Mass Graves of the LBK
Mass Graves of the LBK
Patterns and Peculiarities
Truly deviant grave features exist with the known Linearbandkeramik (LBK) mass graves from Germany, which share the absence of grave goods, erratic commingling of bodies, a location within a settlement context and suppressed individuality of the dead. They differ markedly from LBK multiple burials found in cemeteries and seem to have been deposited as a consequence of mass fatality events, whether violence was involved or not. Once thought to be unique, the authors suggest that mass graves should be regarded as a standard way of disposing of a large number of dead occurring within a short period of time. The known LBK mass grave sites from Germany are summarised here and a working typology of mass graves and related features within the LBK cultural context is presented. Osteological and bioarchaeometric analyses, currently in progress, will enable more detailed comparisons between these sites and others already known or to be discovered.
Keywords: Linearbandkeramik (LBK), mass graves, Germany, violence, osteoarchaeology, bioarchaeology
British Academy Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
