When the going gets tough...? : climatic or cultural influences for the LBA abandonment of circum-alpine lake-dwellings

During prehistory a tradition of lake-dwelling existed in the Circum-Alpine region, in which settlements were constructed directly adjacent to, or on, lakes using a variety of construction methods.  Between the Neolithic and the Iron Age there were also periods of abandonment, when the lake-shores were deserted and lake-dwellings disappear from the archaeological record.  Traditional models of explanation have been climatically deterministic, linking a climatic deterioration to increasing in lake-water levels, causing the inundation and subsequent abandonment of the lake-shores.  There is a growing consensus that cultural factors may also have influenced the abandonment, as has been illustrated for the Middle Bronze Age hiatus. Societies and communities should be seen not only as the sum of a range of internal aspects such as the Economy, Culture, and Natural Environment, but also as a culmination of the relationships in which those internal aspects, and the communities, are involved.  The 'place' of a community in the wider world, and the community's understanding of the world, will influence the behaviour of that community.  The Late Bronze/Early Iron Age abandonment occurs at a time when increasing trade connections flow through the Circum-Alpine region, forging, manipulating, and breaking community relationships.  Ongoing material culture analysis combined with 'Relational theory' will allow an insight to the relationships of lake-dwelling communities from the Circum-Alpine region, highlighting possible cultural influences for the final abandonment of the lake-dwelling tradition. Mitteleuropa - Kulturwandel - Umweltveränderung