Das Jungneolithikum in Schleswig-Holstein

Deutsche Beschreibung

Das Buch bietet eine detaillierte Darstellung des J�ngeren Neolithikums (ca. 2850 - 2250 v.Chr.) in Schleswig-Holstein (SH). Neben der Vorlage aller bisher bekannter Funde und Befunde der Einzelgrabkultur wird ein besonderer Fokus auf deren Hammer�xte gelegt. Sie sind das meist vorkommende Artefakt und bieten in ihren Kontexten eine M�glichkeit, soziale Praktiken des Jungneolithikums zu analysieren.

Grunds�tzlich nimmt die Variationsbreite der Hammer�xte mit der Zeit zu, was - �hnlich wie bei den Flintdolchen - als ein Hinweis auf komplexer werdende soziale Beziehungen gewertet wird. Viele Hammer�xte wurden fragmentiert deponiert. Zahlreiche Argumente werden angef�hrt, warum dies intentionell und rituell geschah. Wir haben es mit einer neuen Deponierungspraxis zu tun, die in dieser Form aus dem Mittelneolithikum nicht bekannt war. Zus�tzlich k�nnen Unterschiede in Deponierungspraktiken zwischen dem westlichen und �stlichen Holstein festgestellt werden, die als eine strukturell unterschiedliche soziale Orientierung der beteiligten Gruppen interpretiert werden.

English abstract (text in German)

This book offers a comprehensive study of the Younger Neolithic period ([YN], c. 2850 - 2250 BC) of Schleswig-Holstein (SH). Apart from presenting all currently known artifacts and contexts of that period in detail, a particular focus was placed on the examination of YN battle axes. They appear to be the most common artifact that is preserved from the YN, and they are very well suited for investigating social phenomena. These artifacts furthermore changed diachronically.

While battle axes of the early stage are shaped more or less equally elaborately, late specimens exhibit significant morphological variation and difference, as some specimens were shaped very elaborately whereas others were quite simple. The same difference has been observed for the subsequently used flint daggers. It is suggested that this difference reflects the emergence of a more stratified society.

Many battle axes appear to have been deposited as broken pieces. As the ratio of cutting edges to butt ends is unequal (2:1) both in SH and in a wider region and as many pieces have "decorations" (Applikationen, pars pro toto shaft holes), battle axes are regarded as intentionally deposited. Accordingly, a large proportion of single finds are regarded as intentional depositions.

Another focus was set on examining the transition to the YN. It is argued that many aspects that are said to characterize the YN are rooted in the preceding Middle Neolithic. A novelty is that social role becomes marked in funerary contexts. Thus, the transformation to the YN marks a certain point where already initiated societal changes become visible for first time. The examination of certain attributes revealed furthermore that there are differences between western and eastern SH which are not determined by chronological changes only. Rather, general differences appear between western and eastern regions, an in a wider geographical as well as temporal frame, which might be linked to different social orientations - either collectively or individually acting groups.

Scales of Transformation Series

This is the publication series of the Kiel University research project "CRC 1266" which takes a long-term perspective, from 15,000 BCE to 1 BCE, to investigate processes of transformation in a crucial period of human history, from late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers to early state societies.

Funded by the German Research Foundation, the CRC combines research of around 60 scientists from eight institutions and the Johanna-Mestorf-Academy of the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel as well as the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA) and the Archaeological State Museum Schloss Gottdorf.

Cartea ofera o descriere detaliata a neoliticului tanar (aprox. 2850-2250 i.Hr.) in Schleswig-Holstein (SH).