A 14,000 year peatland record of environmental change in the southern Gutland region, Luxembourg

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362199464
Author(s):  
Karsten Schittek ◽  
Lelaina Teichert ◽  
Katrin Geiger ◽  
Klaus-Holger Knorr ◽  
Simone Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
Organic Sediment ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
History Of

A Late Pleistocene/Holocene paleoenvironmental record was obtained from the Rouer peatland (5°54′E, 49°45′N; 270 m a.s.l.), located in the Gutland area of southern Luxembourg. A total of six sediment samples were AMS radiocarbon-dated to obtain an age-depth model. XRF analyses and analyses of geochemical proxies of organic matter (TOC, TN, δ13C, δ15N) were conducted to identify major paleoenvironmental changes in the record. Pollen analysis reveals insights into the vegetation history throughout the last 14,000 cal. yr BP. The record offers unique insights into the evolution of local organic sediment/peat accumulation, as well as into the environmental history of the Gutland region and beyond. The accumulation of organic sediment and peat started at about 13,800 cal. yr BP before present. Until about 6000 cal. yr BP, periods of apparently stable climatic conditions had been interrupted repeatedly by pronounced episodes with increased input of minerogenic matter into the peat matrix (12,700–11,800 cal. yr BP; 11,500–11,300 cal. yr BP; 11,100–10,800 cal. yr BP; 9300 cal. yr BP; 8200 cal. yr BP), indicated by sudden increases of Ti/coh values. After 6000 cal. yr BP, environmental conditions stabilized. Between 4200 and 2800 cal. yr BP, during the Bronze Age, changes in the pollen spectrum indicate an increasing clearance of woodlands. Since the Roman period, an ongoing intensification of grassland farming and agriculture is evidenced. Lowest tree species abundances are witnessed during the Middle Ages. The Modern Era is characterized by enhanced sediment input due to soil erosion. In short, this record complements the Late Pleistocene/Holocene climatic history of the Gutland area and demonstrates that fen peat deposits can be valuable high-resolution paleoclimate archives.

Late Quaternary Climate and Vegetation of the Sudanian Zone of Northeast Nigeria

2002 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Salzmann ◽  
Philipp Hoelzmann ◽  
Irena Morczinek
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Lake Levels ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Quaternary Climate ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sudanian Zone ◽  
Humid Period

AbstractThe Lake Tilla crater lake in northeastern Nigeria (10°23′N, 12°08′E) provides a ca. 17,000 14C yr multiproxy record of the environmental history of a Sudanian savanna in West Africa. Evaluation of pollen, diatoms, and sedimentary geochemistry from cores suggests that dry climatic conditions prevailed throughout the late Pleistocene. Before the onset of the Holocene, the slow rise in lake levels was interrupted by a distinct dry event between ca. 10,900 and 10,500 14C yr B.P., which may coincide with the Younger Dryas episode. The onset of the Holocene is marked by an abrupt increase in lake levels and a subsequent spread of Guinean and Sudanian tree taxa into the open grass savanna that predominated throughout the Late Pleistocene. The dominance of the mountain olive Olea hochstetteri suggests cool climatic conditions prior to ca. 8600 14C yr B.P. The early to mid-Holocene humid period culminated between ca. 8500 and 7000 14C yr B.P. with the establishment of a dense Guinean savanna during high lake levels. Frequent fires were important in promoting the open character of the vegetation. The palynological and palaeolimnological data demonstrate that the humid period terminated after ca. 7000 14C yr B.P. in a gradual decline of the precipitation/evaporation ratio and was not interrupted by abrupt climatic events. The aridification trend intensified after ca. 3800 14C yr B.P. and continued until the present.

Vegetation history reconstructed from anthracology and pollen analysis at the rescue excavation of the MO Motorway, Hungary

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
Elvira Bodor ◽  
Tünde Törőcsik ◽  
Pál Sümegi
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Copper Age ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Late Iron Age

AbstractThe significance of geoarchaeological investigations is indisputable in reconstructing the former environment and in studying the relationship between humans and their surroundings. Several disciplines have developed during the last few decades to give insight into earlier time periods and their climatic conditions (e.g. palynology, malacology, archaeobotany, phytology and animal osteology). Charcoal and pollen analytical studies from the rescue excavation of the MO motorway provide information about the vegetation changes of the past. These methods are used to reconstruct the environment of the former settlements and to detect the human impact and natural climatic changes. The sites examined span the periods of the Late-Copper Age, Late-Bronze Age, Middle-Iron Age, Late-Iron Age, Sarmatian period, Late Sarmatian period, Migration period, Late-Migration period and Middle Ages. The vegetation before the Copper Age is based only on pollen analytical data. Anthracological results show the overall dominance of Quercus and a great number of Ulmus, Fraxinus, Acer, Fagus, Alnus and Populus/Salix tree fossils, as well as the residues of fruit trees present in the charred wood assemblage.

An Environmental History of the Upper Kennet Valley, Wiltshire, for the Last 10,000 Years

1993 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 139-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Evans ◽  
S. Limbrey ◽  
I. Máté ◽  
R. Mount ◽  
S. Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Valley Floor ◽  
The West ◽  
Valley Bottom ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of

Research on the late Pleistocene and Holocene environment and archaeology of the upper Kennet valley, north Wiltshire, is described. In concentrating the work in the valley bottom, the main aims were: (1) to see if there was a record of environment and archaeology there, and if so to detail it; and (2) to redress brasses in research towards the visible archaeology of slopes and plateaus and their environmental record.Soils and sediments with biological and archaeological materials covered the late Pleistocene to the present and, with dating by14C and thermoluminescence, enabled a history of environment and human activity to be established.The distinction in hydrology and environment between the valley floor and slopes/plateaus varied with time. In the upper part of the study area at Avebury, there was no stream in the earlier Holocene: woodland covered the valley floor which in some areas was similar to that of the slopes/plateaus in being dry while in other areas it was marshy. In the lower part of the study area at West Overton there was also an earlier Holocene land surface but there were locally streams and swamps, represented by the North Farm Formation. During the earlier Neolithic there was woodland clearance and some cultivation of the valley floor which initiated minor hydrological changes, namely paludification at Avebury and alluviation at West Overton. Dry grassland later developed which was little different from that of the slopes and plateaus. There was no woodland regeneration during the later Neolithic in contrast to the situation in monument ditches on the valley slopes and plateaus. Throughout the study area there was a major episode of alluviation in open country, represented by the West Overton Formation, which was probably initiated in the Beaker period and carried on until the early Iron Age. This, while not putting the valley floor out of use and indeed perhaps enhancing its fertility, provided a very different environment from that of the slopes and plateaus. Another period of alluviation, represented by theArionClay, took place in post-Medieval times.The main Holocene deposits were not wholly allochthonous or made up solely of clastic material derived from slopewash incorporated into the river. Calcium carbonate precipitation accounted for much of the North Farm and West Overton Formations while theArionClay may derive from flocculated material redistributed from watermeadow channels in the course of their management. On the other hand, periods of arable activity in the area, often close to the river valley floor, notably in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval times, have no signal in terms of alluvium.Archaeology, although concealed, is abundant and significantly extends the local record of slopes and plateaus. Mesolithic flints, Neolithic flints and pottery, two lines of probably later Neolithic/Beaker sarsen boulders, later Bronze Age sarsen structures, pottery and a cremation are present on the valley floor, concealed by deposits of the West Overton Formation. Medieval activity, represented on the valley sides as earthworks, extends on to the valley floor where it is concealed byArionClay and earthworks of watermeadows. The visible distribution of archaeology presents a pattern which may be of more than local significance for chalkland areas.

Late-glacial and Post-glacial history of the Chalk escarpment near Brook, Kent

1964 ◽  
Vol 248 (745) ◽  
pp. 135-204 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Valley Floor ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Arable Farming ◽  
History Of

This paper describes the morphology of a small piece of the Chalk escarpment near Brook in east Kent, and reconstructs its history since the end of the Last Glaciation. The escarpment contains a number of steep-sided valleys, or coombes, with which are associated deposits of chalk debris, filling their bottoms and extending as fans over the Gault Clay plain beyond. Here the fans overlie radiocarbon-dated marsh deposits of zone II (10 000 to 8800 B.C.) of the Late-glacial Period. The debris fans were formed and the coombes were cut very largely during the succeeding zone III (8800 to 8300 B.C.). The fans are the products of frost-shattering, probably transported by a combination of niveo-fluvial action and the release of spring waters; intercalated seams of loess also occur. The molluscs and plants preserved in the Late-glacial deposits give a fairly detailed picture of local conditions. The later history of one of the coombes, the Devil’s Kneadingtrough, is reconstructed. The springs have effected virtually no erosion and have probably always emerged more or less in their present position. In the floor of the coombe the periglacial chalk rubbles of zone III are covered by Postglacial deposits, mainly hillwashes. They are oxidized and yield no pollen, but contain rich faunas of land Mollusca, which are presented in the form of histograms revealing changing local ecological and climatic conditions. During most of the Post-glacial Period, from the end of zone III until about the beginning of zone VIII, very little accumulation took place on the coombe floor. But below the springs there are marsh deposits which span much of this interval. They yield faunas of considerable zoogeographical interest. The approximate beginning of zone VII a (Atlantic Period) is reflected by a calcareous tufa, which overlies a weathering horizon, and represents an increase in spring flow. Two clearance phases are deduced from the molluscan record. The first may have taken place at least as early as the Beaker Period (Late Neolithic/earliest Bronze Age); the second is probably of Iron Age ‘A’ date. In Iron Age times the subsoil was mobilized and a phase of rapid hillwashing began. As a result the valley floor became buried by humic chalk muds. The prime cause of this process was probably the beginning of intensive arable farming on the slopes above the coombe; a possible subsidiary factor may have been the Sub-Atlantic worsening of climate. The muds yield pottery ranging in date from Iron Age ‘Kentish first A’ ( ca . 500 to ca . 300 B.C.) to Romano-British ware of the first or second centuries A.D. Evidence is put forward for a possible climatic oscillation from dry to wet taking place at about the time of Christ. In the later stages of cultivation, possibly in the Roman Era, the valley floor was ploughed and given its present-day form.

Holocene vegetation history in the Northern Vosges Mountains (NE France): Palynological, geochemical and sedimentological data

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 888-904
Author(s):  
Emilie Gouriveau ◽  
Pascale Ruffaldi ◽  
Loïc Duchamp ◽  
Vincent Robin ◽  
Annik Schnitzler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Vosges Mountains ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geochemical Analyses ◽  
Evolution Of Vegetation

Palynological data from the Northern Vosges Mountains (NVM) are very rare, unlike for the Southern and Central Vosges Mountains, where the past vegetation history is relatively well known. As a consequence, the beginning of human activities has never been clearly identified and dated in the NVM. In order to reconstruct the evolution of vegetation in this region, multiproxy studies (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, sedimentological and geochemical analyses) were conducted in two peatlands. Overall, the results, extending from about 9500 cal. BP to recent times, show a classical vegetation succession with local particularities resulting from human activities. In the La Horn peatland, a strong human impact related to pastoralism is attested from the late Bronze Age onwards. The second phase of human occupation, mainly characterized by crop cultures, begins during the Hallstatt period. The geochemical results (x-ray fluorescence) also highlight the presence of metallic elements, which, combined with significant quantities of carbonized particles, point to potential metal working. In the Kobert-Haut peatland, human occupation began much later (1500 cal. BP), but lasted from the Gallo-Roman period to the beginning of the Modern Period. Unlike for the vegetation history of the rest of the Vosges, Pinus remains a prevailing taxon throughout the Holocene in the NVM. Another particularity is the early establishment of Picea, long before the 18th to 19th century plantations.

scholarly journals Sedimentation and vegetation history of a buried Meuse terrace during the Holocene in relation to the human occupation history (Limburg, the Netherlands)

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frieda S. Zuidhoff ◽  
Johanna A.A. Bos
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
River Terraces ◽  
Main River Channel

AbstractDuring several archaeological excavations on a river terrace of the river Meuse near the village of Lomm (southeast Netherlands) information was gathered for a reconstruction of the sedimentation and vegetation history during the Holocene. Various geoarchaeological methods – geomorphological, micromorphological and botanical analyses – were applied, while accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating provided an accurate chronology for the sediments.During the Early Holocene, many former braided river channels were deepened due to climate amelioration. Later, river flow concentrated in one main river channel to the west, at the location of the modern Meuse. The other channels were only active during floods, and infilling continued until the Bronze Age. Because of the higher setting of the Lomm terrace, it was only occasionally flooded and therefore formed an excellent location for habitation. Humans adapted to the changing landscape, as most remains were found on the higher river terraces or their slopes, a short distance from the Maas river. The Lomm terrace was more or less continuously inhabited from the Mesolithic onwards.During the Early Holocene, river terraces were initially densely forested with birch and pine. From the Boreal (Mesolithic) onwards, dense mixed forests with deciduous shrubs and trees such as hazel, oak, elm and lime developed. During the Atlantic (Meso/Neolithic), the deciduous forests became dominated by oak. Due to human activities from the Late Subboreal (Late Bronze Age) onwards, forests slowly became more open, yet remained relatively dense in comparison to other Dutch areas. The botanical data, however, show that within the Lomm study area there was a large difference in the composition, distribution and openness of the vegetation. The spatial variation in openness came into existence during the Late Bronze Age, as soon as the higher areas started to be used for human activities (i.e. habitation, agriculture and livestock herding). Due to human activities, the northern part of the study area became very open during the Early Roman period. In the lower-situated areas of the southern part, however, forests remained present much longer, until the Early Middle Ages. Due to large-scale deforestation in the Lomm area and hinterland during the Roman period and Middle Ages, the sediment load of the river increased, large floods occurred and overbank sediments were deposited, burying the archaeological remains. The largest increase in sedimentation occurred after the Middle Ages.

Late-Holocene palaeoenvironments of Southern Crimea: Soils, soil-climate relationship and human impact

The Holocene ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1859-1875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fedor N Lisetskii ◽  
Vladimir F Stolba ◽  
Vitalii I Pichura
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Energy Expenditures ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Secular Variations ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Soil Climate

Occupying 4% of Crimea’s territory, the sub-Mediterranean landscapes of Southern Crimea stand out for their distinct soil-climatic conditions and record of human activity. This paper presents the results of study of the newly formed and well-dated soils from 21 archaeological sites, making it possible to build a soil chronosequence covering the last 2.3 ka. To study the natural processes on an intra-secular scale, short series of instrumental meteorological observations were extended, based on dendrochronological records, to a total of 160 years, and the time series of solar activity and energy for pedogenesis were correlated. These data are collated with a 4.2-ka Lake Saki varve record, which was re-analysed applying the DFT spectrum analysis method, with three distinct phases in relative secular variations in precipitation being identified. The phase of a relative climatic stability with moderate variations in precipitation (3.2–1.25 ka BP) was followed by the period of increased moisture (from 1.25 ka BP), unparalleled since the Late Bronze Age. Given the decisive role of increased moisture in the climate-controlled energy expenditures for pedogenesis, in the dynamics of vegetation cover and human ways of life, the identification of these periods contributes to a better understanding of soil–climate relationship and cause-and-effect for nonlinear change in the settlement and landscape history of the region.

scholarly journals The Early Neolithic–Middle Bronze Age environmental history of the Mamakan archaeological area, Eastern Siberia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena V. Bezrukova ◽  
Svetlana A. Reshetova ◽  
Aleksey V. Tetenkin ◽  
Pavel E. Tarasov ◽  
Christian Leipe
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

Lateglacial and early Flandrian environmental history of the Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

1986 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Lowe ◽  
M. J. C. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Plant Succession ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
South Central ◽  
Tundra Vegetation ◽  
Loch Lomond ◽  
Thermal Maximum ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACTPollen-stratigraphic data, supported by lithological, geochemical and radiocarbon evidence are described from two Late Devensian Lateglacial sites on the Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The data suggest that, following the wastage of the Late Devensian ice sheet some time prior to 13,000 BP, an open grass- and sedge-dominated landscape was colonised first by juniper scrub and subsequently by Empetrum heaths. Tree birch development was limited principally, it would seem, by exposure to strong westerly winds, although some scattered birch woodland did become established in more sheltered localities. The thermal maximum of the Lateglacial Interstadial appears to have occurred from c. 13,000 to 12,000 BP after which climate began to deteriorate as the atmospheric Polar Front migrated southwards. The harsh climatic conditions of the Loch Lomond Stadial, the full effects of which were experienced after c. 10,700 BP, led to the break-up of the Interstadial vegetation cover, the development of an ice cap and several smaller cirque and valley glaciers in the hills of south-central Mull, and the establishment of a periglacial regime throughout the island. By c. 10,200 BP, however, climatic amelioration was underway once more, the Loch Lomond Advance glaciers had wasted completely, and a plant succession was initiated which led to the replacement of tundra vegetation communities by Empetrum heath, juniper scrub and eventually hazel-birch woodland within the space of c. 1500 years.

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