, their landscapes, and the natural environment is complex and underlies mutual non-material and ... more , their landscapes, and the natural environment is complex and underlies mutual non-material and material fl uxes. Especially challenging is the attempt to reconstruct this relationship in order to understand the role and relevance of Space and Knowledge of Ancient Civilizations, the core theme of the cluster of excellence Exc 264 Topoi, funded from 2007-2019. In this book we present the results of an attempt to use a system-oriented concept of social ecology as tool for interdisciplinary collaboration and integrative research on aspects of human-environmental relationship. In six different inter disciplinary projects the developed social eco logical model is applied and critically discussed. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
• Modelling subsistence strategies and spatio-temporal dynamics of the lake-dwellings in Sippling... more • Modelling subsistence strategies and spatio-temporal dynamics of the lake-dwellings in Sipplingen (Lake Constance) and in Lake Degersee in the 4 th millennium BC. Tilman Baum
The economics of Neolithic swidden cultivation. Results of an experimental long-term project in Forchtenberg (Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
The paper presents the methods, results and difficulties of an econometric reconstruction of preh... more The paper presents the methods, results and difficulties of an econometric reconstruction of prehistoric agriculture at the long term experimental site Forchtenberg (Baden−Württemberg). For 12 years a Neolithic swidden agriculture has been experimentally practised, monitoring all relevant variables in a broad interdisciplinary approach. The experimental hypothesis is based on a model of extensive swidden agriculture developed by Rösch for the region of Lake Constance around 4000 cal BC. After initial cutting of trees and burning of chopped branches several variants are practised: single cultivation followed by 10−15 year bush and low forest fallow or subsequent cultivation for 2−3 years involving hoeing. The objective is a comprehensive assessment of the labour effort in relation to the yields, as well as a quantification of the associated effects (nutrient flows, conversion of biomass into charcoal, suppression of herbs, microclimatic effects, pests etc.). The results obtained up to now suggest an amazing efficiency of such a fire−based extensive agriculture, as compared to the intensive garden / hoe agriculture usually assumed for the Neolithic.
Conversion of biomass to charcoal and the carbon mass balance from a slash-and-burn experiment in a temperate deciduous forest
The Holocene, May 1, 2007
Anthropogenic burning, including slash-and-burn, was deliberately used in (pre)historic Central E... more Anthropogenic burning, including slash-and-burn, was deliberately used in (pre)historic Central Europe. Biomass burning has affected the global carbon cycle since, presumably, the early Holocene. The understanding of processes and rates of charcoal formation in temperate deciduous forests is limited, as is the extent of prehistoric human impact on the environment. We took advantage of an experimental burning to simulate Neolithic slash-and-burn, and we quantified the biomass fuel and charcoal produced, determined the resulting distribution of the charcoal size fractions and calculated the carbon mass balance. Two-thirds of the charcoal particles (6.71 t/ha) were larger than 2000 μm and the spatial distribution of charcoal was highly variable (15—90% per m2). The conversion rate of the biomass fuel to charcoal mass was 4.8%, or 8.1% for the conversion of biomass carbon to charcoal carbon, and 58.4 t C/ha was lost during the fire, presumably as a component of aerosols or gases.
Funding from is gratefully acknowledged. Problem Compared to the alluvial landscapes of the south... more Funding from is gratefully acknowledged. Problem Compared to the alluvial landscapes of the southern Mediterranean Balkans (Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, fig. 1b), Neolithic tell mounds in the valley bottoms of the northern temperate Balkans (Slavonia, Vojvodina, Banat, Hungarian Tisza region) appear later in time and are abandoned earlier. According to available radiocarbon dates their shorter duration of existence is restricted to the first half of the 5th millennium BC. The north-westernmost occurrences of Middle to Late Neolithic tell sites are found in the SE Carpathian Basin. Here the tell site of Uivar, situated in the wide lowland of the lower courses of the rivers Timis and Bega in the upper Tisza drainage in SW Romania, rises ~4.2 m above the valley bottom covering a surface of 3 ha (fig. 1). Its considerable size indicates an important settlement with central functions. The sedimentary archives of the surrounding alluvial landscape and the colluvia eroded from the settlement mound bear the potential to record and store the palaeoenvironmental information necessary for a Holocene landscape reconstruction. Therefore, geoarchaeological investigations were taken up to evaluate whether environmental changes might have been the reason for the shortened setllement activities. Methods As the alluvial plain does not provide any natural exposures, sediments were gained from undisturbed drilling cores and artificial open-cuts (fig. 1). Analyses include the determination of grain-size distribution, pH-value, carbonate contents, total organic contents and pollen assemblages. A chronometry was established using 14C-dating of organic components and optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the minerals. Quartz coarse grain (125-212 µm) was analysed with a single aliquot regeneration (SAR) protocol using small aliquots (~200-500 grains) (Fuchs & Wagner 2003) (fig. 2), while the feldspar component of polymineral fine-grains (4-11 µm) was dated with an infrared stimulated multiple aliquot additive (IRSL MAA) protocol (Lang et al. 2003).
Spätneolithischer Ackerbau im Experiment — eine Zwischenbilanz nach zwölf Jahren Forchtenberg
Manfred Rösch, Harald Biester, Arno Bogenrieder, Eileen Eckmeier, Otto Ehrmann, Renate Gerlach, M... more Manfred Rösch, Harald Biester, Arno Bogenrieder, Eileen Eckmeier, Otto Ehrmann, Renate Gerlach, Mathias Hall, Christoph Hartkopf-Fröder, Ludger Herrmann, Birgit Kury, Wolfram Schier und Ehrhard Schulz
Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte
Im vergangenen Jahrzehnt hat der fachwissenschaftliche wie auch allgemein gesellschaftliche Disku... more Im vergangenen Jahrzehnt hat der fachwissenschaftliche wie auch allgemein gesellschaftliche Diskurs über den ethisch wie juristisch angemessenen Umgang mit menschlichen Überresten in öffentlichen Sammlungsbeständen stark an Intensität zugenommen. Insbesondere wenn der historische Kontext der Erwerbung aus heutiger Sicht unrechtmäßig oder zumindest ethisch fragwürdig war, wird die Forderung nach Restitution erhoben und mehr und mehr auch umgesetzt. Ungeachtet vermehrt erhobener pauschaler Forderungen nach Restitution, die Erwerbungen rezenter menschlicher Überreste aus dem 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert unter kolonialistischen Generalverdacht stellen, hat sich der Vorstand der BGAEU wiederholt für eine individuelle Abwägung und Entscheidung über Restitutionsersuchen ausgesprochen, was im Einklang steht mit den Richtlinien des Deutschen Museumsbundes und der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Im Beitrag wird über zwei Restitutionsverfahren berichtet, die in den vergangenen Jahren stat...
It was between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age when wool was introduced as raw materi... more It was between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age when wool was introduced as raw material for textile production. It is expected that this innovation had a comprehensive effect on the socio-economic life of people and their environment. However, little is known about spatio-temporal trajectories of the process and the environmental influences it actually had. The approach presented demonstrates how such a comprehensive and complex research question may be operationalized. Decomposition of the overall process and gathering of information from different fields allows to reconstruct particular aspects of the phenomenon and their diachronic change. Subsequent synthesis enables addressing the overall question. This paper focuses on the role of landscape within the process of wool sheep introduction. Besides covering the particular approach to reconstruct herding-related landscape changes it is shown how deeply different disciplinary approaches are interconnected. Finally, diffi...
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