Bandkeramik pit contents and stratification: a relational analysis investigating structured deposition

Abstract

A linear relationship between pit volume and sherd content can seemingly he easy to accept, hi fact, scatter diagrams relating pit volume and sherd quantity show that such linear relationships can be inferred on a logarithmic scale. However, data analysis from this research attempts to show that it is not necessarily pit size, but its stratification, that dictates the quantity of material found therein, hi an inter-regional study of Bandkeramik sites, stratification concurrent with high sherd to volume ratios can be seen to indicate the presence of deliberate and structured deposition, whereby former inhabitants made non-accidental and possibly ritual deposits into specifically located pits, according to variable social practices. The phenomenon will be investigated at three sites: Neckenmarkt in Austria, Kompolt-Kistér in Hungary, and Bylany in the Czech Republic.