From materiality to space: monumental enclosures, exploited mineral resources and territoriality during the Michelsberg Culture (Neolithic, 4200-3700 BC, France and Germany)

The Michelsberg Culture saw the onset of major economic, social, technological and cultural transformations in agricultural societies around 4200 BC. The most striking feature is without doubt the appearance in the landscape of large sites enclosed by complex systems of ditches and palisades. On the other hand, different modes of production and the exploitation of flint and salt show not only networks of raw material procurement but also a new organisation of territories and the role of specialized sites. The models produced and described at different scales show complex and structured networks, covering an extended area and suggesting that settlements are inter-dependant at the regional and supra-regional scales.