Altheim

Version 0.2

Maximilian O. Baldia

Under Construction!

Introduction

The purpose of this text is to provide a general overview of the culture and is intended as a resource for students and teachers of European Archaeology.

Location

Altheim is located in East and West Bavaria, Germany and western Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Dating

Altheim is usually reported to start around 4000/3800 cal BC (Chronological Table). It seems to be related to the Late Lengyel derived late Münchshöfen’s Wallerfing phase (ca. 4200/4100-3800 cal. BC.) and overlaps with the Later Michelsberg (Lüning III/IV) and Baalberge. However, the distribution of C¹⁴ dates available to me suggest that it started around 3700 cal BC and ended at about 3400 cal BC. The start date of 3700 cal BC compares favorably with the tree-ring date of 3738 BC for Pfyn-Altheim. The end date of 3400 cal BC correlates well with the earliest date for the following Cham.

Pottery

Pottery has less quartzite and sand temper than earlier pottery. Decoration is nonexistent, except for knobs and a slip, designed to roughen the surface. The pottery includes pitchers and cups with handles. Service sets of containers in varying sizes occur.

Enclosures

Several relatively small enclosures are known, including the type site of Altheim.

Houses

Houses measure 3:3 to 5:5 m

Copper

Copper is rare in Altheim, consisting of small celts (flat axes), awls and a small sheet of copper.[1]

Burials

References and Credits

Höneisen, Markus

1990a Die Ersten Bauern 1: Schweiz. Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zürich.

1990b Die Ersten Bauern 2: Einführung, Balkan, angrenzende Regionen der Schweiz. Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zürich.

Ottaway, Barbara

1999 A Changing Place: The Galgenberg in Lower Bavaria from the Fifth to the First Millennium BC. Archaeopress, Hadrian Books, Oxford.

Uenze, Hans-Peter

1990 Das Neolithikum im bayrischen Raum. In Höneisen, Markus (Ed.) Vol. 2, 1990:123-134.

Please send comments or questions to Max Baldia.