The Life Biography of Artefacts and Ritual Practice : With case studies from Mesolithic-Early Bronze Age Europe

by: Bjornevad-Ahlqvist, M.& Bye-Jensen, P.

Price: 45,00 EURO

1 copy in stock

Description
Inspired by a session held at the EAA conference in Vilnius in 2016, The Life Biography of Artefacts and Ritual Practice focuses on creating biographies from material culture as a means of understanding the relationship between the life of an artefact, the temporality of ritual practices and an object?s final deposition. The temporal and geographic scope of these chapters range from Mesolithic Scandinavia, Neolithic practices found across Eastern, Central, Northern and Western Europe and stretches into the Eneolithic, Copper Age and early Bronze Age of central Europe. This volume explores the idea that one can create a narrative of an artefacts? life-biography by engaging various scientific methods and theoretical approaches.With a foreword by Joshua Pollard.

AUTHOR
Mathias Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist completed his PhD at the University of Aarhus in 2019. This research focused on the biography of Mesolithic and Neolithic ritual hoarding. Mathias also has wider interests including the application of cognitive science of religion, analysis of legacy material and Native American objects in Danish regional museums.

Peter Bye-Jensen completed his PhD at the University of Southampton/Cardiff University in 2019. The focus of this research was the nature and temporality of the activities centred around early Neolithic monuments, specifically causewayed enclosures. Peter now works as Heritage Manager for The Cabrach Trust, a community development organisation in North Eastern Scotland, where his role involves exploring the region?s rich but little-known whisky distilling heritage.

List of contributors: Mathias Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist, Pavel Burgert, Adomas Butrimas, Peter Bye-Jensen, Marzena Cendrowska, Roman Hadacz, Ludmila Kaňáková, Raluca Kogălniceanu, Markéta Končelová, Bernadeta Kufel-Diakowska, Joanna Kałużna-Czaplińska, Lars Larsson, Marta Mozgała-Swacha, Jaroslav Řídký, Tomas Rimkus, Angelina Rosiak, Gvidas Slah, Henryk Stoksik, Radka Šumberová, Kata Szilágyi.

REVIEW
?The life Biography of Objects and Ritual Practice constitutes an important contribution to our knowledge on the role of artefacts found next to the dead or in sites interpreted by archaeologists as ritual. This volume collects data from a geographical area where the archaeological record is extremely rich and diverse, providing novel approaches and interpretations on the symbolic significance of objects, their lifecycles and their ultimate purpose.? Dr Ana Cristina Reis Silva Araújo, CIBIO

Contents
Preface: Small traces, big issues...................................................................................................................................... ix
Joshua Pollard............................................................................................................................................................ vii
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. x
Foreword............................................................................................................................................................................ xi
1. Taking a closer look – causewayed enclosures through the lens of a large-scale use-wear analysis project...... 1
Peter Bye-Jensen .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Method of investigation ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Selection ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 9
2. Endless life of tools and vessels from the Neolithic contexts in SW Poland.........................................................11
Bernadeta Kufel-Diakowska, Marta Mozgała-Swacha, Joanna Kałużna-Czaplińska, Angelina Rosiak,
Henryk Stoksik ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Materials and methods................................................................................................................................................ 11
Sickle blades............................................................................................................................................................... 13
Ceramic vessels ......................................................................................................................................................... 15
Discussion and conclusions........................................................................................................................................ 18
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... 21
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 21
3. Grinding tools and circular enclosures: Activities on late Neolithic settlements................................................ 23
Jaroslav Řídký, Markéta Končelová, Pavel Burgert, Radka Šumberová, and Roman Hadacz.................................. 23
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Rondels and grinding tools......................................................................................................................................... 23
Grinding tools – their basic characteristics................................................................................................................. 25
The Vchynice case site .............................................................................................................................................. 27
The Kolín I case site .................................................................................................................................................. 29
The Jaroměř case site ................................................................................................................................................. 30
The Příšovice case site ............................................................................................................................................... 31
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... 33
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 33
4. Amber discs with cross decoration from the eastern Baltic region. A research case study from the
Daktariškė 5 Neolithic settlement, western Lithuania .......................................................................................... 35
Adomas Butrimas, Tomas Rimkus, and Gvidas Slah .................................................................................................. 35
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 35
Methods...................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Use-wear analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 35
FTIR and micro FT-Raman spectral analysis........................................................................................................ 36
Daktariškė 5 Neolithic settlement............................................................................................................................... 36
Location and topography ....................................................................................................................................... 36
Excavations and cultural layer............................................................................................................................... 36
Finds and chronology ............................................................................................................................................ 38
The amber disc with cross decoration ....................................................................................................................... 39
Use-wear analysis....................................................................................................................................................... 39
vi
The Edge of Europe. Heritage, Landscape and Conflict Archaeology
FTIR and micro FT-Raman spectral analysis............................................................................................................. 41
Discussion and final remarks...................................................................................................................................... 41
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... 44
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 45
5. The role of chipped stone artefacts in the Late Neolithic burial practices at the site Alsónyék
(Southern Hungary) ................................................................................................................................................. 47
Kata Szilágyi............................................................................................................................................................... 47
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Materials and methods................................................................................................................................................ 48
Results ........................................................................................................................................................................ 50
Raw materials and its distribution ......................................................................................................................... 50
Distribution of raw material and technological categories of oval-shaped burials................................................ 50
Distribution of raw material and technological categories of rectangular-shaped burials..................................... 53
Discussion................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 58
Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................................................... 58
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 58
6. Useful, beautiful or ritual? The life biography of grave goods from a Prehistoric burial ground................... 61
Raluca Kogălniceanu ................................................................................................................................................. 61
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 61
The site of Cernavodă................................................................................................................................................. 61
Several starting questions........................................................................................................................................... 61
1. When does the biography of an object begins and ends? .................................................................................. 61
2. How does an object gain a life biography?........................................................................................................ 62
3. What measuring unit should be used for life biographies?................................................................................ 62
Types of life biographies ............................................................................................................................................ 62
A. Long life biographies........................................................................................................................................ 62
B. Medium life biographies................................................................................................................................... 62
C. Short life biographies........................................................................................................................................ 62
Spondylus objects.................................................................................................................................................. 63
Marble objects ....................................................................................................................................................... 63
Long life biographies (II): polished stone tools.......................................................................................................... 64
Medium life biographies (various objects)................................................................................................................. 65
Polished stone tools ............................................................................................................................................... 65
Animal bone tool ................................................................................................................................................... 65
Silicolite chipped tool............................................................................................................................................ 65
Pottery.................................................................................................................................................................... 65
Short life biographies (various objects)...................................................................................................................... 66
An overview ............................................................................................................................................................... 67
Ritual or profane biographies? ................................................................................................................................... 68
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... 68
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 68
7. Practical and symbolic aspects of the life cycle of arrowheads in Central Europe, 2,400–1,800 BC................ 71
Ludmila Kaňáková...................................................................................................................................................... 71
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 71
Methods...................................................................................................................................................................... 71
Analysis of the life cycle of projectiles...................................................................................................................... 72
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... 79
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 79
8. From the living to the dead: Lithics as a part of grave goods of the TRB culture in Denmark........................ 81
Marzena Cendrowska ................................................................................................................................................. 81
Flint in ritual – the symbolic meaning of lithics......................................................................................................... 81
Approaches to ritual............................................................................................................................................... 81
vii
Contents
Symbolic meaning of artefacts .............................................................................................................................. 82
Sites and artefacts....................................................................................................................................................... 83
Technological analysis – the birth of the artefacts ..................................................................................................... 83
Debitage................................................................................................................................................................. 84
Tools....................................................................................................................................................................... 85
Use wear analysis – the life of the artefacts............................................................................................................... 86
Lithics in graves – the burial of the artefacts.............................................................................................................. 86
Discussion................................................................................................................................................................... 87
Does burial reflect everyday life? – comparison with settlements ....................................................................... 88
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................................ 89
References: ................................................................................................................................................................. 90
9. Ritual use of flint – flintscape in action................................................................................................................... 93
Lars Larsson............................................................................................................................................................... 93
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 93
Wetland deposits of flint tools ............................................................................................................................... 93
A case study .......................................................................................................................................................... 94
Landscape and depositions.................................................................................................................................... 97
Axes and megalithic tombs.................................................................................................................................... 98
Axes and the deceased................................................................................................................................................ 98
Polished and unpolished axes..................................................................................................................................... 99
Axe and Palisades....................................................................................................................................................... 99
Passage by fire ............................................................................................................................................................ 99
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 101
References ................................................................................................................................................................ 102
10. A relational perspective on entangled biographies in Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic hoards................. 105
Mathias Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist..................................................................................................................................... 105
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 105
Setting the stage: A brief overview of Mesolithic hoards and the research history.................................................. 105
Theoretical and methodological framework............................................................................................................. 106
Entangled biographies in Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic hoards ..................................................................... 107
Different sources.................................................................................................................................................. 107
Different producers ............................................................................................................................................. 110
Different use-life history...................................................................................................................................... 112
Different degrees of curation ............................................................................................................................... 119
Physical transformation via destruction............................................................................................................... 122
Making sense of the variability: the application of relational ontologies ........................................................... 124
Concluding remarks............................................................................................................................................. 125
References ................................................................................................................................................................ 125

The Life Biography of Artefacts and Ritual Practice : With case studies from Mesolithic-Early Bronze Age Europe

by: Bjornevad-Ahlqvist, M.& Bye-Jensen, P.

• ISBN-13: 9781407356822 / 978-1-4073-5682-2
• ISBN-03: 1407356828 / 1-4073-5682-8
• Bar Publishing, Oxford, 2020

Price: 45,00 EURO

1 copy in stock