Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters

Not going anywhere? Migration and mobility as social practices

Daniela Hoffmann

While the abstract for this conference characterises the LBK as homogeneous and relatively egalitarian, models debated in recent years tend towards an increasingly hierarchical view of LBK society, with access to land limited by powerful lineages and the control of territory as a main goal. On the other hand, those favouring a more egalitarian view of these early communities have tended to stress the mobility of individuals and groups and the concomitant fluidity of social relations this entailed. This paper argues that, in spite of its much-touted homogeneity, the LBK is a very dynamic phenomenon. The shared material vocabulary was broad enough to accommodate a range of challenges and strategies. I trace the potential tensions between staying put and moving on by charting when these alternatives may have been chosen, on what levels they were manifested and what their implications for social integration and control mechanisms were.