The vegetation history of lowland woodlands in Central Europe is closely related with human activities. Our study is focused on the evaluation of a large archaeo–anthralogical dataset from a ...large–scale territory in Central Europe. Our dataset contains about 240 891 charcoal records from 474 localities. Our research focuses on the reconstruction of the woodland history in the surroundings of archaeological sites from the Neolithic (7600 BP) to the Migration Period (1450 BP) and reveals differences in the anthracological records among regions of the Czech Republic. A comparison of long–term charcoal records from regions with a different presence of human activities has allowed for a special evaluation of vegetation trends. Environmental conditions in the regions are not uniform and our study detects the variability of charcoal assemblages and different vegetation histories among the localities. The smallest differences of species composition among regions were recorded in the Neolithic. Land–use changes during the Bronze Age accelerated the compositional change of the woodland vegetation. We distinguish 3 different types of woodland history, which are based on trends in the charcoal taxa composition: a) slight vegetation changes and predominance of Quercus; b) important changes of woodland composition during the Bronze Age; c) slight vegetation changes and high abundance of Pinus. Vegetation trends, which began in the Bronze Age, continued into the Iron Age.
The Late Holocene woodland transformation was related to the migration trends of Carpinus, Fagus and Abies. Overall, it is clear that the transformation of woodland vegetation had an east–west direction and our study area shows a significant difference among regions. The results of our study show that abundant archaeo–anthracological records from many sites and periods can also rectify the gaps sometimes observed in charcoal sequences of individual sites.
Seemingly empty spaces in various archaeological settings have left many unanswered questions. This paper focuses on the appearance, maintenance and possible function of a large empty area situated ...at the summit plateau of the Iron Age oppidum Bibracte in France. Multidisciplinary research of the infill of the ditch that delimited this area in the 1st century BC has provided evidence on the primary function and the formation processes of the structure itself, and for the reconstruction of the appearance, maintenance and function of the area it enclosed. The results allow us to gain insight into a variety of topics, including the role of trees, hygiene measures and waste management strategies at this urbanised hilltop centre. This paper demonstrates that multi-proxy analyses provide detailed insight into the function of archaeological features in a local environmental context and the potential of such approaches in archaeology.
The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC in Central Europe was related to the sudden appearance of a network of large fortified towns, which are known ...as oppida. Bibracte was one of the most important oppida in France, but knowledge about the evolution of its hinterland is still incomplete. This article addresses the evolution of the landscape surrounding this oppidum. Our research was based on a study of sedimentary profiles sampled around the archaeological site and examined by physical, geochemical and palaeoecological analyses. Sediment sequences indicate that the earliest human-induced erosion associated with geomorphological change occurred in the 4th–1st century BC. Geochemical results indicate ancient mining and metallurgy in the catchment during the same time. Palaeoecological proxies from the same period point to a mosaic of an open cultural landscape with locally suppressed forest vegetation and prevailing pastoralism. Anthropogenic impact resurged in the 11th–13th centuries AD and was associated with livestock grazing and rye (Secale cereale) cultivation. Thereafter, the reconstructed human impact from the 15th century AD onwards was probably related to forest management focused on timber floating as well as to the cultivation of chestnut (Castanea sativa) and hemp (Cannabis sativa).
The natural setting and prehistoric human activity on Holocene floodplains in Central Europe is a compelling issue from several points of view. This environment presents an important sedimentary ...archive reflecting past human behaviour in interactions with climate change. Two sedimentary sections recorded in the alluvial zone of Svratka River (Moravia) with a buried soil dated to the time span between the Neolithic and Late Bronze Age, and comprising one paleo-catena, were investigated using a multiproxy approach. The buried paleo-catena presents evidence of long-term (ancient) soil development, and the use of the site for human settlement and farming ca. 4500 BC until 1000 BC. Buried soil horizons indicate (climate) stability, which according to archaeological evidence lasted for at least 3500 years, until at least 1000 BC. The architecture and the lithology of the river floodplain changes approximately 0 AD. Anthropogenic settlement activity was not detected at the site in the subsequent period, and this is very likely to be associated with increased sedimentation rates and less optimal conditions for human settlement.
Významnou část přepravních a skladovacích nádob tvořily v neolitu nádoby z organických materiálů. Používaly se k vytahování vody z jam nebo studní, zatímco keramické nádoby byly používány k přepravě, ...skladování a pití vody. Cílem tohoto článku je analýza a vyhodnocení unikátních dřevěných věder ze studny LBK v lokalitě Mohelnice – U Cukrovaru. Konstrukce věder se skládala z podélně dělených prutů se zářezy. Vrstva lýka tvořila stěnu vědra a konce rozštípnutých prutů se pak k sobě svázaly provázky. Textilně-technologický rozbor určil jako použitou surovinu s největší pravděpodobností lýko. Xylotomická analýza určila jako zdroj dřevo několika listnatých stromů. Obdobné nádoby byly nalezeny v několika studnách v Evropě, zejména v Sasku. Lze předpokládat, že organické nádoby tvořily standardní součást výbavy neolitické domácnosti.
•In Celtic oppida even the “empty spaces” were subject to high erosion in the past.•Modifications of soil morphology is mainly the result of human action.•Relicts of former landscape were recognized ...using micromorphology and geochemistry.•Landscape of La Terrasse has been well stabilized since the onset of the Middle Ages.
The area of La Terrasse is located at one of the higher parts of the Celtic oppidum Bibracte. No traces of building activities, except for the fortification system which surrounds the plateau from three sides, were archaeologically detected and the area can be therefore labeled as “empty space” with an enigmatic history. Multiproxy investigations of sediments in trenches cutting across various parts of the enclosed area and excavated during the 2019 season revealed a complicated history of the formation, being influenced by erosion and by anthropogenic stabilization.
Although the recent relief of the La Terrasse area appears quite stable, there is evidence that the site (and Bibracte oppidum in general) were subject to intense erosion in the past and that the former surface with the archaeological soil dated to the Late Iron Age is preserved only as a relict expressed geochemically by the increase of CEC. The reason for the recent surface stability is the presence of the Iron Age ramparts, which enclose the area and protect it against erosion. An OSL sample collected from the surface of the buried archaeological soil dates the overburden not later than to the early Medieval period (AD 561). The archaeological soil represented by the overburden did not reveal any significant geochemical signal indicative of intensive use despite its location in the most suitable and stable area of the site.
It is clear that the detection of former surfaces in eroded and exposed archaeological sites and the properties of the archaeological soils is always a complex matter and can only be addressed through a combination of field observations, geochemical and micromorphological proxies.
The research of Iron Age oppida and hillforts plays a significant role in understanding the urbanisation processes throughout the European continent. The habitation and built-up areas have always ...been in the limelight of both traditional and environmental archaeological research. However, at many oppida, there were also large, unoccupied empty spaces. As they are crucial for understanding these settlements’ internal organisation, their functions are debated. Here we aim to demonstrate that seldom studied archaeobotanical archives preserve information on their use-history. By implementing a multiproxy approach, we seek to answer questions on the development, land use and vegetation history of one important open space at Bibracte oppidum on Mont Beuvray. Through the correlation of pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, charcoal, seeds, and parasites with radiocarbon dating we collected evidence of archaeologically otherwise untraceable human activities and detected a much more complicated history of the studied area. We show that it was repeatedly used in the last eight millennia and was never farmed or built up. During the phases of its most intensive exploitation in the Late Iron Age (La Tène) and Early Middle Ages (Merovingian) periods, it was kept as grassland. Our research lays down the foundation for the wider implementation of archaeobotany into projects that aim to clarify the uses and functions of enigmatic large open spaces, not only from the Iron Age but also from other periods.
A multi proxy approach was applied in the reconstruction of the architecture of Medieval horse stable architecture, the maintenance practices associated with that structure as well as horse ...alimentation at the beginning of 13th century in Central Europe. Finally, an interpretation of the local vegetation structure along Morava River, Czech Republic is presented. The investigated stable experienced two construction phases. The infill was well preserved and its composition reflects maintenance practices. The uppermost part of the infill was composed of fresh stabling, which accumulated within a few months at the end of summer. Horses from different backgrounds were kept in the stable and this is reflected in the results of isotope analyses. Horses were fed meadow grasses as well as woody vegetation, millet, oat, and less commonly hemp, wheat and rye. Three possible explanations of stable usage are suggested. The stable was probably used on a temporary basis for horses of workers employed at the castle, courier horses and horses used in battle.
After the last glaciation, around 4000 BC, silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) spread to the area that is now the Czech Republic. This spread was not restricted to high mountains, but also took place ...across both highland and lowland landscapes. Historical forestry records from around AD 1500 mention a massive expansion of Abies alba, favoured by forest pasturing, litter raking and selective tree cutting. According to the current interpretation of these historical records, this expansion in Czech forests was extensive and lasted until AD 1800. On the other hand, pollen data coming mostly from the Alps consider silver fir as a species that is extremely sensitive to human impact. In this paper, we compare historical forestry reports with pollen and charcoal data from the Czech Republic. Both pollen and charcoal records show that Abies alba reached its maximum during the Bronze (2200—800/750 BC) and Iron Ages (800/750 BC—AD 0). While charcoal records indicate that silver fir wood was important also during the High Medieval, pollen data show that the High Medieval and Modern times were periods of a general decline in Abies. Our data suggest that the expansion of silver fir documented by historical records was not general but rather fragmented, probably according to actual form and the intensity of human impact, as well as environmental conditions. These historical records have contributed much evidence regarding the wider ecological tolerance of Abies.
Is there a story that floor layers tell us about human history? A set of former floors were investigated using a combination of micromorphology, ethnography and macroremain analyses at a former mill ...in Dolní Němčí in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The floor layers had been accumulating since the end of the eighteenth century. A recently made earth floor, maintained for nearly 20 years, four times per year, in accordance with local knowledge passed down from mothers to daughters, formed the topmost layer. The main aim of the paper is: (1) to examine and contrast morphological characteristics of floors against known practices, which will be a useful reference for archaeological examples; (2) to compare the observations/findings to established knowledge of processes of floor formation. The structure of former floor layers preserved below the recent floor provided an indication of how floor care practices changed over the centuries, how these differed in different parts of the house and possible accumulation rate of the floor layer. This research illustrates that the micromorphological study of recent floors combined with ethnographic knowledge and macroremain analyses is a valuable methodological approach for the interpretation of archaeological case studies.
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