Europe before Rome : a site-by-site tour of the stone, bronze, and iron ages

425 Pages·2013·23.194 MB·English

by  Price, Theron Douglas

EUROPE BEF OR E ROME
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EUROPE BEF OR E ROME
A Site-by-Site Tour of the Stone,
Bronze, and Iron Ages
T. DOUGLAS PRICE
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Price, T. Douglas (Th eron Douglas)
Europe before Rome: a site-by-site tour of the stone, bronze, and iron ages / T. Douglas Price.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–991470–8
1. Antiquities, Prehistoric—Europe—Guidebooks.
2. Europe—Antiquities—Guidebooks. I. Title.
GN803.P757 2012
936 – dc23
2011044145
ISBN 978–0–19–991470–8
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
CONTENTS

Biographical Note • ix
Preface • xi
CHAPTER ONE Frameworks for Europe’s Past
Geography and Environment • 2
Geology • 4
Past Climate • 6
Raw Materials • 7
Time and Chronology • 9
A Very Short History of European Archaeology • 11
CHAPTER TWO The First Europeans
Early Europeans • 15
Atapuerca, Spain, 1.3 Million Years Ago • 19
Boxgrove, England, 500,000 Years Ago • 25
Sch ö ningen, Germany, 400,000 Years Ago • 28
Neanderthals • 32
Krapina, Serbia, 130,000 Years Ago • 34
Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, Germany, 55,000 Years Ago • 37
El Sidr ó n, Spain, 43,000 Years Ago • 40
Grotte du Renne, France, 40,000 Years Ago • 42
Vindija Cave, Croatia, 34,000 Years Ago • 45
Ancient DNA • 46
Neanderthal Diet • 47
Some Refl ections • 49
CHAPTER THREE The Creative Explosion
Origin and Spread of Modern Humans • 56
Th e Upper Paleolithic • 58
v
vi CONTENTS
Pestera cu Oase, Romania, 40,000 Years Ago • 60
Grotte Chauvet, France, 32,000 Years Ago • 62
Grande Grotte, Arcy-sur-Cure, France, 32,000 Years Ago • 67
Doln í V ě stonice, Czech Republic, 27,500 Years Ago • 69
Grotte de la Vache, France, 14,000 Years Ago • 76
G ö nnersdorf, Germany, 11,500 Years Ago • 80
Pincevent, France, 12,000 Years Ago • 87
Doggerland, North Sea, 11,000 BC • 91
Th e Last Hunters • 93
Franchthi Cave, Greece, 9000 B C • 95
Mount Sandel, Ireland, 7000 BC • 98
Moita do Sebasti ã o, Portugal, 6000 BC • 101
Polderweg, Netherlands, 5500 B C • 104
Tybrind Vig, Denmark, 5000 B C • 109
Vedb æ k, Denmark, 5000 BC • 114
Rock Art: Vingen, Norway, 5000 BC • 116
Some Refl ections • 118
CHAPTER FOUR The First Farmers
Th e Origins and Spread of Agriculture • 124
Neolithic Cyprus • 127
Shillourokambos, Cyprus, 8200 BC • 129
Asprokremnos, Cyprus, 8800 BC • 130
Nea Nikomedeia, Greece, 6200 BC • 132
Lepenski Vir, Serbia, 6200 B C • 138
Vin č a, Serbia, 5500 B C • 143
Rudna Glava, Serbia, 5000 BC • 148
Varna, Bulgaria, 4500 BC • 149
Passo di Corvo, Italy, 6000 BC • 152
Linearbandkeramik • 155
Vaihingen, Germany, 5300 BC • 159
Polished Flint Axes • 163
Spiennes, Belgium, 4400 BC • 165
La Draga, Spain, 5000 B C • 168
CONTENTS vii
Arbon-Bleiche 3, Switzerland, 3384 B C • 171
Ö tzi, Italy, 3300 BC • 178
Th e Megaliths of Western Europe • 182
Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, 3200 BC • 185
Stonehenge, England, 3100 BC • 191
Newgrange, Ireland, 3100 B C • 202
Los Millares, Spain, 3200 BC • 205
Hal Safl ieni, Malta, 3600 B C • 209
Rock Art: Barranco de la Valtort,
Spain, 5500 BC • 212
Some Refl ections • 215
CHAPTER FIVE Bronze Age Warriors
Th e Rise of Metals • 219
Th e Bronze Age in the Aegean • 221
Knossos, Crete, Greece, 3000 BC • 224
Akrotiri, Santorini, Greece, 1626 BC • 229
Mykene, Greece, 1600 BC • 233
Uluburun, Turkey, 1300 B C • 242
Th e Bronze Age North of the Alps • 244
Bell Beaker • 248
Th e Indo-Europeans • 250
Amesbury Archer, England, 2470 BC • 251
Poggiomarino, Italy, 1600 B C • 251
Croce del Papa, Italy, 2150 B C • 253
Nebra, Germany, 1600 BC • 256
Bronze Age Finds • 259
Su Nuraxi di Barumini, Sardinia, Italy, 1800 B C • 263
Borum Esh ø j, Denmark, 1350 BC • 268
Bredar ö r, Sweden, 1000 B C • 275
Salcombe, England, 1000 BC • 276
Flag Fen, England, 1350 BC • 278
Rock Art: Tanum, Sweden, 1500 B C • 282
Some Refl ections • 284
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIX Centers of Power, Weapons of Iron
At the Edge of History • 287
Th e Celts • 291
Th e Germans • 292
Th e Scythians • 294
Making Iron • 295
Biskupin, Poland, 738 B C • 297
Th e Etruscans • 300
Necropoli della Banditaccia, Italy, 650 B C • 302
Hallstatt, Austria, 800 BC • 305
Hochdorf, Germany, 530 BC • 307
Vix, France, 480 BC • 311
Danebury, England, 550 B C • 315
Grauballe, Denmark, 300 BC • 319
Manching, Germany, 300 B C • 323
Maiden Castle, England, 43 BC • 325
Gournay-sur-Aronde, Ribemont-sur-Ancre, France, 260 B C • 329
Celtic Religion • 332
Some Refl ections • 333
EPILOGUE P ast and Present—Lessons from Prehistoric Europe
Europe before Rome • 338
Signifi cance • 342
Relevance • 343
Preservation • 344
Appreciation • 345
Further Reading • 347
Picture Credits • 387
Index • 395
BIOGR APHICAL NOTE
DOUG PRICE (Ph.D., 1975, University of Michigan) is Weinstein Professor of
European Archaeology Emeritus and former director of the Laboratory for
Archaeological Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where
he served on the faculty for more than thirty-seven years. He was also Sixth
Century Chair in Archaeological Science at the University of Aberdeen until
his retirement. His current research at the Laboratory for Archaeological
Chemistry concerns the use of strontium isotopes in human tooth enamel to
look at questions of prehistoric migration. Th e laboratory is involved in the
chemical analysis of ceramics, bone, soils, and other archaeological materials.
His archaeological fi eldwork has focused on the beginnings of agriculture on
the island of Zealand, Denmark. He is the author or editor of more than 150
scientifi c articles and fi fteen books, the most recent of which include P rinciples
of Archaeology (2006); An Introduction to Archaeological Chemistry (with
James Burton, 2010); P athways to Power (edited with Gary Feinman, 2010);
Th e Origins of Agriculture: New Data, New Ideas (edited with Ofer Bar-Yosef,
2011), and Images of the Past 7th ed. (with Gary Feinman, 2012).

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