Abstract The determination of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values is a common method in archaeological isotope analysis—in studying botanical and human remains, dietary practices, and less typically soils (to ...understand methods of agricultural cultivation, including fertilization). Stable isotope measurements are also commonly used in ecological studies to distinguish different ecosystems and to trace diachronic processes and biogeochemical mechanisms, however, the application of this method in geochemical prospection, for determining historic land-use impact, remains unexplored. The study at hand focuses on a deserted site of a Cistercian manor, dating from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. Isotopic measurements of anthropogenically influenced soils have been compared to approximately 400 archaeobotanical, soil, and sediment samples collected globally. The results reveal the potential of isotope measurements in soil to study the impact of past land use as isotope measurements identify specific types of agricultural activities, distinguishing crop production or grazing. δ 13 C and δ 15 N ratios also likely reflect fertilization practices and—in this case—the results indicate the presence of cereal cultivation (C 3 cycle plants) and fertilization and that the site of the medieval manor was primarily used for grain production rather than animal husbandry.
This contribution analyses the influence of long-term climate variability on changes in the agricultural cycle in the Czech Lands over the course of the past five centuries. Series of crop- and ...grape-harvest (for wine) dates were compiled from rich documentary evidence for the periods of 1517–1542, 1561–1622, 1770–1815, 1871–1910 and 1971–2010. Two model areas were selected: the Louny region in north-west Bohemia and the Elbe region in central Bohemia. Fluctuations in selected agricultural series are compared with those expressed in temperature, precipitation and Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) series for various combinations of months. The basic statistics for the agricultural series are presented, and these are correlated with climatic variables. The earliest starts for harvests occurred in the recent 1971–2010 period and the 1517–1542 period. Harvest dates were comparatively delayed in the three remaining periods. Air temperature, also combined with the drought effect as expressed by SPEI, played a significant role in the agricultural cycle in all periods analysed except 1871–1910, in which temperatures were notably dominant as quite wet patterns prevailed. Summer precipitation played a significant role in the first three periods analysed. Correlation coefficients of agricultural series with temperatures indicate increasing weight for this factor over the course of the centuries. Possible effects of uncertainties in agricultural and climatic data in the results obtained are discussed, as well as the relationship of the agricultural cycle to climate variables and its broader context.
Medieval vegetation–human–climate interactions were studied from a sediment profile situated in the centre of a short-lived medieval village located above 800 m a.s.l. on the ridge of the Krušné ...Mts., NW Bohemia, Central Europe. Analyses of pollen, seeds/fruits, micro- and macro-charcoals, diatoms and concentrations of microelements in connection with written sources revealed a significant human-induced deforestation in the second half of the 14th century. This deforestation occurred sooner than supposed and the area did not revert after ad 1347 as elsewhere in Europe. Arable fields probably enabled basic self-sustaining cultivation of winter cereals even at such elevations in the climatically favourable years of the Medieval Warm Period. The village presumably collapsed due to a combination of weather fluctuations at the onset of the Little Ice Age, simultaneous socioeconomic stagnation in the Czech Lands and exploitation of the surrounding forest. The dynamics of wet stand vegetation and Calthion palustris montane wet meadows were driven by fluctuating human and grazing impacts. Annual and biennial herbaceous species that peaked after village abandonment were rapidly replaced by Filipendula ulmaria and Salix stands. The secondary forest developed towards Picea stands. Only later, mesic montane meadows of medium tall grasses combined with Meum athamanticum and mountain dry pastures developed on nutrient poor patches.
Z konceptů, kterými Jiří Sláma posunul poznání naší raně středověké minulosti, bychom na prvním místě uvedli model tzv. přemyslovské domény a vzniku raného Českého státu (Střední Čechy v raném ...středověku III. Tato idea se opírá o výpověď nejstarších českých legend, rozložení hradů/hradišť jako centrálních lokalit a má srovnatelné obdoby i v polské medievistice. Tím definitivně padly nejen tehdejší přímočaré představy o postupném a víceméně plošném osídlování českých regionů, ale také slepá důvěra v nepřímé historické prameny.
During the High Middle Ages, hereditary land tenure prevailed throughout East-Central Europe, often in a formalised manner based upon the ius emphyteuticum, whereby peasants were guaranteed a stable ...amount of land rents to be paid to landlords. There was, however, a legal institution that enabled the landlords to practically renegotiate original settlement contracts without openly violating them, in order to increase their income: the law of re-measurement of settlements (ius mensurationis). On examples from Silesia and Bohemia we have demonstrated that the landlords used this means plentifully, either directly through its actual implementation, or indirectly by renouncing their claims for payment. We have also hypothesized on the rationale and origin of the ius mensurationis, analyzed who could raise claims based upon it, and commented on the formulas related to this legal institution, which may be found there in Silesian and Bohemian charters.
Summary During the High Middle Ages, hereditary land tenure prevailed throughout East-Central Europe, often in a formalised manner based upon the ius emphyteuticum, whereby peasants were guaranteed a ...stable amount of land rents to be paid to landlords. There was, however, a legal institution that enabled the landlords to practically renegotiate original settlement contracts without openly violating them, in order to increase their income: the law of re-measurement of settlements (ius mensurationis). On examples from Silesia and Bohemia we have demonstrated that the landlords used this means plentifully, either directly through its actual implementation, or indirectly by renouncing their claims for payment. We have also hypothesized on the rationale and origin of the ius mensurationis, analyzed who could raise claims based upon it, and commented on the formulas related to this legal institution, which may be found there in Silesian and Bohemian charters.
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