Bücher der Reihe Freiburger Archäologische Studien

Die tierförmigen Gefäße aus Bronze oder Ton während der späten Bronzezeit und frühen Eisenzeit Mitteleuropas und Oberitaliens bilden insbesondere in reichhaltig ausgestatteten Gräbern eine regelmäßig vorkommende Beigabe. Oft handelt es sich um Darstellungen von Vögeln oder Rindern in unterschiedlichsten Ausführen, entweder in der vollkörperlich meist aus Ton; oft fungiert das Maul als Ausguss; oder deren Köpfe wurden plastisch auf der Gefäßschulter appliziert. Auch können Henkel von Tassen in Vogelköpfen enden, oder sie tragen kleine Rinderfiguren. Auch plastische Figuren auf Gefäßen zählen dazu. Weitere Tierarten wie Pferde, Raubtiere oder das Mischwesen des Rindervogels bzw. gehörnten Vogels sind vertreten, aber viel seltener. Erstmalig wurde zu tierförmigen Gefäßen und Gefäßen mit plastischen, tierförmigen Erweiterungen die vorliegende Monografie erarbeitet. Sie behandelt über 900 erfasste Funde aus heute elf europäischen Ländern in dem Zeitraum von ca. 1500 bis 500 v.Chr., eben in dem sie geläufig sind. Die Hauptverbreitungsgebiete der gesammelten Funde umfassen die Bereiche der spätbronzezeitlichen Urnenfelderkultur, der Lausitzer, der eisenzeitlichen Villanova- und der Hallstattkultur. Aufgrund kaum vorhandener stilistischer Unterschiede zu Vogelgefäßen werden auch die Vogelklappern der Lausitzer Kultur untersucht. Dieses Jahrtausend und die Weiträumigkeit sprechen gegen eine Einordnung der Tierdarstellungen als bloße Verzierungen für Gefäße. Auch der Zusammenhang als Grabbeigabe und der Variantenreichtum weist sie sehr wahrscheinlich als religiöse Symbole aus. Nebst einer typologischen, chronologischen, stilistischen Einordnung und ihre Datierung samt kultureller Beziehungsgeschichte finden auch der Kontext im Befund und die Verwendung dieser außergewöhnlich gestalteten Gegenstände großes Augenmerk. Zusätzlich werden auf Vergleiche zeitgleicher Tiergefäße aus Griechenland und dem Vorderen Orient als potenzielle Ursprungsorte eingegangen. Dem Leitsatz folgend, dass nicht das Aussehen sondern seine Verwendung die Bedeutung eines Symbols erklären kann, werden auch Szenen aus der Situlenkunst besprochen, in denen zoomorphe Gefäße bei ihrer Benutzung zu sehen sind. Die Analysen zeigen, dass bei der Bestattung ein überregional verbreitetes Trinkritual gefeiert wurde, das unter der strengen Schirmherrschaft der sozialen Eliten stand. Besonders pompös fiel dieses Fest freilich bei der "Reise ins Jenseits" eines Angehörigen der oberen Gesellschaftsschicht aus, deren letzte Ruhestätte heute unter den Begriffen "Fürstengräber" oder "Prunkgräber" geläufig sind. Aufgrund übereinstimmender Stilmerkmale, Kontext und ihrer Verwendung zeigen die zoomorphen Gefäße gemeinsame religiöse Vorstellungswelten zwischen der Lausitzer, der Villanovakultur und der Hallstattkultur auf.The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age animal-shaped bronze and clay vessels of central Europe and northern Italy are a regular grave good especially in richly furnished burials. Often these are various depictions of birds and cattle ; either they show whole animal bodies, generally made in clay and with the mouth serving as spout, or plastic animal heads were added to the vessel shoulder. In addition, the handles of cups can end in bird heads or bear small cattle figures. Plastic figures on vessels are also included. Other animal species, such as horses, predators or the hybrid cattle-bird or horned bird are also present, but much rarer. The present work is the first monograph dedicated to animal-shaped vessels and vessels with plastic zoomorphic additions. It discusses over 900 finds from eleven modern-day European countries and spanning the period of their most widespread use, from c. 1500 to 500 B.C.. The areas where most finds have been collected mainly comprise the Late Bronze Age Urnfield Culture, the Lausitz Culture and the Iron Age Villanova and Hallstatt Cultures. The bird-shaped rattles of the Lausitz Culture are also included, as they show hardly any stylistic differences to the bird vessels. The period of use of a millennium and the wide area of distribution suggest that these animal depictions are more than just a kind of vessel ornament. In addition, the contextual association as grave goods and the rich variation strongly indicate religious symbolism. Alongside their typological, chronological and stylistic characterisation, their dating and history of cultural relationships, this volume also places a strong focus on contextual association and on the use of these exceptionally designed objects. In addition, contemporary parallels of animal vessels from Greece and the Near East are discussed, also in terms of potential areas of origin. Following the principle that it is not the appearance of a symbol, but its use that can clarify meaning, scenes from situla art which show the use of zoomorphic vessels are also presented. The analyses show that an inter-regionally widespread drinking ritual, strictly monitored by social elites, was carried out in the course of burial ceremonies. This celebration was particularly ostentatious where a member of the upper echelons of society began their "journey to the other world?, the people who found their rest in what we now call "princely burials?. Given their consistent stylistic attributes, context and use, zoomorphic vessels illustrate shared religious ideas between the Lausitz, Villanova and Hallstatt Cultures.

The volume "The horse in the Early and Middle Bronze Age of central Europe: archaeological investigations" traces the beginnings of the special relationship between humans and domesticated horses in central Europe from an archaeological perspective, outlining the social, economic and socio-cultural changes resulting from the keeping and utilisation of horses and the associated social ideas. At a broader level, this study investigates the research history of this topic, loaded as it is with certain assumptions, as well as theoretical and methodological approaches to the archaeological sources. Along the way, numerous controversies are elucidated and assessed anew based on the material studied. The volume begins with a comprehensive survey of the sources for Early and Middle Bronze Age horses [2200-1300 B.C.] between southern Scandinavia and the Carpathians and then analyses their explanatory power, with particular and explicit attention to gaps in the evidence. Using archaeozoological remains, evidence indicating the use of horses, images of horses and horse-related artefacts, such as spoked wheels, domesticated horses are investigated in terms of their earliest keeping, use and social attributions. The analysis section begins with the practicalities of Bronze Age horse keeping, which is a gap in previous research. In addition, the use of equids is looked at from three different perspectives: horses as food and raw material, horses and mobility, and horses and warfare. Finally, the social attributions of horses are investigated based on the themes of horses as prestige objects and horses in a religious context. In particular regarding the uses and attributions of horses, several long-discussed and controversial topics can be critically reflected, such as the question of the early riding of horses [and frequent assumptions connected to this, such as the spread of material culture and language via long-distance migrations on horseback], as well as the allegedly central importance of horses in Early and Middle Bronze Age conflicts and of horses as animals for postulated Bronze Age elites. At many points in the study, it becomes clear that numerous interpretations connected to horses are based on similar mechanisms: on the one hand, back-projections from later periods play a certain role, while on the other hand parts of research are oriented along specific, ready-made narratives. The present study seeks to sketch a counter-narrative to this one-sided view of the past. Overall, the volume offers a comprehensive overview of the economic, social, socio-cultural, profane and religious role of horses in the Early and Middle Bronze Age of central Europe.