philippe Lefranc

A preventive excavation carried out in 2016 at the
Achenheim Strasse 2 site, west of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) investigated
part of a ringed village, over an area of one hectare, attributed to the
Bruebach-Oberbergen horizon, an Epiroessenian group settled in
Lower Alsace between 4400 and 4250 BC. Most of the storage pits
discovered belong to this horizon (at least 211 and probably more
than 350), and a long section of enclosure outlining a segment of a
circle over 155 linear metres followed on from them, consisting of
a continuous V-shaped ditch, on average 1.70 metres wide and of
equivalent depth. The ditch was probably flanked on the inside by
an earthen embankment, as indicated by the asymmetrical profiles
of the fillings, and is interrupted twice by openings with structures
assimilated to fortified entrances. The construction of the enclosure
was carried out as a single project where only the entrances were
redeveloped, to varying degrees. The discovery of this enclosure,
identified as a defensive structure, marks an important stage
in research into regional Neolithic enclosures. Indeed, up until
now, such structures were only represented, from the Early
Neolithic to the end of the fifth millennium, by ‘Rosheim-type’
monuments, identified by recent research as ceremonial centres.
The number of excavations, the large volume of certain storage
pits and the surface covered by the enclosure (which we know extends over at least 3 or 4 hectares) suggest that the site hosted
a large population. This unprecedented configuration depicts the
organisation of the territory and of Bruebach-Oberbergen society
in a very different way from reconstructions based on regional
sites, which point rather to settlements composed of farms or small
scattered hamlets. We examine the historical context that led to the
emergence of this large fortified village and propose a correlation
with an episode of collective violence that affected Lower Alsace
around 4250 BC. This episode is illustrated at Achenheim itself
by very specific human deposits with vestiges of warrior rites
(victory celebrations). In addition to the important reconstruction
of the historical processes at work in the last third of the fifth
millennium, the relative abundance of exhumed material from
the site also provides the opportunity to better define the stylistic
evolution of pottery, to characterise lithic and bone tools, as well
as the husbandry system of the Bruebach-Oberbergen group.

On account of recent developments in the absolute chronology of circular-shaped grave deposits from Bavaria, new bibliographic research and a series of discoveries in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain, we can now advance the hypothesis of an origin of this phenomenon in Central Europe, between the Czech Republic and Bavaria. These regions have yielded the earliest deposits with typologies encompassing all of the defined categories: burials in conventional or non-conventional positions, asymmetrical deposits, mixed deposits, anatomic segments, etc. The introduction of this practice in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain and in the Neckar Valley, undoubtedly under the direct influence of Münchshofen, occurs in the second third of the fifth millennium: it is illustrated in particular by mixed deposits, anatomic segments, isolated individuals in conventional or non-conventional positions, singular deposits with a warrior connotation and deposits of animals. The Michelsberg culture, attested in Lower Alsace at the end of the millennium, perpetuates this practice which undergoes a new development during the middle stage of this culture and a direct diffusion towards Upper Alsace. To the east, in Slovakia, it is possible that the group from Ludanice, affected by the phenomenon during the last centuries of the 5th millennium, played a relay role in diffusion towards early Trichterbecherkultur groups.
Thus, rather than a progressive diffusion of the phenomenon from the Chassean towards Michelsberg, then towards the Danubian regions, we propose a polycentric model in which South and Central Europe evolve separately without necessarily interacting.

La mise au jour, en 2019, d’un petit ensemble funéraire attribué au début du Bronze ancien à Truchtersheim « Holderacker »
(2030-1900 av. J.-C), à une douzaine de kilomètres au nord-ouest de Strasbourg, nous amène à proposer un point d’étape sur
l’ensemble de la documentation disponible sur les pratiques funéraires du BzA1 en Alsace. Cet horizon chronologique, jusqu’ici très peu
documenté, a récemment bénéficié d’une série de découvertes, essentiellement réalisées entre 2017 et 2019 à l’occasion des opérations
d’archéologie préventive conduites sur le tracé du Contournement Ouest de Strasbourg. Le corpus régional, modeste (vingt tombes),
ne permet que des observations de portée limitée, mais plusieurs caractères spécifiques à la période peuvent être reconnus. Parmi eux,
la variabilité des orientations, se partageant entre un groupe NE-SO, majoritaire, et un groupe NO-SE. Le premier, également
majoritaire dans le groupe du Danube, en Bavière, rassemble des individus masculins et féminins déposés sur le flanc gauche et tête au
NE pour les premiers, et sur le flanc droit, tête au SO pour les seconds. Le second groupe d’orientations ne rassemble que des individus
déposés sur le flanc droit, tête au NO, dans lesquels nous proposons de reconnaître des individus féminins s’opposant aux individus
masculins non pas en vertu du principe de symétrie horizontale caractérisant le groupe des orientations NE-SO, mais en fonction d’un
principe de symétrie verticale, configuration qui semble propre au sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur. Les dépôts de mobilier sont rares,
essentiellement constitués, comme à Truchtersheim, d’éléments de parures en matière dure animale, parfois accompagnés de rares objets
en métal ou en faïence. La composition des dépôts, rassemblant des objets ubiquistes, n’autorise pas l’identification formelle d’éventuels
réseaux connectant l’Alsace aux secteurs de peuplement d’Allemagne méridionale ou du sud-ouest. Cependant, en nous appuyant sur
l’analyse des orientations et sur leur évolution au cours du Bronze ancien, ainsi que sur d’autres éléments comme l’existence en Alsace de
structures de type Tottenhütten et de maisons de type Eching/Öberau, nous réitérons l’hypothèse d’un lien privilégié entre notre région
d’étude et le groupe du Danube de la culture de Straubing. Enfin, nous soulignons le manque de données régionales qui caractérise le
moment du passage entre le Campaniforme et les premières manifestations du Bronze ancien entre 2150 et 2000 av. J.-C., telles qu’elles
sont illustrées dans les proches nécropoles de Singen, dans le Bade, ou de Remseck-Aldingen, dans la vallée du Neckar.

Le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur n’a livré que peu de témoins de l’occupation de la rive gauche du fleuve
par les porteurs de la Céramique cordée. Nous présentons dans cette contribution trois nouveaux habitats
(Achenheim, Gougenheim et Vendenheim), deux ensembles funéraires (Kolbsheim et Lingolsheim), étudiés lors
d’opérations d’archéologie préventive ou que de récentes datations radiométriques ont permis de réattribuer au
Néolithique final (Lingolsheim), ainsi qu’une petite série d’objets (armatures de flèche et poignards pressigniens)
recueillis lors de prospections de surface. Les structures d’habitat se limitent à quelques fosses attribuables au
Cordé ancien (Vendenheim) et final (Achenheim, Gougenheim) ayant livré des formes céramiques trahissant,
comme il est de règle dans la région, de fortes influences de Suisse orientale, mais également du Rhin moyen,
une donnée nouvelle qui nous permet de localiser une frontière culturelle entre deux groupes du Cordé tardif
dans le nord du plateau du Kochersberg. L’appartenance de deux tombes de Kolbsheim et la réattribution au
Cordé d’un petit ensemble anciennement fouillé par R. Forrer à Lingolsheim sont discutées. Enfin, la mise au
jour de nouveaux poignards pressignien nous permet d’aborder la question des influences occidentales à l’oeuvre
dans la région dans le second tiers du 3e millénaire av. J.-C.

The origin of the Munzingen stylistic group, which developed between Alsace and Baden and covers several facies, is
still debated. The “Rhinocentric” hypothesis, dominating across the Rhine and often presented as the sole paradigm, considers the
Munzingen B as a regional evolution of the Late Michelsberg. Following C. Jeunesse, we oppose this hypothesis and propose instead the
principle of a phylum dating back to the transition between the 5th and 4th millennia, and consider the Munzingen as a culture that,
at its origin, had little connection to the Michelsberg. We base our hypothesis on a stylistic analysis supported by a new correspondence analysis that tends to show that the Late Munzingen of Baden and Lower Alsace (grouped here in the Northern Late Munzingen)
proceeds from an evolution of the Early Munzingen (Munzingen A) style. This latter can be synchronized based on an analysis of the
distribution maps and a set of mixed assemblages, with the Middle Michelsberg (MKIII), a culture with which it shares a border along
an axis linking Fribourg-en-Brisgau, in Kaiserstuhl, at Houssen, in Upper Alsace. We insist on the early integration of this geographic
sector given the emergence of the Munzingen style in the realm of influence linking central Europe to the Rhine Valley – influences
perceptible starting in the last third of the 5th millennium – and emphasize the stylistic proximity of the Early Munzingen with part
of the productions of groups then occupying the Upper Swabia and the shores of Lake Constance. Rather than a regional group derived
from the Early Michelsberg, a hypothesis supported by J. Lüning, we propose to identify in the Early Munzingen a style well-anchored
in a regional substratum (western Riegel and Bischheim group of the Late Upper Rhine), open to eastern influences, such as the
Hornstaad group, which was very present in the south of Baden and in Haute-Alsace, and whose role in the genesis of the Munzingen
was probably determinant.
The Early Munzingen extends across southern Baden (south of Kaiserstuhl and Markgräferland) and Upper Alsace, to the north of
the Sundgau plateau at Colmar. At around 3,850 BC, the two regions evolved separately. Under a Pfyn influence following from
Hornstaad contributions, in Baden the Early Munzingen evolved toward the Northern Late Munzingen style. Starting from this
core, and following the diffusionist thesis supported here, the Munzingen style successively took hold in the north of Kaiserstuhl, Lower
Alsace, Neckar and Wetterau, superseding the Michelsberg in these regions. In Upper Alsace, a region les exposed to the Pfyn influences
and closer to the Cortaillod groups of central Switzerland, the Munzingen A evolved toward the Southern Late Munzingen style
(formerly Munzingen A2), which was very similar to the Early Munzingen, which has been individualized only by recent radiometric
dates. To better understand this complex history and the existence of two entities that were clearly dissociated from 3,850/3,800 BC,
we propose to retain the Early Munzingen (MZA) designation for the assemblages originating from the shared foundation, but to
replace the MZA2 acronym, defining the Late Munzingen assemblages of Upper Alsace, with the name “Southern Late Munzingen.”
The Munzingen B, which is both a late style derived from the Early Munzingen and an expanding cultural group, could be defined as
the “Northern Late Munzingen”.

The spatial analysis of the Neolithic village of Bischoffsheim led to the development of a new model of internal organisation
of the Linear Pottery culture settlements based on a series of precisely dated houses and on a Bayesian modelling
of numerous radiocarbon dates. The »orthogonal model«, similar in principle to the Hofplatz model but also
reflecting the row organisation observed at many sites, proposes the partition of the village, which displays a regular
division into quadrangular lots with successive buildings. These were rebuilt repeatedly (approximately every quarter of
a century) by the same social unit.

Starting from 12,000 years ago in the Middle East, the Neolithic lifestyle spread across Europe via separate continental and Mediterranean routes. Genomes from early European farmers have shown a clear Near Eastern/Anatolian genetic affinity with limited contribution from hunter-gatherers. However, no genomic data are available from modern-day France, where both routes converged, as evidenced by a mosaic cultural pattern. Here, we present genome-wide data from 101 individuals from 12 sites covering today's France and Germany from the Mesolithic (N = 3) to the Neolithic (N = 98) (7000-3000 BCE). Using the genetic sub-structure observed in European hunter-gatherers, we characterize diverse patterns of admixture in different regions, consistent with both routes of expansion. Early western European farmers show a higher proportion of distinctly western hunter-gatherer ancestry compared to central/southeastern farmers. Our data highlight the complexity of the biological interactions during the Neolithic expansion by revealing major regional variations.

Pottery is one of the most commonly recovered artefacts from archaeological sites. Despite more than a century of relative dating based on typology and seriation, accurate dating of pottery using the radiocarbon dating method has proven extremely challenging owing to the limited survival of organic temper and unreliability of visible residues. Here we report a method to directly date archaeological pottery based on accelerator mass spectrometry analysis of 14C in absorbed food residues using palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) fatty acids purified by preparative gas chromatography. We present accurate compound-specific radiocarbon determinations of lipids extracted from pottery vessels, which were rigorously evaluated by comparison with dendrochronological dates and inclusion in site and regional chronologies that contained previously determined radiocarbon dates on other materials. Notably, the compound-specific dates from each of the C16:0 and C18:0 fatty acids in pottery vessels provide an internal quality control of the results6 and are entirely compatible with dates for other commonly dated materials. Accurate radiocarbon dating of pottery vessels can reveal: (1) the period of use of pottery; (2) the antiquity of organic residues, including when specific foodstuffs were exploited; (3) the chronology of sites in the absence of traditionally datable materials; and (4) direct verification of pottery typochronologies. Here we used the method to date the exploitation of dairy and carcass products in Neolithic vessels from Britain, Anatolia, central and western Europe, and Saharan Africa.

https://rdcu.be/b3s6J (online pdf)

Abstract: New evidence for metallurgy in the Late Neolithic in the Upper Rhine valley:
the finds from Colmar “Aérodrome” und Eckwersheim “Burgweg”
The Upper Rhine Valley does not belong to the core regions of the late Neolithic metallurgy,
even if metal is occasionally found in contexts of the Michelsberg and Munzingen
cultures. Two recent findings made in Alsace reveal important information concerning the
beginning of copper use in the Upper Rhine Valley. These new discoveries prompted us to
collate and study all the Neolithic copper artefacts previously found in Alsace and in
neighbouring areas and, where possible, to carry out new metallic trace-element analysis.
The aim of this study was to get a better understanding of the context and importance of that metallurgical industry in the Rhine valley based on two new discoveries. This work
suggests that we were already dealing with an established copper processing in Alsace and
the neighbouring areas in the (late) Neolithic, which had strong links to the Neolithic
metallurgy centre on Lake Zurich and Lake Constance.

Abstract The Obernai ’Neuen Brunnen’ necropolis in Lower Alsace yielded 29 tombs attributed to the Middle Neolithic. It was
probably founded during the Early Grossgartach, at the end of the 48th century BC, and abandoned during the Roessen, perhaps
during the Early Roessen, and in any case before the middle of the 46th century BC. The most original feature of this mortuary
assemblage is that most of the tombs belong to the Planig-Friedberg period (the last stylistic phase of the Grossgartach) and the Roessen.The mortuary practices of these periods are still poorly known in the region. The necropolis is composed of three spatial groups, the
most ancient of which contains all the Grossgartach tombs and one Planig-Friedberg tomb. It is at this moment that a concentration
of graves in a single limited space succeeds the distribution of tombs around three distinct locations, a phenomenon that has already
been observed in three other regional assemblages. The integration of Obernai in the regional corpus and the detailed analysis of the
mortuary practices highlights the permanence of this ritual since the Grossgartach, in terms of the positions and orientations of the
corpses and reveals changes in the frequency and artifact deposit types : some categories, such as grinding stones/rubbing stones and
sickle blades disappear, while most of the arrowheads and fire-making equipment increases. The relatively high number of individuals
decorated with bracelets enabled us to determine how these elements, reserved for women, were worn during the Planig-Friedberg
and Roessen periods: above the elbow and in symmetry, in opposition to the Grossgartach style. Another unique feature of the Obernai
necropolis is that it yielded elements belonging to Upper Alsacian and Southern Badois groups (or ’south’ groups) of the Planig-
Friedberg and Roessen, such as Forchheim-type Planig-Friedberg vases and their Roessen epigones, as well as irregular ring-discs. These
traits, mixed with a majority of features defining the Lower Alsace groups (northern component of the Roessen ceramics, orientations
to the west), permit us to equate the Obernai necropolis with a mixed assemblage in which two distinct traditions coexisted. This
observation supports the conclusions of the ceramic analyses, which place the stylistic border between the northern and southern groups
of the Roessen of the southern plain of the Upper Rhine at the location of Obernai.

La nécropole d’Obernai ’Neuen Brunnen’, en Basse-Alsace, a livré 29 tombes attribuées au Néolithique moyen. Sa fondation intervient probablement dès le Grossgartach ancien, à la fin du 48e siècle av. J.-C. et son abandon dans le courant du Roessen, peut-être dès le Roessen ancien, dans tous les cas avant le milieu du 46e siècle. La plupart des tombes, et il s’agit de la principale originalité de cet ensemble funéraire, relèvent du Planig-Friedberg (dernier stade stylistique du Grossgartach) et du Roessen, périodes encore très peu documentées régionalement sur le plan des pratiques funéraires. La nécropole est formée de trois groupes spatiaux dont le plus ancien rassemble toutes les tombes Grossgartach et une tombe Planig-Friedberg. Les deux autres groupes sont fondés lors du Planig-Friedberg, mais un seul d’entre eux est encore utilisé lors du Roessen. C’est à ce moment-là que succède à la distribution des tombes autour de trois pôles distincts, une concentration des sépultures dans un même espace restreint, phénomène déjà documenté sur d’autres ensembles régionaux. L’intégration d’Obernai au sein du corpus régional et l’analyse détaillée des gestes funéraires permet de souligner la permanence du rituel depuis le Grossgartach, au niveau des positions et des orientations notamment, mais également de mettre en évidence une série d’évolutions touchant à la fréquence et aux types des dépôts de mobilier : certaines catégories comme les meules/molettes et les armatures de faucille disparaissent alors que la part des armatures de flèche et des nécessaires à feu s’accroît. Le nombre relativement élevé d’individus parés de bracelets nous a permis de définir la manière dont ces éléments, réservés aux femmes, étaient portés au Planig-Friedberg et au Roessen : au-dessus du coude et en symétrie, en rupture avec le style Grossgartach. Une autre originalité de la nécropole d’Obernai est d’avoir livré des éléments propres aux groupes haut-alsaciens et sud-badois (ou groupes ‘sud’) du Planig-Friedberg et du Roessen, à l’image des vases Planig-Friedberg de type Forchheim et de leurs épigones Roessen, ainsi que des anneaux-disques irréguliers. Ces traits, mêlés à une majorité de caractères définissant les groupes de Basse-Alsace (composante nord de la céramique Roessen, orientations à l’ouest), permettent d’assimiler la nécropole d’Obernai à un ensemble mixte où coexistent deux traditions distinctes. Cette observation rejoint les conclusions des études céramiques, qui placent la frontière stylistique entre les groupes nord et sud du Roessen du sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur à hauteur d’Obernai.

Abstract: The Obernai ’Neuen Brunnen’ necropolis in Lower Alsace yielded 29 tombs attributed to the Middle Neolithic. It was probably founded during the Early Grossgartach, at the end of the 48th century BC, and abandoned during the Roessen, perhaps during the Early Roessen, and in any case before the middle of the 46th century BC. The most original feature of this mortuary assemblage is that most of the tombs belong to the Planig-Friedberg period (the last stylistic phase of the Grossgartach) and the Roessen. The mortuary practices of these periods are still poorly known in the region. The necropolis is composed of three spatial groups, the most ancient of which contains all the Grossgartach tombs and one Planig-Friedberg tomb. It is at this moment that a concentration of graves in a single limited space succeeds the distribution of tombs around three distinct locations, a phenomenon that has already been observed in three other regional assemblages. The integration of Obernai in the regional corpus and the detailed analysis of the mortuary practices highlights the permanence of this ritual since the Grossgartach, in terms of the positions and orientations of the corpses and reveals changes in the frequency and artifact deposit types : some categories, such as grinding stones/rubbing stones and sickle blades disappear, while most of the arrowheads and fire-making equipment increases. The relatively high number of individuals decorated with bracelets enabled us to determine how these elements, reserved for women, were worn during the Planig-Friedberg and Roessen periods: above the elbow and in symmetry, in opposition to the Grossgartach style. Another unique feature of the Obernai necropolis is that it yielded elements belonging to Upper Alsacian and Southern Badois groups (or ’south’ groups) of the Planig- Friedberg and Roessen, such as Forchheim-type Planig-Friedberg vases and their Roessen epigones, as well as irregular ring-discs. These traits, mixed with a majority of features defining the Lower Alsace groups (northern component of the Roessen ceramics, orientations to the west), permit us to equate the Obernai necropolis with a mixed assemblage in which two distinct traditions coexisted. This observation supports the conclusions of the ceramic analyses, which place the stylistic border between the northern and southern groups of the Roessen of the southern plain of the Upper Rhine at the location of Obernai.

Zusammenfassung: In der Nekropole von Obernai ’Neuen Brunnen’ im Departement Bas-Rhin kamen 29 Gräber aus dem Mittelneolithikum zutage. Es wurde wahrscheinlich bereits im frühen Großgartach, am Ende des 48. Jh. v. Chr., angelegt und im Laufe von Rössen aufgegeben, vielleicht bereits im frühen Rössen, auf jeden Fall vor Mitte des 46. Jh. Die meisten Gräber, und darin besteht die bedeutendste Originalität dieses Bestattungsensembles, stammen aus der Phase Planig-Friedberg (dem letzten stilistischen Stadium der Großgartacher Kultur) und Rössen, Perioden, die im Bereich der Bestattungssitten in der Region noch sehr wenig dokumentiert sind. Das Gräberfeld besteht aus drei Arealen. Im ältesten Areal befinden sich alle Großgartach Gräber und ein Grab Planig-Friedberg. Die beiden anderen Areale werden im Planig-Friedberg angelegt, doch nur eines der beiden Areale wird noch im Rössen genutzt. Bis in die Rössener Phase sind die Gräber um drei unterschiedliche Pole gruppiert, dann konzentrieren sie sich in einem begrenzten Raum. Dieses Phänomen ist bereits von anderen Nekropolen der Region bekannt. Die Eingliederung der Nekropole von Obernai in den regionalen Datenbestand und die detaillierte Analyse der Bestattungsriten erlaubt es die Kontinuität des Rituals seit Großgartach zu unterstreichen, insbesondere was die Positionen und die Orientierungen angeht. Zudem konnte eine Reihe von Entwicklungen bezüglich der Frequenz und Art der Grabbeigaben aufgezeigt werden: einige Kategorien, wie die Mahlsteine/Läufer und die Sichelklingen verschwinden, während die Zahl der Pfeilspitzen und der Feuerschlagsteine steigt. Die relativ hohe Anzahl von Individuen mit Armreifen hat es uns ermöglicht zu bestimmen, wie diese den Frauen vorbehaltenen Schmuckelemente in der Periode von Planig-Friedberg und Rössen getragen wurden: über dem Ellenbogen und symmetrisch, was einen Bruch mit dem Großgartacher Stil darstellt. Eine weitere Originalität des Gräberfeldes von Obernai besteht darin, dass es Elemente der oberelsässischen und südbadischen Gruppen (oder Komponente „Süd“) von Planig-Friedberg und Rössen geliefert hat, wie die Planig-Friedberger Gefäße des Typs Forchheim und ihrer Rössener Epigone, zudem unregelmäßige Scheibenringe. Diese Merkmale in Verbindung mit zahlreichen Eigenschaften der niederelsässischen Gruppen (Komponente „Nord“ der Rössener Keramik, Orientierung nach Westen) erlauben es, das Gräberfeld von Obernai einer gemischten Gruppe zuzuordnen, bei der zwei unterschiedliche Traditionen nebeneinander bestehen. Diese Beobachtung stimmt mit den Keramikstudien überein, welche die stilistische Grenze zwischen den nördlichen und südlichen Gruppen der Rössener Kultur in der südlichen Oberrheinebene bei Obernai platzieren.

The strengths of formal Bayesian chronological modelling are restated, combining as it
does knowledge of the archaeology with the radiocarbon dating of carefully chosen samples of
known taphonomy in association with diagnostic material culture. The risks of dating bone samples
are reviewed, along with a brief history of the development of approaches to the radiocarbon dating
of bone. In reply to Strien (2017), selected topics concerned with the emergence and aftermath of
the LBK are discussed, as well as the early Vinča, Ražište and Hinkelstein sequences. The need for
rigour in an approach which combines archaeology and radiocarbon dating is underlined.

This work is an attempt at a short synthesis of recent Neolithic
human deposits found in circular pits on the southern
plain of the Upper-Rhine Valley and is based on recent data
from rescue excavations. The large regional corpus has allowed
the definition of a complex system of recurring patterns
whereby simple inhumations coexist with bodies found
in a splayed or disorderly manner which we interpret as
being »accompanying burials«. Evidence of post mortem
manipulation, as well as deposits of isolated bone, have been
observed. We now wonder, drawing heavily on recent and
spectacular evidence, about the existence of true human sacrifices.
Our interpretive model, when compared with the data
from other regions where the phenomenon of burial deposits
in circular pits occurs, allows us to construct a coherent system
which fits across the entire geographic distribution of
the deposits in circular pits.

Deux nouveaux sites du Michelsberg ancien ont été fouillés entre 2013 et 2016 sur les rebords du plateau du
Kochersberg, au nord et à l’ouest de Strasbourg. Le site de Vendenheim a livré les vestiges d’un habitat constitué
d’une vingtaine de fosses de plan circulaire contenant un abondant mobilier céramique illustrant l’ensemble de
la gamme des productions du Michelsberg ancien régional, période encore peu documentée et jusqu’ici reconnue
à travers des assemblages isolés. À l’écart de cet ensemble, dans un secteur proche du lieu-dit « Les Coteaux»
– où un dépôt animal du Michelsberg ancien a anciennement été documenté – a été fouillée une fosse de plan
circulaire contenant, sur deux niveaux de dépôt, les dépouilles d’un enfant et d’un canidé. Le site d’Achenheim
« Strasse 2 », qui n’a livré que peu de structures domestiques, se distingue par la présence d’un petit ensemble
funéraire constitué de quatre tombes localisées à l’écart de l’habitat. Les inhumations (corps allongés dans des
creusements oblongs et orientation au nord-ouest), attribuées à l’horizon chronologique Michelsberg ancien par
le radiocarbone, s’inscrivent dans la tradition funéraire régionale de la première moitié du Néolithique moyen
et témoignent de son maintien jusqu’à l’aube du 4e millénaire.
Zwischen 2013 und 2016 wurden im Norden und Westen von Straßburg am Kochersberg zwei neue Frühmichelsberger
Fundorte untersucht. An der Grabungsstätte Vendenheim wurden Reste einer Siedlung mit rund zwanzig kreisförmigen
Gruben freigelegt, die zahlreiche Keramikgegenstände enthielten. Das Inventar umfasst das gesamte Produktionsspektrum
der regionalen Frühmichelsberger Periode. Diese noch kaum dokumentierte Kultur konnte bisher nur vereinzelt
nachgewiesen werden. An einer weiteren Grabungsstätte in der Nähe der Ortschaft Les Coteaux, wo zuvor bereits
eine Frühmichelsberger Abfallgrube mit Tierresten nachgewiesen worden war, befand sich eine kreisförmige Grube, die
in zwei Abfallschichten die Überreste eines Kindes und eines Hundes enthielt. Am Grabungsort Achenheim „Strasse 2“
wurde neben wenigen Siedlungsresten eine kleine Grabanlage mit vier Gräbern abseits der Wohnhäuser gefunden. Diese
Grabstätten (gestreckte Körperlage, rechteckige Gruben, Nordwestausrichtung) konnten mit der Radiokarbonmethode
auf die Frühmichelsberger Kultur datiert werden; sie sind den regionalen Bestattungstraditionen der ersten Hälfte der
mittleren Jungsteinzeit zuzuordnen und belegen, dass sich diese Bräuche bis ins frühe 4. Jahrtausend hielten.

ARBOGAST R.-M., JEUNESSE C., DENAIRE  A. et LEFRANC  P. 2013 : Les dépôts d’animaux en fosse circulaire du Néolithique récent dans la Plaine du Rhin supérieur : les données des  fouillesrécentes. In : AUXIETTE G. et MENIEL P. (eds.) Les dépôts d’ossements animaux en France, de la fouille à l'interprétation - Actes de la table-ronde de Bibracte, 15-17 octobre 2012; p. 191-200

La réalisation de nombreuses datations radiocarbones lors des opérations d’archéologie préventive, l’aboutissement du volet régional du programme de datations ERC / English Heritage « Times of their Lifes » pour le Néolithique ancien et moyen et le recours à la calibration bayésienne ont récemment permis de réviser la chronologie absolue du Néolithique de Basse-Alsace. Si la séquence culturelle courant du 53e au 20e siècle avant J.-C. n’a pas été modifiée, en revanche, le rythme des changements a pu être non seulement précisé, mais surtout établi de manière indépendante des données issues des régions limitrophes. Cette contribution se propose de décrire de manière synthétique le rythme de la succession des cultures et des groupes qui se sont succédé et côtoyés au cours du Néolithique dans le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur.
Die zahlreichen C14-Datierungen aus Rettungsgrabungen, die Ergebnisse des regionalen Teils des Forschungsprogramms ERC/English Heritage « Times of their Lifes » zum Früh- und Mittelneolithikum und das Zuruckgreifen auf Bayessche Statistikverfahren zur Kalibration erlauben es heute, die absolute Chronologie des Neolithikums im Unterelsass zu revidieren. Wenn auch die kulturellen Abfolgen zwischen dem 53. und dem 20. Jahrhundert vor Christus unverändert bleiben, so lässt sich nun nicht nur der Rhythmus dieser Abfolgen präzisieren, sondern dies vor allem mit Daten, die unabhängig von denen der angrenzenden Regionen sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt zusammenfassend den Rhythmus der Abfolge der Kulturen und Gruppen bzw. ihrer Berührungspunkte im Verlauf des Neolithikums in der südlichen Oberrheinebene.

Iñigo Olalde, Selina Brace, Morten E. Allentoft, Ian Armit, Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas Booth, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Alissa Mittnik, Eveline Altena, Mark Lipson, Iosif Lazaridis, Thomas K. Harper, Nick Patterson, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Yoan Diekmann, Zuzana Faltyskova, Daniel Fernandes, Matthew Ferry, Eadaoin Harney, Peter de Knijff, Megan Michel, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kristin Stewardson, Alistair Barclay, Kurt Werner Alt, Corina Liesau, Patricia Ríos, Concepción Blasco, Jorge Vega Miguel, Roberto Menduiña García, Azucena Avilés Fernández, Eszter Bánffy, Maria Bernabò-Brea, David Billoin, Clive Bonsall, Laura Bonsall, Tim Allen, Lindsey Büster, Sophie Carver, Laura Castells Navarro, Oliver E. Craig, Gordon T. Cook, Barry Cunliffe, Anthony Denaire, Kirsten Egging Dinwiddy, Natasha Dodwell, Michal Ernée, Christopher Evans, Milan Kuchařík, Joan Francès Farré, Chris Fowler, Michiel Gazenbeek, Rafael Garrido Pena, María Haber-Uriarte, Elżbieta Haduch, Gill Hey, Nick Jowett, Timothy Knowles, Ken Massy, Saskia Pfrengle, Philippe Lefranc, Olivier Lemercier, Arnaud Lefebvre, César Heras Martínez, Virginia Galera Olmo, Ana Bastida Ramírez, Joaquín Lomba Maurandi, Tona Majó, Jacqueline I. McKinley, Kathleen McSweeney, Balázs Gusztáv Mende, Alessandra Mod, Gabriella Kulcsár, Viktória Kiss, András Czene, Róbert Patay, Anna Endrődi, Kitti Köhler, Tamás Hajdu, Tamás Szeniczey, János Dani, Zsolt Bernert, Maya Hoole, Olivia Cheronet, Denise Keating, Petr Velemínský, Miroslav Dobeš, Francesca Candilio, Fraser Brown, Raúl Flores Fernández, Ana-Mercedes Herrero-Corral, Sebastiano Tusa, Emiliano Carnieri, Luigi Lentini, Antonella Valenti, Alessandro Zanini, Clive Waddington, Germán Delibes, Elisa Guerra-Doce, Benjamin Neil, Marcus Brittain, Mike Luke, Richard Mortimer, Jocelyne Desideri, Marie Besse, Günter Brücken, Mirosław Furmanek, Agata Hałuszko, Maksym Mackiewicz, Artur Rapiński, Stephany Leach, Ignacio Soriano, Katina T. Lillios, João Luís Cardoso, Michael Parker Pearson, Piotr Włodarczak, T. Douglas Price, Pilar Prieto, Pierre-Jérôme Rey, Roberto Risch, Manuel A. Rojo Guerra, Aurore Schmitt, Joël Serralongue, Ana Maria Silva, Václav Smrčka, Luc Vergnaud, João Zilhão, David Caramelli, Thomas Higham, Mark G. Thomas, Douglas J. Kennett, Harry Fokkens, Volker Heyd, Alison Sheridan, Karl-Göran Sjögren, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Johannes Krause, Ron Pinhasi, Wolfgang Haak, Ian Barnes, Carles Lalueza-Fox, David Reich

From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.

From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.

The excavation conducted by Inrap in 2008-2009 in the commune of Entzheim permitted the study of a large Linear
Pottery Culture (LBK) settlement occupied from the early phase to the end of the late phase. The results obtained in the most densely
occupied sectors complement the data collected more than ten years ago at the Bischoffsheim settlement. The twenty-three houses
identified at Entzheim correspond to the three types defined by P.-J.-R. Modderman. Though the architectural analysis provided
limited information, it nonetheless confirmed some observations, such as the trend, already reported, of a regular increase in the
width of the buildings through time. A correspondence analysis of the relatively abundant pottery remains originating from lateral
pits enabled us to propose a precise stylistic attribution for most of the buildings. We were able to apply to Entzheim the spatial organization model recently defifined at Bischoffsheim, and the results obtained support the hypothesis that the houses were built
according to an orthonormal system (gridded space). At a time when the “Hofplatz” model is subject to vehement criticism, especially
following the publication of the “row settlement model” by O. Rück, we were particularly motivated to integrate our model (which
retains the same principle of a construction/abandonment cycle as the “Hofplatz” model, and which insists on the fundamental
importance of chronology) into a detailed history of research.
This LBK site is distinguished by its high number of inhumations within a settlement. Fifteen of them, most attributed to the late
evolved phase of the LBK, were uncovered. The augmentation of the corpus of tombs in settlements, which benefited from discoveries
made at “Terres de Chapelle”, and the neighboring site of Entzheim-Geispolsheim, enabled a new approach to this type of feature. The
results obtained show a preferential selection of young individuals (except for the less than 1-year-old category), which strongly contrasts
with the curve obtained for the large Vendenheim necropolis.
The abundant artifacts have few original characteristics. The conclusions of the exhaustive study of the fauna merit attention,
especially the identification of a butchery phase of beef carcasses that occurred in specialized zones within the villages, and of the
slaughtering and butchery of carcasses outside of the settlements.
Zusammenfassung Zwischen 2008 und 2009 hat das Inrap auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Entzheim Grabungen durchgeführt,
bei denen u.a. eine große bandkeramische Siedlung untersucht wurde , die von der älteren bis zur jüngeren Bandkeramik belegt
war. Von den fünf Hektar, die das frühneolithische Dorf bedeckt haben dürfte, wurden nur drei Hektar abgetragen. Die Ergebnisse
der am dichtesten besiedelten Bereiche ergänzen die Daten, die vor über einem Jahrzehnt in der neolithischen Siedlung von
Bischoffsheim gesammelt wurden. Die 23 Hausbauten von Entzheim lassen sich in die drei von P.-J.-R. Modderman definierten Typen
einordnen. Obwohl die Bauanalyse sich als wenig relevant erwies, bestätigen die Ergebnisse bestimmte Beobachtungen, wie die bereits
beschriebene Tendenz einer im Laufe der Zeit zunehmenden Breite der Gebäude. Dank einer neuen faktoriellen Korrespondenzanalyse
der relativ großen Mengen an Keramik aus den Längsgruben konnten die meisten Gebäude stilistisch präzise eingeordnet werden. In
Entzheim konnte das kürzlich in Bischoffsheim definierte Modell der räumlichen Organisation angewandt werden, dessen Ergebnisse
die Hypothese stärken, dass die Häuser in ein orthogonal normiertes System (rasterartige Bebauungsstruktur) eingegliedert waren.
Heute und insbesondere seit der Veröffentlichung des „Häuserzeilenmodells“ von Oliver Rück ist das alte Hofplatz-Modell heftiger
Kritik ausgesetzt. Wir haben uns besonders bemüht, unser Modell (das wie der „Hofplatz“ dem Prinzip eines Zyklus‘ von Bau/Aufgabe
folgt, und die zentrale Rolle der Chronologie betont) in den forschungsgeschichtlichen Prozess einzugliedern.
Dieser bandkeramische Fundplatz zeichnet sich durch die hohe Zahl von Siedlungsbestattungen aus. Fünfzehn von ihnen wurden
freigelegt und mehrheitlich der entwickelten Phase der jüngeren Bandkeramik zugeordnet. Die Ausgrabungen an den Fundstätten
Entzheim Terres de la Chapelle und Entzheim-Geispolsheim haben das Korpus von Siedlungsbestattungen wesentlich bereichert und
so einen neuen Ansatz für die Erforschung dieses Befundtyps ermöglicht. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass es sich bei den Toten
(abgesehen von den Individuen unter 1 Jahr) überwiegend um junge Individuen handelt. Diese Altersverteilung steht im Gegensatz zu
der Statistik der großen Nekropole von Vendenheim.
Das umfangreiche Fundmaterial weist nur wenige originelle Eigenschaften auf. Die Ergebnisse der erschöpfenden Studie der Fauna
verdienen es betont zu werden, insbesondere der Nachweis von Bereichen innerhalb der Dörfer, die der Zerlegung von Rindern
vorbehalten waren oder der Nachweis einer Tötung und Zerlegung des Schlachtviehs außerhalb der Wohnbereiche.

Iñigo Olalde, Selina Brace, Morten E. Allentoft, Ian Armit, Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas Booth, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, Alissa Mittnik, Eveline Altena, Mark Lipson, Iosif Lazaridis, Thomas K. Harper, Nick Patterson, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Yoan Diekmann, Zuzana Faltyskova, Daniel Fernandes, Matthew Ferry, Eadaoin Harney, Peter de Knijff, Megan Michel, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kristin Stewardson, Alistair Barclay, Kurt Werner Alt, Corina Liesau, Patricia Ríos, Concepción Blasco, Jorge Vega Miguel, Roberto Menduiña García, Azucena Avilés Fernández, Eszter Bánffy, Maria Bernabò-Brea, David Billoin, Clive Bonsall, Laura Bonsall, Tim Allen, Lindsey Büster, Sophie Carver, Laura Castells Navarro, Oliver E. Craig, Gordon T. Cook, Barry Cunliffe, Anthony Denaire, Kirsten Egging Dinwiddy, Natasha Dodwell, Michal Ernée, Christopher Evans, Milan Kuchařík, Joan Francès Farré, Chris Fowler, Michiel Gazenbeek, Rafael Garrido Pena, María Haber-Uriarte, Elżbieta Haduch, Gill Hey, Nick Jowett, Timothy Knowles, Ken Massy, Saskia Pfrengle, Philippe Lefranc, Olivier Lemercier, Arnaud Lefebvre, César Heras Martínez, Virginia Galera Olmo, Ana Bastida Ramírez, Joaquín Lomba Maurandi, Tona Majó, Jacqueline I. McKinley, Kathleen McSweeney, Balázs Gusztáv Mende, Alessandra Mod, Gabriella Kulcsár, Viktória Kiss, András Czene, Róbert Patay, Anna Endrődi, Kitti Köhler, Tamás Hajdu, Tamás Szeniczey, János Dani, Zsolt Bernert, Maya Hoole, Olivia Cheronet, Denise Keating, Petr Velemínský, Miroslav Dobeš, Francesca Candilio, Fraser Brown, Raúl Flores Fernández, Ana-Mercedes Herrero-Corral, Sebastiano Tusa, Emiliano Carnieri, Luigi Lentini, Antonella Valenti, Alessandro Zanini, Clive Waddington, Germán Delibes, Elisa Guerra-Doce, Benjamin Neil, Marcus Brittain, Mike Luke, Richard Mortimer, Jocelyne Desideri, Marie Besse, Günter Brücken, Mirosław Furmanek, Agata Hałuszko, Maksym Mackiewicz, Artur Rapiński, Stephany Leach, Ignacio Soriano, Katina T. Lillios, João Luís Cardoso, Michael Parker Pearson, Piotr Włodarczak, T. Douglas Price, Pilar Prieto, Pierre-Jérôme Rey, Roberto Risch, Manuel A. Rojo Guerra, Aurore Schmitt, Joël Serralongue, Ana Maria Silva, Václav Smrčka, Luc Vergnaud, João Zilhão, David Caramelli, Thomas Higham, Mark G. Thomas, Douglas J. Kennett, Harry Fokkens, Volker Heyd, Alison Sheridan, Karl-Göran Sjögren, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Johannes Krause, Ron Pinhasi, Wolfgang Haak, Ian Barnes, Carles Lalueza-Fox, David Reich (2018) – The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe, Nature, 21 february 2018, doi:10.1038/nature25738

Abstract
From around 2750 to 2500 BC, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 BC. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.

In Europe, the Middle Neolithic is characterized by an important diversification of cultures. In northeastern France, the appearance of the Michelsberg culture has been correlated with major cultural changes and interpreted as the result of the settlement of new groups originating from the Paris Basin. This cultural transition has been accompanied by the expansion of particular funerary practices involving inhumations within circular pits and individuals in " non-conventional " positions (deposited in the pits without any particular treatment). If the status of such individuals has been highly debated, the sacrifice hypothesis has been retained for the site of Gougenheim (Alsace). At the regional level, the analysis of the Gou-genheim mitochondrial gene pool (SNPs and HVR-I sequence analyses) permitted us to highlight a major genetic break associated with the emergence of the Michelsberg in the region. This genetic discontinuity appeared to be linked to new affinities with farmers from the Paris Basin, correlated to a noticeable hunter-gatherer legacy. All of the evidence gathered supports (i) the occidental origin of the Michelsberg groups and (ii) the potential implication of this migration in the progression of the hunter-gatherer legacy from the Paris Basin to Alsace / Western Germany at the beginning of the Late Neolithic. At the local level, we noted some differences in the maternal gene pool of individuals in "conventional" vs. "non-conventional" positions. The relative genetic isolation of these subgroups nicely echoes both their social distinction and the hypothesis of sacrifices retained for the site. Our investigation demonstrates that a multi-scale aDNA study of ancient communities offers a unique opportunity to disentangle the complex relationships between cultural and biological evolution.

In Europe, the Middle Neolithic is characterized by an important diversification of cultures. In northeastern France, the appearance of the Michelsberg culture has been correlated with major cultural changes and interpreted as the result of the settlement of new groups originating from the Paris Basin. This cultural transition has been accompanied by the expansion of particular funerary practices involving inhumations within circular pits and individuals in " non-conventional " positions (deposited in the pits without any particular treatment). If the status of such individuals has been highly debated, the sacrifice hypothesis has been retained for the site of Gougenheim (Alsace). At the regional level, the analysis of the Gou-genheim mitochondrial gene pool (SNPs and HVR-I sequence analyses) permitted us to highlight a major genetic break associated with the emergence of the Michelsberg in the region. This genetic discontinuity appeared to be linked to new affinities with farmers from the Paris Basin, correlated to a noticeable hunter-gatherer legacy. All of the evidence gathered supports (i) the occidental origin of the Michelsberg groups and (ii) the potential implication of this migration in the progression of the hunter-gatherer legacy from the Paris Basin to Alsace / Western Germany at the beginning of the Late Neolithic. At the local level, we noted some differences in the maternal gene pool of individuals in "conventional" vs. "non-conventional" positions. The relative genetic isolation of these subgroups nicely echoes both their social distinction and the hypothesis of sacrifices retained for the site. Our investigation demonstrates that a multi-scale aDNA study of ancient communities offers a unique opportunity to disentangle the complex relationships between cultural and biological evolution.

Objectives: The arrival of Neolithic farmers in Europe was the source of major cultural and genetic transitions. Neolithic settlers brought a new set of maternal lineages (mitochondrial DNA), recently well-characterized on the continental road, from the Balkans to West Germany (Rhine River). In the present study, the first mitochondrial DNA data from groups associated with this continental expansion wave located west of the Rhine River has been provided and their genetic affinities with contemporary groups have been discussed. Material and methods: The mitochondrial DNA analysis of 27 human remains originating from Obernai (5,000–4,400 cal. BC), a necropolis located in French Alsace Region and attributed to Grossgartach, Planig–Friedberg, and Roessen cultures was conducted. Results and discussion: Among the 27 individuals studied, 15 HVR-I sequences and 17 mitochon-drial haplogroups could be determined. The analysis of the Obernai gene pool clearly confirmed the genetic homogeneity of Linearbandkeramik (LBK) groups on both sides of the Rhine River. Notably, one N1a sequence found in Obernai is shared with LBK farmers from Central Europe, including one individual from the Flomborn site located approximately 200 km northeast of Obernai. On the whole, data gathered so far showed major genetic influence of the Danubian wave from Transdanu-bia to Atlantic French Coast, going by Alsace Region. However, the genetic influence of descendants from the Mediterranean Neolithic expansion and the significant hunter-gatherer admix-ture detected further west in the Paris Basin were not perceived in the Obernai necropolis. Conclusions: Genetic homogeneity and continuity within LBK groups can be proposed on both sides of the Rhine River for the middle Neolithic groups. Nevertheless, mitochondrial data gathered so far for Neolithic groups from the entire extant French Territory clearly point out the complexity and the variability of Neolithic communities interactions that is worthy of further investigation.

Starting from questions about the nature of cultural diversity, this paper examines the pace and tempo of change and the relative importance of continuityand discontinuity. To unravel the cultural project of the past, we apply chronological modelling of radiocarbon dates within a Bayesian statistical framework, to interrogate the
Neolithic cultural sequence in Lower Alsace, in the upper Rhine valley, in broad terms from the later sixth to the end of the fifth millennium cal BC. Detailed formal estimates are provided for the long succession of cultural groups, from the early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture (LBK) to the Bischheim Occidental du Rhin Supérieur (BORS) groups at the end of the Middle Neolithic, using seriation and typology of pottery as the starting point in modelling. The rate of ceramic change, as well as frequent shifts in the nature, location and density of settlements, are documented in detail, down to lifetime and generational timescales. This reveals a Neolithic world in Lower Alsace busy with comings and goings, tinkerings and adjustments, and relocations and realignments. A
significant hiatus is identified between the end of the LBK and the start of the Hinkelstein group, in the early part of the fifth millennium cal BC. On the basis of modelling of existing dates for other parts of the Rhineland, this appears to be a wider phenomenon, and possible explanations are discussed; full reoccupation of the landscape is only seen in the Grossgartach phase. Radical shifts are also proposed at the end of the Middle Neolithic

This contribution constitutes the first part of a tentative synthesis of the evolution of funeral rituals in the southern Upper Rhine valley from the end of the Grossgartach culture (c. 4750 BC) to the appearance of burial in circular pits attributed, with rare exceptions, to the Michelsberg culture. With a corpus now reaching 300 graves, Grossgartach funeral practices are well documented, but those of the later two thirds of the 5th millennium, including the classic Rössen culture, the epi-Rössen groups of Bischheim, Bruebach-Oberbergen and ‘Bischeim occidental du Rhin supérieur’ (BORS) are poorly known, with a relatively small corpus of burials. A series of recent discoveries (Eckbolsheim, Entzheim, Kolbsheim, Guémar, Schwindratzheim, Sierentz, Meistratzheim, Vendenheim) led us to make a full review of the literature currently available and to characterise, sometimes summarily because data was limited, the main funerary practices of each group (principally orientation, body position and grave good assemblages). The period is marked by a series of significant changes in the burial ritual, notably in lower-Alsace. From the Rössen period, the Danubian system of large cemeteries breaks down, completely disappearing from the landscape of lower Alsace, to the profit of small groups of graves of limited number and isolated graves, which seem to be located far from habitat locations. In upper-Alsace, the documentation is too sparse to make solid conclusions at the moment. For now we can simply note that only one large cemetery is known from the turning of the 5th and 4th millennia (Ungersheim). This region could have been less exposed to the external influences than lower-Alsace making it conservative; the preferred orientation for the dead was to the south-east, always laid on the back with the inferior limbs extended, as was already attested at the Grossgartach cemeteries at Eguisheim and Guémar (4950–4750 BC) and also identified in the Bruebach-Oberbergen graves at Kolbsheim (after 4400 BC), as well as at Ungersheim, about 4000 BC. In lower-Alsace, the small groups of Rössen graves are particularly well documented at the sites of Rosheim and Entzheim. They are also found in Haute-Alsace (at the site of Guémar) or in southern Baden, at Riegel. The large Rössen cemetery, one of the few known for this culture, excavated at Jechtingen is also found in this region. We emphasise the existence of multiple inhumations for which the hypothesis of ‘funerary accompaniments’ could be suggested. The move from a dominant orientation of north-west – which characterises the Grossgartach/Rössen cultures in lower-Alsace – to a south-east orientation appeared during the Bischheim culture (4600–4400 BC), a period also marked by changes at the level of the settlement organisation and occupation of the landscape. Finally, the most clear change, which is found in the body position of the dead in the grave, coincides with the appearance, about 4200 BC, of the BORS culture in the Rhine valley : we propose that the division between these phenomena and the reintroduction of the crouched on the side position in the regional funerary ritual is due to an influence from the west (Entzheim, Eckbolsheim, Meistratzheim). A later grave (Matzenheim), attributed to the ‘early Michelsberg of the upper Rhine’ (the first phase of the Michelsberg culture in Alsace, coinciding with J. Lüning’s MKII), suggests a persistence of the Grossgartach tradition of burying the dead in an extended position into the beginning of the Late Neolithic.

The preventive excavation by the INRAP on the site of Gougenheim (Alsace, France) allowed the discovery of multiple vestiges. The most numerous were connected with the cultures of Michelsberg and Munzingen (4100 to 3500 B.C.) with in particular 33 circular pits which delivered the rests of 46 subjects. Our contribution is an attempt at a short synthesis of Neolithic human deposits found in circular pits on the southern plain of the Upper Rhine valley, mainly based on recent data issued from this outstanding settlement. This European phenomenon is today rather well documented. Radiocarbon dating shows that this practice dates back to the culture of Chassey where it appears in Southern France and the Rhone valley. From this primary area, the custom extended towards The Rhine, the Danube, and as far as the Elbe area. This practice was common to many cultures between 4300 and 3500 BC. The South of the Upper Rhine has yielded around forty Neolithic sites with human remains spread over 120 pits. They represent the only type of sepulchres, or more precisely, the only type of mortuary features attributed to the late Neolithic in the upper Rhine. The large regional corpus has allowed the definition of a complex system of recurring patterns whereby simple inhumations coexist with bodies found in a splayed or disorderly manner – in this case we talk about “asymmetric inhumations- which we interpret as being “accompanying burials”, that is, the ritualised killing of individuals (slaves ?) to follow a main deceased in death. Evidence of post mortem manipulation, as well as deposits of isolated bone, have been observed.
In Gougenheim, both gender and all ages are represented but the profile of mortality shows certain anomalies compared with a theoretical mortality, with a deficit in children of less than one year and a light abnormally high death rate of the teenagers of the class of 10-14 years. Within the circular structures, the mortuary practices operated on the site are varied, with in particular individual or plural deposits, simultaneous character of the burials which can sometimes be demonstrated. The differences observed for the treatment of bodies do not vary according to criteria of sex, age nor according to sanitary state. Several hypotheses can be proposed: are they simply due to different burial practices? Are they linked to an exclusion of certain individuals? We must also wonder, drawing on the new clues from Gougenheim, but also from some other settlements, about the existence of true human sacrifices. With the mortuary group the most important for period in Alsace and for all the valley of the upper Rhine, this site participates in the renewal of the reflection in the field of the deaths for the recent Neolithic

The anatomically connected skeleton of a red fox was found at the bottom of a circular ditch during the 2008-2009 excavation
of the recent Neolithic settlement of Entzheim “Les Terres de la Chapelle” (Michelsberg and Munzingen cultures). The animal was
placed in a sleeping position and buried with a large sherd from a pottery goblet and bone fragments belonging to the femur and tibia
of a young bovine. The radiocarbon analysis dates the bones to the Munzingen Culture (3783-3695 cal. BC at 1 σ). Two hypotheses
have been proposed for this deposit: an offering or a burial? Many deposits of whole animal carcasses dating to the 4th millennium BC
have been found in Alsace, mainly of domestic species (beef, pork, caprines and dog) or wild species (perhaps tamed young deer and
hares). The fox is not one of the species consumed in the Recent Neolithic and the hypothesis of the deposit being an offering does not
seem plausible. However, burials of dogs have been observed for the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and the Entzeheim deposit could
fall within this same category. A few comparisons of carnivores found in funerary contexts are known of in the Near East (fox and wild
cat), probably tamed animals that benefitted from this special treatment due to their proximity with people.

In der 2008-2009 ausgegrabenen jungneolithischen Siedlung von Entzheim „Les Terres de la Chapelle“
(Michelsberg und Munzingen) wurden auf dem Boden einer kreisförmigen Grube die anatomisch zusammenhängenden Reste
eines Rotfuchses gefunden. Das in Ruhestellung niedergelegte Tier war von einem großen Becherfragment und Teilen eines
Oberschenkelknochens und eines Schienbeins von einem jungen Rind begleitet. Die Radiokarbondaten der Knochen bestätigen die
Zuordnung zu Munzingen (3783-3695 cal. BC 1 σ). Wir schlagen für die Deponierung zwei Hypothesen vor: Die eines Weihedepots
und die einer Tierbestattung. Bei den zahlreichen Deponierungen von ganzen Tieren, die im Elsass im 4. Jahrtausend bezeugt sind,
handelt es sich überwiegend um Haustiere, wohl bekannte Tierarten (Rind, Schwein, Schaf/Ziege und Hund) oder Wildtiere (junge,
möglicherweise zahme Hirsche und Hasen). Da der Fuchs nicht zu den Tieren zählt, die im Jungneolithikum verzehrt wurden,
sprechen nur wenige Argumente für die These des Weihedepots. Wir ziehen die Hypothese einer echten Tierbestattung vor und
stützen uns dabei auf Hundebestattungen, die im Mesolithikum und im Neolithikum bezeugt sind. Es könnte sich wie bei einigen
Carnivoren (Fuchs und Wildkatze) aus Grabkontexten im Vorderen Orient um ein zahmes Tier handeln, das bestattet worden war,
weil es dem Menschen nahestand

The Bell Beaker tomb discovered in June 2014 at Rouffach was that of a woman lying on her right side and orientated
south-north. The funerary goods consisted of a pottery jug and a series of 17 V-perforated bone buttons. The radiocarbon analysis dates
the burial within the chronological range of 2287-2151 BC cal. at 1 σ (2397-2061 BC cal. at 2 σ), corresponding to a recent phase
of the Bell Beaker period. We need to underline the strong relationship between the funerary practices of the Bell Beaker period in
Alsace and Central Europe and the fact that the Upper Rhine plain belongs to the Danubian Koinè during the 3rd millennium BC.

In der Gemeinde Rouffach wurde im Juni 2014 ein Grab der Glockenbecherkultur mit den Überresten einer
in rechter Seitenlage und Süd-Nord orientiert beigesetzten Toten freigelegt. Die Grabbeigaben bestanden aus einem Krug und 17
Knochenknöpfen mit V-Lochung. Die radiometrische Datierung erlaubt es dieses Grab in die Zeit um 2287-2151 v. Chr. 1 σ (2397-
2061 2 σ) einzuordnen, d.h. eine jüngere oder späte Phase der Glockenbecherkultur. Wir unterstreichen die enge Verwandtschaft
der Bestattungssitten der Glockenbecherkultur des Elsass und Mitteleuropas

Mots Résumé La fouille réalisée sur la commune de Rosheim, au lieu-dit « Rittergass », a permis d'étudier une nouvelle maison du Rubané récent appartenant au « site central » de Rosheim « Lotissement Sainte-Odile », capitale microrégionale caractérisée par son enceinte à pseudo-fossé. La maison, de plan rectangulaire et classiquement orientée nord-ouest/sud-est, est en partie arasée ; nous ignorons s'il faut l'assimiler à un bâtiment tripartite incomplet faisant écho aux quelques autres maisons du Rubané récent évolué identifiées en Basse Alsace ou s'il s'agit d'un bâtiment bipartite de grande taille comparable aux édifices contemporains du Bassin parisien notam-ment. Le mobilier recueilli, relativement riche à l'échelle de la région, comprend quelques éléments originaux dont une jatte tripode, type jusqu'ici inédit dans le Rubané alsacien, de possibles fragments de statuettes et un tesson de la Céramique du Limbourg. La céramique décorée, caractéristique du stade évolué du Rubané récent, présente quelques motifs appelés à se développer dans le « style de Dachstein », style définissant l'étape finale du Rubané régional ; il s'agit en particulier des motifs secondaires de « métopes » et du décor principal de « grecques ». Nous signalerons également la présence, au sein de ce corpus, d'au moins trois vases ornés dans un style original, très éloigné des canons stylistiques alors en vigueur, et que l'on doit peut-être attribuer à une même maisonnée. Pour le reste, le mobilier recueilli s'inscrit pleinement dans la tradition du Rubané récent de Basse Alsace, qu'il s'agisse de la rareté des artefacts en roche taillée ou polie, de la typologie des objets en os et en bois de cerf (dont un nouveau pendentif sur andouiller en cours de façon-nage), ou de la composition de l'assemblage faunique, caractérisé par la triade domestique boeufs, porcs, ovicaprinés et le rôle négli-geable de la chasse. La maison de « Rittergass » apparaît nettement moins riche que la maison I de « Sainte-Odile », mieux conservée et ayant livré d'importantes séries d'artefacts osseux et lithiques ; il s'agit néanmoins d'un ensemble s'inscrivant parmi les maisons les plus riches de Basse Alsace et qui apporte un nouveau témoignage du statut particulier de l'habitat de « Sainte-Odile » / «Rittergass » au cours de l'étape récente du Rubané. Abstract The excavations carried out in the locality of " Rittergrass " in the municipality of Rosheim studied a new house from the recent Rubané culture, situated in the " central site " of the " Lotissement Sainte-Odile " in Rosheim. This, the micro-regional capital, is characterized by a pseudo-ditch enclosure. The rectangular house classically oriented north-west/south-east, has been partly razed. We do not know whether it was an incomplete three-part building, like other recent Rubané houses identified in Basse Alsace, or if it was a large contemporary two-part building like those in the Parisian basin. The artefacts discovered, relatively rich for the region, include some original pieces like a three-footed bowl, a type till now never found in the Alsatian Rubané, possible fragments of statuettes and a shard of Limburg pottery. Decorated pottery typical of the recent Rubané, has several motifs destined to develop into the " Dachstein style " that marked the final stage of the regional Rubané; in particular, the Dachstein style features " Greek " frets as the main decoration and " metopes " as a secondary element. Also described are at least three vases decorated in an original manner, very different from the stylistic canons of the time, which might be attributed to a single household. Otherwise, the artefacts are fully characteristic of the recent Rubané tradition of Basse Alsace, such as the rarity of pieces in knapped or polished stone, the typology of the objects in bone and staghorn (including a new pendant on a tine in the process of being fashioned), and the composition of animal pieces, typified by the domestic triad of cattle, pigs and sheep or goats, and the negligeable role of the hunt. The " Rittergrass " house seems clearly less rich than House I in " Sainte-Odile " , which is better conserved and the site where series of bone and stone artefacts have been found. Nonetheless, this is one of the richest houses in Basse Alsace and throws further light on the particular status of the settlement of " Sainte-Odile " / " Rittergrass " during the recent Rubané .

/ Zusammenfassung Une fouille de sauvetage réalisée en 2013 sur la commune de Vendenheim a permis d'étudier un petit ensemble de structures, essentiellement des fosses de stockage, relevant probablement d'une même unité d'habitation. Les caractères stylistiques de la céramique recueillie permettent d'attribuer cette occupation à une phase de transition entre le Bischheim rhénan et le Bruebach-Oberbergen, horizon stylistique encore non défini en Basse-Alsace et que les assemblages de Vendenheim, caractérisés par un mélange de traits archaïques et de nouveaux motifs, permettent pour la première fois de saisir. L'une des fosses a livré les restes d'un individu inhumé en position non conventionnelle : il s'agit de la première attestation réellement bien datée de ce type d'inhumation dans la vallée du Rhin et, à ce titre, d'un jalon important dans l'étude des modes de diffusion de la pratique de l'inhumation en fosses de plan circulaire. Bei einer Ausgrabung in der Gemeinde Vendenheim im Jahr 2013 wurde eine kleine Gruppe von Befunden aufgedeckt, im Wesentlichen Vorratsgruben, die vermutlich einer einzigen Siedlungsphase zuzuordnen sind. Die Keramikscherben aus diesen Befunden lassen sich aufgrund stilistischer Merkmale in den Übergang zwischen den Phasen Bischheim rhénan und Bruebach-Oberbergen stellen, ein stilistischer Horizont, der bislang im Unterelsass noch nicht definiert werden konnte. Mit den Funden aus Vendenheim, die sich durch eine Mischung aus archaischen Strichen und neuen Motiven auszeichnen, lässt sich dieser Horizont nun erstmals charakterisieren. In einer der Gruben lagen die Reste einer Siedlungsbestattung in ungewöhnlicher Position. Dies ist die erste gut datierte Bestattung dieses Typs im Rheintal und somit ein wichtiger Baustein bei den Forschungen zur Verbreitung von Bestattungen in Siedlungsgruben.

Elemental analyses using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) have great potential in archaeometric research due to the quasi-nondestructive sampling and excellent sensitivity of the method. However, the application of LA-ICPMS in cultural heritage research is often limited because samples are too large to fit within an ablation cell or cannot be moved to the laboratory. This work reports the development of analytical routines that allow trace element quantification in ancient copper artifacts regardless their mobility, size or geometry. In this study, the LA sampling step was performed in ambient air using a portable laser ablation device (pLA). The LA module was placed on the object of interest and the laser-generated aerosol was either directly transferred into the ICPMS via a large-capacity gas exchange device (GED) or collected on poly-carbonate membrane filters, which were later analyzed by LA-ICPMS. The analytical performances of both approaches were assessed using various copper reference materials. The laboratory-based, ablation-cell-independent pLA-GED-ICPMS method, yielded accuracies comparable to those obtained via conventional LA-ICPMS (±10%). Good performances (±30%) were also obtained with the pLA + filter sampling approach and subsequent LA-ICPMS analysis. Limits of detection for both approaches were in the low μg/g or sub-μg/ g range, making these methods interesting for trace element analysis. After validating these laser-based techniques on an ancient copper object whose elemental composition had previously been determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS), five Neolithic copper artifacts found in Switzerland and France were analyzed using the pLA + filter sampling approach. A copper dagger found in Lattrigen, Switzerland was analyzed using the pLA-GED-ICPMS method. Furthermore , the laser-induced sample damage was investigated. The trace element profiles of the objects under investigation were compared to those of well-characterized copper artifacts. Thus, the chronological and cultural background of these artifacts could be determined. One group of copper artifacts showed high arsenic concentrations (up to 1% [w/w]) and could be attributed to " Mondsee copper " , which was particularly common in the eastern Alps during the Middle European Late Neolithic. Other objects under investigation showed trace element concentrations, which are typical for the Late Neolithic north of the Alps. One artifact had a composition typical for objects from the Late Neolithic of Southern France.

The recent Neolithic site of Forlen in Geispolsheim, attributed to the recent Munzingen, has yielded a series of
enclosures containing ceramic forms unprecedented in the context of Munzingen B. We have detected the influence of late
productions by the Pfyn culture and propose the identification of a new stage in the recent Munzingen, which we have
unoriginally named Munzingen C, and is typified by the appearance of ceramic forms with rounded profiles. This episode
may date from around 3650–3550 BC, a late dating that has been confirmed by two carbon 14 tests. The discovery
allows a strong claim to be made that ancient trading networks that linked the Rhine Valley with the Swiss Plateau and
shores of Lake Constance were reopened during the second half of the fourth millennium BC. It also invites reflection on
the question of the evolution of the Munzingen culture outside of Lower Alsace. The Munzingen A–Munzingen B transition
is only attested in the region of Colmar and the Kaiserstuhl, the nuclear zone of this culture, and probably also of the
Munzingen B style. Whereas the expansion of Munzingen B towards the north of the Rhine Valley (as far as Hesse) is well
documented, the recent discoveries in the Mulhouse region have shown that this style was completely absent in the southern
area of Upper Alsace. In this region untouched by the expansion of style B, Munzingen A, which was probably open to other
L’HABITAT NÉOLITHIQUE RÉCENT
DE GEISPOLSHEIM « FORLEN » (BAS-RHIN) :
Contribution à la périodisation de la culture de Munzingen et à l’étude
de ses relations avec les cultures du Plateau suisse et du lac de Constance
Philippe LEFRANC*, Anthony DENAIRE**, Éric BOËS***,
Rose-Marie ARBOGAST****, David BILLOIN*****
46 Philippe LEFRANC, Anthony DENAIRE, Éric BOËS, Rose-Marie ARBOGAST, David BILLOIN
Revue Archéologique de l’Est, t. 60-2011, p. 45-82 © SAE 2011
Le site de Geispolsheim « Forlen » est localisé à 13 km
au sud-est de Strasbourg, sur le rebord de la terrasse de
loess de Lingolsheim, à proximité immédiate de la plaine
ello-rhénane (fig. 1). La couverture géologique se compose
d’une couche de loess d’un mètre de puissance recouvrant
les sables de la Bruche. L’habitat néolithique de « Forlen »
se situe à 1,5 km seulement à l’est du site Munzingen de
« Bruechel » fouillé en 1983 par la direction des Antiquités
(JEUNESSE, SAINTY, 1986 et 1987).
La fouille a été réalisée en 2003 sous la direction de
D. Billoin (Inrap). Plusieurs fenêtres ont été décapées ; seule
l’occupation néolithique, attestée sur une surface d’envi ron
2 000 m², est étudiée dans cette contribution (fig. 2).
Sur la cinquantaine de structures attribuées au Néolithique
récent, vingt-deux ont livré un mobilier permettant
de les rattacher à la culture de Munzingen. Parmi elles, six
contenaient des formes à ce jour inédites, permettant de
poser à nouveau la question des rapports entre Munzingen
et cultures du Néolithique récent du Plateau suisse.
1. LES STRUCTURES
Les vingt-deux structures datées par le mobilier sont
principalement des fosses de type silo (fig. 3). Leurs diamètres
à l’ouverture oscillent entre 1,10 et 1,60 m pour une
profondeur comprise entre 0,35 et 1,25 m. Les structures
les mieux conservées peuvent être classées en trois groupes
principaux. Le premier rassemble les structures affectant
un profil « en sac » (Beutelförmige Gruben), caractérisées par
un fond concave et des parois renflées (par exemple, les
structures 114 et 115). Il s’agit du type le plus fréquemment
rencontré sur l’ensemble des sites du Néolithique récent.
Le second groupe comprend les structures à fond plat
et parois sub-verticales (st. 107, 111, 112 et 135) et le troisième,
les structures aux parois sinueuses (st. 130,131) ;
dans ce dernier cas, il est difficile de déterminer quelle est
la part imputable aux phénomènes d’érosion affectant les
parois et quelle était la forme originelle du creusement. On
notera cependant que des creusements de type identique
sont bien attestés sur le site Néolithique récent de Rosheim
« Leimen » (LEFRANC et alii, 2007) ; c’est également le cas
des structures à fond plat et parois verticales qui sont, sur
ce dernier habitat, aussi fréquentes que les silos à profil
« en sac ».
Peu de choses sont à signaler quant aux remplissages de
ces fosses. Il convient de distinguer les apports détritiques
caractérisant les structures à remplissage complexe (st. 104,
115, 131), les structures volontairement comblées en un
seul épisode qui se caractérisent par une seule couche et
par l’absence de traces d’effondrement de paroi (st. 112) et
enfin les structures progressivement comblées par gravité.
Leur remplissage contient le plus souvent d’importantes
couches de loess sali alternant avec des couches de lehm
stérile. Bien entendu, la même structure peut être successivement
soumise à plusieurs types de comblement.
Aucun aménagement en relation avec la fonction
primaire de ces creusements n’a été mis en évidence. La
présence de couches charbonneuses dans le fond des silos
114, 131 et 135 pourrait très éventuellement être mise en
relation avec des feux d’assainissement allumés en préalable
à l’utilisation – ou la réutilisation – du silo. Cette pratique
a été formellement identifiée sur d’autres sites (JEUNESSE,
SAINTY, 1986 ; JEUNESSE et alii, 2003). Enfin, l’épaisse
couche de loess pur compact située à mi-hauteur du comblement
du silo 113 pourrait correspondre à un aménagement
volontaire trahissant une phase de réfection.
Les recoupements observés, limités au sud-ouest de la
zone décapée, laissent envisager une occupation relativement
longue du site. Les trente-cinq fosses-silos identifiées
par les fouilleurs n’ont probablement pas fonctionné en
même temps. La très relative modestie du corpus céramique
ne nous permet malheureusement pas d’appréhender la
durée d’occupation.
influences, evolved independently. A few clues allow us to postulate that a recent Munzingen from Upper Alsace (style A2)
really existed that continued the stylistic tradition of the ancient Munzingen (A1) which we are only beginning to identify.

JEUNESSE C., LEFRANC P. et DENAIRE A. (2004) Groupe de Bischheim, origine du Michelsberg, genèse du groupe d'Entzheim. La transition entre le Néolithique moyen et le Néolithique récent dans les régions rhénanes. Cahiers de l'Association pour la Promotion de la Recherche Archéologique en Alsace n°18/19, 2002/2003, 280 pages

L'année 2009 a été un millésime d'exception pour la recherche néolithique en Alsace. A côté d'une nouvelle nécropole de la culture de Grossgartach (Entzheim), ce ne sont pas moins de trois enceintes du Néolithique moyen (Entzheim, Duntzenheim, Meistratzheim) qui sont venues compléter un corpus constitué jusque-là d'un unique monument. C'est à cette riche moisson que l'on doit le choix du thème de la table ronde organisée le 2 juin 2010 à Strasbourg autour des Nécropoles et enceintes danubiennes du V e millénaire dans le Nord-Est de la France et le Sud-Ouest de l'Allemagne et dont la collection Rhin-Meuse-Moselle a le plaisir de publier ici les actes. Les présentations de ces sites et des premières études qu'ils ont suscitées sont complétées par des articles de synthèse consacrés à la chronologie absolue du Néolithique moyen de la région du Rhin supérieur, à la nécropole Grossgartach et Roessen de Jechtingen (Bade-Wurtemberg) et à une réflexion diachronique sur la question des enceintes néolithiques à pseudo-fossé en Europe centrale et occidentale. Le tout est complété par la présentation d'un riche habitat de la culture de Bischheim (Oberderdingen, Bade-Wurtemberg) fouillé au début des années 2000. Les sites les plus originaux de cette riche galerie sont, sans conteste, les enceintes de Meistratzheim (Roessen), Entzheim et Duntzenheim (Epiroessen). Outre leur intérêt intrinsèque, elles viennent à propos confirmer la perduration au Néolithique moyen d'un nouveau type d'enceinte défini il y a une vingtaine d'années suite à la fouille du site rubané de Rosheim (Basse-Alsace), l'enceinte à pseudo-fossé. Elles sont aussi le prétexte à une réflexion innovante sur la fonction et le mode d'aménagement des enceintes à fossé discontinu, qui figurent parmi les structures les plus singulières du Néolithique européen.

Le 9 juin 2009 s’est tenue, à la Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l’Homme – Alsace (MISHA) à Strasbourg et à l’initiative de l’UMR 7044 du CNRS, une table ronde consacrée à l’actualité de la recherche sur la période de transition entre le Néolithique final et le Bronze ancien dans le Nord-Est de la France.
Cette rencontre fut la première jamais organisée sur ce thème, qui n’a suscité que peu de recherches depuis les années 1960. Elle répondait à un double besoin : rattraper, autant que faire se peut, une partie au moins du retard accumulé et mettre en perspective un certain nombre de découvertes réalisées ces dernières années, découvertes qui renouvellent largement la documentation disponible.
Ce volume comprend les 11 communications prononcées à l’occasion de la table ronde. Elles s’appuient pour l’essentiel sur des sites découverts lors d’opérations d’archéologie préventive réalisées par Antéa Archéologie, la PAIR et l’INRAP et couvrent l’Alsace (7 comm.), la Lorraine (3 comm.) et le Nord de la Franche-Comté (1 comm.).
Les sites présentés sont pour la plupart inédits et concernent, pour certains, des domaines qui étaient jusque là complètement vierges de trouvailles, par exemple la question de l’habitat campaniforme en Alsace. Des articles de synthèse présentent, en outre, l’état le plus récent des recherches sur les pratiques funéraires en Lorraine (Néolithique final et Bronze ancien) et en Alsace (Bronze ancien) ainsi qu’une esquisse de chronologie de la séquence Campaniforme – Bronze ancien en Alsace.
Un catalogue exhaustif des sites Cordés, Campaniforme et Bronze ancien connus pour le Sud de la Plaine du Rhin supérieur (Alsace et Bade), agrémenté de cartes de répartition et d’une bibliographie complète vient, enfin, compléter cet ouvrage appelé à faire référence pour la période couverte.

Le 33e colloque interrégional qui se tiendra à Saint-Dié-des-Vosges les 8 et 9 novembre 2019 sera consacré au phénomène des enceintes dans le nord-ouest de l’Europe.  La dernière décennie a en effet vu se multiplier les découvertes de dispositifs palissadés et/ou fossoyés sur une vaste aire géographique allant de la Normandie à l’Alsace et du Nord à la Bourgogne et s’inscrivant dans un arc temporel couvrant l’ensemble du Néolithique ; le temps semble venu d’examiner l’ensemble de ces données afin de tenter une synthèse du  phénomène à l’échelle du territoire national en échangeant nos points de vue et nous confrontant aux acquis de la recherche et aux problématiques émergeantes dans les régions limitrophes (Allemagne, Scandinavie, Îles britanniques).

Ces enceintes recouvrent une grande diversité de formes (enceinte à pseudo-fossés, à fossés discontinu ou continu, palissadées ou non, pourvues ou non d’un talus interne etc.) et probablement, de fonctions (habitat, refuges, sanctuaire etc.). Ces points sont depuis longtemps débattus au cas par cas, aussi souhaitons-nous privilégier une approche synthétique du phénomène « enceinte » en abordant les questions de la chronologie, du phylum et de la typologie,  en élargissant l’analyse à l’échelle des régions culturelles et en insistant particulièrement sur la question de la fonction de ces monuments selon une approche fondée sur l’ensemble des indices disponibles (localisation, architecture, restes humains, dépôts de faune, rejets domestiques, caractère des outillages etc.). Les hypothèses interprétatives devront être au cœur des débats.