Paleontological, Palynological, Biological, and Physical Anthropology Graphs

The earliest paleontological spindle graphs appear in the 1830s and 1840s, and are of a different style and diagram different kinds of data (absolute frequencies of taxa or kinds) than the earliest archaeological spindle graphs. Palynologists regularly produce so-called pollen diagrams, left-justified spindle graphs, that display temporally varying frequencies of pollen of each of several different plant species. These first appeared in the 1910s, and are of a different style than early twentieth-century archaeological spindle graphs, although the data graphed by the two are similar (relative frequencies of specimens of each of several kinds of phenomena). Biologists used spindle graphs during the early twentieth century to plot both the phylogenetic history of taxonomic families and orders, and frequencies of individual organisms representing different plant and animal species found in different habitat types. Differences in styles of biological spindle graphs and early archaeological spindles suggest the idea for the latter was not in the biological sciences. Physical anthropologists “seriated” biometric data, but early twentieth-century textbooks do not include spindle graphs.

Testing the potential of pollen assemblages to capture composition, diversity and ecological gradients of surrounding vegetation in two biogeographical regions of southeastern Europe

Due to the complex relationship between pollen and vegetation, it is not yet clear how pollen diagrams may be interpreted with respect to changes in floristic diversity and only a few studies have hitherto investigated this problem. We compare pollen assemblages from moss samples in two southeastern European forests with the surrounding vegetation to investigate (a) their compositional similarity, (b) the association between their diversity characteristics in both terms of richness and evenness, and (c) the correspondence of the main ecological gradients that can be revealed by them. Two biogeographical regions with different vegetation characteristics, the Pieria mountains (north central Greece) and the slopes of Ciomadul volcano (eastern Romania), were chosen as divergent examples of floristic regions, vegetation structure and landscape openness. Pollen assemblages are efficient in capturing the presence or absence, rather than the abundance in distribution of plants in the surrounding area and this bias increases along with landscape openness and vegetation diversity, which is higher in the Pieria mountains. Pollen assemblages and vegetation correlate better in terms of richness, that is, low order diversity indices. Relatively high correlation, in terms of evenness, could be potentially found in homogenous and species poor ecosystems as for Ciomadul. Composition and diversity of woody, rather than herb, vegetation is better reflected in pollen assemblages of both areas, especially for Pieria where a direct comparison of the two components was feasible, although this depends on the species-specific pollen production and dispersal, the openness of landscape and the overall diversity of vegetation. Gradients revealed by pollen assemblages are highly and significantly correlated with those existing in vegetation. Pollen assemblages may represent the vegetation well in terms of composition, diversity (mainly richness) and ecological gradients, but this potential depends on land use, vegetation structure, biogeographical factors and plant life forms.

Settlements and economy of the Funnel Beaker Culture communities. Archaeological and palynological evidence from the annually laminated lake bottom sediments (Gostynin Lake District, central Poland)

Palynological information preserved in pollen diagrams is of key importance for investigating prehistoric human activity. According to M. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa, of particular importance for assessing anthropopressure are results of the multidisciplinary research of annually laminated lake sediments carried out in Lake Gościąż and its surroundings in the Gostynin Lake District. In light of the results of human-environment analyses, the environmental disturbances recorded in laminated bottom sediments from Lake Gościąż can be described as reflecting pollen being “an account from afar”. In the analysed case, the pollen fallout may have originated from longer distances, and the recorded transformations of plant assemblages, both with respect to phase 5 and phase 6 from Gościąż, can be attributed to humans inhabiting up to 10 km from Lake Gościąż (e.g. around Lake Białe). On the other hand, the observations made in palynological sites of Białe, Lucieńskie, and Gąsak are well-correlated with the archaeological evidence of human activity. These diagrams reflect nearby activity, as the changes recorded in them correlate distinctly with the intensity of FBC settlement.

STUDY OF THE HOLOCENE STAGE OF FORMATION OF THE DNIESTER VALLEY IN THE EASTERN CARPATHIAN FORELAND

The article describes the main stages of studying of the floodplain and the first floodplain terrace of the Dniester river within the Eastern Carpathian Foreland fragment of the valley, and evaluates the results of existing studies. It is discovered that during all the stages of the research morphological and morphometric parameters of the floodplain and the first floodplain terrace of the Dniester river, morphology and facie structures of the alluvial accumulations, as well as palynological analyses of biogenic accumulations buried in an alluvial series are performed. The results obtained during the palynological analyzes are used to date the erosion-accumulation cycles and to reconstruct the physical-geographical conditions of the time of the floodplain and the first floodplain formation of the Dniester terrace. The radiocarbon dating of biogenic sediments buried in alluvial series is also actively conducted at the last stage of the research. The array of geological and geomorphological information collected at the first two stages of research made it possible to establish that, first, the first floodplain terrace and floodplain were formed during the Holocene in the Dniester Valley. The first floodplain terrace (the height of which reaches 4–6 m above the Dniester riverbed) can be considered as a high floodplain which is often covered by high floods. The terrace is accumulative, but unlike all other terraces of the Dniester it is devoid of the loess cover. In the cross-sections of its accumulations the deposits of the alluvium of the channel facies builted of pebbles are exposed and covered with the alluvium of the floodplain facies composed of sands, sandy loams and loams. The total thickness of alluvium reaches 9–10 m and it doesn’t varysignificantly downstream of the Dniester. Except the Upper Dniester basin, where the thickness of the alluvium increases to 10–18 m, and the layers of peat are found. The floodplain is 4–5 m above the Dniester riverbed and is built of alluvium of the channel facies, dominated by sand and pebble series. In someplaces floodplain is covered with sandy or loamy deposits of floodplain facies. Secondly, in the Eastern Carpathian Foreland part of the Dniester valley the course of fluvial morpholitogenetic processes was regulated not only by climatic changes and neotectonic movements, but also by human economic activity. During the XIX–XX centuries especially large-scale human influence was on the Dniester riverbeds by construction of flood ramparts, reclamation canals, etc. The results of recent geomorphological research conducted within the studied fragment of the river valley particularly palynological and radiocarbon dating have significantly improved the idea of morphology, structure and history of floodplain formation and the first floodplain terrace of the Dniester. The research revealed that the accumulation of alluvium of the first floodplain terrace which is above the Dniester riverbed reaches 5,5–6,5 (7) m and started to develop in the late Pleistocene (Bølling–Allerød interstadial) (13 000–11 000 years ago (GI–1)). Presumably in the early Dryas (11 000–10 000 years ago (GS–1)), the first floodplain terrace was dissected by the meandering channel of the Dniester. The alluvial deposits that fill these large paleomeanders are still well preserved and are often exposed in the ledges of the first terrace. The further development of the floodplain and first floodplain terrace of the Dniester river was taking place in several stages such as the end of the boreal, the beginning of the atlantic, the end of the atlantic, subboreal, the beginning of the subatlantic, as well as during V–VI, X–XII and XIV–XVI centuries. These stages are identified in correlation with the cycles of humidification of the climate and the growth of fluvial activity of riverbeds (flood phases). As a result of the intensification of erosion-accumulation activity of the Dniester the two – three levels of Holocene floodplain were formed up to 4–5 m and 3–4 m high. The first traces of human activity within the studied fragment of the Dniester valley were dated by subboreal and recorded by the presence of grain pollen in the spore-pollen diagrams of Mainych (Upper Dniester Basin) and Tsvitova (Galician-Bukachiv Basin) sections. Key words: Dniester valley; floodplain; the first floodplain terrace; alluvium; phases of floods; Allerød; early Dryas; Holocene.

Abrupt Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE in Europe – The event ecology, possible causes and implications

The study, based on the examination of 70 published and unpublished pollen profiles from Poland and supplementary data from the surrounding regions, shows that an abrupt, episodic Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE was a much more widespread event than has been previously reported, spanning large areas of the temperate and boreal zones in Europe. The data from Poland suggest that the decline was roughly synchronous and most likely occurred between the 9th and 10th centuries, with strong indications for the 10th century. The pollen data indicate that human impacts were not a major factor in the event. Instead, we hypothesize that one or a series of abrupt climatic shifts that caused floods and droughts at the end of the first millennium CE could have initiated this ecological disturbance, leading to a higher vulnerability of the alder trees to a pathogen outbreak. Following current observations of the decline of alder stands in Europe due to a Phytophthora outbreak, we suggest that a similar process may have occurred in the past. This study provides insight into long-term alder (mainly Alnus glutinosa) dynamics in a condition of climate change and illustrates its great resilience, enabling the natural, successful regeneration of alder stands after critical diebacks if environmental conditions improve. Our finding that the Alnus pollen decline reflects a roughly synchronous event indicates that the decline could be used as an over-regional chronostratigraphic marker for 800–1000 CE in pollen diagrams from a large part of the European Lowland.

Using pollen data and models to asses landscape structure and the role of grazers in pre-agricultural Denmark

Pollen records can provide information on past landscape structure, but the interpretation is not straightforward, as plants differ in their pollen production and -dispersal properties. Especially open areas are generally under-represented in pollen diagrams. However, in recent years new models have been developed, which take these factors into account and allow us to correct for them, for example by simulating pollen sedimentation in hypothetical landscapes.In this study, simulated landscapes were created based on landscapes without and with different levels of grazing impact. Pollen deposition in these landscapes was simulated using a model of pollen representation, dispersal and deposition, and the resulting pollen spectra were statistically compared to existing pollen records from Denmark from the Atlantic period (ca. 6800-3900 BC).The analysis showed that many of the pollen diagrams from eastern Denmark were most similar to the scenarios based on a rather closed forest landscape with some wetland areas, whereas for many diagrams in western Denmark, the pollen diagrams are compatible with a landscape which was more open. This openness was possibly due to a larger impact from grazing animals, which had a higher diversity in western than in eastern Denmark, but other factors, especially soil types and the frequency of fire disturbance, may also have played a role, as these also differ between eastern and western Denmark. Certain aspects of the pollen signal, for example the large proportion of Hazel, were not well explained by any scenarios, and require further study.