Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 4, Europe

x Preface

were given the freedom to define regional subtraditions and sites on the basis of their own interpretations of the archaeological record. Regional subtradition and site entries, then, focus on archaeological areas and locales that are conventionally distinguished in the archaeological record for a given major tradition. The regional subtradition and site entries provide specific information on the unique archaeological record of a particular region or a particular archaeological site and are fully referenced.

How to Use the Encyclopedia of Prehistory

How you use the Encyclopedia will differ depending on the type of research you are doing. For most projects, you will want to begin with the maps at the front of the volume. Each map shows the geographical range of the major traditions in the volume at a given point in time. You may consult these maps and find the name(s) of major traditions in an area or time period of interest. The major tradition entries are organized alphabetically, with associated regional subtradition and site entries following immediately after the major tradition entry. It is important to note that although all major traditions have entries in the Encyclopedia, not all major traditions have regional subtradition or site entries associated with them. As noted above, in compiling the Encyclopedia, we allowed the authors to decide whether there is enough information in the archaeological record to warrant distinguishing regional subtraditions. Similarly, we allowed authors to determine which (if any) archaeological sites are important enough to warrant individual entries.

If you have a particular topic of interest, you will want to scan the major tradition entries and use the topical headings to determine which of the major traditions have information on that particular topic. Not all major tradition entries have information on all topics, but the following is a complete listing of

the topics for which information may be presented:

Absolute Time Period

Relative Time Period Location

Diagnostic Material Attributes Regional Subtraditions Important Sites

Environment Climate Topography Geology Biota

Settlements Settlement system

Community organization Housing

Population, health, and disease Economy

Subsistence

Wild foods Domestic foods

Industrial arts Utensils Ornaments Trade

Division of labor

Differential access or control of resources

Sociopolitical Organization Social organization Political organization Social control

Conflict

Religion and Expressive Culture Religious beliefs

Religious practitioners Ceremonies

Arts

Death and afterlife Suggested Readings

Preparing the Encyclopedia of Prehistory

To develop the Encyclopedia, we first had to develop a comprehensive list of major traditions. To do this, we divided the world into eight regions: Africa, the Arctic and Subarctic, East Asia and Oceania, Europe, Middle America, North America,

South America, and Southwest Asia. We then consulted basic, summary literature on the prehistory of each region and drew up a preliminary catalogue of the major traditions of the world. We sent this preliminary catalogue to our advisory board for comment and critique and revised the catalogue according to their suggestions. The revised catalogue was then sent to the advisory board for a final review and critique.

Once the complete list of major traditions was assembled, we invited recognized experts on the region and time period of each major tradition to contribute entries. Solicitations continued until we found authors for virtually all the major traditions. In extending these invitations, we tried whenever possible to first invite archaeologists from the region of the major tradition. We are pleased that scholars from more than 20 nations agreed to contribute to the Encyclopedia. We invited authors to comment on the definition of their major tradition and made numerous substantive changes based on their input. We also invited authors to contribute additional entries on important regional subtraditions and sites for their major traditions; many, although not all, did so. We reviewed all completed entries, and, if there were substantive questions or concerns about a particular entry, we asked appropriate members of the advisory board for adjudication.

We have used a fairly light hand in editing the entries that comprise the

Preface xi

Encyclopedia. Our reasons were twofold: first, we wanted to maintain the authors' individual styles, despite the outline we required them to follow; second, interpreting the archaeological record is often not as empirical and scientific as many of us would like to believe. Experience with and knowledge of local variation in the archaeological record are often critical to interpretation. Thus we thought it important to allow the experts working in a particular area to advance interpretations of the archaeological record with which they are comfortable. We never forced authors to provide information on a topic for which they thought there were no data; nor did we remove statements that seemed to stretch the available data. In short, we have let the experts speak in their own voices.

Acknowledgments

Many people helped in preparing the

Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Carol R. Ember, Executive Director of the Human Relations Area Files; Eliot Werner, Executive Editor for the Behavioral and Social Sciences at Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers; the copyeditor and Herman Makler and the rest of the production staff at Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers; and the members of our advisory board. We thank all of them, and of course the authors of the entries, for their help in creating this unique work.

Eurasian Steppe Nomad 124

Natalia Shishlina

SUBTRADITIONS: Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya,

128 Donetskaya Katakombnaya, 129 Lower

Dnieper Yamnaya, 130 North Caucasus Piedmont

Katakombnaya,131 Urals Yamnaya, 133 Volga

Yamnaya, 134

SITES: Boldyrevo, 135 Mikhailovka, 136 Zundra-

Tolga,137

European Early Bronze Age 139

Haskell J. Greenfield

SUBTRADITIONS: Bubanj Hum III Culture, 146 Maros Culture, 150 Unetice Culture, 153

European Megalithic 157

Katina Lillios

SUBTRADITIONS: British Isles, 161 France, 163, Iberian, 166 Central Mediterranean, 169 North Central Europe, 170

SITES: Anta Grande do Zambujeiro, 173 Barnenz,

Impressed Ware 185

William Barnett

SITES: Caldeirao, 187 La Grotte Gazel, 188

Leucate-Correge, 188

Magdelenian 198

James Enloe

SUBTRADITIONS: Paris Basin, 201 Perigord, 203

Pyrenees, 205

SITES: G6nnersdorf, 206 La Madeleine, 207

Pincevent, 207

Northeastern European Iron Age 210

Timothy Taylor

SUBTRADITIONS: Dacian, 214 Eastern Hallstatt, 216

Late Lausitz, 218

Northeastern European Bronze Age 222

Peter N. Peregrine

Northern Mediterranean Mesolithic 224

Sarah Milliken

232 Grotta dell'Uzzo, 233 Okiizini, 233 Romagnano III, 234

Perigordian 236

Anne Pike-Tay

SUBTRADITIONS: Perigordian IV, 241 Perigordian Val Vb,245 Perigordian Vc, 249 Perigordian VI, 254

SITES: Abri Patuad, 257 La Ferrassie, 258 El Castillo, 260 El Pendo 261 Hermitage aHuccorgne, 262

SUBTRADITIONS: Eastern Denmark and Skane, 267

Netherlands and Coastal Northern Germany, 269

Western Denmark 271

SITES: Dankirte, 273 Feddersen Wierde, 274

Fl6geln,275 Hodde,276 Vorbasse, 276

Wijster, 277

Romano-British 279

Steve Jones

SUBTRADITIONS: Indigenous British, 284 Ireland, 287

Scotland, 290

SITES: Camulodunum, 294 Londinium, 295 Tara, 296

Traprain Law, 297

Scandinavian Bronze Age 299

Henrik Thrane

SUBTRADITIONS: Central Sweden, 303 North

Tanum,311 Egtved,312 Kivik,313

Voldtofte, 313

Scandinavian Iron Age 315

Peter N. Peregrine

Scandinavian Neolithic 318

Christopher Prescott

Southeastern European Bronze Age 351

Michael L. Galaty

Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic 356

Dragos Gheorghiu

SUBTRADITIONS: Boian III-IV, 359 Hamangia III-IV, 361 Marica II-IV, 362 Precucuteni-Tripolye, 363

SITES: Ceamurlia de Jos, 365 Radovanu, 365 Tirpesti, 366

Southeastern European Late Chalcolithic

367

Dragos Gheorghiu

SUBTRADITIONS: Cucuteni A, AB, and B-Tripolye BI, BII, cm, 371 Gumelnita A, B-Karanovo VIKodjadermen, 374 Petresti, AB,B, 377

SITES: Goljamo Delcevo, 378 Habasesti, 379 Veseli Kut, 379

Southeastern European Neolithic 381

Peter N. Peregrine

Scythian 324

Peter N. Peregrine

Solutrean 328

Lawrence Guy Straus

SUBTRADITIONS: Mediterranean Spain, 333 Portuguese

Estremadura, 336 Southwestern France, 338

Vasco-Cantabrian Spain, 341

West-Central European Early Iron Age 383

Bettina Arnold

SUBTRADITIONS: East Hallstatt Zone 391 West Hallstat

Zone 392

SITES: Biskupin, 394 Chatillon-sur-Glane, 395 Hallstatt,

395 Heuneburg,396 Mont

Lassois, 397 Stiena 398

West-Central European Late Iron Age

399

SUBTRADITIONS: Atlantic Late Bronze Age 421 Classic Urnfield, 423 Riegsee Group, 428

The prehistory of Europe has been the subject of scholarship for longer than any other part of the world, and although environmentally and culturally diverse, its prehistoric diversity has been more intensively chronicled and thoughtfully organized than any other region on earth. By the 1920s the "age/area" concept had become established as a way of organizing European prehistory. I follow the "age/area" concept in this introduction and, indeed, the concept shapes much of the organization of the Encyclopedia of Prehistory as a whole. A basic principle of the "age/area" concept is that prehistory can be usefully organized on the basis of technology, and most scholars recognize at least five major "ages": the Paleolithic (literally, the Old Stone Age), the Mesolithic (or Middle Stone Age), the Neolithic (or New Stone Age), the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Although this organization has its problems (technology and culture change in ways that are not as clear-cut as this organization implies), it does provide a useful framework for looking at the prehistory of Europe. In this brief introduction I hope to provide an overview of European prehistory as a way to give context to the more specific entries that follow in this volume of the Encyclopedia of Prehistory.

Paleolithic

Members of the genus Homo first entered the European continent more than a million and a half years ago.

The traditions of those early Europeans, defined here as members of the Acheulean and Mousterian traditions, are covered in the Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 1: Africa. In this volume we begin with the first archaeological tradition that is unambiguously associated with modern humans, the Aurignacian (40,000-25,000 B.P.) tradition. The Aurignacian peoples were hunters of large game animals who wandered seasonally through large territories in small groups. They developed a stone tool technology based on blades, and were among the first peoples on earth to create works of expressive art. The Aurignacian peoples were followed by peoples of the Perigordian (30,000-22,000 B.P.) tradition. Like the Aurignacians, the Perigordians were nomadic or seminomadic hunters of large game animals. Individual bands may have congregated in some highly productive locations during part of the year. The Perigordians developed several refinements in blade tool technology, and began using antler, bone, and ivory extensively for tools. They also created works of art, including some three-dimensional carvings. The Solutrean (22,00018,000 B.P.) tradition follows the Perigordian. The Solutreans also hunted large game in small and apparently widely-separated groups. Solutrean stone tool technology is marked by the development of sophisticated flaked projectile points and knives. Solutreans apparently invented both the eyed needle and the spear thrower. The Solutrean tradition is followed by the Magdalenian (18,000-11,000 B.P.) tradition, the last

xviiiIntroduction

Upper Paleolithic tradition in Europe. The Magdalenian peoples developed an extensive bone tool industry in addition to their own unique styles of stone blade tools. Like the other Upper Paleolithic Europeans, they lived in small mobile groups and subsisted by hunting large game.

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic is a period of transition from subsistence based primarily on hunting large game animals to one focused on a wider range of both animal and plant species, typically referred to as broad-spectrum hunting and gathering. Humans across Europe began this transition at the end of the last ice age, roughly 11,000 years ago. The Western European Mesolithic (11,0006000 B.P.) tradition is characterized by the development of a microlithic blade technology and the emergence of ground stone tools, particularly axes and adzes, which probably relate to an increased use of wood and plant products. The bow and arrow may have also been developed by Western European Mesolithic peoples. Subsistence was apparently based on hunting and gathering locally-abundant resources, including fish and waterfowl, over the course of a seasonal round of movements by small bands of people. Peoples of the Eastern European Mesolithic (11,000-6500 B.P.) tradition also developed microlithic and ground stone tool industries. They also appear to have developed more locally-specific adaptations than their Western European neighbors.

The Northern Mediterranean Mesolithic (11,0008000 B.P.) tradition was the most distinctive of the Mesolithic traditions of Europe, in part because the region was less strongly effected by environmental change at the end of the last ice age. Northern Mediterranenan Mesolithic peoples practiced broadspectrum hunting and gathering, with an increasing emphasis on marine resources over time. In fact, some coastal communities appear to have become sedentary through their reliance on the sea. Long-distance trade in obsidian was undertaken, and this suggests the Northern Mediterranean Mesolithic peoples had boats able to cross large sections of the Mediterranean.

Neolithic

The Neolithic period is defined by three primary developments: sedentary communities, ceramics, and domesticated foods. The first Neolithic traditions in Europe are the Southeastern European Neolithic (80006500 B.P.) and Caucasian Neolithic (8000-6500 B.P.)

traditions, which is not surprising as they are adjacent to the fertile crescent where the earliest domesticated plants and animals are found (these are discussed in the

Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia). The transition to sedentary agricultural lifestyles was a slow one, and hunting and gathering remained important in both traditions. Ceramics, at first simple and undecorated but rapidly becoming more complex, were manufactured. Long-distance trade for obsidian occurred in both traditions, and interactions between sedentary communities seem to have become more important over time.

The Impressed Ware (6800-6000 B.P.) and Linear Pottery (6500-6000 B.P.) traditions mark the beginnings of the Neolithic period in Western Europe. Hunting and gathering was important in both traditions, but domestic plants and animals were also raised. Impressed Ware peoples lived in small communities or within rockshelters. Linear Pottery peoples lived in larger communities consisting of from one to more than a dozen long houses. Trade in stone and exotic materials such as marine shell took place in both traditions, and it seems that war between Linear Pottery communities may have also occurred, as some are fortified. Both manufactured distinctive ceramics that give these traditions their names.

The European Megalithic (6000-4500 B.P.) tradition follows the Impressed Ware and Linear Pottery traditions. Sedentarism, ceramics, and domesticates are highly variable in this tradition. Sites vary from small camps to walled communities, and European Megalithic populations in some areas appear to have been highly mobile. Hunted and gathered foods remained important for European Megalithic peoples, but domesticated animals (cattle, sheep, and goats) and plants (wheat and barley) were also raised by most groups. The most distinctive aspect of the European Megalithic tradition are the massive stone and earth constructions that give the tradition its name. These were often built to house collective burials, in some cases several hundred individuals or more.

In Northern Europe peoples of the Scandinavian Neolithic (6000-3800 B.P.) tradition began cultivating wheat and barley and raising cattle, pigs, and sheep. Like other areas of Europe, hunting and gathering remained important, and some groups remained mobile. Others, however, settled into longhouse communities. Farther to the south and east the peoples of the Corded Ware (6000-3800 B.P.) tradition followed a similar pattern. They lived in small communities and supplemented a diet largely based on hunting and gathering with domesticated animals and, in some areas, domesticated plants.

Bronze Age

The use of bronze defines the Bronze Age, but like domesticated plants and animals, bronze use had a slow development in most parts of Europe, and was preceded by periods where people used copper, often termed Chalcolithic (literally, copper stone age). In Western Europe the peoples of the Bell Beaker (4500-3600 B.P.) tradition began using copper for distinctive tanged daggers and personal ornaments. The name of the tradition comes from a unique ceramic form which became widespread across Central and Western Europe. Both the spread of these bell-shaped ceramics and the presence of exotic materials such as amber, ivory, and gold suggests that trade was an important activity for Bell Beaker peoples. In southeastern Europe peoples of the Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic (65005500 B.P.) and Caucasian Chalcolithic (6500-5500) traditions also began to use copper, initially for small tools such as awls and knives as well as for personal ornaments, but in the Southeastern European Late Chalcolithic (5700-4500 B.P.) for larger and more complex axes and adzes. Peoples of all three traditions lived primarily in moderate (100-300 people) agricultural communities and participated extensively in trade with other communities. All also appear to have had some social stratification, with elites perhaps becoming emergent political leaders. In the Late Chalcolithic, social stratification became more marked.

In the Southeastern European Bronze Age (51003100) tradition, social stratification crystallized into hierarchical polities with powerful political rulers. This is the time of the first Greek civilizations (Minoan and Myceanean) and of the first writing systems in Europe (Linear A and B). Large towns with a central palace complex, communal storage facilities, and large defensive works were built, although most peoples of the Southeastern European Bronze Age lived in smaller communities and agricultural hamlets. Trade was extensive, and reached across the Mediterranean to the Near East and North Africa.

Similar complexity is not evident elsewhere in the Bronze Age, but society was becoming more integrated. Most peoples of the European Early Bronze Age (47003500 B.P.) lived in small agricultural hamlets or villages which were linked to larger towns that probably served as regional economic, religious, and perhaps political centers-a pattern that continued through the Western European Earlier Bronze Age (3800-3300 B.P.) and the Western European Late Bronze Age (3300-2800 B.P.) traditions. Craft specialization developed over time, as did social stratification and political hierarchy. However, diversity seems to characterize the Bronze Age in

Introduction xix

Western Europe, with some regions having what appear to be "warrior" elites and centralized polities, and others apparently lacking both.

Outside of Western Europe there is also diversity in Bronze Age societies. In Northern Europe peoples of the Scandinavian Bronze Age (3800-2500 B.P.) and Northeastern European Bronze Age (3800-2800 B.P.) traditions lived in small agricultural hamlets that appear to have been largely autonomous, though some larger communities are found in the southern range of both traditions. Social differentiation seems to have been modest or non-existent. Most craft goods appear to have been made within hamlets, although there is evidence of trade for metal ores, salt, and other items. In the Caucasus, peoples of the Caucasian Bronze Age (5600-3000 B.P.) lived in a variety of settlements, ranging from small agricultural hamlets to large towns. While there is little evidence of social stratification in most of the Caucasus, there are extraordinarily rich burials in some areas (particularly in the south), suggesting the presence of powerful elites. It is also clear that talented full-time artisans were producing metal, ceramic, and perhaps even chipped stone items for both local use and for exchange.

Iron Age

The Iron Age is formally identified by the use of iron tools, often weapons initially and later agricultural and woodworking implements. Iron weaponry may have fostered the endemic warfare characteristic of many Iron Age societies, including the Northeastern European Iron Age (2800-1843 B.P.) tradition. These agriculturalists lived in fortified villages linked to regional centers, which were, in turn, linked into trade networks extending to the Mediterranean. Elites apparently controlled much of this trade, and gained political power though the wealth they amassed. Warriors and priests were apparently also part of the elite class in Northeastern European Iron Age society. To the north, peoples of the Scandinavian Iron Age (2500-1500 B.P.) apparently also succumbed to warfare, as hill forts become common throughout the region, and a group of "warrior"-elites seem to have been the political leaders, and may also have controlled the extensive trade to the south.

Peoples of the West-Central European Early Iron Age (2800-2400 B.P.) tradition used iron plows to open up new areas to agriculture. Most people lived in small agricultural villages or hamlets that were widely dispersed across the landscape and were apparently linked to larger, fortified towns that served as regional political and economic centers. Warfare had apparently become common, and these larger towns may also have been

xxIntroduction

places of refuge for surrounding populations. The extensive trade system evident in the Early Iron Age was likely also directed through these regional centers. At least two levels of elites seem to have been present, suggesting a hierarchical political and social structure, with what appear to be "warrior"-elites at the top. The West-Central European Late Iron Age (2400-2033 B.P.) tradition is marked by the expansion of Celtic peoples across Western Europe and their ultimate conquest by the Romans. The peoples of the East-Central European Iron Age (2700-2050 B.P.) tradition followed a similar way of life to those of their neighbors to the west, and were also conquered by the Romans.

The Roman conquests of Central and Western Europe brought about dramatic change. During the Roman Iron Age (2033-1500 B.P.) settlements were transformed from highly variable communities to planned agricultural towns with streets and some public facilities. This seems to be evidence of more centralized political authority, but how that authority was organized and implemented is not clear. Trade with the Roman world was extensive, and almost certainly played a role in these transformations. In the British Isles peoples of the Romano-British (2100-1500 B.P.) tradition experienced a similar transition, from varied settlements to planned towns. They also became linked into trade with the Roman world, and a centralized government was put into place with the assistance of local, Roman-friendly elites.

The Eurasian Steppe

I have separated off the cultures of the Eurasian steppe because in many ways they participated in a distinct evolutionary trajectory. The steppe supports a wide variety of game, but is an inhospitable region for both gatherers and farmers. Nomadic pastoralists and farmers whose livelihood depended in large part on cattle are the peoples who could take best advantage of the Eurasian steppelands, and it is they who evolved there. The Keltiminar (8000-4000 B.P.) represents the earliest Eurasian steppe peoples. They hunted, fished, and gathered from relatively large (150-200 people) villages in river valleys, taking advantage of all the resources the steppe had to offer. They were followed by peoples of the Andronovo (4000-2800 B.P.) tradition, who adopted cattle breeding as a primary base to subsistence, but retained a settled village lifestyle. To both the east and west of the Andronovo peoples, nomadic pastoralism developed. To the east was the Early Nomad tradition of Central Asia (discussed in the

Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 3: East Asia and Oceania), and to the west was the Eurasian Steppe

Nomad (6500-4000 B.P.) tradition. The Eurasian Steppe Nomad peoples practiced nomadic pastoralism of sheep, goats, and cattle, and used horses as a basic means of transportation. Hunting remained important for most Eurasian Steppe Nomads, and some groups also planted wheat and millet. The Scythian (4000-1700 B.P.) tradition represents the culmination of the nomadic pastoral life on the Eurasian steppes. The Scythians were not only well-known for their complex political organization and ability to field large, mobile armies, but also for their exquisite skills in metalwork.

Summary

The prehistory of Europe was the basis for 19th century evolutionary schemes which theorized that technological change drove changes in social and political organization, and it is easy to see why. Sedentarism arrives with the arrival of ceramics and domesticated plants and animals. Social stratification appears when bronze does. The appearance of iron sees the appearance of centralized polities. Those who achieved these technological milestones first, like the peoples of southeastern Europe, were seen as leaders in a progressive march towards civilization. Unfortunately, the scheme does not actually work, for during all these periods of change there is diversity in European society, and indeed, the lifestyle of most individuals probably did not change drastically from the Neolithic period through the Iron Age.

There are, however, broad patterns of change that followed a similar pattern across the entire continent. Painted in broad strokes, the prehistory of Europe looks something like the following. During the last ice age humans lived a mobile life following migrating herds of big game animals across the European continent. As the ice age ended and more plant and forest resources became available, people turned to more broad-spec- trum hunting and gathering, often within fairly restricted territories. Resources available to some groups even allowed them to become semi-sedentary. Domesticates were introduced to Europe from the Near East, and with them settled, agricultural life began. Ceramics were manufactured to carry water and to store and perhaps cook harvested plant and animal products. Microlithic stone tool industries were adopted to make more efficient use of stone, which became less accessible once sedentary lifestyles predominated. Copper, bronze, and later iron industries were developed, and along with them, elites and centralized polities. Whether control of metalworking techniques, raw material sources, or trade were key to the rise of elites and political centralization is unclear, but there do seem to be connections. Warfare