Houses of living and houses of dead in the Neolithic and Copper Age of Central Europe

• Main Author: Turek, Jan
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Presses universitaires de Provence 2016
• Subjects: Archaeology; Tomb constructions; Europe centrale; RTI; Corded Ware; Méditerranée; funerary space; Neolithic; hypogée; Neolithic long barrows; LBK; constructions funéraires; architecture; Eneolithic barrows; symbolic; Néolithique; image; Europe; maison des morts; tertres du Néolithique final; espace funéraire; Central Europe; Mediterranean; houses of death; symbolique; Bell Beakers; Campaniforme; Céramique Cordé
• ISBN: 9791032000489

One of symbolic roles of Neolithic long houses in central Europe might have been burial of ancestors. There is no solid evidence for the funerary function of long houses, however, it is commonly assumed (Bradley 2001). Already during their dwelling function some houses were possibly used for primary deposition of remains of ancestors. The burials were later in the time of abandonment of the house removed elsewhere or remained resting inside the building. This is the process of transformation from the house of living to the house of dead. The main purpose of the second part of the paper is to discuss the question on missing evidence of barrows of the late Eneolithic Corded Ware and Bell Beaker period in Central Europe. Variety of problems of demographic representation of cemeteries, burial customs and spatial structure of funerary areas are connected to the missing barrows. I emphasise the variability of late Eneolithic funerary monuments, including the discussion on burial chambers and circular ditches, yet another type of funerary construction without an earthed mound that may be described as houses of dead.