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Land degradation in Bronze Age Germany: Archaeological, pedological, and chronometrical evidence from a hilltop settlement on the Frauenberg, Niederbayern
Author(s) -
Lang Andreas,
Niller HansPeter,
Rind Michael M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.10088
Subject(s) - bronze age , archaeology , chronology , holocene , pleistocene , erosion , geology , bronze , charcoal , soil water , geography , geomorphology , soil science , materials science , metallurgy
This paper examines the effects of early agriculture and land use in the vicinity of a Bronze Age fortress at Weltenburg, Germany. Sediments and soils found below archaeological structures are compared with sediments and soils surrounding these structures. A chronology is established using relative archaeological dating, 14 C dating of charcoal fragments, TL dating of heated objects, and OSL dating of sediments. Results demonstrate dramatic environmental changes that occurred as early as the Bronze Age. Erosion resulting from agriculture stripped away most Holocene soils and Pleistocene sediments, transforming the natural landscape into a severely degraded cultural landscape. Since the Bronze Age, only minor changes have occurred because agriculture is limited on the degraded soils and the clay‐rich soil remnants are resistant to further erosion. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.