Regional Settlement in South Germany

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Jochim With national Science Foundation support, Drs. Michael Jochim and Margaret Glass will continue their archaeological study of an area of Southern Germany which runs from the Swabian Alb, across the Danube River to the Alps. It thus includes a variety of environmental zones. Archaeological evidence indicates that human prehistoric occupation was extensive and ranged across time to include Paleolithic hunters and gatherers, specialist Mesolithic collectors and Neolithic agriculturalists. Drs. Jochim and Glass want to understand how humans adapted to this region under the different climatic conditions which include both the terminal Ice Age and warmer postglacial times. To accomplish this, they will compile a data base which contains both environmental and cultural information and will integrate these materials through use of a geographic information system (GIS). Known sites will be recorded and overlain on an environmental base. Both surface and subsurface survey will then be employed to locate additional archaeological occurrences. The GIS will permit the team to relate behavior to environment and to determine how behavior changed in different subregions, in different climatic regimes, and at different levels of technological development. This research is important because it will provide insight into how humans adapt to and interact with their environment. This process is dynamic, not static and archaeological data, which covers long periods of time provide unique insight into this issue. The project will also produce data of interest to many archaeologists and will assist in the training of graduate students.