The cultural project: Formal chronological modelling of the Early and Middle Neolithic sequence in Lower Alsace

Denaire, Anthony, Lefranc, Philippe, Wahl, Joachim, Ramsey, Christopher Bronk, Dunbar, Elaine, Goslar, Tomasz, Bayliss, Alex, Beavan, Nancy, Bickle, Penny and Whittle, Alasdair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6811-8724 2017. The cultural project: Formal chronological modelling of the Early and Middle Neolithic sequence in Lower Alsace. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 24 (4) , pp. 1072-1149. 10.1007/s10816-016-9307-x

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Abstract

Starting from questions about the nature of cultural diversity, this paper examines the pace and tempo of change and the relative importance of continuity and discontinuity. To unravel the cultural project of the past, we apply chronological modelling of radiocarbon dates within a Bayesian statistical framework, to interrogate the Neolithic cultural sequence in Lower Alsace, in the upper Rhine valley, in broad terms from the later sixth to the end of the fifth millennium cal BC. Detailed formal estimates are provided for the long succession of cultural groups, from the early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture (LBK) to the Bischheim Occidental du Rhin Supérieur (BORS) groups at the end of the Middle Neolithic, using seriation and typology of pottery as the starting point in modelling. The rate of ceramic change, as well as frequent shifts in the nature, location and density of settlements, are documented in detail, down to lifetime and generational timescales. This reveals a Neolithic world in Lower Alsace busy with comings and goings, tinkerings and adjustments, and relocations and realignments. A significant hiatus is identified between the end of the LBK and the start of the Hinkelstein group, in the early part of the fifth millennium cal BC. On the basis of modelling of existing dates for other parts of the Rhineland, this appears to be a wider phenomenon, and possible explanations are discussed; full reoccupation of the landscape is only seen in the Grossgartach phase. Radical shifts are also proposed at the end of the Middle Neolithic.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Neolithic Lower Alsace Formal chronological modelling Cultural diversity Continuity and discontinuity
Additional Information:	Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Publisher:	Springer Verlag (Germany)
ISSN:	1072-5369
Funders:	ERC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2017
Date of Acceptance:	24 November 2016
Last Modified:	23 May 2023 14:39
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/99509

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