C. Montoya, J.-P. Fagnart, J.-L. Locht (éds.), Préhistoire de l’Europe du Nord-Ouest: mobilité, climats et entités culturelles. Actes du 27e congrès préhistorique de France (Amiens, 30 mai-4 juin 2016), vol. 2. Société préhistorique française. Paris 2019, 2019
The late Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic in (north)eastern Germany provide good insights into c... more The late Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic in (north)eastern Germany provide good insights into cultural aspects of hunter-gatherer-communities due to the amount and density of key-sites. Representing different geographical zones like coast, lowlands, or middle range mountains, the areas inhabited by Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers show a distinct variety within their ecological constraints. Likewise other regions in Europe, these shifted in the area under investigation as a consequence of the repeated ecological changes. Regarding the archaeological finds, the presented area has been settled by several archaeological cultures or groups synchronously or diachronically. Therefore it serves as a good area for investigating contacts and changes in the archaeological record. Sites with fairly high significance (e.g. Abri Fuchskirche, Golßen, Friesack, Hohen Viecheln, Kleinlieskow, Reichwalde, Wustermark 22) render possible the link of archaeological finds and palaeo-environmental investigations and hence provide much better insights into the life of prehistoric foragers than many other regions. When it comes to regionalism, eastern Germany provides the opportunity to trace the connections or interferences of the "lowland-cultures" with those from higher elevations and serve as a bridging area between eastern, western, and southern traditions in Central Europe, both in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. In this paper we present summaries of some extraordinary sites and overarching cultural developments. Specific differences between Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene communities as well as alterations in the course of their existence are discussed. The changes during the Late Palaeolithic seem to be influenced by constraints proper to each tradition and perhaps reflecting the transition from one cultural entity to another whereas changes during the Mesolithic seem to follow common trends on a supra-regional level but with more regional specifications.
Résumé : En Allemagne du (nord)-est, il existe beaucoup d'informations culturelles sur les communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs du Paléolithique final et du Mésolithique ancien en raison de l'abondance de sites de référence. Correspondant à différentes zones géographiques comme les côtes, les plaines ou les montagnes de moyenne altitude, les zones occupées par les chasseurs-cueilleurs du Pléistocène final et du début de l'Holocène présentent des contraintes écologiques diverses. Comme dans d'autres régions d'Europe, ces contraintes se sont modifiées dans la zone étudiée à la suite des changements écologiques répétés. En ce qui concerne les découvertes archéologiques, la région présentée a été occupée par plusieurs cultures ou groupes archéologiques de façon synchrone ou diachronique. Par conséquent, elle constitue un espace propice à l'étude des contacts et des changements. Les sites d'importance (p.ex. Abri Fuchskirche, Golßen, Friesack, Hohen Viecheln, Kleinlieskow, Reichwalde, Wustermark 22) permettent d'établir le lien entre les découvertes archéologiques et les études paléoenvironnementales, fournissant de bien meilleurs aperçus de la vie des chasseurs-cueilleurs préhistoriques que dans beaucoup d'autres régions. En ce qui concerne les problé-matiques régionales, l'Allemagne de l'Est offre la possibilité de retracer les connexions ou les interférences entre cultures « des plaines » et celles des régions plus élevées et de servir de pont entre les traditions orientales, occidentales et méridionales d'Europe centrale, à la fois au Paléolithique et au Mésolithique. Dans cet article, nous présentons des résumés synthétiques sur quelques sites très importants et sur les déve-loppements culturels globaux. Des différences spécifiques entre les communautés du Pléistocène final et de l'Holocène ancien ainsi que des transformations au cours de leur existence sont discutées. Les changements au Paléolithique final semblent être influencés par les contraintes propres à chaque tradition ou refléter la transition d'une entité culturelle à une autre alors que les changements au Mésolithique semblent suivre des tendances globales, avec toutefois des spécificités plus régionales.
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Papers by Daniel Groß
In this paper, we address the transition from the Final Palaeolithic to the Early Mesolithic on the North German Plain
with respect to chronological evidence. Based on several well-dated sites from the area, we aim to discuss preconditions and
consequences for the spreading of Early Mesolithic technocomplexes. Furthermore, we highlight which problems have to be
approached when dealing with this timeframe.
It is shown that the onset of the Mesolithic in the area under consideration currently appears to date not prior to the Middle
Preboreal, i.e. from ca. 9200 calBC onwards. The short cold spell, the Preboreal Oscillation, seems to coincide with a seizure
between the hunter-gatherers of the Ahrensburgian and the aforementioned Early Holocene societies. It is made clear that the
Pleistocene/Holocene border should not generally be parallelised with the Ahrensburgian/Early Mesolithic in the respective area.
could settle and move from one island to another following the shorelines of the overgrowing lake. The 3D stratigraphic model provides growth and shrinking rates of the island and lake areas in the Mesolithic, and volumes of organic and non-organic deposited lake sediments. Besides, it provides a basis for a sustainable groundwater management needed for heritage preservation.
sites on the former lakeshore provide vivid illustrations of early Mesolithic life, with bark mats and other organic finds preserved, including evidence for
the extensive use of hazelnuts. Although the area has been the subject of research for almost 100 years, a coherent summary of these discoveries has not
yet been written. Here we review past research at Duvensee, and give some prospects for further research. We show that the Duvensee sites varied
in their structure and chronology. While only a limited number of sites can be connected to hazelnut exploitation, some of them show signs of hafting
and retooling and other domestic activities. At a few sites, specific hearths were excavated which can be connected with hazelnut roasting and other
subsistence activities. Finally, we show that while most earlier studies focused almost exclusively on archaeological research questions, Duvensee has the
potential to reveal not only transformations in human behaviour, but also environmental changes at a detailed scale; we therefore argue for a more holistic
perspective and multidisciplinary approach to reconstructing prehistoric landscapes and cultural transformations.
and isotopic data for local terrestrial mammals (elk, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, aurochs, beaver) and freshwater fish (European eel, European perch). The reference data allow individual paleodiets to be reconstructed. Using paleodiet estimates of fish consumption, and modern values for local freshwater reservoir effects, we also calibrate human 14C ages taking into account dietary reservoir effects. Although the number of individuals is small, it is possible to infer a decline in the dietary importance of fish from the Preboreal to the Boreal Mesolithic, and an increase in aquatic resource consumption in the Early Neolithic.
Clark noted that there was a certain cultural homogeneity across the North European plain at this time when Britain was still joined to the Continent. As it turned out, the material culture from Star Carr proved to be earlier in date compared to these other sites, which indicated to Clark that Star Carr belonged to a distinct phase of the Early Mesolithic, termed in Northwest Europe the Maglemose culture (Clark 1954, 180).
In this paper, we address the transition from the Final Palaeolithic to the Early Mesolithic on the North German Plain
with respect to chronological evidence. Based on several well-dated sites from the area, we aim to discuss preconditions and
consequences for the spreading of Early Mesolithic technocomplexes. Furthermore, we highlight which problems have to be
approached when dealing with this timeframe.
It is shown that the onset of the Mesolithic in the area under consideration currently appears to date not prior to the Middle
Preboreal, i.e. from ca. 9200 calBC onwards. The short cold spell, the Preboreal Oscillation, seems to coincide with a seizure
between the hunter-gatherers of the Ahrensburgian and the aforementioned Early Holocene societies. It is made clear that the
Pleistocene/Holocene border should not generally be parallelised with the Ahrensburgian/Early Mesolithic in the respective area.
could settle and move from one island to another following the shorelines of the overgrowing lake. The 3D stratigraphic model provides growth and shrinking rates of the island and lake areas in the Mesolithic, and volumes of organic and non-organic deposited lake sediments. Besides, it provides a basis for a sustainable groundwater management needed for heritage preservation.
sites on the former lakeshore provide vivid illustrations of early Mesolithic life, with bark mats and other organic finds preserved, including evidence for
the extensive use of hazelnuts. Although the area has been the subject of research for almost 100 years, a coherent summary of these discoveries has not
yet been written. Here we review past research at Duvensee, and give some prospects for further research. We show that the Duvensee sites varied
in their structure and chronology. While only a limited number of sites can be connected to hazelnut exploitation, some of them show signs of hafting
and retooling and other domestic activities. At a few sites, specific hearths were excavated which can be connected with hazelnut roasting and other
subsistence activities. Finally, we show that while most earlier studies focused almost exclusively on archaeological research questions, Duvensee has the
potential to reveal not only transformations in human behaviour, but also environmental changes at a detailed scale; we therefore argue for a more holistic
perspective and multidisciplinary approach to reconstructing prehistoric landscapes and cultural transformations.
and isotopic data for local terrestrial mammals (elk, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, aurochs, beaver) and freshwater fish (European eel, European perch). The reference data allow individual paleodiets to be reconstructed. Using paleodiet estimates of fish consumption, and modern values for local freshwater reservoir effects, we also calibrate human 14C ages taking into account dietary reservoir effects. Although the number of individuals is small, it is possible to infer a decline in the dietary importance of fish from the Preboreal to the Boreal Mesolithic, and an increase in aquatic resource consumption in the Early Neolithic.
Clark noted that there was a certain cultural homogeneity across the North European plain at this time when Britain was still joined to the Continent. As it turned out, the material culture from Star Carr proved to be earlier in date compared to these other sites, which indicated to Clark that Star Carr belonged to a distinct phase of the Early Mesolithic, termed in Northwest Europe the Maglemose culture (Clark 1954, 180).
Als Fallstudie wird in der Arbeit der Fundplatz Friesack 27a aus Brandenburg vorgelegt, der zugleich als Ausgangspunkt für die übergreifenden Analysen dient. An jener Station konnten bis zu sieben Siedlungsphasen unterschieden werden, die unter Zuhilfenahme umfangreicher paläoökologischer Analysen in ihre naturräumliche Umgebung eingegliedert wurden.
Im Zusammenspiel von Literatur- und Fallstudie werden modellhafte Umweltrekonstruktionen entwickelt und mit Analysen von Fundspektren und Lagerplatzwahl verknüpft. So kann belegt werden, dass die Ausbreitung frühmesolithischer Traditionen im Arbeitsgebiet durch eine starke Ökoregionskontinuität geprägt war.
Jahrestagung der AG Mesolithikum statt. In mehr als 20 Vorträgen
wurden neue Forschungen zum Mesolithikum vorgestellt. Der nun
vorliegende Tagungsband beinhaltet 12 Aufsätze von 21 Autoren,
die aus den Vorträgen hervorgegangen sind. Neben der Bearbeitung
von einzelnen Fundplätzen (Pinnberg, Schlamersdorf, Wangels) werden auch Befundgruppen (Feuergruben, "Rötel"-Verwendung) behandelt, Vermittlungsstrategien betrachtet (Bachmann-Museum), Theorien überprüft (Mikrolithen und Risikomanagement) sowie Studien zu Großräumen (Mähren, „Se-Sa-Rhe-Traditionsraum“, Schleswig-Holstein, Landkreis Rotenburg (Wümme), Landkreis Main-Spessart) vorgestellt.
are interjected by some ground morainic plateaus. It is part of the Warsaw-Berlin ice-margin valley and was
overgrown by peat since the beginning of the Holocene. Until the 16th century, when first ameliorations were
conducted (Fontane 1992), it was swampy and not used for agricultural purposes.
Between 1977 and 1998 modern excavations took place in the area due to renewed amelioration attempts. Those
were mainly executed by B. Gramsch (see e.g. Gramsch 2002), who excavated two Mesolithic sites: Friesack 4
and Friesack 27a. Synchronous palaeoecological analyses (Kloss 1987a; 1987b) made it possible to gain detailed
insights into the environment of early Holocene hunter-gatherers in that area. Further understanding
was recently reached by the use of modern remote sensing techniques.
climate changes in the area in focus led to drastic changes in the environment during
the Preboreal and Boreal chronozone. Ensuing changes in the vegetation as well as
fauna are easily observable through various proxies (e.g. Aaris -Sørensen 2009; Fahlke
2009; Hoek 2001; Hoek & Bohnke 2002; Hoek & Bos 2007; Renssen & Isarin 2001). Likewise,
changes occur in the archaeological record. Namely, there is a clear change in the
artefact spectra that is marked by a replacement of tanged points, which are commonly
attributed to the Ahrensburgian culture, by microlithic inventories which indicate a
Mesolithic tradition (cf. Bokelmann 1991; Burroughs 2005; Gramsch 2004; Torroni et al.
1998). The project seeks to clarify to what extend the spread of Mesolithic traditions
was dependent on specific habitats.
Along with hunting and agriculture, aquatic resources represented an important aspect of subsistence in past communities. The various fishing techniques are proven through the finds of artifacts such as fishing equipment, through pictorial representations, and bones.
In this session we want to discuss the role that aquatic resources played in prehistoric societies as well as methods and tools for assessing their societal impact. We aim to discuss the role of fish and marine mammals in the livelihoods of past communities, since for certain periods and cultures, the fish not only served as a food source, but also had a symbolic or mythological meaning. We aim at coming closer to answering the question of the internal and external perception of “fishers”.
We would like to invite contributions dealing with the use of aquatic resources and fishing techniques, but also theoretical contexts to discuss, for instance:
>> The importance of marine resources as food source and methods and techniques for aquiring them
>> the symbolic-religious meaning of the fish during different prehistoric periods
>> the archaeological analysis and evaluation of the relevance of aquatic resources in mixed economies
>> the social functions of fishing in certain communities. Were marine resources famine food, feast, seasonal abundance exploitation, export and trade, competitional, ‘social refugia’, etc.?
We want to welcome colleagues at all career levels and offer particularly young researchers a platform to present their research results.
We also encourage studies that go beyond data presentation and contextualize their findings in a social perspective. Hence. ideas and methodological discussions are as welcome as archaeozoological, iconographic or techno-typological studies, to name a few.
In this session we want to address different aspects related to the value of peatlands as cultural and ecological archives as well as the extended insight they provide into prehistoric and early historic life. New discoveries and studies are welcomed that provide insight into (pre)historic landscape, life, and lifeways such as overarching projects that embed archaeological sites within their cultural and ecological context. Threats to peatland related cultural remains (e.g. peat extraction, agriculture and infrastructural developments) and potentials, methods, and possibilities of protecting them shall be addressed. We similarly welcome contributions dealing with topics like integrating public or political actors within archaeological research into peatland sites.
We hope to foster discussions about European perspectives on peatland archaeology and further development of research methods, approaches and standards. The session might serve as a 'stepping stone' towards a European agenda for understanding the past and preserving into the future these valuable but fragile landscapes.
The session deals with changes in areas around the Baltic Sea during the Early and Mid-Holocene. Because of the underlying climatic changes and thus environmental changes, the area was also the scene for various cultural developments during the period under investigation. Due to the melting of the glaciers at the end of the last Ice-Age, isostatic and eustatic movements caused continual changes to the Baltic Sea basin. But, changes in water level affected not only the Early and Mid-Holocene coast lines, the whole Baltic Sea drainage including large lakes, rivers and water sheds in the hinterland were also dramatically impacted by climate variability and consequent ecological changes. Thus, this had to affect prehistoric people as well by reducing or enlarging their territories. In order to evaluate the consequences of changes in the water networks on the environment, resources, and human behaviour, and to reconstruct human responses to these changes, this session pursues an interdisciplinary approach connecting environmental and archaeological research. We call for papers from various disciplines such as climatology, geology, palynology, zoology, and archaeology, to contribute to the understanding of the aforementioned processes. The discussion of the current chronological framework of coastline changes, water network displacements, lake level developments, and land upheaval/subsidence will enable us to synchronize palaeo-geographical and palaeo-cultural changes. This will serve as a basis for discussions of limitations and enhancements of cultural entities during the Early and Mid-Holocene.
Covered by fluvioglacial sands and extensive peat, the early Holocene archaeological site of Friesack IV is located in Rhinluch, Havelland District, Brandenburg, northern Germany. At the time of occupation, the site was situated on the shoreline of a lake, which is presently a peat bog. From 1977 to 1989, excavations, headed by Bernard Gramsch, were undertaken in the refuse zone of the site (Gramsch 1992). These investigations yielded well-preserved organic materials, including antler, bone, and teeth, bark, wood and bast, as well as fragments of nets, ropes and strings that were found alongside lithic artifacts (Gramsch 1992).
Although Gramsch (1992, 69) stated ‘fish are not numerous’ at Friesack IV, no less than 7520 were recovered. This paper presents these data, drawing on contemporaneous sites throughout northern Europe. The material is quantified and estimates of total fish lengths are also provided. Interpretation focuses on the relative importance of the fishes (with wels catfish being especially well- represented), the possible fishing methods employed, and the season(s) of capture. The data demonstrate that the assemblage was anthropogenic since butchery marks were present on several specimens as well as the presence of one perforated vertebra. Interestingly, it would appear that a change in the exploitation of fish throughout the course of occupation took place, with the end result being a developed technique targeting wels catfish.
References
B. Gramsch, Friesack Mesolithic Wetlands. In B. Coles (Ed.), The Wetland Revolution in Prehistory (Exeter 1992), 65–72.
popular. One application of individual diet reconstruction is the detection and quantification of dietary radiocarbon reservoir effects, which are correlated with the importance of aquatic
products as foodstuffs, an important research question in itself. Even at a societal level, the archaeological record does not resolve this question, as the function of simple and barbed bone
points, in particular, as hunting weapons or fishing equipment has long been debated. Recent investigations, however, have shown that archaeozoological assemblages from early Mesolithic
sites contain more fish remains than previously suspected.
Here we present new archaeozoological and stable isotopic data for a range of herbivores (auroch, elk, red and roe deer, beaver) and freshwater fish (northern pike, European perch,
European eel and Wels catfish) species, together with radiocarbon and stable isotope data from eight prehistoric humans, from the renowned Early Mesolithic to Early Neolithic site of Friesack
IV. The availability of local reference data for herbivores and fish allows the amount of fish consumed by each individual to be quantified. Using modern values for local freshwater
reservoir effects, we can then calibrate the human radiocarbon ages.
Although the number of human samples is small, it is possible to infer a decline in the dietary importance of fish from the Preboreal to the Boreal Mesolithic, and an increase in aquatic
resource consumption from the Early Neolithic onwards. Finally, we will compare these data with comparable prehistoric sites in Northern Germany, including Groß Fredenwalde and
Ostorf-Tannenwerder.
L’Europe du Nord-Ouest autour de 10 000 BP (9 600 cal.BC) : quels changements ?
Amiens - vendredi 3 et samedi 4 juin 2016
Session organisée par Jean-Pierre Fagnart, Ludovic Mevel, Boris Valentin et Mara-Julia Weber en collaboration avec la commission UISPP « The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia »
Birgit Gehlen, Daniel Groß, Elisabeth Noack & Clemens Pasda : The Late Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic in (north)eastern Germany
Key words – Mesolithic; Final Palaeolithic; Early Neolithic; Westphalia
http://www.dguf.de/index.php?id=9
Group fand als geschlossener Workshop in Höör, Südschweden, statt und wurde von Arne Sjöström, Björn Nilsson und Lars Larsson organisiert. Über 20 Kollegen aus acht Staaten nahmen an dem Treffen Ende August teil.
Całowanie. A Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic Site on an island in the Ancient Vistula Channel. Romuald Schild (Ed.) Vetera et nova. New Studies of Archaeological Materials and Data Stored at Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences. Volume 2. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 2014, 376 pages, Hardback, ISBN 9788363760304
But is this standardisation possible? Is it actually desirable? What are the advantages and disadvantages of diverse methodologies and research traditions? What might a standardised methodology and terminology of lithic analysis look like? What are the differences between the lithic studies of the Lower, Middle, Upper, Final Palaeolithic, and the Mesolithic? Where are the commonalities across the different national and regional research traditions?
In this discussion session, we want to identify areas of common ground and stumbling blocks in lithic studies and discuss the different possible scales of standardisation.
Résumé : En Allemagne du (nord)-est, il existe beaucoup d'informations culturelles sur les communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs du Paléolithique final et du Mésolithique ancien en raison de l'abondance de sites de référence. Correspondant à différentes zones géographiques comme les côtes, les plaines ou les montagnes de moyenne altitude, les zones occupées par les chasseurs-cueilleurs du Pléistocène final et du début de l'Holocène présentent des contraintes écologiques diverses. Comme dans d'autres régions d'Europe, ces contraintes se sont modifiées dans la zone étudiée à la suite des changements écologiques répétés. En ce qui concerne les découvertes archéologiques, la région présentée a été occupée par plusieurs cultures ou groupes archéologiques de façon synchrone ou diachronique. Par conséquent, elle constitue un espace propice à l'étude des contacts et des changements. Les sites d'importance (p.ex. Abri Fuchskirche, Golßen, Friesack, Hohen Viecheln, Kleinlieskow, Reichwalde, Wustermark 22) permettent d'établir le lien entre les découvertes archéologiques et les études paléoenvironnementales, fournissant de bien meilleurs aperçus de la vie des chasseurs-cueilleurs préhistoriques que dans beaucoup d'autres régions. En ce qui concerne les problé-matiques régionales, l'Allemagne de l'Est offre la possibilité de retracer les connexions ou les interférences entre cultures « des plaines » et celles des régions plus élevées et de servir de pont entre les traditions orientales, occidentales et méridionales d'Europe centrale, à la fois au Paléolithique et au Mésolithique. Dans cet article, nous présentons des résumés synthétiques sur quelques sites très importants et sur les déve-loppements culturels globaux. Des différences spécifiques entre les communautés du Pléistocène final et de l'Holocène ancien ainsi que des transformations au cours de leur existence sont discutées. Les changements au Paléolithique final semblent être influencés par les contraintes propres à chaque tradition ou refléter la transition d'une entité culturelle à une autre alors que les changements au Mésolithique semblent suivre des tendances globales, avec toutefois des spécificités plus régionales.