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Male Harp Player (Early Spedos Type, Cyclades, Greece), 2700–2300 B.C.E., marble, 35.8 x 9.5 x 28.1 cm (The J. Paul Getty Museum)
Sherds from three different Middle Neolithic Peterborough Ware pots, all probably belonging to the Mortlake Ware sub-group, found in a pit at Westbourne, West Sussex, in the UK. The impressions in the neck of the central vessel appear to have been made with a blunt stick and the impressions encrusting the rim and body, with twisted cords; and those in the neck of the bottom right vessel, with a finger-tip, and encrusting the rim, with twisted cords. The scale is 5cm long. The pit and the pottery assemblage were published in my "Peterborough Ware from Westbourne" in "Sussex Archaelogical Collections 148" (2010), available from Reseachgate at www.researchgate.net/publication/273247893.
Behind St Antonin Noble Val on the boarder between the Tarn and the Tarn et Garonne and high above Feneyrols
At the height of the neolithic the trio of the dolmen de Peyroseco, the dolmen 'dit Vahour' and the dolmen de Gabache must have been loci of pride and sharing. A few kilometers separate each site: Vahour with its heavy, thick monolithic table, Peyroseco with its long and wide table and Gabache with a long and heavy table. No one plan was followed, with each local group raising the surface of the earth with the materials and skills at hand. Today 'Gabache' is exploded out of form, with its monolithic elements now sliding to ground with the remains of the tumulus. The tumulus of the dolmen 'dit Vahour' has been removed with the dolmen now so clean that many might think that it is simply a roundabout folly by a local administrator rather than one of the finest and most intriguing dolmens of the Quercy region. Peyroseco is of such importance because it is in such a good state of preservation. The very best preserved local tumuli belong to the Dolmen dit le Tombeau des Anglais to the east of Foissac and the Dolmen dit la Peyre Levade just after Limogne. Many have probably been used over the years as 'pierrier' - stocks of stones for walls and huts. Some have slouched into the ground and others disturbed by diggers or 'restorers'. The tumulus assures the solidity of the dolmen, helps with the placement of the table stone and affords the site the drama of the surface of the earth raising. There are many other dolmens in the local area to the south of the river Aveyron - less dramatic or of the late neolithic and so merging with ideas of cists. To the west, the Dolmen des Suquets is relatively modest, but sits in a well preserved tumuli.
Notice the wild Hellébore (Christmas rose) by the entrance.
The final length of 24m may have resulted after an extension was built from its earlier length of 18m. Obviously the inhabitants had no problems with these long constructions of abutting buildings. This is the longest building of the village with doors that link to storage rooms and other long houses. Animals, grain-store and human habitation adjacent in what appears to be a 'croft' that seems as organic as a microscopic scene of dividing cells.
The walls are doubled and infilled with smaller stones. Periodic large stones providing internal strength. The walls have no corner stones and all stones seem to have been found and used with little percussive adjustment (other sites show stones weakened by fire and hit by tool). The site was used coherently for around 500 years, so walls were appropriated, built over and even, at times, built within.
Medieval walls are wide to compensate for a lack of foundation and to take the push from a heavy roof; here the walls are thick for low walls and light-weight roofs - which might seem to be logically misplaced. Wall widths are of at least 1.5 meters. The explanation may come from three sources: the principal of the clearance cairn can be mixed with a building, secondly, thick walls also assure cool interiors - apt for summer storage and heat-wave composure. Lastly, storm rain between meeting roofs might be taken away within the infill gravel. The area around the Pic St-Loup is notorious for flash floods, and the advantages of keeping buildings apart are lost with this coagulated design - a conception that additions the rain from adjacent long buildings, and in so doing, additions potential problems of infiltration. A long gutter of straw is not viable and terracotta tiles have yet to be invented. I cannot see gravel gutters being a stable solution for such a long period of occupation (stories of perspiring walls, damp babies and sodden storage as ceramics draw up the humidity), so would accept the first two reasons for the wide walls and look for other ways to evacuate storm waters from the 'valley' between long adjacent buildings.
In Cambous, the smallest interstice seems to have been appropriated and offered function - maybe a space for a hen, another for dry wood, and a third for ceramics ready to be bartered with visitors or during journeys. These interstitials are the very spaces that, uncontrolled, would drench with amplified rain water. In a medieval village, these asides between roofs become open gutters or 'vennels'. One solution would be to find flat 'lauze' stones and step them on top of the walls. Unfortunately, the cob to keep them in place would wash away, and whilst the flat 'lauze' stones do exist on the site (taken from afar) they seem to be far too small for just such a project. Pinning old greased leathers between the adjacent roofs from under the grass, and overlapping them would provide for a generous gutter and a reason to keep the huts together and the roofs long - here, any rain water would be funneled into large appropriately placed pots - drinking and 'working' water on a limestone plateau being an interesting subject that needs imaginative response. The small lauze stones found on the site may have helped with the apex of the roof. The grass thatch meets at a point and may have been covered with a wide strip of greased leather, weighed down with the appropriately small flat stones slipped into sewn pouches like extended saddle bags. Here, gaps between these ridge leathers would be simple chimneys. With this scenario a storm becomes a resource and not a handicap. People would rush around replacing the filled pots, getting drenched in the process, but, all for a good cause. The site of Cambous has many deep 'aven' crevasses (igues) in and around its area and these would have been cool places to stock the water collection. Constructing a cistern within a crevasse being a further potential. Just such a space does exist on the Cambous site. Currently the remnants of Chalcolithique pots from the underground space were thought to have been put there to catch drips.
Leather was a product of hunting and the neolithic farmstead production. When looked after, it is a material that can last and accumulate. Here the leather may have been used as a material supplement to a dry-stone and thatch construction. Elsewhere, where the soil welcomes deep post holes and woven walls can find 'appui' and support, leather may also have found function aside thatch and daub. Prehistoric 'zinc'?
AJM 13/4/17
Thanks to my pal Brian Griffin for dragging me out at that early hour !! - it was well worth it. Heritage Ireland : "The Loughcrew Cairns, also known as the Hills of the Witch, are a group of Neolithic passage tombs dating to 3000 BC. The tombs are located on three different hills and Cairn T (seen in the photo), one of the largest tombs in the complex, is situated on Cairnbane East."
A pretty decent Burial Mound to visit. Luckily, it's far enough out in the countryside as to avoid being spoilt by the local morons/youth. The majority of the decorated stones have been removed for preservation.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryn_Celli_Ddu
Jar (Hu), c. 2650–2350 B.C.E. (Banshan culture, China), earthenware, slip, 34 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Jar (Hu), c. 2650–2350 B.C.E. (Banshan culture, China), earthenware, slip, 34 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The tombs date to the early Neolithic period, with later Bronze Age tumuli nearby. The site has also yielded Romano-British finds.
Jar (Hu), c. 2650–2350 B.C.E. (Banshan culture, China), earthenware, slip, 34 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
In need of some modernisation, it benefits from a rural location well served by transport with easy links to the A303. Set in several acres of peaceful countryside -would make an ideal family home. Viewing recommended.
This settlement was inhabited about 5500 years ago and is therefore older than the pyramids. Ten houses have been excavated, all built to the same design including the dresser you see against the back wall. There was a lot of sophistication given that this was the stone age. All of the houses had a central hearth and the people slept in slots in the wall. (left of picture.) See the nearby picture for context. (Kirbuster Museum)
www.flickr.com/photos/alan_glasgow/52066982893/in/datetaken/
Dunnydeer in the distance & Recumbant Neolithic Standing stone.
See my most interesting pictures here:
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Jar (Hu), c. 2650–2350 B.C.E. (Banshan culture, China), earthenware, slip, 34 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Mayburgh (“maidens’ fort”) Henge is a large and impressive construction that most probably dates back to the late Neolithic period (3000 to 2000 BC). It is located just south of the Cumbrian town of Penrith (“hill ford”), where it stands on a tongue of land that lies between the River Eamont (“water from the mountain” [?]) and the River Lowther (“foamy river”); close to the point where the two rivers combine. Situated close by are two other Neolithic henge monuments: “King Arthur’s Round Table” and the much smaller and less well known “Little Round Table”. Together the three henges form a group and they are sometimes referred to as the “Penrith Henges”.
Mayburgh is the largest and the best preserved of the Penrith Henges. Its circular embankment is 10 feet high in places and it encloses an inner area of approximately 1.5 acres. It is constructed from boulders that are thought to have been gathered from the nearby rivers. This is unlike the method used to construct most other henges from that period, where the embankments were built by piling up earth and rubble dug out of an associated ditch. It has been estimated that the embankment contains some 20,000 tons of stone and that it would take 1000 men six months to construct it without modern tools and machinery. Situated towards the centre of the henge is a single large standing stone, nearly 10 feet tall. Originally seven others accompanied it. Three of them stood towards the centre and together with the present stone they formed a square. The four other stones stood in pairs flanking the single entrance to the henge, which is located on its east side. All of these stones were still standing in the 18th century but it is thought that the seven missing stones were subsequently removed to provide building material.
It is not known why Mayburgh Henge was constructed or what it was used for. Over the centuries several artefacts have been discovered within the vicinity of the henge, including a bronze axe, a stone axe and a flint arrowhead, but these shed little light on its probable use. Given the sheer size of the monument and the close proximity of two other henges, however, it must once have been a site of considerable importance. As nearby Eamont Bridge once lay at the hub of important north-south trade routes, which converged there to cross the River Eamont, it has been suggested that the henge may at least in part have been a trade centre where stone axes were distributed from the Neolithic axe factory at Langdale (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/8510532411/in/set-7215...). Other aspects of social and religious ritual would no doubt also have been of importance and it may be relevant that the entrance to the henge lies due east of its centre. The entrance thus frames the rising of the equinoctial sun, implying a cosmological role for the henge similar to nearby Long Meg stone circle (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/15294396479/). In more recent times Mayburgh Henge was used for May Day festivities. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and it is currently managed by English Heritage.
The upper picture was taken looking south-westwards across the henge from the northern embankment. The entrance to the henge can be seen towards the left of the picture. The lower left picture shows the remaining standing stone at the centre of the henge and the bottom right picture was taken looking north-eastwards across the Eden valley towards the Pennines. The village of Eamont Bridge can be seen in the middle distance, where the ancient trade routes used to cross the River Eamont. The level-topped summit of Cross Fell (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/8539367707/) can be seen on the skyline behind the village, with Little Dun Fell and Great Dun Fell to the right.
The image is depicting interaction of two animal totems. There are varieties of hypothesis as to its interpretation. Anthropologists hypothesized that the bird and the fish represent two rival clans during Neolithic era.
But according to modern psychological analysis images of bird depicts male and fish female. And in my view a kiss is a kiss. A bird’s bite would attack the waist line of the fish. This artifact is replaying romance of ancient mythical story. Unfortunately the detail about it had long lost.
Critiques agreed on one point. The object to the left is an ax fastened at the upper part of a handle. In ancient China it was a symbol of power. There was a specific name for it, i.e. {鉞}.
The relief design is depicting a bird carrying a submissive fish and made a abrupt stop to meet a symbol of power. In my view it is the neolithic version of popular dreams come true. It means a man now secured two best things in life all at once. One is that he could now claim his loved to be his for good. And the other being power grabbed.
In Beijing museum there is a jar painted with similar design (image available in the following message). The fish was smaller in size while the as/handle size remain as tall as the bird. It would mean that to a male dreams seeker power was more important than his loved one.
How the design evolved to become new version later in China? A pair of popular phrases says it all.
洞房花燭夜/ 金榜題名時
It means on the wedding night exiting news reached my home informing me of my passing grand examination. The former is the happiest moment in my life and the later is assuring me a life long career to be granted by the emperor.
Skara Brae on Orkney, believed to be have been inhabited from around 3000 BC to 2500 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
In need of some modernisation, it benefits from a rural location well served by transport with easy links to the A303. Set in several acres of peaceful countryside -would make an ideal family home. Viewing recommended.
Arbor Low is an important Neolithic stone circle surrounded by a ditch complex on the high limestone plateau south of Buxton, 1350 ft above ASL. At least 50 limestone slabs, all now fallen, were used. It had a central "cove" of stones which is believed to hold special ceremonial significance. Nearby is the Gib Hill Barrow burial site which has yielded Bronze Age pots and implements. The site was one of the first to be protected under the Historic Monuments Act of 1882 and, as such, is marked out with granite boundary stones carrying the cipher of Queen Victoria. Later stones show George V and the very latest, replacing a damaged one, is Charles III. Today it is managed by English Heritage.
Bol impreso con decoración cardial. Mide unos 12 cm de anchura y unos 10 de altura. Está datado en e Neolítico antiguo, VI-V milenio a.C. Ficha en mupreva.org/cat/5267/va
In October 1981, flying tiger ancient human remains from Guizhou Provincial Museum trial excavation, the accumulation of complex, broadly divided into early and late phases. Early formation of yellow or grayish yellow, unearthed panda, Stegodon fossils, stone products are made for the late Paleolithic culture era. Advanced formation is black, black, unearthed animal genetic pulp for extant species, and human mandibular and chipped stone, grinding stone, grinding bone, pottery and other large, geological time for the Holocene, culture in the age of the Neolithic age, that about 4000 years ago to 6000 years.
Unearthed stone products made a total of 532 pieces of raw materials, mainly to flint stone, there is, nuclear, stone etc.. The stone to stone, with the forward direction of processing processing, types of hit device, a scraper, tip like device and dolabriform etc.. The scraper accounted for 76%, tip like device is small but fine processing. The axe is a symbol of the transformation of Neolithic culture. 27 pieces of polished stone, delicate process, a stone axe, stone adzes, stone spinning wheels, stone scraper, stone arrow head, small stones (spear) 8. The number of stone adzes, regular shape, with long oblique cutting tool representative. 79 pieces of bone, in addition to the 1 pieces of grinding residual bone scraper, are making bone, bone and bone shovel cone. The three notches in the teeth may be scratching the porcupine symbol. In addition to pottery and ball spinning round round cake 1, the rest are all pieces of artifacts. 1494 tablets. The uneven thickness, thickness of 1.2 cm, thickness of only 0.2 cm, high temperature, hard texture. About 70% of sand pottery, pottery sand shale pottery class accounted for 30%, very little. Sand and sand are mainly sand. Pottery ornamentation is complicated, there are thick rope lines and Fang Gewen cone, tattoo, carved lines and lines and other additional cone. There are 3 pieces of pottery pottery, which has 1 pieces of orange powder is subjected to pottery coating inside and outside the grey clay, on the exterior is painted with two parallel red bands. This is the first time in Guizhou, Guizhou is also the earliest pottery record.
The site has a new and old stone formation, and the cultural connotation is rich. Pottery appear more attractive, but considerable differences in advanced culture. These have great significance to the study of the relationship between the new and the old stone culture in Guizhou and the time continuity of the times.
In February 23, 1982, the Guizhou Provincial People's Government approved the publication of the provincial cultural relics protection units. 1981年10月，飞虎山古人类遗址由贵州省博物馆试掘，洞内堆积复杂，大致分早、晚两期。早期地层呈黄色或灰黄色，出土大熊猫、剑齿象等化石，石制品均为打制，文化时代为旧石器时代晚期。晚期地层呈黑色、灰黑色，出土动物遗髓为现生属种，并出人类下颌件和打制石器、磨制石器、磨制骨器、大量的陶片等，地质时代为全新世，文化时代属新石器时代，推测距今约4000年至6000年。
遗址出土打制的石制品共532件，原料以燧石为主，有是核、石片、石器等。石器以石片为主，加工方向以正向加工为主，类型有砸器、刮削器、尖状器和斧形器等。其中刮削器占76%，尖状器虽少但加工精细。斧形器似为向新石器文化转化的象征。磨制石器27件，加工精致，有石斧、石锛、石纺轮、石刮刀、石箭(矛)头、小石块等8种。石锛数量多，形制规整，以长形斜刃具代表性。骨器79件，除1件残的磨制骨刮刀外，均为打制骨器，有骨锥和骨铲。其中豪猪牙上的三道刻痕可能是刻划符。陶器除圆饼式及圆珠纺轮各1件外，其余全是器物碎片。计1494片。其厚度不匀，厚者达1.2厘米，薄者仅0.2厘米，火候高，质地坚硬。夹砂灰陶约占70%，夹砂黑陶占30%，泥质类陶极少。夹砂陶以夹细砂为主。陶片纹饰复杂多样，有粗细绳纹、方格纹、锥刺纹、刻划纹和附加锥纹等。陶片中有3片彩陶，其中有1片是在泥质灰陶的内外施以粉澄色陶衣，再于外表绘有两条平行的红色条带。这是贵州首次发现，也是贵州迄今最早的彩陶记录。
遗址具有新、旧石器地层叠压，文化内涵丰富。彩陶的出现更引人瞩目，但中、晚期文化差异颇大。这些对研究贵州新、旧石器文化的相互关系和时代延续问题具有重要的意义。
1982年2月23日，经贵州省人民政府批准公布为省级文物保护单位。