Interdisciplinary investigation of unusual body manipulations and depositional practices at the LBK settlement of Vráble Velke-Léhemby (5200-4950 BCE), south-west Slovakia

• Applicants: Dr. Katharina Fuchs; Professor Dr. Martin Furholt; Dr. Nils Müller-Scheeßel
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560057566

The LBK site of Vráble, one of the largest Early Neolithic settlements in Central Europe, is characterised in its late phase (5100-5000 BCE) by exceptionally complex practices of manipulation and deposition of human bodies in the enclosure ditch, with the large number (85+) of human skeletons without skulls being particularly spectacular. For all their uniqueness, these practices at Vráble also have clear parallels with contemporaneous activities at other Late LBK sites, where human bodies (parts) were also deposited in enclosure trenches or pits. A better understanding of these phenomena directly touches on the question of Neolithic world views, but also on the role of violent interactions in the late phase of the LBK and, more broadly, in the Neolithic. The applicants' preliminary work has already provided important insights into the settlement history of Vráble, the dating, structure and significance of the enclosure and the forms of deposition. However, a systematic investigation of the ditch structure over the entire length of the earthwork and a detailed anthropological-osteological analysis of the skeletal material represent indispensable, very complex work steps. These are necessary in order to 1) to be able to characterize the population of individuals buried headless in relation to those buried according to regular LBK custom, 2) to reconstruct the manipulation of the bodies in terms of ritual and/or acts of violence and 3) to better understand the function of the enclosure - and thus to be able to evaluate the practices and findings in Vráble in their socio-ritual significance in the local community of the time as well as in their regional and supra-regional context. This is to be achieved through an interdisciplinary work program based on archaeological, osteological and bio-archaeological research strands. Systematic, targeted excavations will examine whether this exceptional burial custom extended to other parts of the enclosure, as well as identifying the dimensions of known concentrations and recovering more skeletal material. For the first time, the osteological processing of the entire human remains will generate valuable information on the preservation, life histories and body manipulations of the buried individuals. Parallel analyses of palaeogenetics and stable isotopes will be used for this purpose. Archaeological, osteological, bio-archaeological and taphonomic information is brought together in an integrative manner for the reconstruction of ritual acts. In order to communicate our research in a contemporary way, we rely on formats that allow a more detailed or elaborate presentation that conveys the necessary minimum level of complexity and differentiation without overwhelming a lay audience.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Slovakia
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Shira Gur-Arieh, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Ben Krause-Kyora; Professorin Dr. Cheryl Makarewicz; Dr. John Meadows; Dr. Maria Wunderlich
• Cooperation Partners: Alena Bistakova, Ph.D.; Privatdozent Dr. Ivan Cheben, Ph.D.; Zuzana Hukelova, Ph.D.