Cattle Make the Difference: Variations and Developments of Animal Husbandry in the Central European La Tène Culture.

The first part of our research focuses on the analysis of animal remains (>6000 identified specimens, NISP) from the Middle La Tène central settlement Haselbach in Lower Austria, one of the largest investigated archaeozoological assemblages of present-day Austria. Based on the age and sex profiles, the faunal assemblage from Haselbach shows characteristics of urbanization and centralization and bears striking similarities to the archaeozoological material of the central settlement of Roseldorf (Lower Austria), some 35 km northwest of Haselbach. The second part of our research discusses the historical and regional context of the archaeozoological results from Haselbach and compares them with other sites, based on a detailed review of published archaeozoological data from the La Tène period (c. 450 BC to the end of the first century BC). In total, 55 faunal assemblages from 46 sites in nine countries in Central Europe, representing different types of sites (lowland settlements, hilltop settlements, central settlements, oppida, assemblages of ritual activity, and mining sites) were examined. The synthesis of the archaeozoological data exhibits different husbandry strategies and suggests major changes, especially during the Middle La Tène period indicating agricultural intensification. The differences in the biological profiles of the major domesticated species are of crucial importance to better understand aspects of socio-economic organization; especially in the case of cattle, age and sex profiles are used to distinguish different patterns of cattle husbandry. Finally, morphometric and recent genetic analyses on cattle bones and teeth from La Tène sites in Central Europe provide new insights into the complex socio-economic behavior as well as long-distance networks, involving animal supply and mobility in an exciting period of change involving centralization and increasing influence from the South during the pre-Roman late Iron Age.

Combining geophysical prospection and core drilling: Reconstruction of a Late Bronze Age copper mine at Prigglitz-Gasteil in the Eastern Alps (Austria).

Prehistoric mines are often too large and too deep for conventional archaeological excavations. Non-destructive and minimally invasive methods of prospection can help to overcome these limits. Our case study of a Late Bronze Age opencast mine (ca. 1050 to 780 BC) shows the potential of geophysical prospection methods combined with core drillings. For the reconstruction of this mine, we combined electrical resistivity and induced polarization (IP) tomography, seismic refraction tomography (SRT) and ground penetrating radar (GPR). The geophysical data were collected based on an orthogonal grid of 10 longitudinal and transverse profiles, laid out over an area of ~330 × 300 m. The profiles allowed a three-dimensional interpolation of the geological units, the mining dumps, the mining areas and the residual mineralization. Additionally, two deep cores were drilled to ground-truth the geophysical prospection results. They provided information about the stratification at intersections of the measurement grid, and this proved crucial for validating the interpreted geophysical profiles. Each geophysical method applied provided different information for the reconstruction of the site: the electrical resistivity tomography offered the best clues as to the locations of the geological units and the dumps, the seismic refraction tomography visualized the transition between the dump or backfill layers and the underlying bedrock, and the IP measurements revealed residual mineralization. The georadar measurements, on the other hand, did not contribute to the interpretation owing to the limited depth of penetration. Based on the combination of borehole and geophysical data, it was possible to develop a hypothetical model of an open-pit mine for copper ore that developed in three phases (mines A-C) during the Late Bronze Age. Without the control provided by the core drillings, one of the mining areas (mine A) could not have been correctly identified in the geophysical prospections.

Work on the cutting edge: metallographic investigation of Late Bronze Age tools in southeastern Lower Austria.

This paper analyses 20 Late Bronze Age (ca 1080-800 BC) copper alloy objects to discern their manufacture and the skills of local craftsmen. Several tools and jewellery were studied that originated from a bronze workshop located immediately next to the Prigglitz-Gasteil copper ore mining site and several contemporaneous sites in the surrounding area. The samples were studied with optical microscopy (microstructurally), and SEM-EDXS and XRF (chemical analyses). Our analyses are part of a larger study and suggest that the Prigglitz region's bronze production was not standardized. Particular alloys do not seem to have been chosen for object types or due to their intended use-function. Notably, approximately 20% of the objects contain unalloyed copper inclusions, which are most likely a result of the incomplete mixing of scrap metals and alloys during their production.

Melting, smelting, and recycling: A regional study around the Late Bronze Age mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower Austria.

This paper presents a study on copper production and distribution in Lower Austria's southeastern region during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1350-800 BC), with the focal point being the chemistry and isotopic character of artifacts from a small copper mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil on the Eastern Alps' easternmost fringe. Ores, casting cakes, and select objects from the Late Bronze Age mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower-Austria, and within 15 km of its surroundings, were chemically and isotopically analysed using XRF, NAA, and MC-ICPMS. The importance of Prigglitz-Gasteil as a local mining and metal processing center is evaluated based on the produced data, and the distribution and sourcing of copper-producing materials found at the site are discussed. Special attention is paid to the mixing of scrap and source materials early in the metal production process. The most salient discussions focus on the variability of the chemistry and Pb isotopic ratios of the studied objects, which seem to constitute a multitude of source materials, unlike the pure chalcopyrite-source copper produced from the Prigglitz-Gasteil mine itself. The analytical data suggests that copper alloys were mainly imported from materials originating in the Slovakian Ore Mountains, which were subsequently mixed/recycled with relatively pure locally produced copper. The purity of the copper from Prigglitz-Gasteil was fortuitous in identifying imported copper that contained measurable amounts of Pb and other chemically distinct characteristics. The chaîne opératoire of metal production at the site is mentioned; however, it is clear that additional information on the region's geochemistry is required before any finite conclusions on the ore-to-metal production can be made.

Dig out, Dig in! Plant-based diet at the Late Bronze Age copper production site of Prigglitz-Gasteil (Lower Austria) and the relevance of processed foodstuffs for the supply of Alpine Bronze Age miners.

This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the "missing link" between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces. During archaeological excavations from 2010 to 2014, two areas of the site were investigated and sampled for archaeobotanical finds and micro-debris in a high-resolution approach. This paper aims at 1) analysing the food plant spectrum at the mining settlement of Prigglitz-Gasteil basing on charred plant macroremains, 2) investigating producer/consumer aspects of Prigglitz-Gasteil in comparison to the Bronze Age metallurgical sites of Kiechlberg, Klinglberg, and Mauken, and 3) reconstructing the miners' and metallurgists' diets. Our analyses demonstrate that the plant-based diet of the investigated mining communities reflects the general regional and chronological trends rather than particular preferences of the miners or metallurgists. The lack of chaff, combined with a high occurrence of processed food, suggests that the miners at Prigglitz-Gasteil were supplied from outside with ready-to-cook and processed grain, either from adjacent communities or from a larger distance. This consumer character is in accordance with observation from previously analysed metallurgical sites. Interestingly, the components observed in charred cereal products (barley, Hordeum vulgare, and foxtail millet, Setaria italica) contrast with the dominant crop taxa (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, foxtail millet, and lentil, Lens culinaris). Foraging of fruits and nuts also significantly contributed to the daily diet.