GIS-based reconstructions of Late Upper Paleolithic land use in the northeastern Bavarian low mountain range

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From the northeastern low mountain ranges in Bavaria, 100 Late Upper Paleolithic sites are known, which are distributed over an area that includes a large variability of landscape. The topographical features of the sites, combined with the exemplified analysis of a representative sample of lithic assemblages, enables the reconstruction of land use patterns by using geographical information systems and geostatistics. Main parameters used are the results of a point-to-point site catchment analysis as well as a predictive ecosystem modelling for each site. This innovative approach enables for the first time an evaluation of the carrying capacities on a large spatial scale independent from the presence or absence of archaeological sites. With regard to the variability of the landscape in the working area, it is expected that the modelling of the potential biogenic resources had a major influence on the site distribution. To elaborate this, the diversity of the formal tools as well as the raw material procurement will help to make assumption on site function and direction of residential moves. The combined analysis will be integrated in a synthetic model of Late Upper Paleolithic land use in the northeastern Bavarian low maintain range.