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.

scholarly journals Sten som betydelsebärare i den förhistoriska föreställningsvärlden

AmS-Varia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Marianne Lönn
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Basic Change ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Similar Appearance ◽  
The Bronze Age

This article discusses the meaning of stones and the practice of gathering stones, in graves, clearance cairns and stone-covered hillocks. The emphases are on stone-covered hillocks and their long-term usage (up to 1500 years), analyzed using the concept of longue durée. In this paper I propose that the stones in themselves have a cultic meaning as well as the actions, i.e. the remodeling of hillocks and the placing of clearance cairns among graves. In this, I see a connection between stone-covered hillocks, graves and clearance cairns. The underlying concept is a stable, but slowly changing, prehistoric religious tradition that lasted from the Bronze Age to the Migration Period and possibly also through the Late Iron Age. A basic change in this does not take place until the coming of Christianity in the Medieval Period. The reason that Medieval and later clearance cairns were placed together with graves is probably due to their similar appearance.

scholarly journals Ornitofauna from the archaeological sites in Vojvodina (Serbia)

2013 ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Darko Radmanovic ◽  
Desanka Kostic ◽  
Jelena Lujic ◽  
Svetlana Blazic
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Vertebrate Fauna ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Middle Ages

After decades-long vertebrate fauna research, out of 42 archaeological sites in Vojvodina (Serbia) from different periods ranging from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, remains of birds were registered at 17 sites (4 from the Neolithic, 1 from the Early Iron Age, 7 from the Late Iron Age, 5 from the Roman Period, 1 from the Migration Period, and 4 from the Middle Ages). A total of 14 species and 4 genera were registered for this vertebrate class. The richest ornithofauna is from the Neolithic, where 9 species and 3 genera were registered. The Migration and Medieval periods are next with 4 registered species and one genus each. There were 3 species registered from the Roman Period, and 2 species from the Late Iron Age. The poorest ornitofauna was registered from the Early Iron Age, only one species.

scholarly journals Early human impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems: Multi-proxy geoarchaeological analyses from La Narse de la Sauvetat (France)

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1780-1800
Author(s):  
Alfredo Mayoral ◽  
Salomé Granai ◽  
Anne-Lise Develle ◽  
Jean-Luc Peiry ◽  
Yannick Miras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

We analysed the late-Holocene pedo-sedimentary archives of La Narse de la Sauvetat, a hydromorphic depression in the southern Limagne plain (central France), where chronologically accurate studies are scarce. The multi-proxy geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental analysis of two cores from different areas of the basin was carried out through sedimentological, geochemical, micromorphological and malacological investigations. Integration of these datasets supported by a robust radiocarbon-based chronology allowed discussion of socio-environmental interactions and anthropogenic impacts from Late Neolithic to Early Middle Ages. Until the Middle Bronze Age, there was no clear evidence of anthropogenic impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary dynamics of the catchment, but two peaks of high alluvial activity probably related to the 4.2 and 3.5 kyr. BP climate events were first recorded in Limagne. Significant anthropogenic impacts started in the Late Bronze Age with increased erosion of the surrounding volcanic slopes. However, a major threshold was reached c. 2600 cal BP with a sharp increase in the catchment erosion interpreted as resulting from strong anthropogenic environmental changes related to agricultural activities and drainage. This implies an anthropogenic forcing on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems much earlier than was usually considered in Limagne. These impacts then gradually increased during Late Iron Age and Roman periods, but environmental effects were certainly contained by progress in agricultural management. Late Antiquity environmental changes are consistent with regional trend to drainage deterioration in lowlands, but marked asynchrony in this landscape change suggests that societal factors implying differential land management were certainly predominant here.

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.

Charcoal and pollen analyses and vegetation reconstruction of the Alpine foreland in West Hungary

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
Pál Sümegi ◽  
Tünde Törőcsik
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Alpine Foreland ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Pollen Analyses

AbstractIn the area of archaeological excavations that were performed prior to the construction of Main Road No. 86 in Vas County (West Hungary) in the Alpine foreland new geoarchaeological analyses have been conducted. We used anthracology and pollen analyses to reconstruct the former vegetation cover at the study site. Charcoal data provide site-related information about the local woodland composition, management and human impact, while pollen data provide information on the arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation on a regional or local scale. Adequate samples for anthracological analyses derive from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Imperial and Migration Periods and Middle-Ages archaeological objects. The core for pollen analyses originates from alluvial sediments of the Borzó Creek and covers the late Pleistocene and the Holocene until the Medieval Period. Charcoal analyses show the dominance of Quercus trees in the vicinity of the human settlements that might indicate a strong human selection, or the fragmentation of samples. Pollen analyses indicate thermophilous vegetation from the beginning of the Holocene, with increasing values of Fagus and Carpinus. Pollens of cereals indicate human activity, which is also demonstrated by the presence of pollen from Juglans and Vitis in the Iron Age sequence. Extensive forest clearance occurred in the Late Iron Age and the Imperial Period.

scholarly journals Isolated and backward Westerwolde (Groningen, the Netherlands)? A confrontation of archaeological and historical data from the Middle Ages in a wider geographical context

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-344
Author(s):  
Henny A. Groenendijk ◽  
Remi Van Schaïk
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The 19Th Century

The aim of this paper is to question the supposed isolated and backward position of the region of Westerwolde, in the north-eastern part of the Netherlands. Westerwolde’s geographically rather isolated position has traditionally been brought forward to explain its backward image. Progressive peat growth ever since the Bronze Age occupation had transformed Westerwolde into an island. It was abandoned in the Late Iron Age, only to be recolonized in the early Middle Ages. During the 19th century, romantics were still admiring Westerwolde’s arcadian scenery and cultural traditions. In contrast, from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century, protagonists of modern agriculture criticized its backward farming methods and standard of living, as well as its poor infrastructure. The central issues we address here is whether critics were justified in describing it as backward in the 19th century and whether concrete indications for this assumed backwardness are to be found in previous centuries. To jump from early medieval times to the 19th century is too big a leap, but combining archaeological and ecological data with a renewed and more critical study of written sources against the background of huge landscape transformations has brought a nuanced understanding of how Westerwolde evolved. We present new insights for the period starting with the conquest of Frisia and Saxony by the Carolingians and the introduction of Christianity, when missionaries and newly founded monasteries acquired agricultural assets and rights in the conquered region, up to the late Middle Ages. We therefore analyze church foundations, livelihoods or economic conditions of existence in connection with occupation structures, infrastructure and exchange of consumer goods interdisciplinarily. Conservatism appears easily confused with backwardness, and an aversion to innovation, with indifference, as underlying external factors often forced the inhabitants to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Westerwolde is viewed continuously in connection with the adjacent regions of Drenthe and Lower Saxon Emsland.

scholarly journals Late-Holocene forest resilience in the central Pyrenean highlands as deduced from pollen analysis of Lake Sant Maurici sediments

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110332
Author(s):  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Núria Cañellas-Boltà ◽  
Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Central Pyrenees ◽  
The Middle Ages

Palynological analysis of the last ca. 4300 cal year BP using a sediment core taken from high mountain (ca. 1900 m elevation) Lake Sant Maurici sediments (southern-central Pyrenees) showed remarkable vegetation constancy during the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages. Records of the Iron Age and the Roman period were missing due to a major sedimentary gap. During the studied periods, the vegetation around the lake was largely dominated by pine ( Pinus) forests with birch ( Betula), oak ( Quercus) and hazel ( Corylus) trees, as is the case today. The composition of these forests and the abundance of their components remained quite stable, despite the occurrence of temperature and moisture shifts. The degree of human disturbance, notably that of pastoralism and cereal cultivation by scattered and temporary settlements, was very low and had little or no effect on the dominant forests. This situation contrasts with most high-elevation (subalpine and alpine) environments of the central Pyrenees that were massively anthropized during the Middle Ages. Further research should be aimed at finding sediments corresponding to the Iron Age and the Roman period to verify whether the vegetation constancy can be extended throughout the Late-Holocene. Past records of this type may allow the estimation of natural and anthropogenic thresholds for irreversible forest changes, which would be useful for conservation purposes.

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.

scholarly journals medieval fisheries of Galicia (Northwestern Iberia): A preliminary archaeozoological overview

Archaeofauna ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
EUFRASIA ROSELLÓ-IZQUIERDO ◽  
EDUARDO GONZÁLEZ-GÓMEZ DE AGÜERO ◽  
CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ ◽  
LAURA LLORENTE-RODRÍGUEZ ◽  
ARTURO MORALES-MUÑIZ
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Coastal Deposits ◽  
Fishing Fleets ◽  
Two Kingdoms

The origin and development of the Iberian Medieval fisheries is a poorly documented phenomenon both from the standpoint of historical (documentary) and material (archaeological) evidence. Such dearth of knowledge can be explained in terms of proximal (i.e., a deficient retrieval of fish remains) and ultimate causes. Among the latter, the Muslim invasion, that lasted ca. 800 years of the “medieval millennium” in the Iberian Peninsula, needs to be taken into account as it probably delayed the development of fishing fleets within the Christian kingdoms for a substantial period of time. Be it as it may, the lack of knowledge does not allow one to explore a range of critical issues of Spanish and Portuguese history, such as the role played by the ever-expanding fishing fleets of Portugal and Castilla in the process of maritime discovery and colonization that these two kingdoms fostered by the end of the Middle Ages. In this paper, the results from a comparative analysis of selected fish assemblages from primary (i.e. coastal) deposits of the northern Iberian shores are presented. The aim is to check whether changes can be documented both at the level of (1) the range of species occurring in sites from the late Iron Age (Castreña culture, IV-I BC) to the Late Middle Ages (XV AD), and (2) the skeletal spectra of certain species that could reveal a differential processing of taxa meant for local consumption and those that appear in inland sites.

North European Rock Art

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joakim Goldhahn
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Bronze Age

This chapter offers a long-term perspective on rock art in northern Europe. It first provides an overview of research on the rock art traditions of northern Europe before discussing the societies and cultures that created such traditions. It then considers examples of rock art made by hunter-gatherer societies in northern Europe, focusing on the first rock art boom related to Neolithization. It also examines the second rock art boom, which was associated with social and religious changes within farming communities that took place around 1600–1400 bc. The chapter concludes by analysing the breakdown of long-distance networks in the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age and its consequences for the making of rock art within the southern traditions, as well as the use of rock art sites during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, Roman Iron Age, and Migration Period.

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