Transatlantic exploration took place centuries before the crossing of Columbus. Physical evidence for early European presence in the Americas can be found in Newfoundland, Canada
. However, it has ...thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place
. Here we provide evidence that the Vikings were present in Newfoundland in AD 1021. We overcome the imprecision of previous age estimates by making use of the cosmic-ray-induced upsurge in atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations in AD 993 (ref.
). Our new date lays down a marker for European cognisance of the Americas, and represents the first known point at which humans encircled the globe. It also provides a definitive tie point for future research into the initial consequences of transatlantic activity, such as the transference of knowledge, and the potential exchange of genetic information, biota and pathologies
.
It is assumed that people practiced woodland management, i.e., coppicing and pollarding, in prehistory, but details are poorly known. This study aims for a better understanding of woodland ...exploitation through time in the wetland basin of the Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, from 3700-2400 BCE (Before Common Era). To do so, uncarbonized, waterlogged wood from 16 Eneolithic pile dwellings situated in two geographical clusters that cover a time span of c. 1300 years were subjected to age/diameter analysis. It is the first time that age/diameter analysis has been applied to multiple sites from the same region. The investigated posts represent a wide range of taxa, but oak (
sp.) and ash (
sp.) represent 75% of the total, indicating selective use of wood for this purpose. Diameter selection of ash may have taken place as well. At both site clusters, the age/diameter data do not reveal any unequivocal evidence for woodland management. Only at the youngest sites do the data possibly show some gradually changing practices. The outcomes are discussed within the framework of recent discussions about woodland management in Europe.
Bleicher and Staub's recent review (in press) concerns the discussion of when regular woodland management started in Europe by comparing, amongst others, dendrotypology and age/diameter analysis. In ...this comment we clarify aspects of age/diameter analysis, present suggestions for dendrotypology and expand the discussion why dendrotypology and age/diameter analysis generate apparently contradictory conclusions about woodland management in the Neolithic, highlighting the relevance of precise definitions.
It is often argued that the repetitive removal of branches to improve the quantity and the quality of wood, i.e. woodland management, has been practiced in Europe from the Mesolithic and/or Neolithic ...onwards. The Neolithic pile dwelling of Alvastra in Sweden has been mentioned in textbooks as a classical example of this practice. The conclusion about woodland management at Alvastra was primarily based on palynological data, which do not provide any direct evidence. Is it correct to conclude that woodland management was practiced at Alvastra? To investigate that, this paper reviews the previous arguments and interpretations, focusing on wood data, and by comparing archaeological data with modern wood data. First, the assemblage of vertical posts from the latest excavations at Alvastra include a wide range of taxa, showing opportunistic use of the woody vegetation. Second, while the dendrochronological analysis of
Quercus
and
Ulmus
carried out in the 80 s has clearly indicated that the trees used for the posts grew under highly similar conditions and that particularly many
Quercus
trees started to grow more or less at the same time, the reason for the partially simultaneous start of growth remains unknown, and the posts used for the construction of the site do not provide evidence of repetitive removal of trunks from stools. Finally, analysis of the age/diameter data of the
Corylus
wood indicates the use of branches from unmanaged vegetation, while age data of
Salix
do not support management either. In conclusion, the data do not support the hypothesis of woodland management at Neolithic Alvastra, and it is most likely that people did not practice woodland management. This outcome corresponds to the conclusions in some of the previous publications about the site.
This richly illustrated book contains 24 scientific articles on plants and molluscs written by 38 colleagues and former students of Wim Kuijper. The majority of these articles deal with one or a few ...species found on archaeological excavations, from corncockle via Glycymeris shells to forget-me-nots. A member of staff of the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University for 40 years, Wim has supervised students and advised colleagues in the fields of plant and mollusc remains with great enthusiasm and success. They are very grateful for this help and this compilation is the result. The book contains both Dutch and English text. English contributions have a Dutch summary and Dutch articles have an English summary. All captions are in Dutch and English.
Display omitted
•Roundwood age/diameter analysis can differentiate between managed trees and unmanaged trees.•This method has been applied to wood from six Neolithic archaeological sites in ...Europe.•Unexpectedly, this method does not provide clear evidence of woodland management.
It is often presumed that woodland management, i.e. pollarding and coppicing, was practised in prehistory, but the precise beginning and the details of such practices in the past are unknown. This is because, in contrast to historical times, from which written and iconographic sources are available, prehistoric archaeological sites rarely yield direct evidence of intentional woodland management. Since it is regularly suggested that people practised woodland management at least from the Neolithic onwards, this study brings together data for wood assemblages from six Neolithic sites in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, with the aim of investigating whether these provide evidence of woodland management. The method applied here is roundwood age and diameter analysis, based on an earlier developed model that has been tested on modern trees. None of the investigated European Neolithic sites provides evidence of woodland management. Various possible explanations for this outcome are discussed.
Previous research involving models and age/diameter analysis of branches of modern trees has demonstrated the possibility of distinguishing between managed and unmanaged trees. These findings were ...then applied to waterlogged wood assemblages from archaeological contexts. The aim of this new study was to reinforce the validity of the models, also with respect to branches of greater diameter than those investigated previously, and to investigate the risk of confusing managed and unmanaged trees by investigating free-standing unmanaged trees, natural shoots of unmanaged trees, and managed trees subject to a long management cycle. The new results confirm that unmanaged trees can be distinguished from managed trees in the case of willow and ash, but show that correct distinction is more difficult in the case of alder. They further indicate that the models are valid for branches of up to at least 23 cm in diameter. The study of branches of free-standing unmanaged trees, natural shoots of unmanaged trees and managed trees with a long cycle demonstrated a substantial overlap in the age/diameter data between unmanaged and managed trees, leading to adjustment of the models. It is explained how branches of both unmanaged and managed trees can still be recognised in archaeological material.
When prehistoric archaeological sites yield non-carbonised wood, one of the ways to test for management practices consisting of pollarding and coppicing is analysis of branch diameter and age. ...However, the interpretation of such data is often based on assumptions. To test whether it is in fact possible to identify past woodland management on the basis of age/diameter analysis in archaeological wood assemblages, this paper presents models that predict the expected age and diameter distribution of branches from unmanaged and managed trees. The models have been tested using data on modern-day Alnus glutinosa, Fraxinus excelsior and species of the genus Salix. Branches of modern-day unmanaged and managed trees with a diameter up to approx. 2 cm (not an absolute limit) have a comparable age. Branches with a diameter of approx. 2–6 cm from unmanaged trees are older than similar branches from managed trees. The age distribution in the latter also ends abruptly. The age/diameter data from the modern-day trees indicate that the models can be used to discern management in the past, if branches up to approx. 2 cm in diameter are avoided and if, critically, taxon, sample size, growing conditions, natural disturbance/opportunistic wood collection and the possibility of diameter selection are taken into account. Archaeological datasets mainly from prehistoric sites are then reinterpreted by means of comparison with the models. Indications of management in prehistory as demonstrated by age/diameter are scarce but available. There is thus a clear need for further research in this field. Practical suggestions are provided for improving the quality of future research on woodland management practices by means of branch age/diameter analysis.
At an excavation of the late medieval St Margaretha Convent in Leiden (The Netherlands), archaeobotanical results could be compared with historical data. Both wood and macroremains were analysed to ...reconstruct the local vegetation and seek evidence of the cultivation of plants. The historical sources available for this estate are a charter prepared in 1572, which listed all trees present just after the abandonment of the convent, and an illustration from 1574 of the convent and its grounds. The charter mentions Salix and Alnus as the most numerous trees present, followed by several other taxa. The archaeological evidence from the wood remains, mostly construction timber with a dominance of Quercus, shows the use of indigenous taxa and some non-indigenous material, which was partly re-used. It is possible that some of the Coniferae were very early home-grown specimens. The trees represented in the macroremains were most probably growing in the immediate vicinity. They specify some of the taxa found as wood or mentioned in the historical text. The identified cultivated plants could all have been grown locally. The vegetation is in general represented by ruderal taxa and plants growing in wet conditions, which form an assemblage typical of an abandoned rural area.
PDF
