Determining the roots of Urnfield Culture at Přáslavice, Czech Republic

Abstract

This study examines the residential mobility patterns and funerary practices of an Urnfield cemetery at Přáslavice, Czech Republic, using radiocarbon dating, carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses, and FTIR analysis. A regional bioavailable strontium baseline map was created using strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of modern plant samples (n=208) from 70 localities across Moravia and Czech Silesia. Radiocarbon dates (n=17) suggest that the cemetery was primarily in use during the Late Bronze Age (1300–1100 BCE), with some burials dated to the Final Bronze Age (1100–800 BCE). Most of the Late Bronze Age burials have homogenous 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values (0.7114–0.7128) well within the established local Sr baseline, thus supporting the hypothesis that Urnfield at Přáslavice was a local development. FTIR and carbon and oxygen isotope analyses also suggest the group practiced cremation similarly to other Urnfield populations. Overall, this study not only enhances our knowledge of the social dynamics and funerary practices at Přáslavice, but also establishes a crucial bioavailable Sr baseline for future palaeomobility studies in the region.

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