Corded Ware Culture

ABSTRACT Abstract So-called physiological stress markers are extremely valuable in assessing life conditions of old human populations. They constitute effects of adverse environmental conditions, which leave traces on skeleton. Those traces allow for partial assessment of life conditions not only in environmental and social but also cultural aspects for prehistoric populations. The aim of this study is to estimate the influence of general environmental conditions on human organism at the final stage of the Neolithic period – in the Corded Ware culture. Two skeletons discovered in a tumulus on the outskirts of Wroclaw in the Jagodno district have been subjected to assessment. Their age at the moment of death has been determined in both cases on the basis of multi-feature analysis of changes occurring in formation of particular morphologic features of skeleton and teeth. Attention has been paid to the obliteration degree of skull sutures and the surface state of chewing tooth crowns. A comprehensive DNA analysis has been conducted determining sex of the remains. Also bacteriological analysis of the research material has been conducted. Measurements of all available metric features of the skeletons have been performed with the use of the Martin method. Inventory and basic description of the finds accompanying skeleton remains have been carried out as well. Intensity of the following physiological stress markers have been defined and evaluated: Harris lines; cribra orbitalia; cribra cranii. Skull morphology, degree of suture obliteration, surface state of chewing tooth crowns and estimation of degree of bone development of postcranial skeleton indicate that both skeletons detailed age was about 16–18 years. Harris lines on the femur were formed in the 2nd and the 3rd year of life and on both tibias – in the 2 nd year of life. Obtained results indicate that those people were expose to stress connected with food deficit when they were very young. Poor porotic changes on the skull and isotopic data suggest that their life quality increased at later age.

Chemical analysis of archaeological objects is an important part of current investigations. In the presented study, a soil from an archaeological vessel from rescue excavation close to the village Držovice (Central Moravia Region, Czech Republic; findings dated to Eneolithic period) was analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and firstly in archaeological science by atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Miliacin, a chemical marker of a broomcorn millet, was unambiguously confirmed by both techniques. The obtained results can help to understand the diet habits of Corded Ware population and connection between Central Europe and Asia, where broomcorn millet has been domesticated. The identification of miliacin as a “chemical imprint” of millet from the end of Eneolithic period of Moravia is therefore extraordinarily important.

A set of sources embodied by features 1149A and 1149B at Święte 11, Jarosław District, Podkarpackie Province, is one of a kind in Lesser Poland as it includes a vessel associated with steppe cultures of the Northwest Black Sea Coast. The vessel has been discovered in a stratigraphic context that is not fully clear. It probably constituted an offering (trizna) connected with the male burial identified in the niche grave underneath. The vessel appears to be linked to the late Yamnaya/early Catacomb horizon. Such chronological attribution is further supported by an absolute date of the 2nd half of the third millennium BC established for bones. The vessel sits alongside other finds that provide corroboration for connections the population of the younger Corded Ware phase in Lesser Poland had with eastern European regions.

This book is a publication of a session held on the EAA Annual meeting in Thessaloniki. It covers a wide range of theoretical and methodological issues, such as: locating cemeteries in the landscape; age; gender and social relations derived from mortuary evidence, and also the chronological and spatial development of sites and the question of their continuity. The chronological span of topics is wide - from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age; the geographical scope equally so, including vast regions of Europe from Belgium to Estonia, and from Italy to Scandinavia. New methods and approaches, such as ancient DNA analysis, advanced databases and Geographic Information Systems, are all taken into account. 160p, color and b/w figs, maps.

The authors of the paper present the results of research, the subject of which was the inhumation burial of the Corded Ware culture from Wilczyce. The site is located on the culmination of the southern slope of a loess hill, rising directly above the valley of the Opatówka River. The grave goods consisted of: an amphora, three cups, two miniature vessels, 41 wolf tooth pendants and disc-shaped shell beads. Radiocarbon dating result on bones from the burial is 3960 ± 30 BP (Poz-80189).

Archaeological excavations at site 20, Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District, were prompted by construction of the A4 motorway. Among the results the site has yielded there are two Corded Ware graves. Both of them are niche constructions datable to the younger Corded Ware phase in Małopolska. Accommodating three interments, grave 43 is particularly interesting for the re-use of its burial chamber and re-deposition of disarticulated older human remains. Grave goods within the graves are typical of the younger Corded Ware phase, with parallels found at closely located sites of the Lower San Valley and Rzeszów Foothills. The absolute date range for both graves has been determined to be ca. 2550-2400 BC.

In this study, a soil from two ceramic vessels belonging to Corded Ware culture, 2707–2571 B.C., found in a cremation grave discovered in Central Moravia, Czech Republic, was analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–mass spectrometry (MALDI–MS) combined with advanced statistical treatment (principal component analysis, PCA, and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis, OPLS-DA) and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). MALDI–MS revealed the presence of triacylglycerols in both vessels. This analytical technique was used for the analysis of the soil content from archaeological ceramic vessels for the first time. Targeted ELISA experiments consequently proved the presence of milk proteins in both ceramic vessels. These results represent the first direct evidence of the use of milk or dairy products in the Eneolithic period in Moravian Corded Ware Culture and help to better understand the diet habits and living conditions of Eneolithic ...

From around 4,000 to 2,000 BC the forest-steppe north-western Pontic region was occupied by people who shared a nomadic lifestyle, pastoral economy and barrow burial rituals. It has been shown that these groups, especially those associated with the Yamnaya culture, played an important role in shaping the gene pool of Bronze Age Europeans, which extends into present-day patterns of genetic variation in Europe. Although the genetic impact of these migrations from the forest-steppe Pontic region into central Europe have previously been addressed in several studies, the contribution of mitochondrial lineages to the people associated with the Corded Ware culture in the eastern part of the North European Plain remains contentious. In this study, we present mitochondrial genomes from 23 Late Eneolithic and Bronze Age individuals, including representatives of the north-western Pontic region and the Corded Ware culture from the eastern part of the North European Plain. We identified, for the...

The article presents the present state of research on the general issue of the Dniester Region of cultural contacts between communities settling the Baltic and Pontic drainage basins. Some five domains of research shall be brought to discussion in which it is possible to see fresh opportunities for archaeological study, on the basis of ‘Yampil studies’ on Dniester-Podolia (forest-steppe) barrow-culture ceremonial centres from the latter half of the 4th millennium and first half of the 3rd millennium BC. This relates to the peoples of the Eneolithic and the Early Bronze Age. In terms of topogenesis, embracing the Pontic-Tripolye, Yamnaya and Catacomb cultures, as well as Globular Amphora and Corded Ware in central prehistoric Europe.

Éditeur Association pour la promotion de la préhistoire et de l'anthropologie méditerrannéennes Référence électronique Maxence Bailly, « Échelles spatiales, ruptures, continuités, lacunes : quelques remarques sur les données archéologiques attribuées au Campaniforme en France et son insertion dans les séquences chrono-culturelles établies », Préhistoires Méditerranéennes [En ligne], 8 | 2020, mis en ligne le 29 janvier 2021, consulté le 29 janvier 2021. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/pm/2368 Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 29 janvier 2021. Tous droits réservés Échelles spatiales, ruptures, continuités, lacunes : quelques remarques sur les données archéologiques attribuées au Campaniforme en France et son insertion dans les séquences chrono-culturelles établies Spatial scales, shifts, continuities, gaps: some remarks on the archaeological data attributed to the Bell Beaker in France and its insertion in the established chrono-cultural sequences Maxence Bailly NOTE DE L'ÉDITEUR Article reçu le 16.12.2019-Version révisée reçue le 05.03.2020-Article accepté le 16.12.2020 Je remercie les deux rapporteurs anonymes qui, par leurs critiques et leurs commentaires, m'ont conduit à amender certains paragraphes et à clarifier mes idées.

In this paper we focused on the reconstruction of dietary behaviour and food culture in the population of the Corded Ware culture in Central Moravia. The data comes from sites at Ivanovice na Hané 3/2, Ivanovice na Hané 4 and Hoštice 4. The main aim of this study is to get data about diet and symbolic meals indicated in graves in the form of animal bones, and to compare our results with the common idea of sexual dimorphism in the societies of the Corded Ware culture. Buccal dental microwear analysis was performed in order to reconstruct the diet and the results were compared to the physical health of the whole population. The results indicate a mixed abrasive diet with a high ratio of meat intake. In any case, individual dietary behaviour varied and was most probably determined not just by nutritional needs, but also by rules, taboos and re-strictions. diet – microwear – SEM – archaeozoology – Corded Ware Culture – society V předkládané studii jsme se zaměřili na rekonstrukci stravy...

Studie byla vydána roku 1987 v knize Praehistorica Acta Instituti praehistorici Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis. Varia archaeologica.4 / The study was published in 1987 in the book Praehistorica Acta Instituti praehistorici Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis. Varia archaeologica 4.

Een van de tijdens het proefonderzoek op veertien laat-neolithische en Bronstijd-vindplaatsen in De Gouw verzamelde vondstcategorieën bestaat uit (vuur)steen. De analyse van dit materiaal had tot doel algemeen inzicht te krijgen in de aard en ouderdom van de vindplaatsen. Hierbij is gekeken naar verschillende aspecten van de artefacttypologie, technologie en gebruik (en afdanking).

В данной статье обобщаются результаты исследований, проведенных автором и другими специалистами по проблеме присутствия культуры шаровидных амфор (далее КША) на территории Верхнего Понеманья. В соответствии с подходом М. Шмит, разработанным для восточноевропейских комплексов культуры, в рассматриваемом регионе идентифицированы «чистые» и «синкретические» материалы КША. К первой группе отнесены могильники КША, кремнедобывающие шахты и сопутствующие мастерские в Среднем Пороссье, а также отдельные находки кремневых четырехгранных шлифованных топоров и долот. Во вторую группу включены материалы неманской культуры и локальных групп круга шнуровой керамики с элементами, генетически восходящими к КША. Черты КША прослеживаются главным образом в орнаментации керамики. Присутствие отдельных групп населения, традиций КША в Верхнем Понеманье относится ко второй четверти III – первой четверти II тыс. до н.э. Распространение элементов КША в регионе осуществлялось в результате непосредственных контактов носителей различных культурных традиций или опосредовано через другие культуры, которые уже испытали влияние КША. В качестве потенциальных источников распространения элементов КША рассматриваются среднеднепровская культура, приморская (жуцевская) культура. В настоящее время приоритетными исследовательскими задачами являются уточнение хронологии распространения КША в регионе, установление роли КША в социально-экономических трансформациях сообществ III – начала II тыс. до н.э.

Studie byla publikována v knize Petr Čech a Miroslav Dobeš (ed.): Sborník Miroslavu Buchvaldkovi vydané v Mostu roku 2000 / The study was published in the book Petr Čech a Miroslav Dobeš (ed.): Acta Miroslav Buchvaldek, published in Most in 2000. ISBN 80-901828-6-8

Throughout prehistory flint axes have been highly practical tools, used for such things as house construction and the clearance of forests. Apart from being functional tools they also played a prominent role in the ideological life of prehistoric people, for which we find evidence in the form of votive hoards and grave gifts.

In this paper it will be argued that through time the meaning and significance of the flint axe in the northern Netherlands changed profoundly. These changes can be seen when their cultural biography is studied. Different research methods have been used to reconstruct part of the biographies of these axes. This included a typological and technological analysis which focused on the physical appearance and origins of the axe. Spatial analysis using GIS software was used to study the locations in the landscape where these objects were deposited, both in relation to other archaeological sites as well as the natural landscape. Finally a large sample of flint axes was subjected to functional analysis using high-power microscopy (for methodology see Van Gijn 1990). By doing so parts of the use-lives of axes could be reconstructed based on the analysis of traces of wear as well as residue of materials the axe has come in contact with.

By looking at the biographies of flint axes, starting in the TRB up until the introduction of the first copper axes (3400-2000 cal. BC), it will be demonstrated that these objects played an important role in prehistoric life both from a practical and an ideological perspective. However, this was never a static role and in each period people used and treated flint axes in a different manner. Although the flint axe remained in use throughout this period, the evidence indicates that through time there were significant transformations in the way these objects were perceived.

The article considers new materials received while studying the monuments of the Fatyanovo culture of the Bronze epoch in the Moskva river basin (the settlements RANIS-
floodplain, ZBS-4, ZBS-5, Tsaritsyn 1, the burial Lutsino-Gazovik). The group of the proto Fatyanovo antiques has been determined. The suggestion has been made that the groups of citizens who bore the traditions of the culture of sphere amphorae, the culture of Baltics Corded Ware and the Epicorded Ware culture of the Western Ukraine and Poland were taking part in developing the Fatyanovo culture. The new chronological frames of the Fatyanovo culture, which stay within the interval of the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, were suggested. The steps in the developing of the shapes and ceramics ornaments were determined.

Within social archaeology, great heed has been taken of the symbolic expression of gender identities. Analysis of the funerary practices of the Late Eneolithic (Copper Age) cemeteries associated with the Corded Ware and Bell Beaker cultures of the 3rd millennium BC in Central Europe provides a model for the basic differentiation of prehistoric society. The explanation of such social differentiation may be seen in the development of the division of labour between men and women, probably caused by progressive changes in the system of agriculture and food production.
Examination of burial rites supplies much evidence of the structuring of prehistoric society, as well as the gendered social positions of both sexes including children. There is evidence of children's burials accompanied by stone tools and weapons of clearly symbolic meaning, perhaps representing the system of ascribed hereditary status. Some elderly men in the Corded Ware period were, on the other hand, buried according to the female rules and their gendered social identity faded with their increasing age. This observation is in line with practice known from some native communities in Siberia and North America where there are more than just two gender categories. Most of these societies recognize three or four genders. Our traditional view of human society recognized only men and women as relevant gender categories. These are however modern constructs based on Christian biases. In this paper I argue that we need a different approach to reading and interpreting the dead as our current gender concepts are not always appropriate for a past reality.

In the paper materials from the complex archaeological-geographical investigations in the water-meadow of the Moskva River are presented. A series of dwelling sites and objects were excavated and attributed to the Corded ware culture, Fatyanovo and Abashevo cultures. Radiocarbon dates were obtained, which define more exactly their chronology. The chronological position of the Fatyanovo culture is determined around the mid 3rd  millennium BC. The Abashevo materials fall within the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennia BC. Pollen and archaeozoological data evidence farming and stock-breeding.

The Bacín-hill is the highest point (499 m above sea level) in the area of Bohemian Karst (south-west of Prague). A deposit of human bones and Hallstatt period (Ha C/D) pottery was discovered in one of the karst clefts at Bacín, in 1988. The subsequent systematic archaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigations produced evidence of another two layers of human bones of an earlier date. Finds of Late Palaeolithic (Magdalenien) period, Late Neolithic or Early Eneolithic period, Late Bronze Age (Ha A - Knovíz culture), Early Iron Age (Ha C/D), Early Middle Ages (8th-9th century), as well as High Middle Ages (14th century) and Post Medieval (17th-18th century) finds were discovered in the vicinity of the cleft. The site may be interpreted as a Rock-shrine, which was probably in use from the Neolithic to the Hallstatt Period. Similar sites with the system of shafts containing votive offerings are known as cult-site of the "Kyffhäuser" type (Behm - Blancke 1958).
  A Corded Ware settlement storage vessel was found in 1994 in one of the clefts (area of 110x70 cm) at Bacín. The majority of the fragments from this pot were found within layers No. 3. It seems as if the pot had fallen, or had been thrown down into the cleft from the edge. The fragments of the pot were distributed within the section in a logical order of bottom-body-rim. 2 flint artefacts and another 4 flint flakes were also found in layer No. 3. Within the malacofauna remains recovered from this deposit Helicodont obvoluta, Isognomostoma, Helicigona lapicida, Alinda biplicata were identified. Finds of the Corded Ware settlement pottery production are very rare in Bohemia. However, in the last few years new sites, with Corded Ware settlement pottery finds, were discovered (Neustupný - Smrž 1989; Bantelmann 1989; Vencl 1994; Čech 1995; Turek 1995. The discovery of the Corded Ware settlement vessel at Bacín is also interesting because of its isolated geographical position within the area settled during the Corded Ware period in Bohemia. The Berounka River Region seems to be on the south-western edge of the Corded Ware settled area reconstructed after the evidence of burial sites (Buchvaldek 1986, Fig. 41). Finds of Corded Ware settlement pottery at Kobyly (District of Liberec, Mähling1941, Bantelmann 1989, Turek 1995) are also in a similar geographically isolated location, out of the area where there is an accumulation of Corded Ware Cemeteries. The Berounka River Region was presumed to be sparsely populated, or almost unsettled, in the Late Eneolithic, based on the lack of finds and sites with preserved underground structures. It is assumed that in the Corded Ware settlement sites, dwellings and other settlement features were constructed above-ground without digging below the surface strata, and thus left no archaeological evidence. Also, the lack of Corded Ware burial sites in the area might be caused by the use of different method of disposing of dead (Cf. the change in funerary practices in between La-Tène B-C and La-Tène D periods in Bohemia).

"The Late Neolithic Single Grave Culture in the Netherlands (SGC; approx. 2800–2400 BC) is generally known from flat graves and barrows. Because of their visibility barrows have long been studied by amateur and professional archaeologists. On the SGC settlements far little is known. However in the second half of the past century, and the 1970-1990's in particular, excavations were conducted at a series of Late Neolithic settlements belonging to the Single Grave Culture (SGC) (c. 2900-2500 cal BC) in the province of Noord-Holland (Kop van Noord-Holland, De Gouw). These excavations have demonstrated the exceptional quality of the sites, especially thanks to the good preservation of organic materials. Since many of the results of these excavations were not published, in 2009 an Odyssey project called ‘Unlocking Noord-Holland’s Late Neolithic Treasure Chest: Single Grave Culture behavioral variability in a tidal environment’ started.

The astudy of one of these sites, Keinsmerbrug, excavated in 1986, was the first step in this  Odyssey project. The limited scale of the excavation made Keinsmerbrug an excellent choice, serving as a test case for the approach within the project Single Grave Project. In order to unlock and integrate cultural/ecological information and research data, a group of specialists worked together. In this synthesis the new results and interpretations are presented.

The analyses have shown that Keinsmerbrug was a temporarily occupied settlement, used occasionally or perhaps even only seasonally within the time span of 2580-2450 cal BC. The limited range of other activities combined with the characteristics of the material culture (low numbers of flints and ceramics, variation in the tempering of the ceramics, small range of different flint and stone tools) is indicative of such short-term use. The main period of use – probably consisting of several episodes of short-term use – occurred from spring to autumn.
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