Hilversum culture

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Hilversum culture is the name for a population group from the Early Bronze Age (FBZ) that appeared in the Netherlands for the first time . It dates between the 18th and 9th centuries BC. BC and was discovered on a burial mound in Touterfout-Halve Mijl.

At the end of the 1950s it could be defined and described by W. Glasbergen . From an archaeological point of view, it is defined by a special form of burial and material legacies in the form of unusual ceramic types. Thus it takes a special development within the Middle Bronze Age in western Europe, which at this time shows a different development.

Chronological classification

The Hilversum culture can be distinguished on the basis of two chronological dating approaches, on the one hand based on the "relative chronology" and on the other based on the "absolute chronology" .

Relative chronology

Relatively chronologically, their beginning can be placed at the end of the Central European phase Bronze Age A2 (BZ A2) according to P. Reinecke, or the Northern European period I according to O. Montelius. Strictly speaking, it still belongs to the end of the Early Bronze Age (FBZ).

It is divided into three different style levels: The style levels "Hilversum" (abbreviated "HVS"), "Drakenstein" (abbreviated "DKS") and "Laren" (abbreviated "LRN").

However, more recent studies (see note 1) based on 14 C data have shown, chronologically speaking, an almost simultaneous occurrence of the Hilversum and Drakenstein styles. For this reason, they are now divided as follows:

  1. Level - HVS 1 (Hilversum)
  2. Level - HVS 2 (Drakenstein)
  3. Level - HVS 3 (Laren)

Furthermore, the early phase HVS 1 can be divided into three sub-phases, which are designated with the capital letters A – C:

  1. HVS 1A
  2. HVS 1B
  3. HVS 1C

Absolute chronology

14 C-data from the Netherlands: (see note 2)

  • The oldest date of the Hilversum culture so far comes from Toterfout (GrN 1053): 3580 +/- 130 BP (uncalibrated) and includes DKS ceramic.
  • The most recent date comes from Benschop (GrN 5356): 2960 +/- 60 BP (uncalibrated) includes LRN ceramic. This gives the time frame for the absolute chronological occurrence of the Hilversum culture.
  • The oldest date for HVS ceramics also comes from Toterfout (GrN 50) and is given as 3450 +/- 100 BP (uncalibrated).

Derivation

First and foremost, it was discovered through some excavations of barrows located in Hilversum (Netherlands). The special feature of these excavations was the cremation burials, which were atypical for this period. After the cremation, the ashes of the deceased were placed in an urn and buried under a mound. These urns consisted of a ceramic that had been observed years before in settlement structures, but whose exact dating was initially unknown. Due to their very poor quality and design, a dating to the late Neolithic was considered. With the help of numerous 14 C dates, however, it was possible to date the graves to the developed Early Bronze Age (Bronze Age A2).

Thanks to numerous other excavations, it has now been possible to date some of the bronze objects that were placed in the graves as grave goods more precisely chronologically. These are small bronze daggers, which typologically have to be placed in the area of ​​the so-called “Sögel culture” and thus serve as further evidence for dating to the end of the Early Bronze Age or the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age.

Characteristic of ceramics

The characteristic of the ceramics of the Hilversum culture is their barrel-shaped contour and the decoration of the vessels with differently positioned cord impressions or plastic strips in the upper area of ​​the vessel body. The vessel wall is usually over a centimeter thick and is noticeable for its strong and coarse quartz thinning.

See also

literature

  • Theo J. ten Anscher: Vogelenzang. A Hilversum-1 Settlement. In: Helinium. Vol. 29, No. 1, 1990, ISSN  0018-0009 , pp. 44-78.
  • Stephanie Hoffmann: The origin and development of the Middle Bronze Age in the western low mountain range. Bonn 2004, (Bonn, Universität, Dissertation, 2004), online , URN : urn: nbn: de: hbz: 5-03597 .
  • Liesbeth Theunissen: Midden-bronstijdsamenlevingen in het zuiden van de Lage Landen. An evaluation of the term "Hilversum-cultuur". Theunissen et al., Leiden 2000, ISBN 90-90-12443-8 (also: Leiden, University, dissertation, 1999).