Conference Presentations by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Kiel Conference, 2023
Political practices are fundamental for co-existence in human groups, yet the systematic investig... more Political practices are fundamental for co-existence in human groups, yet the systematic investigation of such practices
within prehistoric societies is still very much pending. Relevant discussions are often limited to cases of rather obvious
asymmetric power relations and the alleged establishment of elites. In order to fill this complex gap in the current
discussion we take a systematic approach exploring the nature and organization of prehistoric power relations, decisionmaking
and conflict resolution. We will investigate changes in political practices through a diachronic set of case studies
from prehistoric societies, examining the impact of these changes on the overall transformative processes of prehistoric
sociality.
In our approach, we define parameters focused on the characterization of power relations and political practices. Eight
parameters have been identified as meaningful markers to be used as a comparative framework and can be addressed
from our archaeological data: community size, conformity/diversity, critical resource access and distribution, network
configurations, organization of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
This contribution presents different case studies from prehistoric Europe and beyond and their systematic analysis of
political practices and patterns of power relations within prehistory; each exhibiting socio-political complexity in a variety
of forms: Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic and Bronze Age Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age
Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, Iron Age Greece.
Kiel Conference, 2023
The focus of our project is on transformation processes, which we investigate along a transect fr... more The focus of our project is on transformation processes, which we investigate along a transect from Schleswig-Holstein via
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Poland (Kujawy). We are particularly interested in the transition to the Middle Bronze
Age around 1600/1500 BCE, as different settlement patterns are found along the transect, which we associate with different
transformations as well as different reactions to changes in society, economy or ecology. Furthermore, the transition from
inhumation to cremation is of major interest to us, which spreads in our working area around 1300 BCE and can often be
reconstructed as a complex transformation process.
Comprehensive dating helps us to define these two central moments of transformation as well as other moments of change
and to reconstruct and compare their developments along different spatial and temporal scales. We also compare our
archaeological data with palynological data, which give us information about landscape development and thus, among
other things, about settlement density. Bronze Age transformation processes in northern Germany and Poland can thus be
recorded and compared at the micro, meso and macro levels, so that we can recognise and understand different patterns.
On the micro level, we have recorded various transformations on a Bronze Age cemetery (site: Mang de Bargen) and a
Younger Bronze Age settlement (site: Dobbin). The recording of quantitative regional and supra-regional data shows us
their embeddedness, so that the intensities and influences of certain transformations can be assessed differently. With this
contribution we would like to present and discuss our current transformation research against the background of recent
absolute dating.
Kiel Conference, 2023
The discussion of Bronze Age politics is mostly dominated by strict and authoritarian theories re... more The discussion of Bronze Age politics is mostly dominated by strict and authoritarian theories regarding the organisation
of society and decision-making. However, on what basis can this be reconstructed for northern Germany and can we
perhaps imagine alternative concepts? Only a few settlement sites are known for this region, but there are many burial
mounds of the Older Bronze Age (1800-1200 BCE) and urn graves of the Younger Bronze Age (1200-500 BCE). The period of
barrow construction is often described in terms of organisation in so-called chiefdoms linked to specific power structures,
the performance of which is also mirrored in warrior graves. However, was power really that centralised? Who made the
decisions and was the burial mound to be seen as an ‘award’ for an individual or actually for the community? The change
in burial from inhumation to cremation initially affected the barrows. Thus, although the pioneers of the new custom
were cremated, they continued to be buried in a coffin under a burial mound. From 1300 BCE onwards, almost everyone
was cremated, but there were still individuals who were buried as an inhumation. Was it a personal decision and could
opponents and strugglers still be buried as inhumations? Or did someone hold the decision on who was buried and how?
At the same time, the construction of burial mounds also declined rapidly. At first, only secondary burials were placed
in existing barrows, but no new ones were built. In addition, urn burial became more and more widespread and was
established around 1200 BCE. With urn burial, not only were grave goods standardised, but many more people were given
a grave than before. Strong political changes, especially in the decision-making issues concerning the burial system must
be considered. These and other aspects will be discussed using various examples from northern Germany.
EAA 2021, 2021
The recent increase in projects based on large-scale digitization of archaeological material has ... more The recent increase in projects based on large-scale digitization of archaeological material has made urgent a conversation which reflects critically on issues connected to cataloguing and classification of often ample amount of collected data. On the other side, studies more reliant on traditional methods often neglect digital approaches to test basic clustering in their data. Moreover, whereas archaeological classifications, especially typology, have a long history behind them, being at the foundation of the discipline itself, on the other hand digital approaches seem still to be in a tumultuous developing phase. In the archaeological practice a detrimental disconnect between the two approaches, could be problematic, one way or another: by either leading to a positivist enthusiasm towards the new, dismissing well-matured archaeological methodologies, or by setting aside the opportunities digital archaeology can provide. These issues will be the focus of this session, by discussing projects, approaches, and theories that are situated at the confluence of traditional classification and digital methods, with a specific focus on the practical and directly work-related issues connected with the classificatory work, as for instance reflection on the role of traditional classifications in the development of machine learning for the recognition or analysis of patterns or forms, geometric morphometrics, big data studies of artifacts and other archaeological material. We are looking forward to receiving presentations from all periods, including pre-and protohistory, classical antiquity, and historical archaeology (e.g. lithics, ceramics, metal, art, burials, architecture, etc.), regardless of their geographical origin. The aim of the session will be to bring together and discuss practical experiences as well theoretical perspectives, linking classification and digital methods in a critical and constructive way, weaving together new and old methods of recording, analyzing, and interpreting the archaeological record into a more mutual-profitable interaction.
Due to their bad preservation conditions, textiles represent an unusual find in archaeological fi... more Due to their bad preservation conditions, textiles represent an unusual find in archaeological find contexts. Impressions of textiles on ceramic appear, however, more often and provide information about textile technology and raw materials. The so-called textile ceramics occur worldwide in all time steps. The objective of this paper is to analyse this phenomenon from the late Neolithic to the early Iron Age in Central Europe. The function (functionality versus ornamental art) as well as the analysis of used raw materials and techniques are up for debate. Silicone impressions, experimental archeology and grouping procedure serve the investigation. In a case study the production technology, the materials and the usage will be analyses in the social context of the Bronze Age settlement Bruszczewo in Poland. This central settlement was integrated into a commercial network and had many different raw materials. The socio-cultural meaning of textiles was probably far more important than we can imagine today, living in a world of textiles mass consumption. Grave findings of loom weights illustrate this. This contribution’s intention is also to examine the value of textiles in general.
The Lichtenstein cave near Osterode am Harz is an Urnfield burial place of a group of more than 6... more The Lichtenstein cave near Osterode am Harz is an Urnfield burial place of a group of more than 60 humans. On the basis of the remains of their bones, the biggest Bronze Age family tree could be reconstructed. According to an archaeological record from 1980 dead persons were mainly secondarily inhumated, which was contrary to the usual custom of cremation at that time. The deposition of the bones is primarily interpreted as secondary, while only a few dead were laid down as articulated bones in one cave part. The interpretation as a secondary burial site eclipsed previous victim theories. The proven clan is assigned to a social upper class. The nearby Pipinsburg is often seen as the seat of power of that family. A connection between this particular inhumation burial place and the interpretations of the Lichtenstein cave as a burial place of a ruling princely- or chief family seems to be important in the context of the debate over the burial change in the Bronze Age. This theory is supported by similar results from the Kyffhäusers region and the Franconians region (Frankenalb) and at the same time it leaves scope for discussion.
Teaching Documents by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Workshop by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
This session deals with transformation processes during the Bronze Age (2200–500 BC) in North, Ce... more This session deals with transformation processes during the Bronze Age (2200–500 BC) in North, Central and Central Western Europe. In general, two decisive changes can be observed: on the one hand, the transition to the Middle Bronze Age, and, on the other hand, the beginning of the Urnfield period. Far‐reaching but different changes in Europe mark these time horizons: 1) The end of the first Bronze Age cultures, among others the northern Únětice Culture with a following settlement gap of 150 years; 2) The beginning of the Late Bronze Age with the start of cremation burials and large urn cemeteries. The introduction of cremation burials not only bears witness to a change in the grave ritual, but also indicates crucial social and ecological changes that are visible, for example, in the diet. This session focuses on transition phases in the Bronze Age and their social, cultural, ecological and economic aspects. Within this session, we would like to discuss changes in settlement patterns, technology and productive activities, burial construction and rituals, as well as fundamental changes in the material culture (e.g. new weapons and tools, shifts in personal goods). Furthermore, we are interested in the methods which can be used for the localisation of transformation processes (absolute dating, environmental research, genetic analyses, geochemistry, geophysics and quantitative/diachronic analyses). Finally, it will be inquired if it is possible to identify triggers for the processes of transformation (in social, economic, ideological, cultural, and ecologic contexts).
Call for Papers by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
In the Copper Age and until the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 4000-500 BCE), very different settleme... more In the Copper Age and until the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 4000-500 BCE), very different settlement patterns and dynamics can be observed in Europe. We can identify various settlement types ranging from farmsteads, hamlets or village-like structures up to fortified settlements and the so-called mega-sites in different regions at the same time. The developments of house layouts differ on a temporal scale and even within individual settlements, likely in response to economic activities, but possibly also by socio-political organizational structures. Additionally, for some regions we can recognise a connection between changes in house and settlement structures to climatic events. Yet, a more extensive evaluation of the interplay between different factorsparticularly climatic eventson supra-regional and internal settlement patterns is missing. To deepen this discussion, we ask the following questions: How did people live together and organise themselves in the European Copper and Bronze Ages? Where, when, and how can we possibly identify particular settlement patterns, considering possible problems in determining contemporaneity? Is there a correlation between house or settlement structures and changing climatic conditions or are recognized patterns related to other factors like settlement size, site location, network integration, economy (e.g. subsistence strategies, metal production, etc.)? Are certain spatio-temporal differences detectable? Our focus is not limited to one area, but to the whole of Europe, in order to gather and discuss an overview of the research regarding these issues. With this session, we would like to bring together different studies on settlement structures and climate of the Copper and Bronze Ages. Contributions are invited from archaeology (including its sub-disciplines) and climate science, as well as environmental science, ecology, and demographic studies.
In the Copper Age and until the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 4000-500 BCE), very different settleme... more In the Copper Age and until the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 4000-500 BCE), very different settlement patterns and dynamics can be observed in Europe. We can identify various settlement types ranging from farmsteads, hamlets or village-like structures up to fortified settlements and the so-called mega-sites in different regions at the same time. The developments of house layouts differ on a temporal scale and even within individual settlements, likely in response to economic activities, but possibly also by socio-political organizational structures. Additionally, for some regions we can recognise a connection between changes in house and settlement structures to climatic events. Yet, a more extensive evaluation of the interplay between different factors-particularly climatic events-on supra-regional and internal settlement patterns is missing. To deepen this discussion, we ask the following questions: How did people live together and organise themselves in the European Copper and Bronze Ages? Where, when, and how can we possibly identify particular settlement patterns, considering possible problems in determining contemporaneity? Is there a correlation between house or settlement structures and changing climatic conditions or are recognized patterns related to other factors like settlement size, site location, network integration, economy (e.g. subsistence strategies, metal production, etc.)? Are certain spatio-temporal differences detectable? Our focus is not limited to one area, but to the whole of Europe, in order to gather and discuss an overview of the research regarding these issues. With this session, we would like to bring together different studies on settlement structures and climate of the Copper and Bronze Ages. Contributions are invited from archaeology (including its sub-disciplines) and climate science, as well as environmental science, ecology, and demographic studies.
Session at the 'Scales of Social, Environmental & Cultural Change in Past Societies' Conference i... more Session at the 'Scales of Social, Environmental & Cultural Change in Past Societies' Conference in Kiel 13.-18.3.2023:
Cremation is gaining popularity in present-day Europe, while inhumation is rejected for primarily economic and practical reasons, i.e. cremations being a more affordable option and for lack of burial plots in the larger cities. The reasons for choosing between cremation and inhumations were however not as simplistic in the past, a cremation pyre will for example require knowledge and large amounts of wood and might not have been neither easier nor economically more affordable. Recent archaeological studies have shown that the ‘simple’ cremation graves hold valuable information about intricate mortuary processes and practices (e.g. body treatments) surrounding the funerals, which opens the space for further questions and interpretations regarding social, cultural or religious aspects (e.g. body concepts, symbolic communication, change of religious beliefs and taboos in death rituals). Interdisciplinary studies have revealed detailed insight into burning conditions on the pyre as well as absolute dating and mobility analyses of the cremated bone.
We invite papers from a broad range of disciplines working with cremation practices and burials in the past and today, including archaeological case studies of cremation cemeteries, burial rites and burial goods. We especially welcome paper investigating historical and ethnographic sources, religious and social studies, anthropological studies of human and animal remains, and applications of scientific methods on cremation remains, e.g. strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating.
The goal of this session is to consider changes in the European Bronze Age from different, multi-... more The goal of this session is to consider changes in the European Bronze Age from different, multi-and interdisciplinary perspectives and to compare them across temporal and spatial constraints. Our session is interested in contributions, that deal with cultural developments, which unfolded in Europe during the Bronze Age. These are often conceived as similar from region to region. For instance, the shift from inhumation to cremation was a fundamental change in funerary customs, signaling also a transformation in ideology. Moreover, we see signs of significant changes in subsistence economies and land uses: new animals and plants came into use, new storage and cultivation techniques were applied. New forms of material culture-tools and objects, such as new types of weapons-were widely distributed through dynamic and shifting networks, as documented, for example, by the numerous finds of hoards. Changes in world-view are evidenced by the spread of new rites (e.g. use of cooking pits and new burial customs) and new symbolic grammar (e.g. sun-animal symbolism). However, these and other changes did not happen in all and every region of the continent and not at the same time or at the same pace. Clearly, Bronze Age developments took different pathways in different regions, evolving in both uniform and opposing ways. In this session, we want to bring together and compare the developments in subsistence, society, ideology, economy, ecology, in order to get a more nuanced understanding and to lay the foundation of a chrono-sequence of changes in Bronze Age Europe. We propose to do this within the frame of human-environment relationships, as both cultural and environmental context may have influenced if and how these changes were played out in space and time. We invite contributions from, but do not limit them to, archaeology (including subdisciplines), anthropology, environmental science and geosciences.
We would like to inform you about the Call for Papers for our session at the International Open W... more We would like to inform you about the Call for Papers for our session at the International Open Workshop in Kiel (March 11 – 16, 2019) about:
Territoriality in Europe in the Bronze and Iron Age
In our session we would like to talk about how, when and what kind of territoriality is detectable in different areas during the Bronze and Iron Age as well as the connected subject of continuity and discontinuity of settlement areas.
We are looking forward to a wide spectrum of papers concerning continuity and discontinuity in environment, material culture and society. We invite contributions addressing case studies, indicators, models, theories and interpretations from the following, but not limited to, fields of study: material culture, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, soil science, archaeometrics, palaeoentomology, stable isotopes, modelling, spatial analysis and ethnography.
Please send your contributions until the 15th of November 2018 via the homepage of the workshop and sign for our session (Nr. 8): http://www.workshop-gshdl.uni-kiel.de/registration/
On this homepage you will also find further information about the workshop.
The registration deadline is the 8th February 2019 (Early-bird registration until 15th of January 2019).
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or the workshop organization: workshop@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
Papers by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Helene Agerskov Rose, Lisbeth Christensen, Arjan Louwen (eds.). BEYOND URNFIELDS - New Perspectives on Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age Funerary Practices in Northwest Europe, 2023
For the first time in the history of archaeological research in Schleswig-Holstein, a cemetery ha... more For the first time in the history of archaeological research in Schleswig-Holstein, a cemetery has been absolutely dated on a large scale. The burial ground at the site of Mang de Bargen near Bornhöved was used from the Late Neolithic until the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Most of the burials belong to the Urnfield period and were interred within the Late Neolithic and the Older Bronze Age (1800–1300/1200 BCE) burial mound areas. Due to the long period of cemetery use, the transition from inhumation to cremation as well as the change to the new type of grave construction (urn) and grave furnishings can be traced at this site. In addition, thanks to extensive dating, statements can be made on the duration of the urn cemeteries. Moreover, absolute dates from other sites in Schleswig-Holstein, which have also been dated within the project, together with the data from Mang de Bargen provide new insights into the distribution of the urnfield phenomenon in the region. Furthermore, the anthropological investigations performed as part of the project on the remains at all of these sites show interesting results in the selection of the urn type and the connection between grave goods and age groups.
Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 2024
This paper focuses on the Older Bronze Age pottery of the Nordic Circle, which has so far been gi... more This paper focuses on the Older Bronze Age pottery of the Nordic Circle, which has so far been given a wide berth in research. Due to the insufficient amount of published material, the study applied the classical and yet often frowned upon type classification and brought it into dialogue with multivariate statistical analyses. This represents then the first overview study of the Older Bronze Age ceramic material of Schleswig-Holstein and it is even more relevant, because it can can be helpful for later refinements and the classification of further material. In addition to the elaboration of ten vessel categories, which in turn could be subdivided into different numbers of types and type variants, the study makes clear how pottery production gains during the course of the Older Bronze Age in variety of form, size and expression. Links between this increasing complexity and the change in burial customs around 1300 BCE are also highlighted in relation to other changes in this period that have already been identified in the context of intensive transformation research in this region, so that the relevance of an examination of Older Bronze Age pottery becomes even clearer.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2024
This study presents the first extensive radiocarbon dating programme of Bronze Age material from ... more This study presents the first extensive radiocarbon dating programme of Bronze Age material from northern Germany, and it combines radiocarbon dates, relative typo-chronological date ranges, and stratigraphic data within a Bayesian chronological framework. We estimate the cemetery complex at Mang de Bargen (Bornhöved, distr. Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein) to be in use for more than two millennia, which is exceptionally long in northern Germany and in a wider European context. The site provides a unique insight into the dynamic nature of burial monuments and associated burial practices, from the Late Neolithic and into the Pre-Roman Iron Age (c. 2500-50 BC). The barrow building tradition lasted around a millennium (c. 2350-1300 BC), with several barrows in concurrent use. The barrows were persistently re-used as burial ground, both within 'living memory' of the primary graves, but also long after. The burial intensity varied over the cemetery's use-life, with distinct peaks in the Late Neolithic, when the first barrows were erected; in the Older Bronze Age when more barrows were erected; in the Younger Bronze Age, when secondary cremation graves were added to existing barrows; and finally in the Pre-Roman Iron Age, with the addition of an urnfield. The funerary rituals vary considerably over the period: from inhumation to cremation, and from primary and secondary graves in barrows to flat graves. Cremation was introduced in the 14th century BC but inhumation and cremation were used in parallel for around a century before the former ritual was abandoned c. 1300 BC. The study provides absolute chronological distributions of the grave types present at Mang de Bargen and shows them to be comparable to other sites at a regional and over-regional scale, successfully demonstrating how new types were quickly adopted across large parts of northwestern Europe.
Perspectives on Socio-environmental Transformations in Ancient Europe, 2024
Political practices are fundamental for co-existence in human groups, yet the systematic investig... more Political practices are fundamental for co-existence in human groups, yet the systematic investigation of such practices within prehistoric societies is still very much pending. Relevant discussions are often limited to cases of obvious asymmetric power relations and the alleged establishment of elites. In order to fill this complex gap in the current discussion we take a systematic approach exploring the nature and organisation of prehistoric power relations, decision-making and conflict resolution. We investigate changes in political practices through a diachronic set of case studies from prehistoric west Eurasia, examining the impact of these changes on the overall transformative processes of prehistoric sociality.
Here, we explore a set of parameters in five case studies from prehistoric Eurasia in order to characterise power relations and to reconstruct political negotiation and decision-making processes that constitute political practices. The case studies exhibit socio-political complexity in a variety of forms, encompassing a wide range of situations from Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, to Iron Age Greece. As archaeological proxies, eight parameters have been identified as markers of political practice to be used as a comparative framework: community site, conformity/diversity, (critical) resource access and distribution, network configurations, organisation of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
In this chapter we aim to develop a systematic approach for the analysis of political practices in order to enable the identification of patterns of power relations within the prehistory of Eurasia. This way we will develop a long-term perspective on transformations of these practices at a geographical macro scale.
Arkæologi i Slesvig / Archäologie in Schleswig, 2022
The Mang de Bargen site near Bornhöved (district of Segeberg), once the target of gravel works, d... more The Mang de Bargen site near Bornhöved (district of Segeberg), once the target of gravel works, developed into one of the best-dated Bronze Age sites in Schleswig-Holstein. The burial ground was used from the Late Neolithic to the Pre-Roman Iron Age for burying the dead. For this long period of use, several cultural changes, including burial rites, furnishings and further activities can be traced. The consistent dating of almost all the graves allows in particular concretising the change from inhumation to cremation and the transition from burial mounds with tree coffins to the beginning of the use of urns in northern Germany. Anthropological analyses of the cremations from Mang de Bargen and other sites in the area also reveal the age-related placement and furnishings, which motivate new discussions. The aim of this contribution is to present and discuss the latest results from the site and the surrounding area.
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Conference Presentations by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
within prehistoric societies is still very much pending. Relevant discussions are often limited to cases of rather obvious
asymmetric power relations and the alleged establishment of elites. In order to fill this complex gap in the current
discussion we take a systematic approach exploring the nature and organization of prehistoric power relations, decisionmaking
and conflict resolution. We will investigate changes in political practices through a diachronic set of case studies
from prehistoric societies, examining the impact of these changes on the overall transformative processes of prehistoric
sociality.
In our approach, we define parameters focused on the characterization of power relations and political practices. Eight
parameters have been identified as meaningful markers to be used as a comparative framework and can be addressed
from our archaeological data: community size, conformity/diversity, critical resource access and distribution, network
configurations, organization of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
This contribution presents different case studies from prehistoric Europe and beyond and their systematic analysis of
political practices and patterns of power relations within prehistory; each exhibiting socio-political complexity in a variety
of forms: Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic and Bronze Age Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age
Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, Iron Age Greece.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Poland (Kujawy). We are particularly interested in the transition to the Middle Bronze
Age around 1600/1500 BCE, as different settlement patterns are found along the transect, which we associate with different
transformations as well as different reactions to changes in society, economy or ecology. Furthermore, the transition from
inhumation to cremation is of major interest to us, which spreads in our working area around 1300 BCE and can often be
reconstructed as a complex transformation process.
Comprehensive dating helps us to define these two central moments of transformation as well as other moments of change
and to reconstruct and compare their developments along different spatial and temporal scales. We also compare our
archaeological data with palynological data, which give us information about landscape development and thus, among
other things, about settlement density. Bronze Age transformation processes in northern Germany and Poland can thus be
recorded and compared at the micro, meso and macro levels, so that we can recognise and understand different patterns.
On the micro level, we have recorded various transformations on a Bronze Age cemetery (site: Mang de Bargen) and a
Younger Bronze Age settlement (site: Dobbin). The recording of quantitative regional and supra-regional data shows us
their embeddedness, so that the intensities and influences of certain transformations can be assessed differently. With this
contribution we would like to present and discuss our current transformation research against the background of recent
absolute dating.
of society and decision-making. However, on what basis can this be reconstructed for northern Germany and can we
perhaps imagine alternative concepts? Only a few settlement sites are known for this region, but there are many burial
mounds of the Older Bronze Age (1800-1200 BCE) and urn graves of the Younger Bronze Age (1200-500 BCE). The period of
barrow construction is often described in terms of organisation in so-called chiefdoms linked to specific power structures,
the performance of which is also mirrored in warrior graves. However, was power really that centralised? Who made the
decisions and was the burial mound to be seen as an ‘award’ for an individual or actually for the community? The change
in burial from inhumation to cremation initially affected the barrows. Thus, although the pioneers of the new custom
were cremated, they continued to be buried in a coffin under a burial mound. From 1300 BCE onwards, almost everyone
was cremated, but there were still individuals who were buried as an inhumation. Was it a personal decision and could
opponents and strugglers still be buried as inhumations? Or did someone hold the decision on who was buried and how?
At the same time, the construction of burial mounds also declined rapidly. At first, only secondary burials were placed
in existing barrows, but no new ones were built. In addition, urn burial became more and more widespread and was
established around 1200 BCE. With urn burial, not only were grave goods standardised, but many more people were given
a grave than before. Strong political changes, especially in the decision-making issues concerning the burial system must
be considered. These and other aspects will be discussed using various examples from northern Germany.
Teaching Documents by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Workshop by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Call for Papers by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Cremation is gaining popularity in present-day Europe, while inhumation is rejected for primarily economic and practical reasons, i.e. cremations being a more affordable option and for lack of burial plots in the larger cities. The reasons for choosing between cremation and inhumations were however not as simplistic in the past, a cremation pyre will for example require knowledge and large amounts of wood and might not have been neither easier nor economically more affordable. Recent archaeological studies have shown that the ‘simple’ cremation graves hold valuable information about intricate mortuary processes and practices (e.g. body treatments) surrounding the funerals, which opens the space for further questions and interpretations regarding social, cultural or religious aspects (e.g. body concepts, symbolic communication, change of religious beliefs and taboos in death rituals). Interdisciplinary studies have revealed detailed insight into burning conditions on the pyre as well as absolute dating and mobility analyses of the cremated bone.
We invite papers from a broad range of disciplines working with cremation practices and burials in the past and today, including archaeological case studies of cremation cemeteries, burial rites and burial goods. We especially welcome paper investigating historical and ethnographic sources, religious and social studies, anthropological studies of human and animal remains, and applications of scientific methods on cremation remains, e.g. strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating.
Territoriality in Europe in the Bronze and Iron Age
In our session we would like to talk about how, when and what kind of territoriality is detectable in different areas during the Bronze and Iron Age as well as the connected subject of continuity and discontinuity of settlement areas.
We are looking forward to a wide spectrum of papers concerning continuity and discontinuity in environment, material culture and society. We invite contributions addressing case studies, indicators, models, theories and interpretations from the following, but not limited to, fields of study: material culture, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, soil science, archaeometrics, palaeoentomology, stable isotopes, modelling, spatial analysis and ethnography.
Please send your contributions until the 15th of November 2018 via the homepage of the workshop and sign for our session (Nr. 8): http://www.workshop-gshdl.uni-kiel.de/registration/
On this homepage you will also find further information about the workshop.
The registration deadline is the 8th February 2019 (Early-bird registration until 15th of January 2019).
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or the workshop organization: workshop@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
Papers by Stefanie Schaefer-Di Maida
Here, we explore a set of parameters in five case studies from prehistoric Eurasia in order to characterise power relations and to reconstruct political negotiation and decision-making processes that constitute political practices. The case studies exhibit socio-political complexity in a variety of forms, encompassing a wide range of situations from Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, to Iron Age Greece. As archaeological proxies, eight parameters have been identified as markers of political practice to be used as a comparative framework: community site, conformity/diversity, (critical) resource access and distribution, network configurations, organisation of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
In this chapter we aim to develop a systematic approach for the analysis of political practices in order to enable the identification of patterns of power relations within the prehistory of Eurasia. This way we will develop a long-term perspective on transformations of these practices at a geographical macro scale.
within prehistoric societies is still very much pending. Relevant discussions are often limited to cases of rather obvious
asymmetric power relations and the alleged establishment of elites. In order to fill this complex gap in the current
discussion we take a systematic approach exploring the nature and organization of prehistoric power relations, decisionmaking
and conflict resolution. We will investigate changes in political practices through a diachronic set of case studies
from prehistoric societies, examining the impact of these changes on the overall transformative processes of prehistoric
sociality.
In our approach, we define parameters focused on the characterization of power relations and political practices. Eight
parameters have been identified as meaningful markers to be used as a comparative framework and can be addressed
from our archaeological data: community size, conformity/diversity, critical resource access and distribution, network
configurations, organization of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
This contribution presents different case studies from prehistoric Europe and beyond and their systematic analysis of
political practices and patterns of power relations within prehistory; each exhibiting socio-political complexity in a variety
of forms: Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic and Bronze Age Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age
Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, Iron Age Greece.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Poland (Kujawy). We are particularly interested in the transition to the Middle Bronze
Age around 1600/1500 BCE, as different settlement patterns are found along the transect, which we associate with different
transformations as well as different reactions to changes in society, economy or ecology. Furthermore, the transition from
inhumation to cremation is of major interest to us, which spreads in our working area around 1300 BCE and can often be
reconstructed as a complex transformation process.
Comprehensive dating helps us to define these two central moments of transformation as well as other moments of change
and to reconstruct and compare their developments along different spatial and temporal scales. We also compare our
archaeological data with palynological data, which give us information about landscape development and thus, among
other things, about settlement density. Bronze Age transformation processes in northern Germany and Poland can thus be
recorded and compared at the micro, meso and macro levels, so that we can recognise and understand different patterns.
On the micro level, we have recorded various transformations on a Bronze Age cemetery (site: Mang de Bargen) and a
Younger Bronze Age settlement (site: Dobbin). The recording of quantitative regional and supra-regional data shows us
their embeddedness, so that the intensities and influences of certain transformations can be assessed differently. With this
contribution we would like to present and discuss our current transformation research against the background of recent
absolute dating.
of society and decision-making. However, on what basis can this be reconstructed for northern Germany and can we
perhaps imagine alternative concepts? Only a few settlement sites are known for this region, but there are many burial
mounds of the Older Bronze Age (1800-1200 BCE) and urn graves of the Younger Bronze Age (1200-500 BCE). The period of
barrow construction is often described in terms of organisation in so-called chiefdoms linked to specific power structures,
the performance of which is also mirrored in warrior graves. However, was power really that centralised? Who made the
decisions and was the burial mound to be seen as an ‘award’ for an individual or actually for the community? The change
in burial from inhumation to cremation initially affected the barrows. Thus, although the pioneers of the new custom
were cremated, they continued to be buried in a coffin under a burial mound. From 1300 BCE onwards, almost everyone
was cremated, but there were still individuals who were buried as an inhumation. Was it a personal decision and could
opponents and strugglers still be buried as inhumations? Or did someone hold the decision on who was buried and how?
At the same time, the construction of burial mounds also declined rapidly. At first, only secondary burials were placed
in existing barrows, but no new ones were built. In addition, urn burial became more and more widespread and was
established around 1200 BCE. With urn burial, not only were grave goods standardised, but many more people were given
a grave than before. Strong political changes, especially in the decision-making issues concerning the burial system must
be considered. These and other aspects will be discussed using various examples from northern Germany.
Cremation is gaining popularity in present-day Europe, while inhumation is rejected for primarily economic and practical reasons, i.e. cremations being a more affordable option and for lack of burial plots in the larger cities. The reasons for choosing between cremation and inhumations were however not as simplistic in the past, a cremation pyre will for example require knowledge and large amounts of wood and might not have been neither easier nor economically more affordable. Recent archaeological studies have shown that the ‘simple’ cremation graves hold valuable information about intricate mortuary processes and practices (e.g. body treatments) surrounding the funerals, which opens the space for further questions and interpretations regarding social, cultural or religious aspects (e.g. body concepts, symbolic communication, change of religious beliefs and taboos in death rituals). Interdisciplinary studies have revealed detailed insight into burning conditions on the pyre as well as absolute dating and mobility analyses of the cremated bone.
We invite papers from a broad range of disciplines working with cremation practices and burials in the past and today, including archaeological case studies of cremation cemeteries, burial rites and burial goods. We especially welcome paper investigating historical and ethnographic sources, religious and social studies, anthropological studies of human and animal remains, and applications of scientific methods on cremation remains, e.g. strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating.
Territoriality in Europe in the Bronze and Iron Age
In our session we would like to talk about how, when and what kind of territoriality is detectable in different areas during the Bronze and Iron Age as well as the connected subject of continuity and discontinuity of settlement areas.
We are looking forward to a wide spectrum of papers concerning continuity and discontinuity in environment, material culture and society. We invite contributions addressing case studies, indicators, models, theories and interpretations from the following, but not limited to, fields of study: material culture, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, soil science, archaeometrics, palaeoentomology, stable isotopes, modelling, spatial analysis and ethnography.
Please send your contributions until the 15th of November 2018 via the homepage of the workshop and sign for our session (Nr. 8): http://www.workshop-gshdl.uni-kiel.de/registration/
On this homepage you will also find further information about the workshop.
The registration deadline is the 8th February 2019 (Early-bird registration until 15th of January 2019).
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or the workshop organization: workshop@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
Here, we explore a set of parameters in five case studies from prehistoric Eurasia in order to characterise power relations and to reconstruct political negotiation and decision-making processes that constitute political practices. The case studies exhibit socio-political complexity in a variety of forms, encompassing a wide range of situations from Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, to Iron Age Greece. As archaeological proxies, eight parameters have been identified as markers of political practice to be used as a comparative framework: community site, conformity/diversity, (critical) resource access and distribution, network configurations, organisation of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.
In this chapter we aim to develop a systematic approach for the analysis of political practices in order to enable the identification of patterns of power relations within the prehistory of Eurasia. This way we will develop a long-term perspective on transformations of these practices at a geographical macro scale.
settlement areas, which are the focus of our session.
Different modes of spatial occupation characterised the Bronze and Iron Age in Europe, ranging from farm- steads and groups of burial mounds to (political) territories as indicated by the 'Celtic fields', cooking-pit fields, linear structures and fortifications, as well as by palaeoenvironmental and economic proxies. This session aims to explore how different kinds of territorial organisation shape the spatial system of interaction. Do parts of the landscape represent areas of influence or even "territory" to which the (economic) activity of individuals or communities were limited? Are there aspects of landownerships and property rights detectable in the ar- chaeological record?
We are also interested in the temporal aspects of the settlement locations. Is there a long-term, continual bond between the settlement areas and the inhabitants visible, despite some evident changes in the agricultu- ral regime and material culture? Were there changes in land-use, such as in the intensity of crop cultivation, or a shift of economic focus from plant to animal husbandry (pasture farming), or different strategies of animal husbandry? Can these be connected to specific modes of spatial organization?
These aspects touch on social interaction shaped by territoriality (and vice versa) and we wonder whether ter- ritoriality caused conflicts, or it helped reduce/resolve them? Did territoriality emerge as a result of population growth?
We are especially interested in discussing the following aspects:
• Modelling of settlement and funerary landscapes
• Pollen data and soil morphology as a basis for the reconstruction of landscape use
• Spatial analysis in relation to regional settlement dynamics
• Small-scale/local human mobility
We invite contributions addressing case studies, indicators, models, theories and interpretations from the fol- lowing, but not limited to, fields of study: material culture, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, soil science, archa-
eometrics, palaeoentomology, stable isotopes, modelling, spatial analysis and ethnography.
the 13th to 11th centuries BCE coincided with a fundamental change in land-use practices. This probably included an intensification of use of open, agricultural land associated with a shift from woodland to grassland pasturage. A number of crops typical of Late Neolithic and Bronze Age agriculture in northern Germany were in use at Mang de Bargen. A comparison of the developments at the local scale (based on both on- and near-site data) with the archaeological, archaeobotanical and palaeoenvironmental evidence from a regional (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) and a supraregional (northern Germany) scale (using off-site data) reveals similar and coinciding changes in material culture, burial rites and land-use patterns. The changing land-use practices in northern Germany during the last centuries of the 2nd millennium BCE are also reflected in the diversification of the crop spectrum, including the beginning of cultivation of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). This supports the idea that the 13th to 11th centuries BCE were the time of far-reaching societal transformation. Substantial changes occurred in many forms of material expression (settlement architecture, layout and size; utilitarian objects), as well as in ideology (mortuary practice), technology (raw materials and techniques), trade and exchange (intensified circulation of goods), and the food economy (new crops and domesticates).
In this framework of research, the Mang de Bargen site near Bornhöved (district of Segeberg), once the target of gravel works, developed into one of the best-dated Bronze Age sites in Schleswig-Holstein. The cemetery was used from the Late Neolithic to the Pre-Roman Iron Age as a burial site. During this long period of use, several cultural changes, including burial rites, grave furnishings, and further activities, can be traced. The rigorous dating of almost all of the graves allows, in particular, the precise identification of the moment of transition from inhumation to cremation, as well as the shift from burial mounds with log coffins to the beginning of the use of urns in northern Germany.
Anthropological analyses of the cremations from Mang de Bargen and other sites in the area also reveal the age-related placement and furnishings, which might in turn stimulate new discussions. A comparison with environmental data (archaeobotany and palynology) also shows the scope of human impact in comparison to the archaeological investigations. The inclusion of data on graves, hoards, and settlements for the whole of Schleswig-Holstein enables this fully-investigated cemetery to be contextually embedded, and shows how — and how differently — transformation processes manifested themselves at local, regional, and supra-regional levels.
Volume 2 comprises the plates, as well as the following external reports: the anthropological report (Storch), the archaeobotanical study (Filipović) and the palaeoecological study on the site (Feeser).
In this framework of research, the Mang de Bargen site near Bornhöved (district of Segeberg), once the target of gravel works, developed into one of the best-dated Bronze Age sites in Schleswig-Holstein. The cemetery was used from the Late Neolithic to the Pre-Roman Iron Age as a burial site. During this long period of use, several cultural changes, including burial rites, grave furnishings, and further activities, can be traced. The rigorous dating of almost all of the graves allows, in particular, the precise identification of the moment of transition from inhumation to cremation, as well as the shift from burial mounds with log coffins to the beginning of the use of urns in northern Germany.
Anthropological analyses of the cremations from Mang de Bargen and other sites in the area also reveal the age-related placement and furnishings, which might in turn stimulate new discussions. A comparison with environmental data (archaeobotany and palynology) also shows the scope of human impact in comparison to the archaeological investigations. The inclusion of data on graves, hoards, and settlements for the whole of Schleswig-Holstein enables this fully-investigated cemetery to be contextually embedded, and shows how — and how differently — transformation processes manifested themselves at local, regional, and supra-regional levels.
Volume 1 comprises the main text, the feature catalogue, the site plans, the main site profiles, the results of the radiometric dating and the interim results of the preliminary anthropological investigations.