000K utf8 1100 $c2023 1500 eng 2050 urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2023-00834-4 2051 10.1002/jpln.202300150 3000 Scharl, Silviane 3010 Eckmeier, Eileen 3010 Gerlach, Renate 3010 Zerl, Tanja 4000 Earliest archeological evidence of fertilization in Central Europe [Scharl, Silviane] 4209 The beginnings of food production—animal husbandry and crop cultivation—and of a sedentary way of life represent one of the most drastic changes in human history. Likewise, this is accompanied by an increasing human impact on nature, which is mainly caused by agricultural practices. Agriculture is related to the clearing of forests, tillage, maintenance of the cultivated land, and finally harvesting, which alters not only the vegetation cover but also soil fertility as there is a potential risk for a loss of nutrients. People already countered this loss of nutrients in the times of early agriculture through different techniques and practices. The article summarizes the earliest evidence of fertilization in the prehistory of Central Europe and presents the most important methods for their investigation. What significance fertilization had for early farming societies can presently not be estimated due to the small amount of data. We therefore advocate the development of a routine for sampling during archaeological excavations and for the analysis of various materials (sediment and plant remains) using various methods. For this, the awareness must be raised that anthropogenic sediments, such as pit fills, are important archives for research into the history of humankind. 4950 https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.202300150$xR$3Volltext$534 4950 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2023-00834-4$xR$3Volltext$534 4961 https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00004163 5051 333.7 5550 Central Europe 5550 manuring 5550 middening 5550 Neolithic 5550 slash-and-burn cultivation 5550 soil fertility