Rössen culture
Encyclopedia
The Rössen Culture is a Central European culture
of the middle Neolithic
(4,600–4,300 BC).
It is named after the necropolis of Rössen (part of Leuna
, in the Saalekreis
district, Saxony-Anhalt
). The Rössen Culture has been identified in 11 of the 16 states of Germany
(it is only absent from the Northern part of the North German Plain
), but also in the southeast Low Countries
, northeast France
, northern Switzerland
and a small part of Austria
.
The Rössen culture is important as it marks the transition from a broad and widely distributed tradition going back to Central Europe's earliest Neolithic LBK towards the more diversified Middle and Late Neolithic situation characterised by the appearance of complexes like Michelsberg and Funnel Beaker Culture
.
are characteristically decorated with double incisions ("goat's foot incision" or German
'"Geißfußstich"') with incrustation of white paste. Grooved or stamped incisions are also common. Over time, the extent of the decorated areas appears to decrease, so that on later vessels it is mostly restricted to the neck or entirely absent.
Typical shapes include tall footed bowls, globular cups, rectangular sheet-made bowls and boat-shaped vessels.
The surfaces of vessels are usually burnished; their colours range from brown via reddish brown and dark brown to grey-black.
tools
is broadly similar to that of the Linear Pottery (LBK) tradition (blades with pyramid-shaped cores), but there is a marked change as regards the raw materials used. Dutch
Rijkholt flint, which dominated the LBK tradition, is being replaced with veined 'Plattenhornstein' (Abensberg-Arnhofen type) of Bavaria
n origin. The most typical solid rock tool is a pierced tall cleaver, but unpierced axes and adzes are also common.
, up to 65 m in length. The ground plans suggest a sloping roofline. Multiple internal partitions are a frequent feature, probably indicating that several smaller (family
?) units inhabited a house. Lüning suggests that Rössen settlements, unlike the earlier LBK ones, are true village
communities. Some settlements were surrounded by earthwork
enclosures
. The majority of settlements is located in areas with Chernozem
soils; compared to LBK the area of settlement has decreased.
were dug to a depth of 40 to 160 cm, occasionally they were covered with stone slabs. The exact shapes and sizes of graves are not well understood.
Even less is known about possible cremation
burials whose identification as belonging to Rössen is sometimes disputed. Cremated remains and pyre
ashes were collected together and accompanied by unburnt grave goods
.
Ceramic grave offerings include pedestalled cups, globular cups, lugged cups, bowls, flasks, amphoras, jugs and basins. Limestone rings, stone axes, flint blades and animal bones also occur.
cultures of Britain
and Ireland
(a group of cultures previously known as Windmill Hill culture
), but there is no great similarity in the form of houses or pottery. According to alternative theories, the British Neolithic culture(s) came from Brittany.
, certain intrusive elements are pointed to as some of the earliest evidence for penetration by Kurgan culture-based Indo-European
elements, but Mallory indicates this idea has failed to gain any real acceptance. Older, now largely discarded theories attempted to make this a very early Indo-European culture; the presently prevailing view assigns it to indigenous non-Indo-European-speaking people.
Rössen is partially contemporaneous with the Southeast Bavarian Middle Neolithic ('Südostbayerisches Mittelneolithikum' or SOB, formally also known as Oberlauterbach Group). In the North, Rössen precedes the early Funnel beaker
culture of Baalberge
; in the South it is followed by the so-called post-Rössen groups (Wauwil
, Bischoffingen-Leiselheim/Strassbourg, Bischheim
, Goldberg
, Aichbühl, Gatersleben
) and Lengyel
(Czech Republic
, Slovakia
, Poland
, Austria
), and the Münchshöfen Culture (Bavaria
).
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
of the middle Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
(4,600–4,300 BC).
It is named after the necropolis of Rössen (part of Leuna
Leuna
Leuna is a town in the Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle. It is known for the Leunawerke , at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of chemicals and plastics is produced...
, in the Saalekreis
Saalekreis
Saalekreis is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The district seat is Merseburg. It is bounded by the districts Kyffhäuserkreis , Mansfeld-Südharz, Salzlandkreis, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Nordsachsen, Leipzig and Burgenlandkreis. The district-free city of Halle is completely surrounded by the...
district, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
). The Rössen Culture has been identified in 11 of the 16 states of Germany
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
(it is only absent from the Northern part of the North German Plain
North German plain
The North German Plain or Northern Lowland is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain...
), but also in the southeast Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, northeast France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, northern Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and a small part of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The Rössen culture is important as it marks the transition from a broad and widely distributed tradition going back to Central Europe's earliest Neolithic LBK towards the more diversified Middle and Late Neolithic situation characterised by the appearance of complexes like Michelsberg and Funnel Beaker Culture
Funnelbeaker culture
The Funnelbeaker culture, short TRB from Trichterbecherkultur is the principal north central European megalithic culture of late Neolithic Europe.- Predecessor and successor cultures :...
.
Pottery
Rössen vesselsPottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
are characteristically decorated with double incisions ("goat's foot incision" or German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
'"Geißfußstich"') with incrustation of white paste. Grooved or stamped incisions are also common. Over time, the extent of the decorated areas appears to decrease, so that on later vessels it is mostly restricted to the neck or entirely absent.
Typical shapes include tall footed bowls, globular cups, rectangular sheet-made bowls and boat-shaped vessels.
The surfaces of vessels are usually burnished; their colours range from brown via reddish brown and dark brown to grey-black.
Stone tools
The Rössen repertoire of flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
tools
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
is broadly similar to that of the Linear Pottery (LBK) tradition (blades with pyramid-shaped cores), but there is a marked change as regards the raw materials used. Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Rijkholt flint, which dominated the LBK tradition, is being replaced with veined 'Plattenhornstein' (Abensberg-Arnhofen type) of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n origin. The most typical solid rock tool is a pierced tall cleaver, but unpierced axes and adzes are also common.
Domestic architecture and settlement patterns
Only few Rössen settlements have been excavated. Prominent examples are the sites of Deiringsen-Ruploh und Schöningen/Esbeck. The predominant structure is a trapezoidal or boat-shaped long houseLong house
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building built by peoples in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe and North America....
, up to 65 m in length. The ground plans suggest a sloping roofline. Multiple internal partitions are a frequent feature, probably indicating that several smaller (family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
?) units inhabited a house. Lüning suggests that Rössen settlements, unlike the earlier LBK ones, are true village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
communities. Some settlements were surrounded by earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
enclosures
Enclosure (archaeology)
In archaeology, an enclosure is one of the most common types of archaeological site. It is any area of land separated from surrounding land by earthworks, walls or fencing. Such a simple feature is found all over the world and during almost all archaeological periods...
. The majority of settlements is located in areas with Chernozem
Chernozem
Chernozem , also known as "black land" or "black earth", is a black-coloured soil containing a high percentage of humus 7% to 15%, and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia...
soils; compared to LBK the area of settlement has decreased.
Burial rites
The dead were mostly buried in a crouched position, lying on their right side and facing East. GravesGrave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
were dug to a depth of 40 to 160 cm, occasionally they were covered with stone slabs. The exact shapes and sizes of graves are not well understood.
Even less is known about possible cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
burials whose identification as belonging to Rössen is sometimes disputed. Cremated remains and pyre
Pyre
A pyre , also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite...
ashes were collected together and accompanied by unburnt grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
.
Ceramic grave offerings include pedestalled cups, globular cups, lugged cups, bowls, flasks, amphoras, jugs and basins. Limestone rings, stone axes, flint blades and animal bones also occur.
Origin of British/Irish Neolithic?
It is suggested the late Rössen culture may be ancestral to the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
cultures of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(a group of cultures previously known as Windmill Hill culture
Windmill Hill culture
The Windmill Hill culture was a name given to a people inhabiting southern Britain, in particular in the Salisbury Plain area close to Stonehenge, around approximately 3000BC. They were an agrarian Neolithic people; their name comes from Windmill Hill, a causewayed camp...
), but there is no great similarity in the form of houses or pottery. According to alternative theories, the British Neolithic culture(s) came from Brittany.
Kurgan hypothesis
In the context of the Kurgan hypothesisKurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis is one of the proposals about early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language...
, certain intrusive elements are pointed to as some of the earliest evidence for penetration by Kurgan culture-based Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
elements, but Mallory indicates this idea has failed to gain any real acceptance. Older, now largely discarded theories attempted to make this a very early Indo-European culture; the presently prevailing view assigns it to indigenous non-Indo-European-speaking people.
Chronologically and geographically adjacent cultures
Rössen followed LBK. In its western distribution, the Hinkelstein, Großgartach and Planig-Friedberg complexes intervene between LBK and Rössen.Rössen is partially contemporaneous with the Southeast Bavarian Middle Neolithic ('Südostbayerisches Mittelneolithikum' or SOB, formally also known as Oberlauterbach Group). In the North, Rössen precedes the early Funnel beaker
Funnelbeaker culture
The Funnelbeaker culture, short TRB from Trichterbecherkultur is the principal north central European megalithic culture of late Neolithic Europe.- Predecessor and successor cultures :...
culture of Baalberge
Baalberge
Baalberge is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Bernburg....
; in the South it is followed by the so-called post-Rössen groups (Wauwil
Wauwil
Wauwil is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.-Geography:Wauwil has an area, , of . Of this area, 72.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.9% is forested. The rest of the land, is settled. , 10.17% of the total land area was forested...
, Bischoffingen-Leiselheim/Strassbourg, Bischheim
Bischheim
Bischheim can refer to the following:*a municipality in the German district of Donnersbergkreis; see Bischheim, Germany*a canton in France; see Canton of Bischheim*a town in this canton; see Bischheim, Bas-Rhin...
, Goldberg
Goldberg
- People :* Goldberg , people with the surname Goldberg* Whoopi Goldberg, Actress, Comedienne* Bill Goldberg, Former Professional Wrestler- Entertainment :...
, Aichbühl, Gatersleben
Gatersleben
Gatersleben is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the town Seeland. It is situated southwest of Magdeburg and northwest of Halle .-Economy:...
) and Lengyel
Lengyel culture
The Lengyel culture, is an archaeological culture of the European Neolithic, centered on the Middle Danube in Central Europe. It flourished during ca...
(Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), and the Münchshöfen Culture (Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
).
General
- J. P. Mallory, "Rössen Culture", Encyclopedia of Indo-European CultureEncyclopedia of Indo-European CultureThe Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture is an encyclopedia of Indo-European studies and the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The encyclopedia was edited by J. P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams and published in 1997 by Fitzroy Dearborn...
, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. - Joachim Preuß: Das Neolithikum in Mitteleuropa. Kulturen-Wirtschaft-Umwelt vom 6. bis 3. Jahrtausend v.u.Z., Übersichten zum Stand der Forschung. 3 Bde. Beier und Beran, Wilkau-Haßlau, Weißbach 1996, 1998, 1999. ISBN 3-930036-10-X
Origins/Development
- W. Meier-Arendt: Zur Frage der Genese der Rössener Kultur. In: Germania. 52/1, 1974, 1-15.
- H.-J. Beier (Hrsg.): Der Rössener Horizont in Mitteleuropa. Wilkau-Haßlau 1994.
- J. Erhardt: Rössener Kultur. In: H.-J. Beier, R. Einicke (Hrsg.): Das Neolithikum im Mittelelbe-Saale-Gebiet. Wilkau-Haßlau 1996, 76-77.
Pottery and chronology
- H. Behrens: Die Rössener, Gaterslebener und Jordansmühler Gruppe im Mitteldeutschen Raum. Fundamenta A 3, Teil Va (Köln 1972.), 270 ff.
- J. Lichardus: Rössen – Gatersleben – Baalberge. Ein Beitrag zur Chronologie des mitteldeutschen Neolithikums und zur Entstehung der Trichterbecherkulturen. Saarbrücker Beitr. Altkde. 17 (Bonn 1976).
- K. Mauser-Goller: Die Rössener Kultur in ihrem südwestlichen Verbreitungsgebiet. Fundamenta A 3, Teil Va (Köln 1972), 231-268.
- F. Niquet: Die Rössener Kultur in Mitteldeutschland. Jahresschr. Mitteldt. Vorgesch. 26, 1937.
- H. Spatz/S. Alföldy-Thomas: Die „Große Grube“ der Rössener Kultur in Heidelberg-Neuenheim. Materialhefte Vor- und Frühgesch. Baden-Württemberg 11 (Stuttgart 1988).
- Otto Thielemann: "Eine Rössener Prachtvase von Burgdorf, Kreis Goslar", Die Kunde, Jg.9,10/1941
Subsistence
- J. Lüning: Steinzeitliche Bauern in Deutschland - die Landwirtschaft im Neolithikum. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 58 (Bonn 2000).
- U. Piening: Pflanzenreste Die Pflanzenreste aus Gruben der Linearbandkeramik und der Rössener Kultur von Ditzingen, Kr. Ludwigsburg. In: Fundber. Baden-Württemberg 22/1, 1998, 125-160.
Architecture
- M. Dohrn: Neolithische Siedlungen der Rössener Kultur in der Niederrheinischen Bucht. München 1983.
- A. Jürgens: Die Rössener Siedlung von Aldenhoven, Kr. Düren. In: Rhein. Ausgrab. 19, 1979, 385-505.
- R. Kuper: Der Rössener Siedlungsplatz Inden I. Dissertations-Druck, Köln 1979.
- J. Lüning: Siedlung und Siedlungslandschaft in bandkeramischer und Rössener Zeit. In: Offa. 39, 1982, 9-33.
- H. Luley: Die Rekonstruktion eines Hauses der Rössener Kultur im archäologischen Freilichtmuseum Oerlinghausen. In: Arch. Mitt. Nordwestdeutschl. Beiheft 4. Oldenburg 1990, 31-44.
- H. Luley: Urgeschichtlicher Hausbau in Mitteleuropa. Grundlagenforschung, Umweltbedingungen und bautechnische Rekonstruktion. Universitätsforsch. prähist. Arch. 7. Bonn 1992.
- K. Günther: Die jungsteinzeitliche Siedlung Deiringsen/Ruploh in der Soester Börde. Münster 1976.
Burial
- R. Dehn: Ein Gräberfeld der Rössener Kultur von Jechtingen, Gde. Sasbach, Kr. Emmendingen. in: Archäologische Nachr. Baden 34, 1985, 3-6.
- J. Lichardus: Rössen-Gatersleben-Baalberge. Saarbrücker Beitr. Altkde 17. Bonn 1976.
- F. Niquet: Das Gräberfeld von Rössen, Kreis Merseburg. Veröff. Landesanstalt Volkheitskde. 9. Halle/S. 1938.
Post-Rössen groups
- Die Kugelbechergruppen in der südlichen Oberrheinebene. Sonderheft. Cahiers Assoc. Promotion Rech. Arch. Alsace 6, 1990.
- Jens Lüning: Die Entwicklung der Keramik beim Übergang vom Mittel- zum Jungneolithikum im Süddeutschen Raum. Bericht der RGK 50.1969, 3-95.
- M. Zápotocká, Zum Stand der Forschung über die relative Chronologie des frühen Äneolithikums in Böhmen. In: J. Biel/H. Schlichtherle/M. Strobel/A. Zeeb (Hrsg.), Die Michelsberger Kultur und ihre Randgebiete - Probleme der Entstehung, Chronologie und des Siedlungswesens. Kolloquium Hemmenhofen, 21–23 February 1997. Materialh. Ur- u. Frühgesch. Baden-Württemberg 43. Stuttgart 1998, 291-302.
- A. Zeeb: Poströssen – Epirössen – Kugelbechergruppen. Zur Begriffsverwirrung im frühen Jungneolithikum (Die Schulterbandgruppen – Versuch einer Neubenennung). In: H.-J. Beier (Hrsg.), Der Rössener Horizont in Mitteleuropa. Wilkau-Haßlau 1994, 7-10.