Journal: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

Abbreviation

Veg. hist. archaeobot.

Publisher

Springer

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ISSN

1617-6278
0939-6314

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Publications1 - 8 of 8
  • New research on crop diversity of the early farmers in southeastern Europe (ca. 6400 − 5700 BCE)
    Item type: Journal Article
    Sabanov, Amalia; Soteras, Raül; Hajdas, Irka; et al. (2024)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
    Pelagonia is a mountain valley in North Macedonia that was densely occupied by early farming communities in the second half of the 7th and early 6th millennium BCE. Archaeobotanical analysis is being done on material from three sites there, Vrbjanska Čuka, Veluška Tumba and Vlaho. This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical analyses of remains from Pelagonia, which represent some of the oldest directly dated remains of cereals and pulses in Europe, and discusses the results on crop diversity among Early Neolithic communities within the region. The crop spectrum was broad, with five cereal species and several varieties, two pulses and potentially two oil crops. The diversity is slightly narrower than the one found in southwestern Asia, Greece and Bulgaria as Cicer arietinum (chickpea), Lathyrus sativus (grass pea) and Vicia ervilia (bitter vetch) were not present or very rare, and Triticum aestivum/durum (naked wheat) was only found in small amounts, probably because the early farmers were adapting their choices of crops to the different climatic conditions in Pelagonia. On the micro-regional level we have observed that the diversity and importance of certain crops may vary in relation to the 8.2 ka BP climate cooling event, as well as due to local environmental or cultural factors, showing the need for finer scale analyses beyond the level of site or phase.
  • Vegetation and disturbance history of the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
    Item type: Journal Article
    van der Knaap, Willem O.; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.; Fahse, Lorenz; et al. (2020)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
  • Water and landscape management for 3,000 years in a mid-mountain area: evolution of the Gourgon mires complex (Massif Central, France) under anthropogenic and climate forcing
    Item type: Journal Article
    Dendievel, André-Marie; Cubizolle, Hervé; Dietre, Benjamin; et al. (2024)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
    In order to better understand the long-term management of water resource and its relationship with peatlands in mid-mountain areas, a research project was conducted in the mire complex of Gourgon, in the Forez Mountains (Eastern Massif Central, France). The peat growth response to global and local changes was reconstructed based (1) on the radiocarbon dating of basal peat layers, (2) on the study of macrofossils and (3) on palynological analyses of key peat cores. This palaeoecological approach provided new answers to understand the development of the uplands and to fill the gaps between archaeological sites. Three major steps were identified during the last 3,000 years: (i) cultivation and pastoral activities from the Iron Age to the Roman Times; (ii) afforestation and predominant grazing during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages; and (iii) major forest clearing motivated by cultivation needs (winter crops including rye - Secale cereale) during the Middle Ages. Comparison of lithological and palaeoecological data with topographical data and regional archaeological information highlighted that the anthropogenic diversion of streams, created to supply high-altitude farms, reduced the water flow in the valley and favoured the accumulation of peat for centuries. Thus, human activities were involved in the development of mire-valley ecosystems. This response of peatland ecosystems to human activities fits with a wider pattern of anthropogenically-induced peatlands in Central France. It underlines the importance of multidisciplinary and retrospective scientific studies in understanding the mechanisms of wetland evolution in the long-term.
  • Holocene climate, fire and vegetation dynamics at the treeline in the Northwestern Swiss Alps
    Item type: Journal Article
    Schwörer, Christoph; Kaltenrieder, Petra; Glur, Lukas; et al. (2014)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
    Treelines are expected to rise to higher elevations with climate warming; the rate and extent however are still largely unknown. Here we present the first multi-proxy palaeoecological study from the treeline in the Northwestern Swiss Alps that covers the entire Holocene. We reconstructed climate, fire and vegetation dynamics at Iffigsee, an alpine lake at 2,065 m a.s.l., by using seismic sedimentary surveys, loss on ignition, visible spectrum reflectance spectroscopy, pollen, spore, macrofossil and charcoal analyses. Afforestation with Larix decidua and tree Betula (probably B. pendula) started at ~9,800 cal. b.p., more than 1,000 years later than at similar elevations in the Central and Southern Alps, indicating cooler temperatures and/or a high seasonality. Highest biomass production and forest position of ~2,100–2,300 m a.s.l. are inferred during the Holocene Thermal Maximum from 7,000 to 5,000 cal. b.p. With the onset of pastoralism and transhumance at 6,800–6,500 cal. b.p., human impact became an important factor in the vegetation dynamics at Iffigsee. This early evidence of pastoralism is documented by the presence of grazing indicators (pollen, spores), as well as a wealth of archaeological finds at the nearby mountain pass of Schnidejoch. Human and fire impact during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages led to the establishment of pastures and facilitated the expansion of Picea abies and Alnus viridis. We expect that in mountain areas with land abandonment, the treeline will react quickly to future climate warming by shifting to higher elevations, causing drastic changes in species distribution and composition as well as severe biodiversity losses.
  • Four thousand years of vegetation and fire history in the spruce forests of northern Kyrgyzstan (Kungey Alatau, Central Asia)
    Item type: Journal Article
    Beer, Ruth; Tinner, Willy (2008)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
  • Vegetational and agricultural dynamics at Burgäschisee (Swiss Plateau) recorded for 18,700 years by multi-proxy evidence from partly varved sediments
    Item type: Journal Article
    Rey, Fabian; Gobet, Erika; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.; et al. (2017)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
  • Revisiting tree-migration rates
    Item type: Journal Article
    Cheddadi, Rachid; Birks, H. John B.; Tarroso, Pedro; et al. (2014)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
  • Vitis vinifera L.: Wild or cultivated? Study of the grape pips found at Petra, Jordan; 150 B.C. – A.D. 40
    Item type: Journal Article
    Jacquat, Christiane; Martinoli, Danièle (1999)
    Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Publications1 - 8 of 8