There is a growing interest in the rescue and reuse of data from past studies (so‐called legacy data). Data loss is alarming, especially where natural archives are under threat, such as peat ...deposits. Here we develop a workflow for reuse of legacy radiocarbon dates in peatland studies, including a rigorous quality assessment that can be tailored to specific research questions and study regions. A penalty is assigned to each date based on criteria that consider taphonomic quality (i.e., sample provenance) and dating quality (i.e., sample material and method used). The weights of quality criteria may be adjusted based on the research focus, and resulting confidence levels may be used in further analyses to ensure robustness of conclusions. We apply the proposed approach to a case study of a (former) peat landscape in the Netherlands, aiming to reconstruct the timing of peat initiation spatially. Our search yielded 313 radiocarbon dates from the 1950s to 2019. Based on the quality assessment, the dates—of highly diverse quality—were assigned to four confidence levels. Results indicate that peat initiation for the study area first peaked in the Late Glacial (~14,000 cal years BP), dropped during the Boreal (~9,500 cal years BP) and showed a second peak in the Subboreal (~4,500 cal years BP). We tentatively conclude that the earliest peak was mostly driven by climate (Bølling–Allerød interstadial), whereas the second was probably the result of Holocene sea level rise and related groundwater level rise in combination with climatic conditions (hypsithermal). Our study highlights the potential of legacy data for palaeogeographic reconstructions, as it is cost‐efficient and provides access to information no longer available in the field. However, data retrieval may be challenging, and reuse of data requires that basic information on location, elevation, stratigraphy, sample and laboratory analysis are documented irrespective of the original research aims.
We present a workflow for reuse of legacy radiocarbon data in peatland studies, including a detailed quality assessment that can be tailored to specific research questions and study regions. Criteria take taphonomic quality (i.e., sample provenance), dating quality (i.e., sample material and method used) and adjustable weights into account. The approach is demonstrated by application to a case study of a (former) peat landscape in the Netherlands.
Landscape heritage is frequently contested as perspectives on heritage and landscape may vary across stakeholders. The present article makes a novel contribution by examining pathways to landscape ...heritage contestation. We propose a distinction between (a) heritage as object in matterscape, being the physical landscape out-there, (b) heritage as meaning in mindscape, being the landscape as experienced by a subject, and (c) heritage as political act in powerscape, being the landscape as rules that organise behaviour. Contestation, then, might originate in matterscape, mindscape, or powerscape. We illustrate these pathways to contestation upon analyses of semi-structured interviews among stakeholders of Schokland, The Netherlands, a World Heritage site. Findings reveal contestation about matterscape pertaining to the issue whether a water system leads to wet spots on adjacent agricultural land, about mindscape pertaining to the beauty of new nature developed around Schokland, and powerscape pertaining to the rules associated with the World Heritage status.
Bog body studies have focused on rich individual biographies, largely neglecting broader spatial and temporal trends. Here, the authors present the first large-scale overview of well-dated human ...remains from northern European mires, based on a database of 266 sites and more than 1000 bog mummies, bog skeletons and disarticulated/partial skeletal remains. Analysis demonstrates fluctuating depositions of human remains between the Early Neolithic and early modern times, significant and shifting spatial clustering, and variation in site characteristics (e.g. preservation, use frequency, cause of death). The results emphasise previously unrecognised activity phases and highlight issues with categorising motives, especially around ritual violence.
Few natural landscapes have been so negatively stereotyped as raised bogs. These stereotypes as well as knowledge gaps on bog perceptions have hampered the development of nuanced and realistic views ...on humans' historical relations to bogs. We studied variation in eight bog place meanings (attachment, beauty, biodiversity, functionality, risk, admiration, historicity, and mystery) from prehistory to present by integrating qualitative archaeological and historical with quantitative survey evidence on Dutch bog areas. Virtually all place meanings were found in late modern and present-day material. In older periods, functionality, risk, and mystery were dominant. Daytime/night-time differences could explain the co-existence of apparently opposite place meanings. Physical bog landscape characteristics were important place meaning determinants, and similar meaning patterns across different bog areas underlined this. The long co-existence of mystery (and risk) alongside functional meanings may explain the persistent popularity of negative bog stereotypes.
On the mainland of northwest Europe generally only remnants of
former peat landscapes subsist. Due to the poor preservation of these
landscapes, alternative approaches to reconstruct peat initiation ...and
lateral expansion are needed compared to regions with intact peat cover.
Here we aim (1) to find explanatory variables within a digital soil mapping
approach that allow us to reconstruct the pattern of peat initiation and
lateral expansion within (and potentially beyond) peat remnants, and (2) to
reconstruct peat initiation ages and lateral expansion for one of the
largest bog remnants of the northwest European mainland,
Fochteloërveen. Basal radiocarbon dates were obtained from the peat
remnant, which formed the basis for subsequent analyses. We investigated the
relationship between peat initiation age and three potential covariates: (1) total thickness of organic deposits, (2) elevation of the Pleistocene
mineral surface that underlies the organic deposits, and (3) a constructed
variable representing groundwater-fed wetness based on elevation of the
mineral surface and current hydraulic head. Significant relationships were
found with covariates (1) and (3), which were then used for subsequent
modelling. Our results indicate simultaneous peat initiation at several loci
in Fochteloërveen during the Early Holocene and continuous lateral
expansion until 900 cal BP. Lateral expansion accelerated between 5500–3500 cal BP. Our approach is spatially explicit (i.e. results in a map
of peat initiation ages), and it allows for a quantitative evaluation of the
prediction using the standard deviation and comparison of predictions with
validation points. The applied method based on covariate (1) is only useful
where remnant peat survived, whereas covariate (3) may ultimately be applied
to reconstruct peat initiation ages and lateral peatland expansion beyond
the limits of peat remnants.
Plaggic anthrosols demonstrate the significant and widespread influence of agriculture on the landscape of northern Europe and testify to increased land-use intensity over the last millennium. ...However, a lack of established chronologic methods to interrogate these soils has hindered research on their formation history, so the timing and process of plaggic anthrosol development remain poorly quantified. Recently, luminescence dating methods have emerged as a tool for tracing the past movement of grains, including within the soil column. This study combines two primary luminescence methods - single-grain feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) along with post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) measurements and small-aliquot (or multi-grain) quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) - to reconstruct the formation of a plaggic anthrosol at Braakmankamp (eastern Netherlands). Toward this aim, we present a new method to identify well-bleached single grains of feldspar using the ratio of the grain's IRSL and pIRIR signals as a filter. The results provide both methodological and applied archaeological insights. Both small-aliquot quartz OSL and single-grain feldspar pIRIR ages yield reliable ages for plaggen deposits when the new filtering approach is used to remove poorly bleached feldspar grains from the analysis. Single-grain pIRIR feldspar has the added benefit of revealing complex soil formation histories for naturally bioturbated deposits, including those at the base of the plaggen layer. Augmenting this information with conventional quartz OSL dating builds confidence in the geo-chronologic record and allows us to reconstruct the timing and processes of plaggic anthrosol formation in Braakmankamp. According to the luminescence dating results, land clearance occurred around 900-1000 years ago, and accumulation of plaggen material began around 700-800 years ago. The average accumulation rate of plaggen material is estimated at â¼ 1.1 mm yr.sup.-1.
Bog bodies are among the best-known archaeological finds worldwide. Much of the work on these often extremely well-preserved human remains has focused on forensics, whereas the environmental setting ...of the finds has been largely overlooked. This applies to both the ‘physical’ and ‘cultural’ landscape and constitutes a significant problem since the vast spatial and temporal scales over which the practice appeared demonstrate that contextual assessments are of the utmost importance for our explanatory frameworks. In this article we develop best practice guidelines for the contextual analysis of bog bodies, after assessing the current state of research and presenting the results of three recent case studies including the well-known finds of Lindow Man in the United Kingdom, Bjældskovdal (Tollund Man and Elling Woman) in Denmark, and Yde Girl in the Netherlands. Three spatial and chronological scales are distinguished and linked to specific research questions and methods. This provides a basis for further discussion and a starting point for developing approaches to bog body finds and future discoveries, while facilitating and optimizing the re-analysis of previous studies, making it possible to compare deposition sites across time and space.
Les corps des tourbières figurent parmi les découvertes les plus célèbres du monde. Les études utilisant des techniques médico-légales constituent une large part des recherches menées sur ces vestiges humains souvent très bien conservés mais le milieu dans lequel ces découvertes ont été faites a été largement négligé. Ceci vaut tout autant pour le milieu physique que pour l'environnement culturel et constitue un problème considérable, étant donné que cette pratique de déposition de corps se manifeste sur une vaste échelle temporelle et spatiale; l’évaluation du contexte est donc d'importance primordiale pour nos modèles d'interprétation. Les auteurs de cet article proposent des lignes directrices de pratique exemplaire visant à analyser les momies des tourbières dans leur contexte à partir d'une synthèse sur l’état actuel des recherches et d'une présentation de trois études de cas récentes concernant l'Homme de Lindow en Angleterre, Bjældskovdal au Danemark (Homme de Tollund et Femme d'Elling) et la Fille d'Yde aux Pays-Bas. Les auteurs identifient trois échelles spatiales et chronologiques liées à des questions de recherche et de méthode spécifiques. Ces lignes directrices peuvent servir de base à des discussions plus approfondies et à la mise en pratique de stratégies permettant de mieux comprendre les corps des tourbières connus et encore à découvrir, de réexaminer les résultats d’études antérieures et ainsi de comparer les sites de dépôts à travers le temps et l'espace.
Translation by Madeleine Hummler
Die Moorleichen gehören zu den bekanntesten archäologischen Funden in der ganzen Welt. Meist haben sich die Untersuchungen von diesen oft außergewöhnlich gut erhaltenen Menschenresten auf forensische Aspekte konzentriert, während die Umgebung der Fundstätten weitgehend unbeachtet geblieben ist. Das gilt sowohl für die ‚physische‘ sowie für die kulturelle Landschaft und stellt ein wesentliches Problem dar, weil die zeitlich und räumlich sehr weit verbreiteten Moordeponierungen zeigen, dass die Beurteilung deren Kontexte von höchster Bedeutung für unsere Erklärungsmodelle ist. In diesem Artikel werden Richtlinien für eine beste Praxis der Kontextanalyse von Moorleichen vorgeschlagen; dies folgt eine Bewertung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes und eine Darstellung von drei neueren Fallstudien, die den Lindow-Mann in England, die Moorleichen von Bjældskovdal in Dänemark (Tollund-Mann und Frau von Elling) und das Mädchen von Yde in den Niederlanden betreffen. Man kann zwischen drei zeitlichen und räumlichen Skalen unterscheiden und diese mit bestimmten Fragestellungen und Methoden der Forschung verknüpfen. Solch ein Verfahren bildet die Grundlage für weitere Diskussionen und ein Ansatzpunkt für die Entwicklung von neuen Ansätzen in der Erforschung von bekannten und zukünftigen Moorleichen, erleichtert sowie optimiert die Neubewertung von älteren Untersuchungen und ermöglicht zeitliche und räumliche Vergleiche zwischen verschiedenen Moordeponierungen.
Translation by Madeleine Hummler
Various studies using pollen stratigraphies have demonstrated significant correlations between Holocene plant diversity, climate, and human activities. Studies that have analyzed longer Holocene ...timescales tend to discuss cultural data very superficially. This is remarkable because detailed insights into past human activities may be key to gain an understanding of the observed trends in biodiversity. This study aims to reconstruct and explain spatio-temporal trends in past plant diversity (alpha, temporal, and spatial beta diversity) by integrating data on vegetation dynamics, human subsistence economy, and land-use patterns. The landscape of Northwest France during the greater part of the Iron Age and the start of the Roman period (600 BC–AD 100) is selected as a case study. In total, 30 high-quality pollen-stratigraphical sequences allow for the reconstruction of the main long-term trends in plant diversity and more generally of the changing fabric of the landscape. Additionally, increasingly detailed images of the Iron Age rural landscape are available because of a steep increase in archaeological data (aerial photography, surveys, and excavations). These different types of data are integrated and used as input for a wider discussion on the relation between human activities and plant diversity. In general, the taxonomic richness increases steadily during the period under study. Some spatio-temporal differences are observed. The increasing richness values correspond with the growing impact of human activities on the landscape. Archaeologically documented land-use changes on smaller timescales are less clearly reflected in the richness values and vegetation dynamics, which might result from the (large-scale) research design.
Commercialisation of resources taken from commons is considered problematic in several ways in traditional commons scholarship. In particular common-pool resource (CPR) theory argues that ...institutions for collective action such as commons are largely autonomous, experiencing little influence from either the market or the state, and focusing only on the needs of entitled (local) communities. Consequently, commercialisation and sustainable collective use of common-pool resources are largely considered incompatible. Moreover, the dominant focus of CPR theory is on renewable resources rather than non-renewable resources such as peat. Although commons scholarship has broadened over the last decades and come to more nuanced views on the state-market-common trichotomy, our study adds historical depth and does pay attention to peat as a valuable non-renewable resource. We analyse historical sources on two cases of peat commercialisation from raised bog commons in the early modern Low Countries: the Bakelse gemeint in the Dutch Peel region, and the commune de Xhoffraix in the Belgian Hautes-Fagnes. In terms of volume, the share of commercialised peat in the total peat exploitation was limited; the significance of peat commercialisation lay in its permanence, recurrence, and/or regional outreach. Taxes and high debts placed communities in dire financial straits, which was one of the motives for peat commercialisation. In addition, state institutions could intervene in commons management if there was an (internal) conflict. Sources indicate that these institutions had a pragmatic attitude towards peat commercialisation, probably to foster social harmony and local prosperity in times of resource contestation and economic hardship. This study adds a novel intermediate category of peat exploitation to the traditional binary subdivision in domestic peat extraction from commons versus large-scale commercial exploitation of privatised bogs. We demonstrate that long-term use of common-pool resources could go together with a moderate degree of commercialisation. Rather than being fully autonomous, commons in the early modern Low Countries were – permanently or at times of internal conflict – clearly impacted by markets, notions of private user rights, and state institutions.
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