Abstract
Development of the cultural landscape in a village situated by the inner fjords of western Norway is investigated by pollen analysis and quantitative reconstruction methods. Pollen samples from lake sediments and a soil profile were analysed and represent different spatial scales. The Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) is applied to a large and a small lake to convert pollen percentages from the small lake into estimated local vegetation cover in selected time periods starting from 2800 cal bc (Middle Neolithic A). This reconstruction shows that estimated forest cover has fluctuated through time, and changes in openness related to human impact are distinct from the Early Bronze Age (1800–1200 cal bc). Pollen analyses from the soil profile indicate forest clearances from the Late Neolithic (2300–1800 cal bc). Gradual intensification of farming is recognized in both pollen diagrams throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages with increasing openness and spatial differentiation in land-use practices. Presence of pollen of cereals and flax record the cultivation of these plants from the Iron Age, and intensification of land-use may have caused erosion and re-sedimentation in the lake in medieval times. To identify a possible landscape in the past, HUMPOL software has been used with the Late Neolithic as a case study. The LRA-based estimates of forest cover are supported by the HUMPOL simulations, but several solutions to the Late Neolithic landscape pattern exist. The results clearly demonstrate how implementation of LRA and HUMPOL improve the understanding of cultural landscape development.
Highlights
The cultural landscapes of Europe document the diversity of past and present land-use practices (e.g. Behre 1988; Birks et al 1988; Berglund 1991; Krzywinski et al 2009)
The results clearly demonstrate how implementation of Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) and HUMPOL improve the understanding of cultural landscape development
The aims of the present study are to reconstruct the local vegetation development associated with land-use in Herand from the Neolithic until today based on pollen data from a lake and a soil profile, to use LRA to study vegetation cover in archaeological time periods and potential changes connected to these periods, and to use simulations within HUMPOL to increase the understanding of how openings in the forest are reflected in pollen diagrams within the Late Neolithic as a case study
Summary
The cultural landscapes of Europe document the diversity of past and present land-use practices (e.g. Behre 1988; Birks et al 1988; Berglund 1991; Krzywinski et al 2009). Behre 1988; Birks et al 1988; Berglund 1991; Krzywinski et al 2009). These landscapes depend on human impact, and are strongly associated with the nature of an area and the potential for farming. 2300 cal BC, and gradually changed the vegetation into heathlands along the coast, and into cultivated fields, meadows and pastures in the fjord regions (Kaland 1986; Hjelle 1999a). Archaeological data reflect expansion into the fjord regions at the end of the Neolithic (Bakka and Kaland 1971; Diinhoff 1999; Hjelle et al 2006) and these areas have
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