25.01.2010
Stone-Age Giants
What inspired people to move large objects? Some 5,500 years ago, our ancestors began to shape erratic blocks and use them to construct giant monuments. The archaeologists at CAU Kiel working with Professor Müller and at the RGK in Frankfurt working with Professor Lüth assume that both human cohabitation and human thought underwent a fundamental change at the same time. Did these structures, made of megaliths, serve as gravesites, as meeting points or were they intended to serve as markers on the open landscape? What can the stone legacies tell us about social differences within Neolithic mankind? To project page
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Stone-Age Giants: Episode 06, 26/10/2009
The Trail of the Bones
Which illnesses were prevalent 5500 years ago, and what were their causes? This is the question that the anthropologists from the Georg August University in Göttingen hope to answer. The subject of their studies are archaeological skeletal remains, because from the bones it is also possible to find evidence of chronic illnesses such as kidney, lung or heart disease. If they find similar bone structures in several skeletons from a single location it is possible to draw conclusions about the living conditions that prevailed there at the time the megalithic graves were built. What will the trail of the bones reveal?
18.01.2010
The Stone Age Code
Where the archaeologists come up against their limits, molecular genetics can come to the rescue. From the remains of Stone Age man, they aim to take a genetic fingerprint…
11.01.2010
Wolkenwehe
Stones, bones and wooden posts: Looking for clues in the Brenner bog. Is there a connection between the settlement of Wolkenwehe and the megalithic graves?
14.12.2009
Wacker!
Going back into the past with a pneumatic hammer. What secrets about climate change can be found on the sea bed?
26.10.2009
The Trail of the Bones
Which illnesses were prevalent 5500 years ago, and what were they caused by? The trail of the bones will reveal all…
23.09.2009
Working to the Bone
Even the tiniest of teeth counts: What can bones tell us about burial rites from 5,500 years ago?
07.09.2009
At the "Königsgrab"
How the archaeologists can see underground without a spade, a trowel or a brush and without moving a single clod of earth, with a little help from a geophysicist.
06.08.2009
Looking Beyond
You are what you eat! What can the remains of plants and corn tell us about life 5500 years ago – and about the eating habits and lifestyle of long ago?
13.07.2009
Fishing by Camera
The challenges at the megalithic grave are "megalithic"! To get the right perspective on things, the researchers want to reach great heights. Will their home-made camera rod help?
30.06.2009
The Ravages of Time
Not going unnoticed by the archaeologists: the large stone graves in the far North. The number of megalithic graves has declined strongly.
The Projects
Everything about wave hunters, discrete optimisers and love à la Darwin—here, you'll experience what lies behind the individual projects as you follow the research diaries and get to know the scientists.
Function through Diversity
Pioneering work in China: The largest ever forest experiment on biodiversity
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