How Were Neolithic Ditches Filled In? Deposition Study of Two Enclosures from Bohemia

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the correlation between finds and ditches, the duration of ditch fills, and the manner of the demise of Late Neolithic rondels (Kreisgrabenanlagen) in the Czech Republic. Two comparable long-term projects are discussed here: Kolín (central Bohemia) and Vchynice (north-west Bohemia). Qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analyses of the different categories of finds (pottery fragments, lithics, daub, and faunal remains) from the ditch fills show that only finds from the bottom layers of the ditches were contemporary with the primary function of the rondels. However, the bottom layers often only contained a few artefacts. The richest parts of the ditches, the middle and upper layers, from both sites illustrated similar characteristics: after the rondels lost their primary function, the ditches were filled by both natural and cultural agents over a long period. As a consequence, some previous, and widely accepted, interpretations of the relationship between individual areas of rondels and their relationship with surrounding features, as well as the relationship of the finds from ditch fills to rondel function and chronology, need to be revisited.

The Vertical Structure of Neolithic Finds in the Fills of Archaeological Features

“…The interest in similar assemblage analyses has recently focused on fillings of the rondel ditches, which are probably characterised by the specific conditions of formation and function, and also of formative and post-deposition processes (Lisá et al, 2013;Řídký et al, 2014). Some formal characteristics of finding assemblages, such as weight, density and size of the fragments in their horizontal and vertical distribution, and also refits across the entire vertical section were observed.…”

“…A consistent trend in the distribution of the findings from the ditches and outer enclosure in Bylany is the absence of pottery in the stratified bottom part of the filling. This apparently points to its fast infilling, as in the settlement in Kolín and Vchynice (Řídký et al, 2014;Válek, 2016). Otherwise, the representation of LBK and SBK pottery in the ditch and enclosure fills behaves rather differently.…”

Microhistorias de la Prehistoria Reciente en el interior de la Península Ibérica

“…), pero identificar áreas de actividad o 'niveles de ocupación' no es sencillo ni obvio (Matthews 1993). En la Prehistoria Reciente europea los desperdicios domésticos fueron a menudo trasegados (Rídký et al 2014); son materiales secundarios o terciarios (Butzer 2007: 110-111) o responden a celebraciones sociales -depósitos de inauguración o clausura de asentamientos-distintas al discurrir cotidiano (Waddington 2014: 90-92). Identificar una estructura como vivienda no garantiza que su relleno resulte de actividades domésticas allí desarrolladas (Hayden y Cannon 1983).…”

“…Así pues, el enfoque necesario está más próximo de la tafonomía, y así se ha comenzado a denominar (Wolfram 2013). Ante la falta de criterios consensuados de caracterización tafonómica y de remontaje cerámico (Brudenell y Cooper 2008;Rídký et al 2014), se diseñó un protocolo propio, que tras su ensayo con la cerámica de El Ventorro (Blanco-González 2014a) se aplicó sistemáticamente al resto de colecciones. Se adoptó como unidad de análisis el fragmento cerámico (n=10.797), y se estudiaron todos los fragmentos hallados en los 40 contextos deposicionales de seis sitios, mientras que se seleccionó una muestra de El Ventorro y El Cerro (Tab.…”

“…A partir del conocimiento actual de los procesos formativos (Schiffer 1987 Rídký et al 2014) se esbozaron algunos supuestos ideales y sus valores tafonómicos asociados (Tab. 1) con los que cotejar los resultados obtenidos (Tab.…”