Who venerated the ancestors at the Petit-Chasseur site? Examining Early Bronze Age cultic activities around megalithic monuments through the archaeometric analyses of ceramic findings (Upper Rhone Valley, Switzerland, 2200-1600 BC).

ABSTRACT: Through the analyses of recovered pottery, this study explores the social dimension of an ancestor cult developed at the Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis (Upper Rhône Valley, Switzerland) during the Early Bronze Age (2200-1600 BC). The jar votive offerings and domestic pottery from settlement sites were characterized using a range of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Acquired archaeometric data allowed identification of six ceramic fabrics and two types of clay substrate-illite- and muscovite-based-which were used in pottery production. The present article discusses the pottery composition in the light of natural resources available in the region, thus shedding light on raw material choices and paste preparation recipes. The Early Bronze Age people that lived in the Upper Rhône

SUBMITTER: Carloni D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10119256 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature