Tree rings as a proxy for seasonal precipitation variability and Early Neolithic settlement dynamics in Bavaria, Germany

Abstract

Studying the dynamic of Neolithic settlement on a local scale and its connection to climate variability is often difficult due to missing on-site climate reconstructions from natural archives. Here we bring together archaeological settlement data and a regional climate reconstruction from precipitation-sensitive trees. Both archives hold information about regional settlement dynamics and hydroclimate variability spanning the time of the first farming communities, the so called Linearbandkeramik (LBK) in Bavaria, Germany. Precipitation-sensitive tree-ring series from subfossil oak are used to develop a spring-summer precipitation reconstruction (5700–4800 B.C.E.) representative for southern Germany. Early Neolithic settlement data from Bavaria, mainly for the duration of the LBK settlement activities, are critically evaluated and compared to this unique regional hydroclimate reconstruction as well as to reconstructions of Greenland temperature, summer sea surface temperature, delta 18O and global solar irradiance to investigate the potential impact of climate on Neolithic settlers and their settlement dynamic during the LBK. Our hydroclimate reconstruction demonstrates an extraordinarily high frequency of severe dry and wet spring-summer seasons during the entire LBK, with particularly high year-to-year variability from 5400 to 5101 B.C.E. and with lower fluctuations until 4801 B.C.E. A significant influence of regional climate on the dynamic of the LBK is possible (e.g. around 4960 B.C.E.), but should be interpreted very carefully due to asynchronous trends in settlement dynamics. Thus, we conclude that even when a climate proxy such as tree rings that has excellent spatio-temporal resolution is available, it remains difficult to establish potential connections between the settlement dynamic of the LBK and climate variability.

Sediment budgeting of short‐term backfilling processes: The erosional collapse of a Carolingian canal construction

“…(2020). Therefore, the reconstruction covers the study area perfectly, but oak tree ring growth is sensitive to spring to summer soil moisture (Pechtl and Land, 2019), and the data do not cover autumn precipitation (Fossa Carolina collapse is assumed to have occurred in the autumn of AD 793). However, Muigg et al .…”

“…A reconstruction of precipitation using tree-ring-based modelling approaches, among others, on the recovered timbers from Fossa Carolina was done by Muigg et al (2020). Therefore, the reconstruction covers the study area perfectly, but oak tree ring growth is sensitive to spring to summer soil moisture (Pechtl and Land, 2019), and the data do not cover autumn precipitation (Fossa Carolina collapse is assumed to have occurred in the autumn of AD 793). However, Muigg et al (2020) have not been able to identify a wet phase in the years after AD 793when the construction was abandoned (at least not during April-August), which is in accordance with the Old World Drought Atlas (Cook et al, 2015).…”

Forest Ecosystems and Evolution of Cattle Husbandry Practices of the Earliest Central European Farming Societies

“…A dynamic phase in the evolution of cattle husbandry in Europe was during the rapid introduction of farming represented by the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture. These communities settled across a wide geographical range, initially in Hungary and eastern Austria between 5545-5360 cal BCE 4 and then expanded into other regions to the north, east and west between 5380 to 5315 cal BCE [5][6][7][8] , during a period time characterised by numerous short-term and signi cant uctuations in precipitation 9 . The traditional image of these communities is one of homogenity 8 , partly reinforced by ancient DNA analysis where large-scale genomic studies suggest that LBK communities were the outcome of monolithic demic diffusion 10,11 .…”

Two millennia of Main region (southern Germany) hydroclimate variability

“…Changes in air temperature have been intensively investigated with temperature-sensitive tree-ring chronologies (here, we refer to Wilson et al, 2016;Anchukaitis et al, 2017 and references therein) on a regional to global scale. A comparable number of studies have also investigated long-term (century to millennia) hydroclimate variability, rainfall and drought intensity (e.g., Hughes and Brown, 1992;Esper et al, 2007;Cook et al, 2004Cook et al, , 2007Cook et al, , 2015Stockton and Meko, 1975;Ljungqvist et al, 2016;Prokop et al, 2016;Cooper et al, 2013;Wilson et al, 2005Wilson et al, , 2013; Levanič et al, 2013;Ruiz-Labourdette et al, 2014;Seftigen et al, 2017;Helama et al, 2009;Kress et al, 2014). For continental Europe, only a small number of tree-ring hydroclimate reconstructions exist which cover the entire Common Era, and very few studies address the challenge of investigation hydroclimate fluctuations before Common Era Büntgen et al, 2011;Pechtl and Land, 2019;Schönbein et al, 2015).…”