Who venerated the ancestors at the Petit-Chasseur site? Examining Early Bronze Age cultic activities around megalithic monuments through the archaeometric analyses of ceramic findings (Upper Rhône Valley, Switzerland, 2200-1600 BC)

Abstract

Through the analyses of recovered pottery, this study explores the social dimension of an ancestor cult developed at the Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis (Upper Rhône Valley, Switzerland) during the Early Bronze Age (2200-1600 BC). The jar votive offerings and domestic pottery from settlement sites were characterized using a range of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Acquired archaeometric data allowed identification of six ceramic fabrics and two types of clay substrate-illite- and muscovite-based-which were used in pottery production. The present article discusses the pottery composition in the light of natural resources available in the region, thus shedding light on raw material choices and paste preparation recipes. The Early Bronze Age people that lived in the Upper Rhône Valley seem to have shared a common ceramic tradition, partly inherited from the previous Bell Beaker populations. The compositional correspondence between the jar offerings and domestic pottery revealed that the majority of the known Early Bronze Age groups partook in cultic activities at the Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01737-0.

Keywords: Ancestor cult; Ceramic traditions; Early Bronze Age; Human–environment relationship; Pottery; Social ties.

Fig. 1

Location of the Petit-Chasseur necropolis within Switzerland and relative position of the Early Bronze Age sites selected for the study: (1) Sion ‘Petit-Chasseur III’; (2) Sion ‘Sous-le-Scex’; (3) Vex ‘Le Château’; (4) Salgesch ‘Mörderstein’; (5) Rarogne ‘Heidnischbühl II’; (6) Naters ‘Altersheim’. Adapted from data provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (https://map.geo.admin.ch/)

Fig. 2

Topography of the Petit-Chasseur site: a excavated sectors (adapted from Mariéthoz 2009) and b plan of the necropolis with location of the dolmens (MI, MV, MVI, MXI, and MXII) and the cists (MII, MIII, MVII, MVIII, MIX, MX, MXIII) (adapted from Corboud and Curdy 2009)

Fig. 3

Stylistic features of the large storage containers related to the Early Bronze Age cultic activities at the Petit-Chasseur necropolis: a general characteristics of the jars (adapted from Gallay 1985) and b typo-chronology (adapted from Gallay and Chaix 1984)

Fig. 4

Typical pottery of the Early Bronze Age settlement sites of the Upper Rhône Valley: a Sion ‘Petit-Chasseur III’ (Favre and Mottet 1990); b Sion ‘Sous-le-Scex’ “Sondage profond” (Honegger 2011); c Vex ‘Le Chateau’ (David-Elbiali 1990); d Salgesch ‘Mörderstein’ (Gentizon-Haller et al. in press); e Rarogne ‘Heidnischbühl II’ (drawings: D. Carloni); f Naters ‘Altersheim’ (drawings: Ch. Gaudillière)

Fig. 5

Litho-tectonic map of the research area with the main lithology outcropping in each nappe and the location of the archaeological sites. Adapted from data provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (https://map.geo.admin.ch/)

Fig. 6

Microphotographs of selected Petit-Chasseur pottery representative of the distinct fabrics: a granite var. 1 (PC11); b granite var. 3 (PC100); c fine-grained granite rich in Fe oxide var. 1 (NA03); d fine-grained granite rich in Fe-oxide var. 2 (PC99); e weathered granite (PC56); f quartz–feldspar gneiss var. 2 (PC48); g amphibole gneiss var. 1 (PC17); h amphibolite (RH07); i allochem (PC85). Image width 5.3 mm

Fig. 7

Backscattered images of selected ceramic matrix. Exemplary EDS spectra (A, B, C, etc.) may be found in Table 5

Fig. 8

Association of clay mineralogy and fabric in analyzed ceramics

Fig. 9

Statistical treatment of geochemical data of analyzed pottery: a and b PCA performed considering major and minor element content (Supplementary material 3), principal component biplot; c same principal component biplot of a with mention of the fabric

Fig. 10

Statistical treatment of geochemical data of analyzed pottery: a and b PCA performed considering REE and trace element budget of the samples for which the lithological assemblage is known, principal component biplot; c same principal component biplot of a with location on the factor-plane of the samples for which the SEM–EDS analysis has been executed; d bivariate plot of U versus Th (values expressed in ppm)

Fig. 11

Chronology of the paste preparation recipes (R) listed in Table 6

Fig. 12

Network diagrams for the pottery from Petit-Chasseur necropolis and settlement sites built based on paste preparation recipes followed to make the ceramics: a phase EBA II; b phase EBA III; c phase EBA IV