Bronze Age Wool Textile of the Northern Eurasia: New Radiocarbon Data

Innovative technologies for new products and consumption, a secondary product revolution, have dramatically changed the course of the Bronze Age economic transformations. Changes included introduction of an innovative technology of wool production and it’s spread among the Northern Eurasia population during 3000–2000 BC. Sophisticated methods of studying the ancient wool textile obtained from the Bronze Age sites of Northern Eurasia, i.e. technological analyses, radiocarbon dating, and the identification of the isotope signature preserved in the wool textile, made it possible not only to discuss the time the wool fiber appeared in the Bronze Age textile production and to determine the cultural context and areas but also to discuss a new hypothesis on the formation of so called Wool Road in early 2nd millennium BC – a route that connected the foothills, forest-steppe, and forest regions of Eastern Europe in the West and South Siberia and China in the East. The discovery of wool textiles and their radiocarbon dating clearly defines the spread of the innovative textile strategies out of the Near East from the South to the North, then from the North Caucasus Piedmont areas from the West to the East. The author suggests that one of the ways the wool textile spread to west was from the southern steppe region of Eastern Europe via the Black Sea steppes.

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Modelling Bronze Age sheepherding and wool production: the case of the Terramara settlement at Montale, Italy

Praehistorische Zeitschrift ◽

10.1515/pz-2020-0005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 95 (1) ◽

pp. 187-204

Author(s):

Serena Sabatini

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Landscape Management ◽

Wool Production ◽

Wool Textile ◽

Pastoral Economy ◽

The Bronze Age

AbstractArguing for an integrated wool-textile economy in the Bronze Age, this paper assesses characteristics and scale of pastoral economy and sheepherding at the Terramare settlement of Montale (Modena province, Italy). Previous studies argued that Montale was a Bronze Age centre of wool production. The present work enhances the understanding of the local textile economy by investigating the evidence for sheepherding and landscape management at the site. It also proposes an interdisciplinary-based approach to investigate and reconstruct pastoral economy and sheepherding strategies in other prehistoric contexts as well.

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Metallurgical Production in Northern Eurasia in the Bronze Age

10.2307/j.ctv1zcm03c ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Stanislav Grigoriev

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Northern Eurasia ◽

Metallurgical Production ◽

The Bronze Age

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14C Chronology of Burial Grounds of the Andronovo Period (Middle Bronze Age) in Baraba Forest Steppe, Western Siberia

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200047391 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 54 (3-4) ◽

pp. 737-747 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

V I Molodin ◽

Z V Marchenko ◽

Y V Kuzmin ◽

A E Grishin ◽

M van Strydonck ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Western Siberia ◽

Northern Eurasia ◽

Forest Steppe ◽

Cultural Complex ◽

15Th Century ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Burial Grounds

This paper focuses on the chronology of Middle Bronze Age complexes in the Baraba forest steppe (western Siberia). Three sites were radiocarbon dated, Stary Tartas 4, Sopka 2, and Tartas 1. The Late Krotovo culture was dated to the 18–19th centuries BC, the Andronovo complex (Fedorovo stage) to the 15–18th centuries BC, and the Mixed Andronovo complex dated to the 15–17th centuries BC. These values are some 300–500 yr older than previously thought, and the new results are consistent with14C dates of the Andronovo cultural complex in northern Eurasia. Based on these data, the 15th century BC is the upper chronological limit of the Andronovo period.

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The Emergence of Cremations in Eastern Fennoscandia: Changing Uses of Fire in Ritual Contexts

Cremation and the Archaeology of Death ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198798118.003.0020 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jarkko Saipio

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Western Europe ◽

Northern Europe ◽

Northern Eurasia ◽

Archaeological Research ◽

Late Neolithic ◽

Mortuary Ritual ◽

Cultural Layers ◽

Germanic Languages ◽

Neolithic Cultures

Since the 1980s, a rapid increase in the number of Mesolithic and Neolithic cremation burials discovered has prompted a substantial re-evaluation of the position of cremation as a prehistoric mortuary ritual in northern Eurasia. Sporadic but persistent appearances of cremation in a wide variety of cultural contexts from early Mesolithic to late Neolithic have undermined the traditional models seeing cremation and inhumation as two radically different ways to treat the deceased. In studies of north-western Europe, from British Isles to southern Scandinavia, it is now widely recognized that inhumation and cremation co-existed in many Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures traditionally treated as textbook cases of mortuary practices emphasizing the corporeal integrity of the deceased. Importantly, the unexpected appearances of cremation are only one part of a wider challenge to the traditional assumption of dominance of primary burial in Mesolithic and non-megalithic Neolithic cultures of northern Europe. One important aspect of this challenge are finds of scattered burnt and unburned human bones in Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural layers, suggesting that articulated pit inhumations may actually represent exceptional cases (e.g. Hallgren 2008; Larsson 2009). North-eastern Europe still remains a white area in regional studies of pre- Bronze Age appearances of cremation in northern Europe. This border generally coincides with the language barrier between Germanic languages and various ‘eastern’ languages in terms of local archaeological research traditions. On the other hand, the border also roughly coincides with many genuine differences in archaeological record. Therefore, there is an obvious danger that differences in archaeological research histories and differences in archaeological phenomena become intermingled, creating ill-founded generalizations and assumptions. This chapter examines the earliest known cases of cremation in Eastern Fennoscandia, the area consisting of Finland, the Kola Peninsula, and Russian Karelia (Fig. 11.1). It is currently the easternmost part of northern Europe where confirmed cases of Mesolithic and Neolithic cremation have appeared so far. Such cases are currently few and little studied but they have a potential to redefine the whole study of prehistoric mortuary rituals in the area. In most of Eastern Fennoscandia acidic soil usually does not preserve any unburned bone material older than about a thousand years.

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Chronostratigraphic Sequence of Santuario Della Madonna Cave (Calabria, Southern Italy): AMS Radiocarbon Data from a New Excavation Area

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200045458 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 408-414 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

L Calcagnile ◽

V Tinè ◽

G Quarta ◽

M D'Elia ◽

G Fiorentino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Statistical Tools ◽

Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Cultural Aspects ◽

Radiocarbon Data ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Excavation Area

The Santuario della Madonna Cave, located near Praia a Mare (Cosenza), along the northwestern coast of Calabria (southern Italy), has an impressive stratigraphy, with occupation phases spanning from the late Paleolithic to the advanced phases of the Middle Bronze Age. Recently, a new excavation area has been opened in the cave from which shortlived vegetal remains were sampled and submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The aim of this study was to define an accurate chronology of the different cultural aspects and to explore the potentialities resulting from application of advanced statistical tools for 14C data analysis in such a context.

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The Origins and Development of Textile Culture in the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals

Teoriya i praktika arkheologicheskikh issledovaniy ◽

10.14258/tpai(2020)4(32).-03 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 43-57

Author(s):

Ankusheva P.

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Southern Urals ◽

Northern Eurasia ◽

Forest Steppe ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

The Southern Urals ◽

Cattle Breeding ◽

Textile Technology ◽

Comparison Criteria

At the turn of the 3rd / 2nd millennium BC textile artifacts (fabric impressions on ceramics and organic samples) were widespread in the Southern Urals. The paper is devoted to identifying the possible origins of the Sintashta and Alakul textile technologies by comparing them with the data about the products from adjacent territorial and chronological frames. The comparison criteria are the components of the textile culture (raw materials, technology, decoration and application), according to which the sources of the Trans-Ural Eneolithic, Yamnaya, Catacomb, Andronovo communities are systematized. Such innovative technologies as weaving, woolen threads, madder dyeing were first noted in the South Trans-Urals in the Sintashta materials and find their closest parallels in the catacomb materials. The Sintashta, Petrovka and Alakul antiquities demonstrate a single textile technology, organically integrated into the Srubno-Andronovo “world” of steppe and forest-steppe cattle-breeding cultures of Northern Eurasia.

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Holocene Environmental Changes in Western Hungary

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200035748 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 691-699 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Zsuzsanna Szántó ◽

Zsófia Medzihradszky

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Accumulation Rate ◽

Sediment Accumulation ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Late Neolithic ◽

Forest Clearing ◽

Plant Cultivation ◽

Radiocarbon Data ◽

Middle Bronze Age

We review the reasons for change in paleoecological conditions and their effects on different cultures at the beginning and during the Holocene period in western Hungary using radiocarbon data combined with paleoecological and paleolimnological results. Two sites were investigated in the southern and northern part of the ancient bay of Balaton Lake: Keszthely-Úsztatómajor and Főnyed I. 14C dating of 2 core samples represented a chronology from 11,000 cal BC to 2000 cal BC (10,700 BP to 3700 BP) and from 6200 cal BC to 1200 cal BC (7300 BP to 3000 BP), respectively. A relatively constant inverse sediment accumulation rate was observed in both cases (23 yr/cm and 33 yr/cm, respectively). In the case of Főnyed I, a sharp break was observed in the sedimentation curve around 6000–4800 cal BC (6000 BP). Changes in the vegetation due to human activity were observed in a larger extent only at the end of Late Neolithic, with the most significant changes detected in the landscape coinciding with the presence of Lengyel III culture in the region. The appearance of higher amounts of pollen of cereals at the sites proved the presence of crop cultivation. However, the role of plant cultivation may have been limited for the ancient inhabitants of the Kis-Balaton region due to a limited amount of soil suitable for agriculture and due to the extensive water table. Further changes in vegetation were observed during the Late Copper Age (Baden culture) and the period of Early and Middle Bronze Age, respectively. Signs of forest clearing during the period have not been detected and the increased peak of Fagus indicates climatic change. The low intensity of anthropogenic activity should not be attributed to geographic isolation.

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Holocene Lacustrine Carbonate Formation; Old Ideas in the Light of New Radiocarbon Data from a Single Site in Central Hungary

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200042879 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 1017-1021 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M Jenei ◽

S Gulyás ◽

P Sümegi ◽

M Molnár

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Carbonate Formation ◽

Hot Climate ◽

Carbonate Deposition ◽

Radiocarbon Data ◽

Lacustrine Carbonate ◽

Partial Desiccation ◽

Lacustrine Carbonates ◽

Different Parts

Lacustrine carbonate deposition in Hungary has been traditionally interpreted as the outcome of the dry, hot climate prevailing between 7500 and 5000 14C yr BP (hereafter BP) (∼6400 and 3800 BC), triggering the partial desiccation of minor ponds and lakes. A comparative analysis of 5 14C results from the site of Csólyospálos, central Hungary, with those of other Hungarian lacustrine carbonates yielded stunning new results. According to these new dates, carbonate deposition must have initiated much earlier, possibly around 10,000–11,000 BP (9500–11,000 BC) in the Carpathian Basin. Furthermore, the formation of lacustrine carbonates must have come to an end at very different times in different parts of the basin, contrasting previous views on the uniform and synchronous cessation of lacustrine carbonate formation in Hungary. According to the newest results presented here, carbonate deposition in the southern and southeastern parts of the basin ceased around 6000 BP (∼4900 BC). Meanwhile, in the central parts, deposition continued as long as the terminal Bronze Age (∼1300 BC).

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Patterns in the Population History of Northern Eurasia from the Mesolithic to the Early Bronze Age, Based on Craniometry and Genetics

Archaeology Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia (Russian-language) ◽

10.17746/1563-0102.2021.49.4.140-151 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 140-151

Author(s):

A. G. Kozintsev ◽

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Population History ◽

Early Bronze Age ◽

Northern Eurasia ◽

History Of

Цель исследования — рассмотреть краниометрические данные о популяционной изменчивости на территории Северной Евразии под углом зрения генетических и отчасти лингвистических фактов. Измерения 66 серий мужских черепов разных эпох (от мезолита до раннего бронзового века) с этой территории обработаны статистическими методами, специально предназначенными для изучения пространственных закономерностей, в частности градиентов. С помощью неметрического многомерного шкалирования матрицы расстояний D2 (с поправкой на численность) получена двумерная проекция взаимоположения групп, построено минимальное остовное дерево, показывающее кратчайший путь между точками в многомерном пространстве. Обнаруживаемые генетическими и краниометрическими данными восточно-западные градиенты на территории Северной Евразии свидетельствуют, видимо, не столько о смешении, сколько о незавершенности процесса дифференциации бореального надрасового ствола. Западный компонент, представленный в Сибири и Центральной Азии носителями афанасьевской культуры, вероятно, мало повлиял на генетический облик местных популяций. Восточный компонент, проникший в неолите из Забайкалья в Прибайкалье, смешался там с автохтонным палеосибирским. Главный генетический маркер коренного населения — аутосомный компонент ANE — присутствовал в Сибири с верхнего палеолита. Автохтонными следует считать и обе евразийские формации — северную и южную. Статистический анализ позволил включить в их состав новые группы, причем границы первой расширились на восток до Кузнецкой котловины, а второй — на запад до Среднего Прииртышья. Участие восточно-европейских групп в генезисе северной евразийской формации и протоуральской общности обнаружить не удается.

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