Today, large amounts of Pleistocene fossils and prehistoric artefacts are encountered in the nets of bottom trawling fishing vessels and found on beaches along the Dutch coast. Interestingly, these...Show moreToday, large amounts of Pleistocene fossils and prehistoric artefacts are encountered in the nets of bottom trawling fishing vessels and found on beaches along the Dutch coast. Interestingly, these finds do not derive from the current mainland but originate from a prehistoric land currently submerged beneath the North Sea. This land, known to us as ‘Doggerland’, extended across major parts of the North Sea during times when the sea level was more than 50 meters lower than today. The area consisted of diverse landscapes that ranged from tundra plains, during the glacial periods, to forested areas and coastal swamps, during warmer interglacial periods. These prehistoric landscapes were home to a large number of animal and plant species, and consequentially offered attractive environments for prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. The fact that remains from Doggerland are encountered today demonstrates that at least parts of these prehistoric landscapes have been preserved beneath the seabed. However, at the same time, the finds indicate that the submerged prehistoric remains are being disturbed and displaced from their original or derived context. The disturbance can be attributed to offshore industrial activities, such as the fishing industry and sand extraction activities. Through their exploitation of the seabed, a large amount of fossil bones and artefacts resurface in the fishing nets and on sand suppleted beaches along the Dutch coast. Besides that, considering that certain offshore industrial activities will expand in response to the renewable energy transition and the ever-rising sea level, major parts of Doggerland are likely to be lost in the future. On the other hand, the nature and extent of the offshore industrial disturbances in relation to the submerged prehistoric remains are far from certain. This applies to today and the future especially. The following thesis, therefore, investigates the impacts of trawling activities, sand extraction and offshore wind generation on the seabed sediments, taking into account the depositional context, taphonomic processes as well as the current hydrodynamic conditions that have altered these deposits already.Show less
The scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms...Show moreThe scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms of megalithic art. The identification of a particular recurring type of copper daggers in these representations has led to their attribution to those produced in the context of the Remedello Culture in the central area of the Po’ plain, Italy. How was it possible that this type of dagger appeared over such a vast region during the considerable time-span comprised from 3000 and 2500 BCE? Why was the Remedello-dagger specifically employed? In order to tackle these questions a framework based on branding has been theorised. Following the steps of David Wengrow (2008) and Samuel Becker (2015), the concept of branding has been used to explain the repetition of standardised design conveying some underlying information and its application in different contexts. The establishment of a prototype of the Remedello-dagger brand has been followed by its identification in the archaeological record of the Alpine region. The analysis of the evidence comprised statue-menhirs alignments in Trentino, Lunigiana and Valle Camonica and Valtellina. The evidence of funerary megalithic sites at Saint-Martin-de-Corléans (Aosta) and Petit-Chassuer (Sion), together with the rock-art complexes of Chastel- Arnaud and Mont Bégo. These contexts have been seen as representative of different employments of the Remedellian brand, which marked human (male) bodies, funerary contexts and the landscapes of rock-art complexes. The reason behind this long-lasting form of religious branding has been connected to its link to the newly introduced technology of metallurgy. Copper metalwork through the Remedellian brand was the base of a shared, cross-cultural identity in the Alpine region in the first half of the third millennium BCE.Show less
Investigates predictive modeling for bronze hoards in the Netherlands (Drenthe). After investigating the issues and requirements for this, a model is constructed using fuzzy logic.
A significant step in the history of society was the onset of metallurgy. It is however unclear when metal first started to be used as a standard, functional material in prehistory. Much of the...Show moreA significant step in the history of society was the onset of metallurgy. It is however unclear when metal first started to be used as a standard, functional material in prehistory. Much of the earliest evidence of metal artefacts within the archaeological record was deposited in a potentially ritual context, which suggests that the origin of the use of the metal as a functional material cannot be based on the presence of metal objects within the archaeological record. The deposition of supposedly ritual objects in the past does provide evidence for the presence of metal as a material, however this does not necessarily correlate to the presence of everyday, working metal objects and tools. While stone tools could have been immediately discarded once they are broken and so their stratigraphic placement in the archaeological record can be approximately correlated with the date that they were used in the past, metal tools can be re- melted and so recycled over a much longer period of time. It could therefore be argued that he earliest stratigraphic location of metal tools in the soil does not necessarily correlate with their time of origin in prehistory. In order to address this problem, many studies have instead studied the presence of metal indirectly, by investigating the microwear traces left by different tool materials in order to determine whether certain traces can be considered characteristic of metal tool use. These studies have ranged from an examination of cut marks in butchered bones to an investigation of drilling technology during bead production. The present study used experimental archaeology complemented by microwear analysis to investigate traces left by stone, antler, and metal tools during the production of amber beads, focusing particularly on the cutting and drilling stages of bead production. From an analysis of the experimentally produced pieces, it was then possible to create a list of distinguishing features for each tool material. This list of distinguishing features was then compared to those traces identified on archaeological collections from three sites in the northern Netherlands: the Late Neolithic settlement site at Kolhorn, a coffin burial in a tumulus at Emmerdennen, and grave goods from several tumuli at Hijken Hooghalen. The results demonstrated that it is possible to identify which tool material had been used to create the archaeological pieces, and thus potentially contribute towards existing studies in microwear analysis of tool traces, and potentially also further towards detecting the onset of metal as a functional material in prehistory.Show less
This thesis endeavoured to investigate whether ardmarks could be used as a proxy for field systems in prehistoric archaeology. It considered the assumption that the crystallization of field...Show moreThis thesis endeavoured to investigate whether ardmarks could be used as a proxy for field systems in prehistoric archaeology. It considered the assumption that the crystallization of field structure occurred in the Middle Bronze Age. To discover whether this was the case, this thesis tried to investigate whether social organization was also evident in the earlier field systems. The main question was how did social organization change from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Iron Age? To answer this, this thesis used ardmarks as a proxy for field systems. One of the main uses of ardmarks in current archaeological debate is to provide evidence for intensification. This thesis instead looked at the demarcations, organization of ardmarks, field systems, and how the ardmarks are currently documented to try to discover changes in field systems in prehistory. This study included 28 case studies ranging from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Iron Age. Two types of evidence were found that describe a change in social organization and therefore tenural function of fields in different phases of the prehistory. The first was the layout of the fields in the landscape and the second was the intensification of these fields. The Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age fields were set on the perimeters of landscape features; slope and tops of dunes were important focal points for the organization of these fields. The ardmarks show a pattern of parallel and perpendicular furrows to the slope. This emphasizes the natural landscape as a focal point for these fields and non-demarcated fields. Due to the local changes in natural landscape features, one could argue that these fields were set for the organization of the local settlement rather than a larger inter-organizational structure. However, in the Middle Bronze Age a shift of the layout of fields towards the lower places within the local landscape can be seen. Moreover, an increasing amount of enclosures in the form of ditch systems marks that this shift towards the lower lying areas was deliberate. However, in many case studies it is evident that the natural landscape was still influenced the layout of these fields. It is only in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age that the local relief of the landscape is disregarded for the structure of field systems. This is evident in the more dominant structuring of fields systems for inter-organizational purposes. However, this indicates that tenure was practiced in the Late Neolithic in a more local settlement scale, and that from the Middle Bronze Age it changed towards a larger organization than that of a single settlement organizational perspective. Therefore, we see a clear change in the use of fields in social organization on different landscape levels. In the end, this thesis showed that the organization of field systems changes considerably in chronology but also regionally. However, one should question if these field systems are a direct relation to tenure and chiefdoms, or rather changes in techniques and social organizational views of the land.Show less
This thesis treats the Iron Age farmstead in Dutch archaeological research. The farmstead is commonly applied as interpretation method in archaeological research. However, the information that is...Show moreThis thesis treats the Iron Age farmstead in Dutch archaeological research. The farmstead is commonly applied as interpretation method in archaeological research. However, the information that is gained from applying the farmstead to interpret archaeological features is poor. The reason for this is that the farmstead as a concept lacks definition. In order to understand the concept of the farmstead, a model is proposed in this study. This model, the process related farmstead model (PRF-model), is designed to gain insight in the processes influencing the presence of the farmstead. The PRF-model is based upon analogical reasoning, using data from pre-modern farmsteads. The basic principle of this model is that the farmstead is not a static entity but a dynamic place, which presence and shape depends on its agricultural purpose. The purpose of applying this model is to provide additional argumentation that can be used to interpret archaeological features. The PRF-model is tested upon two case-studies. These are the sites Raalte – Jonge Raan and Zutphen – Looërenk. This analysis showed that the farmstead in both sites greatly differ, because their agricultural purpose differs. I emphasize that there is a need for models to be applied on the archaeological record, so that a more credible understanding of the past can be obtained and new research methods can be proposed. This is necessary in order to get rid of the outdated and uncritically applied interpretation methods of the archaeological features that make up the farmstead.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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Archaeologists still have a lot to learn about the mortuary rituals of cremated human remains from the Bronze and Iron Age. Even though a large sample of burials from these periods contain cremated...Show moreArchaeologists still have a lot to learn about the mortuary rituals of cremated human remains from the Bronze and Iron Age. Even though a large sample of burials from these periods contain cremated remains, the main research focus has been on inhumated remains. Only recently, the importance of cremated remains became clear and the possibilities of investigating cremated human remains started to be explored. Yet, a lot of information might still be derived from these remains. With this thesis, the importance of careful and detailed excavation is studied through an examination of a human cremation burial from the Uddeler Heegde, Apeldoorn. This is done with the aim to study the funerary practices of the burial to its most extent. First, the concept of mortuary rituals is prospected through a modern (European) perspective. The excavation and determination of the case study burial are described in detail, providing a transparent study. By using concepts as personhood, social persona and the dramatis personae theory of Hertz, the relational identities of the deceased are studied. Hypotheses are used to define what mortuary practices could have been possible and which are rather implausible. Overall, this study demonstrates the additional possibilities acquired by high quality excavation of human cremation burials.Show less
The Neolithic witnessed the inception of dedicated trade networks which encompassed vast distances, over 3000 years prior to the invention of the wheel and before the domestication of traditional...Show moreThe Neolithic witnessed the inception of dedicated trade networks which encompassed vast distances, over 3000 years prior to the invention of the wheel and before the domestication of traditional beasts of burden such as horses, donkeys and camels. Communities were able to transport large quantities of material by land and water through use of a mixture of purposely created equipment and techniques. Strangely, few attempts have been made to retrace these networks of transport and attempt to postulate how material was moved from one place to another. Theoretical models of exchange are well attested, but this does not extend into practical application. This thesis will attempt to perform this application through the case study of Tell Sabi Abyad, a Late Neolithic settlement in northern Syria. The presence of bitumen and obsidian at the site have been determined to have arrived from over 300km in distance. As such, this body of research will attempt to break down such journeys and establish how they eventually arrived at a site, either by direct acquisition or otherwise. It will attempt to establish – assuming groups were indeed undertaking expeditions directly to the source – how long such a journey would have taken and by what means material was transported. The tracing of such networks of exchange provides an intriguing insight into the interconnectedness of Late Neolithic communities, and what levels of organisation existed in the facilitation of this activity.Show less
This study explores the religious developments on the Maltese archipelago from the Neolithic period until the incorporation of the islands into the Byzantine Empire in 535 CE. By chronologically...Show moreThis study explores the religious developments on the Maltese archipelago from the Neolithic period until the incorporation of the islands into the Byzantine Empire in 535 CE. By chronologically analyzing evidence for religious activities on the islands, gleaned from the corpus of published works, in a diachronic perspective and using an explorative approach, the continuity of traditions, sites and possibly beliefs are systematically studied. The result then is a religious biography of the islands, discussing mainly the continuity of phenomena and the development of religious activities. The Maltese archipelago was subjected to many different cultural influences, which is reflected in the development of religious activities. A gradual evolution from the early Neolithic up till the start of the Bronze Age can be witnessed, during which foreign influences can be recognised. After the Bronze Age, which was fundamentally different in religious traditions than its predecessor, the Orientalising influence brought upon by the Phoenicians shaped the religious landscape of the archipelago, laying the fundaments for the succeeding millennium-and-a-half. The rise of several powers in the Mediterranean area (such as the Etruscans, Greeks and the Romans) influenced Malta indirectly. During the Punic and Roman phases the religious activities are affected by Hellenising influences, seen in material culture and the identification of deities. Under Roman Imperial rule the population gradually adopts more Roman religious customs. There is some evidence for some of the Eastern mystery cults of Mithras and Isis, but future research should help to elucidate this. From the fifth century CE onwards there is enough evidence to confirm the presence of a Diaspora Jewish community, as well as infer that a good amount of the population at that time followed the religion of Christianity. The religious developments show how insularity at one hand encouraged local development of traditions, while the high connectivity due to the geographical location of the islands encouraged the introduction of new traditions. As a result a clear line of development can be traced and influencing trends can clearly be distinguished. There are still some areas, such as some of the iconography encountered, which require further exploration to provide a better understanding of the religious developments on the islands.Show less