East Chisenbury: ritual and rubbish at the British Bronze Age—Iron Age transition

McOmish, David

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00082892

Cited by 42 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…One potential explanation for the patterning of the charred human bone at Toll House, for example, is that most (if not all) of this material was combined with the settlement matrix of soil and other discarded materials some time before it was ultimately deposited in the ground. Furthermore, if we accept the arguments raised elsewhere, that human remains (both burnt and unburnt) were sometimes interred in contexts other than cut features (McOmish 1996) or simply left on the ground surface (Cunliffe 1992), and that considerable periods of time may have elapsed before some of this material was deposited in the ground (Barrett 1991), we must also acknowledge the possibility that the exact location of human fragments within later prehistoric settlement features is not always going to be archaeologically meaningful. In fact, the lack of clear spatial patterning of burnt human remains in isolation on sites such as Toll House probably indicates that in certain circumstances, this material was accidentally incorporated into deposits that may have arisen from a wide variety of different forms of social practice.…”

Section: Burnt Human Bonementioning

confidence: 73%

Post‐middenism: Depositional Histories on Later Bronze Age Settlements at Broom, Bedfordshire

Brudenell¹,

Cooper²

2008

Oxford J Archaeology

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This paper considers recent discussions of 'deliberate ', 'formal', 'placed', 'special', 'structured', or 'token' deposits on later prehistoric settlements in Britain. It argues that while these concepts have certainly been very important in raising and forefronting the interpretative possibilities that depositional practices might offer, the idea of structured deposition has, at times, been adopted and applied somewhat simplistically. In such instances, exploration of the potential complexity and interpretative scope of depositional histories on later prehistoric settlements has been substantially curtailed. Current understandings of depositional practices involving pottery and burnt human bone are examined, and alternative interpretations offered, through a case study of the evidence recovered from a series of later Bronze Age settlements at Broom Quarry, Bedfordshire.

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Section: Burnt Human Bonementioning

confidence: 73%

Post‐middenism: Depositional Histories on Later Bronze Age Settlements at Broom, Bedfordshire

Brudenell¹,

Cooper²

2008

Oxford J Archaeology

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“…The possibility that these large sherds or partial vessels derived from curated midden deposits suggests parallels with sites like Runnymede (Needham & Spence 1996), Potterne (Lawson 2000) and East Chisenbury (McOmish 1996) where large midden spreads survive. At the latter site McOmish also notes the mingling of human remains with more mundane deposits (cf, deposits 2174 and 4312 at Hornchurch).…”

Section: Cremation and Special Depositsmentioning

confidence: 92%

A Late Bronze Age Landscape at South Hornchurch, Essex

Guttmann

Gale²,

Harrison³

et al. 2000

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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A 2.5 ha open area excavation at South Hornchurch, Essex (London Borough of Havering) has revealed an extensive hate Bronze Age settlement on the Thames terrace gravels. The site is particularly significant because of the association of a circular ditched enclosure or ringwork with a contemporary field system, as well as clusters of enclosed and unenclosed circular structures. Two enclosures were formed by rings of pits or large post-holes. Placed pottery deposits and unurned cremation burials were found, mostly associated with structures and entranceways. Other finds include both plain and decorated Post Deverel-Rinibury pottery, burnt flint, spindle whorls, possible loomweights, perforated clay slabs, and a bivalve clay sword mould. The entire site was subsequently sealed by a buried colluvial ploughsoil which almost certainly represents the final phase of Late Bronze Age activity. The site's spatial structure, environmental context, and regional significance are discussed.

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“…Within Great Britain research spanning the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Roman period, and the Anglo-Saxon transition documents animal economic use, animal processing, and variation in the goals of zooarchaeology (Cotton et al 2006;Crabtree 1991Crabtree , 1993aCrabtree , 1996bDavis 1997;Hamshaw-Thomas 2000;Maltby 2002Maltby , 2006bMcOmish 1996;Seetah 2006). Researchers address Roman animal use in Italy (MacKinnon 2004) as well as in geographic areas other than Britain (Lauwerier 1999;Oueslati et al 2006), including North Africa (Larje 1995).…”

Section: Political Economic Use Of Animals In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Zooarchaeology in Complex Societies: Political Economy, Status, and Ideology

deFrance

2009

J Archaeol Res

154

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The zooarchaeology of complex societies provides insights into the interrelated social and economic relationships that people and animals created. I present a synthesis of zooarchaeological research published since the early 1990s that addresses political economy, status distinctions, and the ideological and ritual roles of animals in complex cultures. I address current approaches and applications as well as theoretical shifts in zooarchaeological practice. Research indicates there is great variability across space and time in how past peoples used animals to generate economic surplus, to establish status differentiation within societies, and to create symbolic meaning through sacrifices, offerings, and in feasts. The study of human/animal interactions in complex societies can contribute to fundamental questions of broad relevance regarding political and social life.

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East Chisenbury: ritual and rubbish at the British Bronze Age—Iron Age transition

Abstract: The repertoire of site-types for later English prehistory has not changed for a generation. Now, from East Chisenbury on Salisbury Plain, a new type is defined, a midden of refuse so large and strange it re-defines the concept of ‘rubbish’ and its ‘disposal’.

Cited by 42 publications

References 3 publications

Post‐middenism: Depositional Histories on Later Bronze Age Settlements at Broom, Bedfordshire

Post‐middenism: Depositional Histories on Later Bronze Age Settlements at Broom, Bedfordshire

A Late Bronze Age Landscape at South Hornchurch, Essex

Zooarchaeology in Complex Societies: Political Economy, Status, and Ideology

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