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This paper aims to reconstruct Middle Bronze Age (MBA; 1600–1250 BCE) land use practices in the northwestern Alpine foreland (SW Germany, Hegau). We used a multi-proxy approach including the analysis of biogeochemical proxies from colluvial deposits and buried topsoils in the surroundings of the well-documented settlement site of Anselfingen and off-site pollen data from two peat bogs. This approach allowed for in-depth insights into the MBA subsistence economy and shows that the MBA in the northwestern Alpine foreland was a period of establishing settlements with sophisticated land management and land use practices. The reconstruction of phases of colluvial deposition was based on ages from optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (AMS 14 C) dating from multi-layered colluvial deposits and supports the local archaeological record with the first phase of major colluvial deposition occurring during the MBA followed by phases of colluvial deposition during the Iron Age, the Medieval period and modern times. The on-site deposition of charred archaeobotanical remains and animal bones from archaeological features, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), charcoal spectra, phytoliths, soil microstructure, urease enzymatic activity, microbial biomass carbon (C mic) and heavy metal contents from colluvial deposits, were used as proxies for on-site and near-site land use practices. The charcoal spectra indicate MBA forest management which favored the dominance of Quercus in the woodland vegetation in the surrounding area north of the settlement site. Increased levels of 5 β stanols (up to 40 %) and the occurrence of pig bones (up to 14 %) support the presence of a forest pasture mainly used for pig farming. In the surrounding area south of the settlement, an arable field with a buried MBA plow horizon (2Apb) could be verified by soil micromorphological investigations and high concentrations of grass phytoliths from leaves and stems. Agricultural practices (e.g., plowing) focussed on five staple crops (Hordeum distichon/vulgare , Triticum dicoccum , Triticum monococcum, Triticum spelta , Triticum aestivum/turgidum), while the presence of stilted pantries as storage facilities and of heat stones indicate post-harvest processing of cereal crops and other agrarian products within the settlement. In the area surrounding the settlement, increased levels of urease activity, compared to microbial biomass carbon (up to 2.1 µ g N µ g C mic-1), and input of herbivorous and omnivorous animal faeces indicate livestock husbandry on fallow land. The PAH suites and their spatial distribution support the use of fire for various purposes, e.g., for opening and maintaining the landscape, for domestic burning and for technical applications. The off-site palynological data support the observed change in on-site and near-site vegetation as well as the occurrence of related land use practices. During the Early and Middle Bronze Age, fire played a major role in shaping the landscape (peak of micro-charcoal during the MBA), and anthropogenic activities promoted Quercus -dominated forest ecosystems at the expense of natural beech forests. This indicates a broader regional human influence in the northwestern Alpine foreland at low- and mid-altitude inland sites during the Middle Bronze Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study combines archaeological data with archaeopedological data from colluvial deposits to infer Neolithic settlement dynamics between the Baar region, the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura. A review of the state of archaeological research and an analysis of the processes leading to the discovery of the Neolithic sites and thereby the formation of the current archaeological site distribution in these landscapes is presented. The intensity of land use in the study area is compared with other landscapes in southern Germany using site frequencies. Phases of colluvial deposition are dated using AMS 14C ages of charcoals and luminescence ages of sediments and interpreted as local proxies for a human presence. Archaeological source criticism indicates that the distribution of the Neolithic sites is probably distorted by factors such as superimposition due to erosion and weathering effects limiting the preservation conditions for Neolithic pottery. A reconstruction of Neolithic settlement dynamics is achieved by complementing the archaeological data with phases of colluviation. Evidence for a continuous land use in the Baar region throughout the Neolithic is provided and sporadic phases of land use on the Swabian Jura and in the Black Forest are identified. In the late and final Neolithic, an intensification of colluvial formation can be noticed in the low mountain ranges. Kurzfassung: In der vorliegenden Studie werden archäologische Daten mit bodenkundlichen Daten aus kolluvialen Ablagerungen verknüpft, um Phasen der Landnutzung während des Neolithikums zu ermitteln und somit neolithische Siedlungsdynamiken zwischen der Baar, dem Schwarzwald und der Schwäbischen Alb beschreiben zu können. Ausgehend von einer Auswertung der lokalen archäologischen Forschungsgeschichte und einer quellenkritischen Betrachtung des Fundstoffes erfolgt eine Evaluierung der Verbreitung der gegenwärtig bekannten neolithischen Fundstellen. Auf der Basis von Fundstellenfrequenzen wird eine überregionale Einordnung der Intensität der lokalen Siedlungsaktivität vorgenommen. Phasen der Kolluvienbildung werden durch Radiokohlenstoffdatierungen von Holzkohlen und Lumineszenzalter von Sedimenten datiert und als Hinweise auf eine Anwesenheit des Menschen interpretiert. Die quellenkritische Auswertung des Fundstoffes legt den Verdacht nahe, dass die Verbreitung der neolithischen Fundstellen im Arbeitsgebiet durch verschiedene Faktoren beeinflusst wird. Demnach wird die Zugänglichkeit neolithischer Fundstellen durch Über- und Umlagerung aufgrund von Erosion verzerrt und die Erhaltung von Keramik durch lokale Witterungsbedingungen eingeschränkt. Die Beschreibung neolithischer Siedlungsdynamiken gelingt letztlich durch die Korrelation der archäologischen und bodenkundlichen Daten. Für den gesamten Verlauf des Neolithikums lässt sich auf diese Weise eine neolithische Besiedlung der Baar aufzeigen. Im Schwarzwald und auf der Schwäbischen Alb lassen sich hingegen nur sporadische Landnutzungsphasen aufzeigen. Im Spät- und Endneolithikum lässt sich in den Mittelgebirgen eine Verstärkung der Kolluvienbildung beobachten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]