Stone Age and Bronze Age landscapes in Scania, Sweden.

Stone Age and Bronze Age landscapes in Scania, Sweden. KARL-GORAN SJOGREN (ed.). Ecology and Economy in Stone Age andBronze Age Bronze Age,period in the development of technology when metals were first used regularly in the manufacture of tools and weapons. Pure copper and bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, were used indiscriminately at first; this early period is sometimes called the Scania. 218 pages, 50 illustrations, 32 tables. 2006. Lund:Riksantikvarieambetet; 978-91-7209-445-1 hardback. PER KARSTEN & BJORN NILSSON (ed.). In the Wake of a Woman:Stone Age Pioneering of Northeastern Scania, Sweden, 10000-5000 BC, theArup Settlements (Riksantikvarieambetet Skrifter 63). 200 pages, 138b&w & colour illustrations. 2006. Stockholm:Riksantikvarieambetet; 978-91-7209412-3 hardback. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two new studies from Sweden present the results of investigationinto the settled landscape. One examines the Stone Age and Bronze Age ona 40kin long line along the Scanian West Coast, the other considers theLate Palaeolithic and Mesolithic site around Arup in Northeast Scania.'Rescue' opportunities brought about both sets ofinvestigations, and both resulting works attempt, in their own way, tobridge the gap between reporting and opening the subject to widerconcerns (Sj6gren) and a wider public (Karsten & Nilsson). Ecology and economy in Stone Age and Bronze Age Scania This book presents and interprets the environmental data from theStone Age and Bronze Age obtained during rescue investigations preparingfor the construction of the nearly 40km long Scanian West Coast Railway.It is divided into several thematic sections, the editor and MatsRegnell being the main contributors. A concluding section by KristianKristiansen presents a model for the relationship between cosmology cosmology,area of science that aims at a comprehensive theory of the structure and evolution of the entire physical universe.Modern Cosmological Theories andeconomy in the Bronze Age cultural landscape. The book makes available a large amount of detailed data ofimportance for an understanding of the cultural-environmentaldevelopment in the study area: the geological, topographical andhydrological hy��drol��o��gy?n.The scientific study of the properties, distribution, and effects of water on the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere. settings, sea-level change, vegetation history (pollenanalysis Analysis of the distribution of pollen grains of various species contained in surface layer deposits, especially peat bogs and lake sediments, from which a record of past climate may be inferred. ) and the introduction and development of agriculture. The dataare not optimal because the sampling locations were restricted by theproject's rescue strategy, but the comprehensive sampling of pollenand plant macrofossils from sediments and settlement surfaces underpinsa fascinating picture of the development of agriculture. The central section 6, written by Regnell & Sjogren,synthesises data from all the different lines of investigation andcombines it with results from other investigations in southernScandinavia into one fascinating, if sketchy, impression of the possiblesignificance of the introduction and development of agriculture in theregion. The authors' distance to the subject and discussion ofalternatives to their own interpretations serve the totality well. Of particular interest are the palynological indications that theagricultural landscape seems to show significant regional differencesalready in the Early Neolithic: western Scania is apparently dominatedby 'wheat' agriculture (einkorn ein��korn?n.A one-seeded wheat (Triticum monococcum) grown in arid regions. Native to southwest Asia, it is one of the first crops to be domesticated by Neolithic peoples. , emmer and spelt speltSubspecies (Triticum aestivum spelta) of wheat that has lax spikes and spikelets containing two light-red kernels. Triticum dicoccon was cultivated by the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Swiss lake dwellers; it is now grown for livestock forage and used in baked ), whereaseastern Scania is dominated by naked barley and bread wheat. Also ofinterest is the fact that indications of Neolithic cultivation are, insome cases, lacking even though evidence of grazing appears quitevisible. This could represent the well-known problem concerning thedetection of cereal pollen--or reflect local differences in agriculturalpractices. It is worth noting that if a strong representation of nitrophilousweeds truly reflects manuring, the data presented here indicate thatmanuring, generally assumed to have begun in the Late Bronze Age or theEarly Iron Age, may have started already in the Early Neolithic. The finding of the highest concentrations of cereal grains and'weed' seeds specifically in the corner postholes of twoBronze Age long-houses is discussed. Mention is made of the fact thatsuch finds in Iron Age houses are often 'heavily concentrated'in one or a few postholes. The authors prefer to see this as the resultof accidental burning rather than a consequence of foundation offerings.However, the latter interpretation seems to be supported by the factthat it is not unusual to find one intact flat ceramic bowl in one ofthe corner postholes of Danish Iron Age houses--even those which havenot burnt down--whereas the appearance of intact vessels in postholes isotherwise exceptional. Kristiansen's final section on Bronze Age cosmology andeconomy widens the publication's interdisciplinary scope. Ingeneral, it provides an improved and inspiring basis for furtherdiscussion concerning research into environmental issues such as theintroduction and development of agriculture. In the wake of a woman The book, which consists of several sections written by differentauthors and with Bjorn Nilsson as a central contributor, gives asystematic and well-organised overview of the investigated featuresaround Arup and their prehistoric environment. It takes as its startingpoint Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the the Mesolithic Barum grave (7010-6540 cal. BC), which wasdiscovered in 1939, 9km southeast of the recent excavation site. Thepublication adopts the 45-year-old woman, whose remains were found inthe grave, and who apparently had given birth to several children, asits interface to the humans who inhabited the Arup site. The Arup site was investigated as a rescue excavation in 2002.Without being precise about which excavation methods were used where, ashort introductory discussion of the limitations and conditions ofrescue excavation makes it clear that very different methods ofrecording and excavation were used across the [12 000m.sup.2]investigation of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlement layers;these showed no preservation of bone or wood and were partly covered bya Bronze Age cultural layer. The purpose of this strategy was to targetthe available resources on the important 'contexts' and, atthe same time, gain subsurface information from a larger settlementarea. The nine 'contexts' excavated in detail contain featuresinterpreted as: five huts, two 'sites', one ritualflint-burning site and one pit with traces of a ritual pole. On thebasis of geological observations and radiocarbon dates for charcoalfragments from the excavated features, and with very little use oftraditional typological dating--which the editors seem to distrust (p.18)--the material is dated to within a time interval extending for morethan 5000 years, from the Late Palaeolithic (Ahrensburgian?) to the LateMesolithic. The detailed, comprehensive and graphically well-presentedenvironmental section shows the appearance of the Arup site during theYoldia regression around 9600 cal. BC and illustrates how it wassubsequently located on a small river connecting a lake in thehinterland to the sea, until it was partially flooded by the Littorinatransgression around 4000 cal BC. From a traditional typological point of view, the dates given forthe samples are somewhat confusing. The suggested Ahrensburgian'context 1' looks very much like Early Maglemosian material,with the exception of a transverse arrowhead A transverse arrowhead is a type of trapezoidal projectile point most commonly associated with the European Mesolithic and Neolithic periods although it is also found in other regions and periods. with micro-damage, whichlooks to me like typical damage from use as a projectile projectilesomething thrown forward.projectile syringesee blow dart.projectile vomitingforceful vomiting, usually without preceding retching, in which the vomitus is thrown well forward. head (p. 55).In the text this is interpreted as an Ahtensburgian microlith mi��cro��lithn.A minute calculus, usually multiple and resembling coarse sand.microlitha minute concretion or calculus. (Zonhovenpoint or trapeze). The finding of a convincing classical LatePalaeolithic 'Federmesser' (p. 70), 50m NE of context 1, doesnot provide a pre-Mesolithic date for the context itself. Thedistribution patterns for lithic lith��ic?1?adj.Consisting of or relating to stone or rock.Adj. 1. lithic - of or containing lithium2. lithic - relating to or composed of stone; "lithic sandstone" waste and microliths look, furthermore,suspiciously like what one would expect to find in a standardMaglemosian 'Ulkestrup II' dwelling unit; it consists of oneconcentration of microliths, with the main concentration of burnt flintlying 2m to the E-NE of this, and both located within a mainconcentration of lithic waste 4-5m in diameter. In addition to examplesin Scandinavia, Northern Germany Northern Germany is the geographic area in the north of Germany. The native German concept of northern Germany is called Norddeutschland. Northern German StatesNorddeutschland is the geographic area of five German states: Bremen Hamburg and England, this type has now alsobeen observed in Early Mesolithic contexts in Southern Germany andBelgium. The remaining finds presented also appear very Maglemosian, withthe most convincing Late Mesolithic indicator being the transversearrowhead (regarded as an Ahrensburgian microlith). One is left with thefeeling that there are problems with some of the radiocarbon dates,possibly due to bioturbation bi��o��tur��ba��tion?n.The stirring or mixing of sediment or soil by organisms, especially by burrowing or boring.[German : bio-, bio- + Latin turb . A number of questions remain unanswered:amongst them, why should the concentration of burnt Maglemosian flint in'context 8' represent a ritual feature and not be the resultof a burnt-down log-cabin as in the Finish burnt-down pit dwellings withparts of the burnt timber preserved? This could probably producetemperatures high enough to burn the flint. Why are the dwellingreconstructions covered with hides? Where much better and lighter birchbark is available, the use of hides for tent coverings generally seemsto be restricted to winter conditions where their insulating qualitiesare important. Why should the pole in context 7 be a totem pole totem poleCarved and painted vertical log, constructed by many Northwest Coast Indian peoples. The poles display mythological images, usually animal spirits, whose significance is their association with the lineage. Each figure represents a type of family crest. ? And soon. The book makes a convincing case that the Arup site contained theremains of several Mesolithic dwellings, mainly from the Maglemosianperiod. A more consistent analysis and documentation of the relevantfeatures would, however, have made the individual interpretations moreconvincing to the professional reader. The well-illustrated insertedsections with background information of varying relevance to the Arupsite, as well as the title and design of the book, make one wonderwhether the publication's target audience is the archaeologicalresearch community or the interested lay-public. The book is anattractive attempt at engaging the latter, but this reviewer has somedoubts about whether it will persuade the former. In the Wake of a Womanmay usefully be read in tandem Adv. 1. in tandem - one behind the other; "ride tandem on a bicycle built for two"; "riding horses down the path in tandem"tandem with a Finnish collection edited byHelena Ranta (2002: Huts and houses, Stone Age and Early Metal Agebuildings in Finland. Helsinki: National Board of Antiquities) whichcontains much pertinent material, including observations on the remainsof burnt Late Mesolithic/Neolithic log-cabins. Ole Gron, Langelands Museum, Jens Winthersvej 12, 5900 Rudkobing,Denmark (Email: olegron_lmr@Yahoo.dk)