Megalithic Tombs Research Articles

Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers

In the period between 5,300 and 4,900 calibrated years before present (cal. bp), populations across large parts of Europe underwent a period of demographic decline1,2. However, the cause of this so-called Neolithic decline is still debated. Some argue for an agricultural crisis resulting in the decline3, others for the spread of an early form of plague4. Here we use population-scale ancient genomics to infer ancestry, social structure and pathogen infection in 108 Scandinavian Neolithic individuals from eight megalithic graves and a stone cist. We find that the Neolithic plague was widespread, detected in at least 17% of the sampled population and across large geographical distances. We demonstrate that the disease spread within the Neolithic community in three distinct infection events within a period of around 120 years. Variant graph-based pan-genomics shows that the Neolithic plague genomes retained ancestral genomic variation present in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, including virulence factors associated with disease outcomes. In addition, we reconstruct four multigeneration pedigrees, the largest of which consists of 38 individuals spanning six generations, showing a patrilineal social organization. Lastly, we document direct genomic evidence for Neolithic female exogamy in a woman buried in a different megalithic tomb than her brothers. Taken together, our findings provide a detailed reconstruction of plague spread within a large patrilineal kinship group and identify multiple plague infections in a population dated to the beginning of the Neolithic decline.

Two examples of anthropic manipulation and postmortem processing of human remains at megalithic sites in inland Iberia: La Cabaña and Los Zumacales (Spanish northern sub‐plateau)

AbstractSeveral recent studies have demonstrated the complexity of funerary practices in megalithic burials. Mortuary taphonomy has proposed models to explain these practices, in which different actions, such as the generation of primary and secondary deposits, the selection and manipulation of bone remains, the extraction of materials from the grave, and so forth, can be identified. However, in the northern sub‐plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, the interpretation of funerary gestures related to megalithic tombs has not been systematically studied from the perspective of taphonomy. In this paper, we study two sites, Los Zumacales and La Lora, dated to the fourth millennium B.C. The analysis considers all the burial practices linked with megalithic tombs, with a focus on the social and natural processes involved in the formation of these complex mortuary deposits. In both examples, direct evidence of perimortem manipulation of human remains is documented by the presence of fresh fractures and cut marks in different long bones. As suggested in the discussion, this evidence may be related to secondary reduction practices following the initial deposition of the bodies.

Long Distance Connections Within Britain and Ireland: the Evidence of Insular Rock Art

Discussions of contacts between Britain and Ireland usually focus on monuments and on portable artefacts such as Grooved Ware, Beakers, and metalwork. New research on insular rock art suggests that it originated in the Middle to Late Neolithic period and continued to be used and re-used into the Early Bronze Age. This paper considers its relationship with decorated passage graves and other structures. It argues that the distribution of rock art sheds further light on connections between these islands. Estuaries, bays, and landing places were important, but the siting of pecked motifs indicates other links along three overland routes between the North Sea and the Irish Sea. Certain practices were shared between megalithic tombs and recently excavated rock carvings. It is possible that they expressed similar beliefs at a time when long distance travel was important.

An interdisciplinary approach to Late/Final Neolithic coastal gallery graves in Brittany, Western France: The 3D structure, origin of stone material, and paleoenvironmental setting of the Kernic and Lerret monuments

AbstractThis article presents an interdisciplinary study of two Late/Final Neolithic gallery graves (Kernic and Lerret) located on the orthwestern coast of Brittany (Western France). These monuments show striking similarities in terms of architectural style and geographical position. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the construction strategy of these monuments by (i) determining the origin of the megalithic blocks using comparative petro‐structural analyses of blocks and surrounding rocks, (ii) reconstructing the coastal environment from sediment core analyses and (iii) defining the significance of these monuments in the territories from an intervisibility analysis. The study reveals marked differences between the two monuments studied. The Lerret gallery grave was erected close to a unique source of stone material on the margins of a marshland zone. In contrast, the Kernic monument, erected on the edge of an estuary, seems to have been built using a deliberate diversification of stone extraction sites. An intervisibility analysis shows a dense network of visual interconnections between a number of megalithic tombs present in the study area, where the two monuments occupy very distinct sites. The social implications of stone selection and the geographical location of Late/Final Neolithic funerary monuments are also discussed in an enlarged regional context.

Funerary practices in megalithic tombs during the Argaric Bronze Age in South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Eriales

The transition between the Copper Age and the Argaric Bronze Age in south-eastern Iberia has traditionally been understood in an evolutionary framework that would have involved the replacement of some cultural forms by others. The chronology of megalithic societies has changed this assumption, revealing that the continuity of ancestral funerary practices is also a key feature of the Bronze Age. In this context, the new radiocarbon series from Los Eriales discussed in this paper can be considered a key contribution. Three main aspects stand out according to their statistical analysis: i) Los Eriales should be considered the most recent Iberian megalithic cemetery, as ritual activity began in the last centuries of the third millennium cal BC; ii) funerary activity took place during short events of intensive ritual depositions spanning a few decades, mainly in the 21st and 18th centuries; and iii) Los Eriales cemetery was mainly used during the Argaric period, which means the coexistence of two very different funerary practices: collective megalithic rituals and individual intramural inhumations. The continuity of megalithic rituals can be explained in terms of resilience to the social fragmentation that characterised Argaric societies.

TREGIFFIAN: THE CHRONOLOGY OF AN ENTRANCE GRAVE

SummaryThe Tregiffian project involved the analysis and dating of the archive from unpublished excavations in the 1960s and 1970s at an entrance grave in Penwith, Cornwall. A major aim of the project was to establish a robust chronological basis for the use of the entrance grave for burial: 10 samples of cremated human bone were submitted for radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling undertaken. The modelling indicates that the use of the chamber for burial between began in 1780–1510 BC and ended in 1595–1425 BC. The results are hugely significant as they provide the first modelled dating from a Penwith entrance grave. This paper discusses the results from the radiocarbon dating project and reconsiders entrance graves in the wider context of the Early Bronze Age megalithic tombs which are found around the Irish Sea.

Waruga as a Unique Cemetery for the Minahasa Tribe

Abstract: This article aims to review the Waruga site and how the Minahasa people carry out burials. The research method used to study Waruga as a burial place for the unique Minahasa tribe is library research. Minahasa is part of Indonesia, in the North Sulawesi region, which has a unique history and culture, one of which is the relics of the Waruga site, which come from the megalithic era. Many Waruga live scattered throughout the Minahasa region, especially in the village of Sawangan, north of Minahasa. The Waruga site is a cultural heritage site protected by the state. Waruga is the last house considered by the Minahasa people as the place where the bodies and souls of their ancestors return to heaven. Waruga is a megalithic tomb spread across Minahasa. Based on archaeological analysis, waruga is a place of worship like a temple where ancestral spirits (gods) reside. Waruga there are several geometric decorations, plant ornamental patterns, animal ornamental patterns and human ornamental patterns. These ornamental motifs have their own meanings.Keywords: Waruga, Burial Corps, Minahasa, Local History.

Clay architecture in megalithic tombs along the Atlantic Façade: France and Iberia

Megalith’s image along the Atlantic façade is linked to sizeable stone structures. Despite the importance of clay in creating wood and stone structures, this use remains invisible when analysing the skills of megalithic buildings. This paper gathers data from French and Iberian monuments to establish the central role of these construction materials throughout the Atlantic façade.

Who Was Buried at the Petit-Chasseur Site? The Contribution of Archaeometric Analyses of Final Neolithic and Bell Beaker Domestic Pottery to the Understanding of the Megalith-Erecting Society of the Upper Rhône Valley (Switzerland, 3300–2200 BC)

Abstract The Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis is a key archaeological context for analyzing the social and ideological changes at the end of the Neolithic in the Alpine region of Central Europe. The link between the funerary monuments and settlement sites was established by means of ceramic archaeometric analysis. Domestic pottery from settlement sites were thoroughly characterized using multiple spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Twelve ceramic fabrics were identified along with three types of clay substrate: illitic, muscovitic, and kaolinitic. Reconstructed paste preparation recipes largely involved the tempering of the raw clays with crushed rocks or coarse sediments. Types of raw material were not picked up randomly but were selected or avoided due to their particular compositional properties and attest to the exploitation of glacial, gravitational, eolian, and fluvial deposits. Compositional correspondence between ceramic grave goods and domestic pottery allowed identification of a link between the megalithic tombs and settlement sites, thus providing new data contributing to the investigation of the social dimension of monumental burials. Ceramic grave goods were revealed to be intertwined with the social instability affecting the 3rd millennium BC communities of the Upper Rhône Valley.

Owl-like plaques of the Copper Age and the involvement of children

In the Copper Age, slate engraved plaques were produced massively in the southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Researchers have speculated about the function of these palm-sized stone objects for more than a century, although most have favored the idea that they represented goddesses, and served ritual purposes. The plaques are engraved with different designs of varying complexity. In some of them, the ones sporting two large frontal eyes, we clearly see owls modelled after two species present in the area: the little owl (Athene noctua), and the long-eared owl (Asio otus). These two species, living in semi-open habitats, were possibly the most abundant owls around the human settlements and surrounding cultivated fields of the Chalcolithic period. People must have been aware of the owl presence and possibly interacted with them. Why owls but no other animals have been the models may relate to the fact they are the most anthropomorphic of all animals, with large frontally-placed eyes in their enormous heads. In the iconography, owls are systematically represented, even today, with their two eyes staring at the observer, as opposed to the lateral view used for any other animal. Additionally, slate is one of the commonest surface rocks in southwestern Iberia, and it provides a blank canvas for engraving lines using pointed tools made of flint, quartz or copper. The way slates exfoliate makes easy to craft owl-looking plaques. To silhouette animals other than owls in a recognizable way would request extra carving abilities and specific tools. Plaque manufacture and design were simple and did not demand high skills nor intensive labor as demonstrated in replication experiments. Owl engravings could have been executed by youngsters, as they resemble owls painted today by elementary school students. This also suggests that schematic drawings are universal and timeless. We propose that the owl-like slate plaques are the remains of a set of objects used in both playful activities and in ritual ceremonies. The actual engraving of the plaques may have been part of the game. Owlish slate plaques were often perforated twice at the top. We interpret this as insertion points for actual bird feathers added to the plaques, right at the place where tufts emerge in live owls. The frontier among play and ritual is diffuse in liminal societies and there is no contradiction in playing with animal-like toys and, at some point, using them as offerings as part of community rituals related, for instance, to the colossal megalithic tombs so characteristic of the Copper Age.

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Semiotic Meaning of Sumba Varieties Traditional Woven Cloths and a Sustainability of its Tribe

Sumba island has become one of the famous tourism areas in the world. It has many unique traditions, such as Pasola, Marapu, traditional, houses, megalithic tombs, traditional woven cloths, and natural beaches Sumba woven traditional clothes have many varieties of signifiers that represent not only its significance but also its place or area. The symbol as a signifier can be part of the human body, specific animals like horses, scorpions, deer, etc. All these symbols have their own meaning even their ideology. The natural colour materials of the woven cloths are taken from specific plants, and even the brown colour is taken from mud. Sumba traditional woven cloth is very unique, beautiful and famous. Sumba tribe still produces woven cloths in which they still keep the natural colour and its signifier. When producing the woven cloths, among them they still keep to use its local materials and their natural signifier. This is a way for them to sustain not just the woven cloths but also their culture.

Stenen van betekenis: hunebedden als erfgoed en als actor

Meaningful stones: megalithic tombs as heritage and actor. The Dutch megalithic tombs have seen a long history of protective measures by the government. These measures have resulted in our present-day appreciation of these monuments. They also created the tranquil, ‘natural’ setting, and thus affect our behaviour as visitors. At the same time, these tombs are very much part of the fabric of the present-day society where people have various personal associations with these tombs and their environs memories. As a rule, both aspects (formal heritage policies and personalassociations) reinforce one another, but always within a spatial and behavioural framework defined by governmental policies.

Is It Just the Location? Visibility Analyses of the West Pomeranian Megaliths of the Funnel Beaker Culture

Abstract The article attempts to apply visibility analyses to megalithic tombs of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the Pyrzyce Plain in north-western Poland. The analyses were carried out on 23 megalithic monuments in order to answer the questions whether the sites chosen by the builders of the Funnel Beaker Culture for the construction of their monumental megalithic tombs were optimal in terms of visibility and whether there is evidence that the megalithic cemeteries may have been constructed with the aim of establishing visual contact with each other and between settlements. Visibility analyses were carried out on a hypothetical landscape model that did not include flora such as forests, grasses or other obstacles in the terrain other than relief, in order to simulate an “open” landscape type. The estimation of parameters such as the visibility and discernibility of megalithic tombs proved that the builders of the Funnel Beaker Culture may indeed have chosen terrain-exposed sites for megaliths. However, other sites have been found that seem to be much more optimal in terms of visibility and terrain exposure than the present ones. Visibility analyses of megalithic cemeteries among themselves did not reveal significant “chains” of visual connections, even though they were located in exposed landscape areas. Investigations of the visual connections between megalithic cemeteries and known settlements of the Funnel Beaker Culture suggested possible visual contacts. The results of these analyses might suggest that a visual connection between cemeteries and settlements could be crucial for the megalithic builders, while it could be almost completely irrelevant between cemeteries.

Colonists and Natives. The Beginning of the Eneolithic in the Middle Warta Catchment. 4500–3500 BC

Abstract The article presents the history of research and the latest archaeological discoveries of the Greater Poland Neolithic in the Middle Warta River catchment. I propose focusing on new areas of research that have potential but have not yet been conducted. It focuses on two social groups, the Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) and the Brześć Kujawski culture (BKC). The unsatisfactory level of knowledge about the development of these cultural communities in the region may be supplemented by recently conducted research. The discovery and excavation of the first megalithic tombs in Greater Poland, conducted with the help of LiDAR, was of great importance. Following this, more such cemeteries have been located. The re-analysis of previously excavated materials from the site in Kotowo determined that the early phase of FCB occurred around 3700 BC. A fruitful area for future study is the acquisition of unique BKC settlement evidence obtained from the site in Kąkolewo. Another important area that can supplement current understandings of cultural relations in this area is understanding the environmental background, which is to be served by the proposed palaeoenvironmental research, particularly near the cemetery in Sobota. Considering this new information will allow for a proper estimation of the role of Greater Poland in the transmission of cultural patterns that created the image of the Central European Plain in 4500–3500 BC.

The closing system of megalithic tombs in Tunisia: the example of Kalaat Sidi Ali Ben Ahmed (Makthar region, High Tunisian Tell)

The megalithic tombs of Tunisia have entrances with a closing system built into the front wall. At Kalaat Sidi Ali Ben Ahmed, this particularity was observed on four types of tombs. The closing system, which differs from one necropolis to another in the Upper Tell region, ensures both access and descent into the burial chamber. Access is direct in some necropolises, while in others it is preceded by amenities. Thoughts on the question of the closing system have been put forward. The closing system reflects a mastery of stone cutting, although it is sometimes simple. This stonework is not limited to the access opening alone, but is also found on other architectural elements of the structure such as the roof slab, side pillars, side walls and box pillars. The contribution of this article is to present the closing system, a subject that has not been dealt with before, and to reflect on issues around this subject, namely access and descent into the sepulchral chamber and the working of the stone.

Peigín Doyle, Pathway To The Cosmos: The alignment of megalithic tombs in Ireland and Atlantic Europe

Peigín Doyle, Pathway To The Cosmos: The alignment of megalithic tombs in Ireland and Atlantic Europe Dublin: Wordwell Ltd., in association with National Monuments Service, 2020. Paperback, fully illustrated, 143 pp. ISBN 9781916291256. €10.00.

A commentary of “the intersection of archaeology and genomics: Sparking the advances in cognitive human society”: 10 remarkable discoveries from 2020 in Nature

Cassidy et al. of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, studied the social structure of farming communities, focusing on the ancient nobles buried in passage tombs (a channel-style megalithic tomb structure in Europe). Newgrange, built by complex engineering technology, is the most famous stone tunnel tomb in Ireland and one of the most famous prehistoric cemeteries in the country. The tomb is at the end of a stone-lined passage, with an opening like a window above the mausoleum entrance. On the shortest day of the year (winter solstice), this opening allows sunlight to enter the tomb. Researchers conducted DNA analysis of ancient human remains found in the tomb, revealing a rare and unexpected incident of incest. A man buried in Newgrange's tomb about 5000 years ago was the offspring of an incestuous marriage: his parents were either siblings or parents and children. This discovery led the researchers to speculate that the nobles associated with this magnificent tomb may have maintained their bloodlines through incest.①①Original source in Chinese: Kai Ye, The intersection of archaeology and genomics: Sparking the advances in cognitive human society, Bulletin of National Natural Science Foundation of China. 35 (2) (2021) 238-239.

FUSION AND EVALUATION OF 3D DATA AND EXCAVATION DOCUMENTS FOR COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND DIGITAL COPY IN THE CASE OF A MEGALITHIC TOMB

Abstract. This contribution shows the preliminary results of the multidisciplinary cooperation of archaeological, technical and heritage issues using the example of the megalithic tomb Kleinenkneten II. The tomb was excavated in the 1930s, but big parts of the documentation have unfortunately been destroyed. Furthermore, some ancient interpretations need to be objectively reviewed. More than 500 historical image data visually document the historical excavation situation. In addition, the current situation was recorded in 3D using modern methods. Geodetic products, such as orthophotos, can be derived from modern data and compared with old plans. Also, a point cloud was calculated from historical images, which can be compared with the current situation. The combination of modern and historical data enables new archaeological interpretations. From a museum perspective, strategies for the construction of authentic value of the 3D model is considered, as well as its communication to the public.

ARubiaspp.‐based red pigment on bones from the megalithic passage grave ofEl Moreco(Huidobro, Burgos, Spain)

AbstractThroughout prehistoric times it was common to smear red pigment on the bodies of the dead. Iron oxide was the most common pigment, but other pigments were also used. In this work, two red‐stained bones from the megalithic tomb ofEl Morecowere characterized by SEM‐EDS, FTIR, and GC–MS. The results provide evidence for the usage of a pigment obtained fromRubiaspp. This finding constitutes one of the oldest evidences of the use of madder red in Western Europe (IV‐III millennium BC) and, without ruling out other functions, suggests that it could have been used as a textile dye.