Added February 4, 2001, 2001. Updated December 7,
2008, 03:00 -5 hours GMT.
This page will be updated occasionally to
add and revise information.
La Hoguette
Version 2.00
By
Maximilian O. Baldia
(Copyright 2001 - December 7,
2008©. All rights reserved)
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.
List of Figures
Map
of North and part of Central Europe
Central European chronological table
Location
The La Hoguette type-site is in Western France. The site distribution overlaps with to the Earliest/Early Bandkeramik (LBK). La Hoguette is found in the Rhône valley, Northern France, Switzerland and Southwest Germany (e.g. Jochim 2000:192-193). The Limburg variant is located primarily near the Maas River of the Low Countries.
Dating
La Hoguette may date to ca. 5500-5300 cal BC (Chronological Table). It seems to coexist with the LBK in many sites. However, at Bad-Cannstatt “Wilhelma” near Stuttgart, Germany the assemblage is described as being “relatively pure” (e.g. Jochim 2000, Price 2000a). Bad-Cannstatt and the French site of Bavans, Franche-Comté, may suggest that the pottery is older than the LBK in Western Europe (Winiger 1998:7). Nonetheless, the basal layer at Bavans is apparently mixed with Mesolithic worked flint, undecorated as well as decorated La Hoguette-stile pottery, and a few Later LBK sherds, raising questions about the relative chronology. Furthermore, the 14C dates from the site do not support an early dating. Finally, the Limburg pottery may be later than La Hoguette.
Background
|
|
|
Location of La Hoguette, Early and Later LBK and
Cardial/Impressed cultures and theoretical direction of “cultural origin” (after
Baales 2005 Fig. 34) |
The Dutch archaeologist Moddermann and his coworkers first recognized an
unusual pottery in Dutch Limburg, Netherland, in 1981 (Winiger 1998:3-4). It
belonged to a partly Neolithic, partly Mesolithic population that differed from
the Bandkeramik
(LBK) farmers (Moddermann 1986:121). Two years later, the French archaeologist Jeunesse named this
kind of assemblage La Hoguette. By
the end of the 1980’s the German archaeologist Lüning and his colleagues
presented numerous additional finds (Winiger 1998:3-4).
The development of the Bandkeramik (LBK) has long been thought to occur in
the Middle Danube River Valley. However, the development of La Hoguette was
puzzling. It is currently theorized that Cardial/Impressed pottery using
groups along the Mediterranean coast of Italy and France (6000 –5600 cal BC)[1]
gave rise to La Hoguette. Nonetheless,
it has also been suggested that La Hoguette could be a part of the broad distribution of East and North European
pointed-bottom pottery that was split in two by the intrusion of the LBK.
Pottery
The ceramics assemblage is characterized by pointed bottom bone-tempered pottery.
Economy
Hunting of wild animals and the use of domesticated sheep/goat,
but not cattle and pig, are in evidence. Although the domesticated animals and
the pottery are thought to derive from the Mediterranean, the stone tools indicate the continuation of a
local Mesolithic tradition. Therefore, the La Hoguette may be seen as (nomadic?) herders.
References
and Credits
Cziesla, Erwin
1998 Die
mittlere Steinzeit im südlichen Rheinland-Pfalz. In Conard and Kind 1998:57-76.
Jochim, Michael
2000 The
origins of Agriculture in South-Central Europe. In T. Price (Ed.) 2000:197-218.
Modderman, Pieter J. R.
1986 Die
Bandkeramik im Graetheidegebiet, Niederländisch-Limburg. Berichte der Römisch- Germanischen Kommission, 66:1985:25-121.
Price, T. Douglas (Ed.)
2000 Europe's
First Farmers. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK; New York.
2000a Europe’s First
Farmers: An Introduction. In T. Price (Ed.) 2000:1-18.
Please send comments or questions to Max Baldia.