Early Neolithic Period Research Articles

Emergence of fibrecraft specialization 8000 years ago in early Neolithic North China

Fiber technology, crucial to human societies for millennia, encompasses cordage and textiles. The development of fiber crops and the production of fiber-based clothing are significant components of the Neolithic Revolution. Despite China being an independent center for agriculture, the role of fiber technology in this context remains largely unexplored. In this project, we employed a comprehensive approach that combines microfossil analysis and use-wear examinations to study tools from the Peiligang site in North China. This site uniquely spans the Upper Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods, offering an ideal setting for investigating the evolution of fiber production. Our results reveal that some Paleolithic blades and scrapers were associated with fiber production, which coincided with ostrich eggshell beads and hematite during the cold and dry Last Glacial Maximum period. Responding to climatic fluctuations, fiber production played a significant role in subsistence and ritual activities. In the early Neolithic, advanced fiber production is evident. Two adjacent burials yield tools and microfossil remains representing a toolkit for fiber and possible textile production, including harvesting, retting, pounding, scraping, and sewing. Fibers recovered from human bones provide potential evidence of textile production and use. Dyeing with blue, black, and red colorants was common for textiles, cordages, and strings. These grave goods suggest the involvement of the deceased in craft production with bast fibers, possibly embodying the earliest specialization in fiber craft 8000 years ago in Neolithic China.

From Ponds to Pine Plantations in 9000 Years: The Environmental Archaeology of Beck Burn, Solway Moss, Cumbria

ABSTRACT This article explores the evidence for environmental change at Beck Burn, Solway Moss, on the English/Scottish border. The analysed pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) and microscopic charcoal particles permit several palaeoenvironmental events to be interpreted, supported by radiocarbon dating. These and previously published data suggest the presence of very early Mesolithic water-edge activity, later Mesolithic woodland management, clearance and small-scale cultivation during the early Neolithic period, followed by low-level disturbance for pastoral farming in the early Bronze Age. Woodland clearance and cereal cultivation are dated to the middle Bronze Age, with significant clearance and cultivation identified during the late Iron Age or early Roman period. The medieval period is characterised by evidence for a mixed subsistence economy, with reduced activity possibly coincident with the Wars of Scottish Independence, famines and the Black Death of the fourteenth century, as well as the Little Ice Age. Renewed activity, with evidence for both arable and pastoral farming, is dated to the late medieval to early post-medieval period. Pine plantations were then created, possibly in the eighteenth century or later. The data reveal the importance of palaeoenvironmental archaeology, in the absence of significant finds or features, in creating a link with the past.

Population genetic admixture and evolutionary history in the Shandong Peninsula inferred from integrative modern and ancient genomic resources

BackgroundAncient northern East Asians (ANEA) from the Yellow River region, who pioneered millet cultivation, play a crucial role in understanding the origins of ethnolinguistically diverse populations in modern China and the entire landscape of deep genetic structure and variation discovery in modern East Asians. However, the direct links between ANEA and geographically proximate modern populations, as well as the biological adaptive processes involved, remain poorly understood.ResultsHere, we generated genome-wide SNP data for 264 individuals from geographically different Han populations in Shandong. An integrated genomic resource encompassing both modern and ancient East Asians was compiled to examine fine-scale population admixture scenarios and adaptive traits. The reconstruction of demographic history and hierarchical clustering patterns revealed that individuals from the Shandong Peninsula share a close genetic affinity with ANEA, indicating long-term genetic continuity and mobility in the lower Yellow River basin since the early Neolithic period. Biological adaptive signatures, including those related to immune and metabolic pathways, were identified through analyses of haplotype homozygosity and allele frequency spectra. These signatures are linked to complex traits such as height and body mass index, which may be associated with adaptations to cold environments, dietary practices, and pathogen exposure. Additionally, allele frequency trajectories over time and a haplotype network of two highly differentiated genes, ABCC11 and SLC10A1, were delineated. These genes, which are associated with axillary odor and bilirubin metabolism, respectively, illustrate how local adaptations can influence the diversification of traits in East Asians.ConclusionsOur findings provide a comprehensive genomic dataset that elucidates the fine-scale genetic history and evolutionary trajectory of natural selection signals and disease susceptibility in Han Chinese populations. This study serves as a paradigm for integrating spatiotemporally diverse ancient genomes in the era of population genomic medicine.

한국 융기문토기의 연대 재고

Raised-design pottery is a type of pottery representative of the early Neolithic period in Korea. Particularly in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, pottery was divided into four types and created a long tradition of pottery lasting about 1,000 years. It is a well-known fact among Neolithic researchers in both countries, Korea and Japan that this type of pottery has been found in many coastal sites in the northwestern Kyushu region in Japan. In particular, the Koshitaka Site on Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, is famous for the discovery of many pottery of the first half of the comb-patterned pottery, which is common to the southern part of the Korean peninsula, including Raised-design pottery. We, the Department of Archaeology, Kumamoto University, have conducted excavations at this site four times since 2015, jointly with the Tsushima Board of Education, and have obtained various information about the characteristics of the site that were not well understood until now. This paper examines the revision of the age of Raised-design pottery, one of the results of excavations that could not be fully explained due to the limited number of characters in the previous report, by adding new materials. In analyzing the dating values, we studied the types of charcoal, seeds, and charcoal attached to pottery, examined the presence or absence of a marine reservoir effect by the C value, and performed calibration using IntCal 20 and Marine 20. As a result, the age values indicated by the plant samples showed the most reliable age values, and in the case of Korean Neolithic sites located on the coast, it was reconfirmed that the influence of the marine reservoir effect is large. Although Raised-design pottery in southern Korea and Tsushima follow almost the same pattern changes, we concluded that the existing chronology of Raised-design pottery in Korea is about 400 years older than the new chronology based on reliable age values and that a revision is necessary.

Early Neolithic of the Middle Don in the Light of Current Research (based on materials from the Cherkasskaya-5 site)

The article deals with the latest overview of the Early Neolithic site Cherkasskaya-5, located in the Middle Don, southern part of the forest-steppe zone, Voronezh Oblast. The site is characterized by particular preservation of organic remains and a range of materials available for dating, which is rare for sites of the Don forest-steppe area. The first radiocarbon dates, along with particular early Neolithic flint assemblage, allowed attributing the complex to the early Neolithic. First archaeozoological analysis suggested the presence of bones of domesticated species. However recent re-examination of the faunal collection did not allow identifying any domesticated species. New AMS-radiocarbon dates made on organic crust and animal bones confirmed the Early Neolithic age of the site. Direct dating of the organic wrapping of a Cretaceous sinker allowed refining the age of the early Neolithic period to the first quarter of the 6th mill BC. Excavations conducted in 2014–2015 allowed obtaining a ceramic collection, which does not have any analogies within the surrounding Neolithic sites of the Middle and Upper Don region, and finds more similarities with Lower Volga ceramic tradition. It allows us to put a new glance at the process of Neolithisation of the region.

Beyond subsistence: Evidence for red rice beer in 8000-year old Neolithic burials, north China

The domestication of rice and the brewing of rice-based alcoholic beverages in pottery vessels were closely intertwined during the early Neolithic period in China. This practice may have originated in the Shangshan culture of the lower Yangzi River valley around 9000 cal. BP. The brewing process involved the preparation of qu starter using rice and molds to produce rice beer. Over time, this fermentation tradition spread northward to the Yellow River region, although the exact timing of this diffusion process remains unclear. To shed light on this issue, our study focuses on two early Neolithic Peiligang culture sites, namely Peiligang and Shuiquan, dating to 8000–7600 cal. BP in the middle Yellow River region. Through microfossil analysis of ceramic vessels, we have discovered multiple lines of evidence indicating the use of rice and Monascus mold as ingredients for preparing qu starter in the production of fermented alcoholic beverages. These beverages included a variety of ingredients such as rice, millet, Job's tears, wild Triticeae, foxnut, and yam. During the early stage of rice domestication, when rice was still a minor crop serving to partially fulfill subsistence needs, the development of rice-based fermentation technology played a significant role in the provision of alcoholic beverages, particularly in the context of mortuary rituals within the Peiligang culture.

Dental Calculus as A Source of Bacterial Dna Analysis in Prehistoric Humans: a Systematic Literature Reviews

Dental calculus is defined as mineralized dental plaque that is formed through the complex interaction between saliva and bacteria which adhere to the surface of the teeth. The plaque contains sources of bacterial genetic material which has the potential to be a source of information on ancient human health. Genetic sequences in the form of DNA are generated through a series of DNA extraction and through preparation of calculus samples of prehistoric human teeth. This research was conducted to determine the result of the identification of bacterial DNA found from ancient human skeletal dental calculus. This research was conducted using a literature study method through a systematic approach by collecting articles through an electronic search engine that fits the inclusion and exclusion categories. Of the 8 articles that met the criteria, 6 were research articles and 2 were reviewed articles. Four articles examined disease in ancient humans from the extraction of dental calculus in the paleolithic to early neolithic periods, two articles examined samples comparing modern humans and prehistoric humans and two others were reviewed article. Research that uses analysis of dental calculus has the potential to produce some information on life in pre-historic times besides that this research is also beneficial in future research so that it can be said that DNA analysis research uses dental calculus as a time capsule, because in dental calculus store a lot of genetic material that has the potential to store a lot of important information. Keywords: ancient man; DNA bacteria; dental calculus

Evaluation and Comparison of the Effects of Mature Silkworm (Bombyx mori) and Silkworm Pupae Extracts on Schwann Cell Proliferation and Axon Growth: An In Vitro Study.

Silkworm products were first used by physicians more than 8500 years ago, in the early Neolithic period. In Persian medicine, silkworm extract has several uses for treating and preventing neurological, cardiac, and liver diseases. Mature silkworms (Bombyx mori) and their pupae contain a variety of growth factors and proteins that can be used in many repair processes, including nerve regeneration. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of mature silkworm (Bombyx mori), and silkworm pupae extract on Schwann cell proliferation and axon growth. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) and silkworm pupae extracts were prepared. Then, the concentration and type of amino acids and proteins in the extracts were evaluated by Bradford assay, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). Also, the regenerative potential of extracts for improving Schwann cell proliferation and axon growth was examined by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, electron microscopy, and NeuroFilament-200 (NF-200) immunostaining. According to the results of the Bradford test, the total protein content of pupae extract was almost twice that of mature worm extract. Also, SDS-PAGE analysis revealed numerous proteins and growth factors, such as bombyrin and laminin, in extracts that are involved in the repair of the nervous system. In accordance with Bradford's results, the evaluation of extracts using LC-MS/MS revealed that the number of amino acids in pupae extract was higher than in mature silkworm extract. It was found that the proliferation of Schwann cells at a concentration of 0.25 mg/mL in both extracts was higher than the concentrations of 0.01 and 0.05 mg/mL. When using both extracts on dorsal root ganglion (DRGs), an increase in length and number was observed in axons. The findings of this study demonstrated that extracts obtained from silkworms, especially pupae, can play an effective role in Schwann cell proliferation and axonal growth, which can be strong evidence for nerve regeneration, and, consequently, repairing peripheral nerve damage.

Use-wear traces and plant micro-remain analysis reveal the function of perforated shell tools from the Xianrendong and Diaotonghuan sites in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China

Shell remains are common cultural relics recovered from the late Paleolithic to the historical-age sites in China. Archaeological evidence shows that the number of perforated shells gradually increased at the transition from the Paleolithic to Neolithic age, a time period that coincides with the beginning of farming activities. Usage traces and plant residues from prehistoric perforated shells are often used to interpret tool function. In this study, we analyzed use-wear traces and recovered ancient starches and phytoliths from both the ventral and dorsal margin of twelve perforated shells from the Xianrendong and Diaotonghuan sites (30,000–12,000 cal. Y BP). These sites are well-known for the earliest pottery and the earliest cultivated rice micro-remains in the world. We found that: (1) all the twelve shells had scars and use wear, and that these use traces occurred on the edges of the shells; (2) an assemblage of 83 identifiable starch grains were recovered from the twelve perforated shells, including remains of starches from acorns, Panicoideae and the tribe Triticeae, tubers and roots; (3) only six phytoliths from the stems and leaves of grass taxa including Panicoideae and Bambusoideae were recovered from four shells. The meta-analysis of the use-wear and plant micro-remain analysis indicate that the functions of perforated shells were nearly identical from the late Paleolithic to early Neolithic periods. These functions include processing, harvesting or cutting grasses from the Panicoideae, Bambusoideae, and the tribe Triticeae, processing acorns or/and their starchy products, in addition to digging up and scraping tubers and roots. The digging and scraping of tubers and roots increased in intensity with the increase in rice cultivation during the period between 20,000 and 12,000 cal. Y BP.

Emergence and pandemic spread of small ruminant lentiviruses.

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) cause chronic, persistent infections in populations of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) worldwide. The vast majority of SRLV infections involve two genotypes (A and B) that spread in association with the emergence of global livestock trade. However, SRLVs have likely been present in Eurasian ruminant populations since at least the early Neolithic period. Here, we use phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches to reconstruct the origin of pandemic SRLV strains and infer their historical pattern of global spread. We constructed an open computational resource ('Lentivirus-GLUE') via which an up-to-date database of published SRLV sequences, multiple sequence alignments (MSAs), and sequence-associated metadata can be maintained. We used data collated in Lentivirus-GLUE to perform a comprehensive phylogenetic investigation of global SRLV diversity. Phylogenies reconstructed from genome-length alignments reveal that the deep divisions in the SRLV phylogeny are consistent with an ancient split into Eastern (A-like) and Western (B-like) lineages as agricultural systems disseminated out of domestication centres during the Neolithic period. These findings are also consistent with historical and phylogeographic evidence linking the early 20th century emergence of SRLV-A to the international export of Central Asian Karakul sheep. Investigating the global diversity of SRLVs can help reveal how anthropogenic factors have impacted the ecology and evolution of livestock diseases. The open resources generated in our study can expedite these studies and can also serve more broadly to facilitate the use of genomic data in SRLV diagnostics and research.

“An Auspicious Space”, a Ziggurat, the Dome: Preliminary Notes

The idea of separation of the space from the so-called environmental chaos, which is quite topical for the regional climate of Mesopotamia, was established by both the material activities (cattle pens, fences settlements, temples) and spiritual spheres. Considering the myths on the Eden and Ark one can point out some structural correlations with the Middle East temples of the early Neolithic period (but without their mutual interdependence in the form of the “determining” and “determined”). Both directions of the process of form-development — in the architecture and myth evaluated in line with the same scenario. They were performed by the progressive adoption of the spatial archetypes: from the “figure on the plane” (in architecture, it is the temple of the early Neolithic period and the Eden — in the myth) and up to the “pyramid” (in architecture, it is ziggurat and the Ark on the top the mount — in the myth). The roots of the idea of the Ark, which contains huge amount of people and animals, we can suggest derives not from the gigantic ship but from the ancient Sumerians’ activity that created artificial islands (correlated with the stage of the “figure on the plane” of the form-development) in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Prehistoric settlements and rivers in the Lithuanian coastal area in the Early Holocene

The search for sites inhabited by humans of the Late Palaeolithic to Mesolithic period on the coasts of Lithuania is closely related to the coastal and underwater relicts of the Early Holocene and palaeo-watercourses. This article presents the results of coastal, underwater and seismic seabed surveys. The estuaries of the rivers of the Late Mesolithic period could have been at the present seabed level at a depth of 30 m or even deeper. The watercourse sites of the Littorina Sea stage are in shallow coastal waters. At the latitude of Šventoji, Palanga, Klaipėda, Juodkrantė and the area of the Nemunas palaeo-estuary, the seabed was explored with side-scan sonar and by diving. An artefact from the Early Neolithic period has been found in the coastal area next to Klaipėda, and underwater, at a depth of 14.5 m, a relict tree stump has been detected. Two sites at a depth of 10–12 m can be associated with the relict Danė watercourse containing the preserved fragments of relict landscapes. During marine seismic survey, the probable Smeltalė River palaeo-watercourse was detected, and three sites of the former watercourses found to the south of Klaipėda could be the traces of the Dreverna palaeo-river estuary. This area has good prospects as regards the search for Early Mesolithic period settlements. The underwater survey showed no traces of human activity. A further search for the Stone Age sites would be more promising in locations where palaeo-landscapes have survived adjacent to the palaeo-watercourses.

Stone tools of the Neolithic settlement of Mergen 8

In this paper, stone tools of the Neolithic settlement of Mergen 8, located in the forest-steppe zone of Wes-tern Siberia in the Lower Ishim river basin, are analyzed. The mixed cultural layer of the settlement contained materials from two periods of its inhabitation, associated with the Boborykino Culture of the early Neolithic period and with the pottery ornamented with comb stamp of the late Neolithic period. The identification of the two chrono-logically different types of pottery raised the question of possibility of separating the stone implements. The aim of this work is to attempt differentiation from the mixed cultural layer of the groups of stone tools associated with a certain cultural and chronological section of the settlement. The peculiarity of the cultural layer of the Mergen 8 settle-ment was the presence of the dwelling 1 and some pits unimpaired by the upper horizons. In the methodological aspect of this work, stratigraphic and planigraphic analyzes with the aid of the feedstock characteristics of stone formed the basis, on which a relatively clean complex of quartz sandstone and flint was isolated, associated with the filling of the dwelling 1, in which pottery of the Boborykino Culture was found. The differentiation of the stone tools from the mixed layer was based upon the raw material that was found in the bottom part of the dwelling’s ditch, undisturbed by other layers. The complex of the stone tools made of jasper quartzite and schist, established during the field fixation, is associated with the comb-type pottery. Thus, in the course of our study, out of 417 finds of the stone tools 276 (66 % of the entire complex) were assigned to the Boborykino complex, 50 (12 %) to the comb complex, and 91 finds (22 %) were not possible to attribute to any type of pottery. Bearing in mind that separation by feedstock has a cer-tain degree of conventionality, it should be noted that the stone taken from the undisturbed near-bottom part of the Boborykino dwelling 1 reflects the most plausible nature of the stone industry of this period of inhabitation. In addi-tion, in our opinion, attempts to link stone implements and their features with a certain type of pottery facilitate the formation of a clear concept of the development of the stone industry in the region in the Neolithic.

Fish Processing in the Iron Gates Region During the Transitional and Early Neolithic Period: An Integrated Approach

Abstract It is well known that many Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites were uncovered during the past century in the Iron Gates region of the North-Central Balkans. The application of diverse analyses on the bioarchaeological remains and artefacts raised many questions, but also offered new ideas about the Mesolithic–Neolithic transitional period in the Middle and Lower course of the Danube. Communities in the Iron Gates consumed fish and exploited the riverbank in prehistory. The stable isotope analyses are implying that these human groups fed on aquatic resources in some periods more than others. Fish remains were also found in settlements, and based on fish-related imagery on sculpted boulders and other artefacts, the bond between the people, river, and the ecosystem was compelling. The idea of this article is to present the possible ways of fish processing at Lepenski Vir using chipped stone tools. Three integrated methodologies, with high levels of interpretation, were applied: use-wear, residue, and archaeozoological analyses. Use-wear and residue analyses were performed on both archaeological and experimental chipped stone tools. The results are considered together with the traces of butchery observed on archaeological samples of fish bones, creating a more coherent picture of the everyday habits of the Iron Gates populations.

Neolithic pottery from the settlement of Mergen 6 in the Lower Ishim (groups III and IV): characteristics and interpretation

In this paper, a ceramic complex (groups III and IV) of the early Neolithic settlement of Mergen 6 (Lower Ishim River region, Western Siberia, 7th millennium BC) is examined. The aim of the work is to analyze the mate-rials through the prism of contacts, connections and mixing of different cultural traditions in the early Neolithic period of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. The research is based on the elements of the historical-cultural and formal-classification approaches. The source base comprises 284 vessels. As the result of the analysis car-ried out in several stages (morphology of the vessels, tools and techniques for applying ornamentation, structural components of the decor, the nature of the systematic organization of the ornamental components, and relation-ship between the image components and structure of the vessel’s shape), it was found that the products of group III correspond to the tradition of making vessels with relief bands of the taiga zone of Western Siberia and the Urals (Sa-tyginsky, Mulymyinsky types, etc.), whereas those of group IV demonstrate a mixture of all pottery traditions iden-tified within the complex. On this basis, the main directions of the sociocultural ties of the ancient population of the Lower Ishim region in the early Neolithic period have been determined — western (the Middle and Southern Trans-Urals), north-western (the taiga zone of Western Siberia and the southern Northern Trans-Urals), and, probably, southern (the steppes of modern Northern Kazakhstan). One of the most important factors of the vari-ability of the early Neolithic pottery has been identified — the interaction and mixing of different communities. All this allows speaking about the settlement of Mergen 6 as a center (cultural, economic, sacred (?)) at the intersec-tion of landscape and geographical zones (steppe — forest, Trans-Urals — Western Siberia) and ways of disper-sal of various groups of the ancient population.

The Mycenaean Settlement on Tsoungiza Hill. By James C. Wright and Mary K. Dabney (Nemea Valley Archaeological Project 3). Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens 2020. Pp. 1240. $150. ISBN 978-0-87661-924-7 (cloth).

<i>The Mycenaean Settlement on Tsoungiza Hill</i>. By James C. Wright and Mary K. Dabney (Nemea Valley Archaeological Project 3). Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens 2020. Pp. 1240. $150. ISBN 978-0-87661-924-7 (cloth).

Impacts of sea-level rise on prehistoric coastal communities: land use and risk perception during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in central Mediterranean Spain

ABSTRACT Mapping methods to represent the interplay between environmental changes and prehistoric communities were investigated through a case study of the Mediterranean Iberia coastal landscape in the context of Holocene sea-level rise. We developed a four-dimension GIS-based analysis of the environmental evolution based on primary data acquisition (fieldwork, laboratory analyses) and spatial modeling of paleo-Digital Elevation Models (paleoDEMs). Five paleoDEMs were computed, representing key stages of the morphogenetic evolution between 9000 and 7000 years ago. Second, each paleoDEM was used as input in a Site-Catchment Analysis (a 1- and 2-hour walking distance from the archeological sites). Finally, we provide a bird-view visualization of the landscape evolution, centered on the perspective of an individual located at the archeological sites. By shifting the focus to the human scale, this GIS-assisted mapping allows refining assessments of the impact of environmental changes on settlement and subsistence patterns during the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods.

FRAGMENTOVANI ŽRTVENICI SA LOKALITETA KUĆIŠTE U SELU ČEKMIN

National museum of Leskovac received as a present a certain ammount of archaeological material, which is of great value. The material was found and given as a present to the museum by the museum’s cooperative Vladimir Aranđelović, and the archaeological site where he has found the cult tables is Kućište, in the village of Čekmin, 15 km away from Leskovac. Fragmented cult tables were presented in the paper, characteristic for the Early Neolithic period, and this type of cult items follows the Neolithic way of life. There are seven different fragments of cult tables that include recipients, legs and basis, as well as their ornaments. Beside the new ones, there is one more published fragmented cult table from the same site kept in the Prehistoric exhibition of the National museum of Leskovac, dated to the Late Neolithic period, too. The cult tables presented here from Čekmin, Kućište are dated to Vinča cultural group, Late Neolithic period, 5700/5500-4700/4500 BC.

Новые данные по хронологии и стратиграфии памятника Ракушечный Яр

Rakushechny Yar site, located in the Lower Don basin, is a multilayered floodplain settlement with a series of buried soils, where Neolithic-Eneolithic and Bronze Age cultural layers have been investigated. Dates with a wide calibration interval for materials from excavation # 1 obtained from total organic content of ceramics, food crust, and charcoal previously demonstrated the length of the Early Neolithic period ranging from the mid 7th millennium BC to the end of the 6th millennium cal BC. The new data allowed us to significantly adjust chronology of the site. A new series of dating based on animal bones from the Early Neolithic layers concentrate within a narrow chronological interval of a few decades around 5600 cal BC. This suggests that burying of archaeological remains was very rapid, and sand interlayers which separated them do not form significant temporal hiatuses. The archaeological layers are distributed within restricted surfaces and correspond to different episodes of coastal zone inhabitation. The variation in the number, thickness and character of the archaeological layers points to repeated episodes of inhabitation during Early Neolithic. The time when the Early Neolithic strata might have been closed differs at various parts – from the 5th mill to the 4th millennium cal BC (based on OSL and AMS dates). The contradictions that existed between the individual dates can be explained either by the reservoir effect (for food crust dating) or by the correlation of the dating from different sections, where layers were not deposited at the same time. It is complicated to determine the rate of deposition of Early Neolithic cultural strata, which may have occurred in a single season or possibly over a longer period of time. The series of dates obtained indicate successive occupation of the site. The change in the pattern of coastal inhabitation from small-scale households’ areas with shell paved platforms and pits to dwelling complexes with clay pavement floors and clay-covered walls/roofs occurred over a very short time. This may explain the homogenous nature of the Early Neolithic material culture and the production of a certain set of clay vessels, stone, bone industry, and shell tools.

Relationships between sepulchral caves and dolmens during the Neolithic in the Western Pyrenees (France)—abridged version

This contribution aims to evaluate the state of our knowledge about Neolithic burials in natural cavities and in stone-built monuments within a geographic area limited to the southern part of the Adour river basin. Particular emphasis was placed on shared concepts of funerary spaces and sanctuaries. This research is mainly based on the excavations and studies carried out over the last 30 years and within the ongoing collective research project dedicated to the investigation of dolmen features and territories in the north-western Pyrenees (PCR “Structures dolméniques et territoires dans les Pyrénées nord-occidentales”). Data from the Early Neolithic period are scarce. Documentation relating to the Middle and Late/Final Neolithic shows that the practices are linked to modalities observed more widely within an Atlantic tradition, but that they were also influenced by traditions in the eastern part of the Pyrenean chain, particularly during the Late/Final Neolithic. Two features turned out to be significant: burial mounds – built as early as the Middle Neolithic period, including or not including megalithic architecture, were real territorial markers still erected in the Bronze Age but also reused up to Antiquity; and, less monumental, sepulchral caves – used and sometimes re-used several decades or centuries later by the same community.