Abstract
This study uses two novel archaeobotanical techniques – crop carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and functional weed ecology – to determine directly how the intensity of agricultural practice changed from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in south-west Germany, with the emergence of fortified hilltop settlements (Fürstensitze or chiefly seats) regarded as the first urban centres in central Europe. The crop isotope and functional weed ecological evidence suggest that surplus cereal production in the Early Iron Age was achieved through sustained use of manure combined with expansion in arable cultivation, both developments that are connected with more widespread use of animal traction. The increased scale of cultivation is broadly apparent across rural as well as fortified hilltop centres in the Early Iron Age, and considerable variability in manuring intensity is consistent with agricultural decision-making at a local level rather than centralised control. Additionally, the more intensive manuring of hulled six-row barley, used in beer production, demonstrates that the political importance of drinking and feasting in Early Iron Age society was reflected in crop husbandry practices. In terms of animal husbandry, faunal isotope data reveal a radical decrease in forest cover, potentially reflecting an expansion in the scale of herding accompanying that of arable cultivation. Site-specific patterning points to a range of herding strategies, from specialised herding of cattle at the Heuneburg to generalised patterns of livestock management at rural sites.
Highlights
Late Iron Age oppida have long been considered the ‘earliest towns north of the Alps’ (Collis 1984a), but new findings have challenged this traditional view of early centralisation and urbanisation in centralEurope, revealing that the first urban centres in the region date back to the end of the 7th century BC (Krausse 2008; 2010; Brun & Chaume 2013)
There is no clear evidence of stalls within the settlements, it is plausible that the animals would have been penned overnight, allowing collection of their manure for spreading on the fields. This is the first time that crop and faunal isotope values and functional weed ecological attributes have been combined in a regional study of past agricultural practice
While crop δ15N values reveal differences in manuring practice between plots and crop species, and weed functional attributes reflect site-level trends in soil fertility and disturbance, this study has shown that together they can provide a more nuanced insight into past farming practice, belying assumptions that higher crop δ15N values necessarily reflect higher soil fertility
Summary
Late Iron Age oppida have long been considered the ‘earliest towns north of the Alps’ (Collis 1984a), but new findings have challenged this traditional view of early centralisation and urbanisation in centralEurope, revealing that the first urban centres in the region date back to the end of the 7th century BC (Krausse 2008; 2010; Brun & Chaume 2013). While the hallmarks of urbanism remain debated and are often difficult to identify archaeologically (FernándezGötz et al 2014), new investigations suggest that many Early Iron Age Fürstensitze or ‘ seats’ of south-west Germany had higher populations than previously thought and occupied central positions of economic as well as political power, impacting on their wider hinterland (Kurz 2010; Fernández-Götz & Krausse 2013). This study focuses on reconstructing how the agricultural basis of society was able to support these new centres of population and production. Such investigations are crucial to understanding the wider context in which such centralisation took place and in identifying the causes and consequences of this process
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