After the glaciers of the Ice Age in the Early Stone Age withdrew from the area, which since about 1000 AD is called Pomerania, in what are now northern Poland and north-eastern Germany, they left a tundra. First humans appeared, hunting reindeer in the summer.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, pp.16,17, A climate change in 8000 BC allowed hunters and foragers of the Ertebølle-Ellerbek culture to continuously inhabit the area. These people became influenced by farmers of the Linear Pottery culture who settled in southern Pomerania. The hunters of the Ertebølle-Ellerbek culture became farmers of the Funnelbeaker culture in 3000 BC. The Havelland culture dominated in the Uckermark from 2500 to 2000 BC. In 2400 BC, the Corded Ware culture reached Pomerania and introduced the domestic horse. Both Linear Pottery and Corded Ware culture have been associated with Indo-Europeans. Except for Western Pomerania, the Funnelbeaker culture was replaced by the Globular Amphora culture a thousand years later.
During the Bronze Age, Western Pomerania was part of the Nordic Bronze Age cultures, while east of the Oder river the Lusatian culture dominated. Throughout the Iron Age, the people of the western Pomeranian areas belonged to the Jastorf culture, while the Lusatian culture of the East was succeeded by the Pomeranian culture, then in 150 BC by the Oksywie culture, and at the beginning of the first millennium by the Wielbark culture.
While the Jastorf culture is usually associated with Germanic peoples, the ethnic category of the Lusatian culture and its successors is debated. Veneti, Germanic peoples like Goths, Rugians, and Gepids, and Slavs are assumed to have been the bearers of these cultures or parts thereof.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, pp.21ff,
From the 3rd century onwards, many settlements were abandoned, marking the beginning of the migration period in Pomerania. It is assumed that Burgundians, Goths and Gepids with parts of the Rugians left Pomerania during that stage, while some Veneti, Vidivarii and other, Germanic groups remained,Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.282, and formed the Gustow, Debczyn and late Wielbark cultures, which existed in Pomerania until the 6th century.Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p. 281,
The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means "[land] by the sea".Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie „Land am Meer“. (Pommersches Landesmuseum, German)
Ice Age and Paleolithic (Early Stone) Age (before 8000 BC)
20,000 years ago the territory of present-day Pomerania was covered with ice, which did not start to recede until the late period of the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic some 13,000 years BC, when the Scandinavian glacier receded northwards (Allerød oscillation). At the site of the later Baltic Sea was the cold, saline Yoldia Sea (~11,500-9500 BC), which was succeeded by the fresh water Ancylus Lake (9500-8000 BC).
Hamburgian
Hamburgian reindeer hunters were the first humans to occupy the plains freed from the retreating glaciers in north-central Europe. However, whether they also roamed Pomerania is uncertain: though there are finds in neighboring regions of Denmark, Mecklenburg and Poland, there are no finds from Pomerania which can be associated to the Hamburgian techno-complex without doubt. Though finds resembling Hamburgian typology were made in Tanowo, these finds likely stem from a later era. "Is it a gap of information or a gap of occupation?" ask
Federmesser, Bromme
The Federmesser and related Bromme techno-complexes are archaeologically traceable in Pomerania, but finds are sparse. That may be due to Pomerania's location within the fall-out zone of the Laacher See eruption, which in 10970 BC covered the area with a tephra layer and is probably responsible for the emergence of the Bromme techno-complex from the Federmesser one by separating it from the southern groups. A worked giant deer antler and a sharpened horse rib from the Endingen IV Federmesser site were 14C-dated to 11555 ±100 BP and 11830 ±50 BP, respectively, and together with a giant deer skull from Mecklenburg represent the oldest absolutely dated human traces in northeastern Germany.
Ahrensburgian
Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age (8000 - 3000 BC)
About 8000 BC, the climate started to change, and the former subarctic tundra was transformed into woodlands.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, p.17,
About 7,500 years ago, the Litorina Sea, a predecessor of the Baltic Sea evolved, with its southern coastline being close to the current one.Horst Wernicke, Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt, Helms, 2000, p.15,
Maglemosian culture
The Paleolithic Ahrensburg culture was succeeded by the early Mesolithic Maglemosian culture (8000-6000 BC), whose members were not only hunters, but also foragers and fishermen. According to their tools, they are grouped as first belonging to the Komornica (east) and Duvensee culture (west), later to the Chojnice-Pienki culture (east).Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, pp.275,276, Marek Zvelebil, Lucyna Domańska, Robin Dennell, Harvesting the Sea, Farming the Forest: The Emergence of Neolithic Societies in the Baltic Region, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1998, chapter "The Kashubian region", Marek Zvelebil, Hunters in Transition: Mesolithic Societies of Temperate Eurasia and Their Transition to Farming, CUP Archive, 1986, pp.18ff, ; includes a consideration whether Maglemosian and Duvensee are distinct cultures or not They settled the dunes and used flint stone microliths.Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.276,
Ertebølle-Ellerbek-Lietzow culture
Flintstone tools of hunters and foragers from the Mesolithic Age were found at various sites.Horst Wernicke, Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt, Helms, 2000, p.16, : Greifswald, Ladebow, Ludwigsburg, Neuenkirchen, Wackerow, Wampen, Weitenhagen Most of the artefacts date back to the late Mesolithic Age (since 5500 BC). They belong to the Ertebølle-Ellerbek culture (Lietzow subgroup),Horst Wernicke, Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt, Helms, 2000, p.16, Johannes Hoops, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.422, A. W. R. Whittle, Europe in the Neolithic: The Creation of New Worlds, Cambridge University Press, 1996, p.198, a culture that settled the coastline and already used ceramics.
While primarily hunters, it is assumed that the Mesolithic people were also foraging, fishing, and even farming on a most primitive scale. They also knew how to build dugout canoes, such as the Stralsund dugouts, and with these they travelled down the rivers into the hinterlands. The starting point for these expeditions often was Rügen.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, pp.17,18,
Neolithic (Late Stone) Age (3000 -1900 BC)
Linear Pottery culture
The move from Middle to Late Stone Age (Mesolithic to Neolithic Age) is marked by the change in the way of life from hunting and foraging to farming and livestock breeding. This was not a sudden change, but took place over a long period. The people of the Ertebølle culture were thereby inspired by the Middle German Linear Pottery culture, whose northernmost frontier was southern Pomerania (Uckermark and the Pyrzyce area).Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, pp.18,19,
Funnelbeaker culture
From 3000 to 1900 BC Pomerania was settled by farmers and herders of the Funnelbeaker culture (also TRB, Trichterbecher culture),Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, p.19, that had evolved from the previous Mesolithic cultures and Linear Pottery culture influence. During this period, Western Pomerania was more densely settled than before, primarily on smooth hills near the water. Artefacts and settlements from this periods have been found at various sites in Western Pomerania, e.g. around the Bay of Greifswald. The Funnelbeaker culture people erected numerous Megalith tombs.Horst Wernicke, Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt, Helms, 2000, pp.16,17, :settlements e.g. in Gristow, Ludwigsburg, Neuendorf; tombs all over Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, e.g. in Ludwigsburg
Havelland culture From 2500 to 2000 BC, the Uckermark was not influenced by the Funnelbeaker culture, but by the Havelland culture, representing the northernmost area of this culture that was centered around the middle Elbe and Havel rivers. The Bay of Greifswald, Usedom and Uecker-Randow areas were under a weak influence of this culture also.
Corded Ware culture
About 2400 BC, people of the Corded Ware culture reached Pomerania. They probably originated in the Black Sea area and introduced the domestic horse. While the Corded Ware people have been associated with the first Indo-Europeans, recently the earlier Linear Pottery Culture is said to be Indo-European, too.Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, pp.19,20,
While most of Pomerania was part of or influenced by the Single Grave culture subgroup, eastern Pomerelia belonged to the Rzucewo (also Bay Coast or Haffküsten) culture subgroup stretching from Pomerelia to Lithuania,Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.423, Sarunas Milisauskas, European Prehistory: A Survey, Birkhäuser, 2002, p.257, formerly associated with early Balts.Johannes Hoops, Hans-Peter Naumann, Franziska Lanter, Oliver Szokody, Heinrich Beck, Rudolf Simek, Sebastian Brather, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier, Ulrike Sprenger, Else Ebel, Klaus Düwel, Wilhelm Heizmann, Heiko Uecker, Jürgen Udolph, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, p.423, : "[...] die ihrerseits ehemals als frühester Nachweis der balt. Bevölkerung gedeuted wurde."
The impact of the late neolithic Corded Ware culture on Western Pomerania was not as strong, but traceable. For example, both Funnelbeaker and Corded Ware culture artefacts were found in a Megalith tomb near Groß Zastrow.Horst Wernicke, Greifswald, Geschichte der Stadt, Helms, 2000, pp.16,17,
Globular Amphora culture
The Globular Amphora culture replaced the Funnelbeaker culture in most of Pomerania a thousand years later, but no artefacts have been found in Western Pomerania. This culture is associated with amber trade.
Comb Ceramic culture
During the mid-Neolithic Age, small populations belonging to the Comb Ceramic or Pit-comb ware culture were traced in Pomerania.
Bronze Age (1900 - 550 BC)
Nordic Bronze Age (Western Pomerania)