The Western European Loess Belt

Preface1 The loess covered region west of the river Rhine. 5300 BC - AD 10001.1 Introduction1.2 Loess1.3 The loess region1.4 The choice of the period, 5300 BC - AD 10001.5 The framework of this book2 Sources2.1 Information on a distant past2.2 Plants2.3 Animals2.4 Tools2.5 Buildings and other structures2.6 Land and countryside2.7 Written sources3 The beginning 5300 BC-4900 BC3.1 The first farmers3.2 Crops3.3 Crop cultivation3.4 Livestock and animal husbandry3.5 Farm buildings and yards3.6 The farm in its setting4 Heirs to the first farmers 4900-4300 BC4.1 The successors of the Linearbandkeramik culture4.2 Crops4.3 Crop cultivation4.4 Livestock and animal husbandry4.5 Farm buildings and yards4.6 The farm in its setting5 Innovation and expansion 4300-2650 BC5.1 A new age 5.2 Crops5.3 Crop cultivation5.4 Livestock and animal husbandry5.5 Farm buildings and yards5.6 The farm in its setting6 The first millennia of agricultural landscape6.1 The original vegetation6.2 The impact of the farming communities on the vegetation6.3 Erosion7 Towards a more complex society 2650 - 50 BC7.1 The so-called Metal Ages7.2 Crops7.3 Crop cultivation7.4 Livestock and animal husbandry7.5 Farm buildings and yards7.6 The farm in its setting8 Part of the Roman Empire 50 BC - AD 407 8.1 Roman rule8.2 Crops8.3 Crop cultivation8.4 Livestock and animal husbandry8.5 Farm buildings and yards8.6 The farm in its setting9 The Early Middle Ages D 407 - AD 10009.1 The end of Roman rule and thereafter9.2 Crops9.3 Crop cultivation9.4 Livestock and animal husbandry9.5 Farm buildings and yards9.6 The farm in its setting10 The birth of the rural landscape10.1 The vanishing of the forest as the main vegetation type10.2 Erosion11 Summing up six millennia of agricultureGlossarySelect bibliographySource of figures and tablesIndex