Material culture entanglements of early wetland sites in central Switzerland (4300-3850 BC)

In central Switzerland, the earliest wetland settlements with definitely attested finds and features date into the second half of the 5th millennium BC. Combining the information they have yielded with that from dryland sites, we can construct a detailed picture of material culture at the turn of the 5th to the 4th millennium. On this basis, the definition of clearly delimited archaeological cultures seems questionable, not only from a theoretical point of view. Similiarities and differences in the pottery show small-scale regional units defined via vessel forms as well as stylistic and technological aspects. Yet there are also inter-regional connections: roundbased vessels with opposing handles are typical for Lake Zurich, central and western Switzerland, the Valais and the central Rhône valley. In turn, ‘foreign‘ types such as shoulder-band beakers indicate regular connections between groups living in central Switzerland and those in Alsace and southern Germany. Are these beakers ‘imports‘ or locally produced items (‘imitations‘) indicating the adoption of ‘foreign‘ vessel types and concepts? This and similar material culture phenomena result in a picture of many material entanglements and problematise the kinds of relationships and mobility which might have existed. Our paper addresses these questions and discusses how and whether these interwoven connections changed in the early 4th millennium.

Material Culture and Quality of Urban Life

Material Culture and Quality of Urban Life

Acculturation and material culture - George I. Quimby, Curator of Exhibits, Department of Anthropology, and Alexander Spoehr, Curator, Oceanic Ethnology.

v.36:no.6(1951)

The Bruce collection of Eskimo material culture from Kotzebue Sound, Alaska / James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.1(1980)

Mesquakie (Fox) material culture : the William Jones and Frederick Starr collections / James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.30(1998)

The Bruce Collection of Eskimo material culture from Port Clarence, Alaska / James W. VanStone, Curator, North American Archaeology and Ethnology, Field Museum of Natural History.

v.67(1976)

Material culture of the Chilcotin Athapaskans of west central British Columbia : collections in the Field Museum of Natural History / James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.20(1993)

The Noice collection of Copper Inuit material culture / James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.22(1994)

The Isaac Cowie collection of Plains Cree material culture from Central Alberta / James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.17(1991)

The Cherry collection of Deg Hit'an (Ingalik) material culture / James W. VanStone.

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"And he was beautiful" : contemporary Athapaskan material culture in the collections of Field Museum of Natural History / William E. Simeone, James W. VanStone.

n.s. no.10(1986)