The persistent place at Lubrza: a small paradise for hunter-gatherers? Multi-disciplinary studies of Late Palaeolithic environment and human activity in the Łagów lake district (western Poland)

This paper summarises the results of multidisciplinary research, including pollen, plant macroremains, diatoms, Cladocera, molluscs and geochemistry from a 14C dated core and geomorphological records, which reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental conditions faced by Late Palaeolithic hunter-gathers in western Poland. Particular attention was paid to evidence for both human activity and the degree to which Late Palaeolithic groups may have affected the local environment, as recorded by the biogenic sediments in lakes located close to their campsites. Vegetation first appears locally in the Oldest Dryas, and consisted of subarctic tundra vegetation. During the Bølling period the landscape was generally open, with dwarf shrubs and scattered patches of Juniperus and Hippophaë shrubs. Betula (tree birch) expanded locally in the area only in the later Allerød; during the second part of the Allerød period, Pinus and Populus joined birch as a sparse woodland developed. During the Younger Dryas, the landscape changed significantly in comparison to the preceding warm period, as result of cooling and drying of the climate. The presence of microscopic charcoal and charred herbaceous plant particles made it possible to detect human activity. These analyses allowed us to reconstruct fire events near the site during its occupation by Hamburg and Federmesser cultural groups. An increase in the proportion of biogenic elements such as Na, K and Mg in the sediments indicate soil erosion, reflecting the activity of Hamburg groups. A relative increase in the frequency of Cladocera which favour eutrophic and turbid water was recorded in the period linked to Federmesser group activities. The intense use of this area was also indicated during the Younger Dryas.

LIST OF 14C DATES OBTAINED UNDER THE PROJECT “THE DOBUŻEK SCARP MICROREGION AS A PART OF A PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCULTURAL FRONTIER BETWEEN THE BALTIC AND THE PONTIC ZONE (FROM THE 6TH TO THE 2ND MILLENNIUM BC)”

ABSTRACT This paper presents results of accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating of prehistoric samples (human and animal bones, cremated human bones, charcoals, and other charred plant macroremains) from archaeological sites located in the area of Dobużek Scarp, on the Sokal Ridge in central-eastern Poland (E Poland). The date list reports 46 14C age measurements performed within the project “The Dobużek Scarp Microregion as a part of a physiological and biocultural frontier between the Baltic and the Pontic zone (from the 6th to the 2nd millennium BC)” conducted in 2016–2021. The resulting 14C dates fall into quite a long interval, which in terms of the regional archaeological periodization lasts from the Middle Eneolithic to the Early Iron Age, and in terms of the climatological one corresponds with the Subboreal.

Dig out, Dig in! Plant-based diet at the Late Bronze Age copper production site of Prigglitz-Gasteil (Lower Austria) and the relevance of processed foodstuffs for the supply of Alpine Bronze Age miners

This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the “missing link” between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces. During archaeological excavations from 2010 to 2014, two areas of the site were investigated and sampled for archaeobotanical finds and micro-debris in a high-resolution approach. This paper aims at 1) analysing the food plant spectrum at the mining settlement of Prigglitz-Gasteil basing on charred plant macroremains, 2) investigating producer/consumer aspects of Prigglitz-Gasteil in comparison to the Bronze Age metallurgical sites of Kiechlberg, Klinglberg, and Mauken, and 3) reconstructing the miners’ and metallurgists’ diets. Our analyses demonstrate that the plant-based diet of the investigated mining communities reflects the general regional and chronological trends rather than particular preferences of the miners or metallurgists. The lack of chaff, combined with a high occurrence of processed food, suggests that the miners at Prigglitz-Gasteil were supplied from outside with ready-to-cook and processed grain, either from adjacent communities or from a larger distance. This consumer character is in accordance with observation from previously analysed metallurgical sites. Interestingly, the components observed in charred cereal products (barley, Hordeum vulgare, and foxtail millet, Setaria italica) contrast with the dominant crop taxa (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, foxtail millet, and lentil, Lens culinaris). Foraging of fruits and nuts also significantly contributed to the daily diet.

Environmental changes in the Wehntal Valley in Northern Switzerland

<p>Quaternary deposits within the glacially overdeepened trough of the Wehntal Valley in Northern Switzerland, record glacial and interglacial conditions from the Beringen Glaciation (MIS 6) through to the Holocene. The area is well known for the Niederweningen site, with its rich Late Pleistocene mammal remains found in a buried peat deposit. In addition to this famous “mammoth peat”, more deeply buried peat layers, part of which have previously been attributed to the final part of the Last Interglacial, also include a wealth of environmental data.</p><p>Here, we present the first results of an investigation, including sedimentology, geochemistry, palaeobotany (pollen, wood and plant macroremains), malacology, and luminescence dating, of two 16 meter drill cores taken close to the Niederweningen site. The analysed sedimentary successions in both cores show a transition from a series of laminated silts typical of a lake environment to a several meter-thick succession of well-developed organic silts, tufaceous silts and peat layers characteristic of near shore and shore conditions. The presence of dropstones and a lack of organic material in the lower part of the lake sediments indicate glacial conditions, while the peat-rich succession formed during a relatively warm period followed by a time of fluctuating climate. Preliminary results indicate that the organic-rich units represent the Last Interglacial, followed by warm interstadials during the early part of the Last Glacial period. The "mammoth peat" appears to be missing from the studied cores. Erosive surfaces within the peaty succession impede a straightforward interpretation.</p>

Multi-proxy records of Mesolithic activity in the Lubuskie Lakeland (western Poland)

The results of high-resolution records of pollen, plant macroremains and charred plant particles, diatoms, Cladocera and geochemistry from a 14C-dated core, and geomorphological studies enabled the reconstruction of landscape development at a site in western Poland which was occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups. Special attention was paid to the evidence of human activities recorded in the sediments of the palaeolake located next to the archaeological site. The presence of pollen types from communities characteristic of openings in the forest, macroscopic/microscopic charcoal, and charred particles of herbaceous plants (mostly from between 5500 and 4600 bc, with clearly visible maxima ca 5300, 4900 and 4700 bc) evidence the changes related to these various kinds of activities. These analyses allowed us to reconstruct the fire events at and around the site as well as to consider whether they originated from natural or human induced fires. The increase in the biogenic sediments of elements such as Na, K and Mg indicate an intensive erosion of mineral soil between 5100 and 4600 bc, mirroring human activity in the vicinity of the Kopanica site. In addition, Cladocera analysis permitted a detailed recognition of palaeolake eutrophication ca 7200–4600 bc, also eutrophication induced by human impact between 5100 and 4600 bc.

New data on the macroflora of the basal Rotliegend group (Remigiusberg Formation; Gzhelian) in the Saar-Nahe basin (SW-Germany)

New discoveries of fossil plant macroremains from the Remigiusberg Formation (lowermost Rotliegend group) considerably enlarge our knowledge about the flora of the basal-most part of the lithostratigraphically defined Rotliegend group within the Saar-Nahe Basin in SW-Germany. Most taxa are plants that grew in relatively humid habitats near rivers, or around margins of the lake in whose sediments the plant macroremains were found. This, together with previously reported palynological data, suggests that the wetlands in which these plants grew were large enough to act as taphonomical barriers against the deposition of plant macroremains from dryer habitats. Based on some of the new taxa, it is also possible to constrain the base of the biostratigraphic Autunia conferta zone in this basin, a task that was not possible before, due to the scarcity of macrofloristic data from the basal Rotliegend group. The new data provide evidence that the upper part of the Remigiusberg Formation is probably not older than late Gzhelian. This corresponds to earlier biostratigraphic interpretations based on palaeozoological remains.

Comparing different sampling methods in order to reconstruct plant economies at the Eneolithic lake dwelling site Stare gmajne, Slovenia

The results of plant macroremains studies of the Eneolithic (c. 3160–3100 cal BC) lakeshore settlement at Stare gmajne on the Ljubljansko barje in Slovenia are presented. Archaeobotanical material was collected in two different ways: (1) systematic surface sampling from the cultural layer, and (2) judgement sampling from an incompletely burnt large loom-weight. The preservation state and the spectra of plant macroremains were different in both types of samples. The first study primarily deals with the waterlogged plant remains of various types and taxa, while the second deals with carbonised and half-carbonised cereal macroremains, mostly chaff. Both studies confirm the cultivation of main crops: emmer, einkorn and barley.

Miocene palynoflora from the KRAM-P 218 leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland)

During a palynological analysis of four samples from the Bełchatów KRAM-P 218 collection of plant macroremains 95 fossil species of sporomorphs were identified. Among the non-pollen palynomorphs was the fossil species Desmidiaceaesporites cosmarioformis, previously not reported from fossil floras of Poland, most probably related to the zygospores of desmids. The pollen analysis indicates the presence of a freshwater body (probably an oxbow lake) and shows the dominant role of wetland, predominantly riparian vegetation, at the time of sedimentation. The riparian forests probably consisted of Carya, Pterocarya, Celtis, and Ulmus, accompanied by Alnus, Acer, Fraxinus, Juglans, Liquidambar, Vitis, Zelkova, and Salix. In mixed forests there probably were Fagus, Quercus, Carpinus, Eucommia, Corylus, Tilioideae, and conifers, as well as some thermophilous taxa (e.g. Castanea, Symplocos, Reevesia, Mastixiaceae, and plants producing pollen of the fossil species Tricolporopollenites pseudocingulum). Taxodium, Nyssa, and presumably Glyptostrobus and Alnus were components of swamp communities that might have overgrown the adjacent area with higher groundwater. Members of the families Ericaceae, Cyrillaceae, and Clethraceae, as well as Myrica and probably also Ilex, may have been components of swamp forests and bush swamps. Our analysis indicates that the climate was warm temperate and moderately wet. The palynoflora is most similar in composition to the spore-pollen spectra of the X climatic phase - the Nyssapollenites spore-pollen zone. Deposits bearing assemblages of the Nyssapollenites spore-pollen zone were deposited during the Sarmatian and early Pannonian. Our results are consistent with those from plant macroremains from the same collection.