Stepping Out Together:

Shepherd, Alexandra N

doi:10.2307/j.ctv13pk8h7.27

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Whatever the funerary architecture, the practice of contracted inhumation seems to have been common in north-western France. Right-sided and left-sided individuals are equally represented and, as elsewhere in Bell Beaker Europe, this patterning is related to gender differentiation (Salanova 2011; Shepherd 2012). Burial in the supine position is not rare in the northern half of France (Salanova 2011) and seated individuals might have occurred.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Bell Beaker Burial Customs in North-western France

Favrel¹,

Nicolas²

2022

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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Ever since large amounts of Bell Beaker complex pottery were first discovered within megalithic graves in north-western France, the Bell Beaker has been tightly tied to the ‘megalithic phenomenon’. However, the fact of construction of these various kinds of megalithic monument during the Middle to Late Neolithic pre-dates the users of Bell Beakers. While this is a case of the re-use of older funerary monuments, it is assumed that Bell Beaker funerary practices witness a shift from Neolithic collective burial to individual inhumation. For a long time finds from the megalithic graves have constituted our main source of information on the Bell Beaker complex in north-western France. However, these ‘artificial caves’ have biased our understanding of the Bell Beaker complex and, in particular, of its funerary practices. The re-assessment of old finds and recent large-scale excavations have brought to light a large number of new sites, revealing a greater diversity in Bell Beaker funerary practices in the region than had been perceived previously. In the first part, we set the broader picture, stating what we know or can say about funerary practices during the Recent and Late Neolithic (3350–2550 bc), before the beginning of the Bell Beaker phenomenon. We then discuss the different Bell Beaker burial practices (2550–1950 bc), their chronological and regional variabilities, and, above all, the research biases that might have affected their understanding.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Bell Beaker Burial Customs in North-western France

Favrel¹,

Nicolas²

2022

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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“…Regional variation in Beaker form and style is well-established (Clarke 1970; Lanting & van der Waals 1972; Boast 1995), as are differences in body positioning and grave alignment norms (Shepherd 2012, 274) and grave good associations (Parker Pearson et al 2019a, 115–69). The atypical burials add to this evidence: some regions, such as the Yorkshire Wolds, utilised a narrow range of artefacts as grave goods, provided them sparingly, and left a high proportion of burials unaccompanied.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Funerary Diversity and Cultural Continuity: The British Beaker Phenomenon Beyond the Stereotype

Bloxam¹,

Pearson²

2022

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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The Beaker phenomenon in Britain is typically represented by a particular form of pottery and its inclusion in graves with flexed or crouched inhumations referred to as Beaker burials. Analysis of the full range of burial evidence, however, reveals a high degree of variability in funerary rites including cremation and skeletal disarticulation. Summed probability distribution analysis of radiocarbon dates provides evidence for continuity of these other, atypical rites from the pre-Beaker Late Neolithic (c. 3000–2450 cal bc) through the Chalcolithic (c. 2450–2200 cal bc) and into the Early Bronze Age (after c. 2200 cal bc). Regional diversity is apparent in Beaker period funerary treatments and grave good provision between these typical and atypical rites, as is differential selection of rites on the basis of age and biological sex. This evidence for within and between community funerary diversity has implications for understanding the large-scale processes of cultural and genomic transformation across this period of major transition in British prehistory.

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“…However, as recently discussed by Bloxam and Parker Pearson (2022), other practices such as disarticulation and cremation repeatedly occur before, during, and after the Bell Beaker phase across all of the British regions. Gender-based rules regarding the disposal of the body and of grave goods are recorded across Britain although with an extensive degree of regional variation (Shepherd 2012). Beakers, arrowheads, varied ornaments, and wristguards feature prominently in funerary assemblages, sometimes in exceptional quantities as in the case of the Amesbury Archer (Fitzpatrick 2013).…”

Section: Britain and Irelandmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe

Vander Linden

2024

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Covering vast swathes of Europe, the Bell Beaker Phenomenon has enjoyed a privileged status in the history of archaeology and is often referred to as a key period in the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age partly due to the emergence of social élites. After a brief presentation of the historiography of the Bell Beaker phenomenon, this Element offers a synthetic account of the available evidence structured on a regional basis. Following the renewed interest in human mobility generated by stable isotopes and ancient DNA studies, the central thesis developed here is that the Bell Beaker Phenomenon can adequately be described as a metapopulation, a concept borrowed from population ecology. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

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Stepping Out Together:

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Bell Beaker Burial Customs in North-western France

Bell Beaker Burial Customs in North-western France

Funerary Diversity and Cultural Continuity: The British Beaker Phenomenon Beyond the Stereotype

The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe

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