Palaeoenvironment and potential resources for early Holocene subsistence in the Ammer River Valley (Germany) based on palaeoecological and bioarchaeological evidence

The Upper Neckar and Ammer River valleys in southwestern Germany correspond to the southwestern limit of the overall distribution of the oldest Linear Bandkeramik (LBK) culture. More than 200 Neolithic sites are known from this region, with one of the oldest sites located in the vicinity of the village Ammerbuch-Pfäffingen, 10 km west of Tübingen, Germany. The archaeological record suggests that settlement activities occurred here between approximately 6300 and 6030 BP (modelled ca. 5290-4900 calBC). Despite the various on-site activities, little is known about the environment and its resources that were available prior to and after the LBK arrival. We here present the first results of a palynological study of a 2.4 m section from two parallel, overlapping 16 m (in total) sediment cores. The cores were retrieved in 2018 from a palaeo-wetland (Ammer palaeo-mire) only 0.7 km distant from the LBK settlement “Lüsse” and 2.5 km from the LBK settlement “Unteres Feld”. Pollen, spores, charcoal and plant macro-remains indicate three major periods of vegetational development between 10,650 and 7870 calBP. Accordingly, between 10,650 and 10,150 calBP, deciduous oak forests with strong participation of hazel (Corylus avellana) and open vegetation dominated by Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and diverse species of the Asteraceae family were spread around a shallow palaeo-wetland of ~3 km². From 10,150 to 8400 calBP, vegetation around the palaeo-wetland turns into a mixed oak forest with an even more prominent presence of hazel. From 8400 to 7870 calBP, a noticeable dominance of mixed oak forests is established in the surroundings and the palaeo-lake turns into a river floodplain. It is highly probable that, at the time of the arrival of the LBK, diverse natural plant resources were available from a mixture of trees, herbs and wetland taxa. The bioarchaeological evidence from the following LBK are based on the analysis of seeds/fruits and wood charcoal from ‘Lüsse’ and ‘Unteres Feld’ and complements the information on land use for the period after the pollen record stops. The results suggest that the alluvial wetland area continued to provide food resources, together with the mixed oak forests which were also targeted by the LBK population. Apart from cultivation, LBK land-use caused an increase in the light-demanding forest component. The current study integrates the usually rarely available palaeo-ecological records from near LBK sites with on-site bioarchaeological evidence and thus delivers valuable insights on the environment at the beginning of farming in Central Europe.