ANALYSIS OF BONE FROM THE BRONZE AGE SITE BOVENKARSPEL-HET VALKJE,THE NETHERLANDS: A PRELIMINARY REPORT

Bones from a Bronze Age settlement in a low-lying area in The Netherlands were analysed for their content of strontium and certain other elements. Low strontium concentrations in the human bones indicate that part of the diet consisted of animal products. Milk and dairy products were probably also incorporated in the diet. This would have had a marked effect on the Sr/Ca ratio of the total diet and on the strontium content of human bones. Anomalous mean strontium concentrations for the animal species are tentatively explained in relation to the specific environment of the settlement. Different pasturing practices for cattle and sheep/goat respectively are possibly reflected by the strontium content of their bones.     

COPPER AND BRONZE DURING THE ENEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE: A METALLOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION OF AXES FROM THE NORTHALPINE REGION*

This paper presents the results of a metallographic examination of Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age axes from the Northalpine region of central Europe. During this period, different types of copper were in use: arsenical copper, Fahlerz copper and tin bronze. We examine if and to what extent the different properties of the metals used were known to prehistoric metalworkers and actively manipulated in the production of the axes. The development of methods of casting and smithing is discussed. Both aspects contribute to our understanding of the nature of prehistoric technological change. During the Early Bronze Age of the Northalpine region, different traditions of early metallurgy can be identified, which differ in their use of Fahlerz copper, their attitude towards tin alloying and the use made of tin bronze in the production of the axes. These traditions can only be adequately described by reference to both composition—that is, access to different types of copper as well as tin—and knowledge of the production techniques provided by metallographic data.     

THE HIGHLANDS of ABOBOREIRA (NORTH-WEST PORTUGAL): ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS FROM MIDDLE/LATE NEOLITHIC to EARLY BRONZE AGE. EVIDENCE FROM CHARCOAL ANALYSIS

Summary: Charcoal analysis data from 15 megalithic monuments in the highlands of Serra da Aboboreira, north-west Portugal, are presented and discussed. the results, interpreted only in terms of presence/absence of taxa, give us important information concerning the vegetal cover of this area and the relationships with man, from the Middle/Late Neolithic until the Early Bronze Age.     

THE PROVENANCE AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF BRONZE AGE AND IRON AGE POTTERY FROM TELL MISHRIFEH/QATNA (SYRIA)*

This work deals with the archaeometric study of the Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery from Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna (central‐western Syria), where the complete cycle of ceramic production is well documented. Petrographic, chemical and diffractometric analyses were carried out on both potsherds and a clayey material found in a separation basin within the area of the workshops. Petrographic groups were defined and maximum firing temperatures and redox firing conditions were estimated, providing constraints on identifying the production technology and its evolution with time. The studied potsherds turned out to be locally produced, with only a few cases of possible similarities with those described for other localities along the Orontes Valley, and in a couple of cases with evidence of pottery exchange.     

BRONZE AGE BARROWS ON THE HEATHLANDS OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND: CONSTRUCTION, FORMS AND INTERPRETATIONS

The Bronze Age barrows on the downs of southern England have been investigated and discussed for nearly 200 years, but much less attention has been paid to similar structures in the areas of heathland beyond the chalk and river gravels. They were built in a phase of expansion towards the end of the Early Bronze Age, and more were constructed during the Middle Bronze Age. They have a number of distinctive characteristics. This paper considers the interpretation of these monuments and their wider significance in relation to the pattern of settlement. It also discusses the origins of field systems in lowland England.     

HOUSES FOR THE DEAD AND CAIRNS FOR THE LIVING; A RECONSIDERATION OF THE EARLY TO MIDDLE BRONZE AGE TRANSITION IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Summary.   The Early to Middle Bronze Age transition period has often been interpreted as involving a move to 'rational' food-producing societies. More recently, models have been advanced which have highlighted the presence of ritualized practices within Middle Bronze Age society. However, many of these interpretations have largely been based upon evidence from excavated settlements in central southern England. This paper examines the need to consider the transition period at a more localized level and presents the evidence from south-west England.     

USING AND ABANDONING ROUNDHOUSES: A REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE FROM LATE BRONZE AGE–EARLY IRON AGE SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Summary.   It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric 'cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model.     

PATTERN WITHOUT A PLAN: RETHINKING THE BRONZE AGE COAXIAL FIELD SYSTEMS ON DARTMOOR, SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Summary.   The coaxial field systems on Dartmoor are widely interpreted as the result of a relatively rapid period of planned land division during the middle centuries of the second millennium BC. This article seeks to challenge this notion of a 'planned landscape'. Using examples from southern (Shaugh Moor) and north-eastern (Kestor and Shovel Down) Dartmoor, it is demonstrated that the boundaries materialized existing structures in the landscape which had emerged through patterns of dwelling and long histories of tenure. In seeking to present a new narrative for the enclosure of the Dartmoor landscape, it is argued that tenure was articulated at a local level through the relationship between occupancy and ancestral ties to the land, and that land division was only possible because the forms of tenure and perceptions of landscape were already in place. The coaxial pattern emerged in a reflexive tradition of boundary construction rather than as part of a transformative plan or a conscious strategy to reorganize and enclose the moor.     

PALAEOCLIMATIC IDENTIFICATION BASED ON AN ISOTOPE STUDY OF TRAVERTINE FROM THE COPPER AGE SITE AT LOS MILLARES,SOUTH-EASTERN SPAIN*

Remains of an aqueduct from the Copper Age settlement of Los Millares have been studied. The isotope results (—7‰ < δ¹⁸O — 5.3‰) show that the aqueduct was used to transport fresh water at room temperature. The results are inconsistent with the aqueduct being used for hot water transport or as a container for water exposed to evaporation processes. Both isotopic and mineralogical results were useful in identifying the origin and use of building materials and also in determining climatic conditions during the time of the settlement occupation.     

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WUCHENG CULTURE (IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERCULTURAL CONTACTS BETWEEN BRONZE AGE INHABITANTS OF THE LOWER YANGTZE VALLEY AND INDOCHINA PENINSULA)

In the present paper the author makes an attempt to generalize and analyze the fi nds of the late Neolithic and Paleometal Periods from the Middle and Lower Yangtze. The presence of stable contacts (including ethnologically signifi cant traits) is traced between the ancient cultures of this region and the Indochina Peninsula, inhabited by representatives of Austroasiatic peoples (the Viet, the Khmers). Based on comparisons, the Bronze and Iron Age inhabitants of the major part of South China are concluded to be Austroasian. Particular attention is paid to the Wucheng culture and its complex social structure.