Pots in Context: Aspects on Pottery Production and Use in the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker (TRB) Culture on Öland, SE Sweden

• This paper discusses contextual aspects of pottery from the two early Neolithic Funnel Beaker (TRB) sites Resmo and Runsbäck, on the island of Öland, SE Sweden. The sites are situated 15km apart on the west side of the island and the C14 dates place the activities at the sites at c. 3900–3600BC and 3600–3100 BC respectively, possibly with some overlap. The pottery has been analysed regarding its design, raw material use, technology and vessel use. While overall similarities in the ceramic craft at the two sites are obvious, some articulated differences were noted in the design as well as in the wares, while vessel use patterns are strikingly similar between the two assemblages. The Resmo assemblage is characterised by an exceptional degree of homogeneity while the Runsbäck pottery displays more variation. The observed differences are viewed against the contexts in which the pottery was recovered, and the different patterns of pottery production and use are suggested to reflect differences in function and duration between the sites. The Runsbäck pottery seems to be associated with everyday activities of mainly domestic character, whereas theResmo pottery is suggested to reflect some form of special occasion possibly connected to ritual activities performed in a monumental landscape setting. This in turn can be related to later events in the area, which includes the construction of megalithic tombs only a few centuries later.

• This paper discusses contextual aspects of pottery from the two early Neolithic Funnel Beaker(TRB) sites Resmo and Runsbäck, on the island of Öland, SE Sweden. The sites are situated 15kmapart on the west side of the island and the C14 dates place the activities at the sites at c. 3900––3600BC and 3600––3100 BC respectively, possibly with some overlap. The pottery has been analysedregarding its design, raw material use, technology and vessel use. While overall similarities inthe ceramic craft at the two sites are obvious, some articulated differences were noted in thedesign as well as in the wares, while vessel use patterns are strikingly similar between the twoassemblages. The Resmo assemblage is characterised by an exceptional degree of homogeneitywhile the Runsbäck pottery displays more variation. The observed differences are viewed againstthe contexts in which the pottery was recovered, and the different patterns of pottery production anduse are suggested to re ect differences in function and duration between the sites. The Runsbäckpottery seems to be associated with everyday activities of mainly domestic character, whereas theResmo pottery is suggested to re ect some form of special occasion possibly connected to ritualactivities performed in a monumental landscape setting. This in turn can be related to later eventsin the area, which includes the construction of megalithic tombs only a few centuries later.

Nyckelord

Neolithic pottery, pottery technology, vessel function, vessel design, TRB (Funnel Beaker) culture

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