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.

14,500 years of vegetation and land use history in the upper continental montane zone at Lac de Champex (Valais, Switzerland)

Forests in the upper continental montane zone are important ecotones between lowland and subalpine forest ecosystems. A thorough understanding of the past vegetation dynamics at mid elevation is crucial to assess past and future altitudinal range shifts of tree species in response to climate change. Lake sediments from Lac de Champex (1,467 m a.s.l.), a small lake in the Canton Valais in the Central Swiss Alps were analysed to reconstruct the vegetation, land use and fire history for the last 14,500 years, using pollen, macrofossils, non-pollen palynomorphs and charcoal. The record indicates that the tree line had already reached the Champex area during the Allerød (14,000 cal bp) but dropped below the lake’s catchment during the Younger Dryas cooling (12,750–11,550 cal bp). Reforestation started again with Betula and Pinus sylvestris in the Early Holocene at 11,500 cal bp in response to rapid climate warming. Temperate tree species (Ulmus, Tilia, Quercus, Acer) may have reached the altitude of the lake during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 10,000–5,000 cal bp). Mixed forests with mesophilous Abies alba were dominant between 7,500 and 5,000 cal bp. The mass expansions of Picea abies after 5,000 cal bp and Alnus viridis thickets after 4,500 cal bp were directly linked to increasing human disturbance. High values of coprophilous Sporormiella fungal spores and cereal pollen suggest pastoral and arable farming at the site from the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age onwards (5,000 cal bp). Our data imply that vegetation at intermediate elevation was less affected by human activities than at higher or lower elevations but that these areas served as important stations between the permanent settlements in the valleys and the seasonally occupied alpine huts at higher elevations. We argue that future climate warming will lead to drastic reorganizations of mountain ecosystems.

Food, farming and trade on the Danube frontier: plant remains from Roman Aelia Mursa (Osijek, Croatia)

Archaeobotanical investigations at the Roman town of Aelia Mursa, located near the Danube frontier in modern day Croatia, have revealed an extraordinary assemblage of food remains from a series of pits dated to the early 2nd century ad. The site yielded a wide array of economically important food remains, including staples such as Hordeum (barley), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet), Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), Secale cereale (rye), Lens culinaris (lentil) and Vicia faba (broad bean). We also found a range of fruits, nuts, herbs and vegetables, such as Daucus carota (carrot), Cichorium intybus (chicory), Allium sativum (garlic), Ficus carica (fig), Vitis vinifera (grape) and Olea europaea (olive). Further, we found clearly identifiable remains of eggshell, fish bones and scales, unidentifiable fruit flesh and porridge or bread remains, as well as possible animal dung. The site provides important evidence of exotic foods including Piper nigrum (pepper), Oryza sp. (rice) and Punica granatum (pomegranate). This diverse and unique assemblage provides a tantalising insight into the character of food, farming and trade of the people living on the frontier of the Roman Empire.

The history of Abies pinsapo during the Holocene in southern Spain, based on pedoanthracological analysis

The aim of this research is to reconstruct the ancient distribution area of Abies pinsapo Boiss. (Spanish fir) in the Serranía de Ronda region, southern Spain, during the Holocene. The main method was pedoanthracological analysis, the study of non-archaeological charcoal found in natural soils. In this research a total of 37 soil excavations were done in several mountain ranges with potentially favourable places for firs to have grown in the past. Specific sites and places such as hillsides, endorheic basins (with no outflow), sinkholes, summits and mountain passes were selected on the basis of evidence from a range of different sources including ancient documents, pollen studies and species distribution models. The soil samples collected from these sites were prepared in the laboratory and the charcoal was identified and radiocarbon dated. Statistical and cartographic analyses were also done. The study revealed evidence of past populations of Abies sp. in places where it is no longer found today. A total of 47 different chronologies were obtained from these sites with ages ranging between 9,931 cal bp and 78 cal bp. In addition, the wide variations in the charcoal values enabled us to make an initial estimate of the importance of ancient forest fires in different places in the Serranía de Ronda. When this information has been considered with all the other available data sources, it will be an essential resource for the efficient management of relict fir woods in southern Spain.

Food and agriculture in Slavonia, Croatia, during the Late Middle Ages: the archaeobotanical evidence

This paper presents the results from archaeobotanical remains collected from ten medieval settlements and fort sites in the region of present-day Slavonia, Croatia. From the 12th century ad, Slavonia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, although the region benefited from a certain amount of autonomy. Examining the archaeobotanical data from this period shows a diverse agricultural system, where crop fields, gardens, orchards, pastures and woodlands were all used to produce a range of cereals, fruits, nuts, vegetables and herbs, as well as fibre plants. The dataset is dominated by cereal remains, especially Triticum aestivum/durum (free-threshing wheat), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and Secale cereale (rye). Vitis vinifera (grape pips) were the most common fruit recovered, which corresponds with the presence of vineyards and international trade in wine noted in the literature by the late Middle Ages. Also of significance was the recovery of Cannabis sativa (hemp) and Linum usitatissimum (flax), which suggest local cultivation, possibly for linen and hemp fibres, for oil or for medicinal purposes.

Modelling the potential ecological niche of domesticated buckwheat in China: archaeological evidence, environmental constraints and climate change

We present a species distribution model (SDM) of Fagopyrum esculentum (buckwheat) in China using present distribution data and estimates for the past based on palaeoclimatic reconstructions. Our model estimates the potential area suitable for buckwheat cultivation over the last 8,000 years, with northeast China consistently showing the highest suitability, providing insights on the discrepancy between the location of the earliest archaeobotanical records in the area and its origins in southwest China based on biogeographic and genetic data. The model suggests little to no variation over time in the spatial extent of the potential area suitable for buckwheat cultivation. In the northern parts of China, the limits of the ecological niche largely fall within the borders of the study area, while to the west it never extends into the main Tibetan plateau, explaining the lack of fossil evidence from Central Asia. In the southwest, the niche overlaps with the borders of modern China, which supports this direction as a viable route of westward dispersal. The comparison between the prediction from the model and sites with archaeobotanical evidence for Fagopyrum indicates that the environmental niche it occupied remained stable over time. This may contrast with a dispersal pattern characterised by continuous adaptations to new environments facilitated by human activity, which may be suggested for other major and minor crops.

Understanding crop processing and its social meaning in the Xinzhai period (1850–1750 cal bce): a case study on the Xinzhai site, China

Although the Xinzhai period (1850–1750 cal bce) has been widely regarded as a critical time for the development of urbanization in China, little is known about the labour and social organization of the time. In this paper, archaeobotanical assemblages have been used to explore evidence of crop processing and they have provided further insights into the organization of labour and society at the Xinzhai site on the Central Plain of China. This is the first case study linking agricultural activities and social organization in the Xinzhai period. By discussing macro-botanical and phytolith results together, we conclude that the hulled cereals Setaria italica (foxtail millet), Panicum miliaceum (common or broomcorn millet) and Oryza sativa (rice), and the free-threshing pulse Glycine max (soybean) were all partly processed before storage to reduce labour demand in the harvest period. Since these summer-sown crops are all harvested in autumn, the practice of partial processing might imply that less labour was needed before storage. Thus, the labour for crop processing appears to have been organized on the basis of small production units such as households. This pattern is different from the communal bulk processing of crops before storage by the contemporary inhabitants of Dongzhao. Different patterns of social organization in various settlements in the Xinzhai period can thus be suggested. This conclusion contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the social development of communities living on the Central Plain and indicates that a steady increase in social complexity was very likely in the period before urbanization.