The find concentrations of area II at the Allerød period site at Niederbieber, Neuwied (Rhineland-Palatinate)

Abstract

Previous investigations (Loftus 1982; 1985), as well as present analyses could show that there are considerable differences between the finds concentrations of area II (fig. 10a) and the finds accumulations of the
central area at the site of Niederbieber (fig. 2). The divergences mainly  affect the form of the finds accumulations without the conspicuous zonings, the missing central hearth as the focal point of various activities, as well as the relatively small proportions of modified stone artefacts, especially within the concentrations XVIII and XIX. In all concentrations within area II one can observe a selection of blanks and tools for use elsewhere. Two separate zones of activity in concentration XX display through different types of tools differing activities. Conspicuous is the further dominance of the two varieties of north European and west European flint in the spectrum of the raw material. Only in feature J 4 and its proximity can one recognize
the distribution and activity patterns typical of the finds concentrations of the area 96-99. In all, it was clear that the finds accumulations of each group of raw materials can be seen as the result of relatively short-term processes of disassembling the imported rough pieces of regional and supra-regional flints, whereby a chronologically later deposition of the west European flint is probable. The reconstructed activities indicate the collection of food, as well as the subsequent treatment of animal parts. It cannot be said with confidence whether the same group of humans, which also left behind the finds concentrations of area 96-99, was responsible for the finds and features of area II. In all events, the relatively unstructured
distribution pattern, a changed attitude to raw materials, as well as the preference for a particular species of animal for hunting seem to emphasize this assumption.