New dendroarchaeological evidence of water well constructions reveals advanced Early Neolithic craftsman skills

0493908 - ÚVGZ 2019 RIV IT eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Rybníček, Michal - Chlup, T. - Kalábek, M. - Kalábková, P. - Kočár, Petr - Kyncl, T. - Muigg, B. - Tegel, W. - Vostrovská, I. - Kolář, Tomáš
New dendroarchaeological evidence of water well constructions reveals advanced Early Neolithic craftsman skills.
Dendrochronologia. Roč. 50, AUG (2018), s. 98-104. ISSN 1125-7865. E-ISSN 1612-0051
Grant CEP: GA MŠMT(CZ) LO1415
Institucionální podpora: RVO:86652079 ; RVO:67985912
Klíčová slova: ring width chronology * oak * history * Czech Republic * Dendrochronology * Early Neolithic * Oak * Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) * Water well
Obor OECD: Physical geography; Archaeology (ARU-G)
Impakt faktor: 2.281, rok: 2018

The first European settlements accompanied by crop and livestock farming occurred approximately 7500 years ago. In this agrarian society, wood was one of the most important raw materials, most notably for construction, but only a little is known about wood use and woodworking technology. Hence, archaeological wooden finds are of particular importance. Dendroarchaeological studies combine the analysis of external and internal characteristics of archaeological wood: traces of tools on the wooden surfaces and the shape of timbers provide information about woodworking techniques, the tree rings allow dendrochronological dating and provide a paleoecological archive. In 2015 and 2016, two water wells with wooden linings from the Early Neolithic Period were discovered in the Czech Republic close to the towns of Velim (Bohemia) and Unicov (Moravia). The timbers were excellently preserved under waterlogged conditions. Here, we present a dendroarchaeological study including tree-ring and woodworking analyses. Furthermore, we consider former forest species composition. Overall, 15 lumbers from both wells were successfully dated by dendrochronology. The oaks used for the wells from Velim and Unicov were felled in 5196/5195 BCE and 5093-5085 BCE, respectively. Additionally, the taxa of 1859 wooden fragments, such as charcoals, branches and chips, were wood anatomically identified. The well lining from Velim with a hollowed tree trunk is already known from other Central European locations. In contrast, the construction from Unicov is unique for this period. Until now, the advanced construction design formed by four corner posts with longitudinal grooves and inserted horizontal planks was only known several thousands years later. The Early Neolithic wells from Unicov and Velim are the oldest archaeological discoveries of wooden artefacts in the Czech Republic that have been dendrochronologically dated. The tree-ring width series extend the Czech oak tree-ring width chronology more than 300 years into the past.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0287181