R. Ebersbach1, C. Schade2
1 Inst. für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Universität Basel, Switzerland
2 Seminar für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Universität Frankfurt, Germany

The survey project BBM ("Besiedlungsgeschichte der Bandkeramik in der Mörlener Bucht") yielded a great deal of data about early neolithic settlement acitivities. Settlement densities, sizes and durations of villages of the linear pottery culture (5300 - 4900 BC cal) are fully known in the test area. Based on the number of contemporaneous houses a minimal field size can be calculated. With the help of GIS minimal necessary territory sizes are modelled. The diachronic comparison between the supply of arable land and the demand of the Neolithic farmers and their stock leads to a discussion of the intensity of early Neolithic land use (and abuse?).
Key words: GIS, Neolithic, land use, linear pottery culture