Radiocarbon dating in archaeology: New examples and case studies from the inner alpine area in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Brunner, Mirco (14 September 2017). Radiocarbon dating in archaeology: New examples and case studies from the inner alpine area in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Unpublished). In: 1st Bern Workshop on 14C Analyses with the Mini-Carbon Dating System MICADAS. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern. 13.-15.09.2017.

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The Alps in southern Central Europe act as a barrier and communication space at the same time. While the mountains prevent mobility, the valleys and passes
create natural axes for material exchange and communication. The Alpenrhein valley forms the main access to the central Alps and leads directly into the south
alpine area between the Lake Maggiore and the Lake Como. In prehistoric times this central axis was used as a settlement area and formed an excellent alpine
transit route. Already Neolithic
finds show evidence of exchange and communication between inner alpine and pre-alpine regions. From the beginning of the
Neolithic to the Bronze Age clear in
fluences from the northern and southern regions are noticeably in favour of trade routes across the alpine passes. Between
3000-2500 BC the region is subject to massive changes which cause a push effect towards marginal, less densely populated areas. The broad range of local
resources in new territories and strategically well-controlled areas suggest simultaneously a pull effect towards the Alps. Therefore Bronze Age is the period for
which the most intense prehistoric land expansion can be postulated in the Alps. The Neolithic and Bronze Age chronology for the inner alpine area was always
based on comparisons of the material culture from dendrodated lake dwellings from Switzerland or southern Germany. Until a few years ago there existed only
a couple of old radiocarbon dates to prove the chronology for the inner alpine area. The archaeology showed its signi
ficant in
fluence in the development of the
radiocarbon technology in the last decades. New radiocarbon dates from different sites such as graves and settlements give us the opportunity to get a clearer
view on the absolute dating of the sites from this area. With the SNF-Project:
“Chronology, mobility and cultural transfer. A landscape archaeological study of
the central Alps (P0BEP1_165306)
“ we were able to generate new samples for Radiocarbon dates from Neolithic and Bronze Age Sites such as Lutzengüetle,
Savognin, Padnal Donath, Sursés and Laax-Salums. I am going to present an overview of the situation and a revised chronology of the Neolithic and Bronze
Age sites from the inner alpine area and recommend a radiocarbon-based view on the development of the material culture.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Brunner, Mirco

Subjects:

900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)

Funders:

[UNSPECIFIED] University of Bern, Institute of Archaeological Science, Prehistory Department ; [UNSPECIFIED] University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Research Group Prehistory Archeology ; [UNSPECIFIED] Graduate School ‘Human Development in Landscapes’ at Kiel University

Projects:

Projects 0 not found.

Language:

English

Submitter:

Mirco Brunner

Date Deposited:

10 Nov 2017 14:20

Last Modified:

30 Jan 2024 20:01

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Radiocarbon, 14C, Switzerland, Neolithic period, Bronz Age, Archaeology, absolute dating

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.105644

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/105644

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