Altheim culture

The Altheimer group (also Altheimer culture ) is a " cultural phenomenon " of the late Late Neolithic between 3800 BC and 3400/3300 BC The term was coined in 1915 by prehistorians Paul Reinecke, after 1911 and 1914 discovered excavated earthwork Altheim -Essen bei Landshut ( Lower Bavaria ). The main distribution area is located in Lower Bavaria and the southern Upper Palatinate, however, the distribution ranges in the west to the Lech River and east to the Inn.

Of outstanding importance due to the conservation conditions of the prehistoric settlement Pestenacker, community Weil.

Identification of Altheimer group

The most important characteristic of Altheimer group is - as in the entire Neolithic - the ceramic ( see sketch). Typical are undecorated vessels with finger Polka Dot or arcades sidebars and silt order.

The flint tools of the Altheim culture often consist of core units, ie, the tool is made ​​of the Silexrohstück and not from a discount. For the harvest large sickle blades made of chert found in the mining area Baierdorf (hamlet of Ried castle ) were used, which represent a technological innovation compared to the otherwise common Kompositsicheln.

Tombs of the Altheimer group are hardly known. It is assumed that a large part of the population was buried in a way that is no longer detectable today. In Ergolding Fischer alley was the stool grave of a man and found in Stephansposching two stools and a cremation burial.

While artifacts of copper in the previous Münchshöfen culture still represent sporadic imports from the Lengyel culture that Altheimer culture has confessed in an exchange network with northern Alpine copper smelters in the Mondsee culture. The reciprocal trade network can be occupied by imports of Baiersdorfer Plattensilex in places of discovery of Mondsee culture. In Altheim one of the rare ax was found in the Alpine copper in Fund context of the Altheim culture.

Human Settlements

For the majority of the more than 200 known sites are settlement sites on mineral soils. Some are surrounded by a grave work.

Grave sites are generally very common in the Late Neolithic. Often, the earthwork accompanied a group of settlements and provides so maybe the center of a settlement Community; whereas these earthworks were usually built on terraces or hillside edges. Up to three trenches ( on the slope side usually trenchless ) delimit a trapezoidal to rectangular area. A unique interpretation of the Altheimer grave sites but has not yet succeeded.

Mineral soil settlements

Some other places of the Fund Altheimer group are:

  • Lößterrasse the middle Isar valley near Landshut ( known eponymous locality, as Altheim - Durchholzen ) earthwork at Altdorf, Essenbach
  • In Lower Bavaria further the earthworks: Bad Abbach - Alkofen ( Kelheim, Lower Bavaria ), Bruck and Nindorf (Landkreis Deggendorf, Lower Bavaria ), Oberschneiding, Osterhofen - Linzing, Osterhofen - New -Wissel Sing, Aiterhofen - Ödmühle, Pilsting - Trieching, Straßkirchen
  • Pit hut of Sengkofen ( district of Regensburg, Upper Palatinate )

Wet soil settlements

In addition to settlements in the usual mineral soils are now entering in Bavaria for the first time so-called wet soil settlements on lake shores and islands and marshes on:

  • Not far from Landshut they came upon the settlements of Ergolding - Fischergasseund Food Bach Koislhof.
  • Called In Loosbachtal, even the lost creek valley, near Landsberg am Lech found at a distance of only three miles, the three Talauesiedlungen: Pestenacker -Nord; Pestenacker, community Weil; Unfriedshausen at Walleshausen, community Geltendorf.
  • Only twelve kilometers north was discovered with Merching mute arable another, formerly damp -off settlement.
  • Furthermore, it is still the island settlement of Kempfenhausen to call in Lake Starnberg.

Thanks to the settlement situation in wetlands located lumber, planks ways Flechtwerkzäune and Pestenacker even textiles have ( for example, a pointed hat ) was obtained. These findings allow much more statements on the settlement and chronology.

Construction

Built on mineral soils houses have left no traces. It could only be detected mines, which are interpreted as a root cellar.

An insight into the architectural structures provide findings of the wet soil settlements. The houses of the settlements of Unfriedshausen and Pestenacker are best preserved. These are an average of about 4 m wide and 8 m long. The foundation was at the front of wooden beams in the rear area of birch branches, chopped straw and manure. On this foundation was the actual floor - coating of mud - applied.

Food Basics

In Pestenacker were cattle, sheep / goat, pig and dog detected as pets. Due to the high number of horse bones went a long time it assumes that it is already domesticated animals. However, recent studies have not supported this assumption. The bones come from relatively small wild horses that have been hunted next to red deer, wild boar, various species of birds and fish, bear, beaver and even turtles as a food supplement.

38th century BC Earthworks (archaeology) Lech (river)
53015
de