Natural and climatic conditions in the south-east of Western Siberia and development of ethnocultures of the Ket’ River region (5th c. BC — 17th c. AD)

The paper presents the analysis of the natural and climatic conditions of the Early Iron and Middle Ages in the archaeological region of Priketye (Ket’ River region; Verkhneketsky district of the Tomsk Oblast, middle taiga) based on the available archaeological data and spore-and-pollen diagram of Maksimkin Yar, 58°30'N, 86°48'E, 100–150 m.a.s.l. (Blyakharchuk, 2012). The chronology of the archaeological sites and monuments covers a large time span — from the Neolithic to the late Middle Ages, including the time of the arrival of Russian farmers into the area. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the dynamics of the natural environment during the existence of the archaeological cultures of the indicated time interval using paleopalynological data from a nearby spore-and-pollen section, as well as to demonstrate the capabilities and advantages of complex paleoecological-archaeological research in the taiga zone of Western Siberia (middle course of the Ket’ River near the Maksimkin Yar village) previously not covered by such studies. The material and source of the archaeological data com-prised collections and archives of exploratory and stationary excavations of the archaeological sites from the area in the vicinity of the Maksimkin Yar village. Paleopalynological (spore-and-pollen diagram) and paleoecological (botanical composition of peat) data were obtained and published by one of the authors earlier (Blyakharchuk, 2012). In this work, comparative historical and statistical methods of the analysis of archaeological data were employed, along with two paleoecological methods (spore-and-pollen analysis and analysis of the botanical com-position of peat) with respective statistical processing of the numerical data from these analyses. The pa-leoecological block of information is presented graphically in the form of a spore-and-pollen diagram built on the basis of the paleopalynological data and two radiocarbon dates covering the studied time interval. The Bacon software was used to calibrate the radiocarbon dates and to date each sample. The studies have shown that the climate change in the boreal forest zone of Western Siberia influenced the lifestyle and economic activities of the population of the Priketye area. Correlation of the climatic and cultural events of the studied area with neighboring southwestern, southern, and southeastern regions showed their synchroneity with the dynamics of the hydrocli-mate on these territories. During the Iron Age and after the end of the late Middle Ages, there was a synchronous increase in humidity, both in the steppe zone and in the forest zone. In the Bronze Age and during the high Middle Ages, the steppe zone was humid, but less atmospheric precipitation fell out in the forest zone. These fluctuations in the moisture content are well correlated with the 500–600-year hydrological cycles in the steppe zone, identi-fied by geochemical indicators of the steppe Shira Lake in Khakassia (Kalugin et al., 2013, p. 251). Changes in the hydroclimatic conditions in the forest and steppe zones had different effects on the local cultures and could stimulate either their rise or decline, as well as migrations.

Preliminary results of a multidisciplinary study of the buried peatland and host sediments of the Moscow-Valdai age (Dmitrov, Moscow region, Russia)

<p>The poster presents preliminary results of multidisciplinary studies of a 5-m section of Middle and Late Pleistocene deposits found in a quarry near the town of Dmitrov, Moscow region. The section includes Moscow fluvioglacial sands, alluvium, lake sapropels, and a layered lens of peat overlain by Valdai cover loams with large cryogenic deformations. The sediments were described and analyzed for pollen, plant macrofossils, and insect remains. The results of pollen analysis suggest that the deposits were formed during the second half of the Mikulino (Eemian) interglacial and during the transition to the Valdai (Weichselian) Glaciation (MIS 5e to MIS 5d). The pollen diagram reflects the replacement of deciduous forests by coniferous forests and the subsequent replacement of closed dark coniferous forests by open communities dominated by birch, shrubs, light-demanding grasses, and <em>Artemisia</em>. Seeds and fruits of wetland and aquatic plants, including endocarps of the extinct species <em>Potamogeton sukaczevii</em>, were found in samples from peat and underlying lake sediments. This may indicate the Mikulino or Early Valdai age of the studied deposits. The entomological fauna indicates the predominance of coastal and marsh species. Environmental conditions were relatively cool, rather characteristic of the late Interglacial. It is expected to obtain micromorphological, physicochemical characteristics of the sediments, as well as OSL dates to clarify the age of the sediments. This work was supported by RFBR, grant N19-29-05024 mk.</p>

The quick death of a lake: human impact on Lake Tresssee (N Germany) during the last 6000 years – an approach using pollen, Cladocera and sedimentology

Human-induced fluctuation of lake levels has been a common phenomenon in Europe since Neolithic times. At present, Lake Tresssee is a eutrophic lake covering less than 5 ha in northern Germany, but its sudden shrinking from ~125 ha before 1800 is considered a consequence of anthropogenic lowering of the lake level. We investigated the history of anthropogenic vegetation changes and water level fluctuations by multiproxy studies of a 4 m core from the former lake area. Our analyses of pollen and Cladocera subfossil, chemistry and sedimentological features yielded important conclusions about interactions between land-use history and climate impacts on the lake and its surroundings. The results indicate that the highest lake level persisted until the Late Atlantic. Since the Subboreal there have been several fluctuations, mostly in consequence of climate impacts. Later, different phases of sediment input to the lake from tributary streams and probably also from aeolian processes from an adjacent dune field were observed. At ~2800 BC the sedimentation rate decreased in consequence of fluvial impacts, as the lake basin was nearly filled up with deposits. As a result of greater human impacts, from the Early Bronze Age the macrophyte zone expanded in the lake, the oxygen content of the water continuously decreased, and heathlands developed in the surroundings. From the Late Iron Age and in the Early Medieval, pollutants probably from ironworks are detectable by geochemical analyses in the corresponding segments. In the pollen diagram the Migration Period is clearly visible, but the suggested radiocarbon date is younger than in Lake Belau in the neighboring region of Schleswig-Holstein. Most probably our pollen diagram did not register the absolute maximum values of Fagus related to the Migration Period. From the Early Medieval a clear phase of resettlement occurs. Since the Early Modern period, the lake level has shrunk rapidly in consequence of historically documented human activity.

PALYNOLOGY OF TÖGI NDRAWA CAVE,COASTAL AREA OF NIAS ISLAND, NORTH SUMATERA

Environmental study of the Tögi Ndrawa Cave by means of pollen analysis has been carried out. The interpretation is made based on the occurring pollen types as guide, the resulted pollen spectra, and curves exhibited in the pollen diagram. Combined evidences obtained from the palynological, geological and archaeologi cal studies provide the basis for the interpretation of plant ecology of shore and further the vegetational history of the marine area. In the meantime, plant ecology itself is concerned not only with plant communities but also the interaction among the plants involved, and their environmental factors. Keyword: Environmental, Pollen Analysis, Tögi Ndrawa Cave Studi lingkungan GuaTögi Ndrawa, Pulau Nias, telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan analisis polen. Interpretasi ini berdasarkan hadirnya jenis polen sebagai petunjuk dalam membentuk diagram polen. Hasil studi palinologi, geologi dan arkeologi telah menghasilkan interpretasi dasar mengenai ekologi tumbuhan pantai kemudian sejarah tumbuhan yang pernah tumbuh didaerah laut dangkal. Pada zaman ini, ekologi tumbuhan tidak hanya tergantung komunitas tumbuhan tetapi justru tergantung pada interaksi diantara komunitas tumbuhan dan faktor lingkungannya. Kata Kunci: Lingkungan, Analisis polen, Gua Tögi Ndrawa

Vegetation and climate from Late Quaternary Thimi Formation (Phaidhoka Section), Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Thimi Formation is fluvio-deltaic deposit that constitutes the uppermost part of the sedimentary sequence in the Kathmandu Basin, and is featured by carbonaceous and diatomaceous clay, silty clay, silt, fine to medium grained sand beds, and thin to medium lignite beds. The Phaidhoka Section is located on the way to Nala from Chyamasingh, and is one of the major exposures of the Thimi Formation. Forty four samples were collected from 25 m thick surface exposure for palynological study. The study revealed the dominance of gymnosperm over the angiosperm and herbaceous members. The pollen diagram suggested Pinus, Picea and Quercus as the most dominant trees whereas Poaceae is other dominant among the grasses. Three major pollen assemblage zones were marked in the Thimi Formation. Zone P-I indicated warm temperate climate, whereas zone P-II and P-III indicated cold temperate climate. Molluscan operculum in the upper part indicated shallow water condition. The Bovid molars, limb and pelvic bones from the middle part of the section confirm the early findings of molar bones in this area.

Palynostratigraphy and vegetation changes during the early Middle Pleistocene, based on new studies of deposits from Ferdynandów (central eastern Poland)

New palynological data from the Ferdynandów site are presented and interpreted against the background of the earlier division of this stratotype pollen sequence by Janczyk-Kopikowa (1975), with special attention to a comparison with the nearest profile of a complete Ferdynandovian succession in Łuków (Łuków Plain). The proposed division of the new pollen diagram from Ferdynandów - into two warm periods of interglacial rank separated by a succession typical of glacial periods - is based on the new division of the Ferdynandovian pollen sequence s.l., applied for the first time by Mamakowa (1996) to the Podgórze B1 pollen profile close to Nowe Miasto on the Pilica river. The two warm units and the cold one between them in the new pollen diagram from the Ferdynandów site correspond to the climatostratigraphic units named Ferdynandovian 1 and 2. Together with the cooling/glaciation (Ferdynandovian 1/2) separating them, the whole Ferdynandovian sequence s.l. can be related to the early Middle Pleistocene Cromerian Complex (Cromerian II Westerhoven and Cromerian III Rosmalen) and Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13-15.

Non-Pollen Palynomorphs from Mid-Holocene Peat of the Raised Bog Borsteler Moor (Lower Saxony, Germany)

In order to reconstruct regional vegetation changes and local conditions during the fen-bog transition in the Borsteler Moor (northwestern Germany), a sediment core covering the period be tween 7.1 and 4.5 cal kyrs BP was palynologically investigated. The pollen diagram demonstrates the dominance of oak forests and a gradual replacement of trees by raised bog vegetation with the wetter conditions in the Late Atlantic. At ~ 6 cal kyrs BP, the non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) demonstrate the succession from mesotrophic conditions, clearly indicated by a number of fun gal spore types, to oligotrophic conditions, indicated by Sphagnum spores, Bryophytomyces sphagni, and testate amoebae Amphitrema, Assulina and Arcella, etc. Four relatively dry phases during the transition from fen to bog are clearly indicated by the dominance of Calluna and associated fungi as well as by the in crease of microcharcoal. Several new NPP types are described and known NPP types are identified. All NPP are discussed in the context of their palaeoecological indicator values.