnov, N. Ya. Merpert, V. P. Shilov, N. K. Kachalova, I. B. Vasilyev and other archaeologists studied the Pit-Grave sites in the Volga-Ural interfluve in the 20th century. During the Smirnov expedition the first Pit-Grave culture barrows (kurgans) were discovered at the end of the 1950s and beginning of the 1960s. Smirnov (1965) compared the Ural materials with the Lower Volga graves and found that there are skeletons in right lateral crouched position. After considering unique metal finds (a knife and a hammer) archaeologists came to the conclusion that during the Pit-Grave period an independent metallurgy center appeared on the base of the Kargala copper deposit (80-90 km to the north of Orenburg) in the south Ural region (Chernykh 1966, 68 f.). Later, at the end of the 20th century, the research by E. N. Chernykh proved the above-mentioned statement. This added the original character of the Ural group of the Pit-Grave culture and historical area (Chernykh 2002, 7 ff). At the beginning of the 1970s N. Ya. Merpert published the monograph, in which he summarized all the data concerning the Pit-Grave culture (Merpert 1974). The scholar singled out three local groups of sites within the Volga-Ural Pit-Grave cultural and historical area: the Ural, the Lower Volga, and the Middle Volga. Since 1977 the Pit-Grave research has been carried out under the guidance of N. L. Morgunova in the Orenburg oblast. She discovered diverse Pit-Grave complexes. In the second part of the 1980s the Pit-Grave culture research became well targeted and systematic. It resulted in considerable growth in the number of analysed Pit-Grave barrows (Morgunova & Kravtsov 1994). The first periodization of the Ural Pit-Grave culture was put forward. Scholars raised some questions concerning the economy and the structure of the Early Bronze Age society (Morgunova 1991). We formed the hypothesis of singling out the Middle Volga-Ural local type of the Pit-Grave culture (Turetskij 1999). Results of various kurgan studies in the area together with a lot of finds--various metal artefacts substantially changed the popular opinion that the Ural Pit-Grave culture had peripheral character. However, by the end of the 20th century it had become quite clear that the Pit-Grave sites were essential for applying new methods so that archaeologists could exploit new sources to find solutions for different complicated problems first of all the issues concerning the origin, the periodization and the chronology of the culture. …

A mysterious black ornamentation on an Early Bronze Age dagger from Schoolbek (Kosel), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Early Bronze Age societies of northern Germany and Scandinavia are well-known for skilfully crafted and richly decorated metal objects. In this paper a Nordic bronze dagger from Schoolbek farm, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, dating from the mid-2nd millennium BC (Period II) is investigated in detail. Besides chased ornaments the object carries a conspicuous decoration pattern of black coloured stripes and rivets on the hilt that contrasts with the dagger's green patina. Chemical and mineralogical analyses as well as examinations with an optical microscope show that the black areas are largely identical in structure and composition with the green corrosion crusts. Therefore, tinning or comparable decoration techniques can be excluded. It appears instead that the stripes are either the result of local artificial patination treatment or, more likely, of the application of a pasty material such as tar, pitch or resin to the bronze surface. Tiny gold residues indicate that gold foils could possibly have been attached this way. This would have provided deviating corrosion conditions than for the undecorated object parts and thus lead to differently coloured areas.

A distinct section of the early bronze age society? Stable isotope investigations of burials in settlement pits and multiple inhumations of the Únětice culture in central germany

Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Únětice culture in central Germany (2200-1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Únětice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or nonlocal individuals. The study comprised up to two teeth and one bone each of 74 human individuals from eight sites and faunal comparative samples. The inhumations included regular, deviant burials in so-called settlement or storage pits, and multiple burials. We investigated radiogenic strontium isotope compositions of tooth enamel ((87) Sr/(86) Sr) and light stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of bone collagen (δ(13) C, δ(15) N) aiming at the disclosure of residential changes and dietary patterns. Site-specific strontium isotope data ranges mirror different geological properties including calcareous bedrock, loess, and glacial till. Independent from burial types, they disclose low portions of nonlocal individuals of up to some 20% at the individual sites. The light stable isotope ratios of burials in settlement pits and rectangular graves overlap widely and indicate highly similar dietary habits. The analytical results let to conclude that inhumations in settlement pits and multiple burials were two of the manifold burial practices of the Early Bronze Age. The selection criteria of the individuals for the different forms of inhumation remained undisclosed.

Reconceptualizing the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant without Cities

Traditionally, the Early Bronze Age (EBA) has been described as the first urban society in the southern Levant. In comparison to many other regions of the world, such as ancient Mesoamerica, North America, Europe, East Asia, and Mesopotamia, EBA society does not pass the ‘urban litmus test’. In this paper I argue that ultimately the EBA evidence does not fit standard definitions of urbanism because it lacks three key elements: scale of differentiation, increased localized diversity and coherence of identity, and a rural and urban dichotomy in lifeways. Instead, I suggest that we need to analyze and reconstruct EBA society in terms of its own regional, economic, political, and social context, and work to build new ways of understanding EBA society. From the standpoint of an anthropological archaeologist, I believe that people in the EBA were working towards a societal project, a cultural endeavor, that involved population aggregation, the founding of fortified communities, intensification of agricultural and pastoral production, innovative water management and irrigation technologies, and increasingly regionalized expression of EBA (material) culture—but that this project was not an urbanizing cultural transformation. I focus on mortuary practices at two major, well-published EBA walled communities, Jericho and Bab adh-Dhra`, in order to demonstrate the lack of coherence, degree of diverse material practices, and absence of pronounced differentiation in EBA society.

New tin mines and production sites near Kültepe in Turkey: a third-millennium BC highland production model

Abstract

An insight into the organisation of metal production in the Argaric society

Metallurgy is a common topic when discussing Early Bronze Age societies, as its social impact has been traditionally used to support the appearance of social inequality. Different models have been proposed for the Bronze Age Argaric society of SE Iberia. One includes a highly centralised hierarchical production system, and the other consists of decentralised production at a local scale.Though metallurgical debris has been found in more than 30 sites in the Argaric society, and despite metallurgy being a core subject of discussion, very little research has been conducted on these finds. In this article, we draw from provenance studies using lead isotope analysis to gain a better understanding of the organisation of metal production and distribution.We present new MC-ICP-MS lead isotope and SC-ICP-MS trace element analyses of 23 arsenical copper and bronze objects from two Argaric sites: Cerro de la Encina and Cerro San Cristóbal. Both sites are located in the Granada basin. These results, contextualised with metallurgical evidence already published, allow us to depict a decentralised system of metal production in which different and distantly located copper mines were being exploited.

The La Bastida fortification: new light and new questions on Early Bronze Age societies in the western Mediterranean

Recent excavations at La Bastida in south-eastern Spain have revealed an impressive stone-built fortification system dating to 2200–2100 cal BC that protected one of the main economic and political centres of Argaric Early Bronze Age society. It consists of parallel walls with projecting towers flanking a narrow entrance passage. The defensive character of these structures appears beyond question and their design suggests they were a response to significant changes in warfare and weaponry in this period. This sophisticated fortification system raises once again the question of possible Mediterranean contacts, along with social change and the role of physical violence in the rise of Argaric society.

Conflict and Exclusivity in Early Bronze Age Societies of the Middle Euphrates Valley

Previous articleNext article No AccessConflict and Exclusivity in Early Bronze Age Societies of the Middle Euphrates ValleyEdgar PeltenburgEdgar PeltenburgUniversity of Edinburgh* Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 72, Number 2October 2013 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/671468 Views: 149Total views on this site Citations: 7Citations are reported from Crossref © 2013 by The Journal of Near Eastern Studies. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Melissa A. Kennedy, Jane McMahon, Hugh Thomas, David D. Boyer, Rebecca Repper, Matthew Dalton, Khalid AlKhaldi Dating the pendant burials of north‐west Arabia: First radiometric results from the Khaybar Oasis, Saudi Arabia, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 32, no.S1S1 (Aug 2021): 183–197.https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12199Nicola Laneri Funerary Customs and Religious Practices in the Ancient Near East, (Oct 2020): 4412–4428.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30018-0_3257Nicola Laneri Funerary Customs and Religious Practices in the Ancient Near East, (Mar 2019): 1–17.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3257-2Nicola Laneri Funerary Customs and Religious Practices in the Ancient Near East, (Aug 2018): 1–17.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3257-1Alfonso Archi Religious Duties for a Royal Family: Basing the Ideology of Social Power at Ebla, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 76, no.22 (Oct 2017): 293–306.https://doi.org/10.1086/693720Yoko Nishimura A Systematic Comparison of Material Culture Between Household Floors and Residential Burials in Late Third-Millennium B.C.E. Mesopotamia, American Journal of Archaeology 119, no.44 (Dec 2021): 419–440.https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.119.4.0419Leigh Stork On pins and needles: understanding the role of metal pins in the Upper Euphrates Valley during the Early Bronze I–II, Levant 46, no.33 (Nov 2014): 321–338.https://doi.org/10.1179/0075891414Z.00000000049

Funerary practices and kinship in an Early Bronze Age society: a Bayesian approach applied to the radiocarbon dating of Argaric double tombs

The main aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis on kinship relations (affinity/marriage vs descent/consanguinity, and matrilocality) expressed in the funerary record of the El Argar Bronze Age society (South-east Iberia, 2200–1550 cal BCE), taking into account the absolute chronological dimension of double adult tombs. A set of 23 double tombs having radiocarbon dates for both skeletons were selected, and radiocarbon calibration and Bayesian probability analysis was conducted. The results support the ‘descent’ hypothesis, since for most of the cases the chronological distance between individuals buried together was larger than two decades. Finally, several guidelines for future research are suggested in order to overcome shortages in current chronological and archaeological data.

Houses and Hierarchies: Economic and Social Relations in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Southernmost Scandinavia

Research on Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age society in southernmost Scandinavia has to a large extent focused on the creation of social hierarchy and on elite networks upheld by individuals. This has meant that the importance of collective strategies has been underplayed. In the south-west corner of Sweden, about eighty house remains from the Late Neolithic and the earliest Bronze Age have been excavated within a small area. It is the largest concentration of houses from the period so far excavated in southern Scandinavia. The settlement pattern reveals both single farms and one site, Almhov, with a concentration of several contemporary farms with large houses. The aim of this article is to highlight collective aspects, recognizing that both collective and individual strategies are important in the formation of hierarchical societies. House remains as well as graves and their placement in relation to each other within the local landscape are the archaeological material in focus, regarded as materializations of economic and social relations. It is argued that collective strategies were an important part of creating and maintaining economic and social position.

Early Bronze Age Flint Technology and Flake Scatters in the North Syrian Steppe Along the Middle Euphrates

The domestic flint industry in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) is often considered to have employed expedient strategies in flake production. The technological traits of the flakes and tools thus produced are not thought to be period specific. This paper examines a flake assemblage from the EBA found in Tell Ghanem al-Ali, near Raqqa, Syria, and shows that the flake technology is well differentiated from the earlier ones employed in the Middle Euphrates Valley. The technology can be defined as a cortex-platform technology that was applied to produce thick, naturally backed flake blanks. Identification of assemblages with this particular technology contributes to the broadening of the research field for economic strategies of EBA society. It facilitates the dating of numerous aceramic flake scatters from the EBA in the steppe hinterland of the Middle Euphrates, which gives us a new dimension for reconstructing the land use patterns of this period.