Spatial analysis of archaeological and linguistic data reveals the boundaries of Frankish power in Northern Bavaria
Abstract
Contact zones with a lively exchange of material culture, language and ethnicities harbour yet untapped potential for the study of the early Middle Ages. One such zone is found in Germany's Northern Bavaria, where Slavic- and German-speaking populations came into contact on the eastern border of the Frankish Empire.
A combination of archaeology and linguistics, using the tools of modern data sciences and statistical analysis, has revealed new opportunities for research. The identification of spatial differences between place names of Slavic or German origin and archaeological sources can reveal the reflexes of various socio-cultural changes.
An important source of evidence for the gradual integration of Northern Bavaria into Frankish power structures consists in the Carolingian-Ottonian cemeteries found there. Their establishment began only after the associated funeral practice had been abandoned in the central part of the Frankish Empire in favour of burial in graveyards adjacent to churches.
Our toponomastic dataset comprises place names known through historical linguistic analysis to be of Slavic origin in comparison to German place names of early provenance. Several of the analysed classes emerged within a specific socio-economic context, such as names bearing the forms /-hausen/ and /-hofen/, which are related to royal and aristocratic estates.
This paper presents the results of point pattern analysis involving linear modelling and kernel density estimation (KDE). It thereby outlines historical trends observed for Bavaria based on the confrontation of the archaeological evidence with that of toponomastics.