by Chris Fowler
Zvelebil, M. and Lillie, M. 2000. Transition to agriculture in eastern Europe. In D. T. Price (ed.), Europe’s first farmers, 57–92. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
CHAPTER 29
LINEARBANDKERAMIK POTTERY AND SOCIETY*
JOACHIM PECHTL
INTRODUCTION
THE term ‘Bandkeramik’—later rendered more precisely as ‘Linearbandkeramik’ (Linear Pottery culture, or LBK)—was coined by Friedrich Klopfleisch in the 1880s (Klopfleisch 1883). He explicitly used ceramics to characterize an ‘archaeological culture’, thereby creating a terminology still in use today and establishing the tradition to accord a special place to the study of pottery. The choice of ceramics as a defining criterion for the LBK is amply justified: first, they are the most frequent finds category on both settlement and burial sites. Second, they are especially rich in characteristics which can be typologically classified. Pottery is the only finds category regularly represented even in small inventories that can be attributed to definite chronological periods and cultural groups. Third, ceramics are often lavishly decorated and are the only LBK sign-bearing artefact to occur in large numbers. Pottery is hence an LBK type fossil par excellence and is well suited to the application of complex statistical methods (e.g. van de Velde 1979; Stehli 1994; Pavlů 2000; Shennan and Wilkinson 2001). Thus, domestic life, stylistic behaviour, the transmission of traditions, social structures, and communication networks can be more intensively investigated using ceramics than with any other finds type. In spite of the justified criticism of a pure ‘pot prehistory’ (Nowak 2004, 7–9), the pottery of the LBK remains an archaeological source of primary importance.
CULTURE HISTORICAL POSITION
Over large parts of central Europe, the LBK is not only the first farming society, but also the first culture regularly producing ceramic containers. Typologically and genetically, its pottery can be derived from the Carpathian Starčevo culture, as shown especially by early sites such as Brunn am Gebirge-Wolfholz (Austria) and Szentgyörgyvölgy-Pityerdomb (Hungary) (Stadler 2005; Bánffy 2004). The LBK hence stands at the end of the continental development of the Near-Eastern and Balkanic ceramic tradition. Generally, LBK pottery is typologically easy to differentiate from that of other culture groups. However, close relationships exist especially with the contemporary neighbouring groups of the so-called ‘eastern Linear Pottery culture’ in the north-eastern Carpathian Basin (Strobel 1997), the Vinča culture in the southern Carpathian Basin (Pavúk 2005, 21), and the Danilo culture, including the Vlaška group of the north-eastern Adriatic (Biagi 1996, 15). In addition, contact with other pottery-using groups is attested at the eastern periphery of the LBK, east of the Carpathians (Larina 2009).
Direct contact with the Mediterranean pottery tradition is present at the LBK’s north-western periphery. Especially east of the Rhine and in the Neckar area, and mostly on settlements dating to the earliest phase of the LBK, a kind of pottery appears which is technologically and stylistically entirely different from LBK ware: bone-tempered vessels with pointed bases, decorated with raised cordons and rows of double or comb incisions (Lüning et al. 1989). This material, labelled ‘La Hoguette’, shows typological links to the French Cardial culture and is believed to be connected with Mesolithic groups adapting isolated Neolithic cultural elements. Evidently, La Hoguette and LBK existed side by side for a long time, as La Hoguette influences are only visible on late LBK ceramics (Sommer 2001, 252–255). During the late LBK in the northern Rhineland, La Hoguette ceramics were seemingly superseded by ‘Limburg’ pottery, which has much more intensive connections with LBK ceramics (Lüning et al. 1989, 387).
In the early phases of the LBK, pottery is inter-regionally rather similar and remains very conservative. Typological development becomes increasingly dynamic in later phases, resulting in a marked and sometimes micro-regional splitting into different styles. The transition to the pottery traditions of the post-LBK middle Neolithic is regionally diverse and spans several generations (Eisenhauer 2002, 131). Thus, at Dresden-Prohlis, a continuous development from late LBK to earliest Stroke Ornamented pottery (SBK) can be observed in three successive houses (Link 2014, 82–86, 216–225), whilst a sharper stylistic break occurs in southern Bavaria (Pechtl 2009a, 110). Nevertheless, the old ‘Danubian’ traditions remain evident in the LBK’s successor cultures and only break off with the beginning of the late Neolithic (i.e. the mid fifth millennium BC).
TYPOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION
For the purposes of typological description, it makes sense to separate the earliest LBK from the succeeding phases of the ‘classic’ (early to late) LBK. Typically, pottery of the earliest LBK (Quitta 1960; Cladders 2001) has a high proportion of organic temper, with sand and small stones occurring more rarely. Vessel shapes are mostly rotationally symmetric and have flat bases or occasionally hollow pedestals. The most frequent type are small flat bowls with conical, rounded, or kinked profiles. High, sometimes closed bowls with biconical or rounded profiles and mostly accentuated rims, so-called Kümpfe (sing.: Kumpf; Fig. 29.1.1), are rarer. They are often decorated with knobs along their maximum diameter. Spherical bottles with s-profiled necks, often sporting double rows of lugs, are the third most frequent type. Decorations occur on only a small proportion of vessels. These consist of shallow u-profiled lines several millimetres wide. More rarely, there are finger impressions, large incisions, or grooves. Fine pottery is typically decorated with initially single, but later continuous surrounding motifs on the outer surface, mostly opposed spirals or meanders, arches, bundles of lines, and wavy bands of one to three separate incised lines (Fig. 29.1.1). Depictions of human faces and applied zoomorphic decorations are very rare. Coarser wares can be decorated all over with grooves and their surfaces can be roughened with a thick slurry.
FIG. 29.1. Typological development of the shapes and decorations of LBK Kümpfe from southern Bavaria. 1: earliest LBK, Irlbach (redrawn after Quitta 1960, 37 Abb. 22.1); 2: early LBK; 3: mid LBK; 4: later LBK (2–4: Stephansposching, Pechtl 2009a). Scale c. 1:4.
During the classic LBK, organic temper is largely substituted with mineral tempers or grog (Engelbrecht and Lüning 2005, 170). As far as shapes are concerned, the emphasis shifts from open bowls to Kümpfe, and profiles in general become more rounded. Kümpfe and bottles have spherical and, in later phases, occasionally piriform bodies (Fig. 29.1.2–29.1.4). Accentuated rims disappear, with straight rims increasingly common for Kümpfe and bottles. As a rule, vessels have rounded bases. Knobs and lugs become more frequent. Decorations successively increase, both in terms of the proportion of decorated vessels and in terms of the extent of the decorated area and the diversity of execution (Fig. 29.1.2–29.1.4). The incised lines are now narrow and v-shaped in profile. Incisions steadily increase in frequency, whilst raised cordons, finger impressions, and pinched motifs on coarse wares slowly decrease. The application of motifs to different zones of the vessels follows an inter-regionally consistent pattern, although not all zones are actually used everywhere (Fig. 29.2). The main motif forms the core of the decoration. It consists of either single motifs repeated several times next to each other or of continuous motifs, which take up a large part of the surface around the vessel’s belly. The motif spectrum comprises the decorations already used during the earliest LBK, now supplemented with S-shaped hooks, net motifs, and angular bands. Different kinds of spirals dominate. A novelty are rim motifs added as continuous bands above the main motif. The free spaces between the constitutive motifs of the main decoration and the rim motif can be filled with so-called Zwickel motifs, often small, open triangles or sets of short lines. ‘Secondary motifs’ are either free-standing filler motifs or band-like zonal decorations which take up the overall shape and execution of the main motif and continue it downwards to the base or upwards to the rim. Finally, there are the structuring motifs, banded decorations which either lie between individual sections of the main motif or run centrally across its main axis of symmetry. The main and rim mo
tifs especially are executed as decorative bands of lines, dots, or numerous combinations thereof. Hundreds of variants can be distinguished typologically (Kneipp 1998). Tendentially, incisions become more frequent and decorations increasingly baroque throughout the LBK (Fig. 29.1). Since the earliest LBK, the lines and incisions on a small proportion of vessels were filled with white, red, or dark coloured pastes (Meier-Arendt 1966, 50–51). There are also isolated instances of decoration on the interiors of vessels.
FIG. 29.2. Schematic representation of the syntax of Bandkeramik pottery decoration (Pechtl 2009a, 739 fig. 24).
CHRONOLOGICAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS
Ethnographic studies on pots fired at low temperatures and the enormous amount of sherds even on short-lived sites show that most vessels would have broken within a few years at most (for further details, see Pechtl 2009a, 124–127). Coupled with the enormous decorative variation, this allows us to establish fine-grained relative chronologies, with correspondence analysis now the methodology of choice (Kerig 2005). Such phase divisions have long existed for Bylany in Bohemia and for the Rhineland (Pavlů et al. 1986; Stehli 1994); more recently, the material from numerous other regions has been analysed (e.g. Čižmář 1998; Kneipp 1998; Pechtl 2009a). Strictly from a modelling perspective, a temporal resolution within the range of single house generations (see also Last, this volume) can be achieved. Of course, these phases should not be misunderstood as historical facts. Alongside all the source critical and methodological problems, we must acknowledge that stylistic change as a process can differ between households, so that different styles can co-exist within a small area (Eisenhauer 2002, 133–142).
Spatial subdivisions of the LBK on the basis of ceramic material are also possible, even though systematic attempts are still rare (Jeunesse 1994; Rulf 1997; Link 2014, 207–216). Although the earliest LBK appears uniform throughout the whole of its distribution, there are isolated regionally specific traits (Strien 2009; Pechtl 2009b). From the early LBK onwards, large stylistic provinces can be identified, for instance the styles of ‘Flomborn’ in the Rhine-Main-Neckar area, ‘Áčkový’ in Bohemia, ‘Žofipole’ in Silesia, ‘Keszthely’ in southern Transdanubia, and the early ‘Music-Note style’ along the middle Danube (Pavúk 2005, 33 fig. 10). In the following phases, this tendency towards an ostentatious emphasis on regional styles progressively increases, until in the late LBK numerous regional ceramic groupings exist (Meier-Arendt 1972; Jeunesse 1994, 15 fig. 13). Some have distribution areas only a few dozen kilometres across (Kaufmann and York 1985, 89 fig. 8).
PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
Scientific and technological analyses of the raw material and production technology of pottery have so far been limited, making it hard to generalize on these aspects. The raw material was apparently obtained from clay-rich sediments of varied geological origin in the immediate vicinity of settlements (Brink-Kloke 1992, 119–121; Cladders 2001, 39; Spataro 2003, 56; van der Plas 1986, 38). However, within single sites clays from different sources were used (Cladders 2001, 39; Rauba-Bukowska 2009, 237; Spataro 2003, 38). Even special raw materials, such as graphite-rich clay, remain tied to the immediate vicinity of their sources (Tichý 1961, 81). Overall, easy accessibility to the raw clay seems to have been more important than quality (Cladders 2001, 39).
Little is known of clay preparation. Mostly, the material was only roughly ground to remove unwanted inclusions. Layers of naturally oriented clay minerals in sherds show that often the material was neither soaked nor thoroughly processed when dry, nor even intensively kneaded (van der Plas 1986, 32). Many clays naturally contain high proportions of non-plastic elements, which can often not be confidently distinguished from artificially added tempers. Especially fine wares were probably partly made from unaltered raw clay (Franklin 1998, 5–6). As a rule, however, potting clay was artificially tempered, especially with sand and, in the earliest LBK, the obligatory organic components (van der Plas 1986; Cladders 2001, 39). Grog, too, is attested (van der Plas 1986, 39), whilst crushed stone and bone are much rarer (Franklin 1998, 7; Rauba-Bukowska 2009, 238–240). The amount, kind, and composition of the temper vary considerably and show a clear correspondence to the size and type of vessel produced (Pechtl 2009a, 34–36; Rauba-Bukowska 2009, 245–246).
Vessels were exclusively shaped by hand. Smaller items were formed by pressing a clay ball between the fingers. Sometimes, the limits of coils can be identified on the breaks of sherds, showing that usually the coiling technique or perhaps the slab technique was employed (Brink-Kloke 1992, 115). The paddling technique may have been used occasionally, perhaps especially for larger pieces. Handles and other three-dimensional additions were applied at a later stage to an area of the surface previously roughened with a pinch for better adhesion. A broad spectrum of techniques exists for treating the vessel surface: untreated, smoothening when wet, burnishing, polishing, and applying a graphite coating. Prior to this, a slip was at least occasionally applied, especially to fine wares. Coarse wares sometimes feature a rough slurry coating with finger impressions (Cladders 2001, 44). Typical LBK decorations consist of incisions and impressions, made on the finished surface when leather-hard (Brink-Kloke 1992, 146). In general, lines were incised first and round incisions or music notes added later as appropriate. Coarser wares are more likely to be decorated with plastic elements, such as finger impressions, pinching, or raised cordons.
Before firing, the pottery had to be thoroughly dried. Phenomena such as cracks from drying are very rare, showing that this process happened slowly and carefully (Pechtl 2009a, 37). Pottery was mostly soft-fired in temperatures of only 550–850°C (van der Plas 1986, 39; Franklin 1998, 9–11; Rauba-Bukowska 2009, 239). The firing atmosphere was uneven and often fluctuated, resulting in many vessels with uneven surface colour. However, there is a tendency to fire coarser vessels in an oxidizing atmosphere and finer wares in a reducing atmosphere (Brink-Kloke 1992, 116; Pechtl 2009a, 38–39). This means that firing, although only partly controllable, was adjusted to the desired products and accordingly carried out either in bonfires or as pit firing. Finally, in exceptional cases vessels were further decorated by adding coloured incrustations to the incised lines or by painting with mineral pigments (Meier-Arendt 1966, 50–51); only for the Slovakian/Moravian Želiezovce group is painting frequently observed (Pavúk 1969, 296).
Pottery making necessitated only a modest number of tools. The usual digging implements were probably used to obtain the clay, then perhaps pulverized with saddle querns or wooden implements, likely also used for preparing temper (Franklin 1998, 5). For shaping, surface treatment, and decoration there were wooden or bone scrapers, spatulae, points, and combs, as well as burnishing stones, perhaps even flint tools (Zeeb-Lanz et al. 2006, 72 fig. 11.4; Kind 1989 plate 87.2). Potentially turnable work surfaces such as boards, pieces of bark, or skins can be supposed. Large, round-bottomed shapes were probably manufactured whilst they stood in depressions in the ground, on rings made from organic materials, or on curved sherds.
In summary, potters could draw on a tightly circumscribed canon of techniques, which were not particularly variable spatially or chronologically. Single pieces or small series were produced in a settlement context, with techniques carefully selected according to the future demands on the vessels. The necessary tools were very simple, frequently comprising items also employed for other purposes and hence anyway present around the house. At most a small investment would be needed to obtain them. Techniques, too, were generally simple. Whilst their successful use required some instruction, and especially aptitude and practice, a specialized apprenticeship was unnecessary. This technical simplicity of pottery making contrasts with a substantial labour investment and, in many cases, exceptional care during production. Especially for the laboriously burnished and elaborately decorated fine ware, production times are estimated at several hours per vessel (Fig. 29.1.4) (Pechtl 2009a, 129).
Investigations at a settlement level have shown that certain stylistic char
acteristics are confined to single houses or small groups of buildings, or occur in successive houses on the same farmstead (Frirdich 1994, 254; Strien 2005, 189–192; a ‘farmstead’ is here defined as a cluster of houses succeeding each other in a defined area over time, see Claßen 2009, 97). Hence, house-specific styles, sometimes even the products of individual potters, can be recognized (Krahn 2003, 526; Stadler 2005, 277 fig. 112). This shows self-sufficient production at the household level. At most, immediately adjacent households were also supplied. Only special items, such as ceramics made from graphite-rich clay or unusually lavishly decorated, were involved in small-scale exchange between settlements (Tichý 1961; van Berg and de Menthen de Horne 1989). At the inter-regional scale, there is a certain harmonization in typological development, hinting at long-distance communication networks. However, the direct exchange of ceramics over long distances—even just as containers for other items—is rarely identifiable (e.g. Strien 1989).
The number of new vessels required by an average household at the Bavarian site of Stephansposching has been estimated at roughly 12 pieces per year (Pechtl 2009a, 124), which could be produced in around three manufacturing episodes. Potting was hence probably a seasonal activity, carried out as and when required by individual household members (Pavlů 2000, 282). The fact that the shallow lines sometimes pre-incised on pots as aids for executing the main motif do occasionally diverge from the actual decoration implies a lack of production routine. A few small vessels are made in an exceptionally rough manner, with shapes and decorations entirely divergent from the known pattern (e.g. Pechtl 2009a plate 95.1472–2). These are probably practice pieces made by children, showing that pottery making was embedded in family life. There are indeed other indicators for a gender-and age-dependent division of tasks in the LBK, for instance suggested by the differential distribution of stone adzes and quernstones in graves (Pechtl 2009a, 243–246; Hofmann and Orschiedt, this volume). In analogy to numerous ethnographic examples, we can suppose that potting was carried out by women (Pavlů 1997, 132).
