Bente Philippsen
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 940532 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Bente Philippsen |
| NOMBRES | Bente |
| APELLIDO | Philippsen |
| FIRMA | PHILIPPSEN B |
| AFILIACIONES | Aarhus University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5732-3570 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 30 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 73 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 30 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2013 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
Tracing giants through time
Introduction Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are deep-diving apex predators whose offshore ecology limits direct observation. Stable isotope analysis is widely used to infer cetacean diet and habitat use, but its application to archaeological whale remains remains rare despite the regular occurrence of sperm whales in zooarchaeological assemblages. Here, we combine stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope analysis with zooarchaeol…
Sedimentary ancient DNA metagenomic analysis provides new insights into farming in central Norway from the Bronze Age to late Medieval period
Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has been proposed as a key methodology for reconstructing paleoclimates and biodiversity over time. To a lesser extent, it has been explored as a complementary tool for reconstructing human-driven local environmental changes over time, such as those explored in open air archaeological sites. Our study employs a sedaDNA metagenomic approach to investigate land use and environmental change at the archaeological sit…
The Herlaugshaugen ship burial
The large mound of Herlaugshaugen, on the island of Leka off the coast of Norway, has long been associated with the legendary storeroom (and burial place) of Herlaug, a pre-Viking king of the region Namdalen. Excavations at the site in 2023 recovered iron clinker nails and wooden fragments, identifying one of the earliest ship burials in Scandinavia. Here, the authors detail these findings and explore the significance of Herlaugshaugen in expandi…
Determining vertical growth patterns and tissue of maximum age using radiocarbon dating in the long-lived Namib Desert plant Welwitschia mirabilis
Welwitschia mirabilis , a unique gymnosperm native to Namibia and Angola, is a keystone plant species in the Namib Desert. It represents the only extremely long-lived non-clonal plant species occurring under hyperarid desert conditions, yet limited attempts have been made to accurately determine its age. Here, we present radiocarbon dates from a dead, sectioned Welwitschia of moderate size. We find the outer caudex tissue growth to progressively …
Hidden Structures
During the course of masonry restoration work at Stavanger Cathedral in southwestern Norway, numerous holes were discovered in rubble stone walls in the Gothic sections of the building. These holes were identified as putlog holes linked to the construction of the cathedral in the medieval period. The holes resulted from the use of scaffolding; remnants of wooden logs were found in all the holes, although in varying states of preservation. Detaile…
Wattling for Fish
The importance of forest resources to the Stone Age populations of Northern Europe has not been comprehensively studied, despite wood raw materials forming the basis for life, settlement, mobility, and subsistence. In addition to firewood and construction needs, wood has been used for a wide range of purposes. The paucity of research is due to the limited preservation of organic materials at archaeological sites in drylands, whereas wetlands and …
Marine reservoir effects in early Christian graves from Norway
We investigated radiocarbon dates of human bone samples from several medieval sites in Trondheim, central Norway. Stable isotope data was used to estimate marine correction for the radiocarbon dates, which is necessary to correct the radiocarbon ages and establish age models for the archaeological layers. We observed that a marine correction without ΔR does not lead to a well-defined model for all sites. Allowing a variable ΔR improves the model,…
Fishing with Stationary Wooden Structures in Stone Age Denmark
An abundance and diverse range of prehistoric fishing practices was revealed during excavations between 2012 and 2022 at the construction site of the Femern Belt Tunnel, linking the islands of Lolland (Denmark) and Femern (Germany). The waterlogged parts of the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord yielded well preserved organic materials, including the remains of wooden fish traps and weirs, and numerous vertical stakes and posts driven into the former sea…
Stone-Paved Cellars in the Stone Age? Archaeological Evidence for a Neolithic Subterranean Construction From Nygårdsvej 3, Falster, Denmark
We present the excavation results from a Middle Neolithic site associated with the Funnel Beaker Culture. Within two overlying house phases, a recessed area was recorded, which had been constructed using different sized pebbles. The arrangement and form of the feature clearly indicated anthropogenic origin and is understood as belonging to one of the house phases. Consequently, it is interpreted as a cellar. Several pits and post holes are additi…
Ginnerup Revisited. New Excavations at a Key Neolithic Site on Djursland, Denmark
New excavations of an enclosure-related site at Ginnerup on Djursland, Denmark, in 2020 resulted in the identification of several features containing depositions of marine shells. One of these, A4, is a natural depression with a fill comprised of four consecutively deposited layers, forming an undisturbed stratigraphy, dated by several 14C dates to between c. 3150 and 2950 BC. The oldest layer contained finds from phase MN A Ib of the Funnel Beak…
The Chronology of Neolithic-Eneolithic in the Steppe Zone of the Volga Basin
Introduction. The steppe zone of the Volga basin is interesting in connection with the study of the Orlovskaya, Cis-Caspian, and Khvalinskaya cultures. These cultures have an important significance for the prehistorical archaeology of Eastern Europe. The Orlovskaya culture is characterized by the appearance of the most ancient ceramics in the region, early signs of domestication are connected with the Cis-Caspian culture but the earlier metal ite…
Titelseiten
Reconsidering the Pitted Ware chronology
The Pitted Ware culture continues to attract attention from scholars. Being chronologically situated in the Neolithic, the Pitted Ware phenomenon breaks with our traditional view on cultural and social evolution by representing a return to, or continuation of, an otherwise abandoned hunter-gatherer lifestyle. One of the key issues for trying to understand the Pitted Ware Culture is its chronology – when and where did this phenomenon emerge for th…
Findings from an in-Depth Annual Tree-Ring Radiocarbon Intercomparison
The radiocarbon ( 14 C) calibration curve so far contains annually resolved data only for a short period of time. With accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) matching the precision of decay counting, it is now possible to efficiently produce large datasets of annual resolution for calibration purposes using small amounts of wood. The radiocarbon intercomparison on single-year tree-ring samples presented here is the first to investigate specifically …
New Single-Year Radiocarbon Measurements Based on Danish oak Covering the Periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057
Single-year measurements of radiocarbon ( 14 C) in tree rings have led to the discovery of rapid cosmic-ray events as well as longer lasting anomalies, which have given new insights into the Sun’s behavior in the past. Here, we present two new single-year 14 C records based on Danish oak that span the periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057, respectively, and consequently include the two rapid cosmic-ray events in AD 775 and 994. The new data are present…
New data on agro-pastoral diets in southern Italy from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
The socio-cultural and economic developments that took place from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age are poorly understood, despite the fact that they were essential for the establishment of fully agro-pastoral economies in Europe. In this study, we aim to assess dietary changes in communities living in southern Italy during this period by examining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios on human bone collagen. In particular, we investigated skel…
Δ 13 C values of wood and Charcoal Reveal Broad Isotopic ranges at the base of the Food Web
The aim of this study is to investigate the range, the degree of variability, and a possible time or species dependence of wood and charcoal δ 13 C values within one small study area. To achieve this, we used δ 13 C and 14 C determinations of more than 400 archaeological samples from a ca. 300 ha area in Denmark, spanning 5000 years and covering several different species. The δ 13 C values of the wood and charcoal range from −32.8‰ to −21.2‰. We …
Eight New Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene AMS Dates from the Southeastern Baltic
Only a limited number of radiometric dates for the Final Palaeolithic and the first half of the Mesolithic are available from the southeastern Baltic. This paper presents eight new Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry ( 14 C AMS) ages of osseous artifacts housed at the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Art. These artifacts include one piece of worked reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) antler, three axes o…
Approaches to Determine reservoir effects in ELK/Moose
The elk/moose ( Alces alces ) was an important resource for prehistoric societies. In prehistoric art, it is often depicted in connection with water. Biologists find that elk spend much time in water and consume considerable amounts of aquatic plants. As freshwater plants can have reservoir ages of hundreds or even thousands of years, there is a risk of a significant reservoir effect in elk bones and antler, and artifacts made of these materials.…
Making Silent Bones Speak
Orphaned osseous tools are very often perceived as having a high aesthetic value, but are usually under-examined. This article illustrates the research potential of these artefacts, with a case study of Mesolithic stray finds from Lithuania. Four bone points from the River Šventoji, Vaikantonys, Obšrūtai and Kamšai were subjected to AMS dating, tandem mass spectrometry for animal species identification, and technological and use-wear analysis. Th…
Chronology and Dynamics of Ancient Pottery Traditions’ Dissemination in Steppes of Lower Volga Region
The territory of the Lower Volga plays an important role in the study of the Neolithic of Eastern Europe. The leading indicator of this epoch is pottery. Determining the chronology of pottery making is one of the most complex issues. Over the past ten years, a large number of radiocarbon dates (43) have been obtained on various materials: coal, bones, organic materials in pottery, crusts, humus. They allowed accurate determining of the initial ti…
Diet and Radiocarbon Dating of Tollund Man
Tollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no attempts to reconstruct his general diet through isotope analyses have been conducted. Furthermore, previous radiocarbon ( 14 C) analyses have only been able to date him broadly to the 3rd–4th century BC. In this study, stable…
From Oysters to Cockles at Hjarnø Sund
Archaeological fieldwork at Hjarnø Sund in Horsens Fjord (eastern Jutland, Denmark) has explored an eroding Mesolithic shell midden. Its stratigraphy is characterized by two layers, containing marine mollusk taxa typically collected by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers for food. In the field, the lower layer appeared to be dominated by oysters ( Ostrea edulis ), while the upper one by cockles ( Cerastoderma edule ), which was confirmed by our zooarchae…
Reservoir Effects in a Stone Age Fjord on Lolland, Denmark
On the island of Lolland, southeast Denmark, an area of almost 300 ha is currently under archaeological investigation prior to the planned construction of a tunnel between Denmark and Germany under the Femern belt. The area investigated in the context of the “Femern project” includes a former fjord or lagoon, which was used both as an economic resource and as background for ritual activities in the Neolithic. The wetland conditions give excellent…
Dating the lost arrow shafts from Stellmoor (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
In 1935-36, at Stellmoor, near Hamburg, the archaeologist Alfred Rust recovered over 100 wooden arrow shafts and thousands of reindeer bones and antlers, from a gyttja layer attributed to the Younger Dryas. The arrow shafts were - and still are - the oldest direct evidence of bow-and-arrow hunting in the world. Rust described them in detail in his 1943 monograph on Stellmoor, but all the recorded wooden artefacts were lost in an air-raid in 1944.…
Freshwater Reservoir Effect Variability in Northern Germany
The freshwater reservoir effect is a potential problem when radiocarbon dating fish bones, shells, human bones, or food crusts on pottery from sites near rivers or lakes. The reservoir age in hardwater rivers can be up to several thousand years and may be highly variable. Accurate 14 C dating of freshwater-based samples requires knowing the order of magnitude of the reservoir effect and its degree of variability. Measurements on modern riverine m…
Findings from an in-Depth Annual Tree-Ring Radiocarbon Intercomparison
The radiocarbon ( 14 C) calibration curve so far contains annually resolved data only for a short period of time. With accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) matching the precision of decay counting, it is now possible to efficiently produce large datasets of annual resolution for calibration purposes using small amounts of wood. The radiocarbon intercomparison on single-year tree-ring samples presented here is the first to investigate specifically …
Eight New Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene AMS Dates from the Southeastern Baltic
Only a limited number of radiometric dates for the Final Palaeolithic and the first half of the Mesolithic are available from the southeastern Baltic. This paper presents eight new Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry ( 14 C AMS) ages of osseous artifacts housed at the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Art. These artifacts include one piece of worked reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) antler, three axes o…
Mid- to late-Holocene reservoir-age variability and isotope-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Limfjord, Denmark
Palaeoenvironmental and 14 C reservoir age variability in the Limfjord, a sound through northern Jutland, Denmark, was investigated for the period 7300 to 1300 cal yr BP. Shells and bulk sediment samples from a core from a former inlet, Kilen, were analysed by radiocarbon dating and stable isotope (C/N) measurements. A strong correlation between the C/N ratios and δ 13 C values verifies that these are good carbon source indicators and thus allow …
New data on agro-pastoral diets in southern Italy from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
The socio-cultural and economic developments that took place from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age are poorly understood, despite the fact that they were essential for the establishment of fully agro-pastoral economies in Europe. In this study, we aim to assess dietary changes in communities living in southern Italy during this period by examining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios on human bone collagen. In particular, we investigated skel…
Inland Ertebølle Culture
The Ertebølle culture is a late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher culture in southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and Poland. Archaeological finds as well as scientific analyses of humans and their artefacts indicate the great importance of aquatic resources, both marine and freshwater, to Ertebølle subsistence. In northern Germany, modern freshwater fish samples can have very high apparent radiocarbon ages (up to 3000 years). If such dramatic …
New Single-Year Radiocarbon Measurements Based on Danish oak Covering the Periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057
Single-year measurements of radiocarbon ( 14 C) in tree rings have led to the discovery of rapid cosmic-ray events as well as longer lasting anomalies, which have given new insights into the Sun’s behavior in the past. Here, we present two new single-year 14 C records based on Danish oak that span the periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057, respectively, and consequently include the two rapid cosmic-ray events in AD 775 and 994. The new data are present…
Diet and Radiocarbon Dating of Tollund Man
Tollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no attempts to reconstruct his general diet through isotope analyses have been conducted. Furthermore, previous radiocarbon ( 14 C) analyses have only been able to date him broadly to the 3rd–4th century BC. In this study, stable…
Reconsidering the Pitted Ware chronology
The Pitted Ware culture continues to attract attention from scholars. Being chronologically situated in the Neolithic, the Pitted Ware phenomenon breaks with our traditional view on cultural and social evolution by representing a return to, or continuation of, an otherwise abandoned hunter-gatherer lifestyle. One of the key issues for trying to understand the Pitted Ware Culture is its chronology – when and where did this phenomenon emerge for th…
Fishing with Stationary Wooden Structures in Stone Age Denmark
An abundance and diverse range of prehistoric fishing practices was revealed during excavations between 2012 and 2022 at the construction site of the Femern Belt Tunnel, linking the islands of Lolland (Denmark) and Femern (Germany). The waterlogged parts of the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord yielded well preserved organic materials, including the remains of wooden fish traps and weirs, and numerous vertical stakes and posts driven into the former sea…
Reservoir Effects in a Stone Age Fjord on Lolland, Denmark
On the island of Lolland, southeast Denmark, an area of almost 300 ha is currently under archaeological investigation prior to the planned construction of a tunnel between Denmark and Germany under the Femern belt. The area investigated in the context of the “Femern project” includes a former fjord or lagoon, which was used both as an economic resource and as background for ritual activities in the Neolithic. The wetland conditions give excellent…
Δ 13 C values of wood and Charcoal Reveal Broad Isotopic ranges at the base of the Food Web
The aim of this study is to investigate the range, the degree of variability, and a possible time or species dependence of wood and charcoal δ 13 C values within one small study area. To achieve this, we used δ 13 C and 14 C determinations of more than 400 archaeological samples from a ca. 300 ha area in Denmark, spanning 5000 years and covering several different species. The δ 13 C values of the wood and charcoal range from −32.8‰ to −21.2‰. We …
Approaches to Determine reservoir effects in ELK/Moose
The elk/moose ( Alces alces ) was an important resource for prehistoric societies. In prehistoric art, it is often depicted in connection with water. Biologists find that elk spend much time in water and consume considerable amounts of aquatic plants. As freshwater plants can have reservoir ages of hundreds or even thousands of years, there is a risk of a significant reservoir effect in elk bones and antler, and artifacts made of these materials.…
From Oysters to Cockles at Hjarnø Sund
Archaeological fieldwork at Hjarnø Sund in Horsens Fjord (eastern Jutland, Denmark) has explored an eroding Mesolithic shell midden. Its stratigraphy is characterized by two layers, containing marine mollusk taxa typically collected by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers for food. In the field, the lower layer appeared to be dominated by oysters ( Ostrea edulis ), while the upper one by cockles ( Cerastoderma edule ), which was confirmed by our zooarchae…
The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating
The freshwater reservoir effect can result in anomalously old radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers. This includes the bones of people whose subsistence was based on freshwater fish, and pottery in which fish was cooked. Water rich in dissolved ancient calcium carbonates, commonly known as hard water, is the most common reason for the freshwater reservoir effect. It is therefore also called hardwater effect. Although it has been known…
Mid- to late-Holocene reservoir-age variability and isotope-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Limfjord, Denmark
Palaeoenvironmental and 14 C reservoir age variability in the Limfjord, a sound through northern Jutland, Denmark, was investigated for the period 7300 to 1300 cal yr BP. Shells and bulk sediment samples from a core from a former inlet, Kilen, were analysed by radiocarbon dating and stable isotope (C/N) measurements. A strong correlation between the C/N ratios and δ 13 C values verifies that these are good carbon source indicators and thus allow …
Freshwater Reservoir Effect Variability in Northern Germany
The freshwater reservoir effect is a potential problem when radiocarbon dating fish bones, shells, human bones, or food crusts on pottery from sites near rivers or lakes. The reservoir age in hardwater rivers can be up to several thousand years and may be highly variable. Accurate 14 C dating of freshwater-based samples requires knowing the order of magnitude of the reservoir effect and its degree of variability. Measurements on modern riverine m…
Inland Ertebølle Culture
The Ertebølle culture is a late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher culture in southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and Poland. Archaeological finds as well as scientific analyses of humans and their artefacts indicate the great importance of aquatic resources, both marine and freshwater, to Ertebølle subsistence. In northern Germany, modern freshwater fish samples can have very high apparent radiocarbon ages (up to 3000 years). If such dramatic …
Hard water and old food. The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating of food residues on pottery
This paper discusses the problem of the freshwater reservoir effect in the radiocarbon dating of different sample materials, in particular food crusts on pottery. Charred food residue can be used to directly date of the use of the pottery. However, this material is highly complex, which can lead to various dating errors
Making Silent Bones Speak
Orphaned osseous tools are very often perceived as having a high aesthetic value, but are usually under-examined. This article illustrates the research potential of these artefacts, with a case study of Mesolithic stray finds from Lithuania. Four bone points from the River Šventoji, Vaikantonys, Obšrūtai and Kamšai were subjected to AMS dating, tandem mass spectrometry for animal species identification, and technological and use-wear analysis. Th…
Chronology and Dynamics of Ancient Pottery Traditions’ Dissemination in Steppes of Lower Volga Region
The territory of the Lower Volga plays an important role in the study of the Neolithic of Eastern Europe. The leading indicator of this epoch is pottery. Determining the chronology of pottery making is one of the most complex issues. Over the past ten years, a large number of radiocarbon dates (43) have been obtained on various materials: coal, bones, organic materials in pottery, crusts, humus. They allowed accurate determining of the initial ti…
Diet and Radiocarbon Dating of Tollund Man
Tollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no attempts to reconstruct his general diet through isotope analyses have been conducted. Furthermore, previous radiocarbon ( 14 C) analyses have only been able to date him broadly to the 3rd–4th century BC. In this study, stable…
From Oysters to Cockles at Hjarnø Sund
Archaeological fieldwork at Hjarnø Sund in Horsens Fjord (eastern Jutland, Denmark) has explored an eroding Mesolithic shell midden. Its stratigraphy is characterized by two layers, containing marine mollusk taxa typically collected by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers for food. In the field, the lower layer appeared to be dominated by oysters ( Ostrea edulis ), while the upper one by cockles ( Cerastoderma edule ), which was confirmed by our zooarchae…
Reservoir Effects in a Stone Age Fjord on Lolland, Denmark
On the island of Lolland, southeast Denmark, an area of almost 300 ha is currently under archaeological investigation prior to the planned construction of a tunnel between Denmark and Germany under the Femern belt. The area investigated in the context of the “Femern project” includes a former fjord or lagoon, which was used both as an economic resource and as background for ritual activities in the Neolithic. The wetland conditions give excellent…
Δ 13 C values of wood and Charcoal Reveal Broad Isotopic ranges at the base of the Food Web
The aim of this study is to investigate the range, the degree of variability, and a possible time or species dependence of wood and charcoal δ 13 C values within one small study area. To achieve this, we used δ 13 C and 14 C determinations of more than 400 archaeological samples from a ca. 300 ha area in Denmark, spanning 5000 years and covering several different species. The δ 13 C values of the wood and charcoal range from −32.8‰ to −21.2‰. We …
Eight New Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene AMS Dates from the Southeastern Baltic
Only a limited number of radiometric dates for the Final Palaeolithic and the first half of the Mesolithic are available from the southeastern Baltic. This paper presents eight new Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry ( 14 C AMS) ages of osseous artifacts housed at the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Art. These artifacts include one piece of worked reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) antler, three axes o…
Approaches to Determine reservoir effects in ELK/Moose
The elk/moose ( Alces alces ) was an important resource for prehistoric societies. In prehistoric art, it is often depicted in connection with water. Biologists find that elk spend much time in water and consume considerable amounts of aquatic plants. As freshwater plants can have reservoir ages of hundreds or even thousands of years, there is a risk of a significant reservoir effect in elk bones and antler, and artifacts made of these materials.…
Findings from an in-Depth Annual Tree-Ring Radiocarbon Intercomparison
The radiocarbon ( 14 C) calibration curve so far contains annually resolved data only for a short period of time. With accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) matching the precision of decay counting, it is now possible to efficiently produce large datasets of annual resolution for calibration purposes using small amounts of wood. The radiocarbon intercomparison on single-year tree-ring samples presented here is the first to investigate specifically …
New Single-Year Radiocarbon Measurements Based on Danish oak Covering the Periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057
Single-year measurements of radiocarbon ( 14 C) in tree rings have led to the discovery of rapid cosmic-ray events as well as longer lasting anomalies, which have given new insights into the Sun’s behavior in the past. Here, we present two new single-year 14 C records based on Danish oak that span the periods AD 692–790 and 966–1057, respectively, and consequently include the two rapid cosmic-ray events in AD 775 and 994. The new data are present…
New data on agro-pastoral diets in southern Italy from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
The socio-cultural and economic developments that took place from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age are poorly understood, despite the fact that they were essential for the establishment of fully agro-pastoral economies in Europe. In this study, we aim to assess dietary changes in communities living in southern Italy during this period by examining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios on human bone collagen. In particular, we investigated skel…
Titelseiten
Reconsidering the Pitted Ware chronology
The Pitted Ware culture continues to attract attention from scholars. Being chronologically situated in the Neolithic, the Pitted Ware phenomenon breaks with our traditional view on cultural and social evolution by representing a return to, or continuation of, an otherwise abandoned hunter-gatherer lifestyle. One of the key issues for trying to understand the Pitted Ware Culture is its chronology – when and where did this phenomenon emerge for th…
The Chronology of Neolithic-Eneolithic in the Steppe Zone of the Volga Basin
Introduction. The steppe zone of the Volga basin is interesting in connection with the study of the Orlovskaya, Cis-Caspian, and Khvalinskaya cultures. These cultures have an important significance for the prehistorical archaeology of Eastern Europe. The Orlovskaya culture is characterized by the appearance of the most ancient ceramics in the region, early signs of domestication are connected with the Cis-Caspian culture but the earlier metal ite…
Ginnerup Revisited. New Excavations at a Key Neolithic Site on Djursland, Denmark
New excavations of an enclosure-related site at Ginnerup on Djursland, Denmark, in 2020 resulted in the identification of several features containing depositions of marine shells. One of these, A4, is a natural depression with a fill comprised of four consecutively deposited layers, forming an undisturbed stratigraphy, dated by several 14C dates to between c. 3150 and 2950 BC. The oldest layer contained finds from phase MN A Ib of the Funnel Beak…
Dating the lost arrow shafts from Stellmoor (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
In 1935-36, at Stellmoor, near Hamburg, the archaeologist Alfred Rust recovered over 100 wooden arrow shafts and thousands of reindeer bones and antlers, from a gyttja layer attributed to the Younger Dryas. The arrow shafts were - and still are - the oldest direct evidence of bow-and-arrow hunting in the world. Rust described them in detail in his 1943 monograph on Stellmoor, but all the recorded wooden artefacts were lost in an air-raid in 1944.…
Fishing with Stationary Wooden Structures in Stone Age Denmark
An abundance and diverse range of prehistoric fishing practices was revealed during excavations between 2012 and 2022 at the construction site of the Femern Belt Tunnel, linking the islands of Lolland (Denmark) and Femern (Germany). The waterlogged parts of the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord yielded well preserved organic materials, including the remains of wooden fish traps and weirs, and numerous vertical stakes and posts driven into the former sea…
Stone-Paved Cellars in the Stone Age? Archaeological Evidence for a Neolithic Subterranean Construction From Nygårdsvej 3, Falster, Denmark
We present the excavation results from a Middle Neolithic site associated with the Funnel Beaker Culture. Within two overlying house phases, a recessed area was recorded, which had been constructed using different sized pebbles. The arrangement and form of the feature clearly indicated anthropogenic origin and is understood as belonging to one of the house phases. Consequently, it is interpreted as a cellar. Several pits and post holes are additi…
Hidden Structures
During the course of masonry restoration work at Stavanger Cathedral in southwestern Norway, numerous holes were discovered in rubble stone walls in the Gothic sections of the building. These holes were identified as putlog holes linked to the construction of the cathedral in the medieval period. The holes resulted from the use of scaffolding; remnants of wooden logs were found in all the holes, although in varying states of preservation. Detaile…
Wattling for Fish
The importance of forest resources to the Stone Age populations of Northern Europe has not been comprehensively studied, despite wood raw materials forming the basis for life, settlement, mobility, and subsistence. In addition to firewood and construction needs, wood has been used for a wide range of purposes. The paucity of research is due to the limited preservation of organic materials at archaeological sites in drylands, whereas wetlands and …
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (23 obras) · Geography (22 obras) · Archaeology (21 obras) · Radiocarbon dating (18 obras) · Geology (16 obras) · Paleontology (12 obras) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (10 obras) · Absolute dating (8 obras) · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (7 obras) · Physical geography (7 obras)