No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC)
This study discusses waste management by mid-Holocene hunter-gatherer-fisher communities at Riņņukalns, on the Salaca river in Latvia. It combines microscopic analyses with geochemistry and radiocarbon dating. We observe natural landscape changes and human responses, with Mesolithic and earlier Midd...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Quaternary Environments and Humans |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652400001X |
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| author | J.P. Kleijne V. Bērziņš D.J. Huisman M. Kalniņš B. Krause-Kyora J. Meadows B.J.H. van Os U. Schmölcke F. Steinhagen H. Lübke |
| author_facet | J.P. Kleijne V. Bērziņš D.J. Huisman M. Kalniņš B. Krause-Kyora J. Meadows B.J.H. van Os U. Schmölcke F. Steinhagen H. Lübke |
| author_sort | J.P. Kleijne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study discusses waste management by mid-Holocene hunter-gatherer-fisher communities at Riņņukalns, on the Salaca river in Latvia. It combines microscopic analyses with geochemistry and radiocarbon dating. We observe natural landscape changes and human responses, with Mesolithic and earlier Middle Neolithic occupation on the backswamp. During the later Middle Neolithic, we see a pattern of selective deposition of waste categories (food waste, combustion waste, and excrements) as part of collective waste management practices, which led to the formation of a shell midden. Analysis of these waste layers provides an alternative perspective on subsistence practices and craft activities. A dump of ochre production waste illustrates the burning of iron-rich sediments to obtain this pigment. These later Middle Neolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher communities had a collective approach to waste and waste management. The shell midden, which was also used for funerary rituals, can be regarded as a persistent and significant place in the landscape of these, perhaps not so mobile, communities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ff8fdb82fac40718607ab71e481a143 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2950-2365 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary Environments and Humans |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ff8fdb82fac40718607ab71e481a1432025-08-20T02:36:12ZengElsevierQuaternary Environments and Humans2950-23652024-01-012110000310.1016/j.qeh.2024.100003No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC)J.P. Kleijne0V. Bērziņš1D.J. Huisman2M. Kalniņš3B. Krause-Kyora4J. Meadows5B.J.H. van Os6U. Schmölcke7F. Steinhagen8H. Lübke9Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA), Groningen University, Groningen, the Netherlands; Zentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie (ZBSA), Schleswig, Germany; Corresponding author at: Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA), Groningen University, Groningen, the Netherlands.Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Riga, LatviaGroningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA), Groningen University, Groningen, the Netherlands; Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Amersfoort, the NetherlandsFaculty of History and Philosophy, University of Latvia, Riga, LatviaInstitute for Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB), Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, GermanyZentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie (ZBSA), Schleswig, Germany; Leibniz Labor für Altersbestimmung und Isotopenforschung, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, GermanyCultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Amersfoort, the NetherlandsZentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie (ZBSA), Schleswig, GermanyInstitute for Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB), Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, GermanyZentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie (ZBSA), Schleswig, GermanyThis study discusses waste management by mid-Holocene hunter-gatherer-fisher communities at Riņņukalns, on the Salaca river in Latvia. It combines microscopic analyses with geochemistry and radiocarbon dating. We observe natural landscape changes and human responses, with Mesolithic and earlier Middle Neolithic occupation on the backswamp. During the later Middle Neolithic, we see a pattern of selective deposition of waste categories (food waste, combustion waste, and excrements) as part of collective waste management practices, which led to the formation of a shell midden. Analysis of these waste layers provides an alternative perspective on subsistence practices and craft activities. A dump of ochre production waste illustrates the burning of iron-rich sediments to obtain this pigment. These later Middle Neolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher communities had a collective approach to waste and waste management. The shell midden, which was also used for funerary rituals, can be regarded as a persistent and significant place in the landscape of these, perhaps not so mobile, communities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652400001XWaste managementShell middenSoil micromorphologyChronologyhunter-gatherer-fisherMesolithic |
| spellingShingle | J.P. Kleijne V. Bērziņš D.J. Huisman M. Kalniņš B. Krause-Kyora J. Meadows B.J.H. van Os U. Schmölcke F. Steinhagen H. Lübke No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) Quaternary Environments and Humans Waste management Shell midden Soil micromorphology Chronology hunter-gatherer-fisher Mesolithic |
| title | No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) |
| title_full | No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) |
| title_fullStr | No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) |
| title_full_unstemmed | No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) |
| title_short | No time to waste. Evidence for communal waste management among hunter-gatherer-fishers at Riņņukalns, Latvia (5400-3200 BC) |
| title_sort | no time to waste evidence for communal waste management among hunter gatherer fishers at rinnukalns latvia 5400 3200 bc |
| topic | Waste management Shell midden Soil micromorphology Chronology hunter-gatherer-fisher Mesolithic |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652400001X |
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