Százhalombatta-Földvár is one of the biggest and most extensively studied Bronze Age tell sites in Hungary. Due to its location on a dry loessy high bluff zone on the Western bank of the river...Show moreSzázhalombatta-Földvár is one of the biggest and most extensively studied Bronze Age tell sites in Hungary. Due to its location on a dry loessy high bluff zone on the Western bank of the river Danube, a sedimentary environment that is appropriate for pollen preservation to conduct pollen analysis was not found around the site (Sumegi & Bodor, 2000). Instead, regional pollen analysis has been conducted to study the environment relating to the Százhalombatta-Földvár site. This regional sediment sample was obtained by coring from an oxbow lake about 500 m away from the site. During the Százhalombatta-Földvár excavation in 2022, however, the lithological examination of the floor sediment from [House] 9000 indicated the possibility for pollen preservation, followed by palynological investigation including the comparison to the regional pollen record. This unconventional method of pollen analysis was successfully conducted, yielding a well-preserved pollen assemblage. The methods of pollen analysis applied are pollen counts, taxonomic identification and states of preservation analysis. These methods indicate that the well-preserved pollen assemblage obtained from the unconventional context does not reflect the pollen assemblage from the oxbow lake pollen record. Especially the absence of arboreal pollen at the site compared to that recorded in the regional pollen data is conspicuous. These results allow us to discuss and investigate the sample from [House] 9000. Specifically, in the sample, taphonomic agents contributing to the absence of arboreal pollen in contrast with the regional palynological signal are analysed and the predominance of Poaceae is explained with taphonomic processes. Furthermore, the taphonomic agents causing the primary pollen preservation states are investigated and the taphonomic processes resulting in the preservation biases are explored in archaeological interpretation. In consequence, the investigation of the taphonomic processes suggests anthropogenic agents causing the discrepancy and bias in the pollen assemblage with the construction and materials used for [House] 9000. The pollen preservation state analysis revealed that the primary states of pollen preservation are degraded and folded. These in turn are evidence of the taphonomic processes of oxidisation and physical stress, which in combination with archaeological evidence suggests anthropogenic activities as cause. To conclude, this thesis could contribute to multi-disciplinary research and greater understanding of the Bronze Age site, Százhalombatta-Földvár. Moreover, it demonstrates new potential of palynological analysis employing an innovative sampling method that directly relates to the human activities at the site. The results of this thesis have the potential to stimulate further application of this new approach.Show less
Pollen grains and spores have a highly resistant wall than can preserve over thousands of years. Using this characteristic, palynologist research the past environments and human-environment...Show morePollen grains and spores have a highly resistant wall than can preserve over thousands of years. Using this characteristic, palynologist research the past environments and human-environment relations. For archaeology this is crucial information and often a general part of research on a site. As was the case at the Bronze Age burial landscape at Oss-Gewandeweg. At this site, only remains of burial mounds were left due to agricultural levelling. The remaining features, circular ditch fills were sampled for palynological analysis. However, the samples were taken from a sandy depositional context which is unideal for pollen and spore preservation. In this thesis, the reliability of these samples is assessed. If the samples are not reliable they will portray an false vegetational reconstruction. This has scientific and social implications. Palynology is plays a role in the climate change debate and should be used wrongly because of this societal value. Two research questions have been formulated in order to fulfil this goal. The first research question was aimed to study the taphonomy of the palynomorphs and the effect the sandy depositional context had on the preservation. Besides the typical production bias and dispersal bias, the preservation context increases the differential degradation bias. The sand grains provide gaps through which water can leach and oxidize the pollen. The more oxidized the pollen are, the more susceptible to micro-organism attack. Biological degradation is thus also increased. The preservation states of the pollen in the samples also illustrated the poor preservation. The second research question included a comparative analysis between the ecological reconstruction based on the samples form Oss-Gewandeweg and Oss-Mettegeul, just five kilometres apart. The lower taxa diversity, absence of certain taxa and lower proportionality of certain taxa all point to a worse preservation context compared to the samples at Oss-Mettegeul. Recommendations for future research is to sample sediment which is dark-coloured and fine-grained. If samples from the Bronze Age ditch fill are required, phytolith analysis would be a great alternative. Phytoliths are inorganic and preserve better than pollen, spores and macrofossils.Show less
Social networks are analysed to identify connections between archaeological phenomena, such as pottery assemblages, communication networks, and sites. This can be done by linking these phenomena...Show moreSocial networks are analysed to identify connections between archaeological phenomena, such as pottery assemblages, communication networks, and sites. This can be done by linking these phenomena using statistical methods or abstract network models. However, the use of abstract, computer-generated networks to study empirical datasets has been underused in archaeology. Therefore, employing computational models from other academic disciplines can benefit from this lack of abstract network analysis. This study analyses how various computer-generated networks influence the rate of adoption of the Bell Beaker pottery in the Lower Rhine Region. The Bell Beaker pottery is a Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age material culture that had been widespread across Western and Central Europe. For more than a century, there has been much debate on how the Bell Beaker phenomenon became prevalent in the archaeological record. The spread of the Bell Beaker pottery can be analysed in the context of the Lower Rhine Region by using the sociological concept of diffusion of innovations. In this thesis, the diffusion of innovations is applied to an agent-based model in which the spread of the Bell Beaker phenomenon in the Lower Rhine Region is simulated. In this model, various computer-generated networks were tested to analyse which network type fits the Bell Beaker data the best. This data is comprised of pottery frequencies from settlement sites which were chronologically organised to show how the Bell Beaker pottery was distributed over time. The results from the simulation were compared to the communication network of the Lower Rhine Region devised by Kleijne (2019). The results of this comparison show that the diffusion of the Bell Beaker phenomenon was initially fast but stagnated later in time. The diffusion was transmitted over a network structure in which a few nodes have a central position in connecting the entire network (scale-free network). The results indicate that using abstract, computer-generated networks is a suitable approach to assessing archaeological networks. Additionally, the application of theoretical and computational models from other academic disciplines can contribute to archaeological theory building. Further research is needed to test other types of network structures that were not applicable to the model used in this thesis.Show less
The analytical function of 3D data beyond visualisation and aesthetics has been a well-discussed issue in archaeological literature. Several recent projects have proposed case studies and workflows...Show moreThe analytical function of 3D data beyond visualisation and aesthetics has been a well-discussed issue in archaeological literature. Several recent projects have proposed case studies and workflows that implement three-dimensional data in 3D GIS software, yet few have truly utilised 3D modelling as a valued part of the analytical process. This begs the question, is there an added value of 3D approaches over traditional GIS, and what kinds of analytical possibilities does 3D documentation provide? This project aims to address these questions by integrating all available site datasets in a single, ‘living’ 3D GIS database which can be accessed and edited either in the ‘back end’ SQL database or the ‘front end’ 3D GIS. Furthermore, this project integrates 3D models created by structure-from-motion photogrammetry and establishes a number of useful analytical tools for working with three-dimensional spatial data, such as using artefact clusters to determine the function of space, and to comment on the taphonomic processes of the site. This project introduces the workflow for a fully integrated, interoperable database using 3D GIS, whereby three-dimensional data can be stored, viewed, and analysed alongside traditional GIS components and relevant site data such as (but by no means limited to) photographs, published related literature, and field notes. The project utilises the data from trenches B and H at Dhaskalio, Greece, excavated between 2016 and 2018. This site presented an ideal case study for the incorporation of 3D models as the project aimed to use an entirely digital recording system with photogrammetric models taken of every stratigraphic layer excavated and each architectural feature on site. This approach presents an advantageous use of 3D data in the intra-site interpretation processes.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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During the Bronze Age (BA), in the Southern Netherlands, swords have been systematically surrendered into main rivers for hundreds of years while they are completely absent in coeval burials. Such...Show moreDuring the Bronze Age (BA), in the Southern Netherlands, swords have been systematically surrendered into main rivers for hundreds of years while they are completely absent in coeval burials. Such a sharp pattern was extensively used as a platform to develop hypotheses on the social organization of the communities that performed the rite both at regional and at European level. Being a warrior is considered to have been a threat for the social cohesion of the small and egalitarian BA communities of the Low Countries: therefore, warriorhood must have been a temporary identity which was ‘worn’ when necessary, and then dismissed through the ritual deposition of certain martial paraphernalia (the swords). However, the above-mentioned model does not explain entirely why not all the swords in circulation, but only a few specimens (roughly one every 10 years), were deposited. In order to better understand the selection mechanics, I propose to analyze the possible value-giving events in which these selected items might have been through. Given the nature of the objects, combat constitutes a probable factor governing the selection of these tools for deposition. This thesis aims to illustrate a methodology for the investigation of combat practices, as well as to propose an interpretative framework suitable for gaining insights about socio-cultural aspects drawing upon data on objects’use. Through a combined approach which envisaged an experimental investigation of combat that conciliates realism and control over the variables, and an in-depth analysis of usewear traces on ancient specimens, it was possible to assess the use in combat of archaeological swords. The presence of fresh combat marks together with possible signs of ancient repairs on the swords analyzed suggests that swords have been through more than one cycles of use before being deposited. Furthermore, the incidence and the type of combat traces documented on the archaeological swords analyzed support the thesis of a skillful use of these objects in the past. By interpreting the data through a framework based on practice theory and the related conception of value-through-action, it has been possible to gain alternative perspectives on the phenomenon of deposition and on the social identity of the warrior. Drawing upon the evidence of skillful and continued use of the deposited swords, a multidisciplinary exploration of warriorhood as a practice resulted in a more fixed and socially-structuring picture of this social identity than the one proposed by previous literature providing points of discussion which question the current discourses regarding European Bronze Age society.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
closed access
The concept of abandonment is often framed within a biographical perspective where the house has the possibility to be understood in different ways throughout its use-life. Previous studies of...Show moreThe concept of abandonment is often framed within a biographical perspective where the house has the possibility to be understood in different ways throughout its use-life. Previous studies of abandonment mostly problematized how abandonment depositions were indicative of how abandonment itself was conducted, but hardly engaged with how the house-site was re-used afterwards. This results in a view of settlements where the abandonment of almost all houses is something that cannot be commented upon. Consequently, continuity and change in the use of settled landscapes cannot be viewed in relation to how people dealt with their own pasts. In contrast with this approach, the central problem discussed here revolves around how the structured analysis of abandonment practices can help to define the house during and past its abandonment in order to add temporality to our interpretations of the settled landscape. This means that the ability of past places to be of influence on future actions is investigated, particularly pertaining to the prehistoric house-site. The resulting study dealt with abandonment from a practice-theory perspective, and attempted to highlight changes in use of the house-site between the house’s use-phase, abandonment phase and post-abandonment phase. Specific attention is awarded to how the house itself was treated through the detailed study of soil features. The case-study employed to demonstrate this approach is focussed at the Westfrisian Bronze Age.Show less
