The economy and environment of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC in the northern Alpine foreland based on studies of animal bones

Abstract

The economic and environmental data presented here are based on identifications of more than 275000 animal bones from 126 Neolithic lake shore settlements dated to between 4300 cal. BC and 2500 cal. BC. Due to the excellent state of preservation of all organic material and the consequent precise dating, mostly by dendrochronology, only results from lake shore sites in the Swiss alpine foreland and the area of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) have been considered. Marked fluctuations in the importance of game animals can be recognised throughout the Neolithic lake dwelling period. These fluctuations coincide with climatically induced economic crises which, because of starvation, forced people to intensify hunting and gathering. Looking at the relative importance of the different domestic animals we notice chronologically and geographically influenced differences more than the effects of climatic factors. These differences are mainly due to the environmental evolution resulting from human impact. However, cultural factors may also have had an impact. A comparison of archaeozoological data from the Neolithic lake dwelling sites dated to between 4300 and 2500 cal. BC in the northern Alpine foreland shows a very complicated mosaic of factors influencing the economy of these sites. These include climatic conditions, the state of the environment, human impact and the topography, and all must be taken into account if an economic interpretation of a site, region or period is to be arrived at.