Joint research in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. International archaeological-palaeoecological collaboration within the Beyond Lakes Villages project 2015-2018

Abstract

The prehistoric lakeside settlements in the area of present-day Switzerland, Germany and Austria have been known for more than 150 years. Neolithic and Bronze Ages sites North of the Alps cover a time-span between 4300 and 800 BC. More than one hundred of them were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2011. Up to now, research has focused almost exclusively on the classical sites on the larger pre-alpine lakes (Lake Constance, Lake Zurich, Three-Lakes-region, Lake Geneva). The focus of the project „Beyond lake villages: Studying Neolithic environmental changes and human impact at small lakes in Switzerland, Germany and Austria „, on the other hand, is located on small lakes (Lakes Burgaschisee and Moossee in the Swiss Plateau, lakes Degersee/Schleinsee in the German Allgau and Mondsee lake in the Austrian Salzkammergut) and its immediate surroundings in order to gain new insights into the human influence on the landscape and the interaction between prehistoric societies and their environment.