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14C Dates and Spatial Statistics: Modeling Intrasite Spatial Dynamics of Urnfield Cemeteries in Belgium Using Case Study of Destelbergen Cemetery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Jeroen De Reu*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Guy De Mulder
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Mark van Strydonck
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Mathieu Boudin
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Jean Bourgeois
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
*
Corresponding author. Email: Jeroen.DeReu@UGent.be
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Abstract

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The possibility of radiocarbon dating on cremated bones stimulated a systematic 14C dating project investigating the chronology of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age urnfield cemeteries in Belgium. The growing amount of 14C dates on these cremated remains led to new insights into the chronology, development, and disappearance of the urnfield phenomenon. Consequently, ideas about cultural and historical processes need to be modified. Also, the internal chronology of the cemeteries is much more complex than previously thought, stimulating the need for techniques to analyze and visualize the internal development of an individual burial site. The application of centrographic methods like the mean center, standard distance circle, and standard deviational ellipse illustrates the possibilities for analyzing the internal chronology of the cemeteries based on the available 14C dates.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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