Making a Neolithic Non-Megalithic Monument : : A TRB Burial Ground at Dalfsen (the Netherlands), C. 3000-2750 Cal. BC.

• Author: Van der Velde, H. M.
• TeilnehmendeR: Bouma, N.; Raemaekers, D.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Sidestone Press,, 2022.; ©2022.
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (214 pages)

In 2015 at Dalfsen (the Netherlands) archaeologists made an amazing discovery. They found a burial ground dating from the TRB-period (3000-2750 BC) comprising 141 burial pits. The TRB is dated in the last phase of the Middle Neolithic period and is well known for its megalithic monuments which are widespread through large parts of northern Europe. Until recently few non-megalithic burial grounds were known and the find of the Dalfsen burials created new opportunities to study the mortuary ritual in more detail. It sheds light on the social organisation of local TRB communities in this part of the world. The results not only provide evidence for the existence of large multi-person burial mounds during the TRB-period, but also provide intriguing evidence of continuity from this period to the period of the Corded Ware culture - a transition now often interpreted in terms of migration. This volume is the first scientific publication dealing with this unique site. It contains a detailed description and interpretation of the site. "A catalogue in which all graves and finds are described in detail, is available separately.":https://www.sidestone.com/books/making-a-neolithic-non-megalithic-monument-catalogue.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 The themes of the study -- The TRB West Group in the Netherlands and the archaeology of non-megalithic burials -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 The Neolithic sequence of the Netherlands -- 2.2.1 The Swifterbant culture (5000‑4000/3400 cal. BC) -- 2.2.2 The TRB culture (4000/3400‑2750 cal. BC) -- 2.2.3 The Corded Ware culture (2850‑2500 cal. BC) -- 2.3 Regionality, the concept of culture and the reconstruction of society through the study of burials -- 2.3.1 The archaeology of cultures in prehistory -- 2.4 Non-megalithic burials -- 2.4.1 Megalithic versus non-megalithic burials -- 2.4.2 The archaeological record of non-megalithic burials -- Dalfsen: Excavating a burial ground from the TRB period -- 3.1 A brief overview of the site: From Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to medieval farmers -- 3.2 The landscape at Dalfsen -- 3.3 The features dating to the TRB period -- 3.3.1 The excavation -- 3.3.2 Processing the features -- 3.3.3 From 2D to 3D features: Building a GIS system -- 3.4 The grave pits -- 3.4.1 Introduction -- 3.4.2 The shape, size and profile of the grave pits -- 3.4.3 Architectural remains of the graves -- 3.4.4 The orientation of the grave pits -- 3.4.5 Human remains -- 3.4.6 Grave typology -- 3.4.7 Grave goods -- 3.4.8 Spatial relations between the grave pits -- 3.5 Other TRB features -- 3.5.1 The earthen monument -- 3.5.2 Linear structures, cult buildings and houseplans -- 3.6 The Neolithic afterlife: Remains from the Corded Ware culture and the Bell Beaker culture -- 3.7 The phasing of the burial ground -- 3.8 The burial ground at Dalfsen in its spatial and cultural context -- Pottery -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Classification and features of the pottery -- 4.2.1 Decoration -- 4.2.2 Applied features: Lugs and bosses -- 4.2.3 Bases -- 4.2.4 Perforations.

4.3 Description of the pottery -- 4.3.1 Introduction -- 4.3.2 Tureens (cat. nos. 1‑7) -- 4.3.3 Tureen-amphoras (cat. nos. 8‑31) -- 4.3.4 Amphoras (cat. nos. 32‑54) -- 4.3.5 Bowls (cat. nos. 55‑85) -- 4.3.6 Necked bowls (cat. nos. 86‑88) -- 4.3.7 Shouldered bowls (cat. nos. 89‑95) -- 4.3.8 Funnel beakers, cups and other drinking vessels (cat. nos. 96‑104) -- 4.3.9 Collared flasks (cat. nos. 105‑106) -- 4.3.10 Miniature vessels (cat. nos. 107‑113) -- 4.3.11 Miscellaneous vessels (cat. nos. 114‑122) -- 4.4 Dating and chronology -- 4.4.1 Dating and typochronology -- 4.4.2 Dating and typochronology at Dalfsen -- 4.4.3 Funeral ritual reflected by the pottery -- 4.4.4 Frequency of burial activity -- 4.4.5 The distribution of activity dated by the presence of pottery -- 4.4.6 Pottery, dating and the ditch structure -- 4.5 Pottery making -- 4.5.1 The ethnographic basis of analysis -- 4.5.2 Pottery making at Dalfsen -- 4.5.3 Decoration -- 4.5.4 Tidying up, mistakes and corrections -- 4.6 Perforations and maintenance -- 4.6.1 Introduction -- 4.6.2 Cylindrical perforations -- 4.6.3 Conical and hourglass-shaped perforations -- 4.6.4 The function of perforations -- 4.6.5 Significance and discussion -- 4.7 Discussion -- Geochemical analyses of the ceramics -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Methodology of the pottery analyses -- 5.3 Results of the pXRF analysis -- 5.4 Results of the ICP-AES and thin-section analyses -- 5.5 Conclusions -- Flint, stone and amber -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Flint -- 6.2.1 Introduction -- 6.2.2 Description -- 6.2.3 Combinations of artefacts -- 6.2.4 Spatial distribution of the flint grave goods within the burial ground -- 6.3 Stone axes -- 6.4 Amber objects -- The Palaeoecological evidence -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Palynological analysis of pot contents and agricultural layers.

7.2.1 Results of scanning the pollen from the agricultural layers -- 7.2.2 Pollen analysis of the agricultural layers -- 7.2.3 Discussion: Absolute and relative dating -- 7.2.4 Vegetation reconstruction -- 7.2.5 Conclusions -- 7.2.6 Results of the pollen analysis of the TRB vessel contents -- 7.3 Six TRB vessels and their function: Chemical analysis of organic surface residues -- 7.3.1 Introduction -- 7.3.2 Choice of vessels -- 7.3.3 Methods -- 7.3.4 ATR-FTIR results and discussion -- 7.3.5 Archaeological interpretation and conclusions -- 7.4 Conclusions -- The Dalfsen burial ground as a means of reconstructing TRB local social organisation -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 From burial ground to living community: Burial archaeology -- 8.3 The Dalfsen burial ground as social group -- 8.3.1 The dating of the burial ground -- 8.3.2 Who was buried at Dalfsen? -- 8.4 The anthropology of the Dalfsen burial ground -- 8.4.1 Individuals -- 8.4.2 Marriage patterns -- 8.4.3 Other social patterns -- 8.5 The earthen monument as singular event -- 8.6 The Dalfsen burial ground as stone-less megalithic monument -- 8.7 The western edge of the TRB world: A region between cultures -- 8.8 Looking back in time -- 8.9 Non-TRB neighbours: Vlaardingen-Stein-Wartberg -- 8.10 Conclusions -- The cultural biography of the burial ground: The long-term history of the site -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 The concept of the cultural biography of landscape -- 9.3 Tabula rasa? -- 9.4 The shaping and rearranging of a monumental landscape during the TRB period -- 9.5 Creating new ancestors during the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age -- 9.6 A maintained woodland: The absence of features from the Middle Iron Age until the Early Middle Ages -- 9.7 New meaning for new people -- Literature -- Blank Page.