The Mesolithic burial site of Groß-Fredenwalde (Brandenburg) - late hunter-gatherers in a changing world
Final Report Abstract
The DFG project investigated the Mesolithic site on the Weinberg near Groß Fredenwalde, which had been known since 1962, with modern, interdisciplinary methods. A Mesolithic burial ground with at least twelve inhumations was identified for the first time in Germany. Three of these burials were newly discovered in the course of the project. Two of them were recovered en bloc and examined in the laboratory; one burial remained on site. The extent of the cemetery was confirmed in three directions by the discovery of areas without features. In the south-west a survey revealed further discolorations. At least one feature can probably be interpreted as a further burial, analogous to earlier discolorations. With osteoanthropological studies and new archive material, the previous interpretation of the six individuals discovered in 1962 as a multiple burial can be corrected. Instead, it is probably a double burial, a triple burial and a single child's grave. All burials discovered in the course of the new research represent single inhumations. Radiocarbon dating of the twelve individuals and various grave goods allow for a clear division of the Mesolithic burial activity into two phases: An older main phase ca. 6,200 to 5,800 calBC (11 individuals) and a single later burial from around 4,900 BC (1 individual). The dating of the human remains shows freshwater reservoir effects (FRE), and this makes it difficult to determine the exact start of occupation in the late 7th millennium calBC. The AMS data from grave goods (without FRE) suggest a focus of occupation at the beginning of the 6th millennium calBC. The graves of the main occupation phase are located close together and respect each other spatially, which speaks for a surface visibility or marking of the graves. Only the clearly younger burial disturbs an earlier grave, which indicates a lack of continuity. The grave goods show connections to the north for both phases; this is highlighted by a decorated slotted dagger, which finds its parallels in southern Scandinavia. Of the twelve individuals detected, eleven could be examined more closely. In addition to six adult individuals (3 men, 3 women), five were children of various ages. The analysis confirmed a generally good health status of the individuals with no caries, low general disease indicators and no trauma. There is only one indication each of scurvy and rickets in childhood. The earlier burial phase appears to have begun during or shortly after the cold 8.2 ka event, which has repeatedly been interpreted as the trigger for socio-economic changes (e.g. Oleni Ostrov cemetery; Schulting et al. 2022). The larger number of children among the dead, the isotope values of the youngest infant burial and individual indications of scurvy and rickets may point to a deficiency situation in the earlier burial phase. Palaeogenetic studies of seven individuals show that the people of Groß Fredenwalde belong to the Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) ancestry. For the individuals of the earlier occupation phase, however, a genetic influence of the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG) can be proven for the first time in Central Europe. In addition, there are two cases of close relationships within the earlier occupation phase, which fits well with the proposed relatively short occupation period. The important role of aquatic resources in the diet was confirmed with further 13C/15N isotope data. The strontium isotopes suggests mobility of the community both in seasonal cycles and during the lifetime of the individuals; about half of the buried individuals show non-local values. The significantly younger grave from the beginning of the 5th millennium calBC (feature 1/4) has to be considered in its particular historical context: The young man buried in an unusual manner (upright posture, multi-stage burial ritual) lived at a time when the first farmers of the Linear Band Pottery culture had already been settling in the Uckermark for some generations. However, palaeogenetic analyses shows that the individual was of pure Mesolithic ancestry – after about 300 years of parallel existence, no traces of admixture can be detected. The unusual, upright burial was intensively examined by an interdisciplinary team. Analysis of the bones (osteoanthropology, bite mark analysis) make it possible to gain a better understanding of the life of the buried person and the complex burial ritual. The Weinberg is a prominent landmark in the region, and microclimatically favoured particular locations in the surrounding area, such as its southern slope, were – according to results of pollen analysis – probably not completely covered by woods during the older burial phase and therefore widely visible. Field walking on the hill did not reveal any Mesolithic settlement activity close to the cemetery, which underlines the special location and suggests a function of the cemetery as a territorial marker of the Mesolithic community. Late Mesolithic surface sites have 5 only been found more distant (3-4 km). Lake Behrendsee is located within sight and represents an obvious settlement choice. No Mesolithic settlement traces were uncovered during surveys. However, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and sediment analyses indicate human presence and activities using fire in the immediate vicinity of the lake in the Atlantic period. Several finds of whipworm eggs indicate that the lake shores were frequently visited, especially between around 6000 and 5500 BC. This period coincides with a phase of maximum expansion of the Atlantic open land vegetation. The new results obtained on the cemetery on the Weinberg provide an important contribution for the understanding of Mesolithic landscape use and the population before and after the neolithization of the Uckermark and northern Germany.
Publications
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Step by step – The neolithisation of Northern Central Europe in the light of stable isotope analyses. Journal of Archaeological Science, 99, 66-86.
Terberger, Thomas; Burger, Joachim; Lüth, Friedrich; Müller, Johannes & Piezonka, Henny
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Im Lichte neuer Forschungen. Die „Mehrfachbestattung“ von Groß Fredenwalde, Lkr. Uckermark. Archäologie in Berlin und Brandenburg 2019, 44-48
Kotula, A.; B. Jungklaus & T. Terberger
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The Mesolithic cemetery of Groß Fredenwalde (north-eastern Germany) and its cultural affiliations. Lietuvos archeologija, 46, 65-84.
Kotula, Andreas; Piezonka, Henny & Terberger, Thomas
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First meetings? The Late Mesolithic and the Linear Pottery culture in Northeast Germany. Materiały Zachodniopomorskie Nowa Seria, 62, 2021, 165–195
Terberger, T.; J. Kabaciński & A. Kotula
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The Mesolithic „multiple burial“ of Groß Fredenwalde revisited. In: S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser/ O. Jöris (eds.), The Beef behind all Possible Pasts: The Tandem Festschrift in Honour of Elaine Turner and Martin Street. Monographien des RGZM 157.2, 2021, 671-688.
Terberger, T.; A. Kotula; B. Jungklaus & H. Piezonka
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Deutschlands ältester Bestattungsplatz. In: F. Klimscha/ L. Wiggering (eds.), Die Erfindung der Götter: Steinzeit im Norden (Hannover 2022) 66-71
Kotula, A.
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The unusual last journey of a flint knapper c. 7000 years ago - a late Mesolithic burial from Groß Fredenwalde (Brandenburg, NE- Germany). In: M. Grygiel/ P. Obst, Walking Among Ancient Trees. Studies in honour of Ryszard Grygiel and Peter Bogucki on the 45th anniversary of their research collaboration (Łódź 2022) 115-134
Kotula, A.; B. Jungklaus; N. Lüdemann; H. Piezonka & T. Terberger
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Versunkene Welten und ewige Jagdgründe – Die letzten Jäger-Sammler-Fischer des Nordens. In: F. Klimscha/ L. Wiggering (eds.), Die Erfindung der Götter: Steinzeit im Norden (Hannover 2022) 26-45
Terberger, T.
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Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers. Nature, 615(7950), 117-126.
Posth, Cosimo; Yu, He; Ghalichi, Ayshin; Rougier, Hélène; Crevecoeur, Isabelle; Huang, Yilei; Ringbauer, Harald; Rohrlach, Adam B.; Nägele, Kathrin; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Radzeviciute, Rita; Ferraz, Tiago; Stoessel, Alexander; Tukhbatova, Rezeda; Drucker, Dorothée G.; Lari, Martina; Modi, Alessandra; Vai, Stefania; Saupe, Tina ... & Krause, Johannes
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People, Economy and Identity – The 6th/ 5th Millenium south of the western Baltic Sea. In: D. Groß/ M. Rothstein (eds.), Changing Identity in a Changing World. Current Studies on the Stone Age around 4000 BCE (Leiden 2023) 279-297
Terberger, T.; A. Kotula & H. Piezonka
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The Site Groß Fredenwalde, NE-Germany, and the Early Cemeteries of Northern Europe. Open Archaeology, 9(1).
Kotula, Andreas; Terberger, Thomas; Jungklaus, Bettina; Piezonka, Henny; Schenk, Thomas & Schopper, Franz
