Since their initial discovery in the nineteenth century, the enigmatic prehistoric lake-dwellings of the Circum-Alpine region have captured the imagination of the public and archaeologists alike. ...Over 150 years of research have identified hundreds of lacustrine settlements spanning from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age, when apparently, they ceased to be built. Studies of Bronze Age material across Europe have often superficially identified bronze objects as being of ‘Alpine lake-dwelling origin’ or ‘lake-dwelling style’. Through a combination of material culture studies, multiple correspondence analysis, and the principle of object biographies, the role of the Late Bronze Age lake-dwelling communities in Central European exchange networks is addressed. Were the lake-dwellers production specialists? Did they control material flow across the Alps? Did their participation in exchange routes result in cultural assimilation and the ultimate decline of their settlement tradition? Travelling Objects: Changing Values offers insights and answers to such questions.
After more than 3500 years of occupation in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, the many lake-dwellings around the Circum-Alpine region ‘suddenly’ came to an end. Throughout that period alternating phases ...of occupation and abandonment illustrate how resilient lacustrine populations were against change: cultural/environmental factors might have forced them to relocate temporarily, but they always returned to the lakes. So why were the lake-dwellings finally abandoned and what exactly happened towards the end of the Late Bronze Age that made the lake-dwellers change their way of life so drastically? The new research presented here draws upon the results of a four-year-long project dedicated to shedding light on this intriguing conundrum. Placing a particular emphasis upon the Bronze Age, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has studied the lake-dwelling phenomenon inside out, leaving no stones unturned, enabling identification of all possible interactive socioeconomic and environmental factors that can be subsequently tested against each other to prove (or disprove) their validity. By refitting the various pieces of the jigsaw a plausible, but also rather unexpected, picture emerges.
The results of 46 archaeobotanical samples from the site 'Siedlung Torwiesen II' in the Federseereed, Stadt Bad Buchau, Kreis Biberach are presented here. The dendrochronological datings of the piles ...from this settlement of the Horgener culture are (placed) between 3293 and 3281 BC. The samples were taken from the refuse areas under or beside of the house forecourts or the entrance areas of the houses. As main crops naked barley (Hordeum vulgare L.ssp. nudum) and a tetraploid naked wheat species Triticum durum Desf./turgidum L.) were found. Emmer (Triticum dicoccon Schübl.) was rarely detected. Further crops were flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and poppy (Papaver somniferum L.). The spectrum of the cultivated plants show a clear cultural connection with the regions further south, as the Lake Constance and Switzerland. Huge amounts of flax remains suppose that settlements at the lake Federsee were specialised on flax production already during the Late Neolithic period.
Aus der dendrochronologisch auf 3293-3281 BC datierten und damit der frühen Horgener Kultur zuzuordnenden Siedlung Torwiesen II im Federseeried, Stadt Bad Buchau, Kreis Biberach konnten 46 Einzelproben archäobotanisch untersucht werden. Die Proben stammen aus Abfallzonen unterhalb oder seitlich der Hausvorplätze oder Hauseingangsbereiche. Hauptgetreide sind Nacktgerste (Hordeum vulgare ssp. nudum) und ein tetraploider Nachtweizen (Triticum durum vel turgidum). Emmer (Triticum dicoccon) ist selten. Weitere Kulturpflanzen sind Lein (Linum usitatissimum) und Schlafmohn (Papaver somniferum). Hervorzuheben ist eine durch die Anbaupflanzen nachweisbare kulturelle Verknüpfung zu weiter südlich gelegenen Siedlungen am deutschen Bodenseeufer und in der Schweiz. Die große Menge an Leinresten aus endneolithischen Siedlungen am Federsee, lässt eine Spezialisierung auf Leinanbau vermuten.
The chance discovery in 1854 of a prehistoric lake village on Lake Zurich triggered what we now call the 'lake-dwelling phenomenon'. One hundred and fifty years of research and animated academic ...disputes have transformed the phenomenon into one of the most reliable sources of information in wetland archaeology. This definitive volume provides an overview of the development of lake village studies, explores the impact of a range of scientific techniques on the settlements and considers how the public can relate to this evocative and exciting branch of archaeology. It explains how the multidisciplinary research context has significantly improved our knowledge of prehistoric wetland communities, from an environmental as well as a cultural perspective.
Francesco Menotti is research associate at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford University. His field of expertise is later European prehistory with a special emphasis in places upon wetland and underwater archaeology.
The metal composition of a group of eneolithic copper artefacts from the Ljubljansko barje (Ljubljana Moor) was determined by ICP-AES analysis. Half of the finds come from ...nineteenth century excavations of prehistoric pile dwellings at Ig and the remaining objects were found on the bed of the River Ljubljanica in the twentieth century. The material has been approximately dated to the fourth and third millennia BC. Analysis showed that all the objects are made of copper with various impurity patterns differing in terms of the concentration ratios of arsenic, antimony, nickel, silver and lead. The majority of the artefacts are of a copper type with dominant antimony, copper with domi-nant arsenic was found only in two artefacts. All artefacts also contain lead and silver as trace elements. The results showed that the classification of the metal composition into the copper types that have been identified in the recent German research by means of multivariate analysis was reasonable.
Geological processes on the Ljubljansko barje basin after the Last Glacial Maximum are known merely on a general level. At few points more detailed circumstances are known, but this information is ...fragmented spatially and temporally. While artefacts from the archaeological sites were studied in detail, the sediments were mostly only imperfectly described. Better understanding of the evolution of the environment requires accurate study of these sediments and buried soils, and detection of evident stratigraphical hiatuses.
Remains of pile dwellings are present in many lakes around the Alps, particularly north of the Alps in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Those remains originating from 5000-1000 B.C. are listed as ...UNESCO World Heritage because of their historical and cultural importance and thus, deserve protection. On the known pile dwelling site of Freienbach-Hurden/Seefeld in Lake Zurich near Rapperswil, Switzerland several investigations were carried out to map and characterize the cultural layers. Amongst other inspections a GPR survey was carried out. Data were acquired in shallow water with a boat, processed and interpreted with the help of drilling information. The final results was a 3-D model of cultural layers which can now be used for the planning of protective measures.
Entre Alpes et Léman, Thonon aux âges des métaux Landry, Christophe; Treffort, Jean-Michel; Tremblay-Cormier, Laurie ...
Collection EDYTEM. Cahiers de géographie,
2018, Volume:
20, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Open access
The coastline of Thonon-les-Bains and its hinterland provide a favourable framework to the spatial and diachronic analysis of land use during Protohistory. This synthesis is based on the study of old ...finds and the results of recent rescue operations, in an area between the Dranse and Redon rivers. About 15 sites form a relatively well-documented micro-region, extending from the piledwellings
village of Rives 2 to the settlements and cemeteries stepped on glacial terraces, on the marshlands filling the sinkholes of “ Aviet” in Allinges, and of “ Versoie” next to the Genevray.
Le territoire littoral de Thonon-les-Bains et son arrière-pays offrent un cadre propice à une approche spatiale et diachronique de l’occupation des sols au cours de la Protohistoire. La reprise des données anciennes et les résultats des fouilles préventives récentes alimentent ce projet de synthèse portant sur un espace compris entre les rivières Dranse et Redon. Du village lacustre de Rives 2 aux habitats et nécropoles qui s’étagent sur les terrasses glaciaires, sur les rives des marais comblant les anciennes dolines d’«Aviet » à Allinges et de «Versoie » près du Genevray, une quinzaine de sites structurent un terroir relativement bien documenté, en particulier pour la seconde moitié du Bronze final.
PDF
