Early Neolithic Settlement from Brunn Wolfholz in Lower Austria and the problem of the Origin of the (Western) LBK

Abstract

Between 1989 and 2005 at Brunn am Gebirge, Lower Austria, at the southern border of Vienna, parts of a big early Neolithic settlement could be prospected and excavated. The terrain is flat and has a slight rise in the direction to the Northeast. The remains of longhouses found belong to different separated groups, which were called sites 1-7. 77 longhouses are known by now, most of them by excavation, some of them only after their destruction by trenches and a big part by magnetic prospection. But as not the whole area has been prospected, a total number of more than 100 houses can be expected. The excavated area is about 100.000 m2. The total area with the sites has a length of more than 1km and a breadth of 400m, so only a small part has been excavated till now.

The houses are usually oriented South-North with deviations to the West and also to the East at different sites. Their dimensions are 20m length and 7-8m breadth. There are different constructions visible, mainly in the better preserved part of site 3. If these differences are functional or chronological is still under investigation.

Currently we see the absolute time frame between 5650-5150 BC for the whole settlement. The oldest part of the settlement may be localized in site 2a, then followed by 2b, 3, 5, 4, 1 and 6. (7 is only known by some shards.)

In the oldest parts Linear Ceramics is missing, the rough ceramics is burnt at lower temperatures and has no or at least only plastical ornaments. The pot forms from site 2 are very similar to that from excavations in southern Hungary and Croatia, attributed to the Starčevo Culture, partially to the phase Early Starčevo Linear B and mostly to the late Starčevo Spiraloid B. From site 3 going the rise upwards to the younger parts of the settlement Linear Ceramics is increasing. Parallel runs the increasing use of fine ceramics besides the coarse one. On the other hand the number of idols found is decreasing.

Also for the stone implements a development is visible in the same direction from the oldest site 2 to the youngest site 1. Of special interest is that we found very many stone implements, more than 10.000, which is very much in contrast to other Austrian sites. At the beginning the main raw material is coming from Bakony-Szentgál, near lake Balaton in Hungary. Local “Hornstein” is used very seldom. This percentages are changing continuously from old to young. At the end of the development in site 1 and 6, we have only a small number of local lithic material.

Animal bones are not preserved in a big number at site 2. But we can also see a development in the usage of animals in the course of time. In site 3 it seems that capra-ovis bones are dominating and in the youngest site 1 bovis is preferred.

So we see there is a big change in the course of time. The most interesting question is now: Did the settlers come from southern Hungary or even Croatia or is there a local change from Mesolithic population to the first farmers under the influences from the south? As we currently have almost no knowledge about Mesolithic sites in Lower Austria, we tend currently to the first solution, that settlers immigrated from the Southeast and formed here at Brunn am Gebirge one basis for the development of the Linear Ceramics culture.