Dans l’arc liguro-provençal, la coexistence des derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs et des premiersagro-pasteurs entre 7000 et 5500 av. J-C. engendre des interrogations sur la nature de leurs interactions.Colonisation et acculturation sont les deux piliers du phénomène de Néolithisation.Dans l’espace méditerranéen nord-occidental, celle-ci résulte d’évolutions techno-culturellessuccessives se manifestant par une diffusion arythmique. Ces sociétés, respectivement du techno-complexe Castelnovien de la fin du Mésolithique et du complexe Impresso-Cardial du Néolithiqueancien, ne partagent pas les mêmes sites mais peuvent exploiter les mêmes ressourceslithiques.Notre éclairage de ce moment de transition repose sur l’étude de cinq sites pour lesquels lesanalyses interdisciplinaires ont caractérisé finement le contexte chrono-culturel, économique etenvironnemental : Mourre-de-Sève, la Font-aux-Pigeons, Monte Frignone, Arene Candide et Pendimoun.Ils illustrent pour les uns la variété des biotopes exploités au Mésolithique et constituentpour les autres, les premières attestations du modèle économique néolithique dans la région.C’est par une approche fonctionnelle des systèmes de productions lithiques qui combine l’observationà faible et à fort grossissement (loupe binoculaire et microscope) des traces d’utilisationsur les outils que nous entrons dans les univers techniques de chacun de ces groupes. Lesrésultats portent ainsi sur les productions lithiques mais aussi sur la production céramique et lescomportements cynégétiques ou agricoles.La caractérisation des spectres fonctionnels, des ressources exploitées et des traitements exercésvient préciser la fonction de chacun des sites et les modalités de gestion des territoires associésà ces deux techno-complexes. Dans le complexe Impresso-cardial, on relève des éléments decontinuité avec les premiers agro-pasteurs du sud de l’Italie, dans le mode de fonctionnementdes projectiles et dans les techniques de moisson. L’étude de plusieurs phases d’occupations dece complexe donne à voir une évolution dans le travail de l’os notamment et l’apparition de nouvelles pratiques comme l’utilisation des industries lithiques dans la fabrication des céramiques.Parmi les occupations castelnoviennes, aucun témoignage matériel d’emprunts depuis le mondenéolithique n’est visible alors que dans le complexe Impresso-cardial, de nouveaux transferts depuis les traditions mésolithiques apparaissent : la typologie et le fonctionnement des projectilesainsi que d’outils employés pour le traitement des végétaux indiquent une forte convergence. Lesrecherches sur ces interactions doivent se poursuivre, tout au long du chemin de la Néolithisation,pour saisir les causes profondes de cet immense changement économique et donc, social. / The coexistence of the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers in the Liguro-Provencal arcbetween 7000 and 5000 B.C. generates questions about the nature of their interactions. Colonization and acculturation are the two main models used to explain the phenomenon of Neolithisation.In the northwestern Mediterranean area, this is the result of successive techno-culturalevolutions which are manifested in the form of an arrhythmic diffusion. These societies whichbelonged to the late Mesolithic Castelnovian techno-complex and the early Neolithic Impresso-Cardial complex, respectively, did not occupy the same sites but could have exploited thesame lithic resources.Our understanding of this moment of transition is based on the interdisciplinary investigation offive sites including Mourre-de-Sève, la Font-aux-Pigeons, Monte Frignone, Arene Candide andPendimoun that allowed for a precise characterization of the chrono-cultural, economic and environmental contexts. Certain sites illustrate the variety of biotypes exploited during the Mesolithic, while the remaining sites illuminate the first attestations of a Neolithic economic model for the region.It is by means of a functional approach to lithic production systems that combines low and highmagnification (binocular magnifier and microscope) of use-wear traces on tools, that we canaccess the technical universe of each of these groups. The results concern the lithic and ceramicproduction, as well as the hunting and agricultural behaviors of these populations.The characterization of the functional spectra, the resources exploited and the processing techniques clarifies the function of each of these sites and the modalities of territorial managementof these two techno-complexes. In the context of the Impresso-Cardial cultural complex, weidentify elements of continuity with the first agro-pastoralists of southern Italy and especially inwhat concerns projectile use and harvesting techniques. The study of several occupation of thiscultural complex demonstrates an evolution in bone working techniques and the appearance ofnew practices such as the use of lithic industries for ceramic fabrication. There is no evidence forNeolithic material influence on the Castelnovian culture, while in the Impresso-Cardial complex,a strong convergence is indicated through the cultural transfer of Mesolithic traditions includingthe typology and use of projectiles as well as tools used for plant processing. Continued researchon the entire period of Neolithisation is needed in order to understand the profound causes ofthis significant economic and social transformation.

The presented master thesis places emphasis on processing of archeological excavation of settlement and graves with linear pottery culture. The excavation took place in 2003 - 2005 in Prague-Liboc "Šestákův statek". The thesis presents history of research of site and summarizes the results of rescue excavation. An integral part of this paper is the examination of ceramic inventory with linear pottery and evaluation of non-ceramic finds. An important step is analysis and interpretation of the objects and the evaluation of their spatial relationships and also the evaluation of the grave units. Key words: Praha, Neolithic, Linear pottery culture, Settlement, Graves

The study of prehistoric trade and exchange networks in the Western Mediterranean is directly linked to the identification and location of commodities available to Neolithic communities in that region. One of these commodities is a volcanic glass commonly known as obsidian. This investigation focused on the procurement, processing, and distribution of obsidian from the island of Pantelleria, situated between the southwestern coast of Sicily in the Straits of Sicily and the northeastern coast of Africa near Cape Bon, Tunisia. Previous studies indicate that there are several chemically different source areas on the island. Research involved the identification of primary obsidian deposits and the collection of samples from primary and/or secondary sources. The position of each collection point was recorded using GPS coordinates, photographs, and physical descriptions, including accessibility and geological matrix. Additional information regarding the size, frequency, and grade (i.e. quality for tool production) was also noted. Each geological specimen and artifact was visually examined for color, luster, transparency and internal structure. Geological samples and artifacts were subjected to trace element analysis, and the density weight of each piece was determined. Multivariate analyses of these test results were used to establish the unique chemical signature of each primary source on Pantelleria and to identify the specific flows where obsidian was collected by Neolithic and Bronze Age communities on Pantelleria and Zembra. Artifacts from Late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites on Pantelleria, and from Zembra, a Late Neolithic site located on an island situated off the northeast coast of Tunisia near Cape Bon were also included in this study. The results of this research has proven the importance of using large geological sample populations in determining the unique geochemical signatures of obsidian flows on Italian source islands, and will enable researchers to identify with greater certainty the source of raw material used to create obsidian tools in the Western Mediterranean.

No description available.

The Neolithic and late Iron Age pottery from the settlement site of Pool, Sanday, Orkney, was studied on two levels. Firstly, a morphological and technological study was carried out to establish a sequence for the site. Secondly an assessment was made of the usefulness of X-ray Fluorescence Analysis, Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry and Petrological analysis to coarse ware studies, using the Pool assemblage as a case study. Recording of technological and typological attributes allowed three phases of Neolithic pottery to be identified. The earliest phase included sherds of Unstan Ware. This phase was followed by an assemblage characterised by pottery with incised decoration, which was stratified below a traditional Grooved Ware assemblage. The change in pottery styles and manufacturing methods with the Grooved Ware indicated that it evolved elsewhere. Grass tempered and burnished pottery characterised the Iron Age assemblage. Pottery samples from all phases of the site were analysed by XRF and ICPS. In addition, pottery from late Iron Age sites in the area was analysed for comparison with the Pool Iron Age pottery. XRF and ICPS analyses did not distinguish between either different phases at Pool or different Orcadian sites. This was attributed to the similarities in geological deposits over much of Orkney and the variations which can occur within a clay source. A clay survey was carried out in the vicinity of the site, and samples taken for comparison with the Pool pottery. Identification of rocks and minerals in thin section, and grain-size analysis, indicated that the Pool pottery was made locally to the site, and that both primary and secondary clays were used. It was concluded that petrological analysis is more suitable than elemental analysis in the study of coarse wares. / Science-based Archaeology'Committee of the Science and Engineering Research Council.

The sequence of timber circle - henge monument - stone circle is widely accepted. This is in spite of the reality that the datable evidence and contextual data upon which this series is based has seldom been subjected to any real form of critical evaluation. The aim of this research was to determine whether this order could still be deemed tenable in light of contemporary research and the continued advances that have been achieved relating to the application of radiocarbon dating. The findings of this study demonstrated that sufficient contextual data exists to enable phases of construction to be identified. However rarely did these data appear to support the currently accepted chronologies. Indeed more commonly they alluded to an alternative series, one that demonstrated how some individual site sequences may have been previously misinterpreted. This study has also proven how methodological and interpretative weaknesses, relating to the use of radiocarbon dating, have created a quantifiable degree of accuracy between individual radiocarbon determinations and their ability to be reliably associated with the event or act that they have been used to date. These findings have not only cast sufficient doubt upon the reliability of the currently accepted chronologies for these three monumental forms but have also alluded to the existence of a far more appropriate sequence that conforms to the overall conclusions of this review far more convincingly. Accordingly a new series of timber circle(s) - stone circle - henge monument is proposed by this study.

In advancing a critical examination of post-processualism, the thesis has – as its central aim – the repositioning of the Neolithic within contemporary archaeological theory. Whilst acknowledging the insights it brings to an understanding of the period, it is argued that the knowledge it produces is necessarily constrained by the emphasis it accords to the cultural. Thus, in terms of the transition, the symbolic reading of agriculture to construct a metanarrative of Mesolithic continuity is challenged through a consideration of the evidential base and the indications it gives for a corresponding movement at the level of the economy; whilst the limiting effects generated by an interpretative reading of its monuments for an understanding of the social are considered. Underpinning these constraints is the conceptual privileging of the individual consequent upon the post-processual reaction to the totalising frameworks of modernist knowledge and the metanarratives of progress they construct – as exemplified in the economic reading of Childe. In examining the form of this reaction, the wider post-processual transposition of postmodernism within contemporary archaeological theory is also considered. In utilising Giddens’ concept of reflexivity, it is argued that rather than the ‘cultural turn’ itself, it is the inflection of the epistemological frameworks of the Enlightenment with a teleological reading of the past as progress that represents the postmodern within contemporary archaeological theory and it is through this understanding of postmodernism as expressing the capacity that modernity has to be self-aware that the conditions are established for the recovery of the Neolithic as a holistic object.

This thesis examines the character of Middle Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age (3600-1200 BC) funerary and ritual practices in Wales. This was based on the analysis of chronological (radiocarbon determinations and artefactual evidence), contextual (monument types, burial types, deposit types) and osteological (demographic and pyre technology) data from a comprehensive dataset of excavated human bone deposits from funerary and ritual monuments. Funerary rites in the Middle Neolithic (c. 3600-2900 BC) sometimes involved the deposition of single inhumation or cremation burials in inconspicuous pit graves. After a hiatus in the Late Neolithic (c. 2900-2400 BC), formal burials re-appeared in the Chalcolithic (c. 2500-2200 BC) with Beaker burials. However, formal burials remained relatively rare until the Early Bronze Age (c. 2200-1700 BC) when burial mounds, which often contained multiple burials, became the dominant type of funerary monument. Burial rites for this period most commonly involved the cremation of the dead. Whilst adult males were over-represented in inhumations, no age- or gender-based differences were identified in cremation burials. Patterns in grave good associations suggest that perceived age- and-gender-based identities were sometimes expressed through the selection of objects to be placed in the graves. The tradition of cremation burials carried on into the Middle Bonze Age (c. 1700-1200 BC), although formal burials became less common. Circular enclosures (henges, timber circles, stone circles, pit circles), several of which were associated with cremated human bone deposits, represented the most persistent tradition of ritual monuments, with new structures built from the end of the fourth millennium BC to the middle of the second millennium BC in Wales.

Examination concerning the possibility of finding prehistoric children as considerable actors through the medium of neolithic clay figurines which were discovered in the archaeological remains regarding a pitted-ware settlement excavated in Tråsättra, Stockholm parish in the year 2016. The main aim for this study is to pay attention to a group of individuals most often overlooked in archaeological research as a whole, by searching to find new angles of incidence in a material previously interpreted from a ritual perspective.

No description available.