Trypillia Mega-Sites and European Prehistory

Trypillia Mega-Sites and European Prehistory
Author: Johannes Müller
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2016-01-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317247922

In European prehistory population agglomerations of more than 10,000 inhabitants per site are a seldom phenomenon. A big surprise to the archaeological community was the discovery of Trypillia mega-sites of more than 250 hectares and with remains of more than 2000 houses by a multidisciplinary approach of Soviet and Ukrainian archaeology, including aerial photography, geophysical prospection and excavations nearly 50 years ago. The extraordinary development took place at the border of the North Pontic Forest Steppe and Steppe zone ca. 4100–3400 BCE. Since then many questions arose which are of main relevance: Why, how and under which environmental conditions did Trypillia mega-sites develop? How long did they last? Were social and/or ecological reasons responsible for this social experiment? Are Trypillia and the similar sized settlement of Uruk two different concepts of social behaviour? Paradigm change in fieldwork and excavation strategies enabled research teams during the last decade to analyse the mega-sites in their spatial and social complexity. High precision geophysics, target excavations and a new design of systematic field strategies deliver empirical data representative for the large sites. Archaeological research contributed immensely to aspects of anthropogenic induced steppe development and subsistence concepts that did not reach the carrying capacities. Probabilistic models based on 14C-dates made the contemporaneity of the mega-site house structures most probable. In consequence, Trypillia mega-sites are an independent European phenomenon that contrasts both concepts of urbanism and social stratification that is seen with similar demographic figures in Mesopotamia. The new Trypillia research can be read as the methodological progress in European archaeology.

Early Urbanism in Europe

Early Urbanism in Europe
Author: Bisserka Gaydarska
Publisher:
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2020-08-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9783110664935

For over 60 years, the accepted view of cultural evolution was that the world's first cities developed in the Fertile Crescent in the 4th millennium BC. This view overlooks the emergence of a much neglected class of sites--the Trypillia megasites of the Ukrainian forest-steppe. The megasites were in fact larger and earlier than the Mesopotamian cities and demonstrate an alternative pathway towards cities without strong central administration and any later urban legacy. In this book, a team of international authors examines the hypothesis of independent Eastern European urbanism using the evidence gathered from the multi-disciplinary investigation of the megasite of Nebelivka.

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia
Author: Miljana Radivojević
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 700
Release: 2021-12-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1803270438

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the evolution of early metallurgy in the Balkans. It demonstrates that far from being a rare and elite practice, the earliest metallurgy in the world was a common and communal craft activity.

Megasites in Prehistoric Europe

Megasites in Prehistoric Europe
Author: Bisserka Gaydarska
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2022-10-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1009090666

This is an Element about some of the largest sites known in prehistoric Europe – sites so vast that they often remain undiscussed for lack of the theoretical or methodological tools required for their understanding. Here, the authors use a relational, comparative approach to identify not only what made megasites but also what made megasites so special and so large. They have selected a sample of megasites in each major period of prehistory – Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages – with a detailed examination of a single representative megasite for each period. The relational approach makes explicit comparisons between smaller, more 'normal' sites and the megasites using six criteria – scale, temporality, deposition / monumentality, formal open spaces, performance and congregational catchment. The authors argue that many of the largest European prehistoric megasites were congregational places.

Power from Below in Premodern Societies

Power from Below in Premodern Societies
Author: T. L. Thurston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2021-10-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316515397

This volume challenges traditional narratives on power, moving away from elite-centered models and focusing instead on the archaeology of commoners.

Eurasia at the Dawn of History

Eurasia at the Dawn of History
Author: Manuel Fernández-Götz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2017-01-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1316943178

Our current world is characterized by life in cities, the existence of social inequalities, and increasing individualization. When and how did these phenomena arise? What was the social and economic background for the development of hierarchies and the first cities? The authors of this volume analyze the processes of centralization, cultural interaction, and social differentiation that led to the development of the first urban centres and early state formations of ancient Eurasia, from the Atlantic coasts to China. The chronological framework spans a period from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age, with a special focus on the early first millennium BC. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach structured around the concepts of identity and materiality, this book addresses the appearance of a range of key phenomena that continue to shape our world.

Habitus?

Habitus?
Author: Slawomir Kadrow
Publisher: Scales of Transformation
Total Pages:
Release: 2019-06-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789088907845

The issue of the social dimension of technology and transformation, seen from the perspective of 'Habitus', has repeatedly been discussed in the scientific discourse exploring prehistoric and archaic communities. However, the complexity of related phenomena constantly provokes new approaches in different archaeological contexts, which leads to interesting findings.By presenting the latest studies on the social dimension of technology and transformation, this book contributes to a better understanding of a system of embodied dispositions hidden within Bourdieu's concept of 'Habitus'. These studies mainly cover European areas; from Scandinavia to Italy, the Balkans to the British Isles, and Ukraine to the Northern Caucasus. In addition, ethnoarchaeological field studies from distant Indonesia are used to interpret the Hallstatt Culture in Europe. The papers span a chronological dimension from the Neolithic to the beginning of the Iron Age and in summary include a diachronic perspective. Rock art, Trypillian megasites, stone axes and adzes, metallurgy, wagons, archery items, ceramics produced on potter's wheels, mechanisms of cultural genesis and dualistic social systems are examples of the topics discussed. This book also provides comments on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice, including the concept of 'Habitus'.This book is addressed to international academia, presenting an important set of information and interpretations for archaeologists and readers interested in European prehistory. It comprises contributions to the CRC 1266 International Workshop 'Habitus? The Social Dimension of Technology and Transformation', held in 2018 at Kiel University.

Prehistory

Prehistory
Author: Chris Gosden
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2018
Genre: HISTORY
ISBN: 0198803516

Recent archaeological discoveries from China and central Asia have changed our understanding of how human civilization developed in the period of some 4 million years before the start of written history. In this new edition of his Very Short Introduction, Chris Gosden explores the current theories on the ebb and flow of human cultural variety.