14C Dating of “Brandgrubengräber” from the Bronze Age to the Roman Period in Western Flanders (Belgium)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1233-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Mark van Strydonck ◽  
Wim De Clercq
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age

A Brandgrubengrab entails a specific way of depositing human remains whereby the cremated remains of the deceased and other remnants of the funeral pyre, such as charcoal and burnt objects, are jointly deposited onto the bottom of a pit. This type of burial became increasingly popular during the Late Iron Age and the Roman period, when it was the main basic funerary structure used in western Flanders. In recent years, more attention has been paid to establishing a more precise chronology for these funerary structures by applying radiocarbon dating. A set of 40 14C dates obtained from samples originating from small cemeteries and isolated cremations now offers new insights in the development of this specific cremation burial ritual.

Death, Decapitation and Display? The Bronze and Iron Age Human Remains from the Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, North-east Scotland

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 251-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Armit ◽  
Rick Schulting ◽  
Christopher J. Knüsel ◽  
Ian A.G. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Age Group ◽  
North East ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Apparent Evidence

Excavations at the Sculptor's Cave (north-east Scotland) during the 1930s and 1970s yielded evidence for activity in the Late Bronze Age, Late Iron Age, and early medieval periods, including a substantial human skeletal assemblage with apparent evidence for the removal, curation, and display of human heads. The present project, combining osteological analysis and a programme of AMS dating, aimed to place the surviving human remains from the site into their appropriate chronological context and to relate them to the broader sequence of human activity in the cave. A series of AMS determinations has demonstrated that the human remains fall into two distinct chronological groups separated by a millennium or more: one from the Mid-Late Bronze Age and one from the Late Iron Age. Osteological analysis suggests that while the Bronze Age group may, as previously suggested, include the remains of the heads of juveniles formerly displayed at the cave entrance, this was not the sole mechanism by which human remains arrived in the cave at this time. The Late Iron Age group provides evidence for decapitation and other violent treatments within the cave itself.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dating of the bronze age bone pins from Eurasian steppe

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Shishlina ◽  
Johan Plicht ◽  
Elya Zazovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Culture Formation ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractBone catapult and hammer-headed pins played one of very specific roles in funerary offerings in the Bronze Age graves uncovered in the Eurasian Steppes and the North Caucasus. Scholars used different types of pins as key grave offerings for numerous chronological models. For the first time eight pins have been radiocarbon dated. 14C dating of bone pins identified the catapult type pin as the earliest one. They marked the period of the Yamnaya culture formation. Then Yamnaya population produced hammer-headed pins which became very popular in other cultural environments and spread very quickly across the Steppe and the Caucasus during 2900–2650 cal BC. But according to radiocarbon dating bone pins almost disappeared after 2600 cal BC.

scholarly journals 14C Dating of the Lime Burial of Cova de Na Dent (Mallorca, Spain): Optimization of the Sample Preparation and Limitations of the Method

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark van Strydonck ◽  
Roald Hayen ◽  
Mathieu Boudin ◽  
Tess van den Brande ◽  
Magdalena Salas Burguera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Fossil Carbon ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Analysis Strategy ◽  
Geological Formation

Lime burials are a characteristic phenomenon of the protohistoric funerary tradition on the Balearic Islands. At Cova de Na Dent, six samples, representing the entire stratigraphy of the lime burial, were taken for analysis. The radiocarbon dates suggested that the lowest levels of the burial were Late Bronze Age. This is in contradiction with the general belief that the lime burials are a late Iron Age phenomenon. Therefore, a new analysis strategy is put forward, focusing on the so-called 1st fraction, the first CO2released during the acid lime reaction, which is supposed to be free of fossil carbon. The analysis demonstrates the impossibility to eliminate the fossil carbon fraction completely. This is probably due to the different geological formation of the local limestone deposits (ancient reef barriers) compared to the previous lime burials of Mallorca all coming from mountain areas.14C analysis from a cremation layer without lime at the onset of the lime burial reveals an Iron Age origin of the Cova de Na Dent lime burial.

scholarly journals Hillforts, rocks and warriors

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 154-165
Author(s):  
Javier Rodriguez-Corral
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age

During the Late Iron Age, monumental stone statues of warriors were established in the northwest of Iberia, ‘arming’ landscapes that ultimately encouraged specific types of semiotic ideologies in the region. This paper deals with how these statues on rocks not only worked in the production of liminality in the landscape – creating transitional zones on it –, but also how they functioned as liminal gateways to the past, absorbing ideas from the Bronze Age visual culture up to the Late Iron Age one, in order to create emotional responses to a new socio-political context.

scholarly journals Sten som betydelsebärare i den förhistoriska föreställningsvärlden

AmS-Varia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Marianne Lönn
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Basic Change ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Similar Appearance ◽  
The Bronze Age

This article discusses the meaning of stones and the practice of gathering stones, in graves, clearance cairns and stone-covered hillocks. The emphases are on stone-covered hillocks and their long-term usage (up to 1500 years), analyzed using the concept of longue durée. In this paper I propose that the stones in themselves have a cultic meaning as well as the actions, i.e. the remodeling of hillocks and the placing of clearance cairns among graves. In this, I see a connection between stone-covered hillocks, graves and clearance cairns. The underlying concept is a stable, but slowly changing, prehistoric religious tradition that lasted from the Bronze Age to the Migration Period and possibly also through the Late Iron Age. A basic change in this does not take place until the coming of Christianity in the Medieval Period. The reason that Medieval and later clearance cairns were placed together with graves is probably due to their similar appearance.

scholarly journals Re-Evaluation of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Chronology of the Western Belgian Urnfields Based on 14C Dating of Cremated Bones

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Mark van Strydonck ◽  
Mathieu Boudin ◽  
Walter Leclercq ◽  
Nicolas Paridaens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Occupational History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One

The urnfields in western Belgium have been studied since the second half of the 20th century. Most of these studies, as well as the excavations themselves, date from before the last quarter of the 20th century, except for the urnfields at Velzeke and Blicquy, which were excavated recently. The chronology of these cemeteries was largely based on typochronological studies of pottery. Other funeral gifts, like bronze objects in the graves, are rather exceptional. The typochronology was worked out in a comparison with the framework of neighboring regions and central Europe. There was a need, then, for a chronology based on absolute dates. This was only possible by radiocarbon dating of the cremated bones. Tests on duplicate samples, like cremated bone in context with charcoal or 2 depositions of cremated bones within 1 urn, have shown that the results are reproducible and that there is no discrepancy between the charcoal and the cremated bone dates.The results of the 14C dating project on the cremated bones of the 2 urnfields at Velzeke and the one at Blicquy are promising. The interpretation of the occupational history of both sites at Velzeke can be revised, and the currently accepted ceramic sequence for this period needs reworking. In addition, the chronological framework of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age is open for discussion. It seems plausible that the urnfield phenomenon starts earlier in western Belgium than previously expected. These dates can also contribute to the discussion about the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.

scholarly journals The Biocultural Context of Dental Modification in Prehistoric Southeast Asia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Newton ◽  
Kate Domett
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Mainland Southeast Asia ◽  
Regional Perspective

This chapter synthesizes documented evidence of intentional dental modification in prehistoric mainland Southeast Asia. Through previously published work, potential reasons for the practice of ablation and filing are explored, examining archaeological sites spanning the Neolithic to late Iron Age. Cases of intentional ablation have been documented throughout prehistoric Southeast Asia, however, evidence to date indicates cases have been limited to Neolithic and Iron Age sites with only four tentative cases of intentional ablation in the Bronze Age. The increasing number of samples from newly documented sites in Cambodia, including the first evidence of filing in this region, and previously documented evidence from other parts of Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam, allows the opportunity to systematically examine ablation and filing patterns from a regional perspective and put it into worldwide context.

scholarly journals Hillforts, rocks and warriors

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 154-165
Author(s):  
Javier Rodriguez-Corral
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age

During the Late Iron Age, monumental stone statues of warriors were established in the northwest of Iberia, ‘arming’ landscapes that ultimately encouraged specific types of semiotic ideologies in the region. This paper deals with how these statues on rocks not only worked in the production of liminality in the landscape – creating transitional zones on it –, but also how they functioned as liminal gateways to the past, absorbing ideas from the Bronze Age visual culture up to the Late Iron Age one, in order to create emotional responses to a new socio-political context.

scholarly journals Around 1000 BC. Absolute dates for the Final Bronze Age – Early Iron Age transition in Italy: wiggle-match 14C dating of two tree-trunk coffins from Celano

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Van der Plicht ◽  
A.J. Nijboer
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Tree Trunk ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Oak Wood ◽  
Italian Peninsula ◽  
Abruzzo Region ◽  
The Bronze Age

At Celano (Abruzzo region, Italy), rare tumulus tombs of the Final Bronze Age were excavated, yielding waterlogged coffins of oak wood. Two tombs were dated by Wiggle-Match Dating (WMD), using the conventional 14C method. This shows that the tumuli were erected around 1030 BC, while the associated artefacts in the sarcophagi are attributable to the final stages of the Bronze Age (FBA) in Italy. Fibulae similar to those found in both tombs at Celano are recovered in modest numbers all over the Italian peninsula and even in Croatia and nearby regions (Glogović 2003; von Merhart 1969, pls. 4, 5, 7). Our date of ca. 1030 BC for the last stages of the Bronze Age in Italy has consequences for the beginning of the Iron Age, which should start around 1000-950 BC, an assessment that is consistent with other radiocarbon sequences obtained for Italy, such as the sequence for Latium Vetus and elsewhere in the western Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Nordic and Celtic: religion in southern Scandinavia during the late bronze age and early iron age

1990 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 329-343
Author(s):  
Marianne Görman
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Southern Scandinavia ◽  
The Bronze Age

By means of modern archeological research it is today possible to gain much information even from non-written material, This paper covers the late bronze age and early iron age, ca. 1000 B.C. —O. It is based on material from Denmark, the Southwest of Sweden, and the Southeast of Norway. This region formed a cultural unity since the sea bound the area together. Our main sources of knowledge of Nordic religion during this time span are votive offerings and rock-carvings. During the bronze age and early iron age the Nordic peasant population had intensive contacts with the Southeastern and Centralparts of Europe. A great quantity of imported objects bear evidence of widespread connections. The inhabitants of the Nordic area not only brought home objects, but also ideas and religious conceptions. This is clearly reflected in the iconography. The cultures with which connections were upheld and from which ideas were introduced were those of Hallstatt and La Tène. They were both Celtic iron age cultures prospering in Central Europe at the same time as the late bronze age and early iron age in the Nordic area. This means that the new symbols in the Nordic area come from a Celtic environment. Consequently, Celtic religion such as it may be found in the pre-Roman period, can clarify the meaning of the conceptions, linked with these symbols.

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