Das linearbandkeramische Gräberfeld von Kleinhadersdorf

This publication gives a complete documentation of the old rescue excavations in 1931 by Josef Bayer and Viktor Lebzelter as well as of the systematic investigations of the Bundesdenkmalamt under the direction of J.-W. Neugebauer and C. Neugebauer-Maresch between 19871991. The first part represents the archaeology with the discussion of features, burial rites, findings, chronology and use of resources, the second part gives an extended anthropology analysis of this graveyard. 67% of the burial pits contained inhumations, in which the anthropologists could identify 57 individuals. 26 of the grave pits investigated between 1987 and 1991 didnt contain any inhumation or only scanty remains of such a burial, but they had exactly the same shape and size as the grave pits containing a burial. The high number of these empty graves seems to be a specific feature of the Kleinhadersdorf graveyard. 55% of the bodies were oriented with the head to SE and most of them (85%) lied in crouched position on the left side. The custom of scattering red ochre was practised in few cases only over the head, but there are some traces of red ochre on grinding stones too. The exceptional big number of grinding stones in the graves is as specific for this graveyard as is the unusual amount of preserved grave goods in the childrens graves. The different raw materials used for the stone tools as well as a rather small number of spondylus ornaments indicate a big network of relations. Some decorations on the ceramics also give advices that sort and they are supported in the case of one young woman by the results of the analyses of the Sr-isotopes on her bones. 39 skeletons were sampled for isotope- analyses within a major international project; the results are presented in full detail in this volume. Five grave groups of different size can be determined by empty spaces between them and by internal links given by the analyses of Nearest Neighbour analysis. Some areas of the graveyard are so heavily damaged by erosion that only two of the grave groups could be analysed and compared in detail. Both show little clusters of men, women and childrens graves, but they never exclude each other. Grave rites such as those documented by the orientation of the death and the extent of crouching are much more homogeneous in the central than in the NW group. Spondylus evidence is restricted to the central group except of two women, who both are outliers following the strontium signals of her bones. One of them, buried in the NW group, is the oldest grave dated by 14C. The second woman belongs to the southernmost group and is one of the latest burials on the site.