A millennium-long settlement crisis? In-depth archaeological and geoarchaeological studies of the final Stone Age and the Early Metal Age (2500 BC to 500 BC) in Eastern Baltic

Any archaeological evidence from the end of the Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age is very rare in Estonia. This millennium-long find-poor period (2200–1200 BC) represents a distinct era in the prehistory of this region: apart from stray finds, only a few settlement and burial sites are known. A similar phenomenon is observed in southern Finland and northern Latvia. Consequently, the material culture of this period is poorly understood. Using archaeological and geoarchaeological methods, we aim to study whether there was a settlement crisis at this time and, if so, how it came about and what caused it. The project includes the compilation of existing data in a database and the analysis of finds, as well as the search and study of new sites. Based on this dataset, a statistical description of known settled areas is created, together with a comparative spatial analysis describing potentially suitable areas for future research.