麻豆淫院

In legends and fables, it brings luck, children and prosperity. Today, its appearance is seen as a sign of a healthy environment. Hardly any other bird in Europe has such positive connotations as the white stork Ciconia ciconia. But how old is this close relationship between humans and storks? Where and how was this relationship formed?

"In order to answer these questions, we first need to know when the stork used to live, and where," says archaeologist Dr. Ulrich Schm枚lcke from the Leibniz-Zentrum f眉r Arch盲ologie in Schleswig (LEIZA).

Together with ornithologist Kai-Michael Thomsen from the Michael Otto Institute within NABU, Schm枚lcke has investigated the range dynamics of the white stork in Europe since the last ice age using archaeological finds for the first time.

"This shows that the north-east of the continent, with its high population density today, only became part of the white stork range in the comparatively recent past," explains Thomsen. The study has now been in the Journal of Ornithology.

For the study, the two authors evaluated previously published finds of bird bones in the vicinity of prehistoric or early historic settlements. One set of data published in 1999 alone contains information on more than 7,500 archaeological sites with animal remains from the last ice age to the early modern period throughout Europe.

The two authors have added more recent finds from current research literature. "Thanks to this extensive database, we can make reliable statements about the distribution of the white stork over the past millennia," says Schm枚lcke.

According to this, until 1,500 years ago, Ciconia ciconia was distributed exclusively in southern and western Europe, especially on the Iberian Peninsula, in the Upper Rhine region and in the southern Balkans.

"At the end of antiquity, the distribution boundary of the white stork coincided exactly with the extent of the Roman Empire. Ancient written sources show that it was already closely associated with people in the Mediterranean region at this time," explains Schm枚lcke.

Beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, however, the white stork did not find any suitable habitats. The human population density was significantly lower. There were fewer open spaces, as agriculture was less intense.

"It was only around 1,000 years ago that the white stork's range expanded rapidly to the north-east. This coincides with the medieval 'Landesausbau,' when many forests were cleared and new agricultural land was created," says Thomsen. "Apparently the white stork is a long-term beneficiary of certain man-made landscape changes."

The study provides important insights for both nature conservation and archaeology. "If we want to understand how species spread or why they disappear from some areas, we can't just look at the current pattern. We also need to understand the long-term developments," says Thomsen.

"Both at LEIZA and in the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, we are investigating how the relationship between humans and the environment has developed over the past millennia. In order to do this, however, we need to know what the environment looked like in the past and which species occurred where," adds Schm枚lcke.

Further research into other species is still necessary. "But the study does show the great potential of cooperation between ornithology and archaeology, especially if we include even more analytical methods such as genetics and isotope measurements in future," emphasizes the archaeologist.