57 research outputs found
Seventy-five mosses and liverworts found frozen with the late Neolithic Tyrolean Iceman: Origins, taphonomy and the Iceman’s last journey
The Iceman site is unique in the bryology of the Quaternary. Only 21 bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) grow now in the immediate vicinity of the 5,300 year old Iceman discovery site at 3,210m above sea level in the Ötztal Alps, Italy. By contrast 75 or more species including at least ten liverworts were recovered as subfossils frozen in, on and around the Iceman from before, at and after his time. About two thirds of the species grow in the nival zone (above 3,000m above sea level) now while about one third do not. A large part of this third can be explained by the Iceman having both deliberately and inadvertently carried bryophytes during his last, fatal journey. Multivariate analyses (PCA, RDA) provide a variety of explanations for the arrivals of the bryophytes in the rocky hollow where the mummy was discovered. This is well into the nival zone of perennial snow and ice with a very sparse, non-woody flora and very low vegetation cover. Apart from the crucial anthropochory (extra-local plants), both hydrochory (local species) and zoochory (by wild game such as ibex of both local and extra-local species) have been important. Anemochory of mainly local species was of lesser importance and of extra-local species probably of little or no importance. The mosses Neckera complanata and several other ecologically similar species as well as a species of Sphagnum (bogmoss) strongly support the claim that the Iceman, took northwards up Schnalstal, South Tyrol, as the route of the last journey. A different species of bogmoss, taken from his colon is another indication the Iceman’s presence at low altitude south of Schnalstal during his last hours when he was first high up, low down and finally at over 3,000m
Multidisciplinary approach to reconstructing local pastoral activities: an example from the Pyrenean Mountains (Pays Basque)
International audienceIn this study archaeology, history and palaeoecology (modern and fossil data sets of pollen and nonpollen palynomorphs) were used to reconstruct small-scale pastoral activities in the Pyrenees Mountains during the last two millennia. Modern pollen assemblages from the major vegetation units (both natural andanthropogenic) are studied on one restricted watershed area. A correlative model (RDA) of 61 modern pollen spectra and 35 external variables distinguishes two groups of taxa, providing information on the nature and spatial extent of human impact on the landscape. The first pool indicates local pastoral activities, and the second one implies regional input from outside the studied watershed, and is not characteristic of a specific land use. These pools are described as 'Local Pastoral Pollen Indicators' (LPPI) for this particular mountain region on crystalline bedrock and 'Regional Human Activities Pollen Indicators' (RHAPI). The modern data set is used to aid interpretation of the local pollen sequence of Sourzay that covers the last 2000 calendar years BP, using RDA reconstructions, and best modern analogues as a means of comparing modern and fossil spectra. The study also demonstrates agreement between the independent interpretations of two fossil proxies, LPPI and coprophilous fungi
In the Shadow of the Grand Narrative: Revisiting the Early Holocene of the Northern Adriatic
The Late Neolithic settlement of Latsch, Vinschgau, northern Italy : subsistence of a settlement contemporary with the Alpine Iceman, and located in his valley of origin
Archaeobotanical and archaeozoological analyses conducted on Late Neolithic settlement layers at Latsch provide the first data on the subsistence strategy, diet and environmental conditions in the valley of origin of the Alpine Iceman. The results prove that during the Late Neolithic, the valley was occupied by an agro-pastoral society based on the cultivation of Hordeum vulgare (hulled barley), Triticum monococcum (einkorn), T. dicoccum (emmer) and Pisum sativum (pea), as well as on the rearing of Ovis vel Capra, Ovis orientalis f. aries (sheep), Capra aegagrus f. hircus (goat) and Bos primigenius f. taurus (cattle). The settlement was located on a river terrace of the valley floor close to a river and was surrounded by mixed pine and oak woods beside alluvial woodland
Late-Holocene land-use history and environmental changes at the high altitudes of St Antönien (Switzerland, Northern Alps): Combined evidence from pollen, soil and tree-ring analyses
Turning pollen into a chronological tool: annual and seasonal variations of pollen deposition in the Alto dell\u2019Ortles Glacier (Eastern Italian Alps)
CALICE: Calibrating Plant Biodiversity in Glacier Ice
The objective of the project is to reconstruct plant biodiversity and its trend archived in Alpine glacier ice by
pollen and eDNA (environmental DNA) during the last five decades by analyzing a 40 m ice core. For our study
we chose the Adamello glacier (Trentino - SĂĽdtirol, Lombardia) because of i) the good preservation conditions
for pollen and eDNA in ice, ii) the thickness of the ice cap (270m) and iii) the expected high time resolution. The
biodiversity estimates gained by pollen analysis and eDNA will be validated by historical biodiversity assessments
mainly based on vegetation maps, aerial photos and vegetation surveys in the catchment area of the Adamello
glacier for the last five decades. This historical reconstruction of biodiversity trends will be performed on a micro-,
meso- and macro-scale (5, 20-50 and 50-100 Km radius, respectively). The results will serve as a calibration data
set on biodiversity for future studies, such as the second step of the coring by the POLLiCE research consortium
(pollice.fmach.it). In fact, arrangements are currently been made to drill the complete ice cap and retrieve a 270
m thick core which has the potential to cover a time span of minimum 400 years up to several millennia. This
second stage will extend the time scale and enable the evaluation of dissimilarity/similarity of modern biodiversity
in relation to Late Holocene trends. Finally, we believe this case study has the potential to be applied in other
glaciated areas to evaluate biodiversity for large regions (e.g. central Asian mountain ranges, Tibet and Tian Shan
or the Andes)
Enhanced Ice Core dating from the combined use of pollen analyses and mass balance modeling on the Alto dell\u2019Ortles Glacier (Italy)
Plant diversity and annual layer counting based on pollen analyses of an Adamello glacier ice core
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