New Interdisciplinary Study Uncovers Prehistoric Rural Settlement and Landscape Development in Northern Bavaria

New Interdisciplinary Study Uncovers Prehistoric Rural Settlement and Landscape Development in Northern Bavaria

A new interdisciplinary study on rural settlement and landscape development in northern Bavaria, Germany has been published. The study involved archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations supported by radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL), and palaeoecological analysis. The researchers aimed to identify unknown prehistoric rural settlement sites, determine site-specific soil erosion from colluvial deposits, and assess the composition of woodland from on- and offsite charcoal finds.

The earliest evidence of human activities dates back to the Younger Neolithic period, while the Middle to Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400–800 B.C.E.) was marked by permanent rural settlement in a German central upland region. The researchers noted a peak in the Late Bronze Age, which they attributed to varying thicknesses of Bronze Age colluvial deposits, indicating land use practices that triggered soil erosion. The study also showed that Maloideae, ash, and birch were successional indicators after fire clearance during that period.

The settlement continued until the 5th century B.C.E, with a hiatus of 500 years before re-flourishing in the Late Roman and Migration periods (mid-3rd–5th century C.E.) and continuing into the Medieval period.

The study provides valuable insights into the prehistoric rural settlement and landscape development in northern Bavaria, and highlights the potential of OSL method with μDose measurements in archaeological research.

Kothieringer K., Seregély T., Jansen D., Steup R., Schäfer A., Lambers K., & Fuchs M. (2023). Mid- to Late Holocene landscape dynamics and rural settlement in the uplands of northern Bavaria, Germany. Geoarcheology, 38, 220– 245. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21952