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A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF MEGALITHIC TOMBS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

By
Maximilian O. Baldia


1993 – 22 May 2007©
All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
LIST OF FIGURES iix
 
LIST OF TABLES xx
 
  PART I & II
 
 CHAPTER Page
 1 INTRODUCTION 1
  1.1 Goals and scope 1
 1.2 TRB chronology and regional groups 2
 1.3 TRB tombs and German gallery-graves  5
 1.4 The sources 6
 
 2 HISTORY OF TRB MEGALITHIC TOMB RESEARCH 9
 2.1 Introduction 9
 2.2 The Beginning (2400b.c.-1200A.D.) 10
 2.3 The earliest speculations and excavations (1200-1600) 15
  2.4 The Antiquarian Period (1600-1800) 18
 2.5 The Classifying Period (1800-1900) 20
 2.6 The Culture History Period(1900-1950)  35
 2.7 The Data Reevaluation Period (1950-1970's) 47
 2.8 The Analytical Period (1970's - Present) 53
 2.9 Conclusion  72
 
 3 FUNNEL BEAKER CULTURE ORIGINS 74
 3.1 Introduction 74
  3.2 The Linienbandkeramik 76
 3.3 Stichbandkeramik 78
 3.4 Lengyel  80
 3.5 Rössen 81
 3.6 Ertebølle 82
 3.7 Michelsberg  83
 3.8 Conclusion 87
 
 4 THE TRB SOCIETY  88
 4.1 Introduction 88
 4.2 Environment, technology, and economics 88
 4.3 TRB and gallerygravegroup settlement patterns 90
 4.4 Trade and transportation 95
 4.5 Social organization 99
 
  5 ALTERNATIVE MEGALITHIC TOMB ORIGIN THEORIES 106
 5.1 The Western Origin Theories 106
 5.2 The Eastern Origin Theory 116
 5.3 The Autochthonous Origin Theory 122
 
 6 SUB- AND NON-MEGALITHIC GRAVES AND THE ORIGIN OF MEGALITHIC TOMBS  124
 6.1 Introduction 124
 6.2 The roots of the TRB burial architecture 124
 6.3 Sub- and non-megalithic graves and their 
 relationship with megalithic tombs 128
 6.4 Reasons for the advent of megalithic tombs 133
 
 7 THE MEGALITHIC CHAMBER CLASSIFICATION 136
 7.1 The limits of traditional typologies 136
 7.2 A refined classification 140
 
 8 DOLMEN: THE FIRST MEGALITHIC CHAMBERS 142
 8.1 Primeval-dolmen (closed-urdolmen) 144
 8.2 Transitional dolmen  153
 8.3 Multiple side-stone dolmen 166
 
 9 THE MULTIFACETED TRANSITION TO PASSAGE-GRAVES 177
  9.1 The first passages 177
 9.2 The shifting passage angle 183
 9.3 The synthesis of rectilinear- and polygonal-dolmen  192
 9.4 The significance of long and complex passages 194
 
 10 PASSAGE-GRAVES 199
 10.1 Introduction 199
 10.2 Primeval passage-graves 200
 10.3 Extended passage-graves 215
  10.4 Grand passage-graves 225
 
 11 COMPLEXPASSAGE-GRAVES 228
 11.1 Introduction  228
 11.2 Side- and end-chamber passage-graves 228
 11.3 Double passage-graves 236
 11.4 Triple passage-graves 241
 11.5 Dual passage-graves 242
 11.6 Single chamber double passage-graves 244
 
 12 GALLERY-GRAVES 248
 12.1 Introduction 248
 12.2 Gallery-grave origins  248
 12.3 The traditional gallery-grave classification 257 
 12.4 Reclassifying gallery-graves  261
 
 13 MOUNDS AND ENCLOSURES 281
 13.1 Introduction 281
 13.2 Mound and enclosure origin and evolution 284
 13.3 Enclosure shapes 288
 
 14 A CHRONOLOGICAL MODEL OF TOMB EVOLUTION  312
 14.1 Mounds and enclosures in relation to chambers 312
 14.2 The relationship between chamber types 321
 14.3 The chronological model 329
 
 15 ORIENTATION AND LOCATION OF MEGALITHIC TOMBS 332
 15.1 Megalithic tombs and celestial alignments  332
 15.2 Tomb orientation and location vis-à-vis topography, 
 soil type and village location 338
 15.3 Megalithic tomb location and territories 343
 
 16 SPATIAL ANALYSIS (Multi-page Kodak Imaging 2 MB TIF file) 350
 16.1 Methods of spatial analysis 350
 16.2 Tomb distribution and density 352
 16.3 Mound distribution and density 356
 16.4 Chamber distribution 363
 
 17 MEGALITHIC TOMBS AND THE FIRST ROADS 373
 17.1 Introduction 373
  17.2 Wheels, wagons and draught animals 375
 17.3 The oldest known roads 382
 17.4 Previous barrow-road research  387
 17.5 The spatial relationship of roads and tomb 391
 
 18 TOMBS AND THE INDO-EUROPEAN HOMELAND  431
 18.1 Introduction 431
 18.2 Models of the Indo-European homeland 431
 18.3 Homeland models and the tombs 440
  18.4 Cultural continuity and geographic expansion 443
 
 19 CONCLUSION 447
 
 REFERENCES 555
 
 Megalithic Tomb Index 
 
 Neolithic/Copper Age INTERNET LINKS
 
 
 

Please send comments or questions to Max Baldia.