Timber from Old and Young Trees: Dendrotypology as the Backbone of the Dendroarchaeological Investigations of Prehistoric Fish Traps and Pile Dwellings in South-West Germany

Abstract

Because of the diversity of tree species and the high variability in cambial age and growth patterns, dendrotypological methods have been developed in an attempt to sort large timber series from prehistoric wetland sites in south-west Germany. Focusing first on cross-dating short tree-ring sequences for different tree species, the work extended step by step towards a wider approach, which embraced aspects such as wood technology and building structures, socio-economics and woodland management, as well as ecology and environmental changes. Following the methodological presentation, investigations addressing the choice of timber in ancient constructions and underlining the strong relationships between man and forest in former times are illustrated with examples from Iron Age fish traps in the Federsee bog and from Neolithic pile dwellings on Lake Constance.