Anders Lindahl
Professor emeritus
Pots in Context: Aspects on Pottery Production and Use in the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker (TRB) Culture on Öland, SE Sweden
Författare
Summary, in Swedish
This paper discusses contextual aspects of pottery from the two early Neolithic Funnel Beaker
(TRB) sites Resmo and Runsbäck, on the island of Öland, SE Sweden. The sites are situated 15km
apart on the west side of the island and the C14 dates place the activities at the sites at c. 3900––3600
BC and 3600––3100 BC respectively, possibly with some overlap. The pottery has been analysed
regarding its design, raw material use, technology and vessel use. While overall similarities in
the ceramic craft at the two sites are obvious, some articulated differences were noted in the
design as well as in the wares, while vessel use patterns are strikingly similar between the two
assemblages. The Resmo assemblage is characterised by an exceptional degree of homogeneity
while the Runsbäck pottery displays more variation. The observed differences are viewed against
the contexts in which the pottery was recovered, and the different patterns of pottery production and
use are suggested to re ect differences in function and duration between the sites. The Runsbäck
pottery seems to be associated with everyday activities of mainly domestic character, whereas the
Resmo pottery is suggested to re ect some form of special occasion possibly connected to ritual
activities performed in a monumental landscape setting. This in turn can be related to later events
in the area, which includes the construction of megalithic tombs only a few centuries later.
(TRB) sites Resmo and Runsbäck, on the island of Öland, SE Sweden. The sites are situated 15km
apart on the west side of the island and the C14 dates place the activities at the sites at c. 3900––3600
BC and 3600––3100 BC respectively, possibly with some overlap. The pottery has been analysed
regarding its design, raw material use, technology and vessel use. While overall similarities in
the ceramic craft at the two sites are obvious, some articulated differences were noted in the
design as well as in the wares, while vessel use patterns are strikingly similar between the two
assemblages. The Resmo assemblage is characterised by an exceptional degree of homogeneity
while the Runsbäck pottery displays more variation. The observed differences are viewed against
the contexts in which the pottery was recovered, and the different patterns of pottery production and
use are suggested to re ect differences in function and duration between the sites. The Runsbäck
pottery seems to be associated with everyday activities of mainly domestic character, whereas the
Resmo pottery is suggested to re ect some form of special occasion possibly connected to ritual
activities performed in a monumental landscape setting. This in turn can be related to later events
in the area, which includes the construction of megalithic tombs only a few centuries later.
Avdelning/ar
- Kvartärgeologi
Publiceringsår
2016
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
55-66
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
British Archaeological Reports - International Series
Volym
2809
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
British Archaeological Reports (BAR)
Ämne
- Humanities
Nyckelord
- Neolithic pottery, pottery technology, vessel function, vessel design, TRB (Funnel Beaker) culture
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0143-3067