Often along vast expanses, ancient societies traded certain commodities that were considered valuable either for functional or symbolic reasons – or, rather, a mixture of both factors. A Taste for Green addresses latest research into the acquisition of jade, turquoise or variscite, all of which share a characteristic greenish colour and an engaging appearance once they are polished in the shape of axes or assorted adornments. Papers explore how, in addition to constituting economic transactions, the transfess of these materials were also statements of social liaisons, personal capacities, and relation to places or to unseen forces. The volume centres on two study areas, Western Europe and México/Southwest US, which are far apart not just in geographical terms but also with regard to their chronology and socioeconomic features. While some North and Mesoamerican groups range from relatively complex farming societies up to state-like organisations during the 1st and 2nd millennia AD, the European counterparts are comparatively simpler polities spanning the 5th–3rd millennia BC. By contrasting the archaeological evidence from diverse areas we may gain insights into the role that production/movement of these green stones played in their respective political and ritual economies. Also, we think it useful to compare the scientific approaches applied to this question in different parts of the globe, specially Asia.

In which chronological, spatial, and social contexts is gender a relevant social category that is noticeable in the archaeological material? How can transformations in social gender relations and identity be recognized archaeologically? Is the identity of prehistoric people defined by gender? If so, what is the accompanying cultural context? What about gender equality among the scientists working in archaeology? In what degree are research teams, as well as their scientific approaches, biased today? These and other burning questions are intensively discussed in this volume, which comprises 25 contributions presented at the international workshop ‘Gender Transformations in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies’, organised by the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 of Kiel University funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The workshop offered a platform to discuss a broad range of approaches on the inter-dependencies between gender relations and socio-environmental transformation processes. Beyond a focus on the archaeology of women, gender archaeology offers a variety of possibilities to reconstruct the contribution of social groups differentiated e.g. by age, gender, and activities related to cultural transformation, based on the archaeological material. Thus, this volume includes papers dealing with different socio-economic units, from south-western Europe to Central Asia, between 15,000 and 1 BCE, paying particular attention to the scale of social reach. Since gender archaeology, and in particular feminist archaeology, also addresses the issue of scientific objectivity or bias, parts of this volume are dedicated to equal opportunity matters in archaeological academia across the globe. This is realised by bringing together feminist and female experiences from a range of countries, each with its own specific individual, cultural, and social perspectives and traditions. The papers are organised along three central topics: ‘Gendering fieldwork’, ‘Tracing gender transformations’, and ‘Gendering and shaping the environment’. By gendering the archaeological discussion on transformation processes, the contributions aim to more firmly embed gender-sensitive research in the archaeological agenda, not just in Europe, but world-wide.

Building on the first Wild Things volume (Oxbow Books 2014) which aimed to showcase the research putting archaeologists researching the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic at the cutting edge of understanding humanity’s past, this collection of contributions presents recent research from an international group of both early career and established scientists.Covering aspects of both Palaeolithic and Mesolithic research in order to encourage dialogue between practitioners of archaeology of both periods, contributions are also geographically diverse, touching on British, European, North American and Asian archaeology. Topics covered include transitional periods, deer and people, stone tool technologies, pottery, land-use, antler frontlets, and the development of prehistoric archaeology an 'age of wonder'.

In the present-day world order, political disintegration, the faltering of economic systems, the controversial and yet dramatic consequences of global warming and pollution, and the spread of poverty and social disruption in Western countries have rendered ‘collapse’ one of the hottest topics in the humanities and social sciences. In the frenetic run for identifying the global causes and large-scale consequences of collapse, however, instances of crisis taking place at the micro-scale are not always explored by scholars addressing these issues in present and past societies, while the ‘voices’ of the marginal/non-élite subjects that might be the main victims of collapse are often silenced in ancient history and archaeology. Within this framework Collapse or Survival explores localised phenomena of crisis, unrest and survival in the ancient Mediterranean, with a focus on the first millennium BC. In a time span characterised by unprecedented high levels of dynamism, mobility and social change throughout that region, the area selected for analysis represents a unique convergence point where states rise and fall, long-distance trade networks develop and disintegrate, and patterns of human mobility catalyse cultural change at different rates. The central Mediterranean also comprises a wealth of recently excavated and highly contextualised material evidence, casting new light on the agency of individuals and groups who endeavoured to cope with crisis situations in different geographical and temporal settings. Contributors provide novel definitions of ‘collapse’ and reconsider notions of crisis and social change by taking a broader perspective that is not necessarily centred on élites. Individual chapters analyse how both high-status and non-élite social agents responded to socio-political rupture, unrest, depopulation, economic crisis, the disintegration of kinship systems, interruption in long-term trade networks, and destruction in war.

This book presents a group of small and inconspicuous barrows that were recently discovered in the forest of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. They are part of an extensive barrow landscape of which little was yet known. Fieldwork carried out in and around them yielded a wealth of new data. It was discovered that even the most inconspicuous and heavily damaged mound of this group still contained many special features. This special place was anchored around a site that probably had a particular significance in the Late Neolithic, and where special rituals were carried out during the Bronze Age, resulting in the construction of an enigmatic row of pits – rituals the likes of which have not previously been attested around barrows in the Netherlands, but which are known elsewhere in Europe. The dead were buried at locations that were probably only later covered by monuments. During the Bronze Age (between the 18th and 15th centuries BC) the mounds of this small barrow group were used as collective graves for what was probably perceived as one specific ‘community of ancestors’. The burial practices in the mounds show strong similarities and it is argued that these barrows were each other’s successors, representing the funeral history of people who wished to unite their forebears in death as one unproblematic whole without distinctions. The fieldwork showed that even small-scale, partial excavations of a seemingly minor barrow group can inform us on the significance of the extensive barrow landscapes they are part of – a knowledge that can help us to understand the prehistoric legacy of the Netherlands and to protect it for the future as heritage.

After the first decade of large scale settlement research at Oss-Ussen (1974-1984), a second and a third decade followed (1986-2008). The present book is a report on the second decade of settlement excavations, all carried out under supervision of the first author. Started with a focus on the Bronze Age, the project developed into a large scale research of Iron Age and Roman Period settlements and cemeteries over a total area of about 13 ha. The ten campaigns of fieldwork functioned also as the fieldschool of the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University, so many of the archaeologists in Dutch Archaeology used their shovels and trowels for the first time in Oss. Due to its narrative style the book is not only meant for professional archaeologists but for everyone interested in Metal Ages and Roman Period in general and the local history of Oss specifically.The book is divided in two parts. Part 1 describes the results of the excavations in a personal account of how research goals developed in relation to ever changing theoretical and practical circumstances. It presents a synthesis of different study areas with a focus on how the past may have influenced new phases of settlement. In this synthesis also the fieldwork of the first decade and to some extent the third decade of excavations at Oss (Horzak) are taken into account. Part 2 describes the primary data of the 1986-1995 excavations on which the analyses are based. Due to these mass of data, we have restricted ourselves to a (large) selection of features and structures that yielded information for the synthesis in part 1.

Beads, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and many other ornaments are familiar objects that play a fundamental role in personal expression and communication. This book considers how and why the human relationship with ornaments developed and continued over tens of thousands of years, from hunter-gatherer life in the cave to urban elites, from expedient use of natural resources to complex technologies. Using evidence from archaeological sites across Turkey, the Near East and the Balkans, it explores the history of personal ornaments from their appearance in the Palaeolithic until the rise of urban centres in the Early Bronze Age and encompassing technologies ranging from stone cutting to early glazing, metallurgy and the roots of glass manufacture. The development of theoretical and practical approaches to ornaments and the current state of research are illustrated with a wide variety of examples. This book shows that far from being objects of display, of little value in archaeological interpretation and often overlooked, these artefacts are key to understanding trade, relationships, values, beliefs and the construction of personal identity in the past. Indeed, more than any other group of artefacts, their variety in material, form, use and distribution opens doors to both wide ranging scientific exploration and consideration of what it is to be human.

Recent developments in aDNA has reshaped our understanding of later European prehistory, and at the same time also opened up for more fruitful collaborations between archaeologists and historical linguists. Two revolutionary genetic studies, published independently in Nature, 2015, showed that prehistoric Europe underwent two successive waves of migration, one from Anatolia consistent with the introduction of agriculture, and a later influx from the Pontic-Caspian steppes which without any reasonable doubt pinpoints the archaeological Yamnaya complex as the cradle of (Core-)Indo-European languages. Now, for the first time, when the preliminaries are clear, it is possible for the fields of genetics, archaeology and historical linguistics to cooperate in a constructive fashion to refine our knowledge of the Indo-European homeland, migrations, society and language. For the historical-comparative linguists, this opens up a wealth of exciting perspectives and new working fields in the intersections between linguistics and neighbouring disciplines, for the archaeologists and geneticists, on the other hand, the linguistic contributions help to endow the material findings with a voice from the past. The present selection of papers illustrate the importance of an open interdisciplinary discussion which will gradually help us in our quest of Tracing the Indo-Europeans.

European studies of the Bell Beaker phenomenon have concentrated on burial and artefacts that constitute its the most visible aspects. This volume concentrates on the domestic sphere – assemblage composition, domestic structures (how they differ, if at all, from previous types, legacies), and provides the first pan-European synthesis of its kind. It is a Europe-wide survey and analysis of Bell Beaker settlement structures; this is particularly important as we cannot understand the Bell Beaker phenomenon by analysing graves alone. Neither should we view Bell Beakers in isolation but must consider the effect that they had on already existing Late Neolithic cultures in the areas in which they appear. This volume is therefore intended to view the settlement aspect of Bell Beakers in context throughout Europe. It is the text book for Chalcolithic settlements and society. Contributors to the 19 papers belong to Europe-wide affiliation of experts specialising in Bell Beakers and the Chalcolithic (Archeologie et Gobelets) which addresses common pan-European issues surrounding the appearance and spread of Bell Beakers. This book summarises that data from the UK and many of the continental European countries; an increasingly important element of Beaker studies following recent isotopic and DNA evidence showing that the phenomenon was a result of human migration and not that of cultural ideas, trade and ideology. Each chapter deals with a defined region or country and is fully illustrated, including a corpus of Beaker houses and comparing then with Late Neolithic domestic structures where they are known to exist. The following themes will be addressed: 1. Regional syntheses in the UK and in Europe; 2.What native cultures existed before the arrival of Bell Beakers?; 3. What domestic ceramics were being used before the arrival of Bell Beakers?; 4. What stone and flint types were in use?; 5. What did pre-Bell Beaker houses look like? What size were they?; 6. What (if any) changes to 1–4 above resulted after the appearance of Bell Beakers?

The issue of the social dimension of technology and transformation, seen from the perspective of ‘Habitus’, has repeatedly been discussed in the scientific discourse exploring prehistoric and archaic communities. However, the complexity of related phenomena constantly provokes new approaches in different archaeological contexts, which leads to interesting findings.By presenting the latest studies on the social dimension of technology and transformation, this book contributes to a better understanding of a system of embodied dispositions hidden within Bourdieu's concept of ‘Habitus’. These studies mainly cover European areas; from Scandinavia to Italy, the Balkans to the British Isles, and Ukraine to the Northern Caucasus. In addition, ethnoarchaeological field studies from distant Indonesia are used to interpret the Hallstatt Culture in Europe. The papers span a chronological dimension from the Neolithic to the beginning of the Iron Age and in summary include a diachronic perspective. Rock art, Trypillian megasites, stone axes and adzes, metallurgy, wagons, archery items, ceramics produced on potter’s wheels, mechanisms of cultural genesis and dualistic social systems are examples of the topics discussed. This book also provides comments on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice, including the concept of ‘Habitus’. This book is addressed to international academia, presenting an important set of information and interpretations for archaeologists and readers interested in European prehistory. It comprises contributions to the CRC 1266 International Workshop ‘Habitus? The Social Dimension of Technology and Transformation’, held in 2018 at Kiel University.

Pantalica is a large limestone promontory in southeast Sicily known chiefly for a series of extensive cemeteries comprising thousands of chamber tombs cut out of the rock, dating mainly between the 13th and 7th centuries BCE. A UNESCO World Heritage site and nature reserve, renowned for archaeological remains in a spectacular natural setting, the site gives its name to the Late Bronze and Iron Age “Pantalica culture”, typical of southern Sicily in the period just before Greek colonization. At the time of Greek colonization in southern Sicily (8th c BCE), however, Pantalica was still one of the main indigenous centers of the region, sometimes likened to a chiefdom, dominating a sizeable territory and subsidiary settlements. The main excavations were undertaken by Paolo Orsi between 1895 and 1910 and mainly comprise information and relatively abundant finds of pottery and bronze artefacts from about 250 chamber tombs. The material is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse and is crucial for an understanding of local cultural traditions, burial practices and international contacts between Sicily and other areas (Italy, the eastern Mediterranean) in this period. The finds are only known from a small selection published by Orsi in two articles of 1895 and 1912. More than half were never published. The main aim of this volume is to provide a comprehensive study and illustrated catalogue of all the finds from the Pantalica tombs, along with new information from Orsi’s original excavation notebooks about their original context. In addition, the authors present the results of original research on different aspects of the evidence, including topography, funerary architecture (chamber tombs), funerary practices, ceramics, metals and other finds, and chronology. This volume will be an indispensable source of hitherto unpublished information of particular interest to scholars of Mediterranean later prehistory and connections between Greek colonists and native populations in the early historical period. Some new information is also provided about remains of the classical, Hellenistic, late antique and Medieval periods.

This book deals with the question how communities across Europe during the later 3rd millennium BC adopt and transform the Bell Beaker phenomenon differently. By looking at these processes of change from the perspective of settlements and settlement material culture, an interpretation is given to the development of this phenomenon that is alternative to the currently prevailing migration models.Instead, the author uses social theories on the spread of innovations, the development and functioning of communication networks and the social technologies involved in the production of material culture in his arguments. For the first time, settlements from various regions of Europe are studied at the same level and compared using modern research methods such as aoristic frequency distributions, the Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates and network analyses. Temporal and spatial variability in the regional processes that lead to the adoption (and rejection!) of Bell Beaker innovations are described in detail. The regional variability in communication between settlements, and the exchange of ideas and objects and mobility of people are combined with sociological network theories on the spread and adoption of novel ideas. Regional differences in the production of pottery are reviewed by both quantitative and qualitative methods. Finally, a Bell Beaker network is described in which various processes of innovation adoption and subsequent re-invention, developing communication networks and different forms of mobility take part.

The fifth millennium is characterized by far-flung contacts and a veritable flood of innovations. While its beginning is still strongly reminiscent of a broadly Linearbandkeramik way of life, at its end we find new, inter-regionally valid forms of symbolism, representation and ritual behaviour, changes in the settlement system, in architecture and in routine life. Yet, these inter-regional tendencies are paired with a profusion of increasingly small-scale archaeological cultures, many of them defined through pottery only. This tension between large-scale interaction and more local developments remains ill understood, largely because inter-regional comparisons are lacking. Contributors in this volume provide up-to-date regional overviews of the main developments in the fifth millennium and discuss, amongst others, in how far ceramically-defined ‘cultures’ can be seen as spatially coherent social groups with their own way of life and worldview, and how processes of innovation can be understood. Case studies range from the Neolithisation of the Netherlands, hunter-gatherer – farmer fusions in the Polish Lowlands, to the Italian Neolithic. Amongst others, they cover the circulation of stone disc-rings in western Europe, the formation of post-LBK societies in central Europe and the reliability of pottery as an indicator for social transformations.

Dieses Buch bietet eine umfassende Studie zum Jungneolithikum (JN, auch Einzelgrabkultur, ca. 2850 – 2250 v. Chr. ) in Schleswig-Holstein. Neben einer detaillierten Darstellung aller Funde und Befunde dieser Epoche, liegt ein besonderer Fokus auf Analysen zu den charakteristischen Streitäxten. Diese eignen sich in hervorragender Weise dazu, einen gesellschaftlichen Wandel zu erkennen, da die morphologische Variationsbreite im Laufe des JN zunimmt. So existieren im späten JN neben sehr elaboriert gestalteten Stücken auch plump wirkende Exemplare. Dies spiegelt vermutlich ein komplexer werdendes Gesellschaftssystem wider und deutet einen Bedeutungswandel der Äxte an. Die Streitäxte werden im Spätneolithikum(SN) durch die Silexdolche abgelöst, die durch ähnliche Variationsunterschiede gekennzeichnet sind. Dies deutet eine Kontinuität in der sozialen Organisation an der Wende zum SN an. Viele Streitäxte liegen im fragmentierten Zustand vor, wobei Schneiden- weitaus häufiger als Nackenhälften belegt sind. Da viele dieser Fragmente weiterhin im Besitz von Applikationen (Schälchen, pars pro toto Schaftlöcher) sind, ist anzunehmen, dass die Fragmente – und darauf aufbauend vermutlich ein Großteil aller Streitäxte aus Einzelfundkontexten – intentionale Deponierungen darstellen. Ein weiterer Fokus wurde auf die Transformation zum JN gelegt, die sich besonders im profanen Bereich als Phase kontinuierlicher Entwicklungen zeigt. Weiterhin wurde ein Unterschied zwischen dem Westen und Osten des Arbeitsgebietes aufgedeckt, der entgegen langläufiger Meinung keine chronologischen Ursachen besitzt. Vielmehr zeigt sich darin eine strukturell unterschiedliche soziale Orientierung der beteiligten Gruppen. Sowohl im JN als auch im SN ist es im Westen gängige Praxis, dem Verstorbenen Statusobjekte (Streitäxte, Silexdolche und früheBronzeartefakte) als Grabbeigabe mitzugeben, während diese Objekte im Osten des Landes äußerst selten Eingang in Bestattungen fanden, jedoch als Einzel- und im Falle der Bronzeobjekte auch als Depotfunde regelmäßig anzutreffen sind. English abstract This book offers a comprehensive study of the Younger Neolithic period ([YN], c. 2850 – 2250 BC) of Schleswig-Holstein (SH). Apart from presenting all currently known artefacts and contexts of that period in detail, a particular focus was placed on the examination of YN battle axes. They appear to be the most common artefact that is preserved from the YN, and they are very well suited for investigating social phenomena. These artefacts furthermore changed diachronically. While battle axes of the early stage are shaped more or less equally elaborately, late specimens exhibit significant morphological variation and difference, as some specimens were shaped very elaborately whereas others were quite simple. The same difference has been observed for the subsequently used flint daggers. It is suggested that this difference reflects the emergence of a more stratified society. Many battle axes appear to have been deposited as broken pieces. As the ratio of cutting edges to butt ends is unequal (2:1) both in SH and in a wider region and as many pieces have “decorations” (Applikationen, pars pro toto shaft holes), battle axes are regarded as intentionally deposited. Accordingly, a large proportion of single finds are regarded as intentional depositions. Another focus was set on examining the transition to the YN. It is argued that many aspects that are said to characterize the YN are rooted in the preceding Middle Neolithic. A novelty is that social role becomes marked in funerary contexts. Thus, the transformation to the YN marks a certain point where already initiated societal changes become visible for first time. The examination of certain attributes revealed furthermore that there are differences between western and eastern SH which are not determined by chronological changes only. Rather, general differences appear between western and eastern regions, an in a wider geographical as well as temporal frame, which might be linked to different social orientations – either collectively or individually acting groups. Scales of Transformation Series This is the publication series of the Kiel University research project “CRC 1266” which takes a long-term perspective, from 15,000 BCE to 1 BCE, to investigate processes of transformation in a crucial period of human history, from late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers to early state societies. Funded by the German Research Foundation, the CRC combines research of around 60 scientists from eight institutions and the Johanna-Mestorf-Academy of the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel as well as the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA) and the Archaeological State Museum Schloss Gottdorf.

This volume of Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia focuses on how local communities in prehistory define themselves in relation to a bigger social world. Communities from the deep past managed to make a living in landscapes we tend to perceive as inconvenient, build complex and elaborate monuments with relatively simple tools, and by shaping their landscape carved out a place for themselves in a much bigger social world. The contributions in this volume underscore how small worlds can be big at the same time.

Past Landscapes presents theoretical and practical attempts of scholars and scientists, who were and are active within the Kiel Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes” (GSHDL), in order to disentangle a wide scope of research efforts on past landscapes. Landscapes are understood as products of human-environmental interaction. At the same time, they are arenas, in which societal and cultural activities as well as receptions of environments and human developments take place. Thus, environmental processes are interwoven into human constraints and advances. This book presents theories, concepts, approaches and case studies dealing with human development in landscapes. On the one hand, it becomes evident that only an interdisciplinary approach can cover the manifold aspects of the topic. On the other hand, this also implies that the very different approaches cannot be reduced to a simplistic uniform definition of landscape. This shortcoming proves nevertheless to be an important strength. The umbrella term ‘landscape’ proves to be highly stimulating for a large variety of different approaches. The first part of our book deals with a number of theories and concepts, the second part is concerned with approaches to landscapes, whereas the third part introduces case studies for human development in landscapes. As intended by the GSHDL, the reader might follow our approach to delve into the multi-faceted theories, concepts and practices on past landscapes: from events, processes and structures in environmental and produced spaces to theories, concepts and practices concerning past societies.