PREFACE

When we were originally approached by Scribners to consider editing this encyclopedia, our motivations for accepting this challenge were identical. We were both keenly aware of the lack of authoritative yet comprehensive information on European archaeology written for the general readership. In particular, we knew that many high school, college, and public libraries have very limited holdings in this area, and we wanted to fill this gap.

Although European prehistory stretches back hundreds of thousands of years to the original colonization of the Continent by Homo erectus populations from Africa, we chose to focus this encyclopedia on the period after the retreat of the Ice Age glaciers. These are the critical millennia during which the foundations of later European society known from later historical accounts were established. The Gauls encountered by Caesar, the Celts, the Germans, the Visigoths, and all the other European peoples whom we see hazily through the lens of Classical authors had ancestors whom we know only from archaeology. Moreover, outside the view of the Classical authors, peoples in northern and eastern Europe continued to live prehistoric lives well after written records are available for much of western and southern Europe.

The boundary dates for this encyclopedia were chosen deliberately. Although the Ice Age had ended a millennium or more earlier, the postglacial hunting and gathering societies that had become well-established by 8000 B. C. in many parts of Europe define the beginnings of continuous sequences of cultural development. Tracing such long-term patterns of social and economic change is one of the major intellectual contributions of archaeology. Extending our coverage to A. D. 1000 allows us to encompass the societies that followed the Roman domination of western Europe and the peoples of eastern and northern Europe lying outside the Roman frontiers during the first millennium A. D. Around A. D. 1000, institutionalized governments organized on territorial principles were established in eastern Europe and Scandinavia, and the resultant emergence of written records effectively ends prehistory in these areas.

In choosing contributors, we invited colleagues who are active researchers and who are among the authorities on their specific regions, topics, and periods. Archaeologists and prehistorians normally write for an audience composed of fellow scholars, so writing for a non-specialist readership can pose a challenge. We would like to commend our contributors for writing such splendid essays that explain what happened between about 8000 B. C. and A. D. 1000 across Europe so clearly and lucidly. Archaeologists are also unusually busy people, and we are grateful that they were able to compose their entries on a very short (in the academic world) schedule. Many of these essays were written by colleagues preparing to depart on excavation projects or having just returned from the field.

This encyclopedia is divided into seven sections. The first contains introductory essays on important concepts in archaeology, with specific reference to European prehistory, while the six that follow divide the sequence of cultural developments into major periods: Mesolithic hunters and gatherers, the first Neolithic farmers, developed Late Neolithic farming societies, stratified societies of the Bronze Age, Iron Age towns and trade, and the peoples of the Migration period and Early Middle Ages. Throughout we have included separate articles on key archaeological sites, chosen from among thousands of sites throughout Europe because they are typical for the period being discussed or have particularly informative remains. A glossary provides definitions of key terms, while a detailed index serves as a guide to important topics. Chronological charts and maps in each volume give the reader a way of quickly becoming oriented in time and space.

The task of inviting, persuading, cajoling, and hounding all these contributors fell to Alja Collar of Scribners, without whom this encyclopedia would not have been possible. Alja was firmly and resolutely at the helm as she steered this book in only a year from invitation to completion. We are completely indebted to her. We are also grateful to Cindy Clendenon and Shawn Corridor, who helped coordinate the illustrations and maps that are essential elements of this encyclopedia. Sharon Malinowski played an important role in the initial stages of planning and invitation.

It is important for us to recognize the role of Kathy Moreau in the initiation of this project. Kathy encouraged us to develop the plan for the encyclopedia and brought us to New York to meet John Fitzpatrick, senior editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons. The enthusiasm of Kathy and John for this project led us to move quickly to develop the list of topics and contributors.

Since we both have demanding professional responsibilities at our respective institutions, much of the time that we devoted to this encyclopedia was extracted from our family lives. Our spouses, Doug Campana and Virginia Bogucki, were generously understanding, as were our children Mike, Tom, and Robert Campana and Caroline and Marianna Bogucki.

Finally, it is our understanding that Bernard Wailes, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, played a key role in pointing Kathy Moreau in our direction. Bernard played a key role in both of our careers in archaeology, not only by transferring to us some small part of his encyclopedic knowledge but also by instilling in us a passion for studying ancient Europe. We would like this encyclopedia to honor our teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend, Bernard Wailes.

Peter Bogucki Pam J. Crabtree October 2003