Synthesis: A matter of life and death at Mienakker
J.P. Kleijne, S.M. Beckerman, Dick C. Brinkhuizen, V. Garcia-Diaz, L. Kubiak-Martens, Gary R. Nobles, T.F.M. Oudemans, Jorgen Zeiler, O. Brinkkemper, R.C.G.M. Lauwerier, Bjørn Smit, E.M. Theunissen, A.L. van Gijn, Hans Peeters, D.C.M. Raemaekers · Leiden Repository (Leiden University) · 2013
IntroductionMuch remains unclear about the settlement system of the Single Grave Culture (or Corded Ware phenomenon) in the Noord-Holland tidal area.It was therefore deemed useful to launch an Odyssey research project focusing on the analysis of the old excavations of the SGC sites at Keinsmerbrug, Mienakker and Zeewijk.Many finds from Mienakker had not been studied comprehensively and the totality of finds could not easily be related to the published features and the identified 'houses'.483 Mienakker so farMienakker was discovered during a borehole survey by RAAP archaeological consultancy in 1986 and excavated in 1990 by the State Service for Archaeological Investigations, now known as the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.Since then, several interpretations of the archaeological remains have been proposed, mainly in preliminary form by the original researcher.Hogestijn attributed the Mienakker site to his group 2 classification, calling the site a temporary extraction camp.484He contrasted this group of sites with the larger, more permanent residential settlements in group 1. Hogestijn based his interpretations regarding Mienakker on the limited extent of the site (only approx.500 m2), the presence of a small structure (house plan), the absence of plough marks, the thickness of the cultural layer and find assemblages of bone (a high percentage of hunted wild animals), pottery (uniform and coarse wares) and bone and stone tools.This hypothesis was not however substantiated by a detailed and thorough examination of all cultural and ecological resources.Drenth and others485 reviewed the evidence for the Single Grave Culture in the Noord-Holland tidal area, and set the information available within a broader Dutch framework.They offered a critical evaluation of the proposed settlement system and site interpretations (group 1 versus group 2), based on the published archaeobotanical and archaeozoological evidence available at the time, looking for instance at the ratio of wild to domestic animals. Research questionsThis synthesis aims to combine the new analyses performed as part of the Odyssey project in order to provide an answer to the problems outlined above.The following research questions were raised at the start of the Odyssey project, and will be addressed in this chapter.