Palynological investigations at the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age lakeshore settlement of Luokesa 1 (Moletai District, Lithuania): a contribution to the Middle-Late Holocene vegetation history of the south-eastern Baltic regions

Today, the settlement site of Luokesa 1 (L1) lies under water at the northern edge of Lake Luokesa in the Baltic Uplands, south-eastern Lithuania. Its 60cm-thick Late Bronze-Early Iron Age cultural layer lies on top of lake marl. During excavations in 2008 and 2009, core samples at L1 were taken for the purpose of multidisciplinary investigations. From this material, five on-site pollen diagrams were created in parallel with geo-archaeological investigations and the examination of the botanical macro-remains. Two of these cores mainly comprised the cultural layer, another two consisted largely of the underlying lake marl and the fifth contained primarily the transition from the lake marl to the cultural layer. The chronological sequence was established through 11 AMS dates. The woodland history, starting from the Late Atlantic period, was recorded. The Quercetum mixtum values are quite low in the Subboreal, with the coniferous forest consisting mainly of Pinus and, though significantly less, Picea. At the transition to the cultural layer (Subatlantic) the pollen curves are highly variable, showing peaks in the curves for Betula and Alnus. Pollen from aquatic plants is also present. Changes in riparian vegetation and turbulent sedimentation conditions are to be expected and can be explained by a drop in the water level. As L1 was located on damp ground at that time, water influxes alternating with dry episodes were observed. In the area around L1 the sedge belt was less pronounced, and riparian woodland extended all the way to the shores of the lake. Pollen analyses of four sheep/goat dung samples provide information on the grazing season and pasture location of these domestic animals. The paper also discusses layer formation processes such as water level fluctuations and hiatuses

Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation and climate change at the Palü glacier, Bernina Pass, Grisons Canton, Switzerland

Pollen and macrofossil data from Alpe PAlü, south-eastern Switzerland, are presented. On the basis of these data and the geomorphological evidence for local glacier movement, Holocene climatic oscillations and vegetation change at this upland site (1940 m asl), are reconstructed. The morainic deposits and glacial clays, as well as the pollen data from the base of the pollen profile, clearly show that the Palü glacier, after its retreat from the Cavaglia (Egesen) stade, readvanced once again shortly before the mid-Preboreal. This re-advance was considerably greater than that dating to the Little Ice Age. This early Holocene climatic event is referred to as the Palü Oscillation (Palü-Schwankung) and is considered to be broadly contemporaneous with the previously described Schlaten Oscillation (Schlate n-Schwankung) in the Austrian Alps. The reforestation of the forefield of the moraine was interrupted at least twice during this oscillation, and, compared with neighbouring sites at the same altitude, it appears to be at least 500-700 years younger, i. e. it post-dates 9400 B.P. Though the Palü Oscillation is a Holocene phenomenon, the associated vegetation changes are Late-glacial in character, e.g.Arlemisia and Chenopodiaceae increase andHippophaë is recorded.Alnus viridis replacesBelula andSalix, which were important in the earlier part of the Holocene, at about 5000 B.P. There is no clear evidence that forest burning is attributable to human activity. The use ofLarix-dominated areas as pasture (Lärchwiesen) begins in the mid-Bronze Age. A strong decline inPicea (spruce) andLarix (larch), and an increase in Poaceae,Plantago and other herbs in the uppermost horizons reflect more intensive pastoral farming that began in the high Middle Age

On-site data cast doubts on the hypothesis of shifting cultivation in the Late Neolithic (c. 4300-2400 cal. BC): Landscape management as an alternative paradigm

This article brings together in a comprehensive way, and for the first time, on- and off-site palaeoenvironmental data from the area of the Central European lake dwellings (a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 2011). The types of data considered are as follows: high-resolution off-site pollen cores, including micro-charcoal counts, and on-site data, including botanical macro- and micro-remains, hand-collected animal bones, remains of microfauna, and data on woodland management (dendrotypology). The period considered is the late Neolithic (c. 4300–2400 cal. BC). For this period, especially for its earlier phases, discussions of land-use patterns are contradictory. Based on off-site data, slash-and-burn – as known from tropical regions – is thought to be the only possible way to cultivate the land. On-site data however show a completely different picture: all indications point to the permanent cultivation of cereals (Triticum spp., Hordeum vulgare), pea (Pisum sativum), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and opium-poppy (Papaver somniferum). Cycles of landscape use are traceable, including coppicing and moving around the landscape with animal herds. Archaeobiological studies further indicate also that hunting and gathering were an important component and that the landscape was manipulated accordingly. Late Neolithic land-use systems also included the use of fire as a tool for opening up the landscape. Here we argue that bringing together all the types of palaeoenvironmental proxies in an integrative way allows us to draw a more comprehensive and reliable picture of the land-use systems in the late Neolithic than had been reconstructed previously largely on the basis of off-site data