ritual deposits Early Bronze Age

During the Bronze Age metal deposition played an enormous role in many regions in Europe. In Western Europe in particular metal artefacts are known almost exclusively from hoards or as single depositions in rivers and bogs. In most European countries hoards were regarded as hidden treasures, lost during wars and other crises. Only in Denmark does the interpretation of hoards as votive offerings -particularly those from bogs -have a long tradition, dating back to the nineteenth century. In many other countries the interpretation of hoards has changed significantly during the past 20 years: from founders' and/or traders' hoards to 'gifts to the gods'. This formula, however, does not fully describe the many social dimensions of the act of hoarding. The general social mechanisms of the gift were described by . Most fruitful is the use of their analytical potential in a diachronic and supraregional perspective.

Elita představuje určitou skupinu lidí v komunitě, která je vyčleněna od ostatních členů společnosti, nad nimiž je zpravidla nějakým způsobem nadřazena. V archeologických pramenech obvykle bývá tato společenská skupina lidí snadno identifikována, ovšem většinou bez patřičné kritiky. Problémem rozpoznání společenských elit zůstávají především kritéria, podle kterých lze tyto skupiny lidí vyčlenit. To, co se na základě současného pohledu může jevit jako doklad skupiny vyčleňující se od okolní společnosti, mohlo hrát v minulosti zcela jinou úlohu. V tomto příspěvku se na příkladu výšinných lokalit doby bronzové z jihočeského regionu zamýšlíme, zda je možné společenské elity na základě současných poznatků vůbec identifikovat.

The research focuses on the use of animals in ritual deposits. It is based in the analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the internal funerary and ritual structures carved in the clay, in the settlement of the Early Bronze Age Can Roqueta II (Sabadell, Barcelona).

The results show that children, women and men were buried together in a very similar ceremony and accompanied by animals. Sheep and goats, cows, pigs and dogs are the best-represented, although carnivores and birds are also
documented. While many of these animals were offered as a meal to accompany the deceased on his journey, the dogs,
which were not consumed, were probably sacrificed as guides of the soul.

The research aims to show that animal sacrifice is a universal response to death, with slight differences that probably reflect cultural and social adjustments.

This short paper publishes some previously unseen photographs of Early Bronze Age cairns and barrows under excavation. In particular, there are colour images of the 'yellow clay' which was used to demarcate key phases of activity at barrow sites on the St Austell granite.

The research aims to show that animal sacrifice is a universal response to death, with slight differences that probably reflect cultural and sociocultural adjustments. The results show that children, women and men were buried together in a very similar ceremony and accompanied by animals. Sheep and goats, cows, pigs and dogs are the best-represented, although carnivores and birds are also documented. While many of these animals were offered as a meal to accompany the deceased on his journey, the dogs, which were not consumed, were probably sacrificed as guides of the soul.

This article proposes an explanation for the so-called rubbish pits, that are usually scattered rather generously on excavations dating to the danish pre-roman Iron Age.
The particular excavation presented in this article showed signs of ritual behavior in these pits, concerning the deposited pottery and the way it was deposited.

The present study is an archaeological and anthropological analysis of a grave pertaining to the Únětice culture and discovered in Holubice, in the Praha-západ district. In the tomb pit the remains of an adult male laid on his right side with his lower limbs sharply bent, had been buried. The skeleton was found to be only partially preserved. Only the frontal bone (os frontale), the major part of the left parietal bone (parietale sin) and a part of the left temporal bone (temporale sin) were preserved. The preserved part of the skull presents signs of a slash trauma including a skull penetration. Even though the bones went through an advanced healing process, the wound had remained open. The nature of the injury indicates that the wound was surgically treated and loose bone fragments were removed. The injury had not been fatal and the individual lived for some time after. The discovered grave is unique not only for its unusual and highly accurately datable grave goods, but above all for standing as proof of the considerable medical knowledge of the people from the Únětice culture.