The eve of destruction – Local groups and large-scale networks during the late 4th and early 3rd mil BC in Central Europe

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Doris Mischka
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541157505

The temporal focus of the publication is on the period immediately preceding the major genetic changes that mark the beginning of the Corded Ware. Since then, the discussion has revolved around possible reasons for this upheaval, mostly characterized as crisis scenarios: massive migra tions, as a consequence of which settlement and ways of life are supposed to have changed suddenly and dramatically. Underpinned by archaeological and scientific narratives, a violent invasion of "steppe warriors" was initially discussed, linked to a decline of Late Neolithic societies (3500-2800 BC) due to pandemics and/or climatic deterioration. Since then, these models have been widely criticized, but often on a rather theoretical level. This is where this volume comes in. Our book provides the first up-to-date synthesis for the pre-Corded Ware horizon and thus enables a better understanding of this important transitional period. The contributions have a clear regional focus in Germany, but adjacent regions (Poland, Bohemia, Switzerland, the Baltic States, the Carpathian region, the Netherlands) are also represented. The topics are broad and cover settlement patterns, burial customs and monumentality, economic practices, and material culture. Although some gaps remain, it is already becoming apparent that the changes supposedly associated with rapid population turnover began long before the genetically defined watershed. Indeed, such preexisting contacts made new patterns of interaction possible in the first place. Thus, the volume is intended primarily as an impetus for cross-regional comparisons and as a starting point for further research on this hitherto neglected period.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants