Robin Peters | LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland (original) (raw)

Papers by Robin Peters

Research paper thumbnail of "Unberührt seit Urzeiten"? Eine archäologische Perspektive auf das Alter des Hambacher Waldes.

Rheinisch-westfälische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, 2022

Hambacher Wald oder Hambacher Forst heißt heute das etwa fünf Quadratkilometer große Überbleibsel... more Hambacher Wald oder Hambacher Forst heißt heute das etwa fünf Quadratkilometer große Überbleibsel eines Großwaldes, der noch Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts eine Fläche von ca. 120 Quadratkilometern einnahm (Abb. 1). 1 Mit den Protesten gegen den Braunkohletagebau Hambach und insbesondere als Symbol der Klimabewegung sind die Reste des einstigen Gemeindewaldes in den letzten Jahren in das Bewusstsein der, nicht ausschließlich deutschen, Öffentlichkeit gerückt. Der Hambacher Wald wurde zu "Bäume[n], die die Welt bedeuten". Während die Geschichte des Protestes berechtigterweise von vielen Seiten aufgearbeitet wurde und immer noch wird, ist der Geschichte des Waldes erstaunlich wenig Aufmerksamkeit zugekommen. Im Rahmen des LVR-Projekts "geschichten Rheinisches Revier" soll daher der Hambacher Forst multiperspektivisch ausgeleuchtet und speziell den zahlreichen modernen Mythen und gefühlten Wahrheiten nachgegangen werden, die mit diesem verbunden werden. Eine davon betrifft das Alter des Waldes, das in diesem Aufsatz im Mittelpunkt steht.

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches—including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (...

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches-including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (...

Research paper thumbnail of Demographic estimates from the Palaeolithic–Mesolithic boundary in Scandinavia: comparative benchmarks and novel insights

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Prehistoric demography has recently risen to prominence as a potentially explanatory variable for... more Prehistoric demography has recently risen to prominence as a potentially explanatory variable for episodes of cultural change as documented in the archaeological and ethnographic record. While this has resulted in a veritable boom in methodological developments seeking to address temporal changes in the relative size of prehistoric populations, little work has focused on the manner in which population dynamics manifests across a spatial dimension. Most recently, the so-called Cologne Protocol has led the way in this endeavour. However, strict requirements of raw-material exchange data as analytical inputs have prevented further applications of the protocol to regions outside of continental Europe. We apply an adjusted approach of the protocol that makes it transferable to cases in other parts of the world, while demonstrating its use by providing comparative benchmarks of previous research on the Late Glacial Final Palaeolithic of southern Scandinavia, and novel insights from the ea...

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a theoretical framework for analyzing integrated socio-environmental systems

Quaternary International, 2012

This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental sys... more This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental systems, namely the diversity of contributing disciplines and the wide spectrum of temporal and spatial scales. Archaeology, the geosciences and socio-cultural ...

Research paper thumbnail of Supplementary Information Approaching Prehistoric Demography: Proxies, Scales and Scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches-including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (site-numbers, dates as data, etc.) allow a first positioning of the estimates within this field of research. Future enhancements, applications and testing of the Cologne Protocol are outlined and positioned within the general theoretical and methodological avenues of palaeodemo-graphic research. In addition, we provide manuals for modelling Core Areas in MAPINFO, ARCGIS, QGIS/SAGA and R. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.

Research paper thumbnail of Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöften.

Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 2020

Christoph Keller/Robin Peters, Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöfte... more Christoph Keller/Robin Peters, Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöften. Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 28-30.

Research paper thumbnail of Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten.

Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 62-64, 2020

Robin Peters, Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten. Ar... more Robin Peters, Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten. Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 62-64

Research paper thumbnail of Grave goods, refuse or the remains of rituals? Differences in the assemblages from the LBK burials of Arnoldsweiler-Ellebach.

In: D. Hofmann (Hrgs.), Magical, mundane or marginal?: Deposition practices in the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture (Leiden 2020) 149-168. , 2020

The question whether an artefact in a burial is a grave good, an artefact intentionally buried wi... more The question whether an artefact in a burial is a grave good, an artefact intentionally buried with the dead, or was simply accidentally included, has been answered in very different ways by archaeologists. Often, the value one assigns to the object is a decisive factor. In this paper, we try to investigate the formation of burial assemblages from a more neutral starting point, although we are of course
not claiming to be free from assumptions. As a working hypothesis we distinguish between the finds from the base of burial pits and those from the fills. While the former should be “structured” in the sense of Richards and Thomas (1984), or more specifically, should display intentionality or indicate a “positive selection”
(Eggers 1959), the latter have often been ignored. We conclude that the possible interpretations for pottery and stone artefacts are different and that there is no
single deposition scenario that suits all materials. In addition, finds from the fill and the base of burials should be accorded more analytical weight in the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem

Archäologie im Rheinland 2018, 2019

Robin Peters, Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem, A... more Robin Peters, Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem, Archäologie im Rheinland 2018, 2019, 95–99.

Research paper thumbnail of LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rheinischen Braunkohlerevier

Archäologie im Rheinland, 2015

S. Hartmann/R. Peters/E. Rung, M. Zur, LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rh... more S. Hartmann/R. Peters/E. Rung, M. Zur, LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rheinischen Braunkohlerevier. Archäologie im Rheinland 2014, 2015, 67–69.

Research paper thumbnail of Zwischen Wachstum und Krise. Die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee

T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neolithikum 5. Kerpen-Loogh 2017, 101-121, 2017

in: T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neoli... more in: T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neolithikum 5. Kerpen-Loogh 2017, 101-121

Kurzzusammenfassung

In diesem Artikel wird eine zyklische Betrachtungsweise der Geschichte des mitteleuropäischen Neolithikums erprobt. Das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio-ökologischen Resilience-Theorie wird auf archäologisches Material übertragen, um die Entwicklung archäologischer Kulturen zu beschreiben. Einleitend wird das Resilience-Konzept kurz vorgestellt. Der Hauptteil der Untersuchung widmet sich dann einem Fallbeispiel, dem Jungneolithikum am Bodensee (40. – 34. Jh. v. Chr.). Für die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee können verschiedene Entwicklungsstadien unterschieden werden. Diese Phasen werden in Analogie zum sozio-ökologischen „adaptiven Zyklus“ als Phasen des Wachstums (r), der Konservierung (K), der Auflösung (Ω) und der Reorganisation (α) des kulturellen Systems interpretiert. Abschließend wird das Ergebnis mit von anderen Autoren beobachteten Zyklen im mitteleuropäischen Neolithikum verglichen und die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der Resilience-Theorie werden diskutiert.

Abstract

This paper examines the development of the Central European Neolithic from a cyclic perspective. The concept of “adaptive cycles”, derived from the socio-ecological Resilience Theory, is employed to describe the development of archaeological cultures. First, the concept of resilience is introduced. In the main section a case study the development of the Young Neolithic (40th – 34th century BC) at Lake Constance is presented. The Pfyn Culture passes through different phases. These phases are interpreted as growth, conservation, release and re-organisation phase of the “adaptive cycle”. The results are compared with the observation of other cycles in the Central European Neolithic and further applications of Resilience Theory are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Resilience and Cyclicity: Towards a macrohistory of the Central European Neolithic

In this paper estimates of the demographic trend are used as key variables to apply the concept o... more In this paper estimates of the demographic trend are used as key variables to apply the concept of 'adaptive cycles', derived from socio-ecological resilience theory, to Archaeology. The question how to operationalize resilience theory in an archaeological context is discussed and resilience thinking is linked to evolutionary theories. The development of two archaeological cultures is outlined as 'cultural cycle' and the long-term history of Central Europe is investigated from a resilience perspective.

Research paper thumbnail of The older LBK site of Niederkassel-Uckendorf revisited

Tim Kerig / Kathrin Nowak / Georg Roth (Hrsg.), Alles was zählt... Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann. , Jul 22, 2016

The LBK site Niederkassel-Uckendorf, located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, has often been quo... more The LBK site Niederkassel-Uckendorf, located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, has often been quoted as having an extraordinary old age so far unknown in the Rhineland. To answer the question of the exact dating of the site and its relation to the known Rhenish LBK sites, selected attributes of the settlement and its inventory are analysed and reassessed.
The Pottery analysis (morphology, technique, ornamentation) supports the dating of the site clearly within the Flomborn phase and contemporaneity with the first settlements on the western bank of the Rhine. Similar to sites in the western Rhineland, the lithic flint raw material used in Niederkassel-Uckendorf is mainly Rijckholt-flint. Furthermore it could be confirmed that the blade morphology resembles earliest LBK blade traditions; but on the other hand the knapping style is not consistent with that of the earliest phase of the LBK.
The occurrence of some earliest LBK elements in a settlement of the Flomborn phase attest that also in the inventories of pioneer settlements of the Rhineland the co-existence of these two LBK traditions in the 53rd century are visible.

Research paper thumbnail of Demographisch-kulturelle Zyklen im Neolithikum. Die Bandkeramik im Rheinland und die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee.

"Zusammenfassung: Diese Arbeit verwendet das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio–ökol... more "Zusammenfassung:

Diese Arbeit verwendet das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio–ökologischen Resilience-Theorie um die Entwicklung archäologischer Kulturen zu beschreiben. Einleitend werden die vier Phasen (Wachstums-, Konservierungs-, Auflösungs-, und Reorganisationsphase) des „adaptiven Zyklus“ vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil wird in einem Fallbeispiel die Entwicklung der Linearbandkeramik im Rheinland als „kultureller Zyklus“ dargestellt.

Abstract:

In this paper the concept of “adaptive cycles”, derived from the socio-ecological Resilience Theory, is employed to describe the
development of archaeological cultures. First the four phases (growth, conservation, release and re-organisation) of the “adaptive cycle” are introduced. In a case study the development of the Linearbandkeramik Culture in the Rhine-Basin is portrayed as a “cultural cycle”."

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a theoretical framework for analyzing integrated socio-environmental systems

This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental sys... more This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental systems, namely the diversity of contributing disciplines and the wide spectrum of temporal and spatial scales. Archaeology, the geosciences and socio-cultural anthropology provide information relating to a diversity of specific time series and spatial distribution maps in order to answer questions relating to the impact of environmental and anthropogenic factors in population growth and migration processes. A model based on the key idea of adaptive cycles as it was initially developed in resilience research can be productively employed to bridge the diversity of disciplines and to integrate the diversity of data that they provide. This article outlines first steps towards recognizing similar patterns across a wide spectrum of empirical observations. It is exploratory in its attempt to trace these patterns across different layers of understanding the complexity of human-environment interaction.
The case material considered relates to (1) observable ethnographic data on forager mobility and its simulation, (2) the demography of the Central European Neolithic, (3) the palaeodemography of foragers during the Late Upper Palaeolithic, (4) the societal reorganization by Palaeolithic foragers under climate instability, (5) the palaeoenvironmental study of lake Prespa in the Balkans, and (6) environmental responses to agricultural land use practices in relation to sediment flux in hillslope systems. With reference to these cases, an adaptive cycle model is outlined, with phases of growth, conservation, distortion and reorganization. The model helps to infer internal dynamics in the diverse environmental and social domains without reducing one domain to another while still connecting evidence from a host of different sources. More generally, such a model could help in understanding features of non-linearity, multifactoral relations, scale dependency and time-lags which seem to be typical for the complex dynamics of integrated socio-environmental systems.

Research paper thumbnail of Petroglyphs under the sand. A preliminary report on the field season 2008/09 at the fortress Gala Abu Ahmed

Talks by Robin Peters

Research paper thumbnail of Kulturelle Zyklen und die zeitliche Dynamik von Kommunikation.

"In der Neolithikumforschung wurde wiederholt die Beobachtung gemacht, dass sich Zeiten, in denen... more "In der Neolithikumforschung wurde wiederholt die Beobachtung gemacht, dass sich Zeiten, in denen archäologische Kulturen intensiv miteinander kommunizieren, mit Zeiten abwechseln, in denen der Kulturkontakt schwächer ausfällt. Diese differierende Kommunikationsintensität schlägt sich archäologisch in der An- und Abwesenheit von „Importen“ und der Diversität archäologischer Inventare nieder.
In diesem Vortrag wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern die zeitliche Dynamik von Kommunikation mit der demografischen Entwicklung in Zusammenhang steht. Ausgangspunkt ist hierbei die Hypothese, dass Phasen intensiven Kulturkontakts mit einer geringen Bevölkerungsdichte korrelieren. Als Fallbeispiele werden die kulturellen Entwicklungsgeschichten der Linearbandkeramik im Rheinland und der Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee herangezogen. Anhand der Siedlungsbefunde kann jeweils ein diachroner demographischer Trend rekonstruiert werden. Der relativen Bevölkerungsentwicklung werden anschließend Veränderungen in der materiellen Kultur gegenübergestellt, wie die diachron variierende Zahl kulturfremder „Importe“ und ferntransportierter Rohmaterialien.
Als heuristisches Hilfsmittel wird das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio-ökologischen Resilience-Theorie auf archäologisches Material übertragen. Archäologische Kulturen werden als Mensch-Umwelt-Systeme begriffen, die bestimmte Entwicklungsstadien durchlaufen. Sie wachsen, versuchen sich zu erhalten, kollabieren und formieren sich erneut. Zwischen diesen Entwicklungsphasen und der zeitlichen Dynamik von Kommunikation ist ein Zusammenhang zu erkennen.
Die Grundlage dieses Vortrags bildet eine Magisterarbeit mit dem Titel „Demographisch-kulturelle Zyklen im Neolithikum. Die Bandkeramik im Rheinland und die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee“, die im Juli 2011 an der Universität Köln eingereicht wurde."

Books by Robin Peters

Research paper thumbnail of Tim Kerig / Kathrin Nowak / Georg Roth (Hrsg.), Alles was zählt... Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 285 (Bonn: Habelt 2016)

by Tim Kerig, Inga Kretschmer, Andreas Maier, Isabell Schmidt, Stefano Bertola, Nadia Balkowski, Erich Claßen, Robin Peters, Guido Nockemann, Hans-Christoph Strien, Johanna Hilpert, Richard Bleckmann, Michel G L Errera, Marjorie de Grooth, Françoise Bostyn, Solène DENIS, Thomas Richter, Andrzej Pelisiak, Anna-Leena Fischer, and Jutta Lechterbeck

Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann Erscheinungsdatum: 22. 07. 2016 ISBN: 978-3-7749-4022-2

Research paper thumbnail of "Unberührt seit Urzeiten"? Eine archäologische Perspektive auf das Alter des Hambacher Waldes.

Rheinisch-westfälische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, 2022

Hambacher Wald oder Hambacher Forst heißt heute das etwa fünf Quadratkilometer große Überbleibsel... more Hambacher Wald oder Hambacher Forst heißt heute das etwa fünf Quadratkilometer große Überbleibsel eines Großwaldes, der noch Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts eine Fläche von ca. 120 Quadratkilometern einnahm (Abb. 1). 1 Mit den Protesten gegen den Braunkohletagebau Hambach und insbesondere als Symbol der Klimabewegung sind die Reste des einstigen Gemeindewaldes in den letzten Jahren in das Bewusstsein der, nicht ausschließlich deutschen, Öffentlichkeit gerückt. Der Hambacher Wald wurde zu "Bäume[n], die die Welt bedeuten". Während die Geschichte des Protestes berechtigterweise von vielen Seiten aufgearbeitet wurde und immer noch wird, ist der Geschichte des Waldes erstaunlich wenig Aufmerksamkeit zugekommen. Im Rahmen des LVR-Projekts "geschichten Rheinisches Revier" soll daher der Hambacher Forst multiperspektivisch ausgeleuchtet und speziell den zahlreichen modernen Mythen und gefühlten Wahrheiten nachgegangen werden, die mit diesem verbunden werden. Eine davon betrifft das Alter des Waldes, das in diesem Aufsatz im Mittelpunkt steht.

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches—including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (...

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches-including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (...

Research paper thumbnail of Demographic estimates from the Palaeolithic–Mesolithic boundary in Scandinavia: comparative benchmarks and novel insights

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Prehistoric demography has recently risen to prominence as a potentially explanatory variable for... more Prehistoric demography has recently risen to prominence as a potentially explanatory variable for episodes of cultural change as documented in the archaeological and ethnographic record. While this has resulted in a veritable boom in methodological developments seeking to address temporal changes in the relative size of prehistoric populations, little work has focused on the manner in which population dynamics manifests across a spatial dimension. Most recently, the so-called Cologne Protocol has led the way in this endeavour. However, strict requirements of raw-material exchange data as analytical inputs have prevented further applications of the protocol to regions outside of continental Europe. We apply an adjusted approach of the protocol that makes it transferable to cases in other parts of the world, while demonstrating its use by providing comparative benchmarks of previous research on the Late Glacial Final Palaeolithic of southern Scandinavia, and novel insights from the ea...

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a theoretical framework for analyzing integrated socio-environmental systems

Quaternary International, 2012

This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental sys... more This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental systems, namely the diversity of contributing disciplines and the wide spectrum of temporal and spatial scales. Archaeology, the geosciences and socio-cultural ...

Research paper thumbnail of Supplementary Information Approaching Prehistoric Demography: Proxies, Scales and Scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching prehistoric demography: proxies, scales and scope of the Cologne Protocol in European contexts

In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density ... more In many theories on the social and cultural evolution of human societies, the number and density of people living together in a given time and region is a crucial factor. Because direct data on past demographic developments are lacking, and reliability and validity of demographic proxies require careful evaluation, the topic has been approached from several different directions. This paper provides an introduction to a geostatistical approach for estimating prehistoric population size and density, the so-called Cologne Protocol and discusses underlying theoretical assumptions and upscaling transfer-functions between different spatial scale levels. We describe and compare the specifics for farming and for foraging societies and, using examples, discuss a diachronic series of estimates, covering the population dynamics of roughly 40 kyr of European prehistory. Ethnohistoric accounts, results from other approaches-including absolute (ethno-environmental models) and relative estimates (site-numbers, dates as data, etc.) allow a first positioning of the estimates within this field of research. Future enhancements, applications and testing of the Cologne Protocol are outlined and positioned within the general theoretical and methodological avenues of palaeodemo-graphic research. In addition, we provide manuals for modelling Core Areas in MAPINFO, ARCGIS, QGIS/SAGA and R. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.

Research paper thumbnail of Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöften.

Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 2020

Christoph Keller/Robin Peters, Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöfte... more Christoph Keller/Robin Peters, Mit GPS und Statistik auf der Suche nach mittelalterlichen Gehöften. Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 28-30.

Research paper thumbnail of Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten.

Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 62-64, 2020

Robin Peters, Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten. Ar... more Robin Peters, Artefakt oder Fälschung? Eine Privatsammlung mit ungewöhnlichen Steinartefakten. Archäologie im Rheinland 2019 (2020), 62-64

Research paper thumbnail of Grave goods, refuse or the remains of rituals? Differences in the assemblages from the LBK burials of Arnoldsweiler-Ellebach.

In: D. Hofmann (Hrgs.), Magical, mundane or marginal?: Deposition practices in the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture (Leiden 2020) 149-168. , 2020

The question whether an artefact in a burial is a grave good, an artefact intentionally buried wi... more The question whether an artefact in a burial is a grave good, an artefact intentionally buried with the dead, or was simply accidentally included, has been answered in very different ways by archaeologists. Often, the value one assigns to the object is a decisive factor. In this paper, we try to investigate the formation of burial assemblages from a more neutral starting point, although we are of course
not claiming to be free from assumptions. As a working hypothesis we distinguish between the finds from the base of burial pits and those from the fills. While the former should be “structured” in the sense of Richards and Thomas (1984), or more specifically, should display intentionality or indicate a “positive selection”
(Eggers 1959), the latter have often been ignored. We conclude that the possible interpretations for pottery and stone artefacts are different and that there is no
single deposition scenario that suits all materials. In addition, finds from the fill and the base of burials should be accorded more analytical weight in the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem

Archäologie im Rheinland 2018, 2019

Robin Peters, Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem, A... more Robin Peters, Ein späteisenzeitliches Wandgräbchenhaus vom Typ Pommenich aus Erftstadt-Blessem, Archäologie im Rheinland 2018, 2019, 95–99.

Research paper thumbnail of LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rheinischen Braunkohlerevier

Archäologie im Rheinland, 2015

S. Hartmann/R. Peters/E. Rung, M. Zur, LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rh... more S. Hartmann/R. Peters/E. Rung, M. Zur, LANU - geoarchäologische Prospektionen und Sondagen im rheinischen Braunkohlerevier. Archäologie im Rheinland 2014, 2015, 67–69.

Research paper thumbnail of Zwischen Wachstum und Krise. Die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee

T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neolithikum 5. Kerpen-Loogh 2017, 101-121, 2017

in: T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neoli... more in: T. Link/J. Pyzel, Kulturkontakt und Kommunikation. Fokus Jungsteinzeit. Berichte der AG Neolithikum 5. Kerpen-Loogh 2017, 101-121

Kurzzusammenfassung

In diesem Artikel wird eine zyklische Betrachtungsweise der Geschichte des mitteleuropäischen Neolithikums erprobt. Das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio-ökologischen Resilience-Theorie wird auf archäologisches Material übertragen, um die Entwicklung archäologischer Kulturen zu beschreiben. Einleitend wird das Resilience-Konzept kurz vorgestellt. Der Hauptteil der Untersuchung widmet sich dann einem Fallbeispiel, dem Jungneolithikum am Bodensee (40. – 34. Jh. v. Chr.). Für die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee können verschiedene Entwicklungsstadien unterschieden werden. Diese Phasen werden in Analogie zum sozio-ökologischen „adaptiven Zyklus“ als Phasen des Wachstums (r), der Konservierung (K), der Auflösung (Ω) und der Reorganisation (α) des kulturellen Systems interpretiert. Abschließend wird das Ergebnis mit von anderen Autoren beobachteten Zyklen im mitteleuropäischen Neolithikum verglichen und die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der Resilience-Theorie werden diskutiert.

Abstract

This paper examines the development of the Central European Neolithic from a cyclic perspective. The concept of “adaptive cycles”, derived from the socio-ecological Resilience Theory, is employed to describe the development of archaeological cultures. First, the concept of resilience is introduced. In the main section a case study the development of the Young Neolithic (40th – 34th century BC) at Lake Constance is presented. The Pfyn Culture passes through different phases. These phases are interpreted as growth, conservation, release and re-organisation phase of the “adaptive cycle”. The results are compared with the observation of other cycles in the Central European Neolithic and further applications of Resilience Theory are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Resilience and Cyclicity: Towards a macrohistory of the Central European Neolithic

In this paper estimates of the demographic trend are used as key variables to apply the concept o... more In this paper estimates of the demographic trend are used as key variables to apply the concept of 'adaptive cycles', derived from socio-ecological resilience theory, to Archaeology. The question how to operationalize resilience theory in an archaeological context is discussed and resilience thinking is linked to evolutionary theories. The development of two archaeological cultures is outlined as 'cultural cycle' and the long-term history of Central Europe is investigated from a resilience perspective.

Research paper thumbnail of The older LBK site of Niederkassel-Uckendorf revisited

Tim Kerig / Kathrin Nowak / Georg Roth (Hrsg.), Alles was zählt... Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann. , Jul 22, 2016

The LBK site Niederkassel-Uckendorf, located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, has often been quo... more The LBK site Niederkassel-Uckendorf, located on the eastern bank of the Rhine, has often been quoted as having an extraordinary old age so far unknown in the Rhineland. To answer the question of the exact dating of the site and its relation to the known Rhenish LBK sites, selected attributes of the settlement and its inventory are analysed and reassessed.
The Pottery analysis (morphology, technique, ornamentation) supports the dating of the site clearly within the Flomborn phase and contemporaneity with the first settlements on the western bank of the Rhine. Similar to sites in the western Rhineland, the lithic flint raw material used in Niederkassel-Uckendorf is mainly Rijckholt-flint. Furthermore it could be confirmed that the blade morphology resembles earliest LBK blade traditions; but on the other hand the knapping style is not consistent with that of the earliest phase of the LBK.
The occurrence of some earliest LBK elements in a settlement of the Flomborn phase attest that also in the inventories of pioneer settlements of the Rhineland the co-existence of these two LBK traditions in the 53rd century are visible.

Research paper thumbnail of Demographisch-kulturelle Zyklen im Neolithikum. Die Bandkeramik im Rheinland und die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee.

"Zusammenfassung: Diese Arbeit verwendet das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio–ökol... more "Zusammenfassung:

Diese Arbeit verwendet das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio–ökologischen Resilience-Theorie um die Entwicklung archäologischer Kulturen zu beschreiben. Einleitend werden die vier Phasen (Wachstums-, Konservierungs-, Auflösungs-, und Reorganisationsphase) des „adaptiven Zyklus“ vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil wird in einem Fallbeispiel die Entwicklung der Linearbandkeramik im Rheinland als „kultureller Zyklus“ dargestellt.

Abstract:

In this paper the concept of “adaptive cycles”, derived from the socio-ecological Resilience Theory, is employed to describe the
development of archaeological cultures. First the four phases (growth, conservation, release and re-organisation) of the “adaptive cycle” are introduced. In a case study the development of the Linearbandkeramik Culture in the Rhine-Basin is portrayed as a “cultural cycle”."

Research paper thumbnail of Towards a theoretical framework for analyzing integrated socio-environmental systems

This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental sys... more This article addresses two major challenges for an integrated analysis of socio-environmental systems, namely the diversity of contributing disciplines and the wide spectrum of temporal and spatial scales. Archaeology, the geosciences and socio-cultural anthropology provide information relating to a diversity of specific time series and spatial distribution maps in order to answer questions relating to the impact of environmental and anthropogenic factors in population growth and migration processes. A model based on the key idea of adaptive cycles as it was initially developed in resilience research can be productively employed to bridge the diversity of disciplines and to integrate the diversity of data that they provide. This article outlines first steps towards recognizing similar patterns across a wide spectrum of empirical observations. It is exploratory in its attempt to trace these patterns across different layers of understanding the complexity of human-environment interaction.
The case material considered relates to (1) observable ethnographic data on forager mobility and its simulation, (2) the demography of the Central European Neolithic, (3) the palaeodemography of foragers during the Late Upper Palaeolithic, (4) the societal reorganization by Palaeolithic foragers under climate instability, (5) the palaeoenvironmental study of lake Prespa in the Balkans, and (6) environmental responses to agricultural land use practices in relation to sediment flux in hillslope systems. With reference to these cases, an adaptive cycle model is outlined, with phases of growth, conservation, distortion and reorganization. The model helps to infer internal dynamics in the diverse environmental and social domains without reducing one domain to another while still connecting evidence from a host of different sources. More generally, such a model could help in understanding features of non-linearity, multifactoral relations, scale dependency and time-lags which seem to be typical for the complex dynamics of integrated socio-environmental systems.

Research paper thumbnail of Petroglyphs under the sand. A preliminary report on the field season 2008/09 at the fortress Gala Abu Ahmed

Research paper thumbnail of Kulturelle Zyklen und die zeitliche Dynamik von Kommunikation.

"In der Neolithikumforschung wurde wiederholt die Beobachtung gemacht, dass sich Zeiten, in denen... more "In der Neolithikumforschung wurde wiederholt die Beobachtung gemacht, dass sich Zeiten, in denen archäologische Kulturen intensiv miteinander kommunizieren, mit Zeiten abwechseln, in denen der Kulturkontakt schwächer ausfällt. Diese differierende Kommunikationsintensität schlägt sich archäologisch in der An- und Abwesenheit von „Importen“ und der Diversität archäologischer Inventare nieder.
In diesem Vortrag wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern die zeitliche Dynamik von Kommunikation mit der demografischen Entwicklung in Zusammenhang steht. Ausgangspunkt ist hierbei die Hypothese, dass Phasen intensiven Kulturkontakts mit einer geringen Bevölkerungsdichte korrelieren. Als Fallbeispiele werden die kulturellen Entwicklungsgeschichten der Linearbandkeramik im Rheinland und der Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee herangezogen. Anhand der Siedlungsbefunde kann jeweils ein diachroner demographischer Trend rekonstruiert werden. Der relativen Bevölkerungsentwicklung werden anschließend Veränderungen in der materiellen Kultur gegenübergestellt, wie die diachron variierende Zahl kulturfremder „Importe“ und ferntransportierter Rohmaterialien.
Als heuristisches Hilfsmittel wird das Konzept des „adaptiven Zyklus“ aus der sozio-ökologischen Resilience-Theorie auf archäologisches Material übertragen. Archäologische Kulturen werden als Mensch-Umwelt-Systeme begriffen, die bestimmte Entwicklungsstadien durchlaufen. Sie wachsen, versuchen sich zu erhalten, kollabieren und formieren sich erneut. Zwischen diesen Entwicklungsphasen und der zeitlichen Dynamik von Kommunikation ist ein Zusammenhang zu erkennen.
Die Grundlage dieses Vortrags bildet eine Magisterarbeit mit dem Titel „Demographisch-kulturelle Zyklen im Neolithikum. Die Bandkeramik im Rheinland und die Pfyner Kultur am Bodensee“, die im Juli 2011 an der Universität Köln eingereicht wurde."