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A large ceramic vessel was discovered at São Brás (southern Portugal) containing a metallic hoard from the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age period. These weapons and tools were characterized by microanalytical techniques as being composed of copper with varying arsenic contents (2.2± 1.6 wt%) and minor amounts of lead, bismuth and iron. The collection shows a clear association between daggers and copper with a higher arsenic content, which can be explained by the high status of these silvery alloys. Finally, the compositional distribution of the hoard was compared with the metallurgy of the Bell Beaker and non–Bell Beaker communities inhabiting the south-western Iberian Peninsula.

The authors explore aspects of a well uncovered at Tel Tsaf, Israel, dating to the Middle Chalcolithic Period, ca. 4800 cal b.c. The well was uncovered in close proximity to the settlement of Tel Tsaf, shedding light on the hydraulic technology of the community. An exceptionally rich assemblage of complete vessels has been found in situ at the bottom of the shaft. The ceramics show two distinct typological features uncommon to other assemblages of the Middle Chalcolithic: double paired handles and the so-called beakers, a new ceramic shape dominant in this assemblage. We argue that the ceramic assemblage comprises task-specific vessel shapes designed for drawing water from a well. The examples from Tel Tsaf are currently the earliest of their kind.

This paper provides a preliminary analytical summary of the results of post-excavation work underway on a series of archaeological surveys and excavations on the western coast of the Isle of Lewis, on the machair of Barabhas township. During the excavations, which were carried out on and off between 1976 and 2001, we sampled settlements, ritual sites, and landscape features dating from between the Early Bronze Age and the Norse Period, including a Beaker settlement and a Viking Age or Norse settlement, within an area suffering from severe aeolian erosion. Analyses of the finds yield a picture of the development of the landscape, both ritual and subsistence, over a period of at least 2500 years.

The paper analyzes the Bell Beaker graves with female burials from three sites located near one another in the region of Madrid. The study addresses the female presence within contexts that have traditionally been considered mainly male. The variability of their grave goods and burial rituals and their identification in primary and secondary, single or collective inhumations, is also analyzed. Their associations with male adult individuals and/ or children are reviewed, and the social role of women buried with daggers in significant graves is discussed. Although the sample is quantitatively insufficient, its variability at least allows us to refute previons claims about the numerical superiority of male graves that have been made without any empirical support. We conclude with a discussion of why there are fewer women in Bell Beaker tombs than in contemporaneous tombs without Bell Beakers., El trabajo analiza las tumbas campaniformes con inhumaciones femeninas de tres yacimientos próximos entre sí localizados en la región de Madrid, destacando su presencia en unos contextos que tradicionalmente se han considerado básicamente masculinos. Se registra también la variabilidad de estos contextos, en sus ajuares y en los rituales de inhumación, sean individuales o colectivos y en posiciones primarias o secundarias. Así mismo, se revisan sus asociaciones a individuos masculinos adultos y /o a infantiles, y se discute la asociación de mujeres en tumbas relevantes con puñales. Aunque la muestra es cuantitativamente insuficiente, la variedad del registro nos permite, al menos, desmontar ciertas afirmaciones que se han venido repitiendo sin ningún apoyo empírico sobre la rotunda superioridad numérica de tumbas campaniformes con inhumaciones masculinas. Pero más allá de la recopilación de estos datos es importante reflexionar sobre el porqué de la menor presencia de mujeres con respecto a los hombres en las manifestaciones funerarias de los grupos campaniformes cuando en las tumbas coetáneas no campaniformes es precisamente la mujer la que suele estar mejor representada.

Variability in clay processing recipes for pottery is still at a descriptive stage as far as prehistoric contexts are concerned. This paper intends to go beyond our traditional limits, based on the best-documented case for prehistory, the Bell Beaker style, which spread throughout the whole of Europe during the third millennium bc. The thousands of archaeometric analyses that have been carried out on the main concentrations from France, Spain and Portugal are taken into account in order to reconstruct the circulation mechanisms of the pottery and the social organization of the communities who used it.

This paper was written within the research project ‘The Roca del Valles Prehistoric Trail’, directed by ESTRATS Cultural Heritage Management Co. and funded by Roca del Valles Town Council and the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Spain. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Xavier Llobera and Ramon Buxo (Archaeological Museum of Catalonia – Barcelona) and Enric Ortega (Vilassar de Dalt Archive-Museum) for allowing them to study the archaeological materials, and also thank the referees who assessed this paper.

The present mtDNA study on human remains of fourteen archaeological sites from Cantabria, Basque Country and Navarra provided a diachronic overview from Paleolithic–Mesolithic to Late Antiquity period of some communities settled in the Cantabrian fringe. Ancient DNA studies in European human remains indicated a genetic discontinuity between the hunter–gatherers and later populations. However, some of the mtDNA lineages found in the Cantabrian fringe in Paleolithic–Mesolithic times persist in present-day populations. The mtDNA variability observed in hunter–gatherers and farmers in Europe denoted a complex pattern for the Neolithic transition, occurring along several different routes into and across Europe. The mtDNA lineages found in the Cantabrian fringe indicated that the dispersion of Neolithic farmers had a different genetic impact in this area with respect to Central and Mediterranean regions of Europe. The differences in mtDNA variability were also apparent after the Neolithic, as shown by the genetic distance between the Chalcolithic populations from the Cantabrian fringe and the Bell Beaker Culture (BBC) populations of Central Europe.

En el presente trabajo reflexionamos sobre diferentes aspectos relacionados con la violencia intergrupal o interpersonal durante el Calcolítico peninsular a través de algunas evidencias arqueológicas, además de presentar otros registros antropológicos inéditos. Especial atención merecen una serie de lesiones en hueso causadas por actos violentos que han sido documentadas en dos yacimientos calcolíticos madrileños, como son Camino de las Yeseras y Humanejos y al que se le añade otro posible caso encontrado en la necrópolis de Ciempozuelos. Del primer yacimiento se valoran diferentes registros en una fosa con una inhumación múltiple que acoge a un posible grupo familiar asociado a numerosas puntas de flecha y cuya causa de muerte pudo estar en relación con un episodio violento. Mucho más evidentes son las lesiones que presentan otros dos varones campaniformes: un individuo madurosenil de Camino de las Yeseras con una fractura y acusada desviación de los nasales que podría ser un indicio de un enfrentamiento interpersonal, mientras que otro varón adulto de Humanejos fue víctima de un contundente golpe en el frontal ante mortem, posiblemente golpeado con una azuela o hachita de cobre. Estos casos permiten intuir la existencia de conflictos inter o intragrupales más o menos organizados. Por otra parte se justifica la construcción de defensas arquitectónicas en una serie de yacimientos peninsulares, las cuales están asociadas a un considerable número de puntas de proyectil localizadas en sus accesos, tramos de murallas y en talleres próximos a ellas. Durante el Calcolítico, la necesidad de garantizar la seguridad de estas comunidades prehistóricas hace que la producción de las puntas en sílex y posteriormente en metal (Palmela) sean un recurso armamentístico de primer rango, siendo secundario su empleo en las actividades cinegéticas, como quedan avalados por los estudios arqueofaunísticos. También se discute el empleo de útiles habituales recuperados en los horizontes habitacionales como testimonios de actos de violencia, muy probablemente, surgidos por las propias desavenencias cotidianas o intergrupales. Todos estos procesos desembocan en el surgimiento de panoplias armamentísticas en el horizonte campaniforme en el que, aunque con discutida funcionalidad, su exhibición y amortización en las tumbas se hace muy patente, This study focuses on aspects related to interpersonal or intergroup violence during the Iberian Chalcolithic by discussing some archaeological evidences which have not been thoroughly evaluated to date. Particular attention is given to a series of injuries observed in some burials, which in the light of recent anthropological and paleopathological studies are becoming more numerous and diverse. Besides reviewing some papers and proposals on bone injuries resulting from acts of violence, new documented evidences are offered from the study of two Chalcolithic burials in Madrid: Camino de las Yeseras and Humanejos and related to an old one from the cemetery of Ciempozuelos. In the first of these sites, a multiple inhumation in a pit has been documented. It contains a possible family group associated with flint arrow heads intermingled with the skeletons and they seem to be related to the violent death of the group in a short space of time. Far more striking are the injuries found on two Bell Beaker males, one of them from Camino de las Yeseras, a senile with broken and deviated nasal bones, probably due to an interpersonal conflict. The second example, from Humanejos, is a 30 year old male who was a victim of a major traumatic injury to the forehead ante mortem. It was possibly caused by a copper adze or small axe, due to a face-to-face conflict. Both cases seem to suggest that, interpersonal or intergroup violence during the Iberian Chalcolithic is not infrequent. Also the archaeological record is revealing the existence of defensive architectures in several sites, where a considerable amount of arrow heads have been recovered in entrances, walls and workshops. These circumstances and the increase of arrow heads also in some ditched enclosures could explain their productions as primary defensive and offensive artefacts and later on the emergence of the first copper Palmela arrow heads in Iberia. Otherwise, as the archaeozoological studies of some chalcolithic sites reveal, that the increasing frequency of the flint arrow heads productions are not necessarily related to the rise of hunting activities during the 3rd millennium. It is also discussed the use of some metal tools as weapons during the Bell Beaker horizon as they only appear in household contexts and the functionality of some of the Beaker “package” items from tombs as weapons

The paper contains critical comments on the article by Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny, Jacek Kabacinski and Thomas Terberger entitled “The origins of the Funnel Beaker culture in the context of cultural changes in Northern Europe in the fifth millennium BC ”, which appeared in Przegląd Archeologiczny (Archaeological Review), volume 61. The paper stresses the incompatibility between the content and the declaration in the title, as well as ignoring the current archaeologicalknowledge. At the level of source studies and interpretation, the work contains errors and inaccuracies of theses as regards the results of research conducted at the site in Dąbki in Middle Pomerania. Hypotheses about the continuity of the settlement at this site, the evolution of Mesolithic pottery towards funnel beakers and the postulated chronology of events were brought up for special discussion. With reference to that, logical incorrectness of the assumed processes of the origins and spread of the Funnel Beaker culture has been suggested

In this article, we approach the Neolithization of southern Scandinavia from an archaeolinguistic perspective. Farming arrived in Scandinavia with the Funnel Beaker culture by the turn of the fourth millennium B.C.E. It was superseded by the Single Grave culture, which as part of the Corded Ware horizon is a likely vector for the introduction of Indo-European speech. As a result of this introduction, the language spoken by individuals from the Funnel Beaker culture went extinct long before the beginning of the historical record, apparently vanishing without a trace. However, the Indo-European dialect that ultimately developed into Proto-Germanic can be shown to have adopted terminology from a non-Indo-European language, including names for local flora and fauna and important plant domesticates. We argue that the coexistence of the Funnel Beaker culture and the Single Grave culture in the first quarter of the third millennium B.C.E. offers an attractive scenario for the required cultural and linguistic exchange, which we hypothesize took place between incoming speakers of Indo-European and local descendants of Scandinavia's earliest farmers.

This article presents a comparative study of the arrowheads found in graves dating to between 2500 BC and 1700bcin north-west France, southern Britain and Denmark. The aim is to characterise their modes of production and functions during a period which successively sees the introduction of copper then bronze metallurgy, the former accompanying the appearance of Bell Beaker pottery and associated practices in these areas. Several modes of production are proposed, from individual manufacture by Bell Beaker-using warriors to specialist production for elite use during the Early Bronze Age. Over and above their function as weapons – arguably associated more with interpersonal combat than with hunting – arrowheads served to portray and emphasise the social status of the individuals. In the case of the Early Bronze Age Armorican arrowheads, they should be regarded as ‘sacred’ objects, made for display and enhancing the power of the chiefs. Lastly, arrows are placed in the broader perspective of major trends affecting Europe during the Bell Beaker period and then the Early Bronze Age, while the distribution of arrowheads with slanted barbs suggests the operation of an Atlantic cultural complex.

Human mobility has been vigorously debated as a key factor for the spread of bronze technology and profound changes in burial practices as well as material culture in central Europe at the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. However, the relevance of individual residential changes and their importance among specific age and sex groups are still poorly understood. Here, we present ancient DNA analysis, stable isotope data of oxygen, and radiogenic isotope ratios of strontium for 84 radiocarbon-dated skeletons from seven archaeological sites of the Late Neolithic Bell Beaker Complex and the Early Bronze Age from the Lech River valley in southern Bavaria, Germany. Complete mitochondrial genomes documented a diversification of maternal lineages over time. The isotope ratios disclosed the majority of the females to be nonlocal, while this is the case for only a few males and subadults. Most nonlocal females arrived in the study area as adults, but we do not detect their offspring among the sampled individuals. The striking patterns of patrilocality and female exogamy prevailed over at least 800 y between about 2500 and 1700 BC. The persisting residential rules and even a direct kinship relation across the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age add to the archaeological evidence of continuing traditions from the Bell Beaker Complex to the Early Bronze Age. The results also attest to female mobility as a driving force for regional and supraregional communication and exchange at the dawn of the European metal ages.

Robotic pouring is an important step in improving the safety, productivity and repeatability in the biotechnology industry and generally increasing the effectiveness of robotics in human based environments. In this work we present a method to autonomously dispense a precise amount of fluid using only visual feedback without using precision pouring instruments such as pipettes, syringes or pourers. We model circular and rectangular pouring container geometries. We prove that for square containers we can control the flow by only observing the fluid height in the receiving beaker. We show a systematic approach using a hybrid control scheme that is robust to the initial amount of fluid in the pouring container and inconsistent flow. Specifically we present (a) a model for pouring (b) a model based algorithm to drive a robot arm (c) visual feedback for regulating the pouring rate. We demonstrate this using the Rethink Robotics Sawyer manipulator and mvBluefox MLC202bc camera.

In the context of unanswered questions about the nature and development of the Late Neolithic in Orkney, we present a summary of research up to 2015 on the major site at the Ness of Brodgar, Mainland Orkney, concentrating on the impressive buildings. Finding sufficient samples for radiocarbon dating was a considerable challenge. There are indications, from both features and finds, of activity pre-dating the main set of buildings exposed so far by excavation. Forty-six dates on thirty-nine samples are presented and are interpreted in a formal chronological framework. Two models are presented, reflecting different possible readings of the sequence. Both indicate that piered architecture was in use by the thirtieth century calbcand that the massive Structure 10, not the first building in the sequence, was also in existence by the thirtieth century calbc. Activity associated with piered architecture came to an end (in Model 2) around 2800 calbc. Midden and rubble infill followed. After an appreciable interval, the hearth at the centre of Structure 10 was last used around 2500 calbc, perhaps the only activity in an otherwise abandoned site. The remains of some 400 or more cattle were deposited over the ruins of Structure 10: in Model 2, in the mid-twenty-fifth century calbc, but in Model 1 in the late twenty-fourth or twenty-third century calbc. The chronologies invite comparison with the near-neighbour of Barnhouse, in use from the later thirty-second to the earlier twenty-ninth century calbc, and the Stones of Stenness, probably erected by the thirtieth century calbc. The Ness, including Structure 10, appears to have outlasted Barnhouse, but probably did not endure as long in its primary form as previously envisaged. The decay and decommissioning of the Ness may have coincided with the further development of the sacred landscape around it; but precise chronologies for other sites in the surrounding landscape are urgently required. The spectacular feasting remains of several hundred cattle deposited above Structure 10 may belong to a radically changing world, coinciding (in Model 2) with the appearance of Beakers nationally, but it was arguably the, by now, mythic status of that building which drew people back to it.

Background Recent aDNA studies are progressively focusing on various Neolithic and Hunter - Gatherer (HG) populations, providing arguments in favor of major migrations accompanying European Neolithisation. The major focus was so far on the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), which introduced the Neolithic way of life in Central Europe in the second half of 6th millennium BC. It is widely agreed that people of this culture were genetically different from local HGs and no genetic exchange is seen between the two groups. From the other hand some degree of resurgence of HGs genetic component is seen in late Neolithic groups belonging to the complex of the Funnel Beaker Cultures (TRB). Less attention is brought to various middle Neolithic cultures belonging to Late Danubian sequence which chronologically fall in between those two abovementioned groups. We suspected that genetic influx from HG to farming communities might have happened in Late Danubian cultures since archaeologists see extensive contacts between those two communities. Results Here we address this issue by presenting 5 complete mitochondrial genomes of various late Danubian individuals from modern-day Poland and combining it with available published data. Our data show that Late Danubian cultures are maternally closely related to Funnel Beaker groups instead of culturally similar LBK. Conclusions We assume that it is an effect of the presence of individuals belonging to U5 haplogroup both in Late Danubians and the TRB. The U5 haplogroup is thought to be a typical for HGs of Europe and therefore we argue that it is an additional evidence of genetic exchange between farming and HG groups taking place at least as far back as in middle Neolithic, in the Late Danubian communities. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0924-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study integrates archaeological, zooarchaeological and taphonomic results from the Chalcolithic, the earliest chronological period from the excavations at Castro de Chibanes (Palmela, Portugal). Preliminary results from the “Horizonte IA” (Phase IA1 and IA2), regarding the first half of the 3 rd millennium BC will be presented. The faunal assemblage consists of a total of 858 remains. These predominantly comprise of domestic mammals – particularly pigs, sheep and goats – which are interpreted as food supply. With low percentages of wild game, animal husbandry emerges as a central activity for these populations, complimented by marine fishing. In addition, small game hunting – mainly of lagomorphs and a few birds – is also identified. As at other archaeological sites in the region, the material culture suggests that Castro de Chibanes can be ascribed to the cultural domain of the pre-Bell Beaker Chalcolithic of Estremadura. Particularly comparative sites include Leceia, Zambujal and Penedo do Lexim, also fortified settlements with high rates of domestic livestock (suids and caprines) and extremely low percentages of wild game, in particular red deer.

This paper presents the results of the study of the particle size distribution of the limonite sludge that occurs as a hydro-cyclone overflow in the Omarska iron mine. The primary role of the precise characterization of grains of mineral raw material is in obtaining quantitative data about their particle size and analysis of the distribution of mineral grains by volume, which is a necessary step in controlling the processes of the iron ore beneficiation. Since the overflow of the hydro-cyclone size class is -25 μm, in this paper the following methods of sub-sieve analysis are used: sedimentation method-Beaker decantation; pipetting method by Andreasen-Borner; and Warman cyclosizer. Different methods were used in order to analyze the compliance of the results, as well as comparison of them, because expensive and rapid instrumental methods are often unavailable in practice. Also, the content of iron in the sludge varies, so the correlation of iron content with granulometric particle distribution was analyzed. These analyzes were carried out on two samples of sludge with different average iron content (29.43% and 41.19%). On both samples the iron content was determined per size class. The results showed a largest iron content in the smallest classes (-9+6 microns). These results indicate the necessity of applying some of the methods for selectively separating fine particles (such as selective flocculation, for example) in a further process of preparation.

We investigate the absorption of diffusing molecules in a fluid-filled spherical beaker that contains many small reactive traps. The molecules are absorbed either by hitting a trap or by escaping via the beaker walls. In the physical situation where the number $N$ of traps is large and their radii $a$ are small compared to the beaker radius $R$, the fraction of molecules $E$ that escape to the beaker wall and the complementary fraction $T$ that eventually are absorbed by the traps depend only on the dimensionless parameter combination $\lambda = Na/R$. We compute $E$ and $T$ as a function of $\lambda$ for a spherical beaker and for beakers of other three-dimensional shapes. The asymptotic behavior is found to be universal: $1- E\sim \lambda$ for $\lambda\to 0$ and $E\sim\lambda^{-1/2}$ for $\lambda\to\infty$., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2-column revtex format

En este artículo se presenta la vajilla campaniforme de las comarcas de L’Alcoià y El Comtat a través de un trabajo de recopilación bibliográfica y presentación de nuevos materiales procedentes de excavaciones, rebuscas y prospecciones, todos ellos depositados en el Museu Arqueològic Municipal Camil Visedo Moltó de Alcoy, el Centre d’Estudis Contestans y el Museu Arqueològic d’Ontinyent i la Vall d’Albaida. El estudio se ha elaborado desde de la perspectiva del Estilo cerámico con el objetivo de sistematizar el trabajo de análisis y comparación de las formas, técnicas y decoraciones. En aquest article es presenta la vaixella campaniforme de les comarques de l’Alcoià i el Comtat a través d’un treball de recopilació bibliogràfic i presentació de nous materials procedents d’excavacions, rebusques i prospeccions, tots ells depositats al Museu Arqueològic Municipal Camil Visedo Moltó d’Alcoi, al Centre d’Estudis Contestans i al Museu Arqueològic d’Ontinyent i la Vall d’Albaida. L’estudi s’ha elaborat des de la perspectiva de l’Estil ceràmic amb l’objectiu de sistematitzar el treball de càlcul i comparació de les formes, tècniques i decoracions. This paper presents the beaker pottery from the L’Alcoià and El Comtat regions through a bibliographical compilation and presentation of new materials from excavation and prospecting works, all deposited in Museu Arqueològic Municipal Camil Visedo Moltó of Alcoy, Centre d’Estudis Contestans and Museu Arqueològic d’Ontinyent i la Vall d’Albaida. A study has been performed from the perspective of style with the aim of systematizing analysis and comparison of forms, techniques and decorations. Parte de este trabajo se la realizado en el seno del proyecto I+D+i “HAR2016-76586-P Espacios sociales y espacios frontera durante el Calcolítico y la Edad del Bronce en el Levante de la península Ibérica” financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y el FEDER.

In the Late Neolithic in Southern France, collective burials are very well documented. However, numerous single burials have also been discovered in domestic settlements. One of our purposes is to provide information regarding unpublished or partially unpublished single burials from three sites located in Provence : Le Clos de Roque, Les Fabrys and Les Martins. The second goal is to discuss the meaning of this mortuary practice whereas collective burials are the most frequent funerary treatment documented in this region. The preventive archaeological excavation in 2011 of the Clos de Roque deposit (Saint-Maximin la Sainte Baume, Var), revealed pre-and protohistoric remains over 11,200 m2. Two silo pits attributable to the Late Neolithic delivered human remains. The feature FS 23 was partially filled before a young woman was placed in it. She was laid prone, without any goods. The pit was filled after the body was deposited. The feature ST 2247 was also partially filled before the human remains were put in it. The bones are disarticulated and the body of a young individual is incomplete. No goods are associated with the human remains. The Les Fabrys site (Bonnieux, Vaucluse) was excavated in the 1980s, over an area of 1,200 m2. The burial is located at some distance from the domestic settlement. The limits of the pit were not visible in the subsoil. Two individuals are superposed. The first one, an old woman, was laid on her left side, upper and lower limbs flexed. The body decomposed in an empty space. The second body, incomplete, is separated from the first deposit by a layer of sediment. The young woman lies on her back, the left arm flexed, hand on shoulder. The lower limbs are extended but the thigh is flexed. No items were found. The excavation at the site of Les Martins (Roussillon, Vaucluse) in 1986 revealed Middle and Late Neolithic remains. Five pits contained human remains. Two of them belong to the Late Neolithic. Both pits are circular. The body of an adolescent lay on the bottom of pit S 93. He was covered by a few stones. He lay on his right side, lower limbs flexed, with no goods. Feature S 104 was partially filled before the human remains were deposited. The position of the individual, an adult male, is singular. He was probably not slid into the feature, but deposited, in a seated position, the upper part of his body partially on the lower limbs. Both pits were filled in after the corpses were deposited. In the South of France, Late Neolithic individual burials have been known since the beginning of the 20th century. They are however more numerous since the development of preventive archaeology. These discoveries shed new light on funerary customs at the end of the Neolithic. Collective burials are very well documented and provide a huge number of deceased compared with the Early and Middle Neolithic. These tombs were usually used over a very long period of time and led to commingled assemblages of bones. As a consequence, it is difficult to identify changes in the treatment of bodies over time and between individuals. Moreover, the relations between collective burials and settlements are not very well known. Recently, it has been argued that collective burial gives only the illusion of equality and that people gathered in death enjoyed different social status. It is also likely that only some of the community members had access to the collective tomb. We may, thus, wonder, where and how the others were treated. We propose that the individual burials associated with domestic contexts could give some clues on this issue. Most of the burials we list are installed in pits or associated with features related to domestic activities. Very few individuals are associated with grave goods and some of the subjects seem to have been slid down into the pit rather than deposited with care. Such configurations are very well known in the Middle Neolithic and considered as a particular form of treatment devoted to only a small part of the community. We propose that this treatment was, in the Late Neolithic, allotted to individuals who were not allowed burial in the collective tomb. Remains of babies are rather rare in the Middle and Late Neolithic. However, in this period it seems that they were carefully disposed in close relation to residential features, as in Protohistoric periods and Antiquity, whereas, in the previous period, it is likely that their bodies were thrown into domestic pits or wells. However, in some cases, the grouping of single tombs could have been an alternative to collective graves. Some cultural groups may have had a different ideology and chosen another way of dealing with their dead that probably reflects a different social organization. Late Neolithic single burials also give new parameters for the discussion of single Bell Beaker graves. This culture has for a long time been associated with the reappearance of the fashion for individual burials. It is more complex than it seems. Firstly, single burials never disappeared in the Late Neolithic. Secondly, they are rather different from single burials containing Bell Beaker items. Grave goods and/ or ornaments are very abundant in Late Neolithic collective tombs and absent in single burials, emphasizing the difference between the two customs. Funerary items such as daggers and pottery in Bell Beaker single tombs indicate a very different status of the deceased compared with those of the Late Neolithic. Individuality has neither the same value nor the same signification in the Bell Beaker Culture as in the other Late Neolithic cultures. Human remains in domestic settlements are known on other areas of France, such as the West and South-West, in enclosure ditches. However, single burials in domestic pits are specific to Southern France and probably correspond to configurations known in the Middle Neolithic, reflecting very similar mortuary meanings., Dans le Midi de la France, de très nombreuses sépultures collectives datant du Néolithique final ont été recensées. Des inhumations individuelles en contexte domestique sont également attestées sur plusieurs gisements. Nous ajoutons à ce corpus trois sites provençaux : le Clos de Roque (Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, Var), les Fabrys (Bonnieux, Vaucluse) et les Martins (Roussillon, Vaucluse). Le premier a fait l’objet d’une fouille récente, les deux autres opérations datent des années 1980. La documentation est inégale, notamment pour ces dernières, dans la mesure où l’opération a eu lieu avant le plein développement d’une réelle archéologie préventive et surtout de l’anthropologie de terrain. Le Clos de Roque a livré deux structures domestiques partiellement comblées avant l’apport de corps complets ou partiels. Deux inhumations superposées dans un creusement dont les limites ne sont pas visibles ont été découvertes sur le site des Fabrys. Sur les cinq inhumations individuelles du site des Martins, deux datent du Néolithique final. L’une d’entre elles était partiellement comblée avant le dépôt de l’individu. Dans la seconde, le sujet repose sur le fond de la fosse. Ces six inhumations présentent entre elles des points communs, notamment le type de structure ainsi que l’absence ou la quasi-absence de mobilier associé mais, aussi, une certaine variabilité : la localisation de l’individu dans la fosse, la position des sujets, la situation de la fosse par rapport à l’habitat auquel elle est ou semble associée, et leur place chronologique dans le Néolithique final. En faisant le point sur les inhumations en contexte domestique dans la région d’étude, nous proposons un lien étroit entre ces configurations, qui ne correspondent pas toutes à des sépultures, et celles observées au Néolithique moyen dans des contextes comparables. D’autres traitements des morts, hors des sépultures collectives, sont également connus au Néolithique final. Nous discutons de l’apport de ces découvertes pour la caractérisation des pratiques mortuaires de cette période, notamment la relation entre les inhumations individuelles, parfois plurielles, et les sépultures collectives, entre alternative et complémentarité., Schmitt Aurore, Remicourt Maxime, Anna André d'. Inhumations individuelles en contexte domestique au Néolithique final en France méridionale. Une alternative à la sépulture collective ?. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 114, n°3, 2017. pp. 469-496.

The thin section analysis of a series of Bell Beaker geometric dotted style ceramics and of a mixed beaker from the city of Avignon (Vaucluse) allowed us to consider the current state of our knowledge and to reflect in an innovative manner on the Bell Beaker implantation in the South of France. The starting point of the study showed that the majority of the clay resources are local and come from the exploitation of a natural mixture of Rhone alluvions and lateral carbonate contributions. Apart from the mixed beaker, ceramics made from these clays were all tempered only with crushed calcite. The places of origin of the clays of the other two families, represented by only one vase each, are farther away, without it being possible to be more specific. Moreover, these two vases were the only ones that were tempered with grog. These data have made it possible to establish that geometric dotted style productions present in Avignon included various practices implemented in different geographical areas ; one of the two foreign vases, moreover, has a paste that also contained crushed carbonates. On the other hand, in Avignon, on the basis of the samples analysed, the practice of tempering ceramics with grog does not seem to have existed ; only the presence of crushed calcite could be identified for locally manufactured geometric dotted productions. Within the series analysed, two types of temper were therefore used. The first, the most commonly used, corresponds to the crushed calcites present in the majority of pastes of decorated Bell Beaker pottery as well as in that of the pre-oral rope vase. Grog, which is the second temper, was introduced only in the pastes of the two foreign vases. In western Provence, crushed calcite is a temper which has already been identified in the pastes of decorated Bell Beakers vases from Les Calades (Orgon, Bouches-du-Rhône) and Les Barres (Eyguières, Bouches-du-Rhône), which are stylistically similar to those of Avignon, as well as in the pastes of Rhodano-Provençal decorated production from Collet-Redon (Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône). To the west of the Rhone, in eastern Languedoc, very few Bell Beaker ceramics of the same style as those from Avignon are known and none have been analysed. Very few petrographic analyses were carried out on beakers attributed to J. Guilaine’s early phase, which proved to be almost never tempered with crushed calcite. On the other hand, the use of crushed calcite is largely attested for the ceramics of the Rhodano-Provençal group and the associated common ceramics in eastern Languedoc. Since the Early Neolithic, crushed calcite has been traditionally used as a temper by potters in Provence and in eastern Languedoc. A large part of the Late Neolithic productions from Provence contain it and it is omnipresent in the pottery from the other Late Neolithic sites (Fontbouisse) in the Gard and the east of the Herault département. The Avignon series has especially brought results for local vases of the geometric dotted style that have been confronted with the data previously obtained on other corpuses from Provence and Languedoc. The new data acquired over the past few years allow two hypotheses to be envisaged. The first is to consider that the Bell Beaker potters originally corresponded to individuals from the same substratum, possessing a unique and common (but no longer determinable) practice, or they may also correspond to geographically heterogeneous individuals, without a single practice concerning the use or otherwise of tempers. In both cases, when settling in, they would have adopted the cultural practices of the populations of the local substratum. This would involve the borrowing of clay preparation recipes from indigenous populations. The second hypothesis resumes a proposition already presented in a previous study. In order to explain the characteristics of the geometric dotted production of phase 2 of J. Guilaine’s model, we proposed that at the end of the Neolithic, after an initial phase (phase 1) of short duration (probably some decades) during which the beakers were made locally by individuals foreign to the substratum, part of the indigenous population copied these beakers and then quickly created new shapes while diversifying the decoration. The first proposal implies that the Bell Beaker potters who wished to establish themselves systematically adopted local cultural practices concerning the temper for the preparation of the ceramic pastes of each population of the substratum present on the territory where they settled. This hypothesis is quite plausible because several ethno-archaeological studies have shown that potters displaced into another human group can modify their know-how under the influence of the traditions of the populations in which they settle. Such borrowing may concern the temper but also shaping or decoration techniques. The nature and duration of contacts appear to be important. The reasons given for such borrowing are the ease and speed of shaping as well as consumer demand. These types of borrowing do not seem to be retained in the case of the Bell Beaker potters since the forms and the decorations are radically different from those of the indigenous productions. Nevertheless, the adoption of a locally used temper may have helped spread the beakers among indigenous populations. The second hypothesis that we have chosen to privilege and develop is the opposite of the previous one. It is not the newcomers who borrow traditions but the natives who adopt a new ceramic form, the beaker. This hypothesis explains why the Bell Beaker productions are identical to the ceramics of the substratum, from the point of view of the use of temper, in particular crushed calcite, since they were made by the same local cultural groups. Moreover, this hypothesis also explains the systematic presence on the Bell Beaker sites of substratum ceramics other than through acquisitions made with indigenous populations. Nevertheless, a specificity can differentiate Bell Beaker productions from other locally made ceramics because, on the left bank of the Rhone, at Calades and Barres, but also in Avignon in the case of the two allochtonous ceramics, grog is found, in association with the crushed calcite still used in most productions. This hypothesis thus makes it possible to propose a renewed reading of modalities concerning the borrowing, reinterpretation and development of Bell Beaker ceramics by some of the potters of the indigenous cultures of the Late Neolithic following the first contacts with individuals foreign to the substratum. In particular, they highlight the variability of the behaviour of potters who use this pottery with, in particular, the manufacture of stylistically similar ceramics in different places according to distinct practices, but which are largely identical with local traditions. This situation can be observed in current traditional societies where borrowing mechanisms can be rapid, in the region of a few decades. Imitations can be the result of the arrival of a new potter with his own decors, which is very close to the situation envisaged for the Bell Beaker culture. On the other hand, the time required for the appearance of new ceramic decorations and forms is difficult to access by ethno-archaeology, but archaeological examples from lakeside sites which have yielded dilated stratigraphic sequences allow an order of magnitude of a few decades for this period., L’analyse en lames minces d’une série de céramiques campaniformes de style pointillé géométrique issues des fouilles réalisées par J. Courtin et G. Sauzade en Avignon dans les années 1960-1970 a permis de déterminer les origines des terres exploitées, le plus souvent locales mais avec des vases étrangers aux contextes géologiques des sites, ainsi que la nature des dégraissants introduits dans ces terres au moment de la préparation des pâtes. Ces analyses complètent celles réalisées il y a 25 ans sur les céramiques de même style d’autres sites provençaux et plus récemment languedociens. Elles ont également été confrontées aux analyses réalisées sur des corpus de vases attribués aux cultures autochtones. Même si macroscopiquement la céramique campaniforme de style pointillé géométrique (style 2 d’O. Lemercier) est nettement différente de celle des groupes culturels locaux (Fontbouisse, Vérazien), elle présente en fait une proximité marquée dans l’emploi des types de dégraissant, lorsqu’ils ont été introduits dans les pâtes, ainsi que des terres exploitées similaires. Ces convergences ne peuvent pas être le fruit du hasard et résultent vraisemblablement de relations étroites, de transferts et d’emprunts entre potiers de différentes traditions. Nous proposons d’expliquer cette situation par la mise en place de relations précoces dans le Sud de la France entre les populations autochtones et des individus étrangers qui fabriquent en majorité localement des gobelets campaniformes. Une adoption probablement rapide (quelques décennies) de cette céramique par une partie des indigènes conduit à la création de nouvelles formes et à la diversification des décors comme cela est illustré sur les sites d’Avignon, mais également d’autres sites provençaux et languedociens., Convertini Fabien. Les dégraissants des céramiques des sites d’Avignon (Vaucluse). Nouvelles données, nouvelles visions de l’implantation du Campaniforme dans le Midi de la France. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 114, n°4, 2017. pp. 691-710.

Bell Beaker pottery spread across western and central Europe beginning around 2750 BCE before disappearing between 2200–1800 BCE. The mechanism of its expansion is a topic of long-standing debate, with support for both cultural diffusion and human migration. We present new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 170 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 100 Beaker-associated individuals. In contrast to the Corded Ware Complex, which has previously been identified as arriving in central Europe following migration from the east, we observe limited genetic affinity between Iberian and central European Beaker Complex-associated individuals, and thus exclude migration as a significant mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, human migration did have an important role in the further dissemination of the Beaker Complex, which we document most clearly in Britain using data from 80 newly reported individuals dating to 3900–1200 BCE. British Neolithic farmers were genetically similar to contemporary populations in continental Europe and in particular to Neolithic Iberians, suggesting that a portion of the farmer ancestry in Britain came from the Mediterranean rather than the Danubian route of farming expansion. Beginning with the Beaker period, and continuing through the Bronze Age, all British individuals harboured high proportions of Steppe ancestry and were genetically closely related to Beaker-associated individuals from the Lower Rhine area. We use these observations to show that the spread of the Beaker Complex to Britain was mediated by migration from the continent that replaced >90% of Britain’s Neolithic gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the process that brought Steppe ancestry into central and northern Europe 400 years earlier.

Little is known about arable agriculture in the Early Neolithic (4000–3300 cal BC, Funnel Beaker Culture) of Southern Scandinavia. Archaeobotanical material is rare and few archaeological sites have yielded more than a small number of charred cereal grains. In this short communication, we present single-entity carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of charred cereals from Stensborg, an early Funnel Beaker Culture site near Stockholm, Sweden. This cereal assemblage is important as it is large, well-preserved and consists of multiple crop species. Our isotopic results indicate that many of the Stensborg cereal crops had been manured and that there is intra- and inter-species variation in manuring. We interpret these data as evidence of an integrated regime of stock-keeping and small-scale agriculture in the early Funnel Beaker Culture near its northernmost limit.

Wells constitute a seldom, but important archive particularly as a source for reconstructing prehistoric economy. For the newly discovered Middle Neolithic well of the Funnel Beaker North Group at the domestic site of Oldenburg-Dannau LA77 (North Germany), a deposition of settlement refuse in a former well was documented. Due to depositional processes, the remains provided a detailed palaeo-ecological and archaeological archive for a short time-span around 3050 cal BC. The integration of wells in Middle Neolithic water management strategies, the high value of cereal production including cereal threshing in the settlement and the documentation of a large number of querns as well as the early management of "fruit gardens" were reconstructed. Subsequently, the probabilities of profane versus ritual social praxis associated with the depositional process were discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ChEMBL Beaker is an open source web framework, exposing a versatile chemistry-focused API (Application Programming Interface) to support the development of new cheminformatics applications. This paper describes the current functionality offered by Beaker and outlines the future technology roadmap.

Charcoal from six Neolithic Funnel Beaker sites in the lowlands of Germany was investigated, providing information on the woods used at these sites. The species assemblages reflect the composition of the woodlands surrounding the sites, and represent the individual natural site conditions. Two of the sites are situated in wetlands (Oldenburg and Wolkenwehe). Here, high values of Alnus and Fraxinus were found, both typical taxa on wet soils. These taxa are also common at sites with a smaller proportion of wetlands (Triwalk and Flintbek), where Quercus is more important. At the two sites which are situated on dry soils further south-east (Ludelsen and Belleben), Quercus is the dominant taxa, and Pinus is more frequent. Besides the reflection of the forest composition, the impact of human activity on the landscapes can be seen in the assemblages. Light demanding species as Corylus and Maloideae show high values indicating an opening of the forests by Neolithic farmers. The Maloideae values are only low at Wolkenwehe and Ludelsen. At Wolkenwehe this can be explained by the potential activity range for wood collection on the surrounding wetlands and at Ludelsen by nutrient-poor soil conditions, which are also indicated by Pinus. An important aspect of charcoal analysis is to compare different sampling methods. In this study, results from handpicked charcoal can be compared with those from floated sediment samples for two sites. Some differences appear, for example higher values of Pinus in the floated samples. This may be explained with fragmentation processes or displacement.

New aspects of prehistoric forest use and human activities around megalithic graves were inferred from a palaeoecological study at Krahenberg, northern Germany. Five megalithic graves of the Funnel Beaker Culture are located very close, i.e. ca. 100 m south-west of a small mire which was investigated for pollen and charcoal records. This unique situation provides a detailed reconstruction of the local vegetation development and fire history for the area surrounding the megalithic graves, by investigating a peat core sequence, and backed by 11 AMS C-14 measurements and archaeological data. The deciduous forests experienced a slight reduction in the canopy around 3500 cal. BC, suggesting an increased but weak human impact, possibly associated with the construction of the megalithic graves. Following the period of anthropogenic activity, forest recovery occurred over a period of about 400 years. Our results suggest that the designated site was isolated from settlements and arable fields during the Neolithic period. The graves were imbedded in a woodland landscape. Although forest disturbance occurred during the Neolithic period, intense human impact associated with arable farming first commenced during the Bronze Age. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detecting the intensity of human activities relating to ritual and subsistence behaviours is a daunting challenge in cases where settlement sites are not readily detectable in the archaeological record. We explore the utility of using palynological and archaeological data derived from monumental burial complexes in order to better understand the relationship between ritual activity and subsistence activities. Our case study focuses on the late Funnel Beaker (3500–2900 cal BC) and Single Grave periods (2900–2200 cal BC) in northern Germany. Here, high values for ritual activities correlated significantly with high values for economically induced landscape opening for the megalithic period (3500–3100 cal BC). In the Single Grave Period, an overall agreement of general trends between the two proxies can be observed, i.e. a declining trend in economic activity is generally associated with decreasing evidence for ritual activities and vice versa. Furthermore, our results suggest regional variation in the intensities of ritual and economic activity during both the Funnel Beaker and the Single Grave periods. We postulate a Funnel Beaker core area in the eastern part of the study area, where interdependent economic and ritual structures formed a basis for a stable socio-economic system which inherited the resilience to the adoption of innovations and new ideologies. In the western part, Funnel Beaker groups with a less intensive economic impact and a weaker interlinkage of ritual and economic activities were more open to ritual innovations emerging after 2900 cal BC, as expressed by the construction of Single Grave burials.

Monumental ditches and Bell Beakers are two key phenomena in later prehistoric Europe involved in the study of El Ventorro, near Madrid. In this article, we discuss and develop an analytical protocol for a thorough characterisation of the patterns of breakage, abrasion, and representation of ceramics. The procedure is tested with a large ceramic sample from ‘Pithouse 013’, an unusually rich context which challenges stereotypical accounts of the domestic sphere, feasting, and prestige goods deposition. This sunken feature was filled with a heterogeneous mixture of recently broken remains and secondary residues, and is reinterpreted here as a ditch segment instead of everyday fossilised occupation surfaces. The paper sheds important new light on depositional practices, the social biographies of Beaker pottery, and the infilling of ditched enclosures. It also allows the assessment of the potential of this integrated re-fitting and taphonomic strategy to illuminate poorly understood aspects of pottery in a range of time–place contexts.

Three experiments were conducted to determine the influence of hotplate surface temperature (250, 300, 350, and 400°C), pasta-to-water ratio, and beaker material (glass versus stainless steel) on the final quality of cooked spaghetti. In all the experiments, 13, 20, 27, 33, and 48 g of pasta were cooked and its final quality measured as cooking loss, cooked weight, and cooked firmness. Cooking time was greater when cooked at 250 than 400°C, with 48 than 13 g of pasta, and with a glass than with a stainless steel vessel. Cooking loss, cooked weight, and cooked firmness were greater when cooked at 400 than 250°C, with 13 than 48 g of pasta, and with a stainless steel than with a glass vessel. Evidence of the effects of hotplate surface temperature, pasta-to-water ratio, and beaker material on pasta cooking time and cooked quality suggests that these parameters should be addressed in AACC International Approved Method 66-50.01.

Bothros of the Tumulus culture found at the state administrational boundary of Ménfőcsanak. Spiral decoration on the clay frieze of a building. The report focuses on only one feature of the preventive archaeological excavation performed on an area of 277,165 m2. In addition to the bones of cattle, domesticated pig, sheep and sheep/goat, as well as carp and pike in the pit, the skeleton of a child (aging between 5 and 8) identified as Inf. I/II was placed in a large bowl (pithos?). In addition to the fragments of two grinding stones with plant remains and phytoliths, as well as food remains and charcoal fragments referring to burning, and to many fractured vessels, such as storage vessels, dishes, knob-footed beaker, portable hearth (pyraunos?), the fragment of the clay frieze of a building was placed nearby the sacrificed child. The data processing by natural sciences was supplemented by two AMS 14C data. This feature can be dated to the second half of the Koszider Period. This report also describes the reconstruction of the building appliqué, the decoration motif of the clay plastic art, and its analogues, and particularly three transportation “corridors/routes”, through which this aesthetical innovation might have been exported.

Flint daggers are a well-known and closely studied category of artefact found throughout western Europe during the final centuries of the Neolithic and the earliest phases of metal use. They are widely linked to the adoption of metal objects and metallurgy – in many cases being described as copies of metal daggers. In Britain, several hundred flint daggers have been recovered from a variety of contexts, among the best known of which are a handful of rich Beaker single inhumation burials. The British flint daggers were of great interest to early archaeologists, and were the subject of several publications in the early 20th century, most notably the seminal 1931 typochronology and catalogue by W.F. Grimes. However, despite 80 years of evolution in our understanding of the British Early Bronze Age, Beaker burials, European flint daggers, and lithic technology in general, little further attention has been accorded to the British flint daggers. This paper returns to the flint daggers deposited in British contexts. It proposes a new classification for British daggers, distinguishing between those probably produced in Britain and those brought in from elsewhere on the continent. It further examines thechaîne opératoirefor these daggers based on their final form as no production locales are yet known and examines in detail the choices made in their deposition, not just in funerary contexts but on dry land and, most importantly, in wet contexts. Finally, it proposes a sequence of development for British flint daggers which links them technologically and morphologically to lanceolate Scandinavian daggers in circulation in the Netherlands. It is suggested that people in south-east Britain knowingly played up this Dutch connection in order to highlight a specific ancestral identity linking them directly to communities across the Channel.

The aim of this paper is to examine a Chalcolithic deposit found within a pit. The deposit contains a significant amount of Beaker pottery, amongst other artefacts, as well as a few human bones and a peculiar faunal assemblage. The singularity of the faunal remains found made it necessary to carry out a detailed taphonomic study, since the deliberate selection of the anatomical parts of many species has been documented. The presence of pig foetal bones, possibly corresponding to different litters, is also noteworthy. The assemblage reveals diverse predepositional origins, also confirmed by radiocarbon dating: The cranial bone of an aurochs, which has undergone lengthy exposure, is the only finding in this pit with intensive weathering surface modification. This bone was probably introduced as a token at a later date, and is several hundred years older than the other dated sample from the pit.

For the first time, rachis fragments of tetraploid free threshing wheat were discovered for the Early Neolithic of the North European Plain, proving its cultivation by farmers of the Neolithic Funnel Beaker North group. A compilation of finds of free threshing wheat for Northern Europe based on a temporal resolution of Funnel Beaker sub-periods shows the importance of free threshing wheat—independent of genomic constitution—in the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker crop assemblage. Based on this new evidence, we assume that the crop assemblages of the first farmers on the North European Plain consisted of three main cereals: emmer, barley and free threshing wheat. Both the new finds and the compilation of free threshing wheat finds support the scenario of a chronological separation of different agricultural systems that were implemented within different Funnel Beaker phases. Furthermore, the evidence for tetraploid free threshing wheat shows that the tradition of early Funnel Beaker groups is linked to southwestern agricultural developments, for example, of the Michelsberg group.

This paper challenges customary archaeological accounts of non-megalithic tumuli during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Because of their wide range of regional and chronological variability across Atlantic Europe, rigid interpretative templates based on restrictive Western concepts such as ‘domestic’ or ‘funerary’ become inadequate. The analysis of several well-documented case studies in the Central Meseta (Iberia) through a programme of fieldwork prompts reconsideration of some uncontested assumptions extrapolated from research on megaliths and funerary contexts associated with Bell Beaker pottery. Some of these constructions lack actual layering or clear structures, their material assemblages are scarce, scattered and highly fragmented – including everyday residues and partial Beakers – and luxury items or human remains are barely recovered from them. The article discusses these peculiarities and confusing contents, commonly regarded as being the result of post-abandonment disturbance. A taphonom...

To formulate a solid chronology of the northwest Belgian Bronze Age barrow phenomenon, a critical review of the available radiocarbon dates was necessary. The resulting14C chronology of the barrows was compared with the14C chronologies of the Late Neolithic Bell Beaker graves, the Bronze Age metalwork depositions, the evidence of barrow reuse, and the Bronze Age longhouses. This research revealed interesting patterns concerning the appearance and disappearance of the barrow phenomenon. The earliest14C-dated barrows are dated during the Late Neolithic and coincide with the presence of the Bell Beaker culture in the region. The peak of the barrow-building practice occurred between 1700 and 1500/1400 cal BC, a period of flourishing trade networks in the regions along the North Sea basin. The period around 1500 cal BC is characterized by the disappearance of barrow-building practices and the sudden appearance of ritual depositional practices, reflecting changes in society.

A rare Chalcolithic rolled-gold bead-like ornament dated to c. 2400–2200 cal. BC was found in association with sherds of early Beaker ware in an Early Bronze Age Collared Urn burial dated to c. 1545–1450 cal. BC. The grave was located at Pendleton, Lancashire. This paper reports on the AMS radiocarbon dates for the burial context along with X-ray composition analysis of the gold ornament, which shows the object had a high platinum content consistent with alluvial, placer, deposits possibly originating in Brittany, France rather than the British Isles. This unparalleled rolled-gold ornament is compared to the corpus of British and French rolled-gold ornaments and contemporary goldwork and a provenance, manufacture and biography of the find is explored. Both curation and fragmentation are considered in the context of a dated Beaker ware assemblage from the local domestic site of Lower Brockholes, Preston, as well as existing corpora of Beaker and Collared Urn ware from the region.

This contribution of the absolute chronology for the Beaker culture presents the results of archaeological research that took place at Coval Simó (Mallorca) between 1998 and 2008. Coval Simó is a rockshelter situated at the summit of one of the mountains that forms part of the northern mountain range of the Serra de Tramuntana. The site provided an exceptional undisturbed context, shielding a small space of only 25 m2. Thin sedimentary layers were deposited in a short timespan and later were sealed off by large blocks due to a rockslide falling from the top of the rockshelter. This site has offered significant information related to the occupation of a human group linked to the Bell Beaker culture, and users of other distinctive undecorated pottery vessels. Direct evidence of early island metallurgy was also obtained: smelting slags from local copper minerals. Regarding the methodology used for analysis, short-lived samples were chosen for radiocarbon dating, consisting of bone fragments identified and classified taxonomically. The samples were submitted alternately to two different14C laboratories and the obtained results point to a clear horizon for the early human occupation of the site, ranging between about 2300 and 1900 cal BC.

[EN]This paper addresses the formation processes at an unparalleled Bronze Age settlement in the Iberian Meseta. The site of El Cerro (Burgos, Spain) presents a series of challenging features: the simultaneous inhumation of three subadults alongside a dwelling quarter and adjacent pits, some of them filled with apparent formality, including such anachronistic elements as Neolithic and Beaker items and several placed deposits, such as a leg of a cow. A critical evaluation of the contextual dataset, a re-fitting operation, and an assessment of the abrasion and size of a ceramic sample were carried out. The archaeological peculiarities of the site are explained as a contextually specific cultural response to a grievous and traumatic episode: the death of three young siblings, which entailed the abandonment of the settlement through prescribed practices. Some depositions are a product of recognizable intentionality, while others are regarded as unintended cumulative outcomes.

This investigation focuses on the human-induced transformation of landscapes by comparing two small-scale megalithic regions on the North German Plain. For this study two test areas were defined, each measuring 36 km(2). Archaeological information and palaeoecological proxies were implemented to investigate changes of the environment related to human activities of the Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) during the period from ca. 3800-2800 cal BC. The chronological framework was constructed with the help of Bayesian and aoristic modelling of AMS-dates, combining archaeological and radiometric information. Charcoal from the megalithic tombs provided on-site data that show human impact induced by the construction and further use of the graves. Off-site data originated from two pollen profiles of nearby bogs. They supply additional information on local and regional landscape development. The ratio of light-demanding to shade-tolerant woody species represents the degree of woodland openness. It is a value which can be determined for both anthracological as well as palynological data. A comparison of both proxies led to divergent results for the two chosen areas. The proxies can be associated quite well for the Haidberg area with regard to openness, whereas missing accordance of both palaeoecological data sets in the Flintbek region provides a strong argument for human impact on local levels. A settlement phase indicated by various non-arboreal pollen taxa was not confirmed for the Altmark Haidberg area before 3050 cal BC, but in the nearby area of Beetzendorf (7 km distance) at least since ca. 3200 cal BC. In the Flintbek region, two settlement phases of the FBC are visible, separated by a phase of forest regeneration, which was attributed to changes of settlement behaviour within the local Neolithic societies. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The lack of a unified system of description of vessels types of the Funnel Beaker culture in Lower Silesia means that heterogeneous terminology prevents precise classification of ceramic forms found at sites of the culture. The paper presents a proposition of a classification of vessels types of the Funnel Beaker culture developed on the basis of analyses of artefacts from Lower Silesian sites. It has been constructed in a way that enables its complement in case of new discoveries, not falling within the present scope

The paper presents the characteristics of burials of children in the Funnel Beaker (FBC) and Globular Amphora cultures (GAC) in the Lublin region. Only in two cases the remains of children were discovered in FBC settlements. In both cultures, in addition to the graves grouped on cemeteries, there were also single burials. Graves frequently had various constructions (usually stone), but also those of earth and graves without any at all were discovered. In FBC burials, the age groups of the same relative abundances, and thereby the largest, are a group of children – Infans I (1-7 years) and a group of adults – Adultus (20-30 years), while in GAC it is a group of adults – Adultus. A significant deficiency of the burials of children in both cultures was found by comparing their empirical proportion with expected attendance. The differences between FBC and GAC in cumulative distributions of relative abundances of different age groups, assessed by use of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, proved to be statistically insignificant at this stage of the research. In both cultures more children were buried in multiple graves. In the case of FBC the children were buried in a supine position, with the head facing west, while in the GAC they were found on their side, with the head facing west or south-east. Only a few, single burials of FBC children, in contrast to multiple burials, contained grave goods. In GAC most single and multiple burials contained grave goods

Spatial archaeology usually links population estimates to settlement functions. Normal (Gaussian) or binomial distributions of a variable reflecting population values are used for groups of sites identified as seasonal occupations, hamlets, villages, centers etc. However, using this approach the demographic development remains hidden in bell-curves. To solve this issue we propose a research procedure that considers spatio-demographic development of the population. Application of this procedure to Funnel Beaker sites in the Bronocice region led to the identification of at least 7 sub-phases in the ‘classical’ period Bronocice 3 (BR II) and 4 (BR III) and could be increased to 8-9 sub-phases

Ancient Sociology Archaeology has used analysis of the artifacts and remains of people to uncover their past behaviors and to infer their cultural practices. However, establishing genetic relationships has only recently become possible. Mittnik et al. examined the kinship and inheritance of the remains of people from the German Lech River Valley over a time period spanning the Late Neolithic Corded Ware Culture, the Bell Beaker Complex, the Early Bronze Age, and the Middle Bronze Age (see the Perspective by Feinman and Neitzel). From genetic and archaeological analyses, it was revealed that the Early Bronze Age household's burials over multiple generations consisted of a high-status core family and unrelated low-status individuals. Furthermore, women were not related to the men within the household, suggesting that men stayed within their birth communities in this society, but women did not. Science , this issue p. [731][1]; see also p. [682][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aax6219 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaz6574

In the present work, we examine the personal adornment in proboscidean ivory from the Bell Beaker period at the hypogeum of Padru Jossu, Sanluri (Sardinia, Italy) currently preserved in the Museo Civico Archeologico Villa Abbas of Sardara. For the first time, a complete study –morphological, use wear and archaeometric– of this material has been conducted. The typological study established two categories: buttons and pins. Those categories were also subdivided into three groups respectively. Technological and functional analyses were made difficult by the strong degradation of the items and the presence of glue and varnish. The archaeometric study highlighted the diverse provenances of the proboscidean ivories, suggesting a chronological difference in the geographical sources, as well as in the mobility patterns implicit in the movements of the raw material. The ivory from the older Stratum iii is predominantly from the Asian elephant, and in the later Stratum ii the exclusive supplier species is the African Savannah elephant. It is also important to mention that in the ensemble from Stratum iii, one of the items seems related to the Eastern types of ossi a globuli, linking this Asian ivory with an Aegean and Oriental axis of mobility.