The utilisation of Alpine and per-Alpine landscapes in the 5th millennium BC – Neolithic economy and settlement between the Alpine Rhine and Salzach rivers

This study examines the development of settlement and economic strategies of Neolithic communities during the 5th millennium BC outside outside the areas that were initially settled by farmers and which offer the best conditions for agriculture (‘Altsiedelland’). The area under consideration, between the Alpine Rhine and the Salzach, extends from the southern edge of the loess areas to the main Alpine ridge. A source-critical comparison of key sites is carried out with regard to their location, natural suitability for agriculture, and archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data. The results reject previous models of a gradual spread of Neolithic settlement, of a special role for wetland settlements (‘pile dwellings’) in this process, and of dynamics caused by population pressure. Instead, settlement already reaches far to the south during the Middle Neolithic, but remains consistently sporadic. Conservative tendencies and the targeted use of small-scale favourable zones are frequently observed. Economic adjustments in subsistence occur only to a limited extent, yet in remarkable diversity. Special resources such as salt and perhaps copper, as well as supra-regional exchange, are important drivers of this system.