Altheim Culture (sometimes Altheim Group , Altheim Culture , Altheim Culture ) is a “cultural phenomenon” of the Early Neolithic, around 3800–3400/3300. BC e., flourished in the period 3650 - 3450 BC. e. [1] . It is a local culture variant of funnel-shaped cups [2] .
The name comes from an earthen building near Altheim- Essenbach in Lower Bavaria . The definition of culture based on local finds was given by archaeologist Paul Reinecke .
Culture was common in Lower Bavaria and in the south of the Upper Palatinate . In the west reaches the Leh River, and in the east - the Inn River.
Exceptionally well-preserved objects of this culture in Pestenaker (Weil County).
Feature
Altheim ceramics had a very characteristic appearance. Unadorned vessels with fingerprints or arcade cornices and clay layers were common.
Flintlock tools of the Altheim culture are most often made of coarse pieces of flint tool. Flint sickles from Bayersdorf were used for harvesting, a technical innovation compared to previous composite sickles .
The burial places of the Altham culture are almost unknown. It is assumed that the majority of the population was buried in a yet unknown way. In Ergolding- Fischergasse, a person was buried in a sitting position, and in Stefanspaching , two sedentary graves and one burial with cremated remains.
Altheim culture is the first archaeological culture in southern Bavaria to use copper . Nevertheless, few copper objects were found, among them - a copper ax from Altheim.
Settlements
Of the 200 known archaeological sites, the majority are settlements on solid mineral soil. Some are surrounded by moats.
Earthworks such as ditches were very common in the early Neolithic. Often, an earthen building refers to a whole group of settlements and, possibly, is the central point of the community. These earthworks were usually built on hilly terraces or steep slopes. The territory of the settlement was usually limited to three ditches (on the cliff side, ditches were usually absent).
Along with mineral settlements in Bavaria, pile constructions are found on the shores of lakes and islands. Numerous building elements of these buildings and even fabric items (for example, a pointed cap) have been preserved in moist soil, which allows us to significantly expand our knowledge about their lifestyle and chronology.
From houses built on solid mineral soil, only the foundations are preserved.
Ration
Excavations in Pestenaker revealed the remains of cows, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs and horses. For a long time it was believed that the horses were domesticated. New studies show that horse bones belonged to stunted wild tarps that could be eaten along with deer, wild boars, various birds and fish, bears, beavers, and even turtles.
Literature
- Paul Reinecke, Altheim (Niederbayern). Befestigte jungneolithische siedlung
- Jürgen Driehaus, Die Altheimer Gruppe und das Jungneolithikum in Mitteleuropa , Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum zu Mainz, 1960
Notes
- ↑ R. Prinoth-Fornwagner; TR Nicklaus (1995): Der Mann im Eis, Resultate der Radiokarbon-Datierung. In: K. Spindler, E. Rastbichler-Zissernig, H. Wilfing, D. zur Nedden (Hrsg.). Der Mann im Eis: Neue Funde und Ergebnisse. Berlin: Springer, p79.
- ↑ Approaching Monumentality in Archeology - Google Books