Abstract
A unique assemblage consisting of 113 pine samples collected from a submerged Mesolithic landscape in the Haväng area, southern Sweden, was examined to assess the presence of large herbivores, as well as changes in wild-game population density and composition. Bark-stripping damages on prehistoric trees is an extremely underutilized source of information about past game-population dynamics, yet our analyzes of wood samples – dated to around 10 500 cal. yr. BP – shows that such material can be successfully used to study the presence and activities of large herbivores, most likely ungulates. To evaluate our results, comparisons have been made with subfossil peatland trees that grew around 6000 years ago, as well as trees from two present day clearcut logging sites in southern Sweden. Furthermore, studies in a wild-game reserve were performed to recognize and understand different types of damages on trees caused by ungulates. Bark-stripping indicate the presence of ungulates, and the rate of damage is commonly associated with the density of the wild game. Bark-stripping was most frequently observed in the submerged wood material from the early Holocene, where damages were detected in 15% of the trees. In comparisons, 11% of the mid-Holocene trees show bark-stripping damages, whereas marks could be detected in the range between 0% and 6% of the trees from the two present-day clearcut logging sites. Our results show that tree-ring analyzes of prehistoric wood can generate information about wild-game dynamics of the past, and thereby being a valuable complement to more commonly used paleoecological and zooarcheological records.
Highlights
In the southern Baltic Sea basin there are numerous submerged coastal landscapes containing organic archeological findings, vegetation remains, and rooted tree stumps from the early and mid-Holocene (Bailey et al, 2020; Rosentau et al, 2017)
This study shows that damage and marks from bark-stripping and fraying on subfossil and submerged trees is an extremely underutilized source of valuable information about past wild-game populations
We encourage the use of tree-ring analysis of such wood material as an indicator of ungulates, while simultaneously acknowledging that there are shortcomings that practitioners must be aware of
Summary
In the southern Baltic Sea basin there are numerous submerged coastal landscapes containing organic archeological findings, vegetation remains, and rooted tree stumps from the early and mid-Holocene (Bailey et al, 2020; Rosentau et al, 2017). The relatively low salinity in the Baltic Sea means that the shipworm (Teredo navalis) is uncommon, which allows for exceptional preservation conditions for wooden remains (Björdal et al, 2012). Such findings can be extremely valuable for paleoecological and archeological studies. In southernmost Sweden, submerged wooden remains have been documented since the early 20th century (Isberg, 1927), but, except from the Haväng site, in depth archeological and geological research has been lacking (Nilsson et al, 2018). The many diving campaigns have resulted in an ever-increasing body of evidence, consisting of wood samples, faunal remains, and sediment samples from the submerged landscape (Hansson, 2018; Hansson et al, 2018a, 2019; Nilsson et al, 2018)
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