Klaipėdos universitetas

In the excavated Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in Latvia, cultural layers from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Stage 1), and the middle Iron Age and the Late Iron Age (Stage 2), were detected, which, besides the archaeological material typical of that period, provided abundant zooarchaeological material. This article presents the investigation data from the zooarchaeological material of both stages: the data relate to the butchering techniques used, and the identification of the composition of the faunal species. The investigation was carried out in the bioarchaeological laboratory of the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University. As is proven by the investigation, the ratio of domestic animals to hunted wildlife in the two periods compared is not identical. In the second period of habitation of the hill-fort, the number of cattle and sheep/goats decreased, while the number of swine and especially of horses increased. The article also deals with characteristics of butchering techniques of domestic animals and wildlife in both periods of the habitation of the hill-fort, and changes identified in the meat processing. In the second period, the level of processing resulted in greater amounts of meat suitable for food, due to the technical properties of the raw material and the nutritional and commodity value.

Several Estonian burial places with cremations were investigated in the period 1997 to 2011. During the research, various descriptive and metric data on cremated bone materials was observed. The present paper is an attempt to systematise and interpret the data collected, in order to provide some generalisations on Estonian cremations. A comparative study of graves on the basis of the minimum number of buried individuals and the number of determined bone finds in graves, as well as bone fragmentation, is presented. Radiocarbon dating (AMS method) of burnt human bones from six investigated graves was conducted in order to specify the usage time of the graves. Some conclusions on possible temporal changes and cultural differences in burial practices are made on the basis of these characteristics.

This article presents an analysis of the spatial structure and the chronological development of Opstainis, Vilkyškiai Iron-Age hill-fort settlement, on the basis of archaeological and geomagnetic survey data. It has been ascertained that the hill-fort and the settlement were inhabited throughout the first millennium AD. The currently available scientific research data from Opstainis, Vilkyškiai Iron-Age hill-fort and settlement (half-sunken building or pit houses, oval-shaped and pear-shaped flatbottom household pits, and shards of handmade pottery decorated with cross-shaped imprint ornaments) serve as indications of contacts between the inhabitants of the lower reaches of the River Nemunas and the southwest Baltic Sea region in the second half of the first millennium AD.

Flints from the Late Bronze Age (Roman Period?) Naudvaris cemetery (in the Jurbarkas district) and the Iron Age Kernavė settlement (in the Širvintos district) in Lithuania were analysed functionally and from other points of view. The results are presented in the context of key issues on flint processing and use in Lithuania and Poland during the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD when metals were available.

This article summarises the evidence of the military and agricultural significance of the horse, as well as of the Pagan beliefs and ritual practices reLated to horses found in the archaeological excavations in the Latgallian and Selonian territories relating to the Iron Age. During the Iron Age, the role of horse is growing; the fact is reflected in diversity and quantity of harness items and cavalryman’s equipment found in the excavations. Although the existence of horse cult in all the peoples that lived in territory of present Latvia and surrounding territories is indisputable, there are significant differences in the common beliefs and ritual practices defined by the social development of the society, by mutual trade relations, interaction of cultures and, probably, even by the migration of people.

The relationship between petroglyphs and archaeoastronomy has been treated in several ways in the past. In the present study, we examine a particular motif found among the rock carvings in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula: a large deer with over-sized horns and an unnatural number of tips on each horn. A multidisciplinary approach combining landscape archaeology, comparative history of religions, and archaeoastronomy suggests a coherent interpretation of the motif. It reveals a unique amalgamation of calendrical motives, landscape relationships and lunisolar events. It may also be significant in relation to the Celtic world-view and its artistic manifestation, and to the relationship between time and landscape.

Female graves, which contain a wholly unfeminine or male-related grave inventory, and not only a single item, are discussed in this paper. The main intention is not to describe in great detail these graves, but rather, by removing them from the context, to approach them as possible archaeological evidence of cross-dressing. Drawing on different historical parallels, a tentative explanation is suggested following two supposed inspirations for cross-dressing: cross-dressing by military consideration, and cross-dressing by cultural consideration.

In this article, some new approaches to Taurapilis prehistoric site, situated in the Utena district in Lithuania, are proposed. As a projection of a taurus horn on the ground in a water form, Lake Tauragnas was the principal factor shaping the particular prehistoric space and determining its status. In this way also, the origins of the Taurapilis Central Place, dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, are explained.