Human-made fires and forest clearance as evidence for late Holocene landscape domestication in the Orinoco Llanos (Venezuela) Abstract In the Orinoco Llanos, archaeological studies indicate a continuous late Holocene human occupation, including the development of ranked societies, from about 1,500 year bp (ad 500) However, until now palaeoecological studies dealing with the impact of anthropogenic activities in the region have been scarce. Here we present a palynological analysis carried out in the El Cedral archaeological region, Western Venezuelan Llanos. The 145 cm sedimentary record obtained comprises the last ca. 4,200 cal bp(2245 cal bc). Between 4,200–3,800 cal bp (2250–1850 cal bc), wet savannas interspersed with gallery forests dominated in the study area. A wet climate, similar to the present, is suggested by pollen of aquatics and by non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP). Frequent/intense local fires were inferred from charcoal concentrations. Between 3,800–2,100 cal bp (1850–150 cal bc), rapid alternation between forest and savanna-dominated phases occurred. The low diversity of NPP and the low values of pollen from aquatics suggest drier climate conditions than the present. Low charcoal concentrations point to low fire frequencies. Two events of forest expansion at 3,400–3,200 and 2,800–2,100 cal bp were recorded, alternating with savanna-dominated phases (at 3,800–3,600 and 3,200–3,000 cal bp). From 2,100 cal bp (150 cal bc) to the present the expansion of savannas is recorded. Zea mays occurred at 1,880 cal bp (ca. ad 70), accompanied by the increase in charcoal concentration, supporting the hypothesis of intensification of human activities and anthropogenic forest clearance. Different climatic phases recorded in El Cedral match with those described from the Cariaco Basin, indicating that El Niño Southern Oscillation variability was the main climatic forcing. However, the intensification of anthropogenic activities limited the forest expansion expected during the last two millennia, yielding evidence of landscape domestication in this region.

From glacial refugia to the current landscape configuration: permanence, expansion and forest management of Fagus sylvatica L. in the Western Pyrenean Region (Northern Iberian Peninsula) Abstract Knowledge of the current status of Fagus sylvatica in the Western Pyrenean Region (Northern Iberian Peninsula) is based on its widespread presence in mountain areas. However, the past evolution of this taxon and its links to natural and anthropogenic activities is not well defined. We have compiled all the published palaeobotanical data (macro and micro remains) on this region, including both natural and archaeological deposits and with particular emphasis on available radiocarbon dates. To support our analysis of the evolution of F. sylvatica, we present the palynological study of a new sequence (Gesaleta, Navarre), covering the last 11,400 cal yr bp. The main results of this paper suggest the ancient presence of F. sylvatica in the Western Pyrenean Region from at least the Late Pleistocene and Early and Middle Holocene, with a clear expansion from ca 4,500–3,500 cal yr bp, although with some regional differences. This was the point when European beech became one of the main actors in mountain forests, where it has been exploited for a variety of anthropogenic activities.

The first identification of Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) from Early Bronze Age Lebanon Abstract This paper presents preliminary results of the analysis of phytolith evidence for Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) from Early Bronze Age occupation levels at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida on the north-central coast of modern Lebanon. Sediment samples were collected from a wide range of activity areas and contexts, but date palm only occurred in Early Bronze Age (EBIII) storage contexts, its earliest positive identification in the archaeological record of Lebanon. Tell Fadous-Kfarabida is a relatively small early urban settlement of only c. 1.5 ha, but evidence from 10 years of excavation suggests that it held a significant administrative role in the agrarian economy of the Lebanese coastal plain. Archaeobotanical research is still relatively uncommon in the archaeology of Lebanon, but is beginning to make major contributions to better understand ancient plant use practices in the region. This short report contributes significantly to our understanding of the early pathways for the spread and use of date palm in 3rd millennium bceLebanon.

Insights into the late Holocene vegetation history of the East European forest-steppe: case study Sudzha (Kursk region, Russia) Abstract Today, the East European forest-steppe is an agricultural landscape with very few remains of its former natural vegetation. The history of the transformation from natural vegetation to a human-made landscape in the area of Sudzha (Kursk region, Russia) is studied here. We compare the off-site pollen record Sudzha with three on-site pollen records obtained from the archaeological site Kurilovka-2. The sediment core Sudzha covering the last 2,500 years was taken from an oxbow lake in an area with archaeological sites of the early Slavonic period (3rd–8th centuries ce). The Sudzha pollen record indicates dominance of broadleaf forests and meadow steppes in the area from 2,500 to 200 cal year bp with two major settlement phases one between ~ 2,000 and 1,600 cal year bp (~ 50 bce to 350 ce) and the other between 1,100 and 600 cal year bp (850 and 1350 ce) followed by a total deforestation and transformation to an agricultural landscape over the last 200–300 years. Similar changes in the last 300–400 years are indicated by the three on-site pollen records. It is noteworthy, however, that the record Sudzha does not provide an intensive signal of human impact during the 5th–8th centuries ce. This points to a quite restricted spatial influence of the Early Slavonic settlements on the vegetation, leading to a relatively low contribution of palynological anthropogenic indicators to the regional pollen rain signal.

Early Holocene wetland succession at Lake Flixton (UK) and its implications for Mesolithic settlement Abstract This paper reports on new research into the timing and nature of post-glacial environmental change at Lake Flixton (North Yorkshire, UK). Previous investigations indicate a succession of wetland environments during the early Holocene, ultimately infilling the basin by ca 7,000 cal bp. The expansion of wetland environments, along with early Holocene woodland development, has been linked to changes in the human occupation of this landscape during the Mesolithic (ca 11,300–6,000 cal bp). However, our understanding of the timing and nature of environmental change within the palaeolake is poor, making it difficult to correlate to known patterns of Mesolithic activity. This paper provides a new record for both the chronology and character of environmental change within Lake Flixton, and discusses the implications for the Mesolithic occupation of the surrounding landscape.

Farm establishment, abandonment and agricultural practices during the last 1,300 years: a case study from southern Sweden based on pollen records and the LOVE model Abstract The aim of the study was to identify changes in agricultural practices and periods of agricultural expansion and regression during the last 1,300 years in the South-Swedish Uplands. Sediments from the small lake of Skärpingsgölen (1.2 ha) were used to quantify land-cover at a local scale (c. 1 km radius) in 50-year intervals based on pollen analysis and the LOVE model (Local Vegetation Estimates). The results showed a dramatic change in land-cover, starting c. ad 1150, from a grazed, deciduous woodland, dominated by Corylus, Betula and Quercus, to a semi-open landscape dominated by Picea and open agricultural land. A hamlet, situated next to the lake, was probably established during the 12th century, abandoned during the late medieval crisis (late 14th century) and re-colonized during the 16th century. High values of Cannabis-type pollen (up to 10% of the pollen sum) suggest that hemp retting was carried out in the lake from the 13th to the 17th centuries, while elevated levels of microscopic charcoal indicate that slash-and-burn cultivation was practiced during the early 14th and the 16th–18th centuries. The LRA-based estimates of vegetation show that the modern landscape, dominated by managed coniferous woodlands, is very different from the landscape only 50–100 years ago. This type of study is useful for comparisons with historical and archaeological records, and provides sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to identify short-lived abandonments and shifts in agricultural practices.

What can crop stable isotopes ever do for us? An experimental perspective on using cereal carbon stable isotope values for reconstructing water availability in semi-arid and arid environments Abstract This study re-assesses and refines the use of crop carbon stable isotope values (Δ13C) to reconstruct past water availability. Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (durum wheat), Hordeum vulgare (six-row barley) and Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) were experimentally grown at three crop research stations in Jordan for up to three years under five different irrigation regimes: 0% (rainfall only), 40%, 80%, 100% and 120% of the crops’ optimum water requirements. The results show a large variation in carbon stable isotope values of crops that received similar amounts of water, either as absolute water input or as percentage of crop requirements. We conclude that C3 crop carbon stable isotope composition should be assessed using a climate zone specific framework. In addition, we argue that interpretation should be done in terms of extremely high values showing an abundance of water versus low values indicating water stress, with values in between these extremes best interpreted in conjunction with other proxy evidence. Carbon stable isotope values of the C4 crop Sorghum were not found to be useful for the reconstruction of water availability.

Bryophytes in a latrine as indicators of climate change in the 17th century Abstract Thirty-eight samples recovered from a latrine in the rural market town of Hadersdorf am Kamp (Lower Austria) and filled during the early 17th century were analysed and compared to the current bryophyte vegetation there and in its surroundings. Twenty-eight moss species from the latrine could be identified, and four taxa could be determined only to genus level because of missing sporophytes. The resulting data set is a valuable contribution to the state of knowledge of the bryophyte flora of that historic period, as none of the traditional methods such as herbaria date back to this early era. The most frequent species in the pit, Leucodon sciuroides, Antitrichia curtipendula and Neckera complanata, could hardly be found or not at all in the current bryophyte flora of the investigated area. A comparison of Ellenberg’s indicator values of the historic and current moss taxa revealed significant differences for temperature, humidity and continentality. Temperature values were much lower for the taxa found in the latrine. Furthermore, the historic mosses reflect a more humid and less continental climate than the ones growing nowadays. Many of the mosses found in the latrine are epiphytic or epilithic and could not be found in the investigated area today. These results indicate a different climate during the time of the Little Ice Age in the investigated area. According to the low total biomass of mosses in the pit (1–2 g per 10 l) we suggest that those found in the latrine arrived there mainly by chance, as in sweepings.

Characterization of Native American vegetation disturbance in the forests of central New York State, USA during the late 18th century ce Abstract Historic land survey records (LSRs) offer important details on local- and landscape-scale vegetation patterns related to Native American land-use practices prior to widespread Euro-American settlement. This study’s use of an expanded range of vegetation-related variables derived from LSR sources, combined with archaeological site distribution data, and analysed using complementary multivariate statistical methods, has provided new insights on the spatial and compositional dynamics of the vegetation of central New York State, USA, an area historically occupied by the Cayuga and Onondaga nations. The upland vegetation of the study area was modulated primarily by fire, followed by soil fertility, and canopy disturbance. Clear signals of Native American agriculture and silviculture were associated with a number of fire-tolerant vegetation communities that were geographically concentrated within an area most conducive to maize cultivation. Numerical classification partitioned the LSR vegetation data into distinct community types: mesophytic upland forest and xerophytic upland forest. This latter type was secondarily differentiated into an unequivocally anthropogenic landscape (Iroquoian agricultural mosaic) and a series of fire-tolerant forest and savanna communities with possible connections to silvicultural land-use practices. Distance analysis of ordination scores indicated statistically-significant spatial trends associated with the distribution of archaeological sites, with disturbance most heavily concentrated within 6 km of most sites. Given the success of this methodology, we recommend that this integrated approach become the standard for LSR-based research of Native American vegetation disturbance.

A study of late Holocene local vegetation dynamics and responses to land use changes in an ancient charcoal making woodland in the central Pyrenees (Ariège, France), using pedoanthracology Abstract Human activities have profoundly transformed mountain woodland landscapes, particularly in the Pyrenees where they have intensified and diversified since the Bronze Age. Quantification of the role played by past practices with regard to woodland cover is critical for accurate assessment of how ongoing global environmental change may affect its dynamics in the future. A local study was made of charcoal remains from an ancient charcoal-making woodland (ca. 30 ha), the forêt de Bernadouze, located on a north-facing slope in the Vicdessos valley in the French central Pyrenees. This valley is well known as having had a long history of human influence related to pastoralism, iron ore mining and smelting. A total of 1,695 charcoal pieces from soils in three sampling pits were extracted, identified, quantified and dated in order to identify tree canopy openings and patterns of change in the woodland driven by past human uses. The results provide new and original insights regarding 1, the past higher biodiversity and the ancient character of the forêt de Bernadouze, 2, the dynamics and history of the main trees and 3, successive phases of human activity. We show that the current woodland has resulted from several millennia of human activities such as pasturing and use of the wood for making charcoal. From the Bronze Age, humans have progressively transformed a natural fir-dominated woodland into a managed beech-dominated one, and caused the elimination of Taxus baccata L. (yew).