DOI Kapitel:
Grenzgänger, traders and the last hunter-gatherers of the North European Plain
DOI Kapitel:Bauerochse, Andreas; Leuschner, Hanns Hubert: Neolithic colonisation of the southwestern Dümmer basin (NW Germany) – evidence from palaeobotanical data
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0051
50
Neolithic colonisation of the southwestern Dummer basin (NW Germany) - evidence from palaeobotanical data
Fig. 5 Remains of trackway Pr 36. The trackway, made of birch
and alder, was preserved at the basis of the mire. The white shreds
are remains of birch bark (photo: A. Bauerochse).
about 2840 BC pines expanded again. A forest be-
came established, and for the following c. 120 years
large areas of Campemoor were wooded. But from c.
2770 BC the tree ring evidence again displays chang-
ing site conditions. Affected by expanding peat mosses
and the resulting wetness, growth conditions for pines
became worse (narrow tree rings). As a consequence,
after a period of about 40 years of suffering, most trees
died (Fig. 8). It was at this time that the ecosystem
finally changed into a raised bog.
Already starting from the end of the 5th millen-
nium BC, increasing pollen of grasses, anthropogenic
indicators, and herbs document the presence of man
in the area (cf. Bauerochse/Metzler 2013). But as
several archaeological findings prove, there had al-
ready been earlier human activities in the area. Most
of the artefacts are documented from the riverbanks of
the river Hunte and around Lake Dummer (Bischop
1998; Gerken 2003; Kossian 2007, 21). Nearly all of
them were situated in fen areas. One spot, a Mesolithic
site, was explored in striking distance to the excava-
tion site Campemoor (Fig. 9; Bauerochse/Metzler
1999, 146; 2002 fig. 1). Here, in a test trench, where
the peat cover was completely removed, and the un-
derlaying mineral soil layer uncovered, an Atlantic
period surface yielded several flint artefacts.
From about 5000 BC the pollen diagram displays
human impact over a period of about 2,000 years on
a scale more-or-less similar to that of Campemoor
today. At that time peat moss became established and
raised bog formation started, while the ratio of an-
thropogenic indicators clearly decreased (Fig. 2; cf.
Bauerochse 2003).
Discussion
Archaeological investigations show that, already from
the Palaeolithic onwards, people were attracted by
this area.5 From the beginning of the first half of the
5th millennium BC, when pollen data demonstrate
an increasing paludification, people started to build
the first wooden trackway (Pr 31; Fig. 2). Like all
trackways excavated at Campemoor, Pr 31 ran in a
north-south course, starting from the margin of the
Wiehengebirge to gain access to the lowland of the
Dummer basin.
Like the timbers of the trackway, trees of the
former forest are preserved in the peat. Their den-
drochronological and dendroecological investigations
provide insights into the ecological situation of the
times in which they grew. In this context especially
the investigation of pines deliver valuable information,
as peatlands form the border zone of this species’ oc-
currence (ecotone). Pines are very sensitive to water
level changes, showing wet phases by growth depres-
sions / dying-off, so they can be used as indicators for
changes in hydrological site conditions.6
The annual growth curves of the investigated trees
(individual tree curves), the mean curve of all bog pines
(Fig. 4), and the pollen data (Fig. 2) all demonstrate
that the trackway was built in a period of overall wetter
conditions (Figs. 2; 4). This period marks the begin-
ning of colonisation in the area of today’s Campemoor.
5 Schluter 1994; Bischop 1997; Bauerochse/Metzler
1999; Gerken 2003.
6 Kokkonen 1923; Rydin/Jeglum 2006, 139; Eckstein et al.
2011; Edvardsson 2016.
Neolithic colonisation of the southwestern Dummer basin (NW Germany) - evidence from palaeobotanical data
Fig. 5 Remains of trackway Pr 36. The trackway, made of birch
and alder, was preserved at the basis of the mire. The white shreds
are remains of birch bark (photo: A. Bauerochse).
about 2840 BC pines expanded again. A forest be-
came established, and for the following c. 120 years
large areas of Campemoor were wooded. But from c.
2770 BC the tree ring evidence again displays chang-
ing site conditions. Affected by expanding peat mosses
and the resulting wetness, growth conditions for pines
became worse (narrow tree rings). As a consequence,
after a period of about 40 years of suffering, most trees
died (Fig. 8). It was at this time that the ecosystem
finally changed into a raised bog.
Already starting from the end of the 5th millen-
nium BC, increasing pollen of grasses, anthropogenic
indicators, and herbs document the presence of man
in the area (cf. Bauerochse/Metzler 2013). But as
several archaeological findings prove, there had al-
ready been earlier human activities in the area. Most
of the artefacts are documented from the riverbanks of
the river Hunte and around Lake Dummer (Bischop
1998; Gerken 2003; Kossian 2007, 21). Nearly all of
them were situated in fen areas. One spot, a Mesolithic
site, was explored in striking distance to the excava-
tion site Campemoor (Fig. 9; Bauerochse/Metzler
1999, 146; 2002 fig. 1). Here, in a test trench, where
the peat cover was completely removed, and the un-
derlaying mineral soil layer uncovered, an Atlantic
period surface yielded several flint artefacts.
From about 5000 BC the pollen diagram displays
human impact over a period of about 2,000 years on
a scale more-or-less similar to that of Campemoor
today. At that time peat moss became established and
raised bog formation started, while the ratio of an-
thropogenic indicators clearly decreased (Fig. 2; cf.
Bauerochse 2003).
Discussion
Archaeological investigations show that, already from
the Palaeolithic onwards, people were attracted by
this area.5 From the beginning of the first half of the
5th millennium BC, when pollen data demonstrate
an increasing paludification, people started to build
the first wooden trackway (Pr 31; Fig. 2). Like all
trackways excavated at Campemoor, Pr 31 ran in a
north-south course, starting from the margin of the
Wiehengebirge to gain access to the lowland of the
Dummer basin.
Like the timbers of the trackway, trees of the
former forest are preserved in the peat. Their den-
drochronological and dendroecological investigations
provide insights into the ecological situation of the
times in which they grew. In this context especially
the investigation of pines deliver valuable information,
as peatlands form the border zone of this species’ oc-
currence (ecotone). Pines are very sensitive to water
level changes, showing wet phases by growth depres-
sions / dying-off, so they can be used as indicators for
changes in hydrological site conditions.6
The annual growth curves of the investigated trees
(individual tree curves), the mean curve of all bog pines
(Fig. 4), and the pollen data (Fig. 2) all demonstrate
that the trackway was built in a period of overall wetter
conditions (Figs. 2; 4). This period marks the begin-
ning of colonisation in the area of today’s Campemoor.
5 Schluter 1994; Bischop 1997; Bauerochse/Metzler
1999; Gerken 2003.
6 Kokkonen 1923; Rydin/Jeglum 2006, 139; Eckstein et al.
2011; Edvardsson 2016.