A new investigation of the absolute dating of the male burial and the settlement of Schwanfeld, Ldkr. Schweinfurt, Unterfranken, a site of the oldest Linearbandkeramik

Abstract

The well-known grave of the so-called “hunter / warrior” of the settlement site Schwanfeld, Lower Franconia, dating to the oldest Linearbandkeramik, was for a long time considered as earliest evidence for the neolithisation of Western Europe due to its radiocarbon dating. However, the sample meanwhile proved to be contaminated and three new measurements from this skeleton as well as further dates from the settlement were calibrated together anew and their reliability was tested thoroughly. The new results show that the burial was interred in the mid-54th century BCE; the settlement activities can be narrowed down to c. 5370/5350–5250 BCE. The burial of a child in feature no. 796/797, a lateral pit with ditch, was interred later, probably in the late Linearbandkeramik.