Megalithic science and some Scottish site plans

Antiquity ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 54 (210) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Moir ◽  
Clive Ruggles ◽  
Ray Norris
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Important Site

‘A cairn supported at its edge by large stones may be removed. … The ring which is left looks like a stone circle.’ (Thom, 1967, 65).Professor A. Thom has surveyed a large number of archaeological sites (Thom, 1967; 1971). These surveys provide the basis from which he deduces the existence of the Megalithic Yard (MY), Megalithic Geometry and Megalithic Astronomy. In considering his evidence for these aspects of ‘megalithic science’ it is pertinent to enquire of each site: Does it date from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age? Is it correctly identified? Do the stones occupy their original positions? Is the site plan accurate? Has the site already been discussed, or since discussed, in the archaeological literature? The example of Unival, discussed in detail later, shows that here Thom has made a serious error in identifying the site, and very probably made surveying errors. These errors vitiate part of his discussion of an important site. This mis-identification, and similar ones, could have been avoided if the archaeological literature had been consulted.

scholarly journals MONUMENTS AND LANDSCAPE: INVESTIGATING A PREHISTORIC MONUMENT COMPLEX AT LOCHBROW, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

2017 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Kirsty Millican ◽  
Helen Goodchild ◽  
Dorothy Graves McEwan
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Landscape Context ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Survey Techniques ◽  
Simple Step ◽  
Non Destructive

This paper presents the results of a survey project investigating a complex of prehistoric archaeological sites at Lochbrow, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. An Early Neolithic timber cursus, Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age timber circles and Bronze Age round barrows were first recorded as cropmarks on aerial photographs in the 1980s and 1990s. The Lochbrow Landscape Project set out to investigate and understand this lesser-known complex of prehistoric sites and their layout in the landscape using non-destructive survey techniques, including geophysical survey, experiential survey and re-assessment of aerial photographs. A pilot survey was undertaken in 2010 followed by a series of short field seasons from 2011 to 2015. Interpretation of the results from geophysical survey has proved challenging because of strong geological and geomorphological signals, but has been successful in detecting both the features known from aerial photographs and additional archaeological features. The simple step of marking out the known archaeology on the ground has provided additional insights into the landscape context of the known monuments and elements of their morphology. This indicates that the monuments were closely tied to their landscape context and that the monument boundaries were used to influence the experience of being within the monuments. Overall, the research has been successful in enriching our understanding of the complex of prehistoric sites known at Lochbrow.

scholarly journals The Main Results of Studies of the Archaeological Complex Kastyki in the Upper Reaches of the Viliya (Minsk Region of the Republic of Belarus)

2021 ◽  
pp. 391-416
Author(s):  
Н. А. Плавинский
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Funerary Rites

Целью публикации является анализ основных результатов раскопок комплекса археологических памятников Костыки Вилейского района Минской области, проводившихся в 1973, 2016 и 2018 гг. Комплекс археологических памятников Костыки состоит из курганного могильника древнерусского времени Костыки и многокультурного открытого поселения Костыки II. Некрополь в Костыках функционировал на протяжении середины XI - XII в. Он принадлежал группе жителей Полоцкой земли, которые имели определенное представление о христианской погребальной обрядности. Многокультурное поселение Костыки II функционировало от эпохи позднего неолита и начала эпохи бронзы до третьей четверти I тысячелетия н. э. The publication's purpose is the analysis of the main results of archaeological sites' excavations in Kastyki, Viliejka district, Minsk region, carried out in 1973, 2016 and 2018. The complex of archaeological monuments of Kastyki consists of the Kastyki barrow cemetery of Old Rus' period and the multicultural open settlement of Kastyki II. The necropolis in Kastyki functioned throughout the middle of the 11 - 12 centuries. It belonged to a group of Polotsk land residents who had some perspective of Christian funerary rites. The multicultural settlement Kastyki II functioned from the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age to the third quarter of the 1st millennium AD.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Coercive Societies in Northwestern Scandinavia During the Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
Knut Ivar Austvoll
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Organizational Strategy ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Natural Ecology

AbstractThis paper discusses how coastal societies in northwestern Scandinavia were able to rise in power by strategically utilizing the natural ecology and landscape in which they were situated. From two case studies (the Norwegian regions of Lista and Tananger), it is shown that it was possible to control the flow of goods up and down the coast at certain bottlenecks but that this also created an unstable society in which conflict between neighboring groups occurred often. More specifically the paper outlines an organizational strategy that may be applicable cross-culturally.

scholarly journals In the Sorraia River Valley (Coruche, Portugal): Settlement Dynamics of Ancient Peasant Societies on the Left Bank of the Lower Tagus River (5500 to 1800 B.C.E.)

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 95-158
Author(s):  
Ana Catarina Sousa ◽  
Victor S. Gonçalves ◽  
André Texugo ◽  
Ana Ramos-Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Left Bank ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Tagus River ◽  
Settlement Dynamics

This article is the result of archaeological and paleoenvironmental investigations carried out within the scope of the ANSOR project in the Sorraia valley (Coruche), on the left bank of the Lower Tagus. In the analysis of settlement dynamics between 5500 and 1800 a.n.e. we considered four moments: 1) The first peasant societies of the ancient Neolithic; 2) The Middle and Late Neolithic; 3) Chalcolithic; 4) The Early Bronze Age. The Sorraia valley was also framed in the framework of the Center and South of Portugal during the period under analysis. Interpretative models are presented for changes in the implantation patterns in the four stages under study, oscillating between paleoenvironmental factors and the socio-economic changes registered in the old peasant societies. 

scholarly journals Frequency and chronological distribution of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age population from Żerniki Górne (Poland) – preliminary report

2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Tomczyk ◽  
Maria Tomczyk-Gruca ◽  
Marta Zalewska
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Permanent Teeth ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Enamel Hypoplasia ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Linear Enamel Hypoplasia ◽  
Tool Stress ◽  
Health Related

Abstract Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is treated as a nonspecific indicator of stress, but even so, many authors consider it the most reliable tool stress in anthropological research. Its analysis allows the reconstruction of health related to the socio-economic status of the group. This study documents and interprets patterns of LEH in Żerniki Górne (Poland), a settlement which was functional in the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age. We examined two successive cultures: the Corded Ware Culture (CWC; 3200-2300BC) and the Trzciniec Culture (TC; 1500-1300BC). In total, there were 1486 permanent teeth (124 adult individuals). The frequency of LEH in the examined cultures shows a small rising trend. In these series from Żernik Górne, males showed a higher occurrence of LEH (16.5%) than females (13.4%). The earliest LEH appeared at similar ages at about 2.0/2.2 years and the last LEH occurred at about 4.2 years of age in both cultures. However, it is worth noting that periods associated with physiological stress were more common but not very long (four months on average) in the CWC. Longer stress periods (nine months on average) were associated with the TC.

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