SARUP REVISITED: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REALITY AND REALITIES OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Niels H. Andersen
Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Alle 20, DK-8270 Hoejbjerg Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorNiels H. Andersen
Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Alle 20, DK-8270 Hoejbjerg Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorABSTRACT
In the second half of the 4th millennium BC, we see significant changes in the early Neolithic culture. These take place some centuries after the initial introduction of agriculture and sees striking developments such as the apparent opening-up of the landscape, involving forest clearance, the introduction of the ard for ploughing and the construction of regular houses. The transition to a settled and sedentary farming lifestyle must also have demanded mental adaptations, whereby the farmers were required to forge new and stable alliances. These alliances appear to be forged by a series of communal works, involving monumental structures, such as the building of dolmens and passage graves as well as the extensive and land-demanding causewayed enclosures. The causewayed enclosures were essentially used for only a few days but were remembered for centuries.
Since the 1970s, excavations have been undertaken in the Sarup area, on the island of Funen, Denmark, to obtain more detailed information about the activities that took place there between c. 3600 and 3000 BC. This paper presents the results of excavations and studies of two well-preserved causewayed enclosures, the Barkaer-structures and more than 30 megalithic monuments, as well as investigations of several settlements. This research has provided insight into a complex farming culture, which appears to have been firmly consolidated by major communal construction works, whereby teams and networks were created within an evolving cooperative social structure.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Aaby, B. 1985. Norddjurslands landskabsudvikling gennem 7000 år. Belyst ved pollenanalyser og bestemmelse af støvindhold. Antikvariske Studier 7. 60–84.
- Andersen, N.H. 1977. Keramikgruber fra to bebyggelsesfaser. KUML 1976. 11–46.
- Andersen, N.H. 1988. Sarup. Befæstede kultpladser fra bondestenalderen. Århus (Jysk arkæologisk selskab).
- Andersen, N.H. 1997a. Sarup Vol. 1. The Sarup Enclosures. The Funnels Beaker Culture of the Sarup site including two causewayed camps compared to the contemporary settlements in the area and other European enclosures. Jutland Archaeological Publications XXXIII, 1. Århus (Jysk arkæologisk selskab).
- Andersen, N.H. 1997b. Sarup Gamle Skole X. Langdysse med to kamre placeret på mark med ardspor. Excavation report, published online: au.academia.edu/NielsHAndersen.
- Andersen, N.H. 1999a & 1999b. Sarup Vol. 2 & 3. Saruppladsen. Jutland Archaeological Publications XXXIII, 2 & 3. Århus (Jysk arkæologisk selskab).
- Andersen, N.H. 2008. Rapport over udgravninger på Damsbo's jorder på Sydvestfyn i årene 2002 til 2008. Excavation report, published online: au.academia.edu/NielsHAndersen.
- Andersen, N.H. 2009. Sarupområdet på Sydvestfyn i slutningen af 4. årtusinde f.Kr. Schülke 2009. 25–44.
- Andersen, N.H. 2011. Causewayed enclosures and megalithic monuments as media for shaping Neolithic identities. Furholt et al. 2011. 143–154.
- Andersen, N.H. 2013. A view from Denmark. O‘Sullivan et al. 2013. 515–526.
- Andersen, N.H. 2015a. Causewayed enclosures in Northern and Western Europe. Fowler et al. 2015. 795–812.
- Andersen, N.H. 2015b. Frydenlund – Early Neolithic settlement and ‘barkaer’ structures in the Sarup area. Brink et al. 2015. 117–127.
- Andersen, N.H. 2015c. Beretning vedrørende udgravning af Sarup Gamle Skole XII. Excavation report, published online: au.academia.edu/NielsHAndersen.
- Andersen, N.H. 2018. The first farmers as monument builder in the Sarup Area, Funen, Denmark. Müller & Hinz 2018.
- Aubán, J.B., T. Orozco-Köhler, P. Díaz-del-Río, S. Pardo, V. Balsera & S. Consuegra. 2017. Prehistoric ditches and ditched enclosures in Iberia: A survey based on recent findings. Mellar & Friederich 2017. 341–351.
- Barley, N. 1994. Smashing Pots. London (British Museum Press).
10.1111/j.1467-8357.1994.tb00408.x Google Scholar
- M. Bloch & J. Parry (eds.). 1982. Death and the Regeneration of Life. Cambridge (Cambridge University Press).
10.1017/CBO9780511607646 Google Scholar
- Bogaard, A., R. Fraser, T. H. E. Heaton, M. Wallace et al. 2013. Crop manuring and intensive land management by Europe's first farmers. PNAS 110, 31. 12589–12594.
- Braasch, O. 2010. „Steinzeit 3 Uhr tief”: Archäologie aus der Luft. Lichter 2010. 72–79.
- Chapman, J. 2000. Fragmentation in Archaeology. London (Routledge).
- K. Brink, S. Hydén, K. Jennbert, L. Larsson & D. Olausson (eds.). 2015. Neolithic diversities. Perspectives from a conference in Lund, Sweden. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, Series In 8, No. 65. Lund (Lund University).
- A. Denaire, C. Jeunesse & P. Lefranc (eds.). 2011. Nécropoles et enceintes danubiennes du Ve millénaire dans le Nord-Est de la France et la Sud-Ouest de l'Allemange. Actes de la table ronde internationale de Strasbourg organisée par le 2 juin 2010 à la Maison interuniversitaire des sciences de l'homme-Alsace. Strasbourg (Université de Strasbourg).
- Due, O.S. 2002. Homers Odyssé. København (Gyldendal).
- Ebbesen, K. 1975. Die jüngere Trichterbecherkultur auf den dänischen Inseln. Arkæologiske Studier II. København (Akademisk Forlag).
- Edmonds, M. 1999. Ancestral geographies of the Neolithic: landscapes, monuments and memory. London (Routledge).
- Eriksen, P. & N.H. Andersen. 2016. Dolmens in Denmark. Architecture and function. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications 95. Århus (Jysk arkæologisk selskab).
- C. Fowler, J. Harding & D. Hofmann (eds.). 2015. The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe. Oxford (Oxford University Press).
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199545841.001.0001 Google Scholar
- M. Furholt, F. Lüth & J. Müller (eds.). 2011. Megaliths and Identities. Early monuments and Neolithic Societies from the Atlantic to the Baltic. 3rd European Megalithic Studies Group Meeting, May 13–15, 2010, Kiel University. Bonn (Rudolf Habelt).
- Greenfield, H. J. 2010. The Secondary Products Revolution: the past, the present and the future. World Archaeology 42,1. 29–54.
- Geschwinde, M. & D. Raetzel-Fabian. 2009. EWBSL: Eine Fallstudie zu den jungneolithischen Erdwerken am Nordrand der Mittelgebirge. Beiträge zur Archäologie in Niedersachsen 14. Rahden (VML Verlag Marie Leidorf).
- Glob, P.V. 1952. Danske Oldsager II. København (Nationalmuseet).
- Halstead, P. 1995. Plough and Power: The Economic and Social Significance of Cultivation with the Ox-drawn Ard in the Mediterranean. Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 8. 11–22.
- Harris, O. 1982. The dead and the devils among the Bolivian Laymi. Bloch & Parry 1982. 45–75.
- I. Hodder, G. Isaac & N. Hammond (eds.). 1981. Pattern of the Past. Studies in honour of David Clarke. Cambridge (Cambridge University Press).
- Holten, L. 2009. Åbninger til en anden virkelighed. Megalitanlæg som mediatorer mellem her og hisset. Schülke 2009. 159–177.
- S. Hvass & B. Storgaard (eds.). 1993. Digging into the past. 25 Years for Archeology in Denmark. Århus (Jysk arkæologisk selskab).
- Iversen, J. 1941. Landnam i Danmarks Stenalder. Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelser. II Rk., Nr. 66. København.
- Jeunesse, C. 2011. Enceintes à fossé discontinu et enceintes à pseudo-fossé dans le Néolithique d'Europe centale et occidentale. Denaire et al. 2011. 31–71.
- Jeunesse, C. & U. Seidel. 2010. Die Erdwerke. Lichter 2010. 58–69.
- Joussaume, R. & M. Marsac. 1977. Le Marais Poitevin aux temps neolithiques. Archéologia 112. 20–21.
- R. Joussaume & J.-M. Large (eds.). 2014. Enceintes néolithiques de l'Ouest de la France de la Seine à la Gironde. Chauvigny (Association des Publications Chauvinoises).
- Jørgensen, G. 1977. Et kornfund fra Sarup. Bidrag til belysning af tragtbægerkulturens agerbrug. KUML 1976. 47–64.
- Klassen, L. 2014. Along the Road. Aspects of Causewayed Enclosures in South Scandinavia and Beyond. Aarhus (Aarhus Universitetsforlag).
- Klatt, S. 2009. Die neolithischen Einhengungen im westlichen Ostseeraum. Forschungsstand und Forschungsperspektiven. Terberger 2009. 7–134.
- Kloss, S., E. Fischer, W. Out & W. Kirleis. 2016. Charred root tubers of lesser celandine (Ficaria verna HUDS.) in plant macro-remains assemblages from Northern, Central and Western Europe. Quaternary International 404. 25–42.
- C. Lichter (ed.). 2010. Jungsteinzeit im Umbruch. Die „Michelsberger Kultur” und Mitteleuropa vor 6000 Jahren. Badischen Landesmuseum Schloss Karlsruhe. Darmstadt (Primus-Verlag).
- Madsen, T. 1993. Barrows with timber-built structures. Hvass & Storgaard 1993. 96–99.
- Mahlstedt, I. 2004. Die religiöse Welt der Jungsteinzeit. Darmstedt (Theiss).
- Makilam, 2007. Die Magie kabylischer Frauen und die Einheit einer traditionellen Berbergesellschaft. Bremen (Pandora).
- Márques-Romero, J.E. & V.J. Jiménes-Jáimez. 2013. Monumental ditched enclosures in southern Iberia (fourth-third millennia BC). Antiquity 87. 447–460.
- McKinley, J. 2008. Human remains and diet. Mercer & Healy 2008. 477–535.
- H. Mellar (ed.). 2013. 3300 BC. Mysteriöse Steinzeittote und ihre Welt. Halle (Nünnerich-Asmus).
- H. Mellar & S. Friederich (eds.). 2017. Salzmünde - Regel oder Ausnahme? Internationale Tagung vom 18. bis 20. Oktober 2012 in Halle (Saale). Halle (Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte).
- Meller, H. & A. Stadelbacher. 2013. Einleitung zur Ausstellung. Meller 2013. 18–21.
- R. Mercer & F. Healy (eds.). 2008. Hambledon Hill, Dorset, England. Excavation and survey of a Neolithic monument complex and its surrounding landscape. Swindon (English Heritage).
- Mischka, D. & K. Fuchs. 2017. Sekundäre Deponierung von Menschenresten in einem Megalithgrab des Langbetts Flintbek LA 3, Kr. Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein. Mellar & Friederich 2017. 469–486.
- J. Müller & M. Hinz (eds.). 2018. Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe: Megaliths, Societies, Landscapes. EMDS-Conference Kiel 2015. Kiel University. Bonn (Rudolf Habelt).
- Olesen, L.H. & E.S. Mauritsen. 2015. Luftfotoarkæologi i Danmark. Holstebro (Holstebro Museum).
- M. O‘Sullivan, C. Scarre & M. Doyle (eds.). 2013. Tara – from the past to the future. Towards a new research agenda. Dublin (Wordwell).
- Oswald, A., C. Dyer & M. Barber. 2001. The Creation of Monuments. Neolithic Causewayed Enclosures in the British Isles. London (English Heritage).
- Paulsson, B.S. 2017. Time and Stone. The Emergence and Development of Megaliths and Megalithic Societies in Europe. Oxford (Archaeopress).
- Petersen, S.L. & W. Witte. 2012. Langelandsvej i Starup – en ceremoniel samlingsplads fra bondestenalderen. Langs fjord og dam, lokalhistorie omkring Haderslev. Haderslev (Gammelting & Museum Sønderjylland). 77–88.
- Pryor, F. 1998. Etton. Excavations at a Neolithic causewayed enclosure near Maxey, Cambridgeshire, 1982–7. Archaeological Report 18. London (English Heritage).
- Rasmussen, P., E. Bradshaw & N.H. Andersen. 2002. Et nyt forskningsprojekt og et overraskende fund af laminerede søsedimenter. Geologi. Nyt fra GEUS 2. 2–6.
- Raetzel-Fabian, D. 2000. Calden. Erdwerk und Bestattungsplätze des Jungneolithikums. Architektur – Ritual – Chronologie. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 70. Bonn (Habelt).
- Robin, G. 2010. Spatial Structures and Symbolic Systems in Irish and British Tombs: the Organization of Architectural Elements, Parietal Carved Signs and Funerary Deposits. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 20, 3. 373–418.
- A. Schülke (ed.). 2009. Plads og rum i tragtbægerkulturen: bidrag fra arbejdsmødet på Nationalmuseet, 22. september 2005. Nordiske Fortidsminder, Serie C, Bd. 6. København (Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab)
- Sherratt, A. 1981. Plough and pastoralism: aspects of the secondary revolution. Hodder et al. 1981. 261–305.
- Seidel, U. 2008. Michelsberger Erdwerke im Raum Heilbronn. Materialhefte zur Archäologie in Baden-Württemberg 81, 1–2. Stuttgart (Theiss).
- D.D.A. Simpson (ed.). 1971. Economy and Settlement in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain and Europa. Leicester (Leicester University Press).
- Smith, I.F. 1971. Causewayed enclosures. Simpson 1971. 89–112.
- Skeates, R. 2015. Italian Enclosures. Fowler et al. 2015. 779–793.
- Stefánsson, F. 2009. Symbol Leksikon. København (Gyldendal).
- T. Terberger (ed.). 2009. Neue Forschungen zum Neolithikum im Ostseeraum. Archäologie und Geschichte im Ostseeraum 5. Rahden (VML Verlag Marie Leidorf).
- A.C. Valera (ed.). 2014. Recent Prehistoric Enclosures and Funerary Practices in Europe. BAR International Series 2676. Oxford (Archaeopress).
- Wahl, J. 2008. Profan oder kultisch – bestattet oder entsorgt? Materialhefte zur Archäologie in Bade-Württemberg 81, 3. 703 - 848. Stuttgart (Theiss).
- Westphal, J. 2005. Organisering af Tragtbægerkulturens landskab i det danske område mellem 3500 og 2900 f.Kr., belyst ud fra arkæobotaniske data fra samlingspladser, beboelsespladser og megalitgrave. Unpublished thesis, Aarhus University (Århus).
- Whittle, A. 2014. The times and timings of enclosures. Valera 2014. 1 - 12.
- Whittle, A., F. Healy, & A. Bayliss. 2011. Gathering Time. Dating the Early Neolithic Enclosures of Southern Britain and Ireland. Oxford (Oxbow Books).
- Wohlleben, P. 2015. Das geheime Leben der Bäume: Was sie fühlen, wie sie kommunizieren - die Entdeckung einer verborgenen Welt. München (Ludwig).