Luc Amkreutz
Study and career
Luc Amkreutz (Heerlen, 1978) studied Prehistory at Leiden University. He graduated in 2004 on a study about the earliest farmers in the Netherlands and was involved in several research projects at home and abroad. His PhD research (2013) concerned the neolithisation process in the Lower Rhine basin: Persistent Traditions. A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (6000-2500 cal BC). In 2008 he succeeded Leo Verhart as Curator of the Prehistory Collection at the National Museum of Antiquities. Luc Amkreutz is intensively involved in diverse research into prehistory in Northwest Europe and its public communication. Together with a working group, he organises the annual Stone Age Day. As of April 1st 2022 Amkreutz on behalf of the National Museum of Antiquities has been appointed as professor of Public Archaeology (by special appointment) at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University.
Research
Since his studies, Amkreutz has focused on the Stone Age and in particular the Mesolithic and Neolithic in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe. The research into the Linearbandkeramik Culture and the cultures after it, as well as the neolithisation process, form a common thread. The prehistoric archaeology of the North Sea, the lost Doggerland, also has his special interest. The connection between mankind and material culture and landscape and climate change is central to this. He is also interested in the history of prehistory and the Ancient Europe collection. Research often takes place in cooperation with Leiden University and other partners and includes material studies, fieldwork and public communication. Important focal points are citizen science, the optimization of cooperation with amateur archaeologists, the translation and valuation of scientific archaeological information and the role of archaeological heritage in society.
Ask me a question about
Prehistory of the Netherlands
Doggerland and the prehistoric archaeology of the North Sea
Stone and Bronze Age material culture
Theory and ethnography of prehistoric hunter-gatherer and farming societies
The valuation and role of archaeological heritage in society
Important research projects
Resurfacing Doggerland (2021-2025) NWO ‘Archeologie-Telt’. North Sea prehistoric archaeology research project
Elsloo-Koolweg reconsidered (2019-2020) RCE ‘pre-Malta’. Research project on the oldest burial field (Linearbandkeramik Culture) of the Netherlands
The Ommerschans hoard (2017-2023). Analysis and interpretation Ommerschans hoard find
Collecting Ancient Europe (2016-2020). NWO-‘Museumbeurs’. Reception Research Ancient Europe Collection
Networked landscapes (2016-2018). Participation in burial mound research Leiden University
Terug naar de Bandkeramiek (2010-2014). NWO-‘Odyssee’. ‘Vergeten’ onderzoek van de bandkeramiek.
From Hardinxveld to Noordhoorn (2004-2008). NWO-‘Oogst van Malta’. Neolithisatieproces
Luc Amkreutz (Heerlen, 1978) studied Prehistory at Leiden University. He graduated in 2004 on a study about the earliest farmers in the Netherlands and was involved in several research projects at home and abroad. His PhD research (2013) concerned the neolithisation process in the Lower Rhine basin: Persistent Traditions. A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (6000-2500 cal BC). In 2008 he succeeded Leo Verhart as Curator of the Prehistory Collection at the National Museum of Antiquities. Luc Amkreutz is intensively involved in diverse research into prehistory in Northwest Europe and its public communication. Together with a working group, he organises the annual Stone Age Day. As of April 1st 2022 Amkreutz on behalf of the National Museum of Antiquities has been appointed as professor of Public Archaeology (by special appointment) at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University.
Research
Since his studies, Amkreutz has focused on the Stone Age and in particular the Mesolithic and Neolithic in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe. The research into the Linearbandkeramik Culture and the cultures after it, as well as the neolithisation process, form a common thread. The prehistoric archaeology of the North Sea, the lost Doggerland, also has his special interest. The connection between mankind and material culture and landscape and climate change is central to this. He is also interested in the history of prehistory and the Ancient Europe collection. Research often takes place in cooperation with Leiden University and other partners and includes material studies, fieldwork and public communication. Important focal points are citizen science, the optimization of cooperation with amateur archaeologists, the translation and valuation of scientific archaeological information and the role of archaeological heritage in society.
Ask me a question about
Prehistory of the Netherlands
Doggerland and the prehistoric archaeology of the North Sea
Stone and Bronze Age material culture
Theory and ethnography of prehistoric hunter-gatherer and farming societies
The valuation and role of archaeological heritage in society
Important research projects
Resurfacing Doggerland (2021-2025) NWO ‘Archeologie-Telt’. North Sea prehistoric archaeology research project
Elsloo-Koolweg reconsidered (2019-2020) RCE ‘pre-Malta’. Research project on the oldest burial field (Linearbandkeramik Culture) of the Netherlands
The Ommerschans hoard (2017-2023). Analysis and interpretation Ommerschans hoard find
Collecting Ancient Europe (2016-2020). NWO-‘Museumbeurs’. Reception Research Ancient Europe Collection
Networked landscapes (2016-2018). Participation in burial mound research Leiden University
Terug naar de Bandkeramiek (2010-2014). NWO-‘Odyssee’. ‘Vergeten’ onderzoek van de bandkeramiek.
From Hardinxveld to Noordhoorn (2004-2008). NWO-‘Oogst van Malta’. Neolithisatieproces
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Books by Luc Amkreutz
the Linear Bandkeramik Culture (LBK). It was excavated by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Leiden
University in 1959 and 1966. The burial ground consists of 63 inhumation graves and 50 cremation graves of which 36 are
unambiguously identifed as such, resulting in a total of 97 and potentially 113 graves. The initial analysis of the burial ground
of Elsloo has formed an important basis for current knowledge on colonisation, hereditary succession, burial tradition, and
the origin of LBK communities in the south of the Netherlands and beyond. Now, afer 60 years, the burial ground is
subjected to additional and science-based research within the framework of the Knowledge for Archaeology program of the
Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. This new research has further underlined and demonstrated the existence of
paterning that does not easily relate to classical interpretations of prehistoric burial customs along lines of gender and age.
This scientifc report is intended for archaeologists, as well as for other professionals and amateur enthusiasts involved in
archaeology.
maar minst bekende archeologische vindplaatsen van Europa:
Doggerland. Slechts weinigen weten dat onze stranden aan
de rand liggen van een enorm verdwenen landschap. Een
prehistorische wereld die bijna een miljoen jaar menselijke
bewoning documenteert en die gedurende het grootste deel van
die tijd droog lag.
Het is de plek waar meer dan 900.000 jaar geleden de eerste
voetstappen van vroege mensachtigen in Noord-Europa werden
achtergelaten. Daarna was het honderdduizenden jaren lang
het toneel van ijstijden: de wereld van wolharige mammoeten
en neushoorns, paarden en rendieren en de succesvolle
Neanderthalers, waaronder Krijn – de eerste van Nederland, die
erop jaagden. De eerste moderne mensen aan het eind van de
laatste ijstijd lieten hier eveneens hun sporen achter, waaronder
een schedelfragment van de oudste mens van Nederland en de
vroegste kunst uit onze streken.
Doggerland was vooral ook het gebied dat met het aanbreken van
het Holoceen, ons huidige tijdperk, in toenemende mate werd
geconfronteerd met klimaatverandering en zeespiegelstijging,
net als nu. De mesolithische jager-verzamelaars leefden er in een
rijke, maar constant veranderende wereld, waarbij een enorme
tsunami rond 6150 voor Christus een eerste genadeklap vormde.
Enkele eeuwen later verdwenen de laatste eilanden onder water
en daarmee ook Doggerland. Dit boek haalt deze verdwenen
wereld weer boven water.
INHOUD
DOGGERLAND
Een verdwenen wereld herontdekt
Luc Amkreutz
IJs, rivieren, zee en spektakel. Geologische afwisseling
in een verdronken landschap
Kim Cohen en Marc Hijma
Verdrinkend land in kaart
Luc Amkreutz, Kim Cohen, Marc Hijma en Olav Odé
DOGGERLAND VROEGE BEWONERS
Strandlopers. Happisburgh en de eerste mensen in
Noord-Europa
Nick Ashton
Krijn: oog in oog met onze eerste Neanderthaler
Luc Amkreutz en Luc Anthonis
Neanderthalers in de koude ‘Noordzee-Serengeti’
Marcel Niekus en Dimitri de Loecker
Topvondsten van Neanderthalers
Marcel Niekus, Dimitri de Loecker en Luc Amkreutz
Moderne mensen in het staartje van de ijstijd
Luc Amkreutz en Marcel Niekus
De oudste kunst. Expressionisme uit de ijstijd
Luc Amkreutz, Marcel Niekus en Jan Glimmerveen
Dieren van de mammoetsteppe
Dick Mol en Bram Langeveld
VERDRINKEND DOGGERLAND
Jager-verzamelaars in een rijk wetland
Luc Amkreutz en Marcel Niekus
Duizend keer op jacht. Getande spitsen uit Doggerland
Merel Spithoven
Bouldnor cliff. Een verdronken mesolithische
vindplaats duikt op
Garry Momber
Rotterdam-Yangtzehaven. Graven op 20 meter diepte
Dimitri Schiltmans
De Noordzee als snelweg. Neolithische argonauten en
prehistorische handel
Luc Amkreutz en Jan Glimmerveen
DOGGERLAND ONDERZOCHT
De mens op het spoor. Geheimen van botten en
tanden ontrafelt
Eveline Altena, Lisette Kootker, Bjørn Smit en Paul Storm
Spitsen van dierlijk en menselijk bot. Sorteren met
collageen
Joannes Dekker, Virginie Sinet-Mathiot, Alexander Verpoorte,
Marie Soressi en Frido Welker
Europe’s Lost Frontiers. Het landschap in kaart
Vince Gaffney en Simon Fitch
Op weg naar de Bruine Bank. Onderzoek op de
Noordzee
Tine Missiaen en Ruth Plets
DOGGERLAND NU
Doggerland verzameld
Speuren langs de kust, vondsten doen en dan?
Luc Amkreutz en Bjørn Smit
De Noordzee. De drukste zee van de wereld
Luc Amkreutz en Stichting de Noordzee
Toekomst voor Doggerland? Verzamelen,
onderzoeken en beschermen
Hans Peeters en Bjørn Smit
Denkend aan Doggerland. Een verdwenen landschap
herinnerd
Luc Amkreutz en Sasja van der Vaart-Verschoof
Using the LBK case study as a starting point, the volume brings together contributions by international specialists tackling the notion of cultural diversity and its explanatory power in archaeological analysis more generally. Through discussions of the domestic architecture, stone tool inventory, pottery traditions, landscape use and burial traditions of the LBK, this book provides a crucial reappraisal of the culture’s potential for adaptability and change.
Papers in the second part of the volume are devoted to archaeological case studies from around the globe in which the tension between diversity and uniformity has also proved controversial, including the Near Eastern Halaf culture, the North American Mississippian, the Pacific expansion of the Lapita culture, and the European Bell Beaker phenomenon. All provide exciting theoretical and methodological contributions on how the appreciation of cultural diversity as a whole can be moved forward. These papers expose diversity and uniformity as cultural strategies, and as such provide essential reading for scholars in archaeology and anthropology, and for anyone interested in the interplay between material culture and human social change.
Organization for Scientific Research, the National Centre for Cultural Heritage
and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The main aim of this program
was the disclosure of unpublished archaeological research carried out between
1900 and 2000. It has been calculated that over 3500-4000 excavations that
were carried out in this period have never been published. The Odyssey project:
The LBK revisited: ‘forgotten’ research into the Bandkeramik occupation of the Low
Countries aimed to fill in a part of this gap for the early Neolithic farmers in the
Netherlands.
This report is the result of our research. It is mainly written in Dutch, but as
early Neolithic research transcends the Dutch borders we have chosen to provide
a summary of all the chapters of this report. The first 9 chapters (with exception
of chapter 3) have been translated completely as well as the summaries (chapter 27
and 28) and the synthesis (29). The chapters on the 14 excavations (chapter 10-
22) have been summarised with one exception: the excavation at Echt-Annendaal
(chapter 23) which has been fully translated. The specialist report on “archaeobotany”
(chapter 24), “non-LBK pottery” (chapter 25) and “characterisation of red
ochre” (chapter 26) have also been translated completely.
The report has been divided into six parts. Part 1 covers the outline of the
project, regarding methodology, landscape and historical background. Part 2 deals
with the sites on the western bank of the Meuse River. These sites all lie near the
municipality of Maastricht and are part of the Heeswater settlement cluster. Part
3 describes the sites on the eastern bank of the Meuse River, belonging to the
Graetheide settlement cluster. Part 4 covers the excavation at Echt-Annendaal, a
site which lies outside (north of ) the loess cover. Part 5 presents specialist research
on archaeobotany, non-LBK pottery and hematite. A summary of sites lying in the
two settlement clusters is provided in chapters 27 en 28. An elaborate synthesis is
presented in chapter 29.
Figures and tables are presented in the original (Dutch) chapters.
Voor dit project is een selectie van deze kleinere bandkeramische opgravingen uitgewerkt en toegankelijk gemaakt voor (aansluitend) wetenschappelijk onderzoek als ook voor een groter publiek; daarnaast is er binnen het project kennisoverdracht geweest op een jongere generatie onderzoekers.
In deze publicatie wordt de rijke onderzoeksgeschiedenis besproken en verslag gedaan van de opgravingen van veertien bandkeramische vindplaatsen in de Graetheideregio alsmede het gebied ten noorden van Maastricht. De (her)analyses van de geselecteerde onderzoeken worden per vindplaats gepresenteerd en in een synthetiserend kader geplaatst. De aandacht gaat daarbij uit naar: nederzettingsstructuur en landschappelijke inkadering (Van Wijk & Amkreutz), de chronologie van het bandkeramisch aardewerk (Van de Velde), het vuursteengebruik en de -herkomst (De Grooth), de stenen werktuigen (Verbaas), het non-bandkeramisch aardewerk (Brounen), het gebruik van oker (Wijnen), en de bandkeramische cultuurgewassen (Bakels).
Als centraal thema wordt aan de hand van genoemde aspecten de bewoningsdynamiek ten oosten en westen van de Maas belicht Onder de algemene noemer van Lineaire Bandkeramiek blijkt een variabiliteit in het gebruik en herkomst van diverse gebruiksgoederen schuil te gaan die groter was dan aangenomen werd en die nu in onze analyses duidelijk naar voren komt.
De ‘vergeten’ onderzoeken van de Bandkeramiek krijgen op deze wijze alsnog de hun toekomende plaats in de onderzoeksgeschiedenis geboden.
Onze herinneringen, vastgelegd in foto’s,
brieven en documenten, verbinden ons met
ons verleden en vormen zo een deel van onze
identiteit. Dat geldt ook voor archeologische
ontdekkingen.
In de 20e eeuw werd gemiddeld iedere week
een archeologische opgraving uitgevoerd in
Nederland. Het aantal opgravingen wordt
geschat op 8000 en ze hebben miljoenen
vondsten opgeleverd. Van al die opgravingen
is de helft nooit uitgewerkt. De vondsten zijn
in dozen verdwenen en de tekeningen, foto’s
en aantekeningen in mappen opgeborgen. Dat
was de reden voor wetenschapsorganisatie
NWO om het onderzoeksplan Odyssee op
te zetten. Er kwam geld om veelbelovende
opgravingen uit te werken. Universiteiten,
bedrijven, musea en de overheid werkten
daarbij samen. Bij nader inzien kwamen veel
verborgen feiten aan het licht en konden
nieuwe verhalen worden verteld.
Het eindproduct is de tentoonstelling Bij nader
inzien in het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
in Leiden. In de tentoonstelling komen
alle onderzoeken aan bod, van Prehistorie
tot de Tweede Wereldoorlog en van kleine
vuurstenen tot historische kanonskogels. Dit
boekje brengt de projecten – 32 in totaal – nog
eens in beeld.
This work brings together a comprehensive array of excavated archaeological sites in the Lower Rhine Area. Their analysis shows that the succession of Late Mesolithic, Swifterbant culture, Hazendonk group and Vlaardingen culture societies represents a continuous long-term tradition of inhabitation of the wetlands and wetland margins of this area, forming a culturally continuous record of communities in the transition to agriculture.
After demonstrating the existence of a diverse Mesolithic background to Neolithisation, the subsequent developments are studied from an indigenous perspective. Foregrounding the relationship between local communities and the dynamic wetland landscape, the study shows that the archaeological evidence of regional inhabitation points to long-term flexible behaviour and pragmatic choices in livelihood, food economy and mobility. This disposition also influenced how the novel elements of Neolithisation were negotiated. Animal husbandry, crop cultivation and sedentism were an addition to the existing broad spectrum economy but were incorporated within a set of integrative strategies.
For the interpretation of Neolithisation this study offers a complementary approach to existing research. Instead of arguing for a short transition based on the economic importance of domesticates and cultigens at sites, this study emphasises the persistent traditions of the communities involved. New elements, instead of bringing about radical changes, are shown to be attuned to existing hunter-gatherer practices. By documenting indications of the mentalité of the inhabitants of the wetlands, it is demonstrated that their mindset remains essentially ‘Mesolithic’ for millennia.
Luc Amkreutz was a member of the NWO (Malta Harvest) archaeological research project ‘From Hardinxveld to Noordhoorn - From Forager to Farmer’ between 2004 and 2008. He is currently the curator of the Prehistory collections of the National Museum of Antiquities. His research interests include the Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeology of Northwest Europe, ethnoarchaeology and archaeological theory.
"
This volume contains the appendices to the thesis ‘Persistent traditions. A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC)’. These constitute a comprehensive inventory of 159, mostly excavated archaeological sites in the Lower Rhine Area for which general characteristics were recorded. Their analysis shows that the succession of Late Mesolithic, Swifterbant culture, Hazendonk group and Vlaardingen culture societies represents a continuous long-term tradition of inhabitation of the wetlands and wetland margins of this area, forming a culturally continuous record of communities in the transition to agriculture. The site catalogue forms both an overview and detailed introduction into the site-based archaeology of this time frame.
After demonstrating the existence of a diverse Mesolithic background to Neolithisation, the subsequent developments are studied from an indigenous perspective. Foregrounding the relationship between local communities and the dynamic wetland landscape, the archaeological evidence regarding its regional inhabitation points to long-term flexible behaviour and pragmatic choices.
For the interpretation of Neolithisation this study offers a complementary approach to existing research. Instead of arguing for a short transition based on the economic importance of domesticates and cultigens at sites, the emphasis is placed on the persistent traditions of the communities involved. It is documented that new elements, instead of bringing about radical changes, are attuned to existing hunter-gatherer practices. By documenting indications of the mentalité of the inhabitants of the wetlands, it is demonstrated that their mindset remains essentially ‘Mesolithic’ for millennia.
Luc Amkreutz was a member of the NWO (Malta Harvest) archaeological research project ‘From Hardinxveld to Noordhoorn - From Forager to Farmer’ between 2004 and 2008. He is currently the curator of the Prehistory collections of the National Museum of Antiquities. His research interests include the Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeology of Northwest Europe, ethnoarchaeology and archaeological theory.
With these 100 masterpieces as a guideline, the book travels through more than 200,000 years of history and through many different cultures. From handaxe to mummy, from glass to gold, from the city of Carthage to the village of Wieuwerd, from Roman to Egyptian. And it is not only beauty that matters. A pair of simple shoes or an age-old fish-trap make an unforgettable impression too. In an incisive way these objects tell the story of our forebear's lives.
In the study of the earliest stage of neolithisation pottery plays a key role. The most advanced north-western settlement in the expansion of the central European Linear Pottery culture during the second half of the sixth millennium B.C. is to be found in the Lower Rhine Area. At the same time this is the northernmost extension of the synchronic and enigmatic pottery groups La Hoguette and Limburg. This volume convincingly states that pottery and its associated habits were among the first of the many new societal aspects to be adopted by neighbouring foraging communities.
Papers by Luc Amkreutz
the Linear Bandkeramik Culture (LBK). It was excavated by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Leiden
University in 1959 and 1966. The burial ground consists of 63 inhumation graves and 50 cremation graves of which 36 are
unambiguously identifed as such, resulting in a total of 97 and potentially 113 graves. The initial analysis of the burial ground
of Elsloo has formed an important basis for current knowledge on colonisation, hereditary succession, burial tradition, and
the origin of LBK communities in the south of the Netherlands and beyond. Now, afer 60 years, the burial ground is
subjected to additional and science-based research within the framework of the Knowledge for Archaeology program of the
Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. This new research has further underlined and demonstrated the existence of
paterning that does not easily relate to classical interpretations of prehistoric burial customs along lines of gender and age.
This scientifc report is intended for archaeologists, as well as for other professionals and amateur enthusiasts involved in
archaeology.
The Cultural Heritage Agency provides knowledge and advice to give the future a past.
the Linear Bandkeramik Culture (LBK). It was excavated by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Leiden
University in 1959 and 1966. The burial ground consists of 63 inhumation graves and 50 cremation graves of which 36 are
unambiguously identifed as such, resulting in a total of 97 and potentially 113 graves. The initial analysis of the burial ground
of Elsloo has formed an important basis for current knowledge on colonisation, hereditary succession, burial tradition, and
the origin of LBK communities in the south of the Netherlands and beyond. Now, afer 60 years, the burial ground is
subjected to additional and science-based research within the framework of the Knowledge for Archaeology program of the
Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. This new research has further underlined and demonstrated the existence of
paterning that does not easily relate to classical interpretations of prehistoric burial customs along lines of gender and age.
This scientifc report is intended for archaeologists, as well as for other professionals and amateur enthusiasts involved in
archaeology.