In this study of the Middle Neolithic sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder in the western Netherlands, the mortuary practices of these sites are discussed through the study of...Show moreIn this study of the Middle Neolithic sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder in the western Netherlands, the mortuary practices of these sites are discussed through the study of archaeothanatology. Archaeothanatology combines extensive documentation of graves and human remains with biological and taphonomical knowledge to reconstruct prehistoric approaches to death. It has shown that the dead have been treated in multiple ways at Ypenburg and Schipluiden. While the most common positioning of the dead in a tightly flexed manner suggests that the dead could have been wrapped in an organic material, the addition of multiple individuals to one grave shows that the inhabitants had an exact way of knowing where they had buried their dead. The addition of scattered human remains among settlement refuse is an indication that a different mortuary treatment existed where individual skeletal elements seem to have been displaced by either cultural or natural taphonomic processes. All of these mortuary practices are paralleled in the contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures in Northwestern Europe at sites such as Urk-E4, Schokland-P14 and Gougenheim. This attests to the longstanding contacts that have existed between peoples more Mesolithic in character and fully Neolithic peoples since the introduction of the new Neolithic lifestyle circa 5500-5000 BC. As new facets of life such as agriculture, stock breeding, pottery and permanent occupation were introduced, the mortuary practices seem to have also developed from the stretched burial position on the back to the tightly flexed fetal position. Perhaps the process of neolithisation is thus also reflected in the mortuary record.Show less
This thesis focusses mainly on Neolithic ornaments made of jet and seeks to interpret these finds by addressing two objectives. The first objective of this thesis is concerned with characterizing...Show moreThis thesis focusses mainly on Neolithic ornaments made of jet and seeks to interpret these finds by addressing two objectives. The first objective of this thesis is concerned with characterizing the black shiny ornaments of Schipluiden and Ypenburg which have preliminarily been termed jets and to further investigate the possibilities of provenance studies for Dutch Neolithic jet ornaments with the use of XRF. The second objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibility of distinguishing between an intentional polish and use-wear related shine on the basis of macroscopic analysis. For this purpose a series of experiments has been designed involving experimentally made ornamental beads and a rock tumbler. An XRF distinction shows that the finished ornaments of Ypenburg are possibly all true Upper Lias jets. A large amount of the objects under investigation are probably not, however, including all finished ornaments from Schipluiden. It has proven possible to distinguish between an intentional polish and a use-wear related shine. This experiment, although insightful, is incomplete as it lacks the evidence to conclusively distinguish an intentional polish from a use-wear related shine. Similar experiments could be set up for future research with longer tumbling durations and allow the use of different polish materials.Show less
