Centralisation and long-term change in farming regimes: Comparing agricultural practices in Neolithic and Iron Age south-west Germany

Abstract

This study uses two novel archaeobotanical techniques -crop carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and functional weed ecology -to determine directly how the intensity of agricultural practice changed from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in south-west Germany, with the emergence of fortified hilltop settlements (Fürstensitze or chiefly seats) regarded as the first urban centres in central Europe. The crop isotope and functional weed ecological evidence suggest that surplus cereal production in the Early Iron Age was achieved through sustained use of manure combined with expansion in arable cultivation, both developments that are connected with more widespread use of animal traction. The increased scale of cultivation is broadly apparent across rural as well as fortified hilltop centres in the Early Iron Age, and considerable variability in manuring intensity is consistent with agricultural decision-making at a local level rather than centralised control. Additionally, the more intensive manuring of hulled six-row barley, used in beer production, demonstrates that the political importance of drinking and feasting in Early Iron Age society was reflected in crop husbandry practices. In terms of animal husbandry, faunal isotope data reveal a radical decrease in forest cover, potentially reflecting an expansion in the scale of herding accompanying that of arable cultivation. Sitespecific patterning points to a range of herding strategies, from specialised herding of cattle at the Heuneburg to generalised patterns of livestock management at rural sites.

Effectiveness of different pre‐treatments in recovering pre‐burial isotopic ratios of charred plants

“…However, a main disadvantage of ABA protocols is that they cause large sample losses particularly for powdered samples, and increase the risk of laboratory contamination. 11,16 Pre-treatment alternatives to an ABA protocol have been employed including acid-only protocols, 5,[21][22][23][24][25] acid-only or base-acid protocols following infrared pre-screening, 11 and no pre-treatment. 26,27 Statistical comparison of isotopic ratios from untreated and acid-only pre-treated archaeological samples of single charred grains from the Iron Age site of Danebury Hillfort (UK) showed no significant difference in either δ 13 C or δ 15 N values.…”

“…Pre‐treatment alternatives to an ABA protocol have been employed including acid‐only protocols, acid‐only or base–acid protocols following infrared pre‐screening, and no pre‐treatment . Statistical comparison of isotopic ratios from untreated and acid‐only pre‐treated archaeological samples of single charred grains from the Iron Age site of Danebury Hillfort (UK) showed no significant difference in either δ 13 C or δ 15 N values .…”

Neolithic Farming and Wild Plant Exploitation in Western Britain: Archaeobotanical and Crop Stable Isotope Evidence from Wales (c. 4000–2200 calbc)

“…Evidence for intensive manuring was also identified at LBK Vaihingen (c. 5500-5070 cal BC) and Viesenhäuser Hof (c. 5500-4000 cal BC, data not presented in Fig. 9), south-western Germany Styring et al 2017).…”

“…Szpak 2014). A baseline δ 15 N value for Neolithic soil can be estimated by analysing the δ 15 N values of wild herbivores recovered from the same site/ period (Gron et al 2017;Aguilera et al 2017;Styring et al 2017). Wild herbivore δ 15 N values are not available for the sites analysed in Early Neolithic Wales.…”

A Stored-Products Revolution in the 1st Millennium BC

“…The contrast to beer is instructive. Beer was also a liquid becoming far more prominent in the second half of the 1st millennium BC, with archaeobotanical evidence for deliberate grain malting (Styring et al 2017), documentary mention of Celtic brewing traditions and the first archaeological finds of barrels (Marlière 2002). One of the reasons for more elaborate Iron Age grain storage structures and pooling of harvests may then have been an uptick in beer-making and the politically and socially-significant feasting this practice enabled.…”