Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters

The constant is change: LBK settlement dynamics in the upper Danube region

Joachim Pechtl

In general, the LBK is considered as a very assertive cultural phenomenon characterized by rapid expansion and subsequent high population density in agriculturally favorable areas. On the one hand, for the first time larger and long-term populated places were created, on the other hand, a strong colonial tendency is obvious. A closer look at the settlement areas on the upper Danube in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, however, shows an astonishing picture: Both the time of the first rural colonization and the ups and downs in the further settlement are very different from region to region. Colonization advances as well as abandonment of entire areas can be observed several times. The LBK of in this region is thus characterized by a very high dynamics of settlement. In addition to all conservative tendencies, risky foundations of settlements, the option of failure and the willingness to considerable personal mobility appear to be integral components of the cultural model.