Journal of Neolithic Archaeology

Tappeh Moeinabad. A Late Neolithic Site in the Varamin Plain, Iran

Morteza Hessari, Reinhard Bernbeck, Nolwen Rol, Susan Pollock, Lisa Wolff-Heger — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Tappeh Moeinabad is a high mound located in the middle of the Varamin Plain. In 2006, a systematic survey was conducted by the first author and team, followed in 2010 and 2014 by soundings and in 2018 by the investigation of a profile near these soundings. This report summarizes the results of these seasons of archaeological work, describes the remains of architecture identified, and assigns dates to the systematic survey grid. We also investigate the chronology of the soundings with reference to their pottery as well as on the basis of ¹⁴C dates. We document a very long prehistoric occupation sequence, paralleling periods Sialk I to II at Tappeh Sialk. According to our analysis, connections between Moeinabad and Tappeh Sialk were particularly close during the Sialk I,3 phase.

Transmission of Lithic and Ceramic Technical Know-how in the Early Neolithic of Central-Western Europe: Shedding Light on the Social Mechanisms Underlying Cultural Transition

Solène Denis, Louise Gomart, Laurence Burnez-Lanotte, Pierre Allard — Fri, 03 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Research on European neolithisation agrees that a process of colonisation throughout the sixth millennium BCE underlies the spread of agricultural ways of life on the continent. From Central to Central-Western Europe, this colonisation path is characterised by one single cultural entity, the so-called Linear Pottery Culture (LBK). At the transition between the sixth and fifth millennia BCE, the LBK breaks apart into a mosaic of “post-LBK” cultural groups through mechanisms that are not entirely understood. To contribute to a better understanding of the social processes underlying this transition, we conduct an integrated analysis of the lithic and ceramic technical subsystems attributed to the LBK and the post-LBK in Middle Belgium, a region with unrivalled material evidence. We use the technical actions carried out by the early farmers to produce their lithic tool blanks and ceramics as proxies to shed light on (i) the modalities of technical know-how in intergenerational transmission, (ii) the possible exogenous influences within the technical system, and (iii) the trajectories of the social groups involved in the LBK-Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (BQY/VSG) transition. Our results reveal that several overlapping mechanisms were at work during this cultural transition. While lithic and ceramic general technical trends are clearly transmitted from one period to another attesting to a clear filiation between the LBK and the post-LBK, both the lithic and ceramic detailed sequences of technical actions tend to hybridise after the transition. This reveals close and prolonged interactions between groups of producers from different learning networks, most likely stemming from population mobility during the cultural transition.

Rituals and Practices of Megalith Building: An Archaeological and Ethnographic Study of Megaliths in Oinam Village in Manipur, Northeast India

Oinam Premchand Singh — Fri, 03 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Despite some reports of the living tradition of megalith building among a few communities in Northeast India, the rituals and practices involved in such undertakings have not been studied in detail. In this paper, I present the outcomes of an archaeological and ethnographic study of megaliths in Oinam, a village inhabited by the Poumai Naga tribe (a Tibeto-Burman ethnic community) in India’s northeastern state of Manipur. The practice of the erection of megaliths, albeit in modified forms, is also a living tradition in this village, offering avenues for multidisciplinary investigations. My survey documented and mapped 407 megaliths around Oinam, including 374 menhirs, 5 fallen menhirs, 2 slab graves, and 26 stone circles in the habitation areas and pathways descending from the village to the paddy fields. I also interviewed residents and documented the associated rituals and practices in megalith building. The study reveals that the motives behind the construction of megaliths and hosting feasts by sponsors are associated with ritual fulfilments and personal gratifications. However, while such endeavours are costly, they also bear features of economic redistribution of wealth in society and can be seen as an expression of the identity of Poumai Nagas of Oinam.

Vasagård – Causewayed and Palisade Enclosures of the Middle Neolithic TRB Culture on Bornholm

Poul Otto Nielsen, Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen, Michael S. Thorsen — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0200

At the site Vasagård on the island of Bornholm a double causewayed enclosure dating from EN II to MN AIII is superseded by palisade enclosures constructed from the beginning of MN AV and covering a larger area. The transition from MN AIII to MN AV is dated to ca. 2900 BCE, without allowing for an intermediate period ‘MN AIV’, and regarded as a significant change in terms of artefact composition, ritual activities and possibly social organization. Within the palisade enclosures seven post circles were investigated. The material found in the postholes indicates that they are remains of cult houses, and that the rituals that took place there included destruction by burning of flint implements and other objects. Burnt, decorated daub from house walls emphasizes the special character of these buildings. The finds from Vasagård include hundreds of ‘sun stones’, small slabs of shale most of which are decorated with sun motives. Two stones with cup marks were found in contexts dating to respectively MN AIII and MN AV, indicating for the first time that cup marks were carved into stones as early as during the TRB Culture. Activities at the palisade enclosures came to an end ca. 2800BCE. On Bornholm, MN AV is followed by a later and final stage of the TRB Culture in MN BI, which is represented by the settlements Limensgård and Nordre Grødbygård and to some degree also Rispebjerg, the second site with palisade enclosures found on Bornholm.