Millenia of sustainable, low intensity land use have formed the cultural landscapes of central Europe. Studies from the Central Alps show that mountain pastures also look back onto many thousand years of land use history. In this palynological and pedoanthracological study in the border region between Germany and Austria in the Mangfall Mountains, we aim to close the knowledge gap that exists for the German part of the Northern Alps, where no conclusive evidence for the onset of pastoral activities has been presented so far. Our results reveal strong evidence, that mountain pasture use in this region reaches back to the Iron Age at least. However, the reconstruction of vegetation and fire history indicates human interaction with the environment much earlier, starting in the Neolithic Age, where we found evidence of slash and burn activities and first occurrences of pasture indicator pollen. A rising number of mega charcoal pieces dated to the Bronze Age suggests increased slash and burn activities, possibly linked to the creation of open space for pasturing. Therefore, our results provide profound evidence of human interaction with the mountain environment, beginning in the Neolithic Age and clear evidence of mountain pasture use beginning during the Iron Age at 750 BC. Based on palynology and pedoanthracology it is, however, difficult to clearly differentiate between pasturing, hunting and other human interactions with the environment. Further archaeological studies in this area could add valuable information to our findings and shed more light onto the early history of farming activities in the Northern Alps.

可持续，低强度土地利用的千年发展已经形成了中欧的文化景观。来自中部阿尔卑斯山的研究表明，高山草场还可以追溯到几千年的土地使用历史。在这项德国和奥地利边界地区Mangfall山脉的古生物学和古人类学研究中，我们的目标是缩小北阿尔卑斯山德国部分的知识鸿沟，在该领域尚无确凿的证据表明牧民活动的开始至今。我们的结果揭示了有力的证据，该地区的高山牧场至少可以追溯到铁器时代。然而，从新石器时代开始，植被和火灾历史的重建表明人类与环境的相互作用要早得多，在这里，我们发现了刀耕火种的证据以及牧场指示剂花粉的首次出现。追溯到青铜器时代的巨型木炭件数量的增加表明刀耕火种和烧伤活动的增加，可能与牧场的开放空间有关。因此，我们的结果为人类与山区环境的相互作用提供了深刻的证据，始于新石器时代，也清楚地表明了在公元前750年铁器时代开始使用高山牧场。然而，基于古生物学和古人类学，很难清楚地区分牧草，狩猎和其他人类与环境的相互作用。在这一领域的进一步考古研究可以为我们的发现增加有价值的信息，并为北阿尔卑斯地区农业活动的早期历史提供更多的启示。