Neolithic long barrows were built on the margins of settlement zones as revealed by elemental soil analysis at four sites in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Past human activities can be reflected in the elemental composition of contemporary soils. The paper is tackling the problem whether it is possible to distinguish prehistoric residential and ritual activities based on the elemental composition of soils. Specifically, the paper is addressing the question of whether Neolithic long barrows were built near habitation zones. An extensive set of 1085 soil samples was used, collected from four barrow sites of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the Czech Republic (and a prehistoric settlement as a reference site). Their elemental composition showed significant differences in the amount of P (phosphorus) and other anthropogenic elements (Ca, Cu, Mn, Zn) between the prehistoric habitation zone and the sites of long barrows. This difference was detected both in the A horizon (ploughed) and B horizon (sub-soil), thus, the additional conclusion of this study is that the ploughed A horizon, which is typically neglected by archaeologists, may also contain information about prehistoric land-use. The results of the geochemical analysis were confirmed by magnetometric surveys, recording, on the one hand, the absence of residential features in the vicinity of the barrows and, on the other hand, showing the presence of later funerary/ritual features. It was possible to conclude that the investigated barrows were built from local materials and that there were no human activities related to the accumulation of ash and waste in their surroundings at the time of construction, use or abandonment, which suggests that they were built in separation from Neolithic habitation zones. They continued to influence land-use and the perception of the landscape for thousands of years.