Archaeology is all about how the present came into existence. Thus, it contributes to the social understanding of crises, including present and potential future adversities. Even diseases, such as pandemics in past societies, were and are observed by archaeology. Some examples can be found in this booklet. The scientists of the Kiel Cluster of Excellence ROOTS describe human reactions in past societies that were organized quite differently from ours. This is precisely why it is possible to id...

The Kiel Graduate School 'Human Development in Landscapes' has conducted research on socio-environmental issues of past societies during the last years. From the North Atlantic to the Persian Gulf and from Peru to the Near East, different attempts on the interfluve of environments and societies in landscapes describe certain historical moments and processes in which the interplay of ecological and societal factors is entangled. Events, processes and structures are described on local, regional...

The early Neolithic site of Vráble (5250-4950 cal BCE) is among the largest LBK settlement agglomerations in Central Europe, and exceptional within the southwest Slovakian area. Geophysical surveys revealed more than 300 houses, grouped into three contemporary neighbourhoods, one of which is delineated by a complex ditched enclosure system. This enclosure is associated with a large number of human remains, which reveal new patterns of burial and deposition practices. This volume presents the...