Neolithic Settlement and Land Use History in Northwestern Germany - First Results from an Interdisciplinary Research Project
Creators: name: Kramer, Annette
name: Mennenga, Moritz
name: Nösler, Daniel
name: Jöns, Hauke
name: Bittmann, Felix
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Landscape Archaeology
Palynology
Neolithic Archaeology
Prehistoric Settlement
Funnelbeaker Culture
TRB Culture
Trichterbecher

description: The Neolithic settlement and land use history in<br> northwestern Germany is subject to detailed archaeological<br> and palynological investigations that<br> are carried out within the framework of the DFG<br> priority program “Early Monumentality and Social<br> Differentiation –the Emergence of Neolithic Monuments<br> and Early Complex Societies in Northern<br> Central Europe”. Up to now, only little is known<br> about the settlement structure and the environmental<br> conditions and changes in northwestern Germany<br> during the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, although<br> various megalithic monuments, grave mounds as<br> well as surface finds indicate that the area was settled<br> by the West Group of the Funnel Beaker and the<br> subsequent Single Grave Cultures. Therefore, five<br> local research areas were selected that bear high poenclosures, in order to shed light on the cultural<br> context of Neolithic societies in Northern Europe<br> since 4100 BC (compiled by Müller 2009; 2011).<br> In Northwestern Germany, the distribution area<br> of the west group of the Funnel Beaker Culture<br> (TRB) and the Single Grave Culture (EGK) is to<br> be investigated. Several traces were left by both cultures<br> in the areas between the Elbe and Ems rivers.<br> The most prominent features are the numerous<br> megalithic tombs that – at least partly – still shape<br> today’s landscape (Fig. 1). They have often been objects<br> of scientific research as their architecture and<br> distribution reveal regional differences in settlement<br> intensities and land use. In addition, a few flat graves,<br> hoards, and settlements with building features are<br> known (complied by Assendorp 1999; Kossian<br> 2005; Laux 1995; Strahl 1990), while no causewayed<br> enclosures have yet been identified from the<br> mentioned area (compiled by Richter 2002, 3 pp.).<br> Therefore, this setting is ideally suited for investigations<br> into the Neolithic colonisation history of<br> the 4 th and the early 3 rd millennia BC. The research<br> project of the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical<br> Coastal Research (NIhK) commences here.<br> Within the project it is necessary to explore whether<br> the rare TRB settlement features can be considered<br> to be characteristic for this epoch and which<br> settlement pattern might be presumed. Hence, the<br> localisation and the extensive examination of wellpreserved<br> TRB and EKG settlements are of great<br> significance (Nösler et al. 2011). The relationships<br> between graves and coexistent settlements and the<br> existence of hierarchical structures among single<br> settlements and graves, respectively, are important<br> topics that will be addressed within the examinations.<br> It is also of great importance to know which natural<br> preconditions the Neolithic settlers had to<br> deal with and which climatic and ecological changes<br> they had to face. Palynological investigations<br> will give insights into these developments. A number<br> of further questions are to be investigated. For<br> example, when was the TRB established on the<br> Northwestern German Plain? From which cultures<br> (Ertebølle, Swifterband, Rössen / Bischheim) did<br> the TRB evolve? Which culture(s) influenced the<br> TRB, and what reasons were crucial for this development?<br> The transition from the TRB to the EGK,<br> including when and why it took place, will also be<br> analysed. The state of the art prior to the project’s<br> commencement and its first results shall be presented<br> in the following.