MEDIEVAL COLONISATION AND ABANDONMENT IN THE SOUTH SWEDISH UPLANDS: A REVIEW OF SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE DYNAMICS INFERRED FROM THE POLLEN RECORD

In this review of pollen data from the South Swedish Uplands, evidence is presented of colonisation and strong agricultural expansion during the 11th to 13th centuries, followed by farm abandonment and land use change during the 14th to 15th centuries. The latter is associated with the Black Death and the late medieval crisis. Pollen data show that abandonment in the uplands resulted in the regrowth of woodland, but also in land use change from cereal growing to grazing. Similar cycles of agricultural expansion and decline are identified also from earlier periods during the Iron Age, which highlights the sensitive character of upland agriculture and settlement.Key words: pollen analysis, agriculture, Middle Ages, Black Death, late medieval crisis.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.80

Exploring the patterns and causes of land use changes in south-west Sweden

To study the causes of agricultural declines in south-west Sweden, a multi-proxy study including pollen analysis, bog surface wetness indicators and aeolian sediment influx reconstructions was carried out on the Store Mosse Bog, situated on the coastal plain of Halland. Patterns of agricultural changes during the past 6,000years from this study were compared to one additional site on the coastal plain (Undarsmosse Bog) and to four sites in the forested upland region. First, we compared land use activity on the coastal plain and in upland regions of south-west Sweden. Three periods with reduced agricultural activities were observed, primarily in records from the coastal plain. Next, the causes for these declines were studied by comparing land use indicators in the pollen records from the Store Mosse and Undarsmosse peat bogs to independent climatic reconstructions based on the same core material (past storm activity based on aeolian sediment influx onto the peat bogs; bog surface wetness reconstructed from organic bulk density measurements). Since the climatic reconstructions and pollen analysis were carried out on the same peat cores, a direct comparison between the timing of climatic events and land use changes was possible. Results indicate that climatic perturbations prior to ca. 1,000years ago contributed to or possibly caused agricultural declines. The agricultural expansions near the Store Mosse and Undarsmosse bogs from 3000 to 2600cal. yrs b.p. ended at the time when climatic proxy indicators recorded climatic instability (from ca 2600 to 2200cal. yrs b.p.). The same sequence of events was recorded around 1500cal. yrs b.p. and from 1200 to 1000cal. yrs b.p., suggesting a climatic cause for these agricultural declines as well. The well-known climatic perturbations associated with the Little Ice Age, however, did not have a visible impact on agricultural activities. By this time, advances in land use knowledge and technology may have drastically diminished society's sensitivity to climatic change

Movement of agricultural products in the Scandinavian Iron Age during the first millennium AD: 87Sr/86Sr values of archaeological crops and animals in southern Sweden

In this paper, we examine the exchange of crops and livestock through the application of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis on cereal grains and faunal tooth enamel from the regional center of Uppåkra and three nearby settlements in Scania, southern Sweden, dating to the first millennium AD. Around a third of the fauna have non-local 87Sr/86Sr values, indicating the import of livestock from several different regions. After cleaning, almost all of the cereal grains have non-local 87Sr/86Sr values, which is surprising given the nearby abundance of fertile agricultural soils. We therefore suggest considering non-locally grown crops to be those whose 87Sr/86Sr values fall outside the normal distribution; if this approach is used, around 20% of the analyzed crop samples are interpreted as having grown non-locally. This study demonstrates the potential of combining strontium isotopic data of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material for gaining insights into the movement of agricultural products in prehistory

Resilient Land Use in the Medieval and Early-modern Village: Crop and animal husbandry in Fjelie, southern Sweden, AD 1000–1800

Agrarian land-use in the village Fjelie, southern Sweden, AD 1000–1800, was studied through analysis of plant macrofossils, pollen, animal bones and strontium isotopes. Three different farmsteads in the village were studied and compared with other villages in the Öresund region. The composition of crop and animal husbandry was relatively constant through time, apart from a distinct increase in rye cultivation and a slight increase in cattle keeping. Similarities in crop composition between the farmsteads indicate that infield arable farming was practised in collaboration, since the 13th century probably in a three-course rotation system. Also, herding of livestock in grazing commons and fallow infields were collective efforts, whereas vegetable gardening, fishing, beer brewing and the species-composition of livestock showed differences between the individual farmsteads. The agricultural system of the village was characterised by diversity, which was reflected in several different spheres: crops and animals, ecosystems, labour intensity and organisation. Further, fishing contributed to resilience by reducing dependency on agriculture. The high diversity within the framework of village agriculture probably contributed to sustainable management of the resources and to agricultural and social resilience

Agrara fluktuationer och befolkningsutveckling på sydsvenska höglandet tolkade utifrån röjningsrösen

In this paper a data set of 716 radiocarbon dates from the South-Swedish Upland is presented. The dated material is charcoal found beneath clearance cairns, which originates from agricultural land clearance by fire. The chronological distribution of the calibrated dates, presented as summed probability, is interpreted in terms of agricultural fluctuations as well as long-term changes in human population. The first significant clearances in the area started in the beginning of the Bronze Age, while the strongest expansion periods were the Roman Iron Age and the High Middle Ages (13th century). The Migration Period and the Vendel Period were characterised by decreased agricultural activity and probably population decline, which may have been due to a crisis period starting in about AD 400. In contrast, the Late Medieval crisis, which is distinctly visible in pollen records from the area, is difficult to identify in the radiocarbon dates from clearance cairns. The long-term trends in radiocarbon data are compared with palaeoclimatic and pollen data

Vegetation and land-use in the Småland Uplands, southern Sweden, during the last 6000 years

Palaeoecological methods were applied to peat and sediment cores recovered from one bog (Bråtamossen) and two lakes (Avegöl and Femtingagölen) in the Småland Uplands, southern Sweden. The general aim was to reconstruct the landuse and vegetation history for the last 6000 years in this agriculturally marginal region. The main technique was pollen analysis, which was complemented by mineral magnetic measurements and lithological characterisation. The results from the different sites were compared with each other and with local archaeological information. The study provides information on the regional development as well as differences and similarities within the region. Relatively small basins were studied so that the pollen diagrams and other results mainly reflect the local development around each site. Working at this spatial scale facilitates a comparison with archaeological data. The first agrarian land-use is dated to 3900 cal BC. From that time onwards, through the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, the area was used for wood pasturage. The first major deforestation was carried out during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The timing of this agrarian expansion differs somewhat between the three sites, but a common feature is that it resulted in a semi-open pastoral landscape during the Roman Iron Age and the early Migration Period (c. cal AD 0-500). Hordeum and Triticum were grown, probably in a system of shifting cultivation. An agrarian regression at c. cal AD 500 resulted in reforestation of abandoned pastures. In areas at high altitudes (Bråtamossen, Avegöl) cereal growing ceased and grazing pressure decreased. Grazing pressure decreased also in the valley at Femtingagölen, but some cereal growing may have persisted there. There was an agrarian expansion and deforestation at all sites at AD 1000 1400 (Middle Ages). It resulted in a diverse cultural landscape with pastures, hay meadows, permanent arable fields and some slash-and-burn cultivation. In late Modern Time several types of land-use, for example slash-and-burn cultivation and traditional hay production, have ceased and coniferous forest has expanded at the expense of open land. The Picea invasion AD 900 1200 resulted in a major change of the forests. This was the only dramatic environmental change, in the period studied, that was not a direct result of human activity. Pinus was the only tree that expanded at the same time as Picea, and the vegetation changed from a deciduous to a coniferous forest. There has also been a long-term change in forest composition during the last 5000 years, which may be described as a gradual change from a nemoral to a boreal forest. A detailed comparison with a pollen diagram from southernmost Skåne, and a more general comparison with 20 pollen diagrams from sites in or close to the Småland Uplands, show a complex and diverse landscape development. The thesis is based upon four papers which are included as appendices