scholarly journals A spatiotemporal gradient in the anthropization of Pyrenean landscapes. Preliminary report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
The Middle Ages

A preliminary analysis of the timing of landscape anthropization in the southern-central Pyrenees shows the occurrence of an elevational gradient from the Bronze Age (basal belts) to the Middle Ages (alpine belts). This relationship is statistically significant and suggests an average anthropization rate of 40 m in elevation per century. The elevational gradient is most clear between the Bronze Age and the Roman occupation, suggesting a progressive upward anthropization trend from the south with the likely involvement of Iberian cultures. During the Middle Ages, a massive anthropization pattern of subalpine/alpine areas is observed; this pattern is chronologically consistent with the incursion of northern cultures crossing the Pyrenees and the development of extensive high-mountain pastoralism and horizontal transhumance. In general, the progression of upward anthropization has occurred during warm climatic phases. Further work is needed to confirm these observations, especially in areas with few available paleoecological studies, notably the basal and montane belts. It could be interesting to develop similar studies of other Pyrenean regions and other mountain ranges.

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.

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

2021 ◽  
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 yr 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.

scholarly journals Medieval Forest Dynamics in the Iberian Pyrenees: A Comparison Between Low- and High-mountain Areas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Forest Dynamics ◽  
Forest Conservation ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
The Middle Ages

This paper compares the Medieval (ca. 400–1500 CE) dynamics of forests from low-mountain (Montcortès; ca. 1000 m a.s.l.) and high-mountain (Sant Maurici; 1900 m a.s.l.) areas of the Iberian Pyrenees, both of which experienced similar climatic forcing but different anthropogenic pressures. The main aim is to identify forest changes over time and associate them with the corresponding climatic and anthropogenic drivers (or synergies among them) to test how different forests at different elevations respond to external forcings. This could be useful to evaluate the hypothesis of general Pyrenean deforestation during the Middle Ages leading to present-day landscapes and to improve the background for forest conservation. The study uses palynological analysis of lake sediments, historical documents and paleoecological reconstructions based on pollen-independent proxies. The two sites studied showed different forest trajectories. The Montcortès area was subjected to intense human pressure during regional deforestation up to a maximum of ca. 1000 CE. Further forest recovery took place until the end of the Middle Ages due to a change in forest management, including the abandonment of slash-and-burn practices. Climatic shifts indirectly influenced forest trends by regulating human migrations and the resulting shifts in the type and intensity of forest exploitation. The highland Sant Maurici forests exhibited a remarkably long-standing constancy and an exceptional resilience to climatic shifts, which were unable to affect forest extension and composition, and to local human pressure, from which they rapidly recovered. The Montcortès and Sant Maurici records did not follow the rule of an irreversible forest clearing during the Middle Ages leading to present-day landscapes. The present Montcortès landscape was shaped after a Medieval forest recovery, a new Modern-Age deforestation and a further forest recovery during the last centuries. The Sant Maurici forests remained apparently untouched since the Bronze Age and were never cleared during the Middle Ages. The relevance of these findings for forest conservation is briefly addressed, and the need for the development of more high-resolution studies on Pyrenean forest dynamics is highlighted.

Towards a phenomenology of Samnite fortified centres

Antiquity ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (283) ◽  
pp. 23-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Bispham ◽  
G. J. Bradley ◽  
J. W. J. Hawthorne ◽  
S. Kane
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Anthropogenic Change ◽  
Mediterranean River ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
The Middle Ages

The Sangro Valley Project was established in 1994 by John Lloyd, Neil Christie and Amalia Faustoferri. Its aim was to study anthropogenic change in society, economy and settlement between the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages, within the context of a Mediterranean river valley system (see Lloyd et al. 1997; Lloyd & Faustoferri 1998). Part of this research has integrated field survey between the Sangro river and Monte Pallano with excavations conducted by the Soprintendenza on the mountain itself. Monte Pallano is best known for its fine megalithic walls (Oakely 1995: 84-7), marking a putative oppidum site. Recent Italian excavations [with Anglo-American support] have aimed at clarifying the situation at a substantial public buildinghilla complex on the mountain. This work has been fruitful in its initial phases; much, however, remains to be done.

scholarly journals O Castro do Muro (Vandoma/Baltar, Paredes) - notas para uma biografia de ocupação da Idade do Bronze à Idade Média

2020 ◽  
pp. 1015-1030
Author(s):  
Maria Antónia D. Silva ◽  
Ana M. S. Bettencourt ◽  
António S. P. Silva ◽  
Natália Felix
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Metallic Materials ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
The Middle Ages

This work intends to update the knowledge related to the human occupation of “Castro do Muro” from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. This place has a significant tradition in archaeological literature due to the presence of an imposing walled circuit, whose width oscillates between 3.5 to 4 meters and a perimeter of 3.927 meters, within which was built an important settlement that emerged during the Late Bronze Age and extends to the Old Iron Age. There was also a Roman occupation, a probable rock castle and a medieval monastery, as attested by the ceramic, lithic and metallic materials collected in archaeological works and surface findings.

scholarly journals Conifer Forest Dynamics in the Iberian Pyrenees during the Middle Ages

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1685
Author(s):  
Valentí Rull ◽  
Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Forest Dynamics ◽  
Forest Conservation ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
The Middle Ages

This study compares the Medieval (ca. 400–1500 CE; Common Era) dynamics of forests from low-mountain (Montcortès; ca. 1000 m a.s.l.) and high-mountain (Sant Maurici; 1900 m a.s.l.) areas of the Iberian Pyrenees, both of which experienced similar climatic forcing but different anthropogenic pressures. The main aim is to identify forest changes over time and associate them with the corresponding climatic and anthropogenic drivers (or synergies among them) to test how different forests at different elevations respond to external forcings. This can be useful to evaluate the hypothesis of general Pyrenean deforestation during the Middle Ages leading to present-day landscapes and to improve the background for forest conservation. The study uses the palynological analysis of lake sediments, historical documents and paleoecological reconstructions based on pollen-independent proxies. The two sites studied showed different forest trajectories. The Montcortès area was subjected to intense human pressure during regional deforestation up to a maximum of ca. 1000 CE. Further forest recovery took place until the end of the Middle Ages due to a change in forest management, including the abandonment of slash-and-burn practices. Climatic shifts indirectly influenced forest trends by regulating human migrations and the resulting shifts in the type and intensity of forest exploitation. The highland Sant Maurici forests exhibited a remarkably long-standing constancy and an exceptional resilience to climatic shifts, which were unable to affect forest extension and composition, and to local human pressure, from which they rapidly recovered. The Montcortès and Sant Maurici records did not follow the rule of an irreversible forest clearing during the Middle Ages leading to present-day landscapes. The present Montcortès landscape was shaped after a Medieval forest recovery, new Modern-Age deforestation and further forest recovery during the last centuries. The Sant Maurici forests remained apparently untouched since the Bronze Age and were never cleared during the Middle Ages. The relevance of these findings for forest conservation is briefly addressed, and the need for the development of more high-resolution studies on Pyrenean forest dynamics is highlighted.

CERAMICS OF THE PESTRYAKOVO LAKE SETTLEMENT (SOUTH OF WESTERN SIBERIA)

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 205-212
Author(s):  
KIRYUSHIN K. ◽  
◽  
KIRYUSHIN Yu. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Western Siberia ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Animal Hair ◽  
The Middle Ages

The article is devoted to the publication of finds of fragments of ceramic dishes discovered at the settlement of Pestryakovo Lake (Zavyalovsky district of Altai Territory). A group of ceramics which belongs to the early Iron Age and the Middle Ages, is pointed out. Single fragments find analogies in the materials of the sites of the Early and Late Bronze Age. The ceramic collection of the Pestryakovo Lake settlement includes groups of ceramics that belong to the Neolithic or Eneolithic. These are fragments of vessels ornamented with prints of a “string”, pricks, imprints of a short comb stamp, a dingle-dingle stamping. Linear-pricked and receding-pricked ceramics are quite informative. On the outer and inner surfaces, as well as in the fractures, traces of burnt-out organic matter (animal hair) are recorded. Such ceramics are widely represented in the south of Western Siberia and are associated with various settlement and burial complexes from the Ob to the Irtysh and various cultural formations of the Neolithic and Eneolithic. Keywords: settlement, ceramics, ornamentation technique, comparative typological analysis, neolithic, eneolithic

scholarly journals Items of the Seima-Turbino Metal Complex from Lower Pyshma River

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Borodovsky ◽  
Yuri V. Oborin
Keyword(s):  
Metal Complex ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Western Siberia ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
The Bronze Age

Purpose. This article examines the collection of recently discovered items from lower Pyshma River (Tyumen region, Tyumen district), belonging to the Seima-Turbino time, which to be found on the territory of Eurasia is rather a rare archaeological phenomenon. Results. The researchers identified a set of items encompassing bronze objects – spears, knives, celts, an ice pick and mask. This composition of items entirely reflects a standard set of artifacts belonging to the Seima-Turbino time. Furthermore, this set of items is obviously close to religious collections (Galichsky Klad), which contained anthropomorphic metal objects. Of special interest in the collection is a metal mask with a protruding nose made of bronze plates. The sharp angled upper and lower parts of the face are considered to be its culturally determining signs. The shape and appearance of the top of the head may well be classified as headgear characteristic of the Samus’sko-Seima time. Such tight-fitting hats are typical of various samples of anthropomorphic plastic art in the south of Western Siberia. The iconographic features of this toreutics item belonging to the Bronze Age largely encapsulates peculiarities of similar-purpose images that existed in the forest territories of Western Siberia up until the Middle Ages. Conclusion. It is important to emphasize that this collection presents great significance in terms of studying non-ferrous processing technologies. Overall, the discovered items can be considered as both a set of tools, and as part of cult paraphernalia and the transcultural phenomenon of Middle bronze Age, especially in connection with the discovered bronze mask.

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