New observations on the Bandkeramik house and social organization.

New observations on the Bandkeramik house and social organization. The people who settled in central and western Europe Western EuropeThe countries of western Europe, especially those that are allied with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (established 1949 and usually known as NATO). at thebeginning of the Neolithic were farmers living in villages composed oflonghouses. These structures were made of wood and daub, but all thatremains today are post-holes, wall foundation trenches, refuse pitsalongside the walls and other pits further away from the houses. Research into the earliest Neolithic of Europe has always showngreat interest in how these domestic units functioned (Soudsky 1969;Modderman 1970; Boelicke 1982; Mining 1982; Milisauskas 1986; Coudart1989; 1993; Hodder 1990). Analysis of a number of recently excavatedsites in the Paris basin As a modern administrative r��gion of France, it is known as the ?le de France As the territory at the political centre of the Kingdom of France, it is known as the ?le de France. As a hydrological basin, it is largely the basin of the River Seine. has produced some new data on this researchissue. The main results come from Cuiry-les-Chaudardes (Aisne, France),dating to the late Linearbandkeramik (Lbk), and Jablines(Seine-et-Marne, France), dating to the subsequent, Lbk-related,Villeneuve-Saint-Germain group. The period involved is approximately5000-4800 BC. The new data from these sites provide a preliminary response toseveral questions, notably concerning the distribution of finds in thelateral pits and the function of the household and its place within thevillage. The site of Jablines: houses and original neolithic occupationsurface At Jablines, near Paris, an excavation covering 2500 sq. m producedtwo houseplans. The original Neolithic occupation surface was preservedas a layer roughly 10 cm thick, which could be compared with theunderlying and contemporary subsoil subsoilLayer (stratum) of earth immediately below the surface soil, consisting predominantly of minerals and leached materials such as iron and aluminum compounds. Humus remains and clay accumulate in subsoil, but the teeming macroscopic and microscopic organisms that make features (Bostyn et al. 1991).Several thousand artefacts were recovered (around 85 kg of ceramics, 380kg of lithic lith��ic?1?adj.Consisting of or relating to stone or rock.Adj. 1. lithic - of or containing lithium2. lithic - relating to or composed of stone; "lithic sandstone" finds and 500 kg of animal bone), the occupation layerrepresenting just over 72% of the total weight of finds. The dispersalof finds within this layer is far from uniform. The principal depositsare concentrated outside the houses in the areas along the side walls,reflecting the position and main use of the lateral pits. However, somefinds are located within the rear part of the buildings (Lanchon et al.1997: 6). This rear sector, which corresponds to the western third ofthe houseplans, produced evidence for specific activities, indicated bythe presence in situ In place. When something is "in situ," it is in its original location. of complete vessels, as well as waste of a moregeneral nature. Similar observations have been made in theVilleneuve-Saint-Germain settlement at Echilleuses in the Loiretdepartement (Simonin 1996, 1997). Other areas within the houses atJablines produced insignificant numbers of finds, suggesting a closeddomestic space where debris was regularly collected and then dumpedoutside. Zones of high artefact See artifact. density were observed well outside thehouseplans, corresponding for example to temporary flint-working areasbehind the western, back end of the houses. By contrast, there are veryfew finds from the area in front of the east end of the buildings,traditionally considered to be the main access zone. Analysis of household activities has been made in two famousLinearbandkeramik sites where the original Neolithic soil hasdisappeared, in Germany (Aldenhoven Plateau) and in Poland. Study of thefinds in the pits (which did not preserve animal bones) around thehouses suggest that at Langweiler 8 the northern area of the house wasassociated with lithic artefacts (Boelicke 1982; 1988), and that atOlszanica some human activities were spatially segregated by gender(Milisauskas 1986; 1989). At the recently discovered `PetitParadis' site in Belgium, pit containing thousands of lithics andfew other finds will also provide new informations about householdactivities (Burnez-Lanotte & Allard 1998). The situation outlined above for Jablines clearly indicates theamount of material lost on sites without preserved occupation surfaces.However, at Jablines similar kinds of artefact occur in both theoccupation layer and the subsoil features, and this is particularly thecase with the lithic finds (Bostyn 1994). This would suggest that, onsites where the original occupation surface has disappeared througherosion, the preserved sample of finds remains unaffected in qualitativeterms, since the range of artefacts is not fundamentally modified. Thisconclusion is encouraging for the validation of analyses of the materialfrom the vast majority of sites where the finds have only survived infeatures dug into the subsoil. Cuiry-les-Chaudardes: the most important Lbk faunal sample from 33houses Further analysis of the distribution of finds from pit contexts hasbeen conducted at the Linear Pottery site of Cuiry-les-Chaudardes(Hachem 1995a; 1997). This settlement has been completely excavated andcovers an area of 6 ha, with 33 houseplans. Here, small groups of houseswere successively built over a period of 150-200 years (Ilett et al.1982; 1986). The relative chronology of the houses is based on ceramicdecoration, and the site can be divided into five settlement phases withan average of six houses per phase. The houseplans are quite widelyspaced and all have lateral pits. The bones from the pits areparticularly well preserved. This site has produced the largest sampleof faunal remains currently known for the whole Bandkeramik culture(49,778 bone fragments, excluding sieving). The number of bone fragmentsper house (i.e. from the lateral pits of each house) variesconsiderably, from 10 to almost 7000 fragments. The minimum volume ofwaste per house has been evaluated at about 10 kg (approximately 1000bones). Smaller quantities of bone are probably explained bydifferential preservation of features, .through deep ploughing orearlier erosion. The larger quantities of faunal remains may be relatedto house size. Excluding the six houses with extreme counts (the lowestand highest numbers), variation in quantity by house does remainsignificant, as the standard deviation shows. The average of 1386 bonesper house must therefore be taken only as a broad indication of thequantities involved. Sieving has been rarely used on the Aisne valley excavations,because of the very extensive surface areas dealt with every year underrescue conditions. In order to estimate potential loss of faunal remainsdue to the absence of sieving, a comparative study was undertaken onthree lateral pits next to houses at Cuiryles-Chaudardes (Hachem 1995a:table 13). One square metre Noun 1. square metre - a centare is 1/100th of an arecentare, square meterarea unit, square measure - a system of units used to measure areas out of two was hand excavated, usually bytrowel, and the other was wet sieved. Some interesting results emergefrom this study. In quantitative terms, the proportion of findsrecovered by sieving may seem important (4949 bone fragments), but 98%of the bones from sieving are unidentifiable splinters of less than 1cm, originating from disintegration of bone surfaces or from burnthousehold waste. In qualitative terms, the identifiable fragmentsprovide additional information on the smallest species such as fish,birds and amphibia, and on the smallest anatomical parts of otherspecies, such as phalanges phalangesplural of phalanx. of small game. Interesting as thisinformation may seem, the number of identifiable fragments is minute,compared to the number of bones recovered without sieving, The greatlength of time that would be involved in systematic sieving of thousandsof cubic metres of sediment thus seems excessive in relation to theresults which, furthermore, have only a limited effect on speciesrepresentation in the sample. This is confirmed by work on lithicmaterial from sieved residues on the same site by M. Plateaux (ERA12/CNRS), and on faunal remains from sieving at another settlement inthe Aisne valley at Bucy-le-Long (K. Bolen, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los AngelesUCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University)UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , pers. comm.). The lossin quantity and quality of information due to the absence of systematicsieving is of minor importance compared to the benefits derived from theexcavation of large areas, without which the broader context would notof course be understood. Spatial distribution of finds Further examination of the spatial distribution of faunal remainsat Cuiry-les-Chaudardes has revealed quantitative differences betweenthe lateral pits on the north and south sides of each house (Hachem1995a; 1997: 251), Each house shows a tendency to discard faunalmaterial on one side rather than the other, and in some cases on oneside exclusively, This situation is clarified when the settlement phasesare taken into account, suggesting the existence of neighbourhood rules:pairs of contemporary houses (associated chronologically) typicallydiscard their bone waste on opposite sides. The symmetric principleunderlying waste distribution is also apparent for the lithic finds(Plateaux 1993: plate XLI), since the lateral pits which contain over60% of the flint artefacts of a given house also produce the maximumquantities of bone. The social interpretation of this structuralopposition of waste disposal can be linked to two factors: the way thespace was used inside the house and secondly the neighbouring housewhose physical disposition was taken into consideration. Another phenomenum appears to be systematic in these Bandkeramikvillages: the existence of concentrations of finds in recurrent, preciselocations within the lateral pits (Chataignier & Plateaux 1986;Ilett et al. 1986; Constantin 1995; Hachem & Auxiette 1995; Simonin1997). The main concentration occurs in the southern pit near the`corridor' (two closely set rows of posts marking the western endof the central part of the house), but there are also concentrations onthe northern side (FIGURE 1). This spatial distribution seems to suggestthe presence in the side walls of openings (doors or windows), althoughthese cannot be detected on the groundplans themselves. [Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Interpretation of the quantitative variation in faunal remainsbetween houses is still problematic. Is this related to differences inthe length of time the pits were open, or is it linked to the number ofoccupants per house ? While it is not yet possible to resolve theseproblems, certain data of a qualitative nature nevertheless offer apartial response. For example, variation observed between houses atCuiry-les-Chaudardes in the relative frequency of domestic and wildanimals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. cannot be explained by differences in the use-lives of pits. Thelist of seasonal markers (trophy antlers and the kill-off pattern forcervidae which includes very young animals) for 25 houses indicates 56cases between spring and autumn (April-November) and 29 for the winter(December-March). These determinations thus seem to indicate that thepits of each house were accumulating refuse for at least one year(Hachem 1995a: 159). Small houses and large houses in a spatially structured village What is found in these pits? The total sample fromCuiry-les-Chaudardes (15,795 identified bones) represents 20 species,approximately 80% of which are domestic animals (Hachem 1997: 252).Three kinds of livestock (cattle, sheep and pig) are systematicallypresent in the pits of each house, as are two wild species (red deer Red Deer, city, CanadaRed Deer,city (1991 pop. 58,134), S central Alta., Canada, on the Red Deer River. It developed as a trade and service center for a region of dairying and mixed farming. andaurochs aurochs:see cattle. aurochsor aurochExtinct wild ox (Bos primigenius) of Europe, the species from which cattle are probably descended. The aurochs survived in central Poland until 1627. It was black, stood 6 ft (1. ). Apart from these species, wild boar and roe deer are quitecommon, and beaver is the most frequent small animal. However, there isvariation between houses and this is particularly the case with therelative frequency of hunted animals. There are two reasons for this.The first is related to chronology, since there was more hunting at thebeginning of the occupation of the site than at the end. The second islinked to house types. Typological analysis of the 33 houseplans at Cuiry-les-Chaudardesseparates the buildings into two broad categories, depending on thenumber of rooms behind (west of) the `corridor' (FIGURE 1): smallhouses (up to 15 m long) with one room behind the `corridor', andlarge houses (over 15 m long) with two or three rooms and in some casesa foundation trench (Hachem 1995a). Meat consumption is apparentlyrelated to these two architectural types. There is a relationship forexample between the size of the house and the volume of bone wastediscarded: the maximum values generally occur in the large houses. But amore precise relationship between faunal remains and house type can bedefined. The highest values for wild animals in general (from 23.8% to41.1%), and in particular wild boar, occur in small houses, whereas thehighest frequencies for domestic animals (from 91.3% to 96%) come fromlarge houses. This phenomenon has a broader relevance, for it seems tobe one of the main factors explaining the differences of hunting ratesin the 95 Lbk sites of Europe that have provided enough faunal remainsfor analysis (Hachem 1999). Finally, it can be argued, using the distribution of both animalbones and of buildings, that the Neolithic house was integrated within aparticular conception of village space. The settlement atCuiry-les-Chaudardes developed from two distinct nuclei, and theanalysis of faunal remains suggests the existence of a spatiallystructured village. On the basis of these two lines of evidence, thesite can be divided into four zones (Hachem 1995a; Hachem 1997: 256-7).Only the houses located in the northwest zone show a high rate ofhunting, and generally speaking, three species seem linked to the zonaldivision, since the houses with the highest relative frequencies ofcattle, sheep and wild boar are located separately by species. Thispattern is maintained throughout the five settlement phases. It could beexplained in social terms in the sense that the Rubane society can becomposed of three main tendencies: cattle herders, sheep herders andhunters (Hachem 1997). Therefore the corresponding link between the sizeof the house and the fauna consumed could be established according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the social status. All these results shed new light on domestic organization in theLinearbandkeramik, as well as opening particularly interestingperspectives for understanding the social structure of these earlyNeolithic communities. Acknowledgements. I would like to thank Nada Hachem and MichaelIlett for the translation of this text. References AUXIETTE, G., L. HACHEM & B. ROBERT (ed.). 1997. Espacesphysiques, espaces sociaux, dans l'analyse interne in��ternen.Variant of intern. des sites duNeolithique a l'Age du Fer. Actes du 119e Congres national desSocietes Historiques et Scientifiques, Amiens, oct. 1994. Paris: CTHS CTHS Cherrybrook Technology High School (Sydney, Australia). BOELICKE, U. 1982. Gruben and Hauser: Untersuchungen zur Strukturbandkeramischer Hofplatze, in J. Pavuk (ed.), Siedlungen der Kultur mitLinearkeramik in Europa: 17-28. Nitra: Koloquium Nove Vozokany 1981. 1988. Entwicklung des Siedlungsplatzes, in U. 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