An Odyssey along the river Meuse New perspectives on old Dutch LBK research (1925-2001)

© Paul Maassen

An Odyssey along the Meuse

The LBK revisited:

“forgotten research" into the early farming communities of the LBK

Objective:

Communal processing and publishing of old excavation data and formulation of directions for future research

Because the story is far from an ending, but worthwhile communicating

Research framework

Inventorying of finds (locating, ordering, splitting, describing).

Archival research (correspondence, theses, reports, interviews field drawings, etc.)

Specialist researchPiet van de Velde (pottery)Marjorie de Grooth (flint)Annemieke Verbaas (stone)Annelou van Gijn (ochre)Fred Brounen (non-LBK)Corrie Bakels (botany)

Developments - Modderman

Sittard 1949-1953

Elsloo 1950-1968

Developments – Ongoing research amateur archaeologists

Developments – the Odyssey project

Projects Odyssee

Finds

status Total LBK pottery Total Neolithic pottery

Total Iron age pottery Total Flint Total

stone Total bone Samples botany

Beek-Molensteeg ready 887 (224 versierd) 16 - 1920 725 - yes

Catsop-Spoorlijn ready 237 (109) 329 83 1 no

Berg aan de Maas- Pastoor Eijckstraat ready 88 (11) - - 29 10 yes

Echt-Annendaal (HVR183) ready 16 (14) 74 1 224 15 1 -

Geleen-Bergstraat ready 239 (108) 46 9 no

Geleen-Centraal Laboratorium ready 47 (31) 25 9 1 no

Geleen-Seipgensstraat ready 351 (135) - - 408 115 20 yes

Geleen-Urmonderbaan ready 1432 (526) 338 243 4 yes

Maastricht-Belvedère ready 638 139 179 2218 139 3 yes

Maastricht-Caberg ready 783 (196) 370 2 101 no

Maastricht-Klinkers ready 9426 (3897) 1225 4114 6557 4003 104 yes

Maastricht-Sint Christoffelplein ready 54 (13) 6 1 no

Stein-Haven ready no

Extra projects

Beek-Stationsweg gesplitst 112 - - 25 4 2 no

Sittard-Villa Vencken in depot no

Stein-Steinderveld ready 222 (90) - - 134 13 - no

Geleen -Daniken ? yes

Geleen - Ten Eysden ? yes

Stein-Kerkweg in depot

14532 (5355) 1454 4664 12261 5470

Loads of finds

Preliminary results: focus on lithics

Comparing Raw material sources

Spatial relationships between settlement clusters and flint sources

Transfer of knowledge

Preliminary results: focus on the settlement system

Providing insight into the diversity of the LBK

By first investigating and publishing the basic sites and information available

Connecting the dots!

SteinStein

ElslooElsloo

BeekBeek

GeleenGeleen

SittardSittard

Preliminary results:pottery

The Dutch Bandkeramic--an analysis of pot decoration--

• CHRONOLOGY: calendar years, calibration-curve, wiggles, relative order

• POTTERY: sherds, sherd families• COUNTING METHODOLOGY: decoration

analysis, attributes & variables, selection of relevant variables

• COUNTING PRACTICES: sherds, sherd families, find units, percentages

Definition, comments

Main dimensions of LBK-pottery decoration:

Structuring

Main motifs

Type of spatula

Attributes or Components

Rim decoration

(etc.)

Definition, analysis

A pottery decoration chronology for the Dutch LBK

basis:

168 find units with at least 10 sherd families

A relative chronology for the Dutch LBK

• methodically: (very) low numbers of attributes per variable

• archaeologically: numbers of sherd families per find unit

SOME OBJECTIONS:

CONSEQUENCES:

•margins of error in counts/percentages chronological equivocation

A relative chronology

Comparison with earlier chrono-schemes

If Stehli’s Haus Generationen do have equal lengths

(ca 16 years each),

then the phases of the proposed relative chronology in

the right-hand column have unequal lengths

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

vdVelde

XV

XIV

XIII

XII

XI

X

IX

VIII

VII

VI

V

IV

IIIIII

Stehli

1b

1c

1d

2a

2b

2c

2d

Modderman

IIältere LBK

IIImittlereLBK

IVjüngereLBK

VjüngsteLBK

Meier-Arendt

A relative chronology for the Dutch LBK

First and ineluctable CONCLUSION:First and ineluctable CONCLUSION:

A ceramic date is nothing but

a CERAMIC date

(that’s all there is to it)

A relative chronology for the Dutch LBK

Relative chronological positions of the

Dutch LBK find complexes

A relative chronology for the Dutch LBK…

And some Belgian sites

A relative chronology for the Dutch and Belgian LBK finds

References

• Jadin, I. (a.o.), 2003: Trois petits tours et puis s’en vont .... Bruxelles: IRSNB. • Lodewijckx, M., 1990: “Les deux sites rubanés de Wange et d’Overhespen.” In D. Cahen

& M. Otte (éds.): Rubané et Cardial. Liège: ÉRAUL 39; pp.105-117.• Otte, M. (réd.), 1984: Les Fouilles de la Place Saint–Lambert à Liège. Liège: ERAUL 18. • Rousselle, R., 1984: “La céramique danubienne.” In M. Otte (réd.): Les fouilles de la

Place Saint–Lambert à Liège. Liège: ERAUL 18(1): 153–170.• Sloot, P. van der (et al.), 2003: Le Mésolithique et le Néolithique du site Saint-Lambert à

Liège. Synthèse des données et acquis récents. Notae Praehistoricae 23: 79-104.• Trocki, P. (et al.), 1988: Waremme-Longchamps, a fortified LBK site: preliminary report.

Bulletin SRBA&P 99 : 115-128.• Dohrn–Ihmig, Margarete, 1979: Bandkeramik an Mittel- und Niederrhein. Rheinische

Ausgrabungen 19: 191-362. • Modderman, Pieter J.R., 1970: Linearbandkeramik aus Elsloo und Stein. Analecta

Praehistorica Leidensia 3• Stehli, Petar, 1994: “Chronologie der Bandkeramik im Merzbachtal.” In J. Lüning & P.

Stehli (Hrg.): Die Bandkeramik im Merzbachtal auf der Aldenhovener Platte. Köln/Bonn: Habelt (Rheinische Ausgrabungen, Bnd 36); SS. 79–191

• Velde, Pieter van de, in druk 2012: The chronology of the Dutch LBK --a new attempt. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 50

Odyssey travel companions

Corrie Bakels

Fred Brounen

Wim Dijkman

Wim Hendrix

Annelou van Gijn

Marjorie de Grooth

Adé Porreij-Lyklema

Tamara de Reus

Huub Schmitz

Annemieke Verbaas

Harry Vromen

Jean-Pierre de Warrimont

Follow us on:

WWW.BANDKERAMIEK.NLComing attractions:

Presentations:Brugge 2012 – article Notae praehistorica 32Brugge 2012 – PosterLeiden 2013 – Steentijddag 2 februari 2013 (Flint in the Odyssey by M. de Grooth)

Forthcoming Publications:Final report (2013)Synthesizing article (2013)

EAA Pilzen 2013 (?) - Something out of the ordinary? Interpreting the diversity in the uniformity of the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik in Central and Western Europe

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