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The late Mesolithic in Hamburg-Boberg: inter-cultural interactions and impacts





Fig. 3 Boberg. 1-2 Globular beaker; 3 vessel with rounded knob handle; 4 sherd with rectangular impressions (photos: T. Weise, Ar-
chaeological Museum of Hamburg). Scale 1:4.

seems comparable, especially the temper, grain size
and wall thickness11.
The confirmed pottery traditions of the Boberg
sites and the use of local clays also enable the identi-
fication of imported vessels, which illustrate contacts
between Boberg settlers and other cultural groups.
These diverse interactions also affected local pro-
duction, an aspect which can be studied through a
comparison of manufacturing processes. Thereby,
the imports’ similarities and dissimilarities to the
local handcraft tradition of pottery were determined.
Contacts and interactions
At Boberg, pottery showing intra- and inter-cultural
interactions and communications during the final Me-
solithic is present. With respect to the specific manu-
facturing of ceramics, possible influences on the local
handcraft tradition are of special interest, and the pe-
trographic thin-section analysis contributes a deeper
insight into the technological production.
Contact within the Ertebolle culture is indi-
cated by a lamp (Fig. 2.14) built with non-local clay
and tempered with granite. Bearing in mind that in
northern Germany lamps are more common at coastal
sites (cf. Glykou 2010,185 fig. 17; 2016, 134-137 fig.
110, pl. 10-11; Goldhammer 2008, 62 pl. 8.7-12;
Schwabedissen 1994, pl. 17.5-8), this might illustrate
contacts between coastal and inland groups. Equally
notable is another lamp which, according to its thin-
section, was produced with local clay and tempered
with granite-tempered grog (Fig. 2.15; 4.3). The grog
temper differs from the mainly used granite temper in
final Mesolithic pottery from Boberg, and interaction
with persons knowledgeable about the manufactur-

11 The technological tradition is also consisent with continuity
in clay preparations within the typological turnaround of the
early Neolithic Funnel Beaker pottery from the Boberg sites.
The middle Neolithic Funnel Beaker pottery with vertical inci-
sions also indicates a trajectory of successive change, while the
pottery of the Single Grave culture demonstrates, in contrast,
a significant and pronounced change in technology.

ing of grog temper seems possible (see below). Fur-
ther intra-cultural contacts are indicated by a pointed
base decorated with rounded impressions (Fig. 2.10).
There are no analogies to Ertebolle pots in northern
Germany, but complete decorated vessels are present,
for example, at Loddesborg (Jennbert 1984, 53 f., 58
fig. 41,48,8; 1994, 158f., 162 fig. 8) and Soldattorpet
(Stilborg / Holm 2009, 335 fig. 11.6) in southern
Sweden. Although their decorations are not exactly
the same, they provide the closest match.
Pottery indicating contacts to Neolithic cultures
is illustrated by the well-known globular beaker from
Boberg 20, with similar beakers appearing during the
middle and late Rossen culture in southern Lower
Saxony (see Lonne 2003, 211, 218f.; Fig. 3.1). An
additional rim sherd decorated with oval impressions
can be associated with globular beakers, but the ab-
sence of a specific decoration does not allow the de-
termination of a geographical origin (Fig. 3.2). The
archaeometrical analysis of the rim sherd detected
two different types of grog temper. Thus, for temper-
ing this grog-tempered vessel, previous generations of
grog tempered ware as well as (remains of) a vessel
tempered with granite were crushed (Fig. 4.1). The
temper amount is 16 °/o; the grain size is 1.1 mm. The
raw clay used for manufacturing this vessel clearly
differs from the local clays and illustrates that the
globular beaker was imported to the Boberg sites.
Interactions with the Rossen culture are also rep-
resented by a small pot with a rounded knob handle
(Fig. 3.3; see also Laux 1986,1 fig. 9,6; Schindler 1961,
15 fig. 4,1). Schindler (1961, 14; 1962, 253) already
drew an analogy to Rossen pottery, which was also
supported by Laux (1986,15 com. 18)12. Regarding the
technology with 17 °/o temper amount, and 1.5 mm grain
size, the small vessel shows similarities to the globular
beaker and its grog temper as well as the composition

12 Laux highlighted a typological parallel with a vessel from
Wahlitz, dist. Burg (Behrens 1973, 57 fig. 19c), but the bowl
shape of the vessel from Wahlitz is not conclusive; see also
Klassen 2004, 77.