Magical, mundane or marginal?

This volume takes its starting point from the increasingly frequent discovery of deliberately placed deposits on Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik sites. This includes the placement of complete and still usable tools in the ground, as well as the creation of complex abandonment layers for example in wells or the destruction of immense material wealth in enclosure ditches.This is the kind of behaviour that archaeologists generally interpret as ritual (often using the label structured deposition), but it is surprisingly little discussed for the Linearbandkeramik. This volume thus addresses two main goals. First, it contributes a new approach to the study of Linearbandkeramik world view by focusing on depositional practices more generally and addressing the connections between them. How do the more striking or unusual examples of deposition articulate with routine discard, and what does this tell us about how Linearbandkeramik societies saw these objects and their use? Second, given the wealth of data available for the Linearbandkeramik, there is an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the variety of depositional phenomena across the European Neolithic and their theoretical and methodological implications.This book thus combines chapters dealing with routine discard, as well as those concerned with burial evidence, formalised deposition of objects and feasting debris. The introduction and discussion chapters draw out the wider significance of the findings presented in the individual contributions.ContentsIntroduction: structured deposition in the LBK - is there something to talk about?Daniela HofmannIsn't it strange? Grinding tool deposits and deposition in the north-western LBKCaroline HamonTracing LBK ritual traditions: the depositions at Herxheim and their originsFabian HaackOdds and end(ing)s. Aspects of deposition and ritual behaviour in the Linearbandkeramik of the Low CountriesLuc Amkreutz and Ivo van WijkLBK structured deposits as magical practicesDaniela HofmannGrave goods, refuse or the remains of rituals? Differences in the assemblages from the LBK burials of Arnoldsweiler-EllebachRobin Peters and Nadia BalkowskiSuspiciously rich pits in the WetterauJohanna Ritter-BurkertThe structure of chaos: decay and deposition in the Early NeolithicPenny BickleWhat happened at the settlement? The testimony of sherds, animal remains, grinding tools and daubJaroslav Rídký, Petr Netolický, Lenka Kovaciková, Marek Pulpán and Petr KvetinaKeeping order in the Stone AgeRichard Bradley