The pastoralist nomads of the Eurasian steppe, seen as "mounted warriors", are prototypical for the representation of a violent threat looming over the settled farming populations of Central Europe. This one-sided perception leaves almost no scope open for alternative interpretations of interactions and knowledge transfer between the societies, which are seen as having been organized along completely opposite lines. This view also marginalizes the social significance of women, to a large extent: women appear primarily in the role of the targets and victims of raids and not those of de-escalating parties, supporters or even perpetrators.

The project is developing a workshop entitled "Threat from the East? The Eurasian steppe region as a reservoir of conflict and motor of innovation" (Bedrohung aus dem Osten? Der eurasische Steppenraum als Konfliktreservoir und Innovationsmotor), to be held in the spring of 2024. The aim is a critical reappraisal of the narrative of a "clash of cultures" – a narrative that has been revived repeatedly in conjunction with the release of new natural-science findings and with particular political developments – as well as to inquire into non-violent forms of the exchange between these populations.

Aiming at a broad multidisciplinary view, the workshop will shed light on the diverse forms of interaction that took place between the steppe zone and the adjacent regions from the Copper Age to the Early Middle Ages, in the form of case studies presented by German and international researchers.