scholarly journals The 4.2 ka BP event in the vegetation record of the central Mediterranean

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Di Rita ◽  
Donatella Magri
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
High Pressure Cell ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

Abstract. In this paper, the variation in forest cover in the central Mediterranean region, reflected by percentage changes of the arboreal pollen record, has been examined in relation to the 4.2 ka BP event. A number of 36 well-dated and detailed pollen records from latitudes between 45° and 36° N were selected and their vegetation dynamics between 5 and 3 ka examined in relation to the physiographic and climatic features of the study area and to the influence of human activity on past vegetation, as suggested by anthropogenic pollen indicators. We have found that the sites located between 43° and 45° N do not show any significant vegetation change in correspondence with the 4.2 ka event. Several sites located in the Italian Peninsula between 39°–43° N show a marked opening of the forest, suggesting that a lowering of rainfall occurred during the 4.2 ka BP event, sufficiently strong to determine a forest decline. Between 36°–39° N, a forest decline is always visible around 4.2 ka BP, and in some cases it is dramatic. This indicates that this region was severely affected by a climate change towards arid conditions that lasted a few hundreds of years and was followed by a recovery of forest vegetation in the middle Bronze age. Human activity, especially intense in southern Italy, may have been favored by this natural opening of vegetation. In Sardinia and Corsica, no clear change in vegetation is observed at the same time. We suggest that during the 4.2 ka BP event southern Italy and Tunisia were under the prevalent influence of a north African climate system, characterized by a persistent high-pressure cell.

scholarly journals The 4.2 ka event in the vegetation record of the central Mediterranean

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Di Rita ◽  
Donatella Magri
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
High Pressure Cell ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Arboreal Pollen ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

Abstract. In this paper, the variation in forest cover in the central Mediterranean region, reflected by percentage changes in the arboreal pollen record, has been examined in relation to the 4.2 ka event. A total of 36 well-dated and detailed pollen records from latitudes between 45 and 36∘ N were selected and their vegetation dynamics between 5 and 3 ka examined in relation to the physiographic and climatic features of the study area and to the influence of human activity on past vegetation, as suggested by anthropogenic pollen indicators. We have found that the sites located between 43 and 45∘ N do not show any significant vegetation change in correspondence with the 4.2 ka event. Several sites located on the Italian Peninsula between 39 and 43∘ N show a marked opening of the forest, suggesting a vegetation response to the climate instability of the 4.2 ka event. Between 36 and 39∘ N, a forest decline is always visible around 4.2 ka, and in some cases it is dramatic. This indicates that this region was severely affected by a climate change towards arid conditions that lasted a few hundred years and was followed by a recovery of forest vegetation in the Middle Bronze Age. Human activity, especially intense in southern Italy, may have been favored by this natural opening of vegetation. In Sardinia and Corsica, no clear change in vegetation is observed at the same time. We suggest that during the 4.2 ka event southern Italy and Tunisia were under the prevalent influence of a north African climate system characterized by a persistent high-pressure cell.

scholarly journals Holocene vegetation record of upland northern Calabria, Italy: Environmental change and human impact

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Sevink ◽  
Corrie C Bakels ◽  
Peter AJ Attema ◽  
Mauro A Di Vito ◽  
Ilenia Arienzo
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Pollen Data ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Climatic Event ◽  
Mobile Pastoralism

Earlier studies on Holocene fills of upland lakes (Lago Forano and Fontana Manca) in northern Calabria, Italy, showed that these hold important palaeoecological archives, which however remained poorly dated. Their time frame is improved by new 14C dates on plant remains from new cores. Existing pollen data are reinterpreted, using this new time frame. Two early forest decline phases are distinguished. The earliest is linked to the 4.2 kyr BP climatic event, when climate became distinctly drier, other than at Lago Trifoglietti on the wetter Tyrrhenian side, where this event is less prominent. The second is attributed to human impacts and is linked to middle-Bronze Age mobile pastoralism. At Fontana Manca (c. 1000 m a.s.l.), it started around 1700 BC, in the higher uplands a few centuries later (Lago Forano, c. 1500 m a.s.l.). In the Fontana Manca fill, a thin tephra layer occurs, which appears to result from the AP2 event (Vesuvius, c. 1700 BC). A third, major degradation phase dates from the Roman period. Land use and its impacts, as inferred from the regional archaeological record for the Raganello catchment, are confronted with the impacts deduced from the palaeoarchives.

scholarly journals Chronostratigraphic Sequence of Santuario Della Madonna Cave (Calabria, Southern Italy): AMS Radiocarbon Data from a New Excavation Area

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Calcagnile ◽  
V Tinè ◽  
G Quarta ◽  
M D'Elia ◽  
G Fiorentino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Excavation Area

The Santuario della Madonna Cave, located near Praia a Mare (Cosenza), along the northwestern coast of Calabria (southern Italy), has an impressive stratigraphy, with occupation phases spanning from the late Paleolithic to the advanced phases of the Middle Bronze Age. Recently, a new excavation area has been opened in the cave from which shortlived vegetal remains were sampled and submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The aim of this study was to define an accurate chronology of the different cultural aspects and to explore the potentialities resulting from application of advanced statistical tools for 14C data analysis in such a context.

Mesolithic to Bronze Age Vegetation Change and Human Activity in the Exe Valley, Devon, UK

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Fyfe ◽  
A.G. Brown ◽  
B.J. Coles
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Valley Floor ◽  
Domestic Activity ◽  
Vegetation Disturbance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Slope Vegetation ◽  
The Bronze Age

This paper presents the results of the first investigation of vegetation change and human activity from a river valley west of the Somerset Levels. The record is contrasted with the pollen and archaeological record from south-west uplands (Dartmoor and Exmoor) and the Somerset Levels. Vegetation change and archaeological evidence are shown to be generally consistent, with evidence from the middle valley of Mesolithic vegetation disturbance (with nearby lithics), Neolithic clearance of terraces and slopes in the lower valley and Neolithic–Bronze Age ceremonial and domestic activity, but in the upper reach the maintenance of wooded valley floor conditions probably with management until historic times. The valley floor and surrounding slope vegetation history is found to be significantly different to that of the uplands with lime and elm being significant components of the prehistoric woodland record. The data suggest that lime is restricted to terraces and lowlands below 200 m OD throughout the prehistoric period. The pollen data from the valley suggest the lowlands had a rich and mixed ecology providing a wide range of resources and that, despite less visible archaeological remains, human activity is manifest through palynological evidence from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age. The largest expanse of valley-floor terrace, the Nether Exe Basin, which was at least partially deforested in the early Neolithic contains a rich assemblage of Neolithic–Bronze Age ceremonial, funerary and domestic archaeology associated with an early and clear palynological record of woodland clearance, arable and pastoral activity.

scholarly journals Vegetation changes and human activity around Lake Łańskie (Olsztyn Lake District, NE Poland) from the mid Holocene, based on palynological study

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Madeja
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Deciduous Trees ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Lake District ◽  
Pollen Diagram ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Ne Poland

ABSTRACT Bottom sediments of Lake Łańskie in NE Poland (Olsztyn Lake District) were studied by pollen analysis, and vegetation changes from ca 4800 BC to modern times were reconstructed based on the results. Due to rapid sedimentation the changes in plant cover are recorded with high resolution. The variation of pollen spectra composition reflects changing shares of deciduous trees and the continuous dominance of pine forest. Nowadays the surroundings of Lake Łańskie are also heavily forested but as early as 1100 AD the deciduous trees began to be eliminated. On the basis of pollen data, five phases of increased human activity were distinguished. Based on the available archaeological chronology of local settlements, the first stage is connected with para-Neolithic groups of Ząbie-Szestno type and the Lusatian culture. They are followed by the West Baltic Barrow culture, Wielbark culture and Early Medieval Prussian tribes. The pollen record shows low intensity of exploitation of the terrain around Lake Łańskie, probably attributable to the brevity of episodes of human occupation in the near vicinity of the lake. The last phase, covering part of the Middle Ages (since ca 1000 AD) and modern times, is reflected in the most distinct vegetation changes on the pollen diagram, caused by increased intensity of settlement. In spite of the distinct diminution of forest cover around the lake the scale of deforestation was much lower than at other sites in NE Poland. The main aims of this paper were to describe the changes in the palaeoenvironment which took place around Lake Łańskie (Olsztyn Lake District) and to find those changes in the plant cover which were the effect of human activity, and to confirm whether the changes of palaeoenvironment around Lake Łańskie were noted at the same time in adjacent areas.

scholarly journals Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activity in Languedoc (southern France)

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1769-1784 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Azuara ◽  
N. Combourieu-Nebout ◽  
V. Lebreton ◽  
F. Mazier ◽  
S. D. Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
Southern France ◽  
Climate Fluctuations

Abstract. Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean paleoenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the late Holocene, and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600–4300, 2800–2400 and 1300–1100 cal BP. These periods of high-frequency climate variability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events observed in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of sclerophyllous taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. Classical Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activity and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while the cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present-day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.

Sellar Pathology in a middle Bronze Age skull from Southern Italy

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Canci ◽  
E. Repetto ◽  
S. M. Borgognini Tarli
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

scholarly journals Pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene vegetation and climate in southern Italy: the case of Lago Trifoglietti

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1973-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Joannin ◽  
E. Brugiapaglia ◽  
J.-L. de Beaulieu ◽  
L. Bernardo ◽  
M. Magny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
South Central ◽  
Modern Analogue ◽  
Millennial Scale

Abstract. A high-resolution pollen record from Lago Trifoglietti in Calabria (southern Italy) provides new insights into the paleoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes which characterise the Holocene period in the southern Italy. The chronology is based on 11 AMS radiocarbon dates from terrestrial organic material. The Holocene history of the vegetation cover shows the persistence of an important and relatively stable Fagus forest present over that entire period, offering a rare example of a beech woodstand able to withstand climate changes for more than 11 000 yr. Probably in relation with early Holocene dry climate conditions which affected southern Italy, the Trifoglietti pollen record supports a southward delay in thermophyllous forest expansion dated to ca. 13 500 cal BP at Monticchio, ca. 11 000 cal BP at Trifoglietti, and finally ca. 9800 cal BP in Sicily. Regarding the human impact history, the Trifoglietti pollen record shows only poor imprints of agricultural activities and anthopogenic indicators, apart from those indicating pastoralism activities beneath forest cover. The selective exploitation of Abies appears to have been the strongest human impact on the Trifoglietti surroundings. On the basis of (1) a specific ratio between hygrophilous and terrestrial taxa, and (2) the Modern Analogue Technique, the pollen data collected at Lago Trifoglietti led to the establishment of two palaeoclimatic records tracing changes in (1) lake depth and (2) annual precipitation. On a millennial scale, these records give evidence of increasing moisture from ca. 11 000 to ca. 9400 cal BP and maximum humidity from ca. 9400 to ca. 6200 cal BP, prior to a general trend towards the drier climate conditions that have prevailed up to the present. In addition, several successive centennial-scale oscillations appear to have punctuated the entire Holocene. The identification of a cold dry event around 11 300 cal BP, responsible for a marked decline in timberline altitude and possibly equivalent to the PBO, remains to be confirmed by further investigations verifying both chronology and magnitude. Two cold and possibly drier Boreal oscillations developed at ca. 9800 and 9200 cal BP. At Trifoglietti, the 8.2 kyr event corresponds to the onset of cooler and drier climatic conditions which persisted until ca. 7500 cal BP. Finally, the second half of the Holocene was characterised by dry phases at ca. 6100–5200, 4400–3500, and 2500–1800 cal BP, alternating with more humid phases at ca. 5200–4400 and ca. 3500–2500 cal BP. Considered as a whole, these millennial-scale trends and centennial-scale climatic oscillations support contrasting patterns of palaeohydrological changes recognised between the north- and south-central Mediterranean.

scholarly journals The Medicine Tree: Unsettling palaeoecological perceptions of past environments and human activity

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzi Richer ◽  
Benjamin Gearey
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Patterns And Processes

In this paper, we consider palaeoecological approaches to past landscapes and reflect upon how these are relevant to archaeological themes concerning concepts of environmental change and the role of past and present human communities in these processes. In particular, we highlight the importance of local context in the perception and understanding of landscape. Utilising a case study from Nepal, we look to ‘unsettle’ a conventional palaeoecological interpretation of a pollen record, originally constructed on western ecological principles, and instead draw on an interpretative perspective rooted in local Buddhist ecological knowledge, or a ‘folk taxonomy’, known as ‘The Medicine Tree’. We discuss how the interpretations of patterns and processes of vegetation change from a pollen record are not necessarily absolute. In particular, we outline how the palaeoecological frame of enquiry and reference is rooted in an essentially Eurocentric, Western scientific paradigm, which, in turn, shapes how we perceive and conceive of past landscapes and the role of ‘anthropogenic impact’ on vegetation. The aim of this is not to suggest that scientific approaches to the ‘reconstruction’ of past landscapes are necessarily invalid, but to illustrate how ‘empirical’ scientific methods and interpretations in archaeological science are contingent upon specific social and cultural frames of reference. We discuss the broader relevance of this, such as how we interpret past human activity and perception of landscape change, the ways in which we might look to mobilise research in the context of contemporary problems, issues concerning ‘degraded landscapes’ and how we incorporate local and archaeological perspectives with palaeoecology within an interconnected and iterative process.

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