Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Abstract

The Black Forest is considered to be a rather unfavorable area, having a short vegetation period, low mean annual temperatures, high precipitation, and a pronounced relief. These conditions do not favor agricultural land use and thus it is widely accepted that people only began using the land intensively during the Middle Ages. In this integrated study 17 soil profiles, two peat bogs and a database of archaeological finds were used to reconstruct past land use impacts on the environment. AMS–14C datings of charcoals, luminescence datings of colluvial deposits, archaeological finds and pollen records indicate land use already during the Neolithic. This pre‐medieval land use might be related to seasonal settlements dominated by pastoralism and the use of wood or bedrock to build settlements and infrastructure or as energy supply. There is new evidence of human activity dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age, which is a discrepancy to the absence of archaeological finds in the direct vicinity of the studied sites. With the beginning of the Middle Ages land use practices changed, most likely with the expansion and intensification of agricultural land use, which coincides with the increasing use of natural resources in the Black Forest. Hence, the main phases of colluvial deposition date to the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Increased contents of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, or Zn in medieval colluvial deposits might indicate smelting or mining, even though there are no known archeological sites pointing to such activities nearby. Whereas the pattern of colluvial deposition in the southeastern Black Forest points to distinct, but local land use in pre‐medieval times and to intensified and widespread land use since the Middle Ages, thick and multi‐layered colluvial deposits indicate intensive land use in the neighboring Baar region since the Neolithic. The different land use patterns of these two regions originate from the rather favorable conditions for agriculture in terms of soils, climate, and topography in the Baar region compared to the unfavorable conditions in the Black Forest.

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany

“…This paper focuses on the Swabian Jura and its land use history, which will be compared to the Black Forest [ 26 ] and the Baar area [ 19 ]. The regional focus of the study comprises favourable and unfavourable areas in low mountain ranges for practising agriculture due to the specific conditions of climate, topography and soils.…”

“…The cuesta drops abruptly about 200–400 m in altitude into the Baar area, having rather favourable environmental conditions [ 19 ]. The southeastern Black Forest is characterized by a high relief intensity, high annual precipitation, low mean temperatures and acidic soils [ 26 ].

Figure 2.

…”

Neolithic settlement dynamics derived from archaeological data and colluvial deposits between the Baar region and the adjacent low mountain ranges, southwest Germany

“…The fact that charcoal samples from the spring source area of the river Brigach date into the Late and Final Neolithic may be an indication that humans followed the larger rivers as they entered this landscape. This is also suggested by archaeological finds from the western Baar (Ahlrichs et al, 2016) and by the fragment of a Neolithic blade made of Cretaceous chert found in the colluvial deposits at the spring source of the river Breg (Henkner et al, 2018c).…”

“…Total C and N contents (mass %) were analysed using oxidative heat combustion at 1150 • C in a He atmosphere (element analyser "vario EL III", Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH, Germany, in CNS mode). Soil organic C content (SOC) was determined using SOC = C total − CaCO 3 × 0.1200428, and soil organic matter (SOM) was calculated using the factor 1.72 (Ad-hoc- AG Boden, 2005;Eberhardt et al, 2013;Henkner et al, 2018c).…”

“…This can be taken as an indicator for a temporary human presence in this landscape. Additionally, archaeobotanical analysis of pollen profiles from Elzhof and Moosschachen documented a small human impact during the Late Neolithic in the Black Forest (Henkner et al, 2018c). Furthermore, pedological analysis of colluvial deposits point to human activities on the Heuberg at Königsheim (P 12907) and on the Lindenberg (P 12897, P 12900).…”