Neolithic Bog Pots from Zealand, Mon, Lolland and Falster.

Neolithic Bog Pots from Zealand, Mon, Lolland and Falster. EVA KOCH. (Nordiske Fortidsminder (serie B For the Brazilian football league, see Campeonato Brasileiro S��rie B. Serie B is the name of the second highest football league in Italy. It consists of 22 teams. ) 16.) 576 pages, 131figures, 155 plates, map in pocket. 1998. Copenhagen: Der KongeligeNordiske Oldskriftselskab; 87-87483-39-4 ISSN ISSNabbr.International Standard Serial Number 0105-578X hardback. This book is a reworked Ph.D thesis, originally written in Danish.Is this book so important that an audience in international archaeologyhas to be reached? Are Neolithic bog pots from the Danish isles a topicof international relevance? In my opinion, the answer to both questionsis affirmative. Eva Koch's work provides an excellent overview ofthe large number of Neolithic bog pots. Her analysis is convincing andplaces this find group centre stage in two major international debates:the process of neolithization in southern Scandinavia, and thegeographical and chronological subdivision of the Funnel Beaker Culture Beaker cultureLate Neolithic and early Bronze Age culture of northern and western Europe. The people are known for a group of distinctive bell-shaped earthenware beakers decorated with toothed stamps, probably used in rituals of consumption. (Early and Middle Neolithic). The body of her work is the analysis of 688 pots found in the peatareas of the Danish isles of Zealand, Men, Lolland and Falster. A largemajority of the pots date to the Early Neolithic and the first half ofthe Middle Neolithic (Funnel Beaker Culture), although some pots areolder (Ertebolle Culture), or younger (later Funnel Beaker Culture andSingle Grave Culture). Koch divides the pottery into several new types,based on morphological criteria. Because most of the bog pots arecomplete, it is possible to describe various parts of the profile aspercentages of the complete height. In this way, the degree ofsimilarity between the pots is determined and statistically sound typesare found. This is the basis of the analysis. Available 14C dates areused to date the specific types, which allows a detailed reconstructionof the development in pottery morphology of the Early Neolithic andfirst half of the Middle Neolithic. As such, it is an importantcontribution to the debate on the start and development of the FunnelBeaker Culture in southern Scandinavia. This aspect is discussed indetail: Koch's study provides auxiliary arguments for the existenceof contemporary Oxie and Svaleklint groups as earliest groups of theDanish Funnel Beaker Culture. Available data on subsistence, settlementsystems, burial ritual, offering practices and pottery and flint typesare presented, resulting in handsome sketches of the Danish EarlyNeolithic. To some extent, the above would perhaps be expected of'pottery archaeology'. Luckily, Koch's analysis alsoopens up other avenues of research. She presumes that the pots weredeposited as offerings and she studies the topography of the find sitesand the spatial relation Noun 1. spatial relation - the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated; "the position of the hands on the clock"; "he specified the spatial relations of every piece of furniture on the stage"position with known settlements and megaliths. Kochconcludes that the pots are often found near prominent features in thelandscape and seem to be connected to various types of settlements:hunting stations, farming sites and enclosures. The detailed informationpertaining to the bog pots also includes data on associations. There arewooden platforms and stone pavements; and there are various categoriesof portable items: wooden spoons, bone and antler tools, flint tools,pottery sherds and 'carrying nets'. A revealing set of findsare the animal bones, as the deliberate deposition of specific elementsof skeletons and/or specific animals may provide direct access to thesymbolic significance of animals in the societies concerned. In order tointerpret the meaning of the animal bones associated with the bog pots,the subsistence base of the early Neolithic and Middle Neolithic isdiscussed first. This reveals a sharp contrast between hunting stations,with bone spectra dominated by bones from wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. , and farmingsites, with a predominance of bones from domestic animals (cattle, pigand sheep/goat). Two sets of finds are associated with the bog pots:remains of meals and complete skeletons of cattle. In this firstcategory of bones, domestic cattle are the most frequent species, as inthe settlement sites. Second in importance are bones from sheep/goat,which are of minor importance in the spectra from the settlements. Kochsuggests that sheep/goat may have had a ritual significance. Otheranimals represented are pig, roe deer, 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. , dog and horse. Thus Koch's study is more than a typological analysis ofNeolithic pots. The role of pottery in the geographical and spatialorganization of the Funnel Beaker Culture is clearly reaffirmed.Moreover, her attention to the associated material and the relation withother aspects of Neolithic society produces an ideal starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the forfurther analysis. This leaves us with one point: to what extent doesKoch's study provide new ideas on the process of neolithization insouthern Scandinavia? Koch concludes that neither rising population, nora food crisis seem very plausible as the cause of the shift from aMesolithic to a Neolithic subsistence. Instead, she seeks an explanationin the combined effects of the elm decline (leading to a more openlandscape) and a climatic change Climatic Change is a journal published by Springer.[1] Climatic Change is dedicated to the totality of the problem of climatic variability and change - its descriptions, causes, implications and interactions among these. . Koch's own study does not providearguments for this explanation and this is not unexpected: the topic ofher study is related to the debate on the process of neolithization onlybecause it occurs at the same time, not because it can contribute to it.In my opinion, this is not the best part of her book. Koch's study of Danish bog pots again makes clear that thearchaeological data available in Denmark is of the highest quality. Itis no surprise that it continues to capture the imagination ofarchaeologists, in Denmark and abroad. D.C.M. RAEMAEKERS Archeologisch Adviesbureau RAAP RAAP Rape Assistance and Awareness ProgramRAAP Religious Alliance Against Pornography (Cincinnati, OH)RAAP Radford Army Ammunition PlantRAAP Remote Access Astronomy ProjectRAAP Rapid Application of Air Power , Amsterdam