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

• Subject Area: Humanities
• Term: from 2009 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 73281462

Processes evolving in different European regions in the 5th and 4th millennium BC have to be seen as formative for the whole European history and landscape. It was the time when Neolithic communities started erecting above ground monuments and marking their central places with earthen enclosures. These developments may are to be seen as the outcome of social processes resulting from changing systems of subsistence and exchange as well as ritual orientations.
The Priority Programme will for the first time provide the opportunity to systematically and interdisciplinarily study these processes in the region of Northern Central Europe at different scales. In doing so, questions concerning social differentiation will be addressed, connected to the genesis of monumentality. Thus, settlement archaeology and social archaeology are especially important for the Priority Programme: (1) An evaluation of settlement structures is necessary to assess the relations between simple settlements, enclosures, depots, simple and monumental graves.
(2) The exchange relations and their dynamics between regional groups of the Neolithic (funnel beaker) communities have to be investigated in regard to patterns of production and distribution.
(3) The processes of social differentiation within the Neolithic communities have to be investigated via material culture studies and the spatial settings of depots, graves and settlement finds.
In these respects an interdisciplinary strategy is a basic requirement for the identification of the topics mentioned. A well-directed systematic assessment of new archaeological source materials together with the combined application of methods from the bio-, geo-, materials and social sciences as well as the humanities will form the basis for historical interpretations. The investigations build upon a stringent cooperation principle between the projects involved aiming for transparency and equality not only in the process of data acquisition but also the processing and use of data. The synthesis of all currently available and newly acquired data with interpretations from an ecological, socio-historical and cultural anthropological perspective will enable a proper understanding of the processes mentioned.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: United Kingdom

Projects

• Die mitteldeutschen Kreisgrabenanlagen der Trichterbecherzeit, Genese, Funktion und gesellschaftliche Bedeutung (Applicant Bertemes, Francois )
• Differentiation of Agriculture und Environment as Basis of Early Monumentality in the Northern German Neolithic (Applicants Dörfler, Walter ;  Kirleis, Wiebke )
• "Early Monumentality in Western Mecklenburg" - Late Gatherer-Hunter-Fisher Societies and early farmers in western Mecklenburg (Applicants Lüth, Friedrich ;  Nikulka, Frank )
• Equality and Inequality: Social Differentiation in North Central Europe from 4300-2400 cal BC (Applicant Müller, Johannes )
• Formation, Function and landscape of megalithic tombs, enclosures and settlements in the Funnel Beaker period in the region Haldensleben-Hundisburg (Applicant Rinne, Christoph )
• Genesis and Structure of the Hessian-Westphalian Megalithic Soest Group (Applicants Gleser, Ralf ;  Przybilla, Heinz-Jürgen ;  Schultz, Michael )
• Hochauflösende Rekonstruktion der kontinentalen Klima- und Umweltentwicklung während der Trichterbecherzeit in Seeeinzugsgebieten (Applicant Dreibrodt, Stefan )
• Improving chronologies bases on radiocarbon dating of bones: Isotopic indications of reservoir age and diet. (Applicant Grootes, Ph.D., Pieter M. )
• Kinship, descent and phenotype. Genetic composition of middle neolithic populations and its relation to social differentiation 3400-3000cal BC. (Applicant Lee, Esther )
• Koordination des SPP 1400 (Applicant Müller, Johannes )
• Megalithlandschaft Südostrügen - Die Komplexität neolithischer Gesellschaften im Spiegel landschaftsarchäologischer Untersuchungen einer Schlüsselregion. (Applicants Lüth, Friedrich ;  Terberger, Thomas )
• Megaliths and Settlement Structures in Eastern Holstein during 3500-3700 BC: Trave Valley and Oldenburger Graben (Applicant Müller, Johannes )
• Mid-Holocene Climate variability in northern Germany and adjacent oceans (Applicants Schneider, Ralph ;  Weinelt, Mara )
• Monumental enclosures, non-megalithic and megalithic tombs of the Early and Middle Neolithic in Schleswig-Holstein: Studies on the construction history, age determination, function and landscape relations within the micro-regions of Büdelsdorf and Albersdorf (Applicant Müller, Johannes )
• Population density, communication structures and areas of tradition of Funnel Beakter societies (Applicants Müller, Johannes ;  Rassmann, Knut ;  Zimmermann, Andreas )
• Requirements, structure and consequences of settlements and land use in north-western Germany at the time of the Funnel Beaker and Single Grave cultures (TRB North-western Germany) (Applicant Jöns, Hauke )
• Spatial and temporal differentiation of funnel beaker chronologies (Applicant Furholt, Martin )
• The introduction of the new technologies wheel, waggon and plough in Europe. New evaluation of early evidence in rgard to authenticity, dating and function as well as resulting changes within the specific neolithic societies. (Applicant Mischka, Doris )
• Tradition, technology and communication structures of the Funnel Beaker Culture pottery craft (Applicant Jöns, Hauke )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Johannes Müller
• Deputy: Professor Dr. Friedrich Lüth