Late Prehistoric Europe Research Articles

Isotopic Evidence for Mobility in the Copper and Bronze Age Cemetery of Humanejos (Parla, Madrid): a Diachronic Approach Using Biological and Archaeological Variables

Over the last several decades, the application of aDNA and strontium isotope analyses on archaeologically recovered human remains has provided new avenues for the investigation of mobility in past societies. Data on human mobility can be valuable in the reconstruction of prehistoric residential patterns and kinship systems, which are at the center of human social organization and vary across time and space. In this paper, we aim to contribute to our understanding of mobility, residence, and kinship patterns in late Prehistoric Iberia (c. 3300–1400BC) by providing new strontium data on 44 individuals from the site of Humanejos (Parla, Madrid). The study presented here is multi-proxy and looks at these new data by interweaving biological, chronological, and archaeological information. This analysis found that 7/44 individuals buried at Humanejos could be identified as non-local to the necropolis. Although more men (n = 5) than women (n = 2) were found in the non-local category, and more non-local individuals were identified in the pre-Bell Beaker (n = 5) than in Bell Beaker (n = 1) or Bronze Age (n = 1), we find no statistically significant differences concerning sex or time period. This contrasts with other archaeological datasets for late prehistoric Europe which suggest higher female mobility, female exogamy, and male-centered residential patterns were common. At Humanejos, we have also identified one non-local female whose exceptional Beaker grave goods suggest she was an individual of special status, leading to additional questions about the relationships between gender, mobility, and social position in this region and time period.

Kinship practices in Early Iron Age South-east Europe: genetic and isotopic analysis of burials from the Dolge njive barrow cemetery, Dolenjska, Slovenia

The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge njive, south-eastern Slovenia. All seven individuals are close biological relatives. While the group composition suggests strict adherence to neither patrilineal nor matrilineal structures, the funerary tradition appears highly gendered, and family links through both the male and female lines seem important in structuring of the community. The results have implications for understanding of kinship and funerary practices in late prehistoric Europe.

Reconstructing the Biography of Children's Stone Bracers in the Iberian Peninsula

Perforated stone plaques, known as bracers, are found across late prehistoric Europe and many of them have been recovered in Bell Beaker funerary contexts, usually associated with adult individuals. Experimental, technological, and use-wear studies have determined that the bracers were both utilitarian and symbolic objects. Very few are found in children's graves, but examples are known in the Iberian Peninsula, two of which are presented here. The analyses conducted on the two bracers, including archaeological contextualization, raw material identification, and technological and use-wear studies, allow the authors to reconstruct their respective biographies. Although these pieces were associated with young children, they had long lives before their final deposition in the graves. Use-wear marks on one of the bracers suggest that it was used in archery, despite its small size.

Prehistoric shield production, utilizing hides and hot-stone technology as an alternative to leather to reconstruct the Clonbrin shield

The survival and prosperity of many communities has been intertwined with the utilisation of all that the dead animal has to offer. The often-hazardous act, energy used, and commitment required to hunt and kill, is often acknowledged with solemn respect, demonstrated by the division of meat and the extensive and varied use that the different parts of a carcus offers. With this in mind, understanding the value and opportunities that such a sizable piece of material as the skin has to offer should not be underestimated. Studies from Europe and North America have demonstrated numerous methods of skin processing, from simply scraping and drying, to manipulation after it has been emersed in a solution of brains, liver, or eggs, to freeze drying in snow, that all enable the production of viable skin-based materials (Baillargeon, 2011; Belitz, 1973; Churchill, 1987; Frink and Weedman, 2006; Hurcombe, 2014; King et al., 2005; Lyons, 2011; Richards, 2004; Webley, 2006; Wilder, 1976). But the application of heat from hot-stones and coals, is not one that is commonly recognised.This research presented here forms part of a larger investigation into the processing and use of hides and skins in late prehistoric Europe. As part of that research a series of experiments were carried out to establish if alternative production method for the prehistoric skin shield from Clonbrin could be achieved simply by using hot-stone technology, and if this removed the need for the shield to be made from leather.Alongside this research was conducted into how differently processed skins were affected by peat-bog deposition. This enabled discussion regarding the classification of skin-based materials and if the influence of environments that have the potential to alter the original nature of the skin should influence how skin-based artefacts are categorised.This experimental research seeks to widen the discussion on organic prehistoric material culture, and to establish a fresh narrative for the use of hot-stone technology and the production of the Clonbrin shield. The process from preparation of unprocessed cow skin to viable martial object will be detailed, demonstrating how this innovative method provides a credible alternative to the use of leather and the cuir-bouilli technique, which is presently considered to be the production method for this prehistoric artefact.

Isotopic evidence for mobility at large-scale human aggregations in Copper Age Iberia: the mega-site of Marroquíes

Settlements incorporating large-scale human aggregations are a well-documented but poorly understood phenomenon across late prehistoric Europe. The authors’ research examines the origins and trajectory of such aggregations through isotope analysis of human skeletal remains from the mega-site of Marroquies in Jaen, Spain. The results indicate that eight per cent of 115 sampled individuals are of non-local origin. These individuals received mortuary treatments indistinguishable from those of locals, suggesting their incorporation into pre-existing social networks in both life and death. This research contributes to our understanding of the extent and patterning of human mobility, which underlies the emergence of late prehistoric mega-sites in Europe.

Visually Complex Objects, Ontology of Space and Political Dynamics

Humans have been producing ‘art’ for at least 75,000 years. But the word ‘art’ is problematic when applied to archaeology. This paper explores the use of the concept of ‘visually complex object’ to designate a very specific kind of what is generally known as ‘art’. I argue for the application of this concept to the analysis of both the design of objects and their arrangement in cultural spaces, to gain new perspectives on social and political change in a prehistoric complex society. The focus here is on visually enchanting objects and changes in the ways that such objects were used and arranged in relation to larger changes in cultural circumstances. I contrast two visual orders in Iron Age Europe—the mid final millennium bc, when the visual order of ‘princely graves’ and the eye-fixing qualities of objects focused attention on the persons of individuals competing for leadership positions; and the second and final centuries bc, when a new visual order emerged to focus attention on large, publicly deployed objects that directed attention in open spaces to create collective experiences. The principles developed from these examples from late prehistoric Europe can be applied to changes in other complex societies worldwide.

Disentangling the life-cycles of Bronze Age pits: A multi-stranded approach, integrating ceramic refitting, archaeobotany and taphonomy

Pits are the most common archaeological features in late prehistoric Europe, yet their function and formation dynamics remain obscure. This paper draws on stratigraphy, contextual observations, and a novel analytical protocol to address such topics. The article presents an interdisciplinary and comparative post-excavation procedure to evaluate some of the most abundant items found in prehistoric pits, combining a taphonomical approach to the analysis of ceramics, charcoal, and carpology. This procedure provided new insights into the use-lives of a selection of five pits from an open-air site in Galicia (NW Iberia), which was occupied intermittently during the second millennium cal. BCE. An early use as silos is posited, and their final closure entailed cultural practices and preferences whose material fingerprint has been identified via multivariate analysis.

Diet and social status during the La Tène period in Bohemia: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from Kutná Hora-Karlov and Radovesice

Bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were obtained from three La Tène period inhumation cemeteries in the Czech Republic (Kutná Hora-Karlov, Radovesice I and Radovesice II) and 16 Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria. Results indicate that during the La Tène period in Bohemia, overall diet was based on animal protein and plant foods following the C 3 photosynthetic pathway, although δ 13C values for two individuals from Kutná Hora-Karlov indicate at least some contribution from C 4 plant foods, most likely millet. At Kutná Hora-Karlov, more positive δ 15N values for male individuals buried with items of iron weaponry indicate the existence of a differential dietary system within the male population based on individual “warrior” status. A comparison with data from a number of Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria and a previously published study of a Hallstatt period site in Slovenia [Murray, M.L., Schoeninger, M.J., 1988. Diet, status, and complex social structure in Iron Age Central Europe: Some contributions from bone chemistry. In: Gibson, D.B., Geselowitz, M.N. (Eds.), Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 155–176] enables an examination of the spread of millet as a major dietary component. This data will be of use to studies of diet in prehistoric Europe and provides evidence for dietary divisions relating to social stratification during the La Tène B–C, a period often seen as less complex than the preceding Hallstatt period.

Changing models of settlement, economy, and ritual activity: Recent research in late prehistoric central Europe

Recent research in central Europe is changing our understanding of the role of centers in economic and social systems of late prehistoric times. Increased attention to smaller, more typical settlements shows that they engaged in economic activities similar to those at the large, fortified complexes. Abundant new evidence pertaining to ritual activity indicates that ritual was often integrated into daily life at settlements. The evidence from the exceptionally rich data on late prehistoric central Europe can be of substantial value for developing models applicable to contexts in other parts of the world.

RETHINKING the OPPIDA

Summary: The appearance of large sites known as oppida, and generally qualified as urban or proto‐urban, is a central feature of all accounts of late Iron Age Europe. But the category of oppidum groups together sites that are very diverse in morphology, scale and function, and excludes other sites that share many of the same features, but lack fortifications and/or are located outside the supposed heartland of the oppida civilisation. Few oppida seem to be at the centre of differentiated settlement networks of the kind usually associated with urbanism, and few display a higher level of intra‐site zoning than do rural farms or hamlets. A reassessment of late La Tène settlement, focusing on its technological and cultural unity, contributes to an analysis of late prehistoric Europe which stresses the contrasts between the social trajectories of temperate European and Mediterranean societies.

A Response to a Review of Our Book, Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe

A Response to a Review of Our Book, Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe

Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern - Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems. Edited by D. Blair Gibson and Michael N. Geselowitz. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Pp. 234. $42.50.

Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern - Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems. Edited by D. Blair Gibson and Michael N. Geselowitz. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Pp. 234. $42.50. - Volume 50 Issue 1

: Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production, and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems . D. Blair Gibson, Michael N. Geselowitz.

: Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production, and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems . D. Blair Gibson, Michael N. Geselowitz.

Farms, Villages and Cities. Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe. By Peter S. Wells.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsFarms, Villages and Cities. Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe. By Peter S. Wells.Richard HodgesRichard Hodges Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 92, Number 3July 1988 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/505565 Copyright © 1988 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Research in Population and Culture: An Evolutionary Framework [and Comments and Reply

Previous articleNext article No AccessResearch in Population and Culture: An Evolutionary Framework [and Comments and Reply]E. A. Hammel, Nancy Howell, Eliane S. Azevedo, Don E. Dumond, W. Penn Handwerker, Henry Harpending, Marvin Harris, Ann V. Millard, Kim A. McBride, Francisco M. Salzano, and John W. SheetsE. A. Hammel Search for more articles by this author , Nancy Howell Search for more articles by this author , Eliane S. Azevedo Search for more articles by this author , Don E. Dumond Search for more articles by this author , W. Penn Handwerker Search for more articles by this author , Henry Harpending Search for more articles by this author , Marvin Harris Search for more articles by this author , Ann V. Millard Search for more articles by this author , Kim A. McBride Search for more articles by this author , Francisco M. Salzano Search for more articles by this author , and John W. Sheets Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 28, Number 2Apr., 1987 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/203507 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 27Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1987 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Yves Charbit, Véronique Petit , ( 2018): 7.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61774-9_2Jan Van Bavel, André Grow Introduction: Agent-Based Modelling as a Tool to Advance Evolutionary Population Theory, (Aug 2016): 3–27.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32283-4_1Krist Vaesen, Mark Collard, Richard Cosgrove, Wil Roebroeks Population size does not explain past changes in cultural complexity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113, no.1616 (Apr 2016).https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1520288113Jennifer C. French Demography and the Palaeolithic Archaeological Record, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 23, no.11 (Jan 2015): 150–199.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-014-9237-4Jennifer C. French The demography of the Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of Southwestern France: A multi-proxy approach using archaeological data, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 39 (Sep 2015): 193–209.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2015.04.005Véronique Petit, Yves Charbit The French School of Demography: Contextualizing Demographic Analysis, Population and Development Review 38 (Feb 2013): 322–333.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00567.xVéronique Petit An Object Called Population, (Sep 2012): 53–87.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5046-3_4Yves Charbit, Véronique Petit Toward a Comprehensive Demography: Rethinking the Research Agenda on Change and Response, Population and Development Review 37, no.22 (Jun 2011): 219–239.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00409.xLaurence J. Kirmayer, Robert Lemelson, Mark Barad CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON TRAUMA, (Jan 2007): 295–299.https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500008.020Melvin Konner Trauma, Adaptation, and Resilience: A Cross-Cultural and Evolutionary Perspective, (Jan 2007): 300–338.https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500008.021 Judith Sealy Diet, Mobility, and Settlement Pattern among Holocene Hunter‐Gatherers in Southernmost Africa Sealy, Current Anthropology 47, no.44 (Jul 2015): 569–595.https://doi.org/10.1086/504163John Komlos, Sergey Nefedov A Compact Macromodel of Pre-Industrial Population Growth, Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 35, no.22 (Jan 2002): 92–94.https://doi.org/10.1080/01615440209604133 Stephen Shennan Population, Culture History, and the Dynamics of Culture Change Shennan, Current Anthropology 41, no.55 (Jul 2015): 811–835.https://doi.org/10.1086/317403Patricia Draper, Raymond Hames Birth order, sibling investment, and fertility among Ju/’Hoansi (!Kung), Human Nature 11, no.22 (Jun 2000): 117–156.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-000-1016-0W. G. Runciman The Selectionist Paradigm and its Implications for Sociology, Sociology 32, no.11 (Jul 2016): 163–188.https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038598032001010Kenneth G. Hirth Political economy and archaeology: Perspectives on exchange and production, Journal of Archaeological Research 4, no.33 (Sep 1996): 203–239.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02228881E. A. Hammel Demographic constraints on population growth of early humans, Human Nature 7, no.33 (Sep 1996): 217–255.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02733396DANIEL E. VASEY population regulation, ecology, and political economy in preindustrial Iceland, American Ethnologist 23, no.22 (Oct 2009): 366–392.https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.1996.23.2.02a00100C. Sauvain-Dugerdil, G. Boëtsch, C. Serrano-Sanchez Continuity, Collapse or Metamorphosis? Demographic anthropology and the study of change within human populations.Foreword, International Journal of Anthropology 11, no.2-42-4 (Apr 1996): 3–11.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02441406Steven Folmar Variation and Change in Fertility in West Central Nepal, (Jan 1996): 251–270.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9584-4_11Steven Folmar Variation and change in fertility in West Central Nepal, Human Ecology 20, no.22 (Jun 1992): 225–248.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889080David A. Cleveland Migration in West Africa: a savanna village prespective, Africa 61, no.22 (Dec 2011): 222–246.https://doi.org/10.2307/1160616John H. Moore, Gregory R. Campbell An Ethnohistorical Perspective on Cheyenne Demography, Journal of Family History 14, no.11 (Jul 2016): 17–42.https://doi.org/10.1177/036319908901400102D. Blair Gibson, Michael N. Geselowitz The Evolution of Complex Society in Late Prehistoric Europe: Toward a Paradigm, (Jan 1988): 3–37.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0777-6_1Robert W. 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Farms Villages, and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe

Farms Villages, and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe

Farms, Villages and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe.

Farms, Villages and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe.

: Farms, Villages, and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe . Peter S. Wells.

: Farms, Villages, and Cities: Commerce and Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe . Peter S. Wells.

Peter Wells: Farms, villages and cities. Commerce and urban origins in late prehistoric Europe. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1984. 270 pp., 65 figs. & maps. $32.50 (cloth); $14.94 (paper).

Peter Wells: Farms, villages and cities. Commerce and urban origins in late prehistoric Europe. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1984. 270 pp., 65 figs. & maps. $32.50 (cloth); $14.94 (paper).

The European Iron Age. By Collis John, 192 pp., 55 figs. Batsford, 1984. Price £17.95 (hardback), £9.95 (paperback).Farms, villages and cities: commerce and urban origins in late prehistoric Europe. By Wells Peter S.. 270 pp., 65 figs. Cornell University Press, 1984. Price £13.50 (paperback).

The European Iron Age. By Collis John, 192 pp., 55 figs. Batsford, 1984. Price £17.95 (hardback), £9.95 (paperback).Farms, villages and cities: commerce and urban origins in late prehistoric Europe. By Wells Peter S.. 270 pp., 65 figs. Cornell University Press, 1984. Price £13.50 (paperback).