In: A. Garcia-Moreno/J. M. Hudson/G. M. Smith/ L. Kindler/E. Turner/A. Villaluenga/S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser (eds.), Human Behavioural Adaptations to Interglacial Lakeshore Environments. RGZM-Tagungen , 2020
Bedburg-Königshoven is the oldest Mesolithic site in the southernmost part of the Northern Europe... more Bedburg-Königshoven is the oldest Mesolithic site in the southernmost part of the Northern European Low-lands. Excavations at the site have exposed a rich spectrum of organic remains. The nature of the site as a secondary butchering camp with possible additional functions is well published, but evidence for other activities and site functions have been, thus far, in the shadow of the prominent find categories of faunal and lithic remains. Two perforated red deer (Cervus elaphus) crania with attached antler were recovered from this site and, due to a systematic review of the find category, are identified as so-called antler headdresses-an extremely rare type of object at Mesolithic sites. Presented in this paper is the detailed study of this find group that leads to the discussion of whether the adjacent dry-land area was the location of manufacture for at least two half-finished examples of these rare objects. The combination of this study with existing analysis of environmental and archaeological data reinforces the interpretation of Bedburg-Königshoven as a residential type site of the Early Mesolithic where a rapid adaptation to the changing environment of the Holocene is well documented.
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Considering methods and findings by French researchers in view of technical descriptions and technological analysis, the present study’s results provide insights into manufacturing processes of antler tools, highlighting the importance of special procedures to obtain blanks, as well as seasonal behaviour of foraging groups, indicating an autumn occupation for the studied sites.
The book shows exemplarily how closely the cultural traditions of the Final Magdalenien and Hamburgian are connected technologically, and what insights into important aspects of human behaviour, including economical and social decisions, are possible by analysing organic material.
The symbols are sorted according to the recent scheme by Christensen 2015. I recommend to always use them as 10 mm-graphs to ensure visibility. I use them in combination with coloured areas (further information in Wild 2020).
I prepared the symbols for my PhD thesis in 2019 and they will be further distributed in 2020 with the publication of the monograph: Wild 2020, Coping with risk through seasonal behavioural strategies. Technological analysis of antler assemblages from northern Germany, southern Scandinavia and the Paris basin.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Further .ai (Adobe Illustrator)- and .svg (InkScape)-files could not beuploaded here and may be send directly. Please get in touch with me.
Papers by Markus Wild
A comparative analysis of the morphometric, zooarchaeological and technological features of individual specimens shows that certain characteristics often appear in combination. We propose to reserve the term deer antler ‘headdress’ to a subcat-
egory of specimens which we suggest might indeed have best functioned as headgear. Since several of the deer skull artefacts do not show all the human modifications included in our definition, we adopt a polythetic classification of the term ‘headdress’. Under this definition we identify a total of seven ‘headdresses’ among those frontlets which could be examined, and note further probable specimens among published material unseen by us.
In contrast to the conclusions of some other studies, new direct radiometric dates for the antler headdresses from Berlin-Biesdorf and Hohen Viecheln, together with recent chronological data for Star Carr and Bedburg-Königshoven suggest to us that ‘antler headdresses’ represent a phenomenon specific for the earliest Mesolithic of the North European Lowlands. Moreover, the presence of at least two or more of these artefacts at the better investigated sites suggests an important role for them in the rarely discernible social rituals of earliest Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, potentially as an aid to consolidating group/territorial identity.
Abstract: This contribution presents the status quo of research on the Final Palaeolithic occupation of Schleswig-Holstein. Over the last two decades new insights became possible based on isotopic, genetic, biostratigraphic, tephrochronologic, and archaeological analyses. Some of these projects and studies are still ongoing. The material on which these analyses were performed was mainly uncovered during the 20th century. We particularly focus on the chronology and the different challenges associated with the Late Glacial record. To do so, we review the radiocarbon dating record of Schleswig-Holstein and adjacent areas, especially Denmark, including 11 new radiocarbon dates from the sites of Stellmoor and Meiendorf. At present, in particular, the period of the Federmessergruppen (i. e., curve-backed point industries) appears poorly represented in this record. This shortage is due to preservational conditions on the one hand, as well as the often uncertain attribution of osseous single finds to archaeological entities on the other. Hence, a synoptic analysis of osseous remains of Late Glacial northern Germany and southern Scandinavia is desirable. The recently introduced partially laminated biostratigraphic lake sequence from Nahe LA 11 contains three cryptic tephra layers including the first geochemically identified evidence of the Laacher See Tephra in Schleswig-Holstein. The palynological analysis of this archive interlinks palaeoenvironmental with archaeological research questions. Amongst other implications, the data provided here suggest a continuity of human and reindeer presence in the area until the early Holocene. This result lines up with observations of shifting ecological zones throughout the Weichselian Late Glacial in Schleswig-Holstein.
This paper deals with the antler point from Lasbek dating to the mid-Allerod and the presence of reindeer in Schleswig-Holstein during this warm period.
variable, but all results from samples with >1 % collagen are plausible, and all extracts tested meet EA-IRMS acceptance criteria. FTIR was used throughout the process to monitor the removal of consolidants. Most of the dated samples were apparently consolidated with a compound based on cellulose nitrate. Tests suggest that this product would have been removed by the procedures followed to extract collagen, but its elemental and isotopic composition is such that we cannot exclude the possibility that enough consolidant remained in the dated collagen
extracts to produce significant radiocarbon age offsets, particularly in low-yield samples.
Downloaded via https://www.wachholtz-verlag.de/Wissenschaft/Open-Access/ (on Sunday, 21st July 2019)
Downloaded via https://www.wachholtz-verlag.de/Wissenschaft/Open-Access/ (on Sunday, 21st July 2019)
Key words – Mesolithic; Final Palaeolithic; Early Neolithic; Westphalia
http://www.dguf.de/index.php?id=9
Since publication of results of the seminal excavations of Grahame Clark at the Star Carr Mesolithic site it has been usual to refer to a specific type of modified red deer skull as an ‘antler frontlet’. These have been discussed as head gear perhaps used in the context of ritual activities. Further specimens broadly similar to those described by Clark were subsequently recovered from possibly contemporary localities in mainland north-central Europe and have been interpreted in the same way. Nevertheless, until the present day the focus of attention on this class of artefacts has been of an interpretative or even speculative nature and there has been no synthetic study of them in their entirety. This paper describes a research project designed to correct this state of affairs.
2014 at the invitation of the district of Landshut. The meeting was attended by more than 60 scientists, students and amateur archaeologists from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and Denmark. A total of 20 papers were presented. In addition to the reports from the individual work areas of the participants, the Bavarian Mesolithic and a workshop on settlement dynamics in the Mesolithic were in the focus of the meeting.
Considering methods and findings by French researchers in view of technical descriptions and technological analysis, the present study’s results provide insights into manufacturing processes of antler tools, highlighting the importance of special procedures to obtain blanks, as well as seasonal behaviour of foraging groups, indicating an autumn occupation for the studied sites.
The book shows exemplarily how closely the cultural traditions of the Final Magdalenien and Hamburgian are connected technologically, and what insights into important aspects of human behaviour, including economical and social decisions, are possible by analysing organic material.
The symbols are sorted according to the recent scheme by Christensen 2015. I recommend to always use them as 10 mm-graphs to ensure visibility. I use them in combination with coloured areas (further information in Wild 2020).
I prepared the symbols for my PhD thesis in 2019 and they will be further distributed in 2020 with the publication of the monograph: Wild 2020, Coping with risk through seasonal behavioural strategies. Technological analysis of antler assemblages from northern Germany, southern Scandinavia and the Paris basin.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Further .ai (Adobe Illustrator)- and .svg (InkScape)-files could not beuploaded here and may be send directly. Please get in touch with me.
A comparative analysis of the morphometric, zooarchaeological and technological features of individual specimens shows that certain characteristics often appear in combination. We propose to reserve the term deer antler ‘headdress’ to a subcat-
egory of specimens which we suggest might indeed have best functioned as headgear. Since several of the deer skull artefacts do not show all the human modifications included in our definition, we adopt a polythetic classification of the term ‘headdress’. Under this definition we identify a total of seven ‘headdresses’ among those frontlets which could be examined, and note further probable specimens among published material unseen by us.
In contrast to the conclusions of some other studies, new direct radiometric dates for the antler headdresses from Berlin-Biesdorf and Hohen Viecheln, together with recent chronological data for Star Carr and Bedburg-Königshoven suggest to us that ‘antler headdresses’ represent a phenomenon specific for the earliest Mesolithic of the North European Lowlands. Moreover, the presence of at least two or more of these artefacts at the better investigated sites suggests an important role for them in the rarely discernible social rituals of earliest Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, potentially as an aid to consolidating group/territorial identity.
Abstract: This contribution presents the status quo of research on the Final Palaeolithic occupation of Schleswig-Holstein. Over the last two decades new insights became possible based on isotopic, genetic, biostratigraphic, tephrochronologic, and archaeological analyses. Some of these projects and studies are still ongoing. The material on which these analyses were performed was mainly uncovered during the 20th century. We particularly focus on the chronology and the different challenges associated with the Late Glacial record. To do so, we review the radiocarbon dating record of Schleswig-Holstein and adjacent areas, especially Denmark, including 11 new radiocarbon dates from the sites of Stellmoor and Meiendorf. At present, in particular, the period of the Federmessergruppen (i. e., curve-backed point industries) appears poorly represented in this record. This shortage is due to preservational conditions on the one hand, as well as the often uncertain attribution of osseous single finds to archaeological entities on the other. Hence, a synoptic analysis of osseous remains of Late Glacial northern Germany and southern Scandinavia is desirable. The recently introduced partially laminated biostratigraphic lake sequence from Nahe LA 11 contains three cryptic tephra layers including the first geochemically identified evidence of the Laacher See Tephra in Schleswig-Holstein. The palynological analysis of this archive interlinks palaeoenvironmental with archaeological research questions. Amongst other implications, the data provided here suggest a continuity of human and reindeer presence in the area until the early Holocene. This result lines up with observations of shifting ecological zones throughout the Weichselian Late Glacial in Schleswig-Holstein.
This paper deals with the antler point from Lasbek dating to the mid-Allerod and the presence of reindeer in Schleswig-Holstein during this warm period.
variable, but all results from samples with >1 % collagen are plausible, and all extracts tested meet EA-IRMS acceptance criteria. FTIR was used throughout the process to monitor the removal of consolidants. Most of the dated samples were apparently consolidated with a compound based on cellulose nitrate. Tests suggest that this product would have been removed by the procedures followed to extract collagen, but its elemental and isotopic composition is such that we cannot exclude the possibility that enough consolidant remained in the dated collagen
extracts to produce significant radiocarbon age offsets, particularly in low-yield samples.
Downloaded via https://www.wachholtz-verlag.de/Wissenschaft/Open-Access/ (on Sunday, 21st July 2019)
Downloaded via https://www.wachholtz-verlag.de/Wissenschaft/Open-Access/ (on Sunday, 21st July 2019)
Key words – Mesolithic; Final Palaeolithic; Early Neolithic; Westphalia
http://www.dguf.de/index.php?id=9
Since publication of results of the seminal excavations of Grahame Clark at the Star Carr Mesolithic site it has been usual to refer to a specific type of modified red deer skull as an ‘antler frontlet’. These have been discussed as head gear perhaps used in the context of ritual activities. Further specimens broadly similar to those described by Clark were subsequently recovered from possibly contemporary localities in mainland north-central Europe and have been interpreted in the same way. Nevertheless, until the present day the focus of attention on this class of artefacts has been of an interpretative or even speculative nature and there has been no synthetic study of them in their entirety. This paper describes a research project designed to correct this state of affairs.
2014 at the invitation of the district of Landshut. The meeting was attended by more than 60 scientists, students and amateur archaeologists from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and Denmark. A total of 20 papers were presented. In addition to the reports from the individual work areas of the participants, the Bavarian Mesolithic and a workshop on settlement dynamics in the Mesolithic were in the focus of the meeting.
The papers in this volume follow this direction by adopting various forms of dialogue and integration between old and new methods and approaches, including technological analysis, usewear analysis, typology, zooarchaeology, stable isotope analysis, experimental archaeology or spatial analysis. They represent a mixture of methodological issues, case studies, and discussions of larger cultural and historical phenomena that span thousands of years and many parts of the World, from South Asia to the Near East and Europe, and from North to South America. The synergies deriving from these multi-perspective approaches lead to the repeated identification of diverse social aspects of past societies, including the identification of general social contexts of bone tool production and use, transmission of knowledge, the symbolic dimensions of artifacts, and intergroup relations as well as warfare and state formation processes.
All these papers grew out of communications presented at the 13th meeting of the Worked Bone Research Group (WBRG) on October 7th–13th, 2019, at the Département d’anthropologie, Université de Montréal, Canada. The WBRG is an official working group of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) dealing with the study of worked faunal remains from archaeological sites.
We warmly invite you to our session <<From animals to osseous remains: recent advances in the study of human-animal relationships in the Mesolithic>>
Markus, Benjamin & Julien
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2020
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2020/sessions/overview/preview.php?id=50
Abstract:
Lost in transmission - following knowledge in hunter-gatherer societies
In current archaeology, artefacts are no longer viewed as fragments of archaeological "cultures" in the same sense as during the culture historical period, but instead we attempt to reason about the people who produced and implemented these objects. The technologies and techniques that make up the basis for prehistoric tool production, like any other technical traditions, result from the accumulation of knowledge and know-how. In order to be adopted widely enough to leave an archaeological signature, such knowledge had to spread, through mobility and migrations, diffusion of ideas or a combination of the two. Yet oftentimes, the discussion ends on such a matter-of-fact point without any further enquiry into the mechanisms behind knowledge transmission. In this session we would like to address the transmission of knowledge in hunter-gatherer societies through the study of their material culture. Participants are invited to present papers relating to both horizontal and vertical transmission, as well as to explore possible combinations between these two directions. We wish to discuss a variety of perspectives, such as apprenticeship processes and communities of practice. Related questions also include the spread of traditions through mechanisms of innovation, diffusion and adoption, technological change over multiple geographical scales and the role of social networks in the diffusion of technical know-how. The ultimate goal of this session is thus to share, compare and explore strategies for studying knowledge transmission in regards to relevant archaeological materials, such as lithic, osseous, or ceramic industries, using the methodological framework of technology. We would therefore welcome the participation of researchers with a wide range of foci, methodologies and approaches, such as ethno(archaeo)logy, comparative case studies, technological analyses, chaîne opératoire, (paleo)sociology, or agent-based modelling, in order to ultimately join our efforts to approach the extremely vast and complex topic of knowledge transmission in hunter-gatherer societies.
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2020
https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2020/sessions/overview/preview.php?id=121
Abstract:
Reconsidering the chaine opératoire: recent developments for the study of non-lithic materials
The concept of "chaine opératoire" was first formulated by the french anthropologist and archaeologist André Leroi-Gourhan, based on the work of Marcel Mauss on the development of an ethnographic approach to the study of techniques. From the 1970s, The chaine operatoire became a cornerstone of the technical studies carried out in archeology particularly by lithic specialists. Although this approach has been applied to a wide range of other periods and materials (e.g. architecture or bone remains), the theoretical discussions about the chaine opératoire and the scientific practices that accompany it, remain seemingly a domain of prehistory and lithic studies. Besides, a broad literature exists on the application of the technological approach to the understanding of various crossroads between societies and productions in anthropology and sociology. This session aims at re-discussing the technological approach, considering its diachronic application to different artefacts and materials. In particular, it focuses on the study of objects as a formal (standardized) language, which could be used to outline a biographical narrative of an artefact. We wish to discuss the different ways this fundamental concept is applied in general archaeology and the methodological and theoretical advances of it outside of lithic analysis. We welcome all researchers who question the chaine opératoire-concept and its place in contemporary archaeological research through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches and who present case studies where the analyses of technological processes help to decipher the intricate network of past artefacts, environments and societies.
Les prehampes sont un phénomène très commun dans la technologie des projectiles : placés entre la tige principale en bois et la pointe, la hampe fait fonction de pièce intermédiaire équilibrant les forces entre la relative flexibilité de la tige et la dureté de la pointe, rendant le projectile plus efficace et durable. De plus, les prehampes permettent d’égaliser la masse des différents projectiles d’un lot, d’entretenir ou réparer rapidement un projectile, et d’employer une pointe en pierre comme outil de découpe en servant de manche.
En raison de ces avantages, les prehampes en matière osseuse, végétal, ou métal sont largement représentées dans le registre ethnographique comme partie intégrante de flèches, harpons, fléchettes ou lances. En ce qui concerne la Paléolithique supérieur européen, les prehampes sont associées au Magdalénien, étant des trouvailles typiques et rares à la fois dans les longs inventaires de projectiles en os. Néanmoins, aucune prehampe n’est connue dans l’entité contemporaine plus au nord, le Hamburgien. Cette étude analyse le propos émis par Marquardt Lund (1993), selon lequel les outils en matière dure animale du type Kerbnadeln - des andouillers de renne montrant un rainurage dans leur extrémité - pourraient en réalité avoir servi de prehampes. Pour tester cette hypothèse, de vraies répliques de Kerbnadeln, réalisées à partir des baguettes de bois du renne furent armés de pointes à crans du Hamburgien et lancées vers une cible organique en employant différents types de fixation et moyens d’accélérations.
La mise en commun des informations issues d’expérimentations en industrie osseuse et lithique, la typologie, la tracéologie (à l’échelle macroscopique) et l’analyse des propriétés spécifiques au goudron d’écorche de bouleau devrait nous aider à répondre à notre question. Les résultats préliminaires sont présentés dans cette séance.
English abstract: Foreshafts are a very common phenomenon in projectile technology: Placed between the wooden main shaft and the point itself, the foreshaft acts as an intermediate piece that balances the forces between the relatively soft main shaft and the hard point making the projectile both more effective and durable. Additionally, foreshafts render it possible to equalize the mass of different projectiles in a set, to quickly maintain or repair a projectile, and to employ a lithic point as cutting implement by serving as a handle.
Because of these benefits, foreshafts of osseous materials, wood, or metal are widely distributed in the ethnological record as integral parts of arrows, harpoons, darts, or lances. Regarding the European Upper Paleolithic, foreshafts are connected to the Magdalenian, typically being rare but common finds in big inventories of osseous projectiles. Yet, from the contemporaneous northern entity, the Hamburgian, there are no foreshafts known so far. This study deals with Marquardt Lund’s (1993) suggestion that the osseous tool type Kerbnadel, terminally grooved reindeer antler rods, could actually have served as foreshaft. To test that hypothesis, true replica of Kerbnadeln made of reindeer antler were equipped with Hamburgian lithic shouldered points and hurled on an organic target employing different mounting techniques and acceleration media.
Combining data from the experiments with osseous and lithic technology, typology, macroscopic use-wear and material properties analysis of the birch bark tar shall help to elucidate the raised question. The preliminary results are presented here.
Hohen Viecheln 1 (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany) is one of the most striking sites of the Early Mesolithic in the Northern European Lowlands. The abundance of finds and good organic preservation characterise the site, which is located north of Lake Schwerin in eastern Germany. Among German scholars, Hohen Viecheln is ranked alongside Bedburg-Königshoven, Friesack, Duvensee, Mullerup, and Star Carr. The site itself was excavated in the 1950s and already shortly after its monograph doubts on the excavator’s interpretation rose. Of special interest in this respect was the stratigraphic sequence which was not entirely understood during the excavations. The location of the site on a former lake shore incorporated further complications when the stratigraphic sequence was interpreted.
In this presentation we will discuss results of modern re-evalutations and research projects which addressed a renewed understanding of the stratigraphy as well as typo-chronological considerations. With respect to the more than 300 bone points and a large number of other representative artefacts (e.g. antler headdresses and decorated artefacts) the character of the site will be discussed such as its techno-cultural association.
The Hamburgian as a cultural stage was defined by Gustav Schwantes in the 1930s. Few years later the famous classical Hamburgian sites Meiendorf and Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg tunnel valley (North Germany) were excavated. These sites brought a rich assemblage of a Hamburgian bone and antler industry. Alfred Rust analyzed its typology and technology in his monographs on the sites in an exemplary manner for this period.
Only a few bone and antler artefacts have been excavated at Poggenwisch (North Germany) and Slotseng (South Denmark) since and only a small number of single finds were discovered that could be attributed to the classical and Havelte phase of the Hamburgian.
Recently, an exploding number of methodological papers on osseous technology were published. These helped to standardize terminology, description and the addressing of artefacts. Furthermore, they introduced new approaches to technology (e.g. socio-economy/functionality). Thus far, these new ideas hardly considered the earliest sites of the anatomic modern human in northern Central Europe.
An ongoing PhD thesis aims to contribute to the topic in analyzing the Hamburgian using a modern technological approach on the bone and antler industries. This paper presents first results of this thesis, notably, the technological analysis of the assemblages from Meiendorf and Slotseng. The savoir faire of the classical Hamburgian will be particularly highlighted and discussed in contrast to the Havelte group and the Final Magdalenian. Socio-economic analysis of the procurement and processing of raw materials will add to the knowledge about the function of the different sites. Hence, they will contribute to our understanding of the Hamburgian and its position in the cultural puzzle of the Early Lateglacial.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder or far from eye far from heart?
– Dichotomous tendencies in Hamburgian osseous industries
Osseous artefacts dating to the Early Lateglacial (GI-1e&GI-1d) are rare in northern Central Europe and southern Scandinavia. However, the few excavated sites with organic preservation on the Cimbrian Peninsula give the opportunity for a comparative study of worked osseous objects on intersite and interregional level. Here, I report the differences between the toolkit of these hunter-gatherers and that of their Magdalenian equivalents and highlight the similarities in their technological behaviour. The aim of this paper is the development of an explanation why these two pieces of the overall Early Lateglacial puzzle – osseous typology and technology – do not seem to match accurately. This hypothesis shall lead to an interpretation of the Hamburgian within the cultural context of the Early Lateglacial from a solely osseous techno-typological perspective. In the course of the other contributions within the session this picture will be relativised.
Gustav Schwantes determined the Hamburgian as a cultural stage in the 1930s. Likewise, its typological connection to the Magdalenian was immediately recognized. Eight decades later the question of the exact relationship between the Hamburgian, its sister entity the Creswellian and the Magdalenian still remains open.
Different explanations have been taken into consideration: The Hamburgian as seasonal facies of the Magdalenian or as a development from it combined with an adaptation to a new environment. Furthermore, other questions had been raised. For example the upcoming of a Hamburgian-like lithics facies in the Paris Basin had been discussed as possible immigration of Hamburgian groups or as a simple adaptation of Magdalenian people to changing environments. In the end, research so far has focused on typology, style, environment and particularly on lithic industries. Other methods were not applied nearly as exhaustively, resulting in a lack of a general overview.
This thesis aims to add to the focal question of the precise relationship of the three cultural entities we see at the beginning of the Lateglacial in Northwestern Europe: the Magdalenian, the Creswellian and the Hamburgian in analyzing their osseous technology.
La session 3 du XXVIIIe congrès préhistorique de France
L’Europe du Nord-Ouest autour de 10 000 BP (9 600 cal.BC) : quels changements ? (Amiens - vendredi 3 et samedi 4 juin 2016)
Session organisée par Jean-Pierre Fagnart, Ludovic Mevel, Boris Valentin et Mara-Julia Weber en collaboration avec la commission UISPP « The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia »
Bone and antler are two of the most versatile osseous raw materials and therefore were extensively used by (pre)historic cultures wherever they were abundant. With the appearance of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Northern Europe at the beginning of the Mesolithic one can see the emergence of a mysterious tool type all over the lowlands of northern Central Europe: so-called antler headdresses. Only a handful of Mesolithic sites brought these rare artefacts to light. One of them is Hohen Viecheln, excavated in the 1950s (Schuldt 1961). The excavator – Ewald Schuldt – mentions the existence of the famous headdress from Hohen Viecheln [Hohen Viecheln-ID 5863] as well as an unfinished one [Hohen Viecheln-ID 3412] (Schuldt 1954, 28). In his dissertation Stefan Pratsch refers to these two but, furthermore, mentions two more artefacts [Hohen Viecheln-ID 5774 & 6162] in his group of skull trophies (Pratsch 2006, 71). Finally, the author of this paper was able to go through the supposedly unworked faunal remains from the site during a stay at MONREPOS . During the study of bone and antler pieces a fifth possible antler headdress [Hohen Viecheln-ID 387] was discovered.
On the one hand, this paper will bring together all the artefacts ever mentioned in the context of antler headdresses at Hohen Viecheln. The results of the re-examination of the artefacts will be presented. An approach that combines technological, morphological and zooarchaeological information was used. The obtained data will be supplemented by comparison and contextualisation with headdresses from the sites of Star Carr (Clark 1954), Berlin-Biesdorf (Reinbacher 1956) and Bedburg-Königshoven (Street u. Wild 2015). Subsequently, the artefacts from Hohen Viecheln will be classified and sorted on the basis of the definition presented in Wild 2014.
On the other hand, the precise time period of the antler headdress-phenomenon remains a desideratum as the discussed artefacts can only be dated typologically or environmentally to the Mesolithic. This results in the fact that the antler headdresses are sometimes related to the parietal art of the Upper Palaeolithic or to the recent shamanism of Siberia. A narrow period for their existence could question these vague analogies. Hence, a limited dating program was established whose results will be presented here.
Combining these two lines of arguments, the chrono-typological results of the analysis of antler headdresses will help to strengthen the link between Hohen Viecheln and the broader Mesolithic of northern Central Europe.
Clark 1954: J. G. D. Clark, Excavations at Star Carr : an early mesolithic site at Seamer near Scarborough, Yorkshire. (Cambridge 1954).
Pratsch 2006: S. Pratsch, Mesolithische Geweihgeräte im Jungmoränengebiet zwischen Elbe und Neman. Ein Beitrag zur Ökologie und Ökonomie mesolithischer Wildbeuter. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 2 (Bonn 2006).
Reinbacher 1956: E. Reinbacher, Eine vorgeschichtliche Hirschmaske aus Berlin-Biesdorf. Ausgrabungen und Funde 1, 1956, 147-51.
Schuldt 1954: E. Schuldt, Ein mittelsteinzeitlicher Siedlungsplatz bei Hohen Viecheln, Kreis Wismar. Bodendenkmalpflege in Mecklenburg, Jahrbuch 9, 1954, 1955, 7-35.
Schuldt 1961: E. Schuldt, Hohen Viecheln: ein mittelsteinzeitlicher Wohnplatz in Mecklenburg. 1961).
Street u. Wild 2015: M. Street u. M. Wild, Technological aspects of two Mesolithic red deer ‚antler frontlets‘ from the German Rhineland. In: N. Ashton u. C. Harris (Hrsg.), No Stone Unturned. Papers in Honour of Roger Jacobi. (London 2015).
Wild 2014: M. Wild, Funktionelle Analyse an zwei perforierten Hirschschädeln vom frühmesolithischen Fundplatz Bedburg-Königshoven Univ. Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz 2014).
Supposed Mesolithic antler head-dresses from Star Carr have been interpreted as either shamanic garb and/or hunting disguises. This has had an overall lasting impact on our interpretation of Mesolithic and hunter-gatherer societies. The hypothesis that these objects were worn as a mask or head-dress has not yet been proven. However the recovery of comparable objects from sediments of roughly contemporaneous or slightly earlier age across the Northern European Plain keeps this model alive. Apart from the fact that these comparable artefacts are not yet well defined and their precise use and function still remains unclear and requires more detailed investigation, the apparent significance of the presence of these antler frontlets in Early Mesolithic bog sites across Central and Northern Europe is generally still not well understood.
Presented here will be the results of a morphometrical and technological re-examination of 16 modified cervid skulls with attached antlers from 8 sites which have been discussed in the context of the Star Carr antler frontlets. Furthermore, these results will be used to evaluate if former hypotheses about the ritual and symbolic character of Mesolithic antler frontlets sensu Star Carr can still be maintained.
Supposed Mesolithic antler head-dresses from Star Carr have been interpreted as either shamanic garb and/or hunting disguise. This has had a lasting impact on our interpretation of Mesolithic and hunter-gatherer societies overall. The hypothesis that these objects were worn as a mask or head-dress has not yet been proven. However the recovery of comparable objects from sediments of roughly contemporaneous or slightly earlier age across the Northern European Plain keeps this model alive. Apart from the fact that these comparable artefacts are not yet well defined and their precise use and function still remains unclear and requires more detailed investigation, the apparent significance of the presence or absence of antler frontlets in extensively excavated Early Mesolithic bog sites across Central and Northern Europe is generally still not well understood.
16 out of a total of 37 modified cervid skulls with attached antlers from 8 sites which have been discussed in the context of the Star Carr antler frontlets have recently been re-examined morphometrically and technologically by the author. Additionally a red deer was experimentally prepared to an antler frontlet to help understand the processes involved in the manufacturing and use of this kind of objects. The following parameters were recorded for all of the specimens: animal species, minimum age, weight and preservation, abiotic and biotic modifications that include breakage patterns, perforations, cut marks and notches.
The combined analysis of these parameters allows for the division of the group of modified deer skulls into four distinct groups of which one is discussed here: Besides the artefacts from Star Carr already mentioned, only one intensively modified red deer skull each from Hohen Viecheln and from Berlin-Biesdorf and two laterally perforated deer skulls from Bedburg-Königshoven – are classed as belonging to the newly created group of Hirschgeweihkappen [deer antler caps].
Hirschgeweihkappen are a rare spatial and temporal occurrence, within the Northern Technocomplexe of osseous material working [/artefacts] during the Middle to Late Preboreal. Their occurence is biased towards larger Early Mesolithic sites in the vicinity of lacustrine environments although they are absent from comparable sites like Friesack where the osseous material otherwise shows technological parallels to that of sites with Hirschgeweihkappen. This phenomenon should be linked to the still poorly understood function of this latter type of artefact. To understand these function new experiments are underway.
Street 1989, Street, M., 1989. Jäger und Schamanen: Bedburg-Königshoven, ein Wohnplatz am Niederrhein vor 10000 Jahren. Röm.-German. Zentralmuseum, Mainz.
Wild 2014, Wild, M., 2014. Funktionelle Analyse an zwei perforierten Hirschschädeln vom frühmesolithischen Fundplatz Bedburg-Königshoven. Masterarbeit, Universität Mainz.
Supposed Mesolithic antler head-dresses from Star Carr
have been interpreted as either shamanic garb and/
or hunting disguise (Clark 1954). This has had a lasting
impact on our interpretation of Mesolithic and hunter-
gatherer societies overall. The hypothesis that these
objects were worn as a mask or head-dress has not
yet been proven. However the recovery of comparable
objects from sediments of roughly contemporaneous or
slightly earlier age across the Northern European Plain
keeps this model alive. Apart from the fact that these
comparable artefacts are not yet well defined and their
precise use and function still remains unclear and requires
more detailed investigation, the apparent significance of
the presence or absence of antler frontlets in extensively
excavated Early Mesolithic bog sites across Central and
Northern Europe is generally still not well understood.
16 out of a total of 37 modified cervid skulls with attached
antlers from 8 sites which have been discussed in the
context of the Star Carr antler frontlets have recently been
re-examined morphometrically and technologically by
the author. The following parameters were recorded for
the specimens: animal species, minimum age, weight
and preservation, abiotic and biotic modifications that
include breakage patterns, perforations, cut marks and
notches.
The analysis of these parameters allows for the division
of the group of modified deer skulls into four distinct
groups of which one is discussed here: Besides the
artefacts from Star Carr already mentioned, only one
intensively modified red deer skull each from Hohen
Viecheln and from Berlin-Biesdorf and two laterally
perforated deer skulls from Bedburg-Königshoven –
are classed as belonging to the newly created group of
Hirschgeweihkappen [deer antler caps].
Hirschgeweihkappen are a rare spatial and temporal
occurrence, within the Northern Technocomplexe
(David 2005) of osseous material working [/artefacts]
during the Middle to Late Preboreal. Their occurence is
biased towards larger Early Mesolithic sites in the vicinity
of lacustrine environments although they are absent
from comparable sites like Friesack where the osseous
material otherwise shows technological parallels to that
of sites with Hirschgeweihkappen. This phenomenon
should be linked to the still poorly understood function
of this latter type of artefact.
The faunal remains – dominated by Bos primigenius – indicate the systematic exploitation of typical large ungulates of the Central European Early Mesolithic. Some bird and fish remains represent background fauna and they cannot be linked directly to the human presence at the site.
The small lithic assemblage consists of a handful of cores, some scrapers, microliths, unretouched flakes and blades and a heavy pic. The assemblage suggests the deliberate discard of butchery tools used in animal butchery (Street 1998; Street and Wild in press).
During the re-analysis of Hirschgeweihkappen [deer antler caps] from Early Mesolithic sites the spatial character and function of Bedburg-Königshoven compared to other Early Mesolithic sites with antler frontlets (Friesack 4, Hohen Viecheln (Germany), Star Carr (UK)) was re-assessed. This was combined with experimental procedures that attempted to understand the production and function of a Hirschgeweihkappe.
Some features of the assemblage do not fit with the interpretation of Bedburg-Königshoven solely as a secondary butchering site. The close association of the only two bone tools from the site (a chisel and a point) suggests a more complex site function, as do the two perforated deer skulls. Indeed, the Hirschgeweihkappen seem to be half-finished and deliberately stored underwater, perhaps either to protect them from carnivore gnawing or as part of the manufacturing process. Together, these two lines of evidence suggest a more complex and longer-term use of the site that fits with the finds of other Hirschgeweihkappen underwater at sites like Star Carr.
Lyman (1992, 247–248) points to the fact that secondary butchering sites are often situated in the direct vicinity of camp sites. This might be supported by the fact that there is barely any evidence of further processing of meat at Bedburg-Königshoven, although the bones are completely defleshed. The off-bank discard zone may therefore reflect a highly specialised part of a camp, which could be compared with large Preboreal sites like Star Carr.
References:
Lyman, R., 1992. Prehistoric Seal and Sea-Lion Butchering on the Southern Northwest Coast. American Antiquity 57, 246–261.
Street, M., 1989. Jäger und Schamanen: Bedburg-Königshoven, ein Wohnplatz am Niederrhein vor 10000 Jahren. Röm.-German. Zentralmuseum, Mainz..
-, 1998. A Preboreal Lithic Assemblage from the Lower Rhineland Site of Bedburg-Königshoven, In: Ashton, N., Healy F., Pettitt, P. (Eds.), Stone Age Archaeology. Essays in Honour of John Wymer. Oxbow Monographs 102, Oxford, 165–173.
Street, M., Wild, M., in press. Technological aspects of two Mesolithic red deer 'antler frontlets' from the German Rhineland, In: Ashton, N., Fisher, C. (Eds.), No Stone Unturned. Papers in Honour of Roger Jacobi.
Clarks Erben – zur Neubewertung bearbeiteter Hirschschädel des Mesolithikums
Die ins Präboreal datierende Fundstelle Bedburg-Königshoven konnte in den späten 1980ern durch Mitarbeiter des RGZM unter Leitung von Dr. Martin Street ausgegraben werden. Es handelt sich um die im Wasser gelegene „Abfallzone“ eines Lagers an der Erft. Bei der Ausgrabung wurden seitlich durchlochte Hirschschädel gefunden, die als Masken interpretiert werden (Street 1989).
Die Gattung der als Hirschgeweihmasken sensu lato bezeichneten, modifizierten Schädel von Elch, Reh, Rentier und Hirsch ist seit den späten 1940ern bekannt. Grahame Clark entdeckte bei der Ausgrabung der frühmesolithischen Fundstelle Star Carr 21 bearbeitete Rothirschschädel, denen gemein ist, dass sie aus dem Schädel herausgetrennt wurden, so dass hauptsächlich das Stirnbein mit Geweih und Teile des Os parietale-temporale-occipitale-Komplexes stehen blieben. In diesem rückwärtigen Bereich weisen sie zwei, seltener drei artifizielle Durchlochungen auf, die einen Durchmesser von ein bis zweieinhalb Zentimetern haben. Das Geweih ist gekürzt und ausgedünnt. In den Folgejahren wurden dieser Fundgattung viele, vornehmlich frühmesolithische, Artefakte hinzugefügt. Dazu zählen, in chronologischer Reihenfolge ihrer Entdeckung, die Hirschmaske von Plau (BB), die Maske aus einem Rothirschschädel und eine Vorarbeit von Hohen Viecheln (MV), die spätjungpaläolithische Tanzmaske aus einem Renschädel von der Poggenwisch im Ahrensburger Tunneltal (SH), die Hirschmaske von Berlin-Biesdorf (BE), die bereits erwähnten Hirschgeweihmasken von Bedburg-Königshoven (NW), die Schädeltrophäen von Friesack 4 (BB) sowie das Rehgehörn aus dem Grab der Schamanin von Bad Dürrenberg (SA) (Street und Wild in Druck).
Parallel zur uneinheitlichen Nomenklatur der Fundstücke zeigt sich eine heterogene Gattung von Artefakten, deren Größe und Gewicht von weniger als 100 g bis fast 3000 g variiert und deren Modifikationen keinem einheitlichen Muster zu folgen scheinen. Für die Artefakte von Star Carr noch typisch, tragen nur wenige der Objekte artifizielle Perforationen, nicht alle haben gekürzte und ausgedünnte Geweihe etc. In der Folge dieser Uneinheitlichkeit und eines fehlenden Verständnisses der denotativen Funktion werden die Fundstücke bis heute als Jagdhilfe und/oder Schamanentracht, seltener als Trophäe verstanden.
Zwölf Artefakte werden mit dem Ziel einer umfassenden Synthese untersucht. Neben den Originalen aus Berlin-Biesdorf, Friesack, Hohen Viecheln, Plau und Bedburg-Königshoven, steht zudem ein Abguss von antler frontlet 2 aus Star Carr zur detaillierten archäozoologischen Untersuchung und morphometrischen Vermessung zur Verfügung. Zusammen helfen diese, die Gattung der Hirschgeweihmasken sensu lato erstmalig einzugrenzen und liefern somit eine Grundlage für folgende Untersuchungen dieser, für das Mesolithikum aus heutiger Perspektive identitätsstiftenden, Quellengattung. Des Weiteren werden vorläufige Ergebnisse vorgestellt, die die funktionelle Analyse der beiden auf der Sutura squamosa durchlochten Hirschschädel aus Bedburg-Königshoven erbringen (Wild in Vorbereitung). Bei der funktionellen Analyse wird die Umgebung der Perforationen unter Zuhilfenahme von hochauflösenden Bildern in verschiedenen Vergrößerungen und DSMs auf Oberflächen- und Körperveränderungen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse werden mit Perforationen von Rothirschschädeln verglichen, die in einem Experiment kontrollierten Bewegungen ausgesetzt werden und die durch unterschiedliche Bänder und Seile, die durch die artifiziellen Löcher gespannt sind, stabilisiert werden.
Supposed Mesolithic antler head-dresses from Star Carr have been interpreted as either shamanic garb and/or hunting disguises (Clark 1954). This has had a lasting impact on our interpretation of Mesolithic societies. The hypothesis that these objects were worn as a mask or head-dress has not yet been proven. However the recovery of comparable objects from sediments of roughly contemporaneous or slightly earlier age across the Northern European Plain keeps this model alive while an elementary understanding of these objects is still lacking.
To approach this special group of objects 16 out of a total of 39 modified cervid skulls with attached antlers from 8 sites which have been discussed in the context of the Star Carr antler frontlets have recently been re-examined morphometrically and technologically by the author.
The analysis of the examination parameters allows for the division of the group of modified deer skulls into four distinct groups with two contrasting entities of antler headdresses and so-called ‘[butchering and manufacturing] waste. The results of the analysis, together with the definition of Hirschgeweihkappen, will be presented in the framework of an overall discussion of their possible influence on our understanding of Mesolithic and hunter-gatherer societies.
Apart from Star Carr, a detailed review has highlighted similar artefacts from seven localities on the European continent spanning the time range of the Late Palaeolithic to Late Mesolithic. However, the precise use and function of these artefacts is still unclear. To further understand the use-life of these objects a methodology was developed that incorporated detailed microscopic analysis allied with experimental procedures. This functional analysis is currently being applied to two specimens from Bedburg-Königshoven, Germany (Street 1989). This is a novel approach that will test the head-dress hypothesis whilst providing a broader, and timely, understanding of the technical function of these items, which in turn can provide a better knowledge about the European Mesolithic itself.
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"Auf die Spur der ersten Menschen in Rheinhessen begibt sich das Museum Alzey mit seiner neuen Sonderausstellung.
Was in Afrika vor Millionen Jahren mit den Urmenschen begann, fand „out of Africa“ mit zeitlicher Verzögerung auch in Rheinhessen seinen Niederschlag. Möglicherweise schon vor 800.000 Jahren durchstreifte der Homo erectus bei Dorn-Dürkheim als Jäger die hiesige Gegend.
Die Präsenz des Neanderthalers in Rheinhessen vor mehr als 100.000 Jahren dokumentiert eine bereits in den 1920er Jahren ausgegrabene Fundstelle bei Wallertheim. Er machte dort gezielt Jagd auf Wisente, die vor Ort auch zerlegt wurden.
Der moderne Homo sapiens trat in Rheinhessen fast zeitgleich mit dem Verschwinden der Neanderthaler in Erscheinung. Funde vom Mainzer Linsenberg und von der Napoleonshöhe bei Sprendlingen dokumentieren die fortgeschrittene (Jagd-)Technologie des Jetztmenschen, der dort vor allem Rentiere und Wildpferde jagte und verwertete. Fragmente zweier auf dem Linsenberg gefundener Frauenstatuetten stellen die frühesten Ausdrucksformen künstlerischen Gestaltungswillens und –vermögens in Rheinhessen dar.
Den letzten Jägern und Sammlern in Rheinhessen ist eine kleine Ausstellungseinheit zur nacheiszeitlichen Mittelsteinzeit gewidmet, bevor sich auch in Rheinhessen mit der La Hoguette- und der band-keramischen Kultur der Übergang zu einer sesshaften, auf Ackerbau und Viehzucht basierenden Lebensweise vollzog („Neolithische Revolution“).
Konzeptioniert und kuratiert wurde die Sonderausstellung von dem Mainzer Archäologen Mathias Probst M.A. in Verbindung mit Markus Wild B.A. "