Mid and late Holocene land-use changes in the Ötztal Alps, territory of the Neolithic Iceman “Ötzi”

Abstract

This interdisciplinary study combines an extensive archaeological survey and pollen analyses in the high altitudes of the Neolithic Iceman's territory to elucidate the palaeo-environmental and past cultural implications that triggered the onset and development of seasonal transhumance and alpine summer farming in this region. Therefore, pollen, NPP, and micro-charcoal analyses were performed on three peat deposits and one lake sediment located in the direct vicinity of excavated archaeological sites arrayed along the traditional transhumance route in the Ötztal Alps. The development of pasture management at the high altitudes during the last 7000 years is revealed. Both the archaeological and the palynological results disclose that pasture activities become evident during the Bronze Age at the earliest.