Middle Bronze Age land use practices in the north-western Alpine foreland &amp;#8211; A multi-proxy study of colluvial deposits, archaeological features and peat bogs

Thomas Scholten,Sascha Scherer,Katleen Deckers,Christian Poll,Kristen Wroth,Thomas Knopf,Julia Meister,Sven Marhan,Jutta Lechterbeck,Eva Lehndorff,Humay Rahimova,Elena Marinova,Manfred Rösch,Julia Zastrow,Benjamin Höpfer,Peter Kühn,Markus Fuchs,Ellen Kandeler,Elske Fischer,Johanna Lomax

doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15578

Abstract

&lt;p&gt;We present a multi-proxy approach to reconstruct Middle Bronze Age (MBA, 1600-1250 BCE) land use practices in the north-western Alpine foreland (SW Germany, Hegau). We combined biogeochemical proxies from multi-layered colluvial deposits and archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data within and in the surrounding of the archaeologically well-documented settlement site of Anselfingen. Offsite pollen data from two peat bogs were used to place the onsite and near-site vegetation and land use data to a regional context.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Phases of colluvial deposition were reconstructed by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (AMS &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C) dating. The first phase of major colluviation could be correlated with MBA land use followed by phases of colluvial deposition during the Iron Age, the Medieval period, and modern times. Charcoal spectra from colluvial deposits and archaeological structures indicate MBA forest management favoring Quercus in the surrounding area north of the settlement. The analysis of faecal biomarker (5&amp;#223;-stanols up to 40 %) and excavated pig bones (up to 14 %) suggest the presence of a forest pasture mainly used for pig farming. In the surrounding area south of the settlement, an arable field with a buried MBA plough horizon (2Apb) could be verified by soil micromorphological features such as very dusty clay coatings and a banded microstructure and by high concentrations of grass phytoliths from leaves and stems. Agricultural practices (e.g. ploughing) focused on five staple cereal crops (Hordeum distichon/vulgare, Triticum dicoccum, Triticum monococcum, Triticum spelta, Triticum aestivum/turgidum) as indicated by the onsite archaeobotanical records. Stilted pantries, reconstructed from MBA post-holes, were interpreted as storage facilities, while excavated heat stones are likely to indicate post-harvest processing of cereal crops and other agrarian products. Higher levels of urease activity compared to microbial biomass carbon (up to 2.1 &amp;#181;g N &amp;#181;g Cmic&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), and input of herbivorous animal faeces indicate livestock husbandry on fallow land or manuring practices. The suites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their spatial distribution indicate the use of fire for various purposes, e.g. for landscape opening and maintenance, for domestic burning and for technical applications. The offsite pollen data support the onsite and near-site vegetation change. During the MBA, fire played a major role in shaping the landscape (peak of micro-charcoal during the MBA in the offsite pollen records) and anthropogenic activities promoted oak dominated forest vegetation at the expense of natural beech forests. This approves a broad regional human influence in the north-western Alpine foreland during the MBA.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our data allow in-depth insights into the MBA subsistence economy on a local and regional scale, which was not limited to settlements at lakeshore sites. The MBA in the north-western Alpine foreland was a period of establishing settlements with sophisticated land management and land use practices also at low and mid altitude inland sites. We could further show that colluvial deposits are promising archives for the reconstruction of past land use practices.&lt;/p&gt;

Highlights

Human use of land has profoundly altered terrestrial ecosystems since the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene (Ellis et al, 2011; Redman, 1999)
The multi-proxy analysis of archaeological features, colluvial deposits, buried topsoils and peat bogs of the Middle Bronze Age in the Hegau (SW Germany) shows how helpful such multi-proxy approaches can be for a refined understanding of past human–land interactions. (i) From the archaeopedological reconstruction of phases of colluvial deposition and on-site and near-site land use practices, we can infer sophisticated land use practices at the Middle Bronze Age settlement site in Anselfingen, which undoubtedly marked the beginning of major colluvial deposition
Livestock husbandry was based on pasture on fallow land and forest pasture for pig farming, while hunting was part of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) economy. (ii) The spatial patterns of the on-site and near-site land use practices revealed that a type of forest management mostly occurred in the surrounding area north of the ABR settlement site, while arable farming was practiced in the south

Summary

Introduction

Human use of land has profoundly altered terrestrial ecosystems since the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene (Ellis et al, 2011; Redman, 1999). The emergence of sedentism and agricultural practices has intensified this trend, at least since population sizes and technological capabilities have increased (Ellis et al, 2013). In the northwestern Alpine foreland, most Middle Bronze Age (MBA; 1600– 1250 BCE) settlements are known from sites with aerobic soil conditions further inland, while the lakeshores and bogs were widely depopulated during this period (Menotti, 2001; Köninger, 2015). Rather little on-site and near-site (distance < 5 km to the site) archaeopedological and archaeobotanical evidence has been available so far for MBA settlements in the northwestern Alpine foreland. The information from off-site (distance > 5 km to the site) proxies is more closely related to the vicinity of lakes and bogs than to settlements further inland (Rösch, 2013; Tinner et al, 2003)

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Conclusion