How was Bell Beaker economy related to Corded Ware and Early Bronze Age lifestyles? Archaeological,botanical and palynological evidence from the Hegau,Western Lake Constance region

Abstract

The Europe wide spread of what has been called the Bell Beaker phenomenon remains an enigma of European prehistory. While most of the recent research stresses the ideological aspects of using Bell Beaker material culture, here we take a regional and economical perspective. We look for the chronological relationships and the economic choices of the Bell Beaker phase and of its closest neighbours in time and space: the Late Neolithic Corded Ware and the Early Bronze Age. We focus on the regional archaeological settlement history and present the hitherto richest European Bell Beaker-associated collection of palaeobotanical macro-remains, together with our high-resolution palynological work on annually laminated lake sediments. These different lines of evidence are tied together by an absolute chronology derived from new radiocarbon accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dates (now more than 200) and from the dendrodates from the World Heritage wet preserved pile dwellings. We show the preceding Late Neolithic, the actual Bell Beaker, and the following Early Bronze age economies each relying on different agricultural strategies that focus on distinct parts of the landscape. There is no link obvious between Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker, but there is between Bell Beaker and Early Bronze Age. Related to different modes of production, differences in ideology become visible in food preferences as well as in other parts of the material culture. We conclude that the Bell Beaker economy represents a re-orientation of the mode of production focusing on single, rather small farmsteads which often do not leave a distinct signal in the archaeological record.     

Swiss Bell Beaker population dynamics: eastern or southern influences?

The Bell Beaker complex is defined, above all, by a ceramic style widespread across Europe during the 3rd millennium BC. Its particularly large geographic distribution has provoked different interpretations: a unique population invading Europe, the long-distance exchange of prestige goods, and the absence of a real Bell Beaker population with only the diffusion of its cultural components. For Switzerland, the Bell Beaker period would have developed following influences varying in significance from both the Mediterranean region and Central Europe. Bioanthropology makes it possible to test the first of these hypotheses, which proposes the diffusion of a culture by population displacement. Here, the choice was made to analyze dental nonmetrics. Our previous research on dental nonmetrics supports the idea, for Switzerland, of a certain harmony in Middle Neolithic populations, and the mobility or a moderate population contribution beginning in the Final Neolithic and continuing more intensely during the Bell Beaker period. The aim here is to identify the provenance of the population contribution at the end of the western Swiss Neolithic, and more specifically during the Bell Beaker period. To do so, we have compared the dental morphology of Swiss pre-Bell Beaker, Bell Beaker, and post-Bell Beaker populations with that of contemporaneous populations found not only in the eastern sphere (Czech Republic and Hungary), but also in the southern sphere (southern France and northern Spain). We are now able to demonstrate that the axis for external population influences at the end of the western Swiss Neolithic is clearly southern.     

A Rich Bell Beaker Burial from Wellington Quarry, Marden, Herefordshire

An intact Bell Beaker grave was discovered in February 1996 at Wellington Quarry, Marden, Herefordshire. The unmarked flat grave had no signs of a ditch or barrow, but may have been timber lined. It contained a tanged copper knife, a shale wristguard fragment, four barbed and tanged arrowheads, three arrowhead blanks, three flint knives, two triangular points or small daggers and four flint flakes. The adult male inhumation was accompanied by a complete, Maritime (AOO) Bell Beaker and may be dated to 2750–2500 BC (Late Neolithic). It belongs to Case's Group D. A notable feature of the grave goods is their different states of wear and completeness, varying from pristine to old, and including a fragment of a wristguard.     

The definition and duration of the Beaker Culture in the Spanish Balearic Islands: a radiocarbon survey

This paper presents 45 radiocarbon dates demonstrating International Bell Beaker cultural contact and interaction with the Island of Mallorca, c. 2500 cal BC to 1300 cal BC. The radiocarbon documentation is accompanied by supporting artefactual and architectural evidence that demonstrates long-range seaborne exchange and a high degree of social complexity outside the Iberian Peninsula. The evidence has been collected over a thirty-four year period (1962–1996) from a number of sites which include cave, rock shelter, open-air settlement and ritual contexts. These demonstrate social, religious and economic activities which show an unusually rich variation and complexity, giving indications of social differentiation and local technological skills, such as water- and animal-management, architectural construction, as well as lithic, ceramic, metallurgical and other production, over some twelve hundred years.     

Points and prey: a quantitative test of the hypothesis that prey size influences early Paleoindian projectile point form

Understanding the causes of variation within and between projectile point types is an important task for Paleoindian archaeologists since they rely heavily on points to investigate such things as settlement dynamics and hunting practices. One long-held explanation for the variation in early Paleoindian point form is that prey size influenced the size and shape of projectile points. The study reported here evaluated this hypothesis with standard and geometric morphometric data recorded on Clovis and Folsom points from the Southern Plains and Southwest that are associated with mammoth or bison remains. Points used to hunt mammoth were found to be larger and of a different shape than points used to hunt bison, which supports the hypothesis. However, when both point type and prey size were taken into account, the results ran counter to predictions. Potential explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.     

The Organization of Late Paleoindian Lithic Procurement Strategies in Western Wisconsin

Abstract

The applicability of employing an organization of technology framework to the analysis of prehistoric lithic procurement strategies is demonstrated here. Analysis reveals that a spatial separation is present in the distribution of lithic raw materials used by Late Paleoindian populations in western Wisconsin. This raises the possibility that lithic raw material functioned as a stylistic indicator of group membership. To evaluate this suggestion microstylistic traits present on a large sample of diagnostic Late Paleoindian projectile points were examined. Significant differences in stylistic traits were observed between sample areas. Furthermore, these differences correspond to spatial differences in raw material use. The correlation between lithic raw material use and microstylistic traits is consistent with the idea that lithic raw material serves as a stylistic marker of group membership, and indicates the presence of some form of social boundary within western Wisconsin during the Late Paleo indian Period.     

The Ciempozuelos Necropolis skull: a case of double trepanation?

The focus of this study is the analysis of a trepanation performed on the skull of an adult male from the famous Bell Beaker necropolis of Ciempozuelos (Madrid) excavated at the end of the 19^th century. The unusual characteristics of the pottery and other associated grave goods gave rise to the use of the name ‘Ciempozuelos’ to define the regional Bell Beaker style; this refers to similar finds from other sites on the Meseta of central Spain. Although trepanations from Chalcolithic contexts in the Iberian peninsula are not infrequent, they are unusual in Bell Beaker inhumations. Furthermore, this skull is exceptional not only for the type of trepanation performed, but also for the subsequent cranial deformation apparently resulting from the operation, as well as evidence of a second subsequent trepanation which indicates a very short post‐surgical survival period for the individual. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An analysis of Folsom projectile point resharpening using quantitative comparisons of form and allometry

A sample of Folsom points from the Southern Plains of Texas and New Mexico is analyzed quantitatively in order to assess patterns of point resharpening in relation to distance to raw material source area and evaluate models of how resharpening was accomplished in terms of point design. A newly developed digitizing method is used to capture 12 interlandmark characters from coordinate data to describe point form. Principal components analysis is used to investigate size and shape variation in point form, and the symmetry and allometry of characters are used to explore the effects of resharpening on point dimensions. Size allometry illustrates the degree of association of relative point proportions, and other aspects of point form, with point size. Blade length, the leading edge of the weapon, was found to be isometric with point size, suggesting that this character was critical to the proper functioning of weapon tips. The regulation of blade length to point size supports a fixed-in-haft model for Folsom point resharpening. Multivariate analyses show that reduction in point forms do not correlate with distance-to-source but are more consistent with the model of the cyclical resharpening and replacement of points. This research illustrates that multivariate and allometric analyses are useful methods for investigating models of technological organization and the effects of resharpening on point form.     

Male symbols or warrior identities? The ‘archery burials’ of the Danish Bell Beaker Culture

The starting point of this paper is an analysis of 66 Danish burials, which contain flint daggers and archery equipment. The paper examines whether this tradition should be seen as an indication of the presence of organised warriors in the Danish early Late Neolithic, or if it rather reflects some kind of general warrior status related to maleness. In a Danish perspective the archery burials are closely connected to the Bell Beaker Culture of northern Jutland, and the custom seems to originate in the European Bell Beaker Culture, where ranked societies and warrior institutions have been argued to exist.     

Open Warfare or the Odd Skirmish? Bell Beaker Violence in the North‐Eastern Iberian Peninsula

Archaeological examples of violence in prehistory have increased in recent years. The evidence, methodology employed and interpretation of the data have been diverse, but in each case the myth of the ‘peaceful past’ is questioned. This work provides new data on the issue from the north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula, associated with the Bell Beaker culture (c.2800–2350 cal BC). Material from two megalithic tombs, Can Gol I and Can Gol II (Barcelona Province), in particular a set of flint arrowheads, has been revisited. Use‐wear analysis on the arrowheads confirmed the presence of impact fractures. This indicates that the arrowheads were not funerary offerings, but that they entered the graves lodged in the bodies of the deceased. The data from the only site with evidence of massive death by violence in the neighbouring region (Costa de Can Martorell) reinforce the hypothesis of episodes of conflict and violence during prehistory. However, the interpretation of the nature of such violence remains open to debate: was it an act of warfare or an occasional skirmish? And is the image of the Bell Beaker warrior identified in other European contexts also applicable to this area?     

Continent-wide or region-specific? A geometric morphometrics-based assessment of variation in Clovis point shape

Researchers have debated the existence of regional variation in Clovis points for over 60 years. Here, we report an attempt to resolve this argument using a large sample of Clovis points from dated assemblages and a suite of shape analysis methods known as geometric morphometrics. The study tested the two main hypotheses that have been put forward in the debate: the continent-wide adaptation hypothesis, which holds that Clovis points do not vary regionally, and the regional environmental adaptation hypothesis, which holds that there is regional variation as a consequence of Clovis groups adjusting their food-getting toolkits to local conditions. We used discriminant function analysis and a multivariate extension of the t test to assess whether differences in shape exist at two scales. The first set of analyses compared points from the most obvious environmental regions in North America, the East and the West. The second set of analyses investigated differences among points from subregions within the East and West. The analyses revealed significant differences between points from the East and the West and among points from some subregions. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these differences are not the result of the most common confounding factors, raw material quality and resharpening. As such, the analyses support the regional environmental adaptation hypothesis rather than the continent-wide adaptation hypothesis. We conclude from this that Clovis people modified their points to suit the characteristics of local prey and/or the habitats in which they hunted.     

Evidence of Iberian Bronze Age ‘Boquique’ Pottery in the Balearic Islands: Trade,Marriage or Culture?

Summary.   This paper deals with the recent discovery of Iberian 'Boquique' Bronze Age pottery on the Balearic Island of Mallorca. It marks the 'maritime' spread of this distinctive pottery into a geographic area not previously recorded. It should therefore be of particular interest to mainland investigators and others concerned with its geographical distribution as well as those dealing with long-distance trade and possible kinship links during the period. The find is further supported by the 'micaceous' and 'quartz' composition of the pottery clay fabric, since mica is not known on the island as a component of local clays. The presence of Boquique pottery with 'micaceous' clay properties is demonstrated by microphotographic slab and thin sections as well as chemical clay analysis. This suggests that the pottery was imported, either as a trade item or as personal possessions.
Along with recent evidence of earlier trade in exotic 'elephant' ivory and other items during Bell Beaker times, where the Boquique pottery appears to be a late intrusive element into local Beaker contexts ( Waldren 1998 ), this new evidence represents the first material sign of cultural maritime interaction (Boquique in the present case), either as demographic extension or commercial exchange of these cultural items into the area.
Furthermore, contextual radiocarbon dating surveys strongly indicate a date of 1700–1400 BC for the pottery, in accord both with recent Iberian mainland dates as well as the local archaeological sequence in which it was found.     

Projectile points,people, and Plains Paleoindian perambulations

Archaeologists generally agree that Paleoindian residential groups moved regularly over extremely large ranges. However, on the Great Plains, this argument depends substantially on datasets derived largely or entirely from projectile points rather than from systematic analysis of a wide range of artifacts. This paper argues that projectile points differ from most Paleoindian tools in ways that make such datasets unlikely to be reliable sources of information on range sizes. Furthermore, evidence from Paleoindian tool caches and the condition of discarded points suggest strongly that the raw material used to produce projectile points at least sometimes moved across the Plains independently of material used to make most other kinds of flaked stone tools. This, in turn, implies that not all stone used during Paleoindian times was procured by visits of whole residential groups to raw material sources, raising serious questions about the validity of widespread views of Paleoindian mobility.     

A geometric morphometrics-based assessment of blade shape differences among Paleoindian projectile point types from western North America

Blade shape features in the type definitions of Clovis, Folsom, and Plainview projectile points. However, the accuracy of these assessments has never been evaluated. Here we report a study in which geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistics were used to compare the shapes of the blades of Clovis, Folsom and Plainview points from the Southern Plains of North America. In the course of the analyses, we controlled for the impact of three potential confounding factors: allometry, differences in raw material quality, and resharpening. The analyses show that blade shape distinguishes Clovis points from both Folsom points and Plainview points, but does not distinguish Folsom points from Plainview points. The analyses also show that the similarities and differences in blade shape among the types are independent of allometry, raw material quality, and resharpening. These findings suggest that the type definitions for Clovis, Folsom and Plainview need to be altered. They also have implications for typing specimens that lack other defining characters (e.g. channel flakes, flutes). Lastly, the absence of resharpening effects raises questions about the validity of the reduction thesis.     

The Composition of the São Brás Copper Hoard in Relation to the Bell Beaker Metallurgy in the South‐western Iberian Peninsula

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.     

EXPLORING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEAKER POTTERY THROUGH RESIDUE ANALYSES

Summary.   Unlike other components of the Bell Beaker assemblage, Beaker pottery itself lacks an intrinsic value since fabric analyses have demonstrated that it was locally produced. It is thought, therefore, that it was the contents, rather than the container, which were valuable. Traditionally, Bell Beakers have been said to contain alcoholic beverages which were consumed in the course of male feasting ceremonies. However, whilst beer and mead have been identified from certain examples, not all Beakers were drinking cups. Some were used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores, others have some organic residues associated with food, and still others were employed as funerary urns. It is suggested here that a symbolic connection can, however, be observed, since these activities all imply some kind of transformation.     

Flake scar patterns of Clovis points analyzed with a new digital morphometrics approach: evidence for direct transmission of technological knowledge across early North America

Clovis points are the principal diagnostic artifacts of a Clovis complex that spread across North America between ca. 11,050–10,800 radiocarbon years before present. Clovis may be the best documented Paleoamerican culture in North America, but much remains to be learned about the movement and interactions of Clovis peoples. Similarities among Clovis points from geographically diverse locations have led some researchers to suggest that a uniform projectile point technology existed across North America during Clovis times. Others have rejected this idea, proposing local and independent technological adaptations to different regional environments. To investigate these ideas, we used digital morphometrics to analyze 50 Clovis points from nine different contexts. First, 3D surface models of the points were created with a portable laser scanner. Next, these models were digitally cross-sectioned through both faces, yielding two-dimensional isoheight contours of flake scar patterns that reflect the original reduction techniques used to shape the projectile points. In the final step, the contours were transformed with elliptic Fourier analysis into Fourier coefficient series, and patterns of variation and symmetry were explored with principal components analysis. When compared to modern Clovis point replicas made by an expert knapper, the flake scar contours of the ancient Clovis points showed little morphological variation and a large degree of bifacial symmetry. Our results support the existence of a widespread standardized “Clovis” knapping technique, most likely transmitted through direct interaction between knappers from different groups.     

Bell Beakers in the Southern Meseta of the Iberian Peninsula: Socioeconomic Context and New Data

An updated summary of the Bell Beaker problem in the Southern Meseta of the Iberian Peninsula is presented, following the great increase of new finds resulting from the latest surveys and excavations. Totalling 181 sites, this is one of the biggest concentrations of Beaker sites in Europe. High-quality information, however, is still restricted to the one extensively excavated and recently published site, the settlement of El Ventorro (Madrid). The available information is compared with that of the Northern Meseta, and a model is presented of the role Beakers played, as a ritual drinking-set, in the development of ranked societies in the inner regions of Iberia.     

Plant Scale, Industry Agglomeration, and the Outlook for Regional Employment in Central European Economies

A common outcome among Central European transition economies is the significant variation in regional unemployment rates, a condition symptomatic of allocative inefficiency in the labor market. Several studies attribute such variation, at least in part, to large vertically integrated industrial complexes erected during the period of central planning, and in turn to subsequent employment adjustment that operates to the disadvantage of local workers during transition. In this study I provide a test of this hypothesis by examining the correlates of local employment change at the outset of reforms, and specifically adjustment triggered by extreme variation in local plant size and scale externalities.     

Multiple identities in the Beaker period: interpreting inhumations out of the Beaker spotlight in southern England

ABSTRACT

The Beaker period in southern England is associated with the appearance of a highly visible set of material culture in the archaeological record, primarily associated with inhumation burials. This Beaker material culture has a long history of archaeological research and has resulted in this period being named after a style of pottery, the Beaker. However, the funerary record for this period is one that exhibits substantial variability. This paper considers how the archaeological narrative of the Beaker period has been constructed and presents a set of examples that exclude Beaker pottery and Beaker artefacts from the grave assemblage, located in southern England. Herein, it is questioned what these burials represent and whether they can be considered Beaker burials or represent other identities co-existing with Beaker using societies. Whilst the Beaker period does not represent an unchanging, fixed set of traditions over time or space, the examples employed demonstrate non-Beaker related burials to have been present from early in the Beaker period. We aim to highlight this important aspect of the archaeological record as requiring more research and synthesis, and promote discussion of non-Beaker identities during this dynamic period of prehistory.