It must have burned in the Stone Age village in Württemberg. The ditch that surrounded the settlement more than 7000 years ago is filled with the rubble of burnt houses and charred grains. The remains reveal how the first farmers lived in Germany.
Today hardly reminds of the ancient settlement near Ammerbuch-Pfäffingen near Tübingen. The earth has swallowed her. Only when archaeologists examined the area with geomagnetics, they came upon structures in the underground. The measurements showed a huge trench system that once surrounded large parts of a Stone Age settlement. Such plants were previously unknown in the Neckar region.
In one of the trenches, archaeologists discovered the remains of a woman in the spring, as the competent State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and the University of Tübingen now announced. The 30- to 40-year-old lay - typical for this time - on the left side, his legs upright.
The trail leads to the east
In the tomb, the archaeologists came across 16 finely crafted limestone beads reminiscent of marble. The dead woman once wore her as a necklace around her neck.
But how did the woman come to the extraordinary jewelry? For South Germany, the pearls are absolutely atypical, so far not a single is known that would be comparable. However, there are similar finds from the Carpathian Basin and the Balkan area. Did the woman or her ancestors once go to Germany from there?
There is some reason for that. Genetic analyzes indicate that the first farmers from the Balkans came to Central Europe - including domestic animals and crops. They brought a whole new way of life with them: instead of hunting and gathering around, they fenced their prey and sowed the plants they needed to survive.
Agriculture changed everything: Suddenly, people could do a lot of good things that would have hindered hunters and gatherers because they had to be carried along. The people of the Neolithic era formed ceramic pots, which they decorated with line patterns, they invented bikes and wagons, founded villages - the basis for living together, as we know it today.
What happened to the hunters and collectors?
The changes were so serious that archaeologists also speak of the "Neolithic Revolution". Recent research shows, however, that it took some time for the farming community to finally prevail. The constant drudgery of feeding cattle, plowing and sowing seemed to be a deterrent. Some even consider it a trap for tax collectors. (Read more about this here.)
The dead of Ammerbruch-Pfäffingen is undoubtedly one of the first peasant women in Württemberg. Why she was buried in the ditch is unclear. However, she is not the only one who found her last peace there. In a niche were the remains of a four-year-old girl, she was also lying on the side with stunted legs. In addition, archaeologists discovered a single skull. Where the rest of the body has remained, the researchers do not know. From other Stone Age sites, however, similar findings are known.
The further investigations are to clarify now, which role the hunter-gatherers played, who lived further in the region and whether they ended up settling down - or becoming extinct.
