Deconstructing the concept of Subneolithic farming in the southeastern Baltic
详细信息 查看全文
- 作者：Gytis Piličiauskas ; Dalia Kisielienė…
- 关键词：AMS dates ; Neolithisation ; Archaeozoology ; Archaeobotany ; Pollen ; Lithuania
- 刊名：Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
- 出版年：2017
- 出版时间：March 2017
- 年：2017
- 卷：26
- 期：2
- 页码：183-193
- 全文大小：
- 刊物类别：Earth and Environmental Science
- 刊物主题：Paleontology; Biogeosciences; Climate Change; Anthropology; Archaeology;
- 出版者：Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- ISSN：1617-6278
- 卷排序：26
文摘
The paper presents a critical review of the zooarchaeological, macrobotanical, palynological and archaeological data from Lithuania and their previous interpretations, which formerly served as the basis for the concept of development of pre-Neolithic or Subneolithic low intensity farming and/or livestock breeding in the eastern Baltic region. Moreover, it presents the first direct AMS dates from the crop remains and domestic animal bones discovered in Lithuanian Subneolithic and Neolithic settlements. An investigation proved that most of, or possibly all, the early farming “evidence” came from the wrong identification of the plant and animal species and incorrect dating of crop remains and domestic animal bones. The errors of dating were caused by the fresh water reservoir effect being ignored when dating the bulk lacustrine sediment samples, by the failure to evaluate the impact of the palimpsest and bioturbation phenomena on the formation of an archaeological layer, and by insufficient attention to stratigraphy and spatial documentation of the finds during very extensive archaeological excavations in the second half of the 20th century. To date, no credible evidence is available in Lithuania that domestic animals had been kept and crops grown before the Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures in 3200/2700 cal bc. However, this does not mean such evidence may not appear in the future, provided direct AMS dating of animal and crop residues from Subneolithic contexts continues, and systematic macrobotanical studies finally start not only in the lake settlement and fishing sites, but also in higher altitude areas.