Living on the good soil: relationships between soils, vegetation and human settlement during the late Allerød period in Denmark

Morten Fischer Mortensen,Peter Steen Henriksen,Ole Bennike

doi:10.1007/s00334-014-0433-7

Morten Fischer Mortensen, Peter Steen Henriksen + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-014-0433-7

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Abstract

The immigration of woody plants, especially Betula (tree birch), is examined in relation to geomorphological regions in a compilation of Late-glacial plant macrofossil records from Denmark. The immigration of trees led to a large ecological transformation of the landscape and had a major effect on the flora and fauna available to Palaeolithic people. We show that soil type was a controlling factor in the development of vegetation during the Allerød and Younger Dryas periods. Following the first immigration of trees during the Allerød period, woods became established in the eastern part of Denmark, where ice advances from the Baltic had deposited calcareous and clayey sediments. The western and northern parts of Denmark that are characterised by more sandy and non-calcareous sediments remained treeless throughout the whole Late-glacial period. Finds from the Bromme Culture are concentrated in the region which was wooded, suggesting that the regional variable environment allowed local adaptations using the diverse resources available.

Highlights

The immigration of trees led to one of the largest landscape transformations of the Late-glacial period in previously glaciated or periglacial regions, such as Denmark
We show that soil type was a controlling factor in the development of vegetation during the Allerød and Younger Dryas periods
We review all Late-glacial plant macrofossil analyses from Denmark and assess the data in relation to regional geomorphological regions

Summary

Introduction

The immigration of trees led to one of the largest landscape transformations of the Late-glacial period in previously glaciated or periglacial regions, such as Denmark. Open tundra turned to woodland and instigated major ecological changes in the composition of both flora and fauna (AarisSørensen 2009; Mortensen et al 2011). The vegetation of light, open, non-wooded areas with unstable soils often consists of stress-tolerant taxa (Petersen and Vestergaard 2006). Major changes in the faunal composition are most clearly seen in the large herbivores where the open tundra landscape was dominated by large flocks mainly of Rangifer tarandus (reindeer), which were replaced by the more solitary Alces alces (elk) and Megaloceros giganteus (giant deer) in the Late-glacial woods (Aaris-Sørensen and Liljengren 2004; Aaris-Sørensen 2009). The presence or absence of trees and the development of woods is of great importance when considering the Late-glacial flora and fauna. Important when considering the archaeological material is the distinction between open land and woodland, because the local environmental conditions would have been crucial for hunting strategies, occupation site locations, tool requirements and the general subsistence economy (Bos et al 2012; Mortensen et al in press)

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