Thesis

Palynologische Untersuchung der frühbronzezeitlichen Ufersiedlung Abtsdorf I (Attersee)

January 2014

Authors:

Marie-Claire Ries

University of Innsbruck

Food and farming beyond the Alpine lake zone: the archaeobotany of the Copper Age settlements of Lenzing-Burgstall and Ansfelden-Burgwiese in Upper Austria, and an early occurrence of Triticum spelta (spelt)

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Apr 2022
VEG HIST ARCHAEOBOT

An international research project (FWF I-1693) recently finished investigating archaeological sites in the hinterland of the lake pile dwelling sites of Mondsee and Attersee in Oberösterreich (Upper Austria), with the goal of reconstructing the spatial networks of Copper Age (agri-)cultural landscapes and human-environmental interactions in the region. Charred plant macroremains from the two hinterland sites of Lenzing-Burgstall (1,517 plant macrofossil finds in total) and Ansfelden-Burgwiese (24,115 total finds) from Copper Age (= Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic) cultural layers were analysed as a contribution towards elucidating the agricultural practices and food choices of the inhabitants. Despite the generally poor state of preservation at Lenzing-Burgstall, a rich spectrum of cultivated crops with barley, einkorn and emmer wheats, and lentil, together with surprisingly high quantities of hazelnut shell fragments were identified. The site of Ansfelden-Burgwiese, on the other hand, contributed not only additional taxa (free-threshing wheat and Triticum cf. timopheevii) to the spectrum, but also the earliest evidence for Triticum spelta (spelt) in the region so far.

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Impacts of climate and humans on the vegetation in northwestern Turkey: Palynological insights from...

February 2016 · Climate of the Past

The Marmara region in northwestern Turkey provides a unique opportunity for studying the vegetation history in response to climate changes and anthropogenic impacts because of its location between different climate and vegetation zones and its long settlement history. Geochemical and mineralogical investigations of the largest lake in the region, Lake Iznik, already registered climate-related ... [Show full abstract] changes of the lake level and the lake mixing. However, a palynological investigation encompassing the Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene was still missing. Here, we present the first pollen record of the last ca. 31 ka cal BP (calibrated kilo years before 1950) inferred from Lake Iznik sediments as an independent proxy for paleoecological reconstructions. Our study reveals that the vegetation in the Iznik area changed generally between (a) steppe during glacials and stadials indicating dry and cold climatic conditions, (b) forest-steppe during interstadials indicating milder and moister climatic conditions, and (c) oak-dominated mesic forest during interglacials indicating warm and moist climatic conditions. Moreover, a pronounced succession of pioneer trees, cold temperate, warm temperate, and Mediterranean trees appeared since the Lateglacial. Rapid climate changes, which are reflected by vegetation changes, can be correlated with Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events such as DO-4, DO-3, and DO-1, the Younger Dryas, and probably also the 8.2 event. Since the mid-Holocene, the vegetation was influenced by anthropogenic activities. During early settlement phases, the distinction between climate-induced and human-induced changes of the vegetation is challenging. Still, evidence for human activities consolidates since the Early Bronze Age (ca. 4.8 ka cal BP): cultivated trees, crops, and secondary human indicator taxa appeared, and forests were cleared. Subsequent fluctuations between extensive agricultural uses and regenerations of the natural vegetation become apparent.

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Impacts of climate and humans on the vegetation in NW Turkey: Palynological insights from Lake Iznik...

November 2015 · Climate of the Past Discussions

The Marmara region in northwestern Turkey provides a unique opportunity for studying the vegetation history in response to climate changes and anthropogenic impacts because of its location between different climate and vegetation zones and its long settlement history. Geochemical and mineralogical investigations of the largest lake in the region, Lake Iznik, already registered climate related ... [Show full abstract] changes of the lake level and the lake mixing. However, a palynological investigation encompassing the Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene was still missing. Here, we present the first pollen record of the last ca. 31 ka cal BP (calibrated kilo years before 1950) inferred from Lake Iznik sediments as an independent proxy for paleoecological reconstructions. Our study reveals that the vegetation in the Iznik area changed generally between steppe during glacial/stadial conditions, forest-steppe during interstadial conditions, and oak dominated mesic forest during interglacial conditions. Moreover, a pronounced succession of pioneer trees, cold temperate, warm temperate, and Mediterranean trees appeared since the Lateglacial. Rapid climate changes, which are reflected by vegetation changes, can be correlated with Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) events such as DO-4, DO-3, and DO-1, the Younger Dryas, and probably also the 8.2 event. Since the mid-Holocene, the vegetation was influenced by anthropogenic activities. During early settlement phases, the distinction between climate-induced and human-induced changes of the vegetation is challenging. Still, evidence for human activities consolidates since the Early Bronze Age (ca. 4.8 ka cal BP): cultivated trees, crops, and secondary human indicator taxa appeared, and forests got cleared. Subsequent fluctuations between extensive agricultural use and regeneration of the natural vegetation become apparent.