This research project has focused on exploring the relationship between people and cattle, and other animals, in Early Neolithic southern Britain. Cattle remains have been proven to be deposited at a range of sites dating to this period, from the early transitional stage of the period to the more established phase of long barrow and causewayed enclosure construction. Detailed re-assessment of published faunal reports from six sites dating to the earliest Neolithic has indicated that cattle comprise a major component of assemblages from the beginning of the period and that, with the exception of one site, the lack of significant amounts of other animals has highlighted just how large the disparity is between the deposition of cattle remains and those of other animals. Detailed re-assessment of thirty earthen and stone chambered long barrow reports was also undertaken and the depositional practices at these two types of site compared with each other and the earliest Neolithic sites. Although there are clear and obvious differences in the depositional practices at these sites, due largely to the purpose for which they were used, this study has demonstrated that the animals that comprise these assemblages show a continuity throughout this period. The faunal assemblages from three causewayed enclosures were assessed. In these contexts cattle comprised an even greater proportion of the assemblage than at the other sites and when combined with the other domestic species, pig and sheep/goat, formed almost the entirety of the assemblage. Cattle appear to be intricately involved with the lives of people at this time, possibly because their natural characteristics align well with the lifeways of people during this period.

The building of a house, or a monument, involves an important change, which significantly alters people’s roles in the landscape and their view of it. Places could be seen as unique and socially constructed. The naming of places confirms the significance of particular locations. Since the 1980´s a mass of new Early Neolithic material has been uncovered. One of the most important discoveries has been the long houses. After 1986, when the first one was excavated at Mossby in southernmost Scania several similar houses have been identified. Many of the earliest Funnel Beaker sites like Oxie, Svenstorp, Värby and Månasken are made up of different types of pits and almost nothing else  The pits, like on for example the large site Svenstorp and Månasken in SW Scania, are often layered meaning that they were actually recut and reused. Large amounts of flints debris are found in the pits, but also obviously unused implements like flake axes, flake scrapers and in some cases even complete axes and vessels. / NW Europe in Transition

This essay is a study and analysis of the funnel beaker pottery at Gullarve 1:13 in Väte parish. The purpose of the study is to analyse the chronology of the settlement by determine the distribution, stratigraphic context and the ornamentation of the pottery. Another purpose is to discuss the geographical location of the settlement in the landscape.In this essay a short review of the pottery and the funnel beaker culture as well as a description of the pottery from the archaeological excavation from 1984 at Gullarve 1:13 is presented. Since the documentation of the archaeological excavation from 1984 is missing or is very inadequate, no spatial analysis can be carried out. The distribution of the pottery can’t contribute to the result of the essay, though if possible it probably would have provided some interesting results. A clear stratigraphic difference of pottery with ornamentation and flint is indicated. The earliest radiocarbon date of the settlement is approximately 5000 BC. The funnel beaker pottery is generally dated to 4200 BC, which suggests that the Väte settlements on Gotland are the earliest agriculture settlements in Sweden. This area provide a productive natural resource area around the settlement, including a sweet water lake and sandy soil, which indicates a typical funnel beaker settlement at Gotland. One can easily understand why the inhabitants of the early Neolithic settlement chose to live at Gullarve 7000 years ago.

Through the years, there has been a great deal of archaeological research focused on the earliest farming cultures of Europe (i.e. Early Neolithic). However, little effort has been expended to uncover the type and nature of daily activities performed within Early Neolithic dwellings, particularly in the Balkans. This thesis conducts a spatial analysis of the Early Neolithic pit house levels of the Foeni-Salaş site in southeast Romania, in the northern half of the Balkans, to determine the kinds and locations of activities that occurred in these pit houses. Characteristic Early Neolithic dwellings in the northern Balkans are pit houses. The data are analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in an attempt to identify non-random patterns that will indicate how the pit house inhabitants used their space. Both visual and statistical (Nearest Neighbor) techniques are used to identify spatial patterns. Spreadsheet data are incorporated into the map database in order to compare and contrast the results from the two techniques of analysis. Map data provides precise artefact locations, while spreadsheet data yield more generalized quad centroid information. Unlike the mapped data, the spreadsheet data also included artefacts recovered in sieves. Utilizing both data types gave a more complexand fuller understanding of how space was used at Foeni-Salaş. The results show that different types of activity areas are present within each of the pit houses. Comparison of interior to exterior artifact distributions demonstrates that most activities take place within pit house. Some of the activities present include weaving, food preparation, butchering, hide processing, pottery making, ritual, and other activities related to the running of households. It was found that these activities are placed in specific locations relative to features within the pit house and the physical structure of the pit house itself. This research adds to the growing body of archaeological research that implements GIS to answer questions and solve problems related to the spatial dimension of human behaviour. / February 2008

The discovery and excavation of Long Barrows has been one of the major developments in the understanding of the Early Neolithic in Southern Scandinavia during the last decade. The Long Barrows are one of the oldest monumental burial forms that we see in northern Europe in the neolithic. They are also the first example of a common idea that is connected to a monumental burial form amongst the people. In this essay I attempt to show that there actually are quite a large number of Long Barrows in Scandinavia that show similarities with Long Barrows in well-known areas such as Kujavia (Poland) and Pommerania (Germany/Poland), in both architecture and location in the landscape. I also scrutinise some theories regarding this phenomenon and discuss, and i some cases, criticise them. I especially focus on the stated similarity between LBK houses and Long Barrows. My aim was to see if these theories were appliciable to the relatively recent discoveries of Long Barrows in Southern Scandinavia.

Through the years, there has been a great deal of archaeological research focused on the earliest farming cultures of Europe (i.e. Early Neolithic). However, little effort has been expended to uncover the type and nature of daily activities performed within Early Neolithic dwellings, particularly in the Balkans. This thesis conducts a spatial analysis of the Early Neolithic pit house levels of the Foeni-Salaş site in southeast Romania, in the northern half of the Balkans, to determine the kinds and locations of activities that occurred in these pit houses. Characteristic Early Neolithic dwellings in the northern Balkans are pit houses. The data are analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in an attempt to identify non-random patterns that will indicate how the pit house inhabitants used their space. Both visual and statistical (Nearest Neighbor) techniques are used to identify spatial patterns. Spreadsheet data are incorporated into the map database in order to compare and contrast the results from the two techniques of analysis. Map data provides precise artefact locations, while spreadsheet data yield more generalized quad centroid information. Unlike the mapped data, the spreadsheet data also included artefacts recovered in sieves. Utilizing both data types gave a more complexand fuller understanding of how space was used at Foeni-Salaş. The results show that different types of activity areas are present within each of the pit houses. Comparison of interior to exterior artifact distributions demonstrates that most activities take place within pit house. Some of the activities present include weaving, food preparation, butchering, hide processing, pottery making, ritual, and other activities related to the running of households. It was found that these activities are placed in specific locations relative to features within the pit house and the physical structure of the pit house itself. This research adds to the growing body of archaeological research that implements GIS to answer questions and solve problems related to the spatial dimension of human behaviour.

Through the years, there has been a great deal of archaeological research focused on the earliest farming cultures of Europe (i.e. Early Neolithic). However, little effort has been expended to uncover the type and nature of daily activities performed within Early Neolithic dwellings, particularly in the Balkans. This thesis conducts a spatial analysis of the Early Neolithic pit house levels of the Foeni-Salaş site in southeast Romania, in the northern half of the Balkans, to determine the kinds and locations of activities that occurred in these pit houses. Characteristic Early Neolithic dwellings in the northern Balkans are pit houses. The data are analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in an attempt to identify non-random patterns that will indicate how the pit house inhabitants used their space. Both visual and statistical (Nearest Neighbor) techniques are used to identify spatial patterns. Spreadsheet data are incorporated into the map database in order to compare and contrast the results from the two techniques of analysis. Map data provides precise artefact locations, while spreadsheet data yield more generalized quad centroid information. Unlike the mapped data, the spreadsheet data also included artefacts recovered in sieves. Utilizing both data types gave a more complexand fuller understanding of how space was used at Foeni-Salaş. The results show that different types of activity areas are present within each of the pit houses. Comparison of interior to exterior artifact distributions demonstrates that most activities take place within pit house. Some of the activities present include weaving, food preparation, butchering, hide processing, pottery making, ritual, and other activities related to the running of households. It was found that these activities are placed in specific locations relative to features within the pit house and the physical structure of the pit house itself. This research adds to the growing body of archaeological research that implements GIS to answer questions and solve problems related to the spatial dimension of human behaviour.

<p>The discovery and excavation of Long Barrows has been one of the major developments in the understanding of the Early Neolithic in Southern Scandinavia during the last decade. The Long Barrows are one of the oldest monumental burial forms that we see in northern Europe in the neolithic. They are also the first example of a common idea that is connected to a monumental burial form amongst the people. In this essay I attempt to show that there actually are quite a large number of Long Barrows in Scandinavia that show similarities with Long Barrows in well-known areas such as Kujavia (Poland) and Pommerania (Germany/Poland), in both architecture and location in the landscape. I also scrutinise some theories regarding this phenomenon and discuss, and i some cases, criticise them. I especially focus on the stated similarity between LBK houses and Long Barrows. My aim was to see if these theories were appliciable to the relatively recent discoveries of Long Barrows in Southern Scandinavia.</p>

Les régions de la moyenne et haute Tyrrhénienne, la Ligurie et la Provence ont connu pendant le VIème millénaire BCE d’intenses activités maritimes et d’échange, dans le contexte de la néolithisation de la Méditerranée occidentale et intimement liées à l'exploitation et à la circulation des matières premières telles que l'obsidienne, le silex et les roches vertes; dans ce contexte, la définition de la circulation céramique constitue évidement un point central pour la compréhension des rapports économiques et culturels entre les différents groupes néolithiques.Afin de contribuer à la recherche sur le complexe culturel du Néolithique ancien de la zone considérée, nous avons abordé les échanges et les interactions possibles entre les différents groupes grâce à la caractérisation de la matière première des productions céramiques, leur origine et leur diffusion. Notre méthodologie est fondée sur l'analyse pétrographique (microscope stéréoscopique et/ou microscope optique) des matériaux céramiques de certains des principaux sites du techno-complexe Impressa-Cardial afin de déterminer les potentielles zones d'origine des matières premières et les choix techniques de production, par la confrontation des données de géo-ressources et des céramiques archéologiques.Sur la base des résultats d’analyses obtenus, nous avons essayé de définir les productions céramiques et leur circulation entre la moyenne-haute Tyrrhénienne, la Ligurie et la Provence, pour les différentes étapes chrono-culturelles du Néolithique ancien. / Intense seafaring and cultural/commercial exchanges took place in the region among the Central-Northern Tyrrhenian sea, Liguria and Provence during the VI millennium BCE; these contributed to the neolithisation of the western Mediterranean and were intimately linked to the exploitation and circulation of raw materials, such as obsidian, chert and greenstone. Within this framework, the assessment of ceramic circulation paths is obviously central to understand the economic and cultural relations between different Neolithic groups.Exchanges and potential interactions between different groups were assessed by characterising raw materials used in pottery production, as well as their provenance and diffusion, in order to contribute to research on the early Neolithic in the above mentioned areas.The methodology was aimed at sourcing raw materials and defining technical choices in pottery production by petrographic analyses (stereo- and / or optical microscope) of ceramic samples from some key sites of the Impressa-Cardiale Ware techno-complex, and on their comparison with geo-resources and archaeological pottery data.Pottery production and circulation among the Tyrrhenian, Liguria and Provence areas, in distinct chrono-cultural stages of Early Neolithic, was defined upon the results of these analyses.

Yes / Ceramic containers, intentionally deposited into wetlands, offer detailed insights into Early Neolithic culinary practices. Additionally, they are key for ascertaining the Neolithisation process in Denmark since they appear to form a typo-chronological sequence. Here, we use a combination of organic residue analysis (ORA) of pottery alongside Bayesian chronological modelling of the radiocarbon dates obtained on these vessels to explore the initial stages of votive deposition in wetlands, a practice that stretches from the Mesolithic to the onset of Christianity in Northern Europe. We consider 34 Early-Middle Neolithic (c. 3900–2350 cal BC) ‘bog pots’ from Denmark, of which 20 have ORA data, and 26 have been dated directly. Carbonised surface residues and absorbed lipids from powdered sherds were analysed using a combination of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and GC-combustion-isotope ratio MS (GC-C-IRMS). The molecular and isotopic compositions of the analysed samples revealed the presence of aquatic, ruminant carcass and dairy fats as well as plant waxes with the majority containing mixtures thereof. Dairy fats were present from the onset of the Funnel Beaker culture, whilst aquatic foods, prevalent at the close of the preceding Mesolithic period, continued to be processed in pottery for the following thousand years. / UK Arts and Humanities Research Board Grant B/RG/AN1717/APN14658 (to O.E.C.) and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant AH/E008232/1 (to C.P.H and O.E.C.) for funding this research. H.K.R. acknowledges the British Academy for funding during the preparation of the manuscript.