Megalithlandschaft Südostrügen - Die Komplexität neolithischer Gesellschaften im Spiegel landschaftsarchäologischer Untersuchungen einer Schlüsselregion.

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Friedrich Lüth; Professor Dr. Thomas Terberger
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 128738102

The island of Rügen covers approximately 962 square kilometres and is characterized by its wealth of archaeological sites. The most distinctive monuments are the 250 recorded megalithic graves. In addition there are approximately 2000 Neolithic surface sites and around 500 lithic scatters. Together they represent impressive evidence for the settled landscape across the island during late Mesolithic and Neolithic times. Using this rich dataset the evidence will be analysed through the use of GIS to model archaeological landscapes. To supplement existing investigations, a settlement situated within a wetland environment will be excavated. The new data on archaeological deposits and the diverse natural environment will provide a more detailed understanding of the interactions between human communities and their environment within a well-defined micro-region. This in turn will lead to the investigation of social and economic structure within Neolithic societies and their mindscapes within a micro-scale. The result will be a series of models relating to the development of complex societies on a meso- and macro-scale.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1400: Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation. The Origin and Development of Neolithic Large-Scale Buildings and the Earliest Complex Societies in Northern Central Europe
• Participating Person: Dr. Detlef Jantzen