Settlements and social development of the 3rd millennium BC in central Germany (original) (raw)

Bell Beaker Settlement of Europe

Abstract

In: A. Gibson (ed.), Bell Beaker Settlement of Europe: The Bell Beaker Phenomenon from a Domestic Perspective. Prehistoric Society Research Papers 9 (Oxford), 235-254. Central Germany is generally defined as being the Middle Elbe-Saale region, located North, East and South of the Harz Mountains and within the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. In the north it is limited by the lowlands of northern Germany with mostly poor-quality soils and in the south by the Thuringian Forest and the Ore Mountains. The areas south-east to north-east of the Harz mountains were key settlement regions during the Neolithic, due to the excellent soils and the balanced climate. In addition, natural deposits of salt and copper are important, although the use of local copper sources in the Neolithic remains to be confirmed. This paper starts with a brief regional overview of the cultural development during the 3rd millennium BC and outlines the general character of the settlement and economic strategies of the different archaeological cultures. The aim of this paper is to present new insights into settlements and house structures of the Final Neolithic, namely the Schönfeld culture, the Corded Ware culture and the Bell Beaker culture, in Central Germany (Fig. 13.1) and to relate them to those of the subsequent Early Bronze Age Únětice culture. Mainly based on the evidence discovered within the last 15 years, the settlement history of the period between approximately 2800–2000 BC will be re-evaluated.

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