Gewerbe und Handel im deutschen Reich nach der gewerblichen
Betriebszählung, vom 14. Juni 1895 (Berlin, 1899); Handbuch für
das deutsche Reich auf das Jahr 1900, bearbeitet im Reichsamt der
Innern (Berlin); Handbuch für die deutsche Handelsmarine auf das
Jahr 1900; Statistik des deutschen Reichs, published by the Kaiserliches
Statistisches Amt (including trade, navigation, criminal
statistics, sick insurance, &c.); Statistisches Jahrbuch für das deutsche
Reich (Berlin, 1906) and Vierteljahrshefte für Statistik des deutschen
Reichs (including census returns, commerce and railways). See also
among English publications on geographical and statistical matter:
Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign
Countries and British Possessions for the Year 1899 (London, 1900);
and G. G. Chisholm, Europe, being vols. i. and ii. of Stanford’s
Compendium of Geography and Travel (London, 1899 and 1900).
The fullest general account of the geology of Germany will be found
in R. Lepsius, Geologie von Deutschland und den angrenzenden Gebieten
(Stuttgart, first volume completed in 1892). Shorter descriptions
will be found in E. Kayser, Lehrbuch der geologischen Formationskunde
(Stuttgart, English edition under the title Text-book of Comparative
Geology), and H. Credner, Elemente der Geologie (Leipzig).
Archaeology
From an archaeological point of view Germany is very far from being a homogeneous whole. Not only has the development of the south differed from that of the north, and the west been subjected to other influences than those affecting the east, but even where the same influences have been at work the period of their operation has often varied widely in the different districts, so that in a general sketch of the whole country the chronology can only be a very rough approximation. In this article the dates assigned to the various periods in south Germany are those given by Sophus Müller, on the lines first laid down by Montelius. As regards north Germany, Müller puts the Northern Bronze age 500 years later than the Southern, but a recent find in Sweden bears out Montelius’s view that southern influence made itself rapidly felt in the North. The conclusions of Montelius and Müller are disputed by W. Ridgeway, who maintains that the Iron age originated in central Europe, and that iron must consequently have been worked in those regions as far back as c. 2000 B.C.
Older Palaeolithic Period.—The earliest traces of man’s handiwork are found either at the end of the pre-Glacial epoch, or in an inter-Glacial period, but it is a disputed point whether the latter is the first of a series of such periods. A typical German find is at Taubach, near Weimar, where almond-shaped stone wedges, small flint knives, and roughly-hacked pieces of porphyry and quartz are found, together with the remains of elephants. There are also bone implements, which are not found in the earliest periods in France.
Palaeolithic Transition Period (Solutré).—More highly developed forms are found when the mammoth has succeeded the elephant. Implements of chipped stone for the purposes of boring and scraping suggest that man worked hides for clothing. Ornaments of perforated teeth and shells are found.
Later Palaeolithic Period (La Madeleine).—The next period is marked by the presence of reindeer. In the Hohlefels in the Swabian Achthal there is still no trace of earthenware, and we find the skull of a reindeer skilfully turned into a drinking-vessel. Saws, needles, awls and bone harpoons are found. It is to be noticed that none of the German finds (mostly in the south and west) show any traces of the highly developed artistic sense so characteristic of the dwellers in France at this period.
The gap in our knowledge of the development of Palaeolithic into Neolithic civilization has recently been partially filled in by discoveries in north Germany and France of objects showing rather more developed forms than those of the former period, but still unaccompanied by earthenware. It is a disputed point whether the introduction of Neolithic civilization is due to a new ethnological element.
Neolithic Age (in south Germany till c. 2000 B.C.).—Neolithic man lived under the same climatic conditions as prevail to-day, but amidst forests of fir. He shows advance in every direction, and by the end of the later Neolithic period he is master of the arts of pottery and spinning, is engaged in agricultural pursuits, owns domestic animals, and makes weapons and tools of fine shape, either ground and polished or beautifully chipped. Traces of Neolithic settlements have been found chiefly in the neighbourhood of Worms, in the Main district and in Thuringia. These dwellings are usually holes in the ground, and presumably had thatched roofs. Our knowledge of the later Neolithic age, as of the succeeding periods, is largely gained from the remains of lake-dwellings, represented in Germany chiefly by Bavarian finds. The lake-dwellings in Mecklenburg, Pomerania and East Prussia are of a different type, and it is not certain that they date back to the Stone age. Typical Neolithic cemeteries are found at Hinkelstein, Alzey and other places in the neighbourhood of Worms. In these graves the skeletons lie flat, while in other cemeteries, as at Flomborn in Rhine-Hessen, and near Heilbronn, they are in a huddled position (hence the name Hockergräber). Necklaces and bracelets of Mediterranean shells point to a considerable amount of commerce. Other objects found in the graves are small flint knives, stone axes, flint and lumps of pyrites for obtaining fire, and, in the women’s graves, hand-mills for grinding corn. The earthenware vessels usually have rounded bottoms. The earliest ornamentation consists of finger-imprints. Later we find two periods of zigzag designs in south Germany with an intermediate stage of spirals and wavy lines, while in north and east Germany the so-called string-ornamentation predominates. Towards the end of the period the inhabitants of north Germany erect megalithic graves, and in Hanover especially the passage-graves.
Bronze Age (in south Germany from c. 2000–1000 B.C.).—In the later Stone age we note the occasional use of copper, and then the gradual appearance of bronze. The bronze civilization of the Aegean seems to have had direct influence along the basins of the Danube and Elbe, while the culture of the western parts of central Germany was transmitted through Italy and France. No doubt the pre-eminence of the north, and especially of Denmark, at this period, was due to the amber trade, causing southern influence to penetrate up the basin of the Elbe to Jutland. The earlier period is characterized by the practice of inhumation in barrows made of clays, stones or sand, according to the district. Bronze is cast, whereas at a later time it shows signs of the hammer. From the finds in Bavarian graves it appears that the chief weapons were the dagger and the long pointed Palstab (palstave), while a short dagger fixed like an axe on a long shaft is characteristic of the North. The women wore two bronze pins, a bracelet on each arm, amber ornaments and a necklace of bronze tubes in spirals. One or two vases are found in each barrow, ornamented with finger-imprints, “string” decoration, &c. The later period is characterized by the practice of cremation, though the remains are still placed in barrows. Swords make their appearance. The women wear more and more massive ornaments. The vases are highly polished and of elegant form, with zigzag decoration.
Hallstatt Period (in Germany 8th–5th century B.C.).—The Hallstatt stage of culture, named after the famous cemetery in upper Austria, is marked by the introduction of iron (see Hallstatt). In Germany its centre is Bavaria, Baden and Württemberg, with the Thuringian forest as the northern boundary. In Brandenburg, Lusatia, Silesia, Posen and Saxony, where there was no strong Bronze age tradition, Hallstatt influence is very noticeable. In west Prussia the urns with human faces deserve notice. The dead are either buried in barrows or cremated, the latter especially in north and east Germany. In Bavaria both practices are resorted to, as at Hallstatt. The pottery develops beautiful form and colour. Fibulae, often of the “kettle-drum” form, take the place of the Bronze age pin.
La Tène Period (4th–1st century B.C.).—Down to this time there is very little evidence concerning the racial affinities of the population. When our records first begin the western and southern portions of Germany seem to have been inhabited by Celtic peoples (see below “Ethnography”). La Tène, in Switzerland, has given its name to the period, of which the earlier part corresponds to the time of Celtic supremacy. It is interesting to note how the Celts absorb Roman and still more Greek culture, even imitating foreign coins, and pass on their new arts to their Teutonic neighbours; but in spite of the strong foreign influence
