Surface Survey

This article provides information on the goals and initial results of the project entitled “Burial mound cemeteries in the Písek Region”. In the year 2006, the procedure for measuring and describing individual barrows was completed.
This is a procedure in which individual barrows are examined with the help of a GPS, measuring their
dimensions, disturbance, and so forth. A total of 500 barrows on 38 burial mounds were measured by this method. This project will continue with the measurement of other burial grounds and a following prediction of settlement components on the research site, which is the goal of the whole project.

Aim of this contribution is to present the surface survey and documentation of the barrow burial grounds by means
of the GPS device in the region of Jindřichův Hradec. 15 sites mentioned in older literature have been verified by
means of the surface survey whereas 12 sites with barrow features have been clearly identified (except for the sites of
Deštná I and Suchdol I). It is possible to presume in all cases mentioned (except for the site of Herda I) that are of an
anthropogenic origin. However, their interpretation as a barrow burial ground can be excluded in several cases. In
the case of the Herda I site, it is not clear whether it is only a natural feature or two eroded barrows. In many other
cases (Horní Pěna I and II; Horní Pole I, II, III, V, VI), the barrow features can be considered results of adjustments
of terrain which are most probably linked to use of the landscape for exploitation of stone or agriculture. Similar
features can be found also on other localities in the Czech Republic, e.g. near Nebahovy in the Prachatice region
(Beneš – Lutovský 1997). Several features have been researched also near Šumperk nad Desnou (Dohnal – Šída 2007).
The second group of the documented features can be identified with barrow burial grounds. So far, no
one of the preserved barrow burial grounds has been dated to Prehistory. Barrow on the sites of Drunče I, Sedlo I and Stráž nad Nežárkou I (see references for each site) are dated to the Early Middle Age. This dating is supported by archeological reports and by presence of more or less organization of the barrows in lines
and circular grooves around some of the barrows which is characteristic for that period. Site of Horní Pole IV can be considered barrow burial ground as well but his dating is not certain.

Models of Pithouse period cultural change in the Mimbres Mogollon region of southwestern New Mexico rely on a combination of surface and excavation data. Recent fieldwork at La Gila Encantada, a Late Pithouse (A.D. 550–1000) period site in the uplands west of the Mimbres River Valley, showed that surface data significantly under-represented earlier, less visible occupations at the site; the same was true at other Pithouse period sites. Investigations at La Gila Encantada and elsewhere demonstrate that the appearance of ''villages'' late in the Pithouse period represents a culmination of long-term land-use strategies and the stable use of particular sites over many generations. The observed changes in occupational intensity reflect a general pattern of demographic change tied to increasing population size and sedentism.

The paper describes the Paleolithic and Mesolithic settlement in the neglected region of the upper Jihlava River
catchment (a part of Czech-Moravian Highlands). Surveyed region is situated on the border between the Bohemia
and Moravia and the main European watershed. Between the years 2008 and 2014 it was realized a project focused
on surface surveys and microprobing. Due to these surveys and several rescue excavations was surprisingly, in the
scale of Moravia, documented numerous of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlement. Until this time, they were
registered 74 sites (including isolated findings), that are characterized by a low number of tools and also the variety
of materials used on the chipped stone industry with an emphasis on local resources and Moravian cherts.

Velká část materiálu datovaného do období mezolitu pochází v Čechách z povrchové prospekce. Spolehlivost takových pramenů, zvláště v případě kamenné štípané industrie, bývá mnohdy disku-tována. Tento text se snaží nastínit celkový pohled na kolekci štípané industrie z regionu Vysoko-mýtska. Věnuje se především teoretickým východiskům studia kolekcí štípané industrie získaných povrchovým sběrem a jejich možnému přínosu k poznávání období mezolitu. mezolit – štípaná industrie – povrchová prospekce – krajinné typy Theoretical background to research into a Mesolithic settlement in the Vysoké Mýto Region. The majority of Bohemian Mesolithic finds come from surface survey. The reliability of this source, especially in the case of lithic assemblages, has often been discussed. The objective of this paper is to outline the theoretical base for studies of lithic collections from surface survey, with particular reference to a case study from the Vysoké Mýto Region. The main issue discussed is how lithic collections from surface survey can contribute to the knowledge of Mesolithic settlement. Mesolithic – chipped lithics – surface survey – landscape types 1. Úvod Cílem textu je nastínit základní teoretická východiska studia souborů štípané industrie (ŠI) 1 , které pocházejí z povrchové prospekce. Na příkladu regionu Vy-sokomýtska je nastíněn jeden z možných pohledů na problematiku zpracovávání souborů ŠI získaných metodou povrchového sběru. Materiál z povrchových sbě-rů – zvláště pokud se jedná o ŠI – je často vnímán jako méně hodnotný a obtížně 1 V textu je tímto termínem myšlena kamenná štípaná industrie (pierre taillée ve smyslu Tixier et al. 1995), tedy kámen opracovaný člověkem, přičemže je využit konchoidální lom speci-fický pro určité kamenné suroviny.

Summary
The assemblage of chipped stone industry (101 pieces) from the
“Obory” field represents a new archaeological site discovered
in the cadastral area of Moravský Krumlov (Znojmo District).
Characteristic artefacts (Fig. 23) allow this assemblage to be
attributed to the Aurignacian (according to Oliva 1987) and
thus extend a list of the Aurignacian sites known in the area of
Krumlovský les (Vedrovice, Kupařovice, Olbramovice, Kubšice,
Vojkovice and others) (Oliva 1987; 1996).

【日本語要旨】
近年、モチェ崩壊後に登場したシカンの支配下においても、モチェ人たちが継続してそのエスニシティを保持し、一定の自治を認められていた可能性が指摘されるようになり、シカン社会の多民族性や多元性に注目が集まり始めている。また、これまでの埋葬研究などから、シカンには四つの異なる民族（シカン/ランバイェケ、モチェ、ビルー/ガジナソ、タヤン）が共存していたという主張もある。当時の中心センターであった、ラ・レチェ川中流域にあるシカン遺跡はその周囲を平民用居住区によって囲まれ、中心部に暮らしていた支配者層（おもにシカン貴族）以外の人々は、そういった周縁部の居住区やさらにその周囲に広がる住居遺跡に暮らしていたと考えられている。とはいえ、具体的にどこにどの民族が暮らしていたのか、被支配者の彼らがシカン遺跡中心部での支配者主導の政治・宗教活動とどう関係し、それらをどう捉えていたかについての詳しい論考は存在しない。本論文では、シカン遺跡北側周縁部に位置するワカ・アレーナで見つかったモチェ人に焦点をあてるとともに、シカン貴族とその支配下のモチェ人たちの関係性についてボトムアップの視点から論じる。

【English Abstract】
　The archaeological studies of the Sicán/Lambayeque Culture has traditionally focused on its more prominent aspects such as the extravagant mortuary rituals practiced by the ruling elites at the ceremonial core of the paramount center, Huacas de Sicán (conventionally known as Batán Grande Archaeological Complex), in the middle La Leche Valley during the most prosperous Middle Sicán period (AD 950-1100), but have not necessarily given due consideration to the social realities of the non-elite, less prominent people. Over the last two decades of research, however, it has become increasingly evident that the Middle Sicán society was highly stratified and multiethnic, consisting of four rigid social classes (higher and lower elites, commoners, and subalterns), as well as four different ethnicities (Sicán/Lambayeque, Mochica, Virú/Gallinazo, and Tallán). It is now inferred that the society was governed by a federation of the groups of the Sicán/Lambayeque elites, whereas the non-elite groups of other cultural identities coexisted with each other, given a substantial degree of autonomy under the Sicán/Lambayeque dominance. In order to achieve a more holistic understanding of the social dynamics of this society, therefore, it is essential to integrate the perspectives of the ruling and the ruled and emphasize both inter- and intra-group variability.
　The elite vs non-elite distinction seems to have reflected in the spatial organization of Huacas de Sicán. Some test excavations on the northern periphery of the site, the area known as Huaca Arena, by Shimada in 1990 discovered simple residential architecture of wattle-and-daub (or quincha) walls, associated with plain domestic vessels. Most of the non-elite populations are thus inferred to have resided on the peripheries of the site and in other surrounding sites in the region, except for the higher elites who resided in the center of Huacas de Sicán. Nonetheless, there still remain many unanswered questions. How were those non-elite general masses spatially organized within their residential areas on the peripheries and in the surrounding sites? In other words, where did each of the different ethnic groups live? How were the subordinate groups related to the political and religious activities led by the Sicán/Lambayeque higher elites at the center of Huacas de Sicán? This article addresses these questions, referring to the results of (1) the two field seasons of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Complejo Lambayeque (PIACL), which was implemented at Huaca Arena in 2016 and 2017, and (2) the analyses of the ceramics used during large-scale feasts at the Great Plaza of Huacas de Sicán for commemorating Sicán/Lambayeque ancestors.
　The results of surface survey at Huaca Arena support Shimada’s view of it as a residential area and suggest that it was occupied intermittently since the Middle Formative period and throughout the Middle and Late Sicán periods (AD 950-1375). During test excavations was found a female body interred in a supine, extended position, accompanied by a stone mace, in a loose sand stratum that contained fragments of the Middle Sicán blackware bottle. This find strongly suggests the existence of the Mochicas on the periphery of Huacas de Sicán under the Sicán/Lambayeque rule. The ceramic analyses, on the other hand, revealed a series of deformations and morphological irregularities on the lip, rim wall, and base of serving vessels and illuminated that the hand-forming processes by the potters were fairly crude and careless. Based on the compositional analyses of the same ceramic assemblage, a majority of the studied vessels were probably produced at the multi-craft production site of Huaca Sialupe, which lead to suggest that the potters were subordinate people of non-Sicán/Lambayeque cultural identity, most probably the Mochicas. Although it is still an open question whether if the potters had their allegiance to and/or were sympathetic to the Sicán/Lambayeque religious principles as elite dogmas, the evidence of crude and careless work observed on the serving vessels may indicate their indifferent and brusque attitude against the elite religion.

The effectiveness of metal detector prospecting depends on several factors – the instrument itself (its
frequency, the pinpoint probe), the operator´s skills, properties of the sought objects or the surrounding
environment. Metal detector surveys may take place in agriculturally exploited areas, in a forested
environment, or in an environment with a clear presence of intact archaeological situations which
must be taken into account while defining the way of documenting the finds and archaeological
situations.

This  article  provides  information  on  the  goals  and  initial  results  of  the  project  entitled  “Burial mound cemeteries in the Písek Region”. In the year 2006, the procedure for measuring and describing individual barrows was completed. This  is  a  procedure  in  which  individual  barrows  are  examined  with  the  help  of  a  GPS,  measuring  their dimensions, disturbance, and so forth. A total of 500 barrows on 38 burial mounds were measured by this method. This project will continue with the measurement of other burial grounds and a following prediction of settlement components on the research site, which is the goal of the whole project.

A new site was accidentally discovered during a surface survey in
the “Na Dolech” field in the cadastral area of Hvozdec u Veverské
Bítýšky (Brno-Country District) in 2020. Based on the existing
finds, it can be dated only generally to the Neolithic or Eneolithic.

A smallish stone artefact collection was discovered during a surface survey in the “Nad Hájkem” field in the cadastral area
Alexovice (Ivančice, Brno-Country District) in 2020. The presence of pottery at the site has not been detected yet. The finds can be dated
only generally to the Neolithic or Eneolithic.