Beginnings of mountain settlement in Czech Republic - a case study from the Bohemian Forest

0490504 - ARÚ 2019 RIV GB eng C - Conference Paper (international conference)
Kapustka, Katarína - Walls, M. - Eigner, J.
Beginnings of mountain settlement in Czech Republic - a case study from the Bohemian Forest.
People in the mountains. Current approaches to the archaeology of mountainous landscapes. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2018 - (Pelisiak, A.; Nowak, M.; Astaloş, C.), s. 185-195. ISBN 978-1-78491-817-0.
[Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists /20./. Istanbul (TR), 10.09.2014-14.09.2014]
Institutional support: RVO:67985912
Keywords : Mesolithics * mountain settlement * hunter-gatherers * lithics
OECD category: Archaeology

Information about prehistoric human activity in mountaneous areas of the Bohemian Forest is quite poor. Most of the evidence comes from isolated finds, and systematic prospection has been focused on the Medieval and Modern period. In the lower parts of the Bohemian Forest region, the remains of Mesolithic settlement were found thanks to the oscillation of the water level in a dam. Our project links to this evidence and focuses on the upper parts of the Bohemian Forest region. We present finds from the Mesolithic period. First, a surface survey was conducted to choose areas with a high probability of settlement. Then, test pitting was done and finally a small excavation carried out. The project continues with the survey of surrounding areas. The main result of this project was the discovery of an area with Mesolithic settlement situated near flowing water along a length of about 2 km, at an altitude of 1000 m a.s.l. Apart from this settled area we found a few other, less intensive, traces of settlement. The discovered Mesolithic settlement seems to date from the end of the Early Mesolithic period. Raw materials originate from Bavaria and, apart from the Mesolithic settlement, the remains of La Tene and Medieval settlement were found.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0284729