Скачать или смотреть 1st Millenium Aristocrats on the West Coast of Jutland

In recent years, metal detecting and rescue archaeology have become the hallmarks of Danish archaeology. Both activities produce vast amounts of data, but sadly the great majority of both the single finds and the excavations remains to be analyzed. However, the extent and number of both settlements and finds exceed any previous expectations. Combining the different data sets with historical maps, place names and votive finds produce interesting patterns of long-term continuity regarding both social structures, demography and land use.
The paper argues that the pre-industrial agrarian society based on family-run farmsteads did not change much. A small village in the 5. C. was also a small village in the 18. C. Central places housing aristocrats in the 1st millennium later became Medieval towns. Population numbers, however, did not seem to be stable but were directly linked to external factors like climate, conflict and disease. In times of growth, marginal areas were settled or migration took place and in times of recession, they were abandoned again.
It is suggested that population numbers in prehistory can be assessed when using big data such as large numbers of dendrochronological or C14-datings. When putting it all together, it seems that the 4th and 5th Centuries saw a peak in population and probably also migration followed by a dramatic decline due to the effects of the Late Antique Little Ice Age caused by volcanic eruptions in 536, 537 and 540.

Author: Head Curator Søvsø, Morten - Museum of South West Jutland (Sydvestjyske Museer) (Presenting author)