Eneolithic

Archaeology of Death E-learning

Dear Colleagues,
As the Covid-19 safety measures are limiting our communication, please use the following web link to download presentation of the Archaeology of Death course.
https://cuni.academia.edu/JanTurek/Teaching-Documents
Since the lesson 4, that we have already missed I include much more texts and references, so you can use it as e-learning material.
Let’s hope we are going to have chance to catch up with the lectures later the spring term.
Meanwhile stay safe
and
Good luck!

Sincerely
Jan Turek
Center for Theoretical Study


The lecture provides a basic overview of the theory and methodology of the study of funerary areas, burial contexts and social and symbolic perception of death in prehistoric societies. Through the archaeological evidence of funerary rituals will be presented not only prehistoric people's attitudes toward death and the afterlife but also their culture, social organization, symbolic systems and cosmology. The focus on archaeology of personhood will be targeted mainly on the analysis of age and gender categories. Introductory topics summarize the methodology of field and laboratory research of funerary data in archaeology including application of scientific methods, spatial analysis of burial data and palaeodemography. In the interpretation section of the course an attention is also paid to the social and ritual significance of death and the transformation of human understanding of mortality. We are going to focus on case studies from different periods and locations throughout the world from Palaeolithic to the rise of historical societies. Case studies will further shed light on the social interpretation of burial data and their use in reconstructing social relationships, and will present significant discoveries. The end of the course is devoted to the ethics of the archaeological research of funerary and the political and ethical controversies surrounding human remains. This lecture is designed for audience among archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and others who have a professional interest in funerary evidence, or general curiosity about past death and burial.

The article presents the results of soil and archaeological study of the pedo-sedimentation sequence formed in the floodplain of the Derkul River (West Kazakhstan). The aim of the study was to reconstruct the stages of the alluvial sedimentogenesis alternating with relatively prolonged spans of soil formation, corresponding to the periods of floodplain agricultural development. It was established that floodplain sediment layer started to form as a result of stream sedimentation in the early Holocene; then this stage was followed by the relatively long-term soil formation period (5.6–3.8 cal. yr BC) resulting in a humus quasi-gleyic soil in the low floodplain (120–200 cm). The last period of soil formation (4.6–3.6 cal. yr BC) the floodplain was developed by man, which is displayed by the identified cultural horizon containing artifacts and having increased phosphorus content. At the end of the Subboreal period the next stage of alluvial sedimentation, started by the changed river hydrology regime, was found to be chronologically separated from the stage of stationary development of the floodplain by settled humans.

Studie byla publikována v knize ,,Ivan Pavlů ed.: Památky archeologické - Supplementum 13 – In Memoriam Jan Rulf " vydané v Praze roku 2000. ISBN: 80-86124-27-4 / The study was published in the book "Ivan Pavlů ed .: Archaeological Monuments - Supplementum 13 - In Memoriam Jan Rulf" published in Prague in 2000. ISBN: 80-86124-27-4.

In the second half of the 20th century, and in particular at the beginning of the 21st century, archaeological discoveries were made, unveiling when, where and why the oldest cities were emerging. For a long time it was believed that the processes of early urbanization should be studied primarily on the example of Mesopotamia, the Nile or the Indus Valleys. However, it turned out that a lot of interesting things happened in this respect in Copper or Early Bronze Ages in Old Europe, not to mention the valleys of the Yangtze River or the banks of the Mississippi River far away from the Old World. Wherever the production economy has made significant progress, people sooner or later started creating unprecedented so far large settlements – mega-sites with thousands of residents, intended to be economic, political, military, religious centers. Some of them became cities, others, for various reasons, disappeared. The appearance and decline of early urbanized structures fit into the rhythm of climatic and cultural changes. The way it happened in Old Europe between 5000-3000 BC will be discussed in this article. Archaeological investigations over the past 20 years show us that the proto-cities of Trypillia culture are part of some global event that began in Europe around 5000 BC.

Н.О. Гаврилюк, Ю.Я. Рассамакін, М.А. Остапенко, С.М. Разумов, М.М. Дараган, М.В. Ковальов, Н.І. Мінаєва. Розкопки та музеєфікація курганів на острові Хортиця Археологічні пам’ятки Хортиці та їх музеєфікація. – Запоріжжя: Дике Поле, 2006. – Вип.1. С. 13-28.

Riassunto Dopo una breve introduzione sull'importanza delle grotte per lo studio della Preistoria, si parla delle grotte vulcaniche dell'Etna. Si accenna alla storia delle loro scoperte e delle interpretazioni che le accompagnarono e si passa poi a ricostruire la successione delle diverse culture preistoriche in Sicilia e nella regione etnea, in rapporto alle testimonianze che possono avere lasciato all'interno delle grotte: da ciò emerge la grande densità di presenze durante il periodo tra la Tarda Età del Rame e l'Antica Età del Bronzo, quando risultano frequentate decine di grotte. Si elencano quindi brevemente le varie ipotesi fatte sugli usi delle grotte da parte dell'uomo preistorico (abitativa, funeraria, cultuale): risulta evidente che sull'Etna la seconda ipotesi è quella con più certezza attestata, ma recenti indagini hanno fatto ipotizzare una attività cultuale probabilmente collegata con quella funeraria, in particolare nella grotta Petralia, di recente esplorazione. Segue una breve descrizione di 8 grotte dell'Etna particolarmente significative per i dati che forniscono sulla loro frequentazione durante la Preistoria. Le grotte e l'archeologia Contrariamente a quello che si crede comunemente (ma l'idea risale alla cultura classica e la troviamo in Lucrezio) la caverna non costituì l'originaria abitazione dell'uomo, che nelle prime fasi della preistoria era un cacciatore nomade che si accampava all'aperto con ripari di fortuna. Ciò non toglie che le cavità naturali siano state saltuariamente frequentate per vari scopi durante quasi tutto il corso della Preistoria e costituiscano uno dei luoghi migliori per lo studio archeologico di alcuni aspetti delle comunità primitive. I fattori di questa favorevole situazione sono di ordine fisico e antropico. Innanzitutto, nel corso dei millenni le grotte, con poche eccezioni hanno avuto momenti di frequentazione e altri, molto più lunghi di abbandono. Ciò ha fatto sì che ci siano cavità che, specie nelle parti più interne, non sono state più visitate dall'epoca preistorica a quella attuale, quando qualche speleologo ne ha violato i recessi più profondi e che hanno perciò mantenuto visibili le ultime situazioni di frequenza antropica senza troppi disturbi. Anche da un punto di vista fisico-geologico, le grotte, specie se non attive carsicamente e non interessate da frane recenti, sono ambienti nei quali le azioni degli agenti atmosferici sono per forza di cose ridotte, soprattutto nel campo dell'erosione, e gli spostamenti del contenuto antropico (organico e inorganico) sono stati di minore entità. L'unica conseguenza negativa, nel caso di grotte senza interro, può essere che importanti resti organici come le ossa non si mineralizzino e quindi si dissolvano, come si è verificato proprio in alcune grotte etnee. Nei casi, invece, in cui esse siano state interessate, nel corso della preistoria, da qualche evento eccezionale (frane, alluvioni), ciò ha comportato il formarsi di strati sterili, in seguito non manomessi, che hanno permesso di separare le varie fasi di vita e distinguere i manufatti e le altre forme di cultura materiale tipiche di quelle fasi. Per questo motivo nei primi periodi della ricerca paletnologica, la ricerca in grotta è stata la più praticata, e ha permesso di avere attendibili sequenze di culture per le varie fasi della Preistoria. Se il grado di informazioni che possono darci le grotte può considerarsi buono per l'aspetto cronologico, minore può essere la loro attendibilità per gli aspetti dell'economia e dell'organizzazione sociale, non trattandosi di siti di normale attività quotidiana. Quando però sia certa la loro frequentazione per aspetti specifici legati alla sfera funeraria o religiosa, allora tornano ad essere un luogo privilegiato per lo studio della cultura dei vari gruppi umani.

Climate and palaeoeconomy in the Neolithic of Turgai
Animal farming of Sintashta Culture by the data of rituals
Sacral meaning of gaming culture in the early history of Eurasia
Razor in warriors’ culture of the Bronze Age
Snake-Man in African myths and fairy tales

Климат и палеоэкономика в неолите Тургая
Скотоводство синташтинской культуры по обрядовым данным
Сакральный смысл игровой культуры в древней истории Евразии
Бритва в воинской культуре бронзового века
Человек-змея в африканских мифах и сказках

In questo articolo sono esposti i risultati della prima campagna di scavi del sito di Casale del Cavaliere, situato ad est di Roma, quasi ai confini del territorio comunale. La campagna si è  svolta nell’autunno del 1991 ed ha interessato un area di circa 120 mq degli 800 su cui erano dispersi i materiali in superficie.
I dati preliminari relativi ai materiali ceramici, all’industria litica ed alle strutture di abitato, hanno permesso di collocare il complesso di Casale del Cavaliere nell'ambito dell'eneolitico avanzato del versante medio-tirrenico della penisola italiana.

This paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign at the site of Casale del Cavaliere, situated east of Rome, near the boundaries of the municipal territory. This campaign was carried out in the autumn of 1991 and involved an area of 120 square meters of 800 on which were scattered archaeological materials on surface. The preliminary data from the study of the ceramics, the lithic industry  and  settlement  structures, allowed to attribute the complex of Casale del Cavaliere to a late Eneolithic phase, typical in the medium Tyrrhenian side of the Italian peninsula

Archeologové zjistili, že lidé z pozdní doby kamenné
(eneolitu) používali nové typy keramických nádob, které jejich
předkové nepotřebovali. Takové nádoby nacházíme nejen
v hrobech, ale také v celých souborech ukládaných do země
mimo pohřebiště, patrně jako součást nějakého obětního
rituálu. Podobné „rituály“ dodnes provozují miliony lidí na
celém světě, aniž si uvědomují, jak hluboké kořeny jejich
chování má.

The copper Age in central southern Italy. Anthropological problems of the Gaudo facies - In
order to reconstruct the biological characteristics of the populations who lived in Italy during the Eneolithic period, some
skeletal samples come from Italy, and in particular central southern Italy, has been studied. The investigation, based on
the analysis of the morphometric and genetic traits, was lead with the aim to know the micro-evolutive steps which have
leaded the “modernization” process.

Human skull artifacts are found relatively rarely and in various cultural environments. They have been discussed in anthropological literature since the nineteenth century during which the discovery of the majority of the known finds from Western Europe, mostly related to the Neolithic, occurred. Unfortunately, the discovery context is known for only a few of them. It is assumed that they were made and used as objects with supernatural properties. They are usually considered together with human skull trepanations. According to one of their interpretations, roundels were made from skulls of people who survived trepanations or other skull traumas, and had a magic and protective function. This paper presents five new finds of skull roundels, as well as a bowl made from a human skull, that were discovered in Late Eneolithic layers of the Kozareva Mogila settlement. Two of the roundels bear marks of survived skull traumas. The round-els were found in two adjacent buildings in a burned layer of the settlement mound. Potter's kilns and other finds in this layer give grounds for the assumption that this part of the settlement had been turned into a potter's workshop at the time. In the necropolis, in a burial dating from approximately the same time, a skeleton was found with a significant part of the skull removed and buried in a separate little pit next to the grave. The fragments are perforated in ways analogous to the roundels while skulls from other burials show marks of cutting, incomplete trepanation, and complete survived trepanation. The possible connections between the finds from the necropolis and the settlement are discussed. Additionally skull rattles and little drums (damaru) known from North America and Tibet, which are analogous to skull roun-dels from Europe, are presented.

This work is focused on conducting an archaeological topography of the Trnavská pahorkatina Upland and Lower Váh Alluvial Plain from the age of the paleolithic to the Hallstatt period. Based on studying Professional literature we created a catalogue of all sites and finds in the mentioned area. The next was to apply these sites on to maps so to we could add additional information in the core of the paper and ponder about connections between them. This could be a basis for further studies in this field and it could also help protect and preserve sites in this zone.

Abstrakt: Práca sa zameriava na vypracovanie archeologickej topografie Trnavskej pahorkatiny a Dolnovážskej nivy v období od paleolitu po koniec doby halštatskej. Na základe štúdia odbornej literatúry, sme vytvorili katalógový súpis všetkých lokalít a nálezov v spomínanej oblasti. Následne sme všetky lokality vyniesli na mapy, aby sme následne v jadre práce mohli podať doplňujúce informácie a zamyslieť sa nad vzájomnými vzťahmi jednotlivých lokalít. Táto práca môže byť základom ďalšieho bádania v predmetnej oblasti a rovnako môže pomôcť k lepšej ochrane archeologických lokalít v nej.